Et Reliqua...

Ember Days or Quarter Tense

Father Hall, February 20, 2013

Today, the Wednesday of the First Week in Lent, is the first of the year’s Ember Days, and thus is a good time to discuss the significance of these often overlooked days of fasting and penance.

The Ember Days occur four times a year, corresponding to the start of each new season, and each comprises the three days of the week, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  Their actual timing is as follows:

1.       Spring:  between the first and second Sundays in Lent.

2.       Summer:  between Whitsunday and Trinity.

3.       Autumn:  during the liturgical third week of September

4.       Winter:  between the third and fourth Sundays in Advent

An old English rhyme may help you to remember these dates:

Fasting days and Emberings be
Lent, Whitsun, Holyrood, and Lucie.

Lent and Whitsun are obvious of course, while Holyrood refers to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (known in England as Holy Rood Day).   This feast falls on September 14, and the Ember Days are celebrated in the week after the Sunday following this feast.  This is always the liturgical third week of September, which can differ from the actual third week of the month, as liturgically the first Sunday of September is the Sunday closest to September 1^st (August 29 – September 4).  The last reference to “Lucie” is of course the feast of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr, which falls on December 13, after which follows the last complete week of Advent.

On these days, the laws of fasting and partial abstinence apply on the Wednesday and Saturday, while Friday is also a day of fast but of course retains its complete abstinence.  While these rules apply in the United States, other local laws apply in many countries, and you should check with a local Catholic calendar or directory for the rules of fast and abstinence in your part of the world.

The history of Embertide goes back to very ancient times.  It is possible that it originates with ancient pagan festivals that were taken over by the early Christians in the west.  In Christian usage, some claim that it goes back to Apostolic origins, but it is more commonly agreed that it began probably in the fourth century.  Pope Leo the Great (A.D. 440-461) refers to the Fasts of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, and gradually the Roman use spread throughout Christendom.  It took many centuries, however, before becoming common throughout the Western Church.  It reached the shores of England as early as the sixth century with St. Augustine of Canterbury, but was not practiced in Gaul until the eighth century, and in Spain not until the eleventh century.  Surprisingly, Embertide was not celebrated in the important diocese of Milan until St. Charles Borromeo introduced it in the sixteenth century.  It never did become part of the calendar of the Eastern Church.

Liturgically, the Mass for the Ember Days varies on the different days of the week.  While the Mass of Ember Friday follows the normal pattern, on Ember Wednesday there are two lessons before the Gospel, while Ember Saturday has six.  Traditionally, ordinations to each of the minor and major orders were performed after each lesson, starting with the office of porter and working up to the priestly ordination itself.  Pope Gelasius I (492-496) is said to have been the first to limit ordinations to the Ember Days,  and the practice quickly spread.  From the pontificate of Archbishop Ecgbert of York, A.D. 732-766, to the capitulary of Charlemagne, we find it listed as a canonical rule, and it became a universal law in the Church during the pontificate of Pope Gregory VII around the year 1085. 

Finally, in case you were wondering why we call them “Ember” Days, you should know first of all that it has nothing to do with the modern English word “embers”, meaning the glowing ashes of a fire.  However, there is some discussion about the actual etymology.  The most likely version is that the term comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ymbren, meaning a circuit or revolution.  In this case, it is an apparent reference to the annual cycle of the seasons.  To back up this theory we can find various Anglo-Saxon compound words, such as ymbren-tid ("Embertide"), ymbren-wucan ("Ember weeks"), ymbren-fisstan ("Ember fasts"), ymbren-dagas ("Ember days").   It also corresponds with Pope Leo the Great’s definition, jejunia ecclesiastica per totius anni circulum distributa ("fasts of the church distributed through the whole circuit of the year").

However, a second version maintains that the word Ember is derived from the Latin term for Ember Days, Quatuor Tempora, meaning "four times" (a year).   This Latin name has remained the same in modern languages, such as French and Italian, while being reduced to simply Temporas in Spanish and Portuguese.  We even find the term Quarter Tense in use in archaic English.   In German the term is translated as Quatember, and it is easy to see how this would have been corrupted, as so often happens by dropping the first syllable, to form the English Ember.

On a final spiritual note, we should observe the four Embertides with reverence and, in the spirit of the Church, with penitence and resolution to do better in the coming new season of the year.  Each day has its own Gospel, and we would do well to meditate during these special days on the lessons that each Gospel teaches us. 

Comments (0)

The Holy Name, St. Bernardine, and the Jesuits

Father Hall, January 2, 2013

The Holy Name of Jesus is celebrated usually on the very day after the Feast of the Circumcision.  In truth, they are one and the same, as according to Jewish custom, a newborn son was both circumcised and named on the eighth day after his delivery.  Thus it is that on the Octave of Christmas, the first day of January, we commemorate the first spilling of the blood of Jesus, and immediately on the following day we celebrate the Divine and Most Holy Name of Jesus.

