PATENA. — From the Greek πατάνη = dish. It is a round metal plate, already used in ancient times
at Mass, as an indispensable complement to the chalice and made of the same metal. On its upper surface it is today without ornamentation, has a diameter of 15–20 cm, and is slightly concave in the middle, according to the width of the chalice’s rims.
At Mass, the Host is placed on the p. until the Offertory (the offering is made upon it), and, after the Pater noster, the consecrated Host, once broken, is reassembled upon it until Holy Communion; meanwhile, at a solemn Mass, the p. is kept concealed beneath a veil by the subdeacon (formerly by the acolyte), who was called patenarius; at Low Masses, instead, it is placed beneath the corporal.
The p. must be consecrated by the bishop and have its inner surface gilded. The consecration is not lost if the gilding has to be renewed (CIC, can. 1305). Once it has become, through consecration, a sacred object in immediate contact with the Body of Jesus, the p. may be touched only by clerics or by the person entrusted with its custody (can. 1306). Symbolically, the p. is regarded as a new stone of the sepulchre upon which the Lord’s body lay (cf. Rabano Mauro, De instit. cleric., I, 33: PL 107, 324).
Pietro Siffrin
ART. — In antiquity and the Middle Ages, the paten was of considerable size and weight, since it had to serve for collecting the bread offered by the faithful for consecration (p. ministerialis), which was then divided in part for the Communion of the faithful. Popes and emperors vied with one another in having them made, employing large quantities of gold and a wealth of gems. Exceptional examples may be seen at Città di Castello, in the nielloed silver plates of the Canoscio Treasure (5th–6th centuries), at the Louvre (in serpentine with sapphires, emeralds, and pearls, donated by a Carolingian emperor to the abbey of St-Denis), in the Wiss collection in Washington, in the Stoclet collection in Brussels, and in the Treasury of S. Marco in Venice. In the Gothic period (14th century), patens came to be decorated with reliefs or translucent enamels, such as the paten in the Pinacoteca nazionale of Perugia, with enamel enclosed within an arcade border, representing the scene of the Crucifixion, and six other enamel medallions on the rim depicting episodes from the Passion alternating with engraved motifs. It is the work of Cataluzio da Todi, who influenced that of Ciccarello di Francesco, with its representation of the Annunciation and the inscription around it (Sulmona, cathedral of S. Panfilo), and another with enamels representing the Crucifixion, at Ravello (Duomo). They also received engraved decorations, with the blessing hand represented at the center; this may be seen added, in the 12th century, to the paten of Ottonian period in the church of the Collegiata dell'Assunta at Cividale, with an inscription on the rim, comparable to that of the so-called paten of s. Bernardo in the cathedral of Braunschweig and to the paten of the chalice believed to have belonged to s. Francesco in the basilica of Assisi, the work of Guccio del Mannaia. Also noteworthy is the paten of the Wiltener chalice (Austria), from around