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PATRIMONY

his people would be gathered into heaven as would cover the land and sea as far as his vision could reach. Far more ample, however, were the aspirations of the saint, and he resolved to persevere in fasting and prayer until the fullest measure of his petition was granted. Again and again the angel came to comfort him, announcing new concessions; but all these would not suffice. He would not relinquish his post on the mountain, or relax his penance, until all were granted. At length the message came that his prayers were heard: (1) many souls would be freed from the pains of purgatory through his intercession; (2) whoever in a spirit of penance would recite his hymn before death would attain the heavenly reward; (3) barbarian hordes would never obtain sway in his Church; (4) seven years before the Judgment Day, the sea would spread over Ireland to save its people from the temptations and terrors of Antichrist; and (5) greatest blessing of all, Patrick himself would be deputed to judge the whole Irish race on the last day. Such were the extraordinary favours which St. Patrick, with his wrestling with the Most High, his unceasing prayers, his unconquerable love of heavenly things, and his unremitting penitential deeds, obtained for the people whom he evangelized.

It is sometimes supposed that St. Patrick's apostolate in Ireland was an unbroken series of peaceful triumphs, and yet it was quite the reverse. No storm of persecution was, indeed stirred up to assail the infant Church, but the saint himself was subjected to frequent trials at the hands of the druids and of other enemies of the Faith. He tells us in his "Confessio" that no fewer than twelve times he and his companions were seized and carried off as captives, and on one occasion in particular he was loaded with chains, and his death was decreed. But from all these trials and sufferings he was liberated by a benign Providence. It is on account of the many hardships which he endured for the Faith that, in some of the ancient Martyrologies, he is honoured as a martyr. St. Patrick, having now completed his triumph over Paganism, and gathered Ireland into the fold of Christ, prepared for the summons to his reward. St. Brigid came to him with her chosen virgins, bringing the shroud in which he would be enshrined. It is recorded that when St. Patrick and St. Brigid were united in their last prayer, a special vision was shown to him. He saw the whole of Ireland lit up with the brightest rays of Divine Faith. This continued for centuries, and then clouds gathered around the devoted island, and, little by little, the religious glory faded away, until, in the course of centuries, it was only in remotest valleys that some glimmer of its light remained. St. Patrick prayed that that light would never be extinguished, and, as he prayed, the angel came to him and said: "Fear not; your apostolate shall never cease.' As he thus prayed, the glimmering light grew in brightness, and ceased not until once more all the hills and valleys of Ireland were lit up in their pristine splendour, and then the angel announced to St. Patrick: "Such shall be the abiding splendour of Divine truth in Ireland." At Saul (Sabhall), St. Patrick received the summons to his reward on 17 March, 493. St. Tassach administered the last sacraments to him. His remains were wrapped in the shroud woven by St. Brigid's own hands. The bishops and clergy and faithful people from all parts crowded around his remains to pay due honour to the Father of their Faith. Some of the ancient Lives record that for several days the light of heaven shone around his bier. His remains were interred at the chieftain's Dun or Fort two miles from Saul, where in after times arose the cathedral of Down.

WRITINGS OF ST. PATRICK.-The "Confessio" and the "Epistola ad Coroticum" are recognized by all modern critical writers as of unquestionable genuineness. The best edition, with text, translation, and

critical notes, is by Rev. Dr. White for the Royal
Irish Academy, in 1905. The 34 canons of a synod
held before the year 460 by St. Patrick, Auxilius, and
Isserninus, though rejected by Todd and Haddan,
have been placed by Professor Bury beyond the reach
of controversy. Another series of 31 ecclesiastical
canons entitled "Synodus secunda Patritii", though
unquestionably of Irish origin and dating before the
close of the seventh century, is generally considered to
be of a later date than St. Patrick. Two tracts (in
P. L., LIII), entitled "De abusionibus sæculi", and
"De tribus habitaculis", were composed by St.
Patrick in Irish and translated into Latin at a later
period. Passages from them are assigned to St.
Patrick in the "Collectio Hibernensis Canonum",
which is of unquestionable authority and dates from
the year 700 (Wasserschleben, 2nd ed., 1885). This
"Collectio Hibernensis" also assigns to St. Patrick the
famous synodical decree: "Si quæ quæstiones in hac
insula oriantur, ad Sedem Apostolicam referantur."
(If any difficulties arise in this island, let them be re-
ferred to the Apostolic See). The beautiful prayer,
known as "Faeth Fiada", or the "Lorica of St.
Patrick" (St. Patrick's Breast-Plate), first edited by
Petrie in his "History of Tara", is now universally
accepted as genuine. The "Dicta Sancti Patritii", or
brief sayings of the saint, preserved in the "Book of
Armagh", are accurately edited by Fr. Hogan, S.J.,
in "Documenta de S. Patritio" (Brussels, 1884). The
old Irish text of "The Rule of Patrick" has been
edited by O'Keeffe, and the translation by Archbishop
Healy in the appendix to his Life of St. Patrick (Dub-
lin, 1905). It is a tract of venerable antiquity, and
embodies the teaching of the saint.