The Holy Name of Jesus brings help in bodily needs, consolation in spiritual trials, and protection against Satan and his wicked snares.  It is in the Name of Jesus that we obtain any and all blessings from God, and all we ask of God, we ask in Jesus’  Holy Name.

 

Surely the greatest promoter of devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus was St. Bernardine of Siena.  By his efforts  the custom of adding the Name of Jesus to the Ave Maria was spread in Italy, and from there to the Universal Church.  When St. Bernardine traveled about the cities of Italy, he carried with him a copy of the monogram of the Holy Name, surrounded by rays, painted on a wooden tablet.   With this he used to bless the sick, and many great miracles attest to the efficacy of his prayers.  This monogram or emblem representing the Holy Name of Jesus consisted of the three letters: IHS.  In the Middle Ages the Name of Jesus was written:  IHESUS; the monogram contains the first and last letter of the Holy Name.  Whenever St. Bernardine finished his sermons he would display the monogram on his wooden tablet to the faithful, exhorting them to prostrate themselves and adore the Redeemer of mankind.   It was his practice to recommend that the monogram of Jesus be placed over the city gates of the cities and above the doors of each dwelling place.  If you walk around the city of Siena today you will see countless examples of where this was put into practice, and one can scarcely walk more than a few yards without seeing the IHS monogram prominently displayed.   Because the manner in which St. Bernardine preached this devotion was new, he was accused by his enemies, and brought before the tribunal of Pope Martin V.  But St. Bernardine’s disciple, St. John Capistran, defended his master so successfully that the pope not only permitted the worship of the Holy Name, but also assisted at a procession in which the holy monogram was carried.  Today the tablet used by St. Bernardine is venerated at Santa Maria in Ara Coeli at Rome.

The IHS monogram representing the Holy Name of Jesus is sometimes erroneously interpreted to mean the three initial letters of: "Jesus Hominum Salvator" (Jesus Saviour of Men).  The Jesuits took  this idea and made the IHS the emblem of their Society, adding a cross over the H and three nails under it. Consequently a new explanation of the emblem was invented, pretending that the nails originally were a "V", and that the monogram stands for "In Hoc Signo Vinces" (In This Sign you shall Conquer), the words which, according to a legendary account, Constantine saw in the heavens under the Sign of the Cross before the battle at the Milvian bridge (312).  Even today, the Jesuits hold the Holy Name in great reverence, and organize grand processions on the feastday in its honour.

 

Comments (0)

Christmas in Italy

Father Hall, December 25, 2012

Christmas, as it is celebrated in Italy, has two origins: the familiar traditions of Christianity blended with the pagan traditions predating the Christmas era. The greatest feast of the ancient Roman Empire, “Saturnalia” (a winter solstice celebration), just happens to coincide with the Christmas celebrations of Advent. Consequently, Christmas fairs, merry-making and torch processions, honor not only the birth of Christ, but also the birth of the “Unconquered Sun.” “Natale,” the Italian word for Christmas, is literally the translation for “birthday.”

A delightful, but rapidly disappearing tradition in Italy, is the ushering in of the coming festivities by the “Piferari” or fifers. They descend from the mountains of the Abruzzo and Latium playing inviting and characteristic tunes on their bagpipes, filling the air with anticipation for the joyous celebration to come.

Christmas Eve is a time for viewing Italy’s artistic and elaborate manger scenes or Cribs. They consist of figurines, in clay or plaster, of the infant Jesus, Mary and Joseph. An ox and ass are nearby because legend has it that they warmed the child with their breath. It is around this basic focal point that individual artisans create their own intricate landscapes. There may be grottoes, small trees, lakes, rivers, the lights of “Bethlehem” in the background, angels hung from wires, and occasionally, even local heroes. The most beautiful Cribs are set up in churches. There is often a contest between churches of the same town for the best Crib. People go from church to church to view and compare the Cribs and displays.

From the delightful small towns of Umbria to Venice’s splendour, this is an adventure for those looking to indulge in Italy’s delights at Christmas time, when the crowds are fewer and the food and drink in even greater abundance than usual.

Another tradition is the burning of the Yule log, which must stay alight until New Year’s Day. This, again, is an example of pagan and Christian blending. The pagan belief explains the purifying and revitalizing power of fire, and that with the burning log, the old year and its evils are destroyed. Christian legend tells how the Virgin Mary enters the homes of the humble at midnight while the people are away at Midnight Mass and warms her newborn child before the blazing log.

