Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/549

 CRIME

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CRIME

th> ]i1,icoof the crib now venerated. From the earliest tiini s, moreover, ecclesiastical writers bear witness to this tradition. Thus St. J\istin, who died a martyr in 165, says that " Having failed to find any lodging in the town, Joseph sought shelter in a neighbouring cavern of Bethlehem'' (Dial. c. Tryph., 70). About half a centurj- later. Origen writes: "If any one desires to satisfy himself without appealing either to the proph- ecy of Micheas, or to the historj' of the Christ as writ- ten by his diciples, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, let him know that, in accordance with the Gospel nar- rative, at Bethlehem is shown the grotto where he first saw the light" (C. Cels. I, 51).

St. Helena first converted the grotto into a chapel and adorned it with costly marble and other precious ornaments. The first basilica erected over the crj-pt is due most probably to the devotion and munificence of her son Constantine, of whom Eusebius says that The emperor himself, eclipsing even the m.agnifi- cence of his mother's design, adorned the same place in a truly regal style" (Vita Const., Ill, 43). Both the grotto itself and the basilica h.ave undergone nu- merous restorations and modifications made neces.sary in the course of centuries by the ravages of war and in- vasion; but, at the present time, little remains of the splendid mosaics and paintings described in detail by Quaresimus and other writers. The Crj-jit of the N.a- tiviiy is reached from the upper church by a double flight of stairs leading from the north side of the choir of the basilica to the grotto below, and converging at the place where according to tradition the Infant Saviour was born. The exact spot is marked by a star cut out of stone, surrounding which are the words;

HIC DE VIKGI.VE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS N.^TUS EST.

A short distance to the southwest is the manger itself where Christ was laid and where, as tradition asserts, he was adored by the Magi. In 1S73 the grotto was plundered by the Greeks and ever^ilhing of value, in- cluding two paintings by Murillo and Maello respec- tively, was carried off. No restitution of the stolen treasures has since been made.

II. The relics of the crib that are preserved at St. Mary Major's in Rome were probably brought there from the Holy Land during the pontificate of Pope Theodore ((i-40-649), who was himself a native of Pales- tine, and who w.as well aware of the dangers of plunder and pillage to which they were exposed at the hands of the .Mussulmans and other marauders. We find at all events that the basilica erected by Liberius on the E.squiline first received the name of Sancta Maria ad PrEPsepe imder Pope Theodore. During the pontifi- cate of Hadrian I the first altar was erected in the basil- ica, and in the course of succeeding centuries the place where the relics are preserved came to be visited by the devout faithful from all parts of the Christian world. At the present time the remains of the crib preser\'ed at St. Mary Major's consist of five pieces of board which, as a result of the investigation conducted by lather Lais, sulxlirector of the Vatican Observa- tory, during the restorations of 1S93 were found to he taken from .a sycamore tree of which there are several varieties in the Holy Land. Two of the pieces, which like the other three, must have been originally much longer than they are at present, stood upright in the form of an X, upon which three other pieces rested, supported by a sixth piece, which, however, is missing, placed aero.ss the b.a,se of the upper angle of the X. \\c may conclude from this that these pieces of wood were properly speaking mere supports for the manger itself, which was probably maile from the soft limestone of which the cave was formed. The rich relii|uary, adorned with b.as-reliefs and statuettes, which at pres- ent contains the relics of the crib was presented by the Duchess of Villa Hermo.sa in 18.30. Pius IV (1.5.59-65) restored the high altar upon which the relics arc

solemnly expo.sed for the veneration of the faithful yearly on the eve of Christmas.

III. Devotion to the crib is no doubt of very ancient origin ; but it remained for St. Francis of Assisi to pop- ularize it and to give it the tangible form in which it is known at the present time. When St. Francis visited Rome in 1223, he made known to Pope Honorius III the plans he had conceived of making a scenic represen- tation of the place of the Nativity. The pope listenetl gladly to the details of the project and gave it his sanc- tion. Leaving Rome, St. Francis arrived at Greccio on Chri.stmas Eve, when, through the aid of his friend Giovanni Velita, he constructed a crib and grouped around it figures of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, the ass, the ox, and the shepherds who came to adore the new-bom Saviour. He acted as deacon at the midnight Mass. The legend relates that having sung the words of the Gospel " and they laid him in a man- ger" he knelt down to meditate briefly on the sub- lime mystery of the Incarnation, and there appeared in his arms a child surrounded by a brilliant light. A painting by Giotto representing St. Francis celebrat- ing Christmas at Greccio is preserved in the Basilica of St. Francis at .Assisi. Devotion to the crib has since spread throughout the Christian world. Yearly, from the eve of Christmas until the day of the octave of Epiphany, a crib rejiresenting the birthplace of Christ is shown in all Catholic cliurclies in or'^'er to remind the faithful of the mystery of the Incarnation and to recall according to tradition and the Gospel narrative the historical events connected with the birth of the Re- deemer. The old Franciscan church of .\ra Cocli pos- sesses perhaps one of the largest and most beautiful cribs in the world. In this crib the famous Sotito Bambino di Ara CtU is exposed from the eve of Christ- mas to the feast of the Epiphany. The Santo Bam- bino is a figure carved out of wood representing the new-born Saviour. It is said to have come from the Holy Land, and in the course of time it has been be- decked with numerous jewels of great value. It is carried in procession yearly on the feast of the Epiph- any by the Minister General of the Friars Minor who solemnly blesses the city with it from the top of the high flight of stairs that lead to the main entrance of Ara Cceli.

Meistermann, a New Gvidc to thn Holy Land, tr. (Txindon, 1907), 221-234; Chandlery. Pilgrim Walks in Rome (New York and London, 1903), 107-108; Lesetre in Did. rlc In Bi- ble (Pari.s, 1899). All, s. v. Cri-clie; Armlrrla Juris Ponlificii. January, 1895, II, 74. 7.5; Mislin, Die Hciligen Orte (Vienna, 1S60) 11. 655 .Iq.; BiANCHlNi. De Translalione Sacrarum Cun- abularum ac Prasepii Domini.

Stephen M. Donovan.

Crime, iMPEDniENT of, nullifies marriage according to ecclesiastical law, and arises from adultery and homicide scpiirately or together. The Roman civil law prohibited the "marriage of a man with a widow with whom he had committed adultery during the life- time of her husband. There is serious doulit ( Decre- tum,Ciratiani,Pt. II, c.xxxi,q.4 1) whethertheChurch ever acce[>ted this law. Ecclesiastical law since the twelfth century certainly suppo.ses other circum- stances in such adultery in