Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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TRANSIGNIFICATION

The view of Christ's presence in the Eucharist which holds that the meaning or significance of the bread and wine is changed by the words of consecration. the consecrated elements are said to signify all that christians associate with the Last Supper; they have a higher value than merely food for the body. The theory of transignification was condemned by Pope Paul VI in the encyclical Mysterium Fedei (1965), if it is understood as denying transubstantiation. (Etym. Latin trans-, so as to change + significatio, meaning, sense: transignificatio.)

See Also: TRANSFINALIZATION