Amidst the general merrymaking and religious observance of Christmas Eve, Christmas tapers (long slender candles) are lighted and a Christmas banquet is spread. In some places, Christmas Eve dinner consists largely of fish. There may be as many as 10 to 20 fish dishes prepared. In Rome, the traditional dish of Christmas Eve is “Capitone,” a big female eel, roasted, baked or fried. North of Rome a traditional dish may be pork, sausage packed in a pig’s leg, smothered in lentils, or turkey stuffed with chestnuts.

Common throughout Italy are the Christmas sweets: “panettone” (cake filled with candied fruit), “torrone” (nougat) and “panforte” (gingerbread) made with hazelnuts, honey and almonds. All Christmas sweets, as a rule, contain nuts and almonds. Peasant folklore theorizes that to eat nuts favors the fertility of the earth and aids in the increase of flocks and family. In ancient Rome, honey was offered at this time of year so that the new year might be sweet.

Comments (0)

Sapientiatide

Father Hall, December 19, 2012

Adapted from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Guéranger

On December 17, the Church entered on the seven days leading up to Christmas Eve, and which are known in the liturgy under the name of the Greater Ferias of Sapientiatide. The ordinary of the Advent Office becomes more solemn; the antiphons of the psalms, both for Lauds and the Hours of the day, are proper, and allude expressly to the great coming. Every day, at Vespers, is sung a solemn antiphon, consisting of a fervent prayer to the Messiah, whom it addresses by one of the titles given Him in the sacred Scriptures.

There are seven of these antiphons, one for each day of Sapientiatide. They are commonly called the O's of Advent, because they all begin with that interjection. In other Churches, during the middle ages, two more were added to these seven; one to our blessed Lady, O Virgo virginum; and the other to the angel Gabriel, O Gabriel; or to St. Thomas the apostle, whose feast comes during the greater ferias ; it began O Thoma Didyme. There were even Churches where twelve great antiphons were sung; that is, besides the nine we have just mentioned, O Rex Pacifice to our Lord, O mundi Domina to our Lady, and O Hierusalem to the city of the people of God.  In the English Church, following the Sarum Use, the Great "O" Antiphons were commenced on the 16th of December with an eighth antiphon, O Virgo virginum, said on the 23rd. This usage appears by no means to have been exclusive to England and seems a later addition to the Roman custom.

The canonical Hour of Vespers has been selected as the most appropriate time for this solemn supplication to our Saviour, because, as the Church sings in one of her hymns, it was in the evening of the world (vergente mundi vespere) that the Messiah came amongst us. These antiphons are sung at the Magnificat, to show us that the Saviour whom we expect is to come to us by the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are sung standing, and twice, once before and once after the canticle, as on double feasts, and this to show their great solemnity. In some Churches it was formerly the practice to sing them thrice; that is, before the canticle, before the Gloria Patri, and after the Sicut erat. Lastly, these admirable antiphons, which contain the whole pith of the Advent liturgy, are accompanied by a chant replete with melodious gravity, and by ceremonies of great expressiveness, though, in these latter, there is no uniform practice followed.  Let us enter into the spirit of the Church; let us reflect on the great day which is coming; that thus we may take our share in these the last and most earnest solicitations of the Church imploring her Spouse to come, to which He at length yields.

Comments (0)

St. Nicholas and the Custom of the Boy Bishop

Father Hall, December 6, 2012

Before the English Reformation, when Henry VIII led the Church of England away from the Roman Catholic Church, Nicholas was one of the most popular saints in England. Besides churches under St. Nicholas' patronage, "Nicholas" was one of the most common names for boys, as shown by baptismal records of the time. The medieval Boy Bishop custom, though practiced on the Continent, was most enthusiastically embraced in England.

Some English parishes and cathedrals have recovered the Boy Bishop custom which dropped out of favor in the 16th century. One of the choristers is selected to serve as the Boy or Nicholas Bishop.  He wears full episcopal robes and carries the Lord Bishop's pastoral staff.  During the First Vespers of St. Nicholas, at the words from the Magnificat, "He hath put down the mighty from their seat," the real Bishop would step down from his throne, while the Boy Bishop processes through the Quire and takes the Bishop's seat at the words "And hath exalted the humble and meek." 

 

 

The Boy Bishop was invested with all of the symbols of the episcopal office (some cathedrals owned elaborate sets of vestments for the Boy Bishop and his attendants).  Although he could not celebrate the Eucharist, he had the authority to bless the people, was required to preach at least one sermon, and in cathedral cities he made a formal visitation of the parishes of the city and received certain revenues from parishes and church officials--in York he and his assistants traveled on horseback around the whole diocese. He was assisted by choristers who took the offices of the senior clergy of the cathedral and diocese and he and his canons could expect to be lavishly entertained. Records show that on occasion the celebrations degenerated into rude and even riotous behavior, boys being boys, after all.  The Boy Bishop used to hold his office until the Feast of the Holy Innocents on December 28.

