What did Catholic Priests us for blood of christ in communion during Prohibition?

Question

When alcohol was illegal in the United States, what did the priests use in lieu of wine for communion?

Answer 1

I doubt they would have used grape juice. Unlike some Christian denominations, Catholics are pretty strict about what can be used for Communion. Even the bread has to be made from wheat, which can cause problems for gluten-intolerant Catholics: http://www.catholicceliacs.org/Options.html

The good folks at the Straight Dope have this to say about it:
"During Prohibition, the wine on Catholic as well as other church altars was real wine. The Eighteenth Amendment, forbidding the manufacture, sale, import or export of intoxicating liquors, was ratified by three quarters of the states January 16, 1919. The Volstead Act also passed in 1919 (over the veto of President Wilson), giving federal agents the power to investigate and prosecute violations of the amendment. But alcoholic beverages for medicinal and sacramental use were exempt under the Volstead Act, which allowed many people to avoid the spirit of the law."

Answer 2

"Grape juice is used almost exclusively for "The Lord's Supper" in the United States. However, the original practice within Churches of Christ in the Restoration Movement was using wine exclusively. This practice of the majority changed during the Prohibition Era with much controversy that is now mostly forgotten. A significant percentage today think alcohol should be generally forbidden.

Nevertheless, a small remnant of pre-Prohibition influenced conservatives and some progressives advocate literal wine as the "fruit of the vine." Wine is still used in some countries, such as Italy, where the drinking of wine is an historically accepted part of the culture."

Answer 3

I don't know for sure, but the church may have had a special exception considering not all that much wine is needed for communion, if that's not so then I would guess grape juice, it's about as close as you can get to wine

Answer 4

A Catholic Priest?

Catholic Priests used the milk of an altar boy

Answer 5

Perhaps they had their own vineyards
the Blood of grapes
So ask the priest what they did
So you can get the real enlightenment
What does any of us know unless we are a Priest
And you probably already know the answer anyway
and you are just testing all of us

Answer 6

Wine. There are circumstances where the church and state thing make things legal for religions and not for anything else. It's the same with some Native American tribes and peyote.

Answer 7

They use a non-alcholic wine. The same wine they use now adays if the priest chooses not to use wine, or can not use wine, during services.

Answer 8

Sacramental wine was exempt from the enforcement of the 19th Amendment.

AMENDMENT XVIII

Passed by Congress December 18, 1917. Ratified January 16, 1919. Repealed by amendment 21.

Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

The NATIONAL PROHIBITION ACT (also known as the Volstead Act) was enacted in response to Section 2 of the 18th Amendment, became effective on February 1, 1920, and contained the following clauses:

Liquor … for nonbeverage purposes and wine for sacramental purposes may be manufactured, purchased. sold, bartered, transported, imported, exported, delivered furnished and possessed, but only as herein provided, and the commissioner may, upon application, issue permits therefor. … Provided, That nothing in this Act shall prohibit the purchase and sale of warehouse receipts covering distilled spirits on deposit in Government bonded warehouses, and no special tax liability shall attach to the business of purchasing and selling such warehouse receipts …

Nothing in this title shall be held to apply to the manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, possession, or distribution of wine for sacramental purposes, or like religious rites, except section 6 (save as the same requires a permit to purchase) and section 10 hereof, and the provisions of this Act prescribing penalties for the violation of either of said sections. No person to whom a permit may be issued to manufacture, transport, import, or sell wines for sacramental purposes or like religious rites shall sell, barter, exchange, or furnish any such to any person not a rabbi, minister of the gospel, priest, or an officer duly authorized for the purpose by any church or congregation, nor to any such except upon an application duly subscribed by him, which application, authenticated as regulations may prescribe, shall be filed and preserved by the seller. The head of any conference or diocese or other ecclesiastical jurisdiction may designate any rabbi, minister, or priest to supervise the manufacture of wine to be used for the purposes and rites in this section mentioned, and the person so designated may, in the discretion of the commissioner, be granted a permit to supervise such manufacture.

With love in Christ.

Answer 9

I don't know, but now a days a lot of non-Catholic curches use grape juice, so that kids and recovering alcoholics can take comunion.

Answer 10

The priests own blood.