Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is present in the presiding priest, who acts in the name of Christ. Jesus is present in the assembly gathered for worship, for he said, "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). Jesus is present in the proclamation of the Word, for he himself is the Word of God made flesh. Finally, Jesus becomes present during the great Eucharistic Prayer as the bread and wine are transformed into his Body and Blood. Jesus is really present in all of these ways, but Catholics use the term "Real Presence" to refer to the sacramental presence of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine.
The reason for this term is that some people have mistakenly asserted that the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is only symbolic. Their mistake is in failing to recognize the role of sacramental symbols in expressing realities. The water of Baptism, the oil of Confirmation, and the bread and wine of the Eucharist are indeed symbols, but they make real what they symbolize—for that is what a sacrament does. The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is real, and indeed the Eucharist is the supreme form of the presence of Christ. It is not, however, physical but rather sacramental, a presence made real through signs and symbols.