The Trias thaumaturga (fol., Louvain, 1647) of the Franciscan
COLGAN is the most complete collection of the ancient Lives of the
saint. The Kenmare Life of St. Patrick (CUSACK, Dublin, 1869)
presents from the pen of HENNESSY the translation of the Irish
WHITLEY STOKES, in the
Tripartite Life, with copious notes.
Rolls Series (London, 1887), has given the text and translation of
the Vita Tripartita, together with many original documents from
The most noteworthy
the Book of Armagh and other sources.
works of later years are SHEARMAN, Loca Patriciana (Dublin,
BURY, Life of St. Patrick (London, 1905); HEALY, The Life and
1879); TODD, St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland (Dublin, 1864)
Writings of St. Patrick (Dublin, 1905).

PATRICK FRANCIS CARDINAL MORAN. Patrimony of Saint Peter. See STATES OF THE CHURCH.

Patripassians. See MONARCHIANS.

Patristics. See FATHERS OF THE CHURCH; PA

TROLOGY.

Patrizi, FRANCIS XAVIER, Jesuit exegete, b. at Rome, 19 June, 1797; d. there 23 April, 1881. He was the eldest son and heir of the Roman Count Patrizi, entered the Society of Jesus 12 Nov., 1814, was ordained priest in 1824, and soon became professor of Sacred Scripture and Hebrew in the Roman College. The revolution of 1848 caused Patrizi and his fellow professor Perrone to take refuge in England. Here, and afterwards at Louvain, Patrizi taught Scripture to the Jesuit scholastics. When peace was restored at Rome, he again began to lecture in the Roman College, The revolution of 1870 ended his career as a teacher, and he found a home in the German-Hungarian College of Rome, remaining there till death.

He wrote twenty-one Biblical and ascetical works. Of the former the most important are: "De interpre(2 vols., Rome, 1844); tatione scripturarum sacrarum "De consensu utriusque libri Machabæorum" (Rome, 1856); "De Evangeliis" (3 vols., Freiburg im Breisgau, 1853); "In Joannem commentarium" (Rome, 1857); "In Marcum commentarium" (Rome, 1862); "In actus Apostolorum commentarium" (Rome, 1867); "Cento salmi tradotti letteralmente dal testo ebraico e commentati" (Rome, 1875); "De interpretatione oraculorum ad Christum pertinentium" (Rome, 1853); "De immaculata Mariæ origine" (Rome, 1853);

"Delle parole di San Paolo: In quo omnes peccaverunt" (Rome, 1876). His Latin is classic, but only the earnest Biblical student appreciates the immense erudition of his heavily burdened sentences. No one has better stated the rules of sane interpretation and illustrated those rules in practice. His master-work on interpretation has gone through many editions. The Gospel commentaries are meant especially to refute the rationalistic errors of the time.

HURTER in Kirchenlexikon, s. v.; SOMMERVOGEL, Bibliothèque de la C. de J., VI, 366–69; Civiltà Cattolica, 11th series, VI, 491. WALTER DRUM.

Patrology, the study of the writings of the Fathers of the Church, has more commonly been known in England as "patristics", or, more commonly still, as "patristic study". Some writers, chiefly in Germany, have distinguished between patrologia and patristica: Fessler, for instance, defines patrologia as the science which provides all that is necessary for the using of the works of the Fathers, dealing, therefore, with their authority, the criteria for judging their genuineness, the difficulties to be met with in them, and the rules for their use. But Fessler's own "Institutiones Patrologia" has a larger range, as have similar works entitled Patrologies, of which the most serviceable is that of Bardenhewer (tr. Shahan, Freiburg, 1908). On the other hand, Fessler describes patristica as that theological science by which all that concerns faith, morals, or discipline in the writings of the Fathers is collected and sorted. Lastly, the lives and works of the Fathers are described by another science: literary history. These distinctions are not much observed, nor do they seem very necessary; they are nothing else than aspects of patristic study as it forms part of fundamental theology, of positive theology, and of literary history. Another meaning of the word patrologia has come to it from the title of the great collections of the complete works of the Fathers published by the Abbé Migne (q. v.), "Patrologia Latina”, 221 vols., and "Patrologia Græca", 161

vols.

