Remembering an Easter Tradition: Agnus Dei

Sunday April 21st marks the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, commonly known as Easter. This holiday concludes Holy Week and is one of the most important times for Christians. People may partake in various traditions: they may attend mass, participate in an Easter egg hunt, and/or get together with loved ones for a meal.

Spanning from the 5th century to the 20th century, a very unique Easter ritual took place: the making of the Agnus Dei sacramental. The Agnus Dei, perhaps the oldest known sacramental of the Church, is a round or oval wax disc made from the wax of the previous year's Easter candles. These candles were collected, melted down, and impressed with a lamb on one side and a saint or the pope on the other. Popes would consecrate these discs on the first year of their pontificate and every seven years following. They would then distribute the discs, often to visiting bishops and Cardinals. With the Lamb of God embossed on them, these discs were seen as a symbol of Jesus' sacrifice.

We have three Agnus Dei in our collection, as well as several documents for the rite and usage for the consecration of Agnus Dei.

This statement was issued in 1862 and roughly translates to, "The Ritual Use of Forms that the Candles are Blessed and Consecrated by the Pope of Rome".

Rite and usage for the blessing and consecration of the 'Cereas Formas', commonly called Agnus Dei (a wax impression).
1862

John Joseph Lynch Fonds
L RC44.01
 

The Agnus Dei below are two copies of the same impression, consecrated by Pope Pius XI at an unknown date:

Relief of Victorious Lamb/Lamb of God

Special Collections - Artifacts
AF 233

Relief of Victorious Lamb/Lamb of God

Special Collections - Artifacts
AF 233

On the other side, a relief of the bust of St. Andrea:

Relief of bust of St. Andrea

Special Collections - Artifacts
AF 233

Relief of bust of St. Andrea

Special Collections - Artifacts
AF 233

The Agnus Dei below was consecrated by Pope Pius XII in 1935:

Relief of Victorious Lamb/Lamb of God
1935

Special Collections - Artifacts
AF234

On the other side, a relief of an unidentified bust:

Relief of an unidentified bust
1935

Special Collections - Artifacts
AF 234

The Agnus Dei practice was largely abandoned following the Second Vatican Council. The last pope to consecrate them was Pope Pius XII.

To read more on the history and significance of Agnus Dei, click here.

Happy (Holy) Father's Day!

This Sunday is Father's Day. In the Catholic Church, we all share one spiritual father, the Pope. This week we thought we'd highlight records from some of the Holy Fathers who have reigned since the creation of the diocese in 1841.

Gregory XVI: February 2, 1831 - June 1, 1846

1839 apostolic letter of Gregory XVI condemning the slave trade.

M PS21.01
Bishop Macdonell Fonds

Blessed Pius IX: June 16, 1846 - February 7, 1878

This photo of Pope Pius IX is a carte de visite, which was a popular photograph format of the 1800s. Cartes were traded and collected by many. You could almost say they were the 19th century Facebook!

PH 25/23AL

Part of a letter from Pius IX to the Catholics of Toronto, complete with signature.

July 9, 1862
L RC44.15

Leo XIII: February 20, 1878 - July 20, 1903

Another carte de visite from the same album as the photo above with a drawing of Leo XIII.

PH 25/23AL

Signed letter from Leo XIII in response to the Bishops of the province of Toronto on the occasion of the Pope's Golden Jubilee of Priestly Ordination.

June 20, 1886
L RC69.10

Saint Pius X: August 4, 1903 - August 20, 1914

Postcard of Pius X from 1954.

PH 59/03PC

Benedict XV: September 3, 1914 - January 22, 1922

Letter from Benedict XV to Archbishop McNeil imparting apostolic blessings on the occasion of McNeil's 25th anniversary of his episcopal consecration.

September 8, 1920
MN RC109.03

Pius XI: February 6, 1922 - February 10, 1939

A telegram from Pietro Di Maria, Apostolic Delegate, informing Archbishop McNeil of the election of Cardinal Ratti as pope under the name Pius XI. The apostolic delegate is the pope's representative to the Church in Canada. Since the 1960s Canada has had an Apostolic Nuncio, who is the pope's representative to the government as well as to the Church.

February 7, 1922
MN DS24.02

Venerable Pius XII: March 2, 1939 - October 9, 1958

Postcard of Pius XII.

PH 62/04PC

Saint John XXIII: October 28, 1958 - June 3, 1963

John XXIII with Toronto Mayor Nathan Phillips and Mrs. Phillips.

PH 63/13CP

Blessed Paul VI: June 21, 1963 - August 6, 1978

Image of Paul VI printed on silk and used as a greeting card.

