Q: Father, it pains me to say this, but I have seen multiple occasions in which the Precious Blood ended up on the floor and the Extraordinary Ministers only dabbed the area with a purificator and then continued distributing the Eucharist. At the end of distributing Holy Communion, they stepped on the area where the Precious Blood had fallen. It seems to me that, first of all, they should be more careful in handling the Precious Blood, and secondly if the Lord’s Blood is spilled, they should not only use a dry purificator but also a second, dampened purificator to assure they have not left any trace of the Eucharist on the tile floor. Do you know of any documents with rules or directions that treat this topic so I can bring them to our pastor?
==
A: The Precious Blood should be handled with all due reverence. Spills happen. To my embarrassment, I’ve done it myself.
The GIRM foresees this and provides the approved procedure in #280: “if any of the Precious Blood is spilled, the area where the spill occurred should be washed with water, and this water should then be poured into the sacrarium in the sacristy.”
Some people do more, but that is the minimum expected.