For bibliography see FATHERS OF THE CHURCH.

JOHN CHAPMAN.

Patronage of Our Lady, FEAST OF THE.-It was first permitted by Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, 6 May, 1679, for all the provinces of Spain, in memory of the victories obtained over the Saracens, heretics, and other enemies from the sixth century to the reign of Philip IV. Benedict XII ordered it to be kept in the Papal States on the third Sunday of November. To other places it is granted, on request, for some Sunday in November, to be designated by the ordinary. The Office is taken entirely from the Common of the Blessed Virgin, and the Mass is the "Salve sancta parens". In many places the feast of the Patronage is held with an additional title of Queen of All Saints, of Mercy, Mother of Graces. The Greeks have no feast of this kind, but the Ruthenians, followed by all the Slavs of the Greek Rite, have a feast, called "Patrocinii sanctissimæ Domina" etc., or Pokrov Bogorodicy, on 1 October, which, however, would seem to correspond more with our Feast of the Scapular.

NILLES, Kalendarium Manuale, II, 532; BENEDICT XIV, De festis, II, §§173, 174; MARTINOV, Précis historiques (1858), July. FRANCIS MERSHMAN.

Patronage of St. Joseph, FEAST OF THE. JOSEPH, SAINT.

See

Patron and Patronage.-I. By the right of patronage (ius patronatus) is understood a determinate sum of rights and obligations entailed upon a definite person, the patron, especially in connexion with the assignment and administration of a benefice; not in virtue of his hierarchical position, but by the legally regulated grant of the Church, out of gratitude

towards her benefactor. Inasmuch as the rights of the patron pertain to the spiritual order, the right of patronage is designated in the decretals as ius spirituali annexum, and is therefore subject to ecclesiastical legislation and jurisdiction. Since, however, the question of property rights is also involved, a far-reaching influence is wielded to-day by civil laws and civil courts in matters pertaining to patronage.

II. In the Oriental Church the founder of a church was permitted to nominate an administrator for the temporal goods and indicate to the bishop a cleric suitable for appointment (L. 46, C. de episc. I, 3. Nov. LVII, c. 2). In the Western Church the Synod of Orange (441) granted such a right of presentation to a bishop who had built a church in another diocese (c. i, C. XVI, q. 5) and the Synod of Toledo (655) gave a layman this privilege for each church erected by him (c. 32, C. XVI, q. 7). But the founder had no proprietary rights (c. 31, C. XVI, q. 7). In the countries occupied by the Germanic tribes, on the basis of the individual temple and church rights found in their national laws, the builder of a church, the feudal lord, or the administrator possessed full right of disposal over the church founded or possessed by him, as his own church (ecclesia propria) and over the ecclesiastics appointed by him, whom he could dismiss at pleasure. To obviate the drawbacks connected with this, the appointment and dismissal of ecclesiastics at least formally was made subject to the consent of the bishop (c. 37, Č. XVI, q. 7). In the course of the Conflict of Investitures, however, the private right over churches was abolished, although to the lord of the estate, as patron, was conceded the right as ius spirituali ansentandi) on the occasion of a vacancy in the church nexum of presenting a cleric to the bishop (ius præ(c. 13, C. XVI, q. 7; C. 5, 16, X de iure patronatus, III, 38).

III. The right of patronage may be: personal (ius paironatus personale) or real (reale); spiritual (ecclehereditary (hæreditarium), or restricted to the family, siasticum; clericale), or lay (laicale), or mixed (mixtum); or even to a definite person (familiare; personalissimum); individual (singulare) or shared (ius compatronatus); complete (plenum) or diminished (minus plenum). A personal right of patronage is peculiar to a person as such, while a real right of patronage belongs to one in possession for the time being of something with which a patronage is connected, provided of course that he is qualified for the possession of the right of patronage. A spiritual patronage is one belonging to the incumbent of an ecclesiastical office, or established by the foundation of a church or a benefice out of ecclesiastical funds, or instituted by a layman and later presented to the Church. Thus the patronages in possession of secularized bishoprics, monasteries, and ecclesiastical foundations are regarded as spiritual. A lay patronage is established when an ecclesiastical office is endowed by anyone out of private means. A patronage is mixed when held in common by the incumbent of an ecclesiastical office and a layman.

