The shallow plate that holds the bread at the Eucharist, paired with the chalice and consecrated with it. It is the least conspicuous object on the altar and one of the most regulated: fragments of consecrated bread must not be lost, so the paten's shape, its use to catch crumbs, and the way it is wiped afterward are all specified.
A second, smaller communion paten is held under the chin of each communicant in some Catholic parishes for the same reason.
Facts
Use
Who May Handle ItClergy or ordained officiants only 1 Sourced to the subject's own accountHandled at the altar by the ordained and by ministers deputed for the purpose ConsecrationSourced to the subject's own accountConsecrated in a rite before use 1 Meaning
Symbolic MeaningThe shallow paten holds the consecrated bread at the Eucharist, paired with the chalice, and its plainness reflects its purpose: catching every fragment of the host rather than being seen. 2 Object category (class) Attributions
TraditionSourced to the subject's own account Status
Status TodayIn active religious use 3 Learn More
The Plate That Partners the Cup
The paten is the shallow plate that holds the bread at the Eucharist, and it is the least conspicuous object on the altar precisely because it is defined by its pairing with the chalice.
Made for the cup
The paten is consecrated with the chalice and reserved with it, and in the older forms it is sized to sit over the mouth of the cup, so the two are designed as a set. It holds the bread that is consecrated and, in the traditions that so believe, becomes the body of Christ, and like the chalice its upper surface is of precious metal or gilt for the same reason. It is purified after communion so that no fragment of the consecrated bread is lost, an act of care that expresses the belief attached to what it has held.
Small variations
The Latin paten is a small disc matched to the priest host, while the Eastern churches use a larger footed dish, the diskos, on which the many particles of bread are arranged in a fixed pattern representing Christ, the Virgin and the saints. In some rites a communion-plate is held under the chin of those receiving to catch any fragment. The object is modest, but its consecration and the care of its purification place it among the sacred vessels rather than the furnishings, the necessary counterpart to the cup.
The Plate's Construction, and the Rule It Shares with the Cup
A paten is made to the same material standard as the chalice it accompanies, the surface touching the consecrated host must be gold or gilded, a rule that ties the two vessels together as a matched pair rather than two independent pieces of church plate.
Shape and construction
Medieval patens were shallow discs with a shallow central depression sized to hold a single large host in place, a form still visible in surviving Romanesque and Gothic examples. Later Western patens flattened out, losing the depression as the size and number of hosts distributed at a single Mass grew with concelebration, and larger flat patens or paten bowls are now common for holding many hosts at once. Eastern Christian practice uses a related vessel, the diskos, which is deeper, stands on a small foot, and is often paired with a star shaped cover, the asterisk, that keeps the cloth veil from touching the bread.
Custody and retirement
Like the chalice, a paten is traditionally handled only by clergy and instituted ministers, and a set is usually consecrated together rather than as separate objects, which is why old inventories list them as a pair rather than individually. A worn or damaged paten follows the chalice's disposal custom, sent for re-gilding if the surface has worn through, or retired to a parish or diocesan collection rather than sold or scrapped, since a consecrated vessel is not treated as ordinary metal stock even once it is no longer in liturgical use.
Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source General Instruction of the Roman Missal, third typical editionCongregation for Divine Worshipthe holders' own account
Element Of
Kept with the chalice among the vessels of the holy table.
The plate for the bread is kept with the chalice as part of the retained eucharistic vessels.
The plate that carries the host, blessed with the chalice before first use and treated with the same care afterward.
Source General Instruction of the Roman Missal, third typical editionCongregation for Divine Worshipthe holders' own account
Implement Of
Source The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editionF. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.)
Related To
The paten is paired with the chalice and consecrated with it.
Source General Instruction of the Roman Missal, third typical editionCongregation for Divine Worshipthe holders' own account
Sources
1. General Instruction of the Roman Missal, third typical edition
Congregation for Divine Worship, Congregation for Divine Worship, 2002Nos. 327-332the holders' own accountView the Source 2. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised edition
F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2005on the paten and the sacred vesselsView the Source 3. Paten (Wikipedia)
- Wikipedia 'Paten': present-tense 'is generally used during the liturgy itself'; checked 2026-09-27.
Lead section
A paten or diskos is a small plate used for the celebration of the Eucharist (as in a Mass).
Opening sentence
A paten or diskos is a small plate used for the celebration of the Eucharist (as in a Mass).
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