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The concern.... Celiac disease affects as many as one out of every 133 people. Those suffering from this
condition cannot ingest any gluten, a protein found in wheat. Eating gluten causes intestinal
damage and can lead to many secondary illnesses. Celiacs have to maintain
strict gluten free diets to protect their health. Hence, the concern among Catholic
celiac sufferers was how could they continue to receive the Body of Christ
at Eucharist when it is made with wheat. Since the mid 80s, we have
received calls from faithful Catholics who hoped that we could find a way
to provide an altar bread that would fit their special needs. We decided we would give it our
best effort.
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The prayer... The Catholic Church is
firmly rooted in Scripture and Tradition. In keeping with the belief that
Jesus used a wheaten bread at the Last Supper, the Church has required
that breads used for communion be made with wheat and contain gluten.
As stated before, the celiac community needed
non-gluten bread. We prayed
for divine inspiration as we began to research how we could meet the
requirements of both these groups we hoped to serve.
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The answer... Throughout the years of our research and development we
stayed in touch with the Office of the Secretariat for the Liturgy of the
U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops.
Through their help we discovered a company that produced wheat
starch, which is wheat that has had most of the gluten removed. We began experimenting with this
new product. There were many
failed attempts and much frustration — the resulting breads were either
too thin, too hard, or inedible.
Then one evening, as our sisters were working, Divine Providence
intervened. When mixing the ingredients, the result was a sticky, messy
batter that seemed hopeless.
They plopped some of it onto the baking plate and then decided to
throw out the rest and start over.
When they open the baker they discovered a round, crisp, light
wafer that tasted delicious.
God had blessed our efforts with success.
The Story of the creation of Low-gluten breads |
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The
facts.... Our low
gluten bread is made with wheat starch and water. The gluten content is 0.01%. It is made, stored, and shipped in
a dedicated gluten-free environment. |
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The Church's response to
us... The
Office of the Secretariat received our samples and test results and issued
the following statement.
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Having reviewed the
laboratory reports you sent, which set the amount of gluten in these altar
breads at 0.01%, I am pleased to state that these special hosts are indeed
made according to the requirements of both the Code of Canon Law (c.924)
and the special considerations set out by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,
Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, in his July 24,
2003 letter to the Presidents of Episcopal Conferences (Prot. N.
89/78-17498) and may be validly used at Mass in the diocese of the United
States with appropriate permission. |
The Celiac community's response to
us... Since we began
selling these breads we have served over 2000 celiac sufferers. We have had only positive feedback
from those who have tried them.
Our low gluten altar breads were featured in an article in the
magazine Gluten-Free Living.
The editorial and accompanying write-up cited data from the Center
for Celiac Research that showed that the 0.01% gluten content of our
breads would be perfectly safe for most celiacs. The article states
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The measurement cited here, 0.01%, represents 100 PPMs (parts per
million). But the more
important number is 37 micrograms, because it is daily exposure to gluten
that counts. The best current
information shows that 10 milligrams a day should be
safe.
Ten milligrams is the same as 10,000 micrograms. If you divide 37 micrograms into
10,000 micrograms, you will find that you would have to eat 270 wafers
every day to reach the danger point.
At most, celiacs would consume one
wafer per day or about 0.04% (four tenths of one percent) of the amount
considered dangerous.
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Our
response to you...
We are inspired by the deep desire of those suffering from gluten
intolerance to receive Holy Communion. We are humbled by the many
letters, emails, and phone calls we have received thanking us for our
efforts to produce low gluten altar bread. We are blessed to have
the opportunity to allow God to work through our hands. We are honored and
privileged to provide for you and your parish the bread that becomes the
Body of Christ.
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order form |
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