Approved suppliers reference

Where this list comes from

In the United States, the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship maintains a reference list of the distributors of low-gluten hosts and mustum that are known to it. There is no Vatican licensing scheme for producers: the 2017 Circular Letter (Prot. N. 320/17) placed oversight of the matter with the diocesan bishop and with each priest's duty to verify the provenance of the bread and wine. The USCCB list is a practical starting point, not a canonical seal of approval. For the background on what low-gluten hosts are and why they are valid, see the complete guide.

United States: low-gluten host distributors

Four distributors of low-gluten hosts are known to the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship.

Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (Clyde, Missouri)

The most widely used low-gluten altar bread in the United States, made by the Sisters since 2004. Their hosts are baked from wheat starch and remain, in their words, valid matter approved for Catholic use.

• Gluten content: low-gluten, not gluten-free. Independent and in-house testing has placed it at roughly 50 to 70 parts per million (ppm), about 0.002 mg of gluten per host. That is above the FDA's 20 ppm "gluten-free" threshold, but a very small absolute dose that most people with celiac disease tolerate.
• Order from: altarbreadsbspa.com (phone 1-800-223-2772)
• Formats: People's hosts and larger presider's hosts, in individual and parish quantities
• Also available through: Catholic Purchasing Services (catholicpurchasing.org)

Cavanagh Company

A long-established altar bread maker that produces a machine-made low-gluten host. Independent testing has measured its gluten content below the Benedictine host, and it is one of the distributors known to the USCCB. Confirm current test figures when you order.

Parish Crossroads

A distributor that supplies low-gluten hosts (including the Benedictine Sisters' breads) to parishes and individuals, and is familiar with the handling questions that come with them.

GlutenFreeHosts.com Inc.

A distributor listed by the USCCB Secretariat. Despite the name, confirm you are ordering the low-gluten wheat host valid for the Eucharist, not a fully gluten-free wafer.

United Kingdom

The Liturgy Office of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales lists these suppliers of low-gluten altar breads:

• The Gluten Free Altar Bread Co. (Crawley, West Sussex): 01293 517658
• Charles Farris Ltd (Mere, Wiltshire): charlesfarris.co.uk
• McCrimmons (Southend): mccrimmons.com

Australia

• Christian Supplies Australia: christiansupplies.com.au
• Eucharistic Breads (Tarrawarra Abbey): the Cistercian monks of Tarrawarra, eucharisticbreads.com.au

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has published its own guidelines for the ministry of Holy Communion to those living with coeliac disease.

Ordering for your parish

When ordering for parish use, consider:

• How many parishioners need the accommodation, and how often they attend
• Storage space in the sacristy (keep hosts in a cool, dry place, not refrigerated, sealed in the original packaging until use)
• A quantity you will use within 6 to 12 months, since low-gluten hosts have a shorter shelf life than regular altar bread

Many parishes start with a small supply to test the workflow, then reorder based on real usage. See the guide on setting up a pyx system at your parish for the handling side.

For individuals

You can order directly from most of these suppliers for personal use. Many people with celiac disease keep a small personal supply for travel or as a backup, and ask their home parish to store and consecrate their host. Keep them sealed in the original packaging until use. See the guide to traveling as a Catholic with celiac.

Before you order from anyone

• Ask for current gluten test results, and note that "low-gluten" and "gluten-free" are not the same thing
• Confirm the host is a wheat-based low-gluten product (valid matter), not a gluten-free wafer
• Be wary of any host advertised as "gluten-free" for Communion: if it is truly gluten-free (no wheat), it cannot become the Body of Christ
• Ask whether they can supply documentation if your diocese or parish requests it

What the Church says

The 2003 letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the 2017 Circular Letter of the Congregation for Divine Worship both affirm that low-gluten hosts are valid matter when they contain enough wheat, and that people who cannot receive the host may receive the Precious Blood alone. Permission to use a low-gluten host or mustum rests with the diocesan bishop, and in the United States that permission may be delegated to pastors. See what the Vatican actually says.