IV. Any church benefice, with the exception of the papacy, the cardinalate, the episcopate, and the prelatures of cathedral, collegiate, and monastic churches, may be the object of the right of patronage. All persons and corporate bodies may be subject to the right of patronage. But persons, besides being capable of exercising the right, must be members of the Church. Thus heathens, Jews, heretics, schismatics, and apostates are ineligible for any sort of patronage, even real. Nevertheless in Germany and Austria it has become customary as a result of the Peace of Westphalia, for Protestants to possess the rights of patronage over Catholic, and Catholics over Protestant church offices. In modern concordats Rome has repeatedly granted the right of patronage to Protestant princes. Entirely ineligible for patronage are the excommunicati vitandi

(the excommunicati tolerati are able at least to acquire it), and those who are infamous according to ecclesiastical or civil law. On the other hand, illegitimates, children, minors, and women may acquire patronages. V. A right of patronage comes into existence or is originally acquired by foundation, privilege, or prescription. Under foundation or fundatio in the broader sense is included the granting of the necessary means for the erection and maintenance of a benefice. Thus, granting that a church is necessary to a benefice, three things are requisite: the assignment of land (fundatio in the narrow sense), the erection of the church at one's private expense (ædificatio), and the granting of the means necessary for the support of the church and beneficiaries (dotatio). If the same person fulfils all three requirements, he becomes ipso jure patron, unless he waives his claim (c. 25, X de iure patr. III, 38). Whence the saying: Patronum faciunt dos, ædificatio, fundus. Different persons performing these three acts become co-patrons. It is an accepted theory that one who is responsible for only one of the three acts mentioned, the other two conditions being fulfilled in any manner whatsoever, becomes a patron. It is possible to become a patron also through the reædificatio ecclesiæ and redotatio beneficii. A second manner in which a patronage may be acquired is through papal privilege. A third is by prescription.

VI. Derivatively, a patronage may be obtained through inheritance ex testamento or ex intestato, in which case a patronage may easily become a co-patronage; by presentation, in which a lay patron must have the sanction of the bishop if he desires to transfer his right to another layman, but an ecclesiastic requires the permission of the pope to present it to a layman, or that of the bishop to give it to another ecclesiastic (c. un. Extrav. comm. de rebus eccl. non alien. III, 4). Furthermore an already existing right of patronage may be acquired by exchange, by purchase, or by prescription. In exchange or purchase of a real patronage the price of the object in question may not be raised in consideration of the patronage; the right of patronage being a ius spirituali annexum, such a thing would be simony. That the ruler of a country may acquire the right of patronage in any of the three ways mentioned, like any other member of the Church, goes without saying. On the other hand, it would be false to teach, as did the Josephinists and representatives of the "Illuminati", that the sovereign possesses the right of patronage merely by being ruler of the country, or that he receives the patronage of bishoprics, monasteries, and ecclesiastical foundations through secularization. Yet this question is now generally settled in Germany, Austria, etc. by agreement between the civil Governments on the one hand and the pope or bishops on the other.

VII. The rights involved in patronage are: the right of presentation, honorary rights, utilitarian rights, and the cura beneficii.

(a) The right of presentation (ius præsentandi), the most important privilege of a patron, consists in this, that in case of a vacancy in the benefice, he may propose (præsentare) to the ecclesiastical superiors empowered with the right of collation, the name of a suitable person (persona idonea), the result being that if the one suggested is available at the time of presentation, the ecclesiastical superior is bound to bestow on him the office in question. Co-patrons with the right of presentation may take turns, or each may present a name for himself, or it may be decided by vote. In the case of juridical persons the presentation may be made according to statute, or by turns, or by decision of the majority. The drawing of lots is excluded. With regard to the one to be presented, in the case of a benefice involving the cure of souls, the ecclesiastical patron must choose from among the candidates for presentation the one he believes the most suitable, judging from the parish concursus. The lay patron

