The Pelican, the Love of Jesus, and the Holy Eucharist.
The Pelican, the Love of Jesus, and the Holy Eucharist.
.
The Pelican is a symbol of the atonement and the Redeemer and is often found in Christian murals, frescos, paintings and stained glass. The pelican was believed to wound itself in order to feed its young with its own blood. In the hymn "Adoro Te," St. Thomas Aquinas addresses the Savior with, "Pelican of Mercy, cleanse me in Thy Precious Blood." Allusion is even made to this belief in "Hamlet" (act iv): "To his good friend thus wide I'll ope my arms And, like the kind, life-rendering pelican, Repast them with my blood." So does the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, feed us with His Blood, unto not only physical life, but eternal Life.