PH 64/03

Letter from Paul VI to Cardinal McGuigan congratulating him on his Golden Jubilee of priestly ordination.

May 10, 1968
PO RC4810.09

Servant of God John Paul I: August 26, 1978 - September 28, 1978

John Paul I blessing Cardinal Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II).

1978
PH 82/01P

Booklet from the Requiem Mass for John Paul I at St. Michael's Cathedral. Unfortunately, this pope only lived 33 days in office, which made 1978 a year of three popes.

1978
OC29

Papal Encyclicals of the Past

Last week, the world received a letter from Pope Francis entitled Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home. He wrote about our responsibility to care for the environment.

Encyclicals, which are circular letters written by the Pope, have been around in their modern form since Pope Benedict XIV began to write letters in the 1740s. The letters are written in a pastoral teaching style, and generally address the ways that the Catholic faith interacts with contemporary issues of the world at large. 

Below are a small selection of Papal Encyclicals from ARCAT's holdings:

1846 - Pope Pius IX - Qui Pluribus - On Faith and Religion
P PS28.01 

1847 - Pope Pius IX - Praedecessores Nostros - On Aid for Ireland
P PS29.01

1851 - Pope Pius IX - Exultavit Cor Nostrum - On the Effects of the Jubilee
C AK01.05

1864 - Pope Pius IX - Quanta Cura - Condemning Current Errors
L PS46.01

1894 - Pope Leo XIII - Iucunda Semper Expectatione - On the Rosary
W RC77.03  

1903 - Pope Pius X - E Supremi - On the Restoration of All Things in Christ
O RC86.04

1907 - Pope Pius X - Pascendi Dominici Gregis - On the Doctrines of the Modernists
O RC90.11 

1932 - Pope Pius XI - Caritate Christi Compulsi - On the Sacred Heart
MN PS114.01

1936 - Pope Pius XI - Vigilanti Cura - On Motion Pictures
MG PS118.01

1953 - Pope Pius XII - Fulgens Corona - On the Marian Year and the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception
MG PS135.02

1954 - Pope Pius XII - Sacra Virginitas - On Holy Virginity
MG PS136.04

1956 - Pope Pius XII - Haurietis Aquas - On Devotion to the Sacred Heart
MG PS138.01

1957 - Pope Pius XII - Miranda Prorsus - On Motion Pictures, Radio and Television
MG PS139.04

1962 -Pope Saint John XXIII - Paenitentiam Agere - On the Need for the Practice of Interior and Exterior Penance
MG PS144.02

1967 -Pope Paul VI - Populorum Progressio - This Is Progress
MG PS149.03

1968 - Pope Paul VI - Humanae Vitae - On Human Life
MG PS150.04

And just for fun, an encyclical from the office that was a precursor to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith condemning the use of magnetism in superstition, hypnotism and clairvoyance:

1856 - Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition - Adversus Magnetismi Abusus - Against the Abuse of Magnetism
C RC38.05

ARCAT holds many more Papal Encyclicals, including Pius IX's Nullis Certe, on Temporal Power and Napoleon III, Leo XIII's Quod Apostolici, which condemns socialism, and Pius XI's Mit Brennender Sorge on the state of the Church in Germany. 

Wish You Were Here! Postcards in the Archives

March break, which is known as one of the busiest times of the year for travel, is almost here. Many families will be packing up and escaping the cold weather for a week. Today, it is easy for travelers to keep in touch with the folks back home. Cell phones, tablets and digital cameras make it easy to send photographs and messages, and post to services like Instagram, Tumblr, Vine, and Facebook. However, it wasn't always that easy.

Back when communication wasn't instantaneous, people had to rely on the mail to keep in touch. In the mid 1800s, postcards were introduced. They provided an easy way for tourists to send a quick note to friends and family along with a memento of their journey. ARCAT holds many examples of interesting postcards:

Monsignor Clair Fonds
"Cobb at bat, Crawford up, Leonard of Boston pitching. Detroit, Mich."
Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan
ca. 1913-1918

Monsignor Clair Fonds 

MN AH04.23
"Paris - L'Eglise de la Sorbonne"
Paris, France
1895

MN AH10.95
"Lourdes - La Grotte et la Basilique"
"I find myself here in Lourdes during my holidays. I am here now nearly two weeks and I did not forget you and the clergy on retreat last week when I said mass at this celebrated shrine. I am picking up a little French also. I am stationed at Holy Cross, Thurles, and I am returning there in a few days. I do not forget my Canadian friends here and even inadvertently still say Neil in the Canon. Begging your blessing (Rev) M. O'Brien"
Lourdes, France.
1921

MN AH 24.68
Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y.
1935

PH08-07PC
"Am quite at home in this city. Go from here to Adrianople when it falls. Kind remebrances to his Grace the Dr. and Pére Canning Morrow. Prier pour moi." 
Sofia, Bulgaria
1913
This postcard was written from Sofia during the First Balkan War. The writer may be referring to the Siege of Adrianople.

