The shallow plate of precious metal on which the bread is offered and consecrated at Mass.
The paten is the small dish, usually of gold or silver-gilt, that holds the host to be consecrated and from which the priest receives Holy Communion. Shaped to rest upon the mouth of the chalice, it is among the oldest and most essential of the sacred vessels.
Consecration and care
Because it bears the Body of Christ, the paten is solemnly consecrated with holy chrism and reserved for that use alone. After Communion it is carefully purified, that no fragment of the Sacrament be lost.
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