From Loaf to Wafers

The Evolution of the Eucharistic Host in the Latin Rite

In the earliest centuries of Christian worship, the bread of the Eucharist was just that — bread. It was ordinary leavened bread, round and familiar, baked from wheat flour and water. It came from the same grain brought by the faithful, and in some places, it was even baked by their own hands. There were no wafers, no special presses — only the humble loaf, broken and shared in memory of the Lord. This practice reflected the simplicity of the early Catholic Eucharist as it was celebrated by the apostolic Church.

That early simplicity would not last. Over centuries, in the Latin Church, the Eucharistic bread would take on a new form — thin, white, unleavened wafers. This shift did not happen at once, nor without debate. But by the end of the first millennium, the Western Church had moved from shared table bread to something purpose-made for the altar: a Communion host shaped with care, reverence, and theological intent.

The turning point came in the 7th and 8th centuries. Among the Franks and in parts of Italy, priests began baking Eucharistic hosts using heated irons to create thin, unleavened disks. These flat wafers were cleaner to handle and less likely to spoil — a practical benefit in churches with many communicants or distant outposts. But symbolism of unleavened bread in Catholic Mass played an equal part. Unleavened bread, free from fermentation, was linked to the purity of Christ and to the Passover meal, when all leaven was cast out. It was seen as fitting that the new covenant meal, offered in the Catholic Mass, should echo that solemn feast.

By the 9th century, the change was widespread. The old loaf was giving way to a wafer — round, white, and often imprinted with sacred signs. Church orders began to require unleavened bread in Mass. By the 10th and 11th centuries, the thin host was standard in the Latin Rite Eucharist. Some clergy still remembered the soft loaves of earlier centuries and voiced regret. But the wafer-like altar bread had become too established to dislodge.

Symbolism deepened as practice settled. The round form, once merely practical, came to suggest eternity and perfection. The white color spoke of purity. The cross or Christogram stamped on the surface became a visible mark of whom it contained. Even the coin-like shape took on meaning: Christ, the King, given as a token of grace. The term “host” (from Latin hostia), meaning victim or sacrifice, took hold around this time, underscoring that this bread was not merely food, but the Lamb offered.

Over time, the hosts became smaller. At first, large wafers were broken into fragments for the faithful. But as reverence for the Real Presence deepened, concern grew over the risk of crumbs. Every fragment was the Body of Christ — none could be carelessly scattered. So smaller, individual Communion hosts became the norm. By the High Middle Ages, the priest would consecrate a large host for himself, and small intact wafers for the congregation. These could be distributed cleanly, without breaking, preserving the dignity of the sacrament.