has only to present the name of a candidate who is suitable in his opinion. In case this candidate has not passed the parish concursus, he must undergo an examination before the synodal examiners. In the case of a mixed patronage, the rights of which are exercised in common by an ecclesiastical and a lay patron, the same rule holds as in the case of a lay patronage. Here it is the rule to deal with the mixed patronage, now as a spiritual and again as a lay patronage, according as it is most pleasing to the patrons. If the prerogatives of the mixed patronage are exercised in turn, however, it is considered as a spiritual or a lay patronage, as suits the nature of the case. The patron cannot present his own name. Co-patrons may, however, present one of their own number. If through no fault of the patron, the name of an ineligible person is presented, he is granted a certain time of grace to make a new presentation. If, however, an ineligible person has been knowingly presented, the spiritual patron loses for the time being the right of presentation, but the lay patron, so long as the first interval allowed for presentation has not expired, may make an after-presentation. Thus the presentation of the spiritual patron is treated more after the manner of the episcopal collation. On that account the spiritual patron is not permitted an after-presentation or a variation in choice, which is permitted the lay patron, after which the bishop has the choice between the several names presented (ius variandi cumulativum, c. 24, X de iure patr. III, 38).

A presentation may be made by word of mouth or in writing. But under penalty of nullity all expressions are to be avoided which would imply a bestowal of the office (c. 5, X de iure patr. III, 38). A simoniacal presentation would be invalid. The time allowed for presentation is four months to a lay patron, and six to a spiritual patron; six months is stipulated for a mixed patronage when exercised in common, four or six months when turn is taken (c. 22, X de iure patr. III, 38). The interval begins the moment announcement is made of the vacancy. For one who through no fault of his own has been hindered in making a presentation, the time does not expire at the end of the period mentioned. When his candidate has been unjustly rejected by the bishop, the patron may appeal, or make an after presentation.

(b) The honorary rights (iura honorifica) of the patron are: precedence in procession, a sitting in the church, prayers and intercessions, ecclesiastical mentions, burial in the church, ecclesiastical mourning, inscriptions, special incensing, the asperges (holy water), ashes, palms, and the Pax.

(c) The utilitarian rights (iura utilia) of the patron consist essentially in this: that in so far as he is a descendant of the founder he is entitled to an allowance sufficient for his maintenance from the superfluous funds of the church connected with the patronage, if, through no fault of his own, he has been reduced to such straits as to be unable to support himself, and no one else is under any obligation to assist him (c. 25, X de iure patr. III, 38). To draw any other material advantages from the church connected with the patronage, as so frequently happened in the Middle Ages, it is requisite for this condition to have been made at the time of foundation with the consent of the bishop, or that it be subsequently stipulated (c. 23, X de iure patr. III, 38. C. un. Extrav. comm. de rebus eccl. non alien. III, 4).

(d) The right or important duty (iura onerosa) of the patron is, in the first place the cura beneficii, the care to preserve unimpaired the status of the benefice and the conscientious discharge of the obligations connected therewith. He must not, however, interfere in the administration of the property of the benefice or the discharge of the spiritual duties on the part of the holder of the benefice. This cura beneficii entitles the patron to have a voice in all changes in the benefice

and the property belonging to it. Again, on the patron is incumbent the defensio or the advocatia beneficii (c. 23, 24, X de iure patr. III, 38). In the present administration of justice, however, this obligation has practically disappeared. Lastly, the patron has the subsidiary duty of building (Trent, Sess. XXI, "de ref.", c. vii).

VIII. The right of patronage lapses ipso iure at the suppression of the subject or object. If the church connected with the patronage is threatened with total ruin, or the endowment with a deficit, if those first bound to restore it are not at hand, the bishop is to exhort the patron to rebuild (reædificandum) or renew the endowment (ad redotandum). His refusal forfeits him the right of patronage, at least for himself personally. Furthermore, the right of patronage is lost upon express or tacit renunciation. And lastly, it lapses in cases of apostasy, heresy, schism, simoniacal alienation, usurpation of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the patronal church or appropriation of its goods and revenues, murder or mutilation of an ecclesiastic connected with the church.

HINSCHIUS, Das Kirchenrecht der Katholiken und Protestanten in Deutschland, II (Berlin, 1878), 618 sqq.; ZHISHMAN, Das Stifter recht in der morgenländischen Kirche (Vienna, 1888); WAHRMUND, Das Kirchenpatronatsrecht und seine Entwicklung in Oesterreich (Vienna, 1894); STUTZ, Geschichte des kirchlichen Benefizialwesens (Berlin, 1895); THOMAS, Le droit de propriété des laïques au moyen age (Paris, 1906); PÖSCHL, Bischofsgut und mensa episcopalis, (Bonn, 1898), 32 sqq. JOHANNES BAPTIST SÄGMÜLLER.

