Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/592

PASSOVER Francisco do Souza, the chronicler of the Society of Jesus in India, their origin was as follows: Father Gaspar Barzeo, S.J., having returned to Goa from his mission to Ormuz in October, 1551, was entrusted with the publication of the first plenary jubilee for India, granted at the request of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier. Father Barzeo preached every day with such good effect that Goa seemed another Ninive converted. In order to keep up this devotion and reformation of manners, Father Barzeo instituted a procession of flagellants, who every Friday assembled in the church, singing the litanies, and listening to a sermon on the words of the Psalmist: "Multa flagella peccatoris". At the end of the sermon there was a period of silence, during which each penitent meditated on his past life. The preacher then spoke for another half-hour on some passage of the Passion of Christ, after which a crucifix was displayed to the people, who shed abundant tears and scourged themselves. From this beginning, the sermons, representations, and processions became a regular custom during Lent. At the close of the Lenten weekly sermon, a representation of some scene from the Passion was displayed on a stage in the church, after which there was a procession.

At first Father Barzeo encountered opposition from the other religious orders, but they afterwards saw the wisdom of following his example. Thus the practice spread through India and the missions in other parts of Asia. In some places these representations are said to have greatly helped forward the work of conversion. But as time went on, many abuses crept in. These abuses were at various times checked by the archbishops and the synods of Goa. At last, after continuing for over two centuries, the processions of flagellants were abolished by Archbishop Francisco d'Assumpçao e Brito, in 1775, penitents being forbidden to scourge themselves. Other subsequent prohibitions were: the taking down of the image from the cross on Palm Sunday; artificial movements of the image in the representations; the carrying of a woman in the procession to represent the Blessed Virgin; Veronica wiping the face of Our Lord; the supper on Maundy Thursday with the figures of the Twelve Apostles; the placing of the Blessed Sacrament in a dark sepulchre on Good Friday; the use, in the scene of the Descent from the Cross, of men wearing long beards, Moorish headgear, etc. to represent Jews; the carrying of the images over flights of steps to represent those of the houses of Caiphas, Pilate, etc.; the sprinkling of red fruit-juice over the images to represent blood; the carrying in the procession of figures of Adam with a hoe or spade, and Eve with a distaff, of the Serpent, of Abraham, Isaac, and others; the representation of the scenes in a temporary structure outside the church.

With the omission of these details, the representations now take place in almost all the churches of Goa, in other parts of India, and in other Asiatic missions. On a stated day (generally Sunday) of each week in Lent, a sermon is preached on some passage of the Passion. A curtain is then raised, and the representation of the same passage is displayed on a movable stage before the high altar, only the image of Christ being shown. The representations are made in the following order: Christ in the Garden of Gethsemani; Christ in prison; the Scourging; the Crowning with Thorns; the Ecce Homo; the Carrying of the Cross; lastly (on Good Friday), the Crucifixion. At the end of each representation there is a procession with singing. On Palm Sunday, the image of Christ carrying the Cross is taken from the stage and borne in procession; and on Good Friday, after the figure is devoutly taken down from the Cross (invariably behind the curtain) it is carried in the procession, the image of the Blessed Virgin also accompanying on both these days. On the last two occasions the procession is always interrupted by a sermon preached from a pulpit erected outside the church.

, Oriente Conquistado; D'Albuquerque, Decretos do Arcebispado de Goa; O Oriente Portuguez, II (1905), nos. 1. 2; O Anglo-Lusitano (7 April, 1887).

 Passover. See.

 Pasteur,, chemist, founder of physio-chemistry, father of bacteriology. inventor of bio-therapeutics; b. at Dole, Jura, France, 27 Dec, 1822, d. near Sêvres, 28 Sept., l895. His father was a poor tanner who moved to Arbois when his son was but two months old. Pasteur received his early education at the Collège Communal of Arbois, but paid little attention to his books, devoting himself to fishing and sketching. For a time it seemed as though he would become a painter. When science was reached in the course he grew interested. He received his degree at Besançon and then in order to devote himself to science went to Paris to study under Dumas, Balard, and Biot. His father helped him, but he had to support himself partly by his own labours. His first original work was done on crystals. Mitscherlich announced that two tartaric acids, apparently identical in chemical qualities and in crystalline form, acted differently in solution toward polarized light. Refusing to accept this dictum, Pasteur demonstrated that the crystals thought to be similar were different, and explained the seeming inconsistency.

His discovery attracted wide attention. As a result he devoted himself to the study of what he called dissymmetry, pointing out that inorganic substances are not dissymmetrical in their crystallization, while all the products of vegetable and animal life are dissymmetric. He concluded that there was some great biological principle underlying this. As the result of his discovery he was made (1848) professor of physics at the Lycée of Dijon; three months later he became deputy professor of chemistry at the University of Strasburg, and full professor in 1852; in 1854 dean and professor of chemistry at the new University of Lille; in 1856 the English Royal Society conferred on him the Rumford Medal for researches on the polarization of light with hemihedrism of crystals; in 1857 he became director of scientific studies at the Paris Ecole Normal, in 1863 professor of geology and chemistry at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, in 1867 professor of chemistry at the Sorbonne, where he remained till 1889, when he became the Director of the Pasteur Institute, founded in his honour.

His early chemical studies led him to the investigation of fermentation and putrefaction, which he showed were due to living germs of various kinds. From this the demonstration that spontaneous generation does not take place was but a step. He showed that in highly-organized material, if the living germs are all destroyed, and if further access of germs be prevented, even though air may be allowed free access, fermentation or putrefaction does not take place. A piece of cotton wool, or a mere bending of the neck of the flask to keep germs from entering, is sufficient after sterilization to keep organic solutions quite sterile. The study of fermentations led Pasteur to studies in vinegar, wine, and beer. As the result of his successful investigation of ferments he was asked by the Empress Eugénie whether he would not now devote himself to the organization of great manufacturing industries for the benefit of France. He replied that he considered it quite beneath the dignity of a scientist to give up his time to commerce, and while he was willing that others should take advantage of his discoveries he wanted to push on to further scientific work.

This was a fortunate decision. His successful investigations led the French Government to appeal to him to study the silk-worm disease. This had produced such ravages in the silk industry in France that the end of it seemed not far off. Many expedients and