In keeping with the tradition of St. Nicholas, the Boy Bishop was given a supply of tokens to distribute to the poor. These could be redeemed for food and drink in local shops.

In England the custom of the Boy Bishop was abolished in 1542 by Henry VIII who thought it "unfitting and inconvenient."  Revived by Queen Mary in 1552 it was finally abolished by Elizabeth I.  It has been revived recently in some cathedrals and parishes.

Comments (0)

St. Clement and the Anchor

Father Hall, November 23, 2012

The fourth Pope, St. Clement, whose feast we celebrate today, was put to death under the Emperor Trajan by being thrown into the ocean with an anchor tied round his neck.  When St. Clement’s body was dragged by the anchor to the bottom of the sea, his martyred soul was released and rose into heaven.  As his fellow-Christians prayed for him at the seashore, it is said that the sea went back three miles, and when they followed it they found a grotto of marble shaped like a church, which contained the body of the Martyr laid out in a stone coffin.  The anchor that had been tied round his neck now lay next to him.

In the early days of the Christian Church, the anchor was a symbol used even more than the cross to stand for the Christian faith, and in particular for the hope the Christians had in the resurrection.  In those days when the Emperor Nero was still crucifying Christians in the Colosseum for the amusement of the masses, the cross was an unpleasant reminder of the type of death the Christians might expect, and the anchor was a more appropriate symbol of their hope in the resurrection. 

The symbolism of the anchor comes from its obvious association with maritime practice.  As the anchor was often a seaman’s last resort in stormy weather, it was frequently connected with hope.  Being made of a solid body, the anchor was also identified with firmness, solidity, tranquility and faithfulness.  The anchor remains firm and steady amidst the stormy waters, symbolizing the stable part of a human being, that quality which enables us to keep a clear mind amid the confusion of sensation, emotion and the general “storms” of life. Therefore the anchor keeps us steady in the storms of temptation, affliction, and persecution. Indeed St. Paul mentions that “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19). Christ is sometimes referred to as the anchor in the sea of life.  It could also be that the word “anchor” was actually a word play in Greek—ankura resembling en kurio, or "in the Lord”. 

When sailors weigh anchor, the heavy weight is raised from the sea floor where it has been keeping the ship safe and stable in the midst of the stormy waters.  Similarly, when we die, our soul may then rise to heaven.  Instead of keeping us firmly grounded in this life, it may now rise up and allow us to move freely to the next port-of-call, that of our heavenly home. The death of St. Clement clearly presents to us this aspect of the anchor, and his feastday today is a wonderful opportunity to renew our sense of hope in the goodness and mercy of God, our final destination in these stormy seas we call Life.

Comments (0)

Ss. Simon and Jude

Father Hall, October 29, 2012

The history of these two glorious Apostles is summarized in the Fourth Lesson of today’s Matins.  Here we learn that St. Simon was called "the Zealous," and started his preaching in Egypt, while St. Jude was the brother of James the Less, and began his evangelization in Mesopotamia.   That their names are mentioned together in the Canon of the Mass, and that they are celebrated on the same feastday, is due to their later meeting and work together in Persia, as the Breviary recounts:

“They met together afterwards in Persia, where they begat countless children in Jesus Christ, spread the faith far and wide in those lands, amid raging heathens, and glorified together by their teaching and miracles, and, in the end, by a glorious martyrdom, the most holy Name of Jesus Christ.”

St. Simon is represented in art with a saw, the instrument of his martyrdom.  For this reason he has been named the patron saint of sawyers, as well as curriers and tanners.  In Italy, he has been confused with the “foletto”, a kind of holy goblin, because of a similarity in names.

St. Jude is often depicted holding an architect’s square, clearly representing him as one of the principle builders of Christ’s Church.  He often holds a medallion of the Saviour and has a flame atop his head, signifying the inspiration he received to write the Catholic Epistle of St. Jude, which forms part of Holy Writ.  This apostle was the nephew of St. Joseph and thus the legal cousin of Our Lord.  He is referred to by his compatriots, along with his brother St. James, as one of the brethren of Jesus. 

Over the years great popular devotion has grown up around Saint Jude as the Patron Saint of Lost Causes, and praying to Saint Jude has been proven to restore the most difficult of spiritual causes.  He is therefore an important saint in our own times, as we struggle against all odds to preserve the traditions of Holy Church. 

The “City of St. Jude” in Alabama is a Roman Catholic social-service organization that was established in 1937 to provide medical, educational, and spiritual assistance to African Americans in central Alabama.  Founded by Father Harold Purcell, a Catholic priest, the City of St. Jude was the first Catholic institution in the state of Alabama dedicated exclusively to ministering to African Americans. The organization played an important support role during the civil rights movement, and it continues to provide services to African Americans in and around Montgomery.