Patron Saints.-A patron is one who has been assigned by a venerable tradition, or chosen by election, as a special intercessor with God and the proper advocate of a particular locality, and is honoured by clergy and people with a special form of religious observance. The term "patron", being wider in its meaning than that of "titular", may be applied to a church, a district, a country, or a corporation. The word "titular" is applied only to the patron of a church or institution. Both the one and the other, according to the legislation now in force, must have the rank of a canonized saint.

1

relics of the martyrs were derived the names of Memo-
riæ (memorial churches), Martyria, or Confessio, fre-
quently given to churches. The name of "Title"
(Titulus) has from the earliest times been employed
with reference to the name of the saint by which a
church is known. The practice of placing the body or
some relics of a martyr under the altar of sacrifice has
been perpetuated in the Church, but the dedication
was early extended to confessors and holy women who
were not martyrs. The underlying doctrine of patrons
is that of the communion of saints, or the bond of spir-
itual union existing between God's servants on earth,
in heaven, or in purgatory. The saints are thereby
regarded as the advocates and intercessors of those
who are making their earthly pilgrimage.
Choice of Patrons.-Down to the seventeenth cen-
tury popular devotion, under the guidance of ecclesias-
tical authority, chose as the titulars of churches those
men or women renowned for their miracles, the saint-
liness of their lives, or their apostolic ministry in con-
verting a nation to the Gospel. Urban VIII (23
March, 1638) laid down the rules that should guide
the faithful in the future selection of patrons of
churches, cities, and countries, without, however, inter-
fering with the traditional patrons then venerated
(Acta S. Sedis, XI, 292). As during the days of perse-
cution the most illustrious among the Christians were
those who had sacrificed their lives for the faith, it was
to be expected that during the fourth century the
selection of the names of martyrs as titulars would
everywhere prevail. But with the progress of the
Church in times of comparative peace, with the de-
velopment of the religious life, and the preaching of
the Gospel in the different countries of Europe and
Asia, bishops, priests, hermits, and nuns displayed
in their lives lofty examples of Christian holiness.
Churches, therefore, began to be dedicated in their
honour. The choice of a particular patron has de-
pended upon many circumstances. These, as a rule.
have been one or other of the following: (1) The pos
session of the body or some important relic of the
saint; (2) his announcement of the Gospel to the
nation; (3) his labours or death in the locality; (4) his
tion of the founder of the church; (6) the spirit of
ecclesiastical devotion at a given time. Leo XIII
enumerated (28 Nov., 1897) as characteristic religious
movements of our time:--devotion to the Sacred
Heart, to Our Lady of the Rosary, to St. Joseph, and
to the Blessed Sacrament. It should be clearly under-
stood that a church is, and always has been, dedicated
to God: other dedications are annexed on an entirely
different plane. Thus a church is dedicated to God in
honour (for example) of the Blessed Virgin and the
saints. A typical form is the following: "Deo sacrum in
honorem deiparæ immaculatæ et SS. Joannis Baptistæ
et Evangelistæ." In 1190 a collegiate church in Dub-
lin was dedicated "to God, Our Blessed Lady, and St.
Patrick". Sometimes out of several who are men-
tioned the patron is expressly designated, as in the
dedication of a chaplainry in Arngask (Scotland) in
1527, "for the praise, glory, and honour of the indivisi-
ble Trinity, the most glorious Virgin and St. Columba,
abbot, our patron of the parish". The celestial pat-
ronage here considered will be restricted in the first
instance to churches and chapels. Patrons in different
countries generally present a distinctly national col-
ouring; but the principles which have governed the
selection of names will be made apparent by the
examination of a few instances. In comparing place
with place, the rank or precedence of patrons should
be kept in view. A convenient arrangement will be
the following: Dedications (1) to God and the Sacred
Humanity of Christ or its emblems; (2) to the Mother
of God; (3) to the Angels; (4) to the holy personages
who introduced the New Law of Christ; (5) to the
Apostles and Evangelists; (6) to other saints.

