Where to Get Safe Gluten-Free Communion Wafers
January 23, 2019
There is often confusion among Christians, and Catholics in particular, about how to fully participate in communion while keeping themselves safely free of the gluten contained in communion wafers/hosts.
Certainly, one option is to only take the consecrated wine from the chalice, if that is an option in your parish. The other option -- finding a safe communion wafer -- had always been more of a challenge. That's because the Catholic Church in particular is rooted in Scripture and Tradition and believes that Jesus used wheaten bread at the Last Supper. Therefore, they require that breads used for communion be made with wheat and contain gluten.
Fortunately, thanks to the research of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, a company was found that produces wheat starch, which is wheat that has had most of its gluten removed.
Miraculously, after much trial-and-error, the Benedictine Sisters were able to make low-gluten bread out of this special wheat starch and water. These wafers meet both the strongest requirements of the Catholic Church as well as the requirements of the gluten-free community, as confirmed by data from the Center for Celiac Research.
These wafers contain less than .001% or 10 parts per million of gluten.
You can learn more about the wafers -- and order 30 wafers for $5.50, plus shipping and handling, by calling 800-223-2772 or by visiting their website.
And please, if you or someone you know attends a church that offers gluten-free communion wafers/hosts, please submit a review to our website, GlutenFreeTravelSite. The procedure is the same as it is for submitting a review of a restaurant or other establishment. Simply go to Submit Review and follow the prompts from there. You'll greatly help other Christians that are recently diagnosed with Celiac, new to the area, or visiting your area find churches where they can fully participate in communion.
Likewise, if you'll be traveling and would like to find a church at your destination that offers gluten-free communion, be sure to Search our Site by town/zip code. If any churches have been reviewed, they'll appear in the search results, alongside dining reviews for that area.
I published a more detailed Blog post on this same subject years ago. You can read it here.