Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/622

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PATRON


564


PATRON


other lands, and the promi)tings of modern devotion. The Sacred Heart has S dedications, the Holy Rood 3. The Apostles rocoivo the spocial lummir of 3i) churches, John being the patron of 13, and Andrew of 7. 77 churches are dedicateil to the Blessed \'irgin, of which 11 celebrate the Ininiaculate Conception, 7 bear the title of Star of the !Sea; Our Lady of the Waves and Our Lady of Good Aiil stand alone. Churches with the titles of modern saints are in a minority, for Pat- rick takes the lead with 12; Ninian, Scotland's first apostle, has 6; Coluniba .'>; Mungo 4; David 3; and Margaret 2. Many Celtic saints occur but once, as for example, Bean, Br<n(hui, Cadoc, Columbkille, P'illian, Kessog, Kieran, Miiin, and Winning.

Ireland. — The history of the patron saints of Ire- land luis yet to be written. The country has passed through long periods of trouble and oppression, yet several of the Celtic dedications have been preserved and linger in some districts even to this day. The Catholic church is often knowm simply by the name of the street in which it is situated, as the Cathedral, Marlborough St., Dublin, or the Jesuit church in Gardiner Street. A similar instance occurs in Dubhn ■with regard to the church dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, but always styled "Adam and Eve", from the fact that when the building was erected in the seven- teenth centurj-, there swung at the end of the alley, in which the chapel was situated, a public-house sign with the full figures of our first parents. The two reli- gious edifices in a town are sometimes called the "Cathedral" and the "Old Chapel". In the days of persecution, when churches and endowments had alike been confiscated, the conditions of Catholic worship recalled the secrecy of the catacombs. During the nineteenth century the old "barns" that had so long served for chapels were replaced by beautiful and spacious churches for which Irish saints were fre- quently selected as patrons; but as a rule the choice has been determined by the tendencies of modern devotion. There are dedications to the Sacred Heart, to Our Lady under her various titles, and to many of the more recently canonized saints, such as St. Vin- cent and St. Francis de Sales. Still the people con- tinue to refer to the churches by the names of the streets. In Celtic times many churches were dedi- cated to Our Lady and called Kilmurray. All the Donaghmore {Dominica Major) churches were dedi- cated to St. Patrick, because they had been founded by him. Other dedications include Bridget (Kil- bride), Peter (Kilpedder), Paul (Kilpool), Catherine of Alexandria (Killadreenan, Kilcatherine). The Holy Sepulchre found a place among the oldest dedi- cations. In Dublin or the neighbourhood the titles of Peter, Bride, Martin, Kevin, McTail (St. Michael-le- Pole), Nichohis within and Nicholas without the walls, were to be met with. Then there were churches under the patronage of All Hallows, Macud (Kilmacud), Machonna, Fintan, Brendan (Carrickbrenan), Bcgnet (St. Bega, Kilbegnct), Gobhain (Kilgobbin), Tiernan (Kilter, Kilternan). Bern's church was so called be- cause founded by a priest of Byrne's clan. The title of Cell-Ingen-Leinin (Church of the five daughters of Leinin, whence the name Killiney) was so called from its founders. New names were introduced by the Normans, as Audven (Dubhn), being St. Ouen of Rouen. The colony from Chester, brought over to repeople Dublin which had been decimated by the plague at the end of the tw'elfth century, erected a church dedicated to their patroness, St. Werburg.

CorUinental Europe. — With regard to the patrons of churches on the continent of Europe it must suffice to mention that in France alone there are 3000 dedica- tions under the invocation of St. Martin, and then to take a glance at the single diocese of Bruges in Bel- gium: Bruges is the diocese of an old country that has never lest the faith. Its churches have 9.5 titulars which are distributed as follows: Holy Trinity 1;


Holy Redeemer 2; Sacred Heart 3; Exaltation of the Holy Cross 3; Our Lady (Notre Dame) 24; Immacu- late Concepf ion 4; Assumption 6; Nativity 4. Michael holds the ])atronage of 7 churches, Jo.seph of 5, and John the Baptist of IC. Seven of the Apostles are honoured with 63 dedications: Peter has 23; Peter's Chains 3; Paul 5; Conversion of Paul 2; Bartholomew