PATRONS OF CHURCHES.-Origin.-During the first three centuries of the Church's history, the faithful as-adoption as the national patron; (5) the special devosembled for worship in private houses, in cemeteries, or other retired places. At intervals it had been possible to erect or adapt buildings for the sacred rites of religion. Such buildings, however, were not dedicated to the saints, but were spoken of as the House of God, the House of Prayer, and sometimes as the Temple of God. They were also known as Kyriaca, Dominica, or Oratoria. Larger structures received the name of basilicas, and the term church (ecclesia) was constantly employed to designate the place where the faithful assembled to hear the word of God and partake of the sacraments. After peace had been given to the Church by Constantine, sacred edifices were freely erected, the emperor setting the example by the character and magnificence of his own foundations. The Christians had always held in deep reverence the memory of the heroes who had sealed with blood the profession of their faith. The celebration of the solemn rites had long been intimately associated with the places where the bodies of the martyrs reposed, and the choice of sites for the new edifices was naturally determined by the scene of the martyrs' sufferings, or by the spot where their sacred remains lay enshrined. The great basilicas founded by Constantine, or during his lifetime, illustrate this tendency. The churches of St. Peter, St. Paul outside the walls, St. Lawrence in Agro Verano, St. Sebastian, St. Agnes on the Via Nomentana were all cemeterial basilicas, i. e. they were built over the spot where the bodies of each of these saints lay buried. The same practice finds illustration in the churches of SS. Domitilla and Generosa, SS. Nereus and Achilleus, St. Felix at Nola, and others. From this custom of rendering honour to the

PATRON

Rome Rome is illustrious for churches named after its local martyrs. The most important are the basilicas of St. Peter, of St. Paul Outside the Walls, of St. Lawrence, St. Sebastian, and of St. Agnes in the Via Nomentana. Other churches have received their title from the fact of being constructed in connexion with houses belonging to the martyrs in question: St. Clement's, St. Pudentiana's, St. Alexius's, St. Cecilia's, St. Praxedes's, St. Bartholomew's, Sts. John and Paul, St. Frances's of Rome. Santa Croce recalls St. Helen the Domine quo vadis chapel refers to the meeting of Our Lord and St. Peter on the Appian Way; San Pietro in Carcere is erected above the Mamertine prison; San Pietro in Montorio adjoins the place of St. Peter's martyrdom; San Pietro in Vincoli contains the actual chains with which St. Peter was bound. St. John Lateran's was first dedicated to Our Saviour, but the title was changed in the twelfth century; St. Gregory on the Colian recalls the home of St. Gregory and the site of the church he built in honour of St. Andrew; St. Lorenzo in Damaso recalls its founder, Pope Damasus. There are thirtyfour churches dedicated to the Mother of God, distinguished often topographically (as Sta Maria in Via lata, or Sta Maria in Trastevere) and also in other ways (as Sta Maria Maggiore, so called in relation to other Roman churches of Our Lady, Sta Maria della Pace, Sta Maria dell'Anima, etc.). The formal dedications to God consist of Trinità dei Pellegrini, Trinità dei Monti, S. Spirito in Sassia, S. Salvatore in Lauro, S. Salvatore in Thermis, and the Gesu. There are no dedications to the Angels nor (until recently) to St. Joseph, the Sacred Heart, All Saints, or All Souls. In a few instances titulars occur more than once: Lawrence, 6; Peter, 4; Paul, Andrew, Charles, John, Nicholas, 3 each (see ROME).

England. St. Augustine and his companions brought with them to England the Roman customs and traditions respecting the naming and dedication of churches. Altars were consecrated with the ashes of the martyrs. One of the earliest dedication prayers of the Anglo-Saxon Church runs thus: "Tibi, sancta Dei genitrix, virgo Maria (vel tibi, sancte J. B. Domini, vel martyres Christi, vel confessores Domini) tibi commendamus hanc curam templi hujus, quod consecravimus Domino Deo nostro, ut hic intercessor existas; preces et vota offerentium hic Domino Deo offeras; odoramenta orationum plebis

ad patris thronum conferas", etc. (Lingard, "The History and Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church", II, 40). Among the titulars of the Anglo-Saxon period are found: Christ Church (Canterbury), St. Mary's de Comeliis, St. Mary's of Huntingdon, and of Lyming, All Hallows (Lincoln), Peter (to whom the greater part of the Anglo-Saxon churches were dedicated), Peter and Paul (Canterbury), Paul (Jarrow), Andrew (Rochester), Martin (near Canterbury), Pancratius (Canterbury). Accepting the figures of F. A. Foster in her "Studies in Church Dedications", and without drawing a line between pre-Reformation and post-Reformation English churches (not now Catholic), we get the following enumeration of titulars: Christ 373, Holy Cross or Holy Rood 83, Michael, or Michael the Archangel, or St. Michael and the Angels 721 (one in six of the churches, ancient and modern, now attached to the Established Church bears the name of Our Lady or one of her titles, the total being 2162, and the proportion in pre-Reformation times was still larger), John Baptist, 576; Peter, 936; Peter and Paul, 277; Paul, 329; Holy Innocents, 15; Helen, 117; Augustine of Canterbury, 57; Thomas of Canterbury, 70; Nicholas, 397; Lawrence, 228. The Catholic Church in England at the present time has shown the same spirit of conservatism and of independence which is everywhere manifested in the choice of patrons. Among the chief of the 170 dedications to God of the churches and chapels (not counting religious houses,

