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 PATRON

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PATRON

and the property belonging to it. Again, on the pa- tron is incumbent the dcfensio or the advncatia bcncfirii (c. 23,24, X (ie iuro patr. HI, 38). In the prostnt ud- ministnition of justice, liowever, this oblinatiun Ims practically ttisappearcil. Lastly, the patron has the subsidiary duty of building (Trent, Sess. XXI, "de ref.", c. vii).

Vlll. The right of patronage lapses ipso iure at the suppression of the subject or oliject. If the church connected with the patronuKe 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 ex- hort the patron to rebuild {recFdificandum) or renew the endowment {ad redolandum). His refusal forfeits him the right of patronage, at least for himself per- sonally. Furthermore, the right of patronage is lost upon express or tacit renunciation. And lastly, it lapses in ca.sesof apo.stasy, heresy, schism, simoniacal ahenation, usurpation of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the patronal church or appropriation of its goods and revenues, murder or mutilation of an eccle- siastic connected with the church.

HiNSCHlcs, Das Kircbenrecht der Katholiken und ProtcstanUn in Deutschland. II (Berlin, 1878), 618 sqq.; Zhishman, Das Sli/ler- rechl in der morgenlUndischen Kirche (Vienna, 1888); Wahbmund, Das Kirchenpatronatsrecht und seine Entwicklung in Oesterreich (Vienna. 1894); Stutz, Ceschichte des kirchlichen Benefizialwesens (Berlin. 1S95) ; Thomas. Le droit de propriety des lalques au moyen Age (Paris. 1906); Poschl, Bischofsgut und mensa episcopatis, I (Bonn, 1898), 32 sqq.

Johannes Baptist Sagmijllbr.

Patron Saints. — A patron is one who has been assigned by a venerable tradition, or chosen by elec- tion, as a special intercessor with God and the proper advocate of a particular locality, and is honoured by clergj' and people with a special form of religious ob- servance. The term "patron", being wider in its meaning than that of "titular", may be applied to a church, a district, a countrj', 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.

Patrons of Churches. — Origin. — During the first three centuries of the Church's history, the faithful as- sembled 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 reli- gion. Such buildings, however, were not dedicated to the saints, but w'ere 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 Ora- loria. Larger structures received the name of basil- icas, 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 Constant ine, sacred edifices were freely erected, the emperor setting the example by the char- acter and magnificence of his own foundations. The Christians had always held in deep reverence the mem- ory of the heroes who had sealed with blood the pro- fession 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 Wrano, St. Sebastian, St. Agnes on the Via Nomentana were all cemeterial ba.silicas, i. e. they were built over the spot where the bodies of each of these saints lay buried. The same practice finds illus- tration in the churches of SS. Domitilla and Gene- rosa, SS. Xereus and .Vchilleus, St. Felix at Nola, and others. From this custom of rendering honour to the

relics of the martyrs were derived the names of Memo- riir (memorial churches), Martyria, or Confessio, fre- quently given to churches. The name- of "Title" {Tiliilii.-<) 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 alt;u' of sacrifice has been perpetuated in the Church, but the dedication w:is early extended to confessors :inil holy women who were not martyrs. The underlying doctrine of patrons is that of the communion of s;iints, or the bond of spir- itual union existing between God's servants on earth, in heaven, or in purgatory. The saints are thereby reg:ir(led as the advocates and intercessors of those who arc nuiking their earthly iiilgrimage.

Cliiiirr iif I'dlrons. — Down to the seventeenth cen- tury po])ular devotion, under the guidance of ecclesias- tical authority, chose as the titulars of churches those men or women renowned for their miracles, the .saint- linessof their lives, or their apostolic ministry in con- verting a nation to the Gospel. Urban VIII (23 March, 1(538) 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 adoption as the national patron; (5) the special devo- 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 iSacrament. 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 deiparie immaculatae et SS. Joannis BaptistiB et Evangelista?." 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 1.527, "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 .'^.acred Humanitv 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 Evangehsts; (6) to other saints.