James ; and John only 3. Every town and district

of Belgium is hallowed with the traditions of the holy men and women of ancient days, so that the devotion shown to the saints of other countries is not a little remarkable. Out of 57 male saints adopted as titu- lars Martin has the highest number, namely 20; Nicholas 13; Lawrence 8; Blaise 6. Aniand, Apostle of the Flemings, has been chosen patron of 19 churches, Audomar of 8; Bavo,the hermit of Ghent, of 7; Eligius of 10; Medard of 6; and Vaast of 4.

United States. — The fourteen ardidioceses of the United States have been examined as affording suitable material for a study of local piety, namely, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dubuque, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York, Oregon City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, St. Paul, San Francisco, and Santa Fc. Over tliis area are found some 300 churches under dedications of the first rank, the principal ones being here enumerated: Most Holv Trinity 27; Holy Ghost 10; Holy Redeemer 11; Sacred Heart 109; Blessed Sacrament (including Corpus Christi 4, Holy Eucharist 1) 14; Holy Name 12; Holy Cross 19. The hfe of Christ is adequately represented, thus: In- carnation 3; Nativity 9; Epiphany 3; Transfiguration 4; Resurrection 3; Ascension 9. Other titles maybe mentioned : Holy Spirit 3 ; Gesu 2 ; Atonement, Good Shepherd, Holy Comforter, Holy Saviour, Provi- dence of God, St. Sauveur, and Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary 1 each. With the increasing reali- zation of the gifts of the Incarnation which appears in modern devotions, it will excite little wonder that some 500 or more churches are dedicated to the Mother of God under one or other of her many titles, the principal being: St. Mary 148; Immaculate Con- ception 105; Assumption 36; Holy Rosary 19; Annun- ciation 12; Visitation 10; Star of the Sea 9; Presenta- tion 6; Nativity 5; Holy Name of Mary 3; Maternity 3; Immaculate Heart of Mary 2; Purification 2; Most Pure Heart of Mary 1. Titles from the Litany of Loreto attract in so far as they represent the more recent expressions of Catholic devotion, thus: Mother of God 2; Mother of Divine Grace 1; Our Lady of Good Counsel 10; Gate of Heaven 1; Help of Chris- tians 13; Queen of the Angels 1 ;Our Lady of the Angels 6; Our Lady of the Rosary 11. With the foregoing list certain derivative titles may be connected: Our Lady of Consolation 6; of Good Vovage 1 ; of Grace 3; of Help2; of Mercy4; of PerpetualHelp 10; of Pity 2; of Prompt Succour 1 ; of Refuge 1 ; of Solace 1 ; of Sor- rows 6; of the Lake 5; of the Sacred Heart 3; of the Seven Dolours 5 ; of the Snow 1 ; of Victory 8. The following geographical determinations occur: Our Lady of Czentochowa 4: of Guadalupe 8; of Hungary 2; of Loreto 4; of Mount Carmel 22; of Lourdes 14; of Pompeii 4; of Vilna 2. Notre Dame de Bon Port, du Bon Secours, de Chicago, de la Paix, Nuestra Senora de Belen, del Pilar, Sancta Maria Addolorata, and Sancta Maria Incoronata, 1 each, suggest French Spanish, and Italian affiliations.

The list of male saints in the fourteen dioceses com- prises 156 names, and the female 41. For the sake of convenience these have been divided into groups. 10 churches are dedicated to All Saints, the Apostles in general have 1; Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, 58; James 26; Andrew 15; Thomas 11; Matthias 5; Philip 5; Barnabas 3; Bartholomew 2; Jude 1; the Evangel- ists have: John 59; Matthew 13: Mark 9; Luke 6. St. Paul is honoured with 26 dedications; Peter and Paul have 28; Philip and James 3; John and James 1. Michael the Archangel has 57; the Holy Angels 6; the