Mary Heimann
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205975
- eISBN:
- 9780191676888
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205975.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, History of Religion
This chapter discusses the gap in the historiography of nineteenth-century English Catholicism. It enumerates some of the reasons why Catholic devotion in England lacked attention. The first is ...
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This chapter discusses the gap in the historiography of nineteenth-century English Catholicism. It enumerates some of the reasons why Catholic devotion in England lacked attention. The first is because the subject concerns the most intimate and elusive phenomenon of the spirituality of man, and the second is more idiosyncratic to the field of Catholic history in England. The chapter also looks at the ‘second-spring’ view of English Catholicism during the nineteenth century, Irish Catholicism, liberalism, ultramontanism, revivalism, and the lack of devotional categories.Less
This chapter discusses the gap in the historiography of nineteenth-century English Catholicism. It enumerates some of the reasons why Catholic devotion in England lacked attention. The first is because the subject concerns the most intimate and elusive phenomenon of the spirituality of man, and the second is more idiosyncratic to the field of Catholic history in England. The chapter also looks at the ‘second-spring’ view of English Catholicism during the nineteenth century, Irish Catholicism, liberalism, ultramontanism, revivalism, and the lack of devotional categories.
Karin Vélez
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691174006
- eISBN:
- 9780691184494
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691174006.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
In 1295, a house fell from the evening sky onto an Italian coastal road by the Adriatic Sea. Inside, awestruck locals encountered the Virgin Mary, who explained that this humble mud-brick structure ...
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In 1295, a house fell from the evening sky onto an Italian coastal road by the Adriatic Sea. Inside, awestruck locals encountered the Virgin Mary, who explained that this humble mud-brick structure was her original residence newly arrived from Nazareth. To keep it from the hands of Muslim invaders, angels had flown it to Loreto, stopping three times along the way. This story of the house of Loreto has been read as an allegory of how Catholicism spread peacefully around the world by dropping miraculously from the heavens. This book calls that interpretation into question by examining historical accounts of the movement of the Holy House across the Mediterranean in the thirteenth century and the Atlantic in the seventeenth century. These records indicate vast and voluntary involvement in the project of formulating a branch of Catholic devotion. The book surveys the efforts of European Jesuits, Slavic migrants, and indigenous peoples in Baja California, Canada, and Peru. These individuals contributed to the expansion of Catholicism by acting as unofficial authors, inadvertent pilgrims, unlicensed architects, unacknowledged artists, and unsolicited cataloguers of Loreto. Their participation in portaging Mary's house challenges traditional views of Christianity as a prepackaged European export, and instead suggests that Christianity is the cumulative product of thousands of self-appointed editors. The book also demonstrates how miracle narratives can be treated seriously as historical sources that preserve traces of real events. Drawing on rich archival materials, the book illustrates how global Catholicism proliferated through independent initiatives of untrained laymen.Less
In 1295, a house fell from the evening sky onto an Italian coastal road by the Adriatic Sea. Inside, awestruck locals encountered the Virgin Mary, who explained that this humble mud-brick structure was her original residence newly arrived from Nazareth. To keep it from the hands of Muslim invaders, angels had flown it to Loreto, stopping three times along the way. This story of the house of Loreto has been read as an allegory of how Catholicism spread peacefully around the world by dropping miraculously from the heavens. This book calls that interpretation into question by examining historical accounts of the movement of the Holy House across the Mediterranean in the thirteenth century and the Atlantic in the seventeenth century. These records indicate vast and voluntary involvement in the project of formulating a branch of Catholic devotion. The book surveys the efforts of European Jesuits, Slavic migrants, and indigenous peoples in Baja California, Canada, and Peru. These individuals contributed to the expansion of Catholicism by acting as unofficial authors, inadvertent pilgrims, unlicensed architects, unacknowledged artists, and unsolicited cataloguers of Loreto. Their participation in portaging Mary's house challenges traditional views of Christianity as a prepackaged European export, and instead suggests that Christianity is the cumulative product of thousands of self-appointed editors. The book also demonstrates how miracle narratives can be treated seriously as historical sources that preserve traces of real events. Drawing on rich archival materials, the book illustrates how global Catholicism proliferated through independent initiatives of untrained laymen.
Hillary Kaell
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469625294
- eISBN:
- 9781469625317
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469625294.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
While it is generally assumed that the Second Vatican Council did not leave much room for public devotion outside the reformed and newly endorsed patterns of the Catholic liturgy, laid out in the ...
