This is the traditional placement and the simplest case. When you enter your pew — or cross the aisle — turn to face the front of the church, genuflect on your right knee until it touches the floor, then rise. You're facing the tabernacle directly, even though the altar is in between.

A nuance: The genuflection is to the Blessed Sacrament, not the altar. The altar is a sacred table — it receives a bow (not a genuflect) when the tabernacle is elsewhere. When the tabernacle is directly behind the altar, the genuflection honors both simultaneously.

Many churches built or renovated after the Second Vatican Council moved the tabernacle to a side chapel or off to one side of the sanctuary. In these churches, the tabernacle and altar are in different directions.

The genuflection always follows the Blessed Sacrament. When entering or leaving your pew, if the tabernacle is to your left or right, turn to face it and genuflect. Then, as you pass before the altar (if it has no tabernacle), give a simple bow of the body.

If you can't see the tabernacle at all (it's in a separate room, behind a wall), look for a doorway or opening with a sanctuary lamp visible. Face that direction and genuflect. If you genuinely cannot locate it, a bow toward the altar is a respectful alternative.

Whether the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in a closed tabernacle or exposed in a monstrance, you genuflect on one knee when coming before it. Glass doors or a chapel partition don't diminish the Real Presence — Jesus is still there.

Reserved (tabernacle closed): One knee, right knee, briefly touch the floor. Face the tabernacle directly.

Exposed (monstrance on the altar): The same single genuflection applies. Some older traditions used a double genuflection (both knees) for the exposed Blessed Sacrament, and some bishops' conferences retain this — but the current general norm is one knee in both cases.

Passing by the chapel in the hallway: If you can see the Blessed Sacrament through the doors as you pass, give a genuflection or at minimum a reverent bow of the head in acknowledgment.

When you leave your pew to receive Communion, you do not genuflect — you walk reverently with hands folded. When you return to your pew after receiving, you do not genuflect either. At this point, you yourself are a living tabernacle — you have just received the Body and Blood of Christ. The appropriate response is to kneel in your pew for a period of silent thanksgiving, until the priest sits or says "Let us pray."

If the tabernacle is in your line of sight as you cross the aisle, a bow toward it is fitting — but the full genuflection is not required at this particular moment in the Mass.

A reverent bow of the body is always an acceptable alternative when a genuflection is physically difficult — you're carrying a child, holding items, or have a knee or mobility issue. The GIRM itself notes this principle: those who cannot kneel should make a profound bow when the celebrant genuflects at the Consecration. The same logic applies to your personal genuflections. A deliberate, sincere bow communicates the same reverence.

On Good Friday, after the Evening Liturgy, the Blessed Sacrament is removed from the tabernacle and the tabernacle door is left open and empty. There is no Blessed Sacrament present in the main tabernacle — the sanctuary lamp will not be lit, or may be extinguished. A genuflection is not required. Bow to the altar instead.

The Blessed Sacrament is moved to an "altar of repose" for the occasion — if you find it there, genuflect toward it as usual. After the Easter Vigil, the Blessed Sacrament returns to the main tabernacle.