colleges, or institutions), the numbers are: Holy Trin-
ity, 16; Holy Cross, 15; Sacred Heart, 90. Consecra-
tions in honour of the Blessed Virgin maintain their
ancient pre-eminence, reaching a total of 374. The
simple designation of St. Mary's is the most frequent
appellation. The form "Our Lady" occurs usually in
combination with other titles. Among the numerous
special titles are the following: Immaculate Concep-
tion, Our Lady of Sorrows, Help of Christians, Star of
the Sea, Assumption, Our Lady of the Rosary. One
church only bears the title of the Transfiguration, and
one only is distinguished by each of the following titles:
Our Lady of Refuge, of England, of Pity, of Paradise,
of Reparation, of Reconciliation, Spouse of the Holy
Ghost, Most Pure Heart of Mary. The angels are not
favoured, Michael standing almost alone, but with 38
dedications. St. John Baptist has 20, while the name
of Joseph appears as titular in no fewer than 145
churches. Apostles and Evangelists reach a total of
153: Peter leads the way with 43; the Beloved Disciple
counts his 30, Peter and Paul follow with 17. Each of
the remaining Apostles has at least 2 churches under
his invocation, except Matthias, Barnabas, and Mark,
who have but 1. Among the male saints: Anthony
of Padua, Charles, Edward, Edmund, George, and
Richard have each between 10 and 20; but Patrick,
with 46, heads the list; then follow Augustine 22,
Benedict 19, Cuthbert 18, and Francis of Assisi 21.
A special interest attaches to names which occur but
once, for frequently they are dedications to a local
saint, as in the instances of Birinus (Dorchester),
Dubritius (Treforest), Gwladys (Newport, Mon.), Ia
(St. Ives), Neot (Liscard), Oswin (Tynemouth), Prian
(Truro), Teilo (Tenby), Simon Stock (Faversham),
Frideswide (Abingdon), and Walstan (Cossey). Noth-
ing could have been more appropriate than the saints'
names selected in the northern dioceses correspond-
ing with the ancient Northumbria. There we meet
with dedications to Aidan, Bede, Bennet, Columba,
Cuthbert, Ninian, Hilda, Oswald, etc. Among the
female saints Anne, the mother of Our Lady, occupies
a position of eminence with 30 churches, Winefrid
ranks next with 10, and Catherine follows with 8.
The Saxon virgins and widows are honoured in the
localities which they hallowed by their saintly lives,
thus: Begh (Northumbria); Etheldreda (Ely); Hilda
(Whitby); Mildred (Minster); Modwena (Burton-
on-Trent); Osberg (Coventry); Wereburg (Chester);
Winefrid (Holywell).

Scotland.-Celtic and Medieval.-In the days of the
Picts, St. Peter was held in preference, from A. D. 710
when Roman usages were adopted, but Andrew
claimed the greater number of dedications from the
time his relics had been brought to the coast by St.
Regulus. As instances of double titulars, native and
foreign, the following may be taken: St. Mary and St.
Manchar (Old Aberdeen); St. Mary and St. Boniface;
Sts. Mary and Peter; Madrustus and John Baptist;
Stephen and Moanus. In pre-Reformation times Holy
Trinity occurred less frequently than in England; the
Holy Ghost is met with three times; many churches
bore the title of Christ (Kilchrist, Kildomine); Holy
Blood and Holy Rood are found in several instances.
A chapel styled "Teampull-Cro-Naomh" (Temple of
Numerous churches bore Our Lady's name
the Holy Heart) once stood on the shore at Gauslan in
Lews.
(Lady Kirk); the Assumption is found as early as 1290,
and a church is dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto in
1530. Many churches had St. Michael for patron (Kil-
michael). St. Anne is the titular in several places, and
an altar to the Three Kings existed in almost every
church. St. Joseph is nowhere found as a church titu-
lar, though he held the position of joint titular of an al-
tar in 1518. The present day.-The choice of titulars
in the Catholic churches of Scotland at the present
time displays the same twofold direction that we find
elsewhere: the honour of the saints of Scotland and of

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