Benedictine nuns discover way to produce low-gluten Communion hosts

Published: 2004-05-05

CLYDE, Mo. (CNS) -- After more than a decade of trial and error, the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Clyde have developed an altar bread that is safe for consumption by those with celiac disease and also complies with canon law's strict guidelines. Celiac disease is a digestive disorder triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and other grains. When gluten is consumed by celiac sufferers, it can cause severe damage to the intestines and other complications. The Vatican requires Communion hosts to contain some gluten, but no one had discovered how to make an edible host with a gluten level low enough to be considered safe for celiac sufferers until the Benedictine sisters came up with a recipe just about a year ago. The sisters at Clyde, who have been making altar bread for nearly a century, began receiving pleas from celiac sufferers 15 years ago. For a brief time, they offered altar bread with somewhat lower gluten content, but it was still too much for most people with the disease so they stopped baking it. But Benedictine Sister Jane Heschmeyer kept working, experimenting with recipes and conducting exhaustive research.

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