PH0016-11PC
Agincourt, Ontario (present day Scarborough)
1917

PH24C-43PC
1918

PH24M-68PC
Fr. Joseph Murphy First Communion Class
ca. 1912

PH61-02PC
Pope Pius XI - Souvenir of the Holy Year 1925

PH102-0159-22PC
"I wonder when Flo & I will get down or when you will get up again. So near & yet so far. I've had my uncle Theo from Vancouver here all Fall & been pretty well rushed. Lil & family are coming down for xmas - 3 small boys & a baby girl. - I send best wishes - with love - C.H.S.

'Member the Sunday we were here to listen to the new organ?"
St. John Chrysostom Church, Newmarket, Ontario
1911

These cards show us the places and events that were important in the lives of the people who sent them and collected them. The writers had to be brief and efficient with their words (Twitter, anyone?) to get their point across. They were a way to share a moment in time with the people who couldn't be there; we are lucky enough to be able to share the same moment a hundred years later.

Wedding Bells Are Ringing!

As the sacramental record books show, July is a very popular month for weddings. Everywhere are the nervous affianced who are looking for advice. How do we solve disputes? How do we divide household chores? What if my betrothed turns out to be a lunatic? As it turns out, the Archives is a great place to find matrimonial advice for the bride and groom:

Matrimony, 1928: "There is nothing which contributes more to the social well-being of man than the right ordering of the family. Human society will thrive only in so far as parents fulfil and realize their obligations as husbands and wives and as fathers and mothers."

The Catholic Doctrine of Matrimony, 1929: "In the union of the twain whom love has inspired to walk the pathway of life hand in hand the Church beholds a definite and living representation of the sacred bond that unites her inseparably to her Divine Spouse, Jesus Christ."

Marital Morality, 1931: "And so that they will not deplore for the rest of their lives the sorrows arising from an indiscreet marriage, those about to enter into wedlock should carefully deliberate in choosing the person with whom henceforth they must live continually. They should in so deliberating keep before their minds the thought first of God and of the true religion of Christ, then of themselves, of their partner, of the children who are to come, as also of civil society, for which wedlock is as a fountain-head."

The Tangle of Marriage, 1932: "Man and maid! You who clasp your hands together at the altar of the Lord and join your lives that, like two rivers, they may run together into one, for better, for worse, until death shall you part, look to the plans that God has shown you on His Holy Mount, the Church. Look to the Home of Nazareth. Look to Mary and to Joseph. Model your lives upon theirs. So will you sanctify your future habitation. So will the children playing around your knees show the likeness of Christ in them. So will Heaven's blessing rest like sunlight on your path, whatever be its course.

The Wedding Ring, 1933.

Marriage: A Dialogue on the Christian Ideal, 1935.

The Duties of Married Life, 1935: The world is wide enough to contain and support the swelling generations of the children of men, but it does not yield up its treasures overwillingly - they must be wrested from it by main force. The earth is not a heap of treasure, which men may share among themselves in such sort that each one's portion should increase according as the number who ought to have a share grows less. No but the treasure grows greater in proportion to the spirit, the ability, the courage of those who do battle to acquire it. Man's life is a relentless warfare... and civilization is the fruit, progress the reward of conquest." 

Beginning Your Marriage, 1956: "Husbands and wives who cooperate generously in building a happy, successful life together necessarily perfect themselves in the process."

Courtship and Marriage, [1925-1956?]: "When courtship is being protracted to unseemly length, the father of the girl should inquire of the young man what his intentions are - and incidentally what is the reason for the delay." 

After the Honeymoon What?: "Marriage, humanly speaking, is a job. Happiness or unhappiness has nothing to do with it."

Marriage Problems: "A business man makes many personal sacrifices for the success of his business, whatever it may be. The biggest business of life is the family. No matter what success one may have in trade, in society, or in public office, if family life is not right, one has not made a success of life. On the other hand, if one's family life is what it should be, one is able to face the vicissitudes of life in a spirit of buoyancy, which if it does not ensure material success at least affords strength and courage to cope with every obstacle."

Ok, so maybe marriage advice will have changed since the 1920s, but they're still fun to read!