Not very far away in Memphis, Tennessee, is another famous monument to the beneficence of St. Jude.  It is of course the famous St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital founded by entertainer Danny Thomas as a research hospital, on the premise that "no child should die in the dawn of life".  This idea resulted from a promise that Danny Thomas had made to St. Jude years before the hospital was founded, when Thomas was a struggling comedian, living paycheck to paycheck. When his first child was about to be born, he attended Mass in Detroit and put his last $7 in the offering bin, praying to St. Jude for a means to provide for his family.  A week later, he was offered a job that paid ten times what he had put in the offering bin.  From that time on, Thomas believed in the power of prayer, and promised St. Jude that if he made him successful, he would one day build him a shrine. Years later, Danny Thomas became an extremely successful comedian and built St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as a shrine to St. Jude to honor his promise.

The feastday of Ss. Simon and Jude falls just before the feasts of All Saints, with its Halloween vigil, and All Souls.  From this old association with holy goblins and feasts of the dead, there has come down to us the tradition of preparing a cake often eaten in Scotland and England in honor of the saints Simon and Jude. In Scotland, it is known as a Dirge Cake, in England as a Soul Cake.  Traditionally Christians used to begin to prepare food such as Bread of the Dead and Soul Cakes for the feast of All Souls beginning on the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude. These cakes were given in return for prayers for departed souls.  In some areas people would beg for ingredients to make these cakes on this day.  When All Souls Day arrived, children would go from home to home chanting:

“Soul! Soul! For a souling cake. I pray you, good missus, a souling cake! Apple, or pear, or plum, or cherry Anything good to make us merry.”

From this of course, came the later tradition of “Trick or Treat”, where children dress up in costumes and go from door to door collecting candy.  Why not catholicize this Halloween, and provide Soul Cakes for your little Trick-or-Treaters!  Recipe available upon request.

Comments (0)

The Itinerarium

Father Hall, October 24, 2012

The Itinerarium

The last of October’s Angel Feasts, St. Raphael, occurs today, and our Breviary and Mass readings are replete with quotations from the Book of Tobit.  The story of Tobit and his son Tobias is worthy of a Hollywood movie and I sometimes wonder (though not for very long after I think about Hollywood) why one was never made.

In this story, Tobias is conducted by a young man named Ananias on a journey filled with dangers and adventures.  Among other things, Ananias drives out an evil spirit from the fiancée of Tobias and also rescues Tobias from being devoured by a large fish.  After he safely leads Tobias back home with the means to cure his aged father of blindness, Ananias finally reveals himself to be the Angel Raphael sent from God.  Because of his task in conducting Tobias safely on his adventures and then back home again, St. Raphael has been named by the Church as the Patron of Travelers.

We often invoke St. Raphael and our Guardian Angels to keep us safe on our travels.  After many years of traveling, and many trips in the cars of fellow Catholics, I can vouchsafe that there are dozens of different prayers used to draw down their protection on our journeys.  However, the Church has given us an official Prayer Before a Journey for use at these times, and it is contained in the Roman Breviary.  It is called the Itinerarium.

The Itinerarium is a form of prayer used by monks and clerics before setting out on a journey, and for that reason usually printed at the end of the Breviary, where it can be conveniently found when required.  Most probably the use of such prayers originated in monastic observance.  The early rules of the Fathers of the Desert lay down very specific rules for the behaviour of monks when travelling.  When St. Benedict wrote his Rule he specified that when any of the brethren were to be sent on a journey, they should, before setting out, commend themselves to the prayers of the abbot and community, by whom they were to be remembered daily during their absence from the monastery.  According to monastic tradition, if the absence were to be only a short one, i.e. if they were to return the same or the following day, they merely asked the abbot’s blessing, usually at the conclusion of one of the canonical hours, and then requested the prayers of the community.

But if the journey was, to occupy a longer time, a more solemn form of itinerarium was customary. Kneeling or lying prostrate at the altar steps, some versicles and prayers were recited over them by the abbot, who then dismissed the travellers with his blessing and the kiss of peace.  This was most likely the origin of the itinerarium as we have it at present.  The duty of a community to pray for those who may be travelling is fulfilled at the present day by the versicle Divinum auxilium, (May help divine be with us all, forever abiding) said for absent brethren at the end of each of the canonical hours.  

The inclusion of the Itinerarium in the secular Roman Breviary indicates that its use is at least recommended to all clerics, though not obligatory.  It consists of the canticle Benedictus with antiphon, certain versicles, and several collects.  Two of these latter are very ancient, being found in the Gregorian Sacramentary.

