Annual 40 Hours Eucharistic Devotions

Each year, every parish in the Diocese celebrates 3-days (40 Hours) of special adoration and worship of Christ - present in the Most Holy Eucharist.  These grace-filled days are usually scheduled on or near a parish's feast day.  Being the parish of Saint Andrew the Apostle (whose feast day is November 30), ours is currently scheduled for November (but many will remember the not-so-distant past when our 40 Hours was in May).  While we would like to have our devotions closer to Saint Andrew's feast day - because of the Thanksgiving holiday (not to mention the hunting "holy day"), it is very difficult to hold 40 Hours that weekend following Thanksgiving.  So, we move it ahead of few weeks.

Where does the Tradition of "40 Hours" come from?

It developed to honor the 40 hours that the body of Christ rested in the tomb.  The Blessed Sacrament is solemnly exposed for just this period of time, during which public services, private mediation and prayer take place.   This devotion developed in the 16th century.  The exact period of forty hours' exposition, in practice, is not strictly adhered to.  The Holy See (Rome) has granted an indulgence to all those who take part.

History of the Devotion

A chronicler from Milan describes the custom which began in May, 1537.  He gives details as to the church with which it started.  Less than two years later, Pope Paul III granted an indulgence to anyone who participated in the devotion.  

The practice without doubt spread rapidly.  Already before the year 1550 this, or some analogous exposition, had been established by Saint Philip Neri for the Confraternity of the Trinita dei Pellegrini in Rome; while Saint Ignatius Loyola, at about the same period, seems to have given much encouragement to the practice.  As this devotion also commonly lasted for a period of about forty hours, it seems to have been given the name "Quarant' Ore"; and under this name it is still maintained in many places. 

Saint Charles Borromeo speaks as if this practice of praying for forty hours was of very ancient date; and he distinctly refers it to the forty hours our Lord's Body remained in the tomb, seeing that this was a period of watching, suspend ardent prayer on the part of all His disciples.

Saint John Neumann, Bishop of Philadelphia, advocated the devotion here in the United States.  Visiting his parishes in the 1850's he noted with sorrow that few people took time for a private visit to the Blessed Sacrament.  In 1853 each parish in his diocese was to hold a Forty Hours Eucharistic Celebration.  Since at that time, we were part of the Philadelphia Diocese, the parishes in our area would also have begun the devotion.  We that tradition with our parish's annual celebration of Forty Hours.