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While it is generally assumed that the Second Vatican Council did not leave much room for public devotion outside the reformed and newly endorsed patterns of the Catholic liturgy, laid out in the Constitution on the sacred liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), the present essay shows a remarkable case of the survival and transformation of a preconciliar devotional practice. The 3,000 crosses that still decorate the landscape in the Canadian province of Quebec are being maintained and taken care of by Catholic laypeople. In a complex process of selective (re)interpretation and (re)negotiation of what they see as key concepts of the Council–such as lay participation, openness to the world, and a positive attitude toward non-Catholics and non-Christians–these Quebeckers succeed in making the crosses into a new, revitalized expression of their postconciliar religiosity and their own distinct Catholic identity, with little interference from the Church authorities.Less
While it is generally assumed that the Second Vatican Council did not leave much room for public devotion outside the reformed and newly endorsed patterns of the Catholic liturgy, laid out in the Constitution on the sacred liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), the present essay shows a remarkable case of the survival and transformation of a preconciliar devotional practice. The 3,000 crosses that still decorate the landscape in the Canadian province of Quebec are being maintained and taken care of by Catholic laypeople. In a complex process of selective (re)interpretation and (re)negotiation of what they see as key concepts of the Council–such as lay participation, openness to the world, and a positive attitude toward non-Catholics and non-Christians–these Quebeckers succeed in making the crosses into a new, revitalized expression of their postconciliar religiosity and their own distinct Catholic identity, with little interference from the Church authorities.
Mary Lowe-Evans
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813032856
- eISBN:
- 9780813038643
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813032856.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the influence of Catholic nostalgia on the works of Irish author James Joyce. This book identifies the specific Catholic ...
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This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the influence of Catholic nostalgia on the works of Irish author James Joyce. This book identifies the specific Catholic rituals and devotions that caused a nostalgic reaction in Joyce and suggests that his depiction of Catholic issues in his work has inspired in his readers an enduring admiration for institutional Catholicism. It also explores the influence of Joyce on subsequent writers, including Flannery O'Connor and Thomas Merton.Less
This introductory chapter explains the coverage of this book, which is about the influence of Catholic nostalgia on the works of Irish author James Joyce. This book identifies the specific Catholic rituals and devotions that caused a nostalgic reaction in Joyce and suggests that his depiction of Catholic issues in his work has inspired in his readers an enduring admiration for institutional Catholicism. It also explores the influence of Joyce on subsequent writers, including Flannery O'Connor and Thomas Merton.
Kenneth Fincham and Nicholas Tyacke
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207009
- eISBN:
- 9780191677434
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207009.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History, History of Religion
Because of the Reformation during the sixteenth century, parishes of England experienced how symbols of Catholic devotion were torn down and burned. The Catholic mass — including the priests' ...
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Because of the Reformation during the sixteenth century, parishes of England experienced how symbols of Catholic devotion were torn down and burned. The Catholic mass — including the priests' decorated vestments and the altars — was under attack, as was the importance and focus given to the notion of consecrated bread and wine that supposedly represents the body and blood of Christ. Along with idolatry, sacrifice — which could be in the form of thanksgiving, benevolence and liberality to the poor, and the mortifying of one's own body — was also a major target. After Edward VI's reign, the English version of the bible and the pulpit became the new icons during that period. This era also offered the basis for the Elizabethan settlement in the 1560s.Less
Because of the Reformation during the sixteenth century, parishes of England experienced how symbols of Catholic devotion were torn down and burned. The Catholic mass — including the priests' decorated vestments and the altars — was under attack, as was the importance and focus given to the notion of consecrated bread and wine that supposedly represents the body and blood of Christ. Along with idolatry, sacrifice — which could be in the form of thanksgiving, benevolence and liberality to the poor, and the mortifying of one's own body — was also a major target. After Edward VI's reign, the English version of the bible and the pulpit became the new icons during that period. This era also offered the basis for the Elizabethan settlement in the 1560s.
Nathan D. Mitchell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814795910
- eISBN:
- 9780814764497
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814795910.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Ever since its appearance in Europe five centuries ago, the rosary has been a widespread, highly visible symbol of devotion among Roman Catholics. In form, the rosary consists of a ritually repeated ...
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Ever since its appearance in Europe five centuries ago, the rosary has been a widespread, highly visible symbol of devotion among Roman Catholics. In form, the rosary consists of a ritually repeated sequence of prayers accompanied by meditations on episodes in the lives of Christ and Mary. It is beloved by popes, professors, protesters, commuters on their way to work, children learning their “first prayers,” and homeless persons seeking shelter and safety. Why has this particular devotional object been so ubiquitous and resilient, especially in the face of Catholicism's reinvention in the Early Modern, or “Counter-Reformation,” Era? This book argues that to understand the rosary's adaptability, it is essential to consider the changes Catholicism itself began to experience in the aftermath of the Reformation. The book argues that after the Reformation Catholicism actually became more innovative and diversified rather than retrenched and monolithic. This innovation was especially evident in the sometimes “subversive,” visual representations of sacred subjects, such as in the paintings of Caravaggio, and in new ways of perceiving the relation between Catholic devotion and the liturgy's ritual symbols. The rosary was thus involved not only in how Catholics gave flesh to their faith, but in new ways of constructing their personal and collective identity. Ultimately, the book employs the history of the rosary, and the concomitant devotion to the Virgin Mary with which it is associated, as a lens through which to better understand early modern Catholic history.Less
Ever since its appearance in Europe five centuries ago, the rosary has been a widespread, highly visible symbol of devotion among Roman Catholics. In form, the rosary consists of a ritually repeated sequence of prayers accompanied by meditations on episodes in the lives of Christ and Mary. It is beloved by popes, professors, protesters, commuters on their way to work, children learning their “first prayers,” and homeless persons seeking shelter and safety. Why has this particular devotional object been so ubiquitous and resilient, especially in the face of Catholicism's reinvention in the Early Modern, or “Counter-Reformation,” Era? This book argues that to understand the rosary's adaptability, it is essential to consider the changes Catholicism itself began to experience in the aftermath of the Reformation. The book argues that after the Reformation Catholicism actually became more innovative and diversified rather than retrenched and monolithic. This innovation was especially evident in the sometimes “subversive,” visual representations of sacred subjects, such as in the paintings of Caravaggio, and in new ways of perceiving the relation between Catholic devotion and the liturgy's ritual symbols. The rosary was thus involved not only in how Catholics gave flesh to their faith, but in new ways of constructing their personal and collective identity. Ultimately, the book employs the history of the rosary, and the concomitant devotion to the Virgin Mary with which it is associated, as a lens through which to better understand early modern Catholic history.
Diana Walsh Pasulka
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780195382020
- eISBN:
- 9780190206826
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195382020.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The life and works of Irish immigrant to the United States John England illustrate how the doctrine of purgatory was severed from its location at Lough Derg. England was influenced by the ...
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The life and works of Irish immigrant to the United States John England illustrate how the doctrine of purgatory was severed from its location at Lough Derg. England was influenced by the philosophical values of the French Enlightenment. He started an American press and published one of the longest-running Catholic periodicals in the United States, The Catholic Miscellany. In The Catholic Miscellany, purgatory is represented as a condition of the soul, and its spatial features are eradicated entirely. This version of purgatory gained popularity and was often posited as a counter to elaborate descriptions of souls on fire. John England’s work regarding purgatory is representative of the development that represents purgatory as a condition or state of soul, and not as a visceral place of punishment.Less
The life and works of Irish immigrant to the United States John England illustrate how the doctrine of purgatory was severed from its location at Lough Derg. England was influenced by the philosophical values of the French Enlightenment. He started an American press and published one of the longest-running Catholic periodicals in the United States, The Catholic Miscellany. In The Catholic Miscellany, purgatory is represented as a condition of the soul, and its spatial features are eradicated entirely. This version of purgatory gained popularity and was often posited as a counter to elaborate descriptions of souls on fire. John England’s work regarding purgatory is representative of the development that represents purgatory as a condition or state of soul, and not as a visceral place of punishment.
Nathan D. Mitchell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814795910
- eISBN:
- 9780814764497
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814795910.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book addresses the following question: How does one account for the rosary's ubiquity, durability, and resilience? The ...
More
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book addresses the following question: How does one account for the rosary's ubiquity, durability, and resilience? The book does not reconsider the medieval origins of the rosary, but begins in earnest with the enhanced status and popularity of the rosary among Roman Catholics, particularly after the Christian military victory over Ottoman forces at Lepanto, off western Greece, in 1571. It argues that the rosary survived and flourished because it was able to absorb the reframings of reform, representation, ritual, religious identity, and devotion that came to characterize early modern Catholicism and that have continued to shape Catholic piety and practice to the present day.Less
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book addresses the following question: How does one account for the rosary's ubiquity, durability, and resilience? The book does not reconsider the medieval origins of the rosary, but begins in earnest with the enhanced status and popularity of the rosary among Roman Catholics, particularly after the Christian military victory over Ottoman forces at Lepanto, off western Greece, in 1571. It argues that the rosary survived and flourished because it was able to absorb the reframings of reform, representation, ritual, religious identity, and devotion that came to characterize early modern Catholicism and that have continued to shape Catholic piety and practice to the present day.
Salvador Ryan
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719097317
- eISBN:
- 9781781708569
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719097317.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
Here the issue of cultural Catholicism is examined for late medieval Ireland c. 1200-c1550, by way of devotional cults and practices. Such evidence as survives allows us to draw some conclusions ...
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Here the issue of cultural Catholicism is examined for late medieval Ireland c. 1200-c1550, by way of devotional cults and practices. Such evidence as survives allows us to draw some conclusions about the distinctive religious practices among the two major groups living in Ireland at that time: the Gaelic Irish and the Anglo-Norman Irish. Despite different devotional tendencies in each community it is clear that facile distinctions based on ethic group must be avoided in order to judge Irish Catholicism within the broader context of European Catholicism as a whole. The essay also examines the issue of how different the idea of identity was for the average of the Anglo-Irish inhabitant of the Pale, from that of English visitors, or indeed of the ‘mere’ Irish within the Pale and those who lived beyond it.Less
Here the issue of cultural Catholicism is examined for late medieval Ireland c. 1200-c1550, by way of devotional cults and practices. Such evidence as survives allows us to draw some conclusions about the distinctive religious practices among the two major groups living in Ireland at that time: the Gaelic Irish and the Anglo-Norman Irish. Despite different devotional tendencies in each community it is clear that facile distinctions based on ethic group must be avoided in order to judge Irish Catholicism within the broader context of European Catholicism as a whole. The essay also examines the issue of how different the idea of identity was for the average of the Anglo-Irish inhabitant of the Pale, from that of English visitors, or indeed of the ‘mere’ Irish within the Pale and those who lived beyond it.