The Itinerarium may be found on our Breviary Online by clicking on the link to Other Prayers of the Roman Breviary and then on the link to Prayer Before a Journey.  Alternatively, enter the following address:

www.breviary.mobi/members/prayers/itinerary.php

Comments (0)

The Venerable English College in Rome

Father Hall, October 23, 2012

About the same time Pope Gregory XIII called on three of his cardinals to establish a commission which would eventually become the Propaganda Fide (see yesterday’s Et Reliqua), he was busy also founding several national “colleges” or seminaries in Rome.  It had been the wish of the Council of Trent to formalize the training of men for the priesthood, and these national seminaries in Rome aimed to provide the highest standards yet for the education of new priests.

One of these seminaries, the English College, was founded in the year 1579 on the site of the English Hospice of St. Thomas.   This ancient hospice had been founded in 1362, thus making the English College in Rome the oldest English institution outside England.

The Hospice of St. Thomas

Rome was, of course, an important centre of pilgrimage, especially with the proclamation of the Holy Years of 1300 and 1350. Over a million pilgrims are reported to have come to Rome during the Jubilee of 1350 and the city seems to have been caught unaware - innkeepers gave rooms designed to accommodate four people to groups of eight or more and often treated the pilgrims with violence and extortion.  A remedy was clearly necessary. By the mid-fourteenth century some of the English in Rome organized themselves into a Society or Guild.  In 1362 an English couple, John and Alice Shepherd, rosary sellers by trade, sold this Guild a house on what is now the Via di Monserrato so as to provide lodgings for English pellegrini and care for the "poor, infirm, needy and wretched persons from England".

The Hospice of St Thomas grew into an important centre for the English in Rome.   In 1376 a chapel was built on the site of the present College church. It attracted royal patronage, and by the reign of Henry VII it had become known as "The King's Hospice", with a warden appointed by the Crown.

The wardens included Thomas Linacre, founder of the Royal College of Physicians, and Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge, Archbishop of York and Papal Legate, who was poisoned by one of his chaplains at the Hospice on 7 July 1514 and whose magnificent tomb remains in the College church to this day.

Foundation of the English College (1579)

The religious settlement of 1559 and the sheer length of Elizabeth I's reign (1558-1603) contributed greatly to the success of the Protestant Reformation in England. The Government hoped that Catholicism would gradually fade from memory as the Marian priests died out and people found compulsory attendance at the parish church a more attractive option to financial penalties or social marginalization. Catholics were still a substantial minority, especially at Court (for example William Byrd, the composer), but they increasingly found it difficult to find priests.

The situation was largely changed by Cardinal William Allen, the founder of a system of English seminaries overseas which would provide the struggling Catholic Church in England with an orthodox education and new blood in the form of priests.  In 1568 he founded the first of these colleges at Douai in Flanders, which already had 240 students by the mid 1570s.  Then, in 1576, he converted the moribund English Hospice in Rome into a seminary.  Its first students arrived there from Douai in 1577 and Gregory XIII issued the Bull of Foundation in 1579.  The Pope gave the new English College a yearly grant and property, including the Abbey of San Savino at Piacenza. Moreover, the tradition of hospitality continued, and the College received many famous guests, among them the poet John Milton (1638).

The College has been known as the "Venerable English College" since 1818 because of the 44 students who were martyred for the Catholic faith between 1581 and 1679, as well as the 130 who suffered imprisonment and exile.  41 of these have since been beatified by the Church.

The College's "Protomartyr" was Blessed Ralph Sherwin.  He was born in Roddesley, Derbyshire, around 1550 and educated at Exeter College, Oxford, before leaving for Douai and then Rome.  His name stands first in the famous Liber Ruber (a list of students who took the missionary oath in Rome before returning to England), where he is recorded as saying that he was ready, "today rather than tomorrow, at a sign from his superiors to go into England for the helping of souls".

His time soon came, and within four months of landing he was captured, imprisoned, tortured and finally hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on 1 December 1581. Many others followed - including the Blessed Robert Southwell, the Jesuit poet (1595) and Blessed Henry Morse, the "Priest of the Plague" (1645). The last College martyrdoms were in 1679 during the anti-Catholic hysteria following the "Popish Plot", when Bl. David Lewis, Bl. John Wall and Bl. Anthony Turner suffered.

The College soon gained a reputation as a nursery of martyrs.  A custom arose of a student preaching before the Pope every St Stephen's Day on the theme of martyrdom - Bl. John Cornelius called the College the "Pontifical Seminary of Martyrs" in his St Stephen's sermon of 1581.  St Philip Neri, the "Second Apostle of Rome", who lived opposite the College at S.Girolamo della Carità, used to greet the students with the words Salvete flores martyrum (Hail! flowers of the martyrs), and the great Oratorian historian, Cardinal Cesare Baronio, paid tribute to the English martyrs in his 1585 revision of the martyrology.  In the College church Pomarancio painted a series of frescoes of English saints and martyrs which began with St Joseph of Arimathea's supposed visit to England and ended with the College martyrs, their sufferings shown in graphic detail. Copies of these frescoes can be seen in the tribune, and afforded important evidence of contemporary veneration of the martyrs during the process of their beatification.

 

"The Martyrs' Picture” is the first thing one notices upon entering the College church. It was painted by Durante Alberti in 1580, just after the foundation of the College, and depicts the Blessed Trinity with two English martyrs:  St Thomas of Canterbury on the left hand side and St Edmund, King of East Anglia, on the right.  Blood from Christ's wounds is shown falling onto a map of the British Isles, and from this blood fire is springing up.  This ties in with the College motto, held by a cherub:  Ignem veni mittere in terram (I have come to bring fire to the earth).  According to tradition, students gathered around this picture to sing a Te Deum whenever news reached Rome of a martyrdom of a former student.  This custom continues today when the Te Deum is sung in front of the painting on 1 December, "Martyrs' Day”.

The Second World War resulted in a period of exile for the College.  Dressed in civilian clothes, the house left Rome on 16 May 1940 and narrowly secured places on the last boat for England from Le Havre, which was about to fall. The College buildings were used as a hospital organized by the Knights of Malta from 1941 to 1944. Students continued classes and seminary life first at Ambleside in the Lake District and then at the Jesuit school of Stonyhurst.  Students returned to Rome in the autumn of 1946.

The English and Welsh bishops stayed at the College during the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), as they had done during the First Vatican Council (1869-70).  I note with dismay that the seminarians today are actually forbidden to wear the cassock when in the seminary, and can’t help wondering what their venerable and blessed predecessors  must be thinking from their thrones in heaven when they see that what was once forbidden in their homeland by heretics and persecutors of the faith is now forbidden by the authorities of the very Church they died for.  How the tables have turned.

 

My recent visit to the Venerable English College was fortunately not fraught with danger in spite of my cassock, and I was swiftly shown into the chapel which is worth a side trip for anyone who happens to be visiting Rome.    Recently restored, the chapel reveals all its glory with lighting arranged most tastefully and to full effect.  Like so many ancient Roman churches, the symmetry and artistic beauty has been completely upset by the removal of the old altar and its replacement by a functional modern block protruding in the middle of the sanctuary like a pimple on the Mona Lisa.  One has to try and put it out of mind, and instead look up to the exquisite architecture of the rest of the chapel.  It is interesting that no pictures are on display showing what the chapel looked like before the post Vatican II philistines did their ugly work.  One is reminded of Orwell’s 1984 and the deliberate destruction of historical evidence.  A certain amount of hope may be attached to the fact that many of the young seminarians today are far more Catholic in their attitudes, outlook and indeed, faith, than their tired old liberal professors who wore out their welcome long ago.

In short, it was delightful to see the results of the restoration work to the chapel and its artwork.  But we would now like to see a similar restoration of the traditional Mass and the Faith that goes with it.  Let’s start by heaving out  that ugly butcher’s block of an altar, and digging up the old one from its resting place.  Then maybe the English Martyrs will once again smile down on their Alma Mater and bestow their much needed blessings for the conversion of England. 

Our thanks to the website of the Venerable English College, from which much of the above history was lifted.

Comments (0)

Mission Sunday & Propaganda Fide

Father Hall, October 22, 2012

Apart from being the 21^st Sunday after Pentecost yesterday, it was also the second last Sunday in October.  This Sunday has been designated by Pope Pius XI as Mission Sunday.  On this day we pray for the advancement of the work of the Propagation of the Faith, or Propaganda Fide, and some of you may have noticed the addition of a fourth Collect at Mass for this very reason.  The Church further emphasizes the importance of its missionary work by granting a Plenary Indulgence on Mission Sunday to all the faithful who approach the Sacrament and pray for the conversion of unbelievers.

The Church’s missionary work falls under the jurisdiction of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, known for short as Propaganda Fide.  It has its headquarters on the site of the former Palazzo Ferratini on the south side of the Piazza di Spagna in Rome, and close to the famous Spanish Steps.  The Palace is one of the few remaining buildings in Rome outside Vatican City which is still considered Vatican territory and not Italian.

 

In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Rome saw clearly the ever-greater need to provide an organized Congregation that would oversee the spread of Catholicism around the globe.  The faith had been severely eroded in Europe thanks to the protestant revolt, and now to make matters worse, two of the countries who had left the faith, England and Holland, were establishing huge global empires and spreading their errors across the world.  Pope Gregory XIII (1572-85) established a commission of three cardinals whose chief task was to promote the union of the oriental churches with Rome.  They had some success with the return to Rome of the nation of Ruthenia.

Although it had already been functioning in a semi-informal manner, it was Pope Gregory XV (1621-23) who officially founded the Congregation as the overseer of missionary work on behalf of the various missionary institutions.  It was, appropriately enough, on the feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 1622 that Pope Gregory summoned thirteen cardinals and two prelates, and gave them the task of organizing and running the new Congregation.  Sadly, he died before the work had been completed.  However, his successor, Urban VIII (1623-44), who as Cardinal Barberini had been one of the thirteen founding cardinals, was committed to the completion of his predecessor’s project.    

Urban VIII was inspired by the success of the various national colleges in Rome which had been founded after the Council of Trent to train priests who had no seminaries in their own country.  The English College in Rome is one famous example, and after ordination, its priests would be smuggled into the virulently anti-Catholic England of the first Queen Elizabeth, often to meet their death on Tyburn Tree.  Hoping to apply the success of these national seminaries in a wider sphere, Pope Urban founded a missionary seminary in Rome in 1627, which was named the Collegium Urbanum after him, and which was placed under the direction of Propaganda Fide.  The work of the Congregation began to spread quickly, and eventually had to be divided amongst a variety of smaller commissions, although still under the umbrella of Propaganda Fide.

At first, the work of the Congregation was extended to almost all countries that were non-Catholic.  Thus the United States and Canada, Great Britain, the protestant kingdoms, principalities and duchies of what is now Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland, Scandinavia, Holland and so on, were all territories under the charge of Propaganda Fide.  Eventually in 1908, Pope St. Pius X removed countries that had their own Catholic hierarchy established, and so the USA, Canada, Britain and Holland left the list of nations under the care of the Congregation.  This might explain why I could not get directions to the English College in Rome when I knocked on the door of the Palace of the Propaganda Fide a couple of weeks ago.  The guard was very pleasant and was able to give good directions to some of the better local restaurants.  But even when he called inside the palace on his cell phone to ask around, alas, the location of one of the greatest of the national missionary colleges was now unknown to the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda Fide.

Inside the Palace today, the Congregation possesses an important cabinet of medals and many ethnological curiosities sent as gifts by missionaries in far distant lands.  Scattered through the Palace of Propaganda are many valuable paintings of the old masters.  Propaganda also conducted, until the early twentieth century, the famous Polyglot printing press whence, for some centuries, issued liturgical and catechetical books, printed in a multitude of alphabets. Among its most noteworthy curios is a Japanese alphabet in wooden blocks, one of the first seen in Europe.

The Catholic Encyclopedia notes the following noteworthy customs of the Propaganda Fide, although it is unclear if these traditions have survived to the present day:

“One of the customs of Propaganda, worthy of special mention, is the gift of a fan to all employees at the beginning of the summer. This custom appears to have arisen in the early days, when fans were sent from China by the missionaries.  It is customary for the Urban College to hold, at Epiphany, a solemn "Accademia Polyglotta", to symbolize the world-wide unity of the Catholic Church. At this accademia the Propaganda students recite poems in their respective mother tongues. Invited guests always find it very interesting to listen to this medley of the strangest languages and dialects. Another custom of the Urban College is that every graduate student (alumno), wherever he may be in the pursuit of his ministry, is bound to write every year a letter to the cardinal prefect, to let him know how the writer's work is progressing and how he fares himself. The cardinal answers immediately, in a letter of paternal encouragement and counsel. By this means there is maintained a bond of affection and of mutual goodwill between the "great mother" — as the "Propagandists", or the alumni of Propaganda, designate the congregation — and her most distant sons.”

In 1982 John Paul II renamed Propaganda Fide, and it is known today as the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.  Although it claims to maintain its original mission unbroken, the emphasis these days appears to be directed away from the conversion of protestants and other non-Catholics, and more towards the spread of the faith among the far-flung pagan tribes of the various third world countries.  Of course other more trendy notions have crept in to the work of Propaganda, and social issues such as the spread of democracy and women’s rights appear to be gaining prominence.  We shall leave history to resolve this mounting problem.

Our own Confraternity of Ss. Peter & Paul is very much concerned with the conversion of non-Catholics, and we observe the Chair of Unity Octave in January in a very special way.  We are chiefly concerned these days with the spread of modernism within the Church, and ask you during this week following Mission Sunday to pray for the conversion of modernists everywhere, and especially those within the clergy and hierarchy of the Church.  There is urgent work remaining for Propaganda Fide, and unfortunately they no longer need to look far beyond the Spanish Steps to find it.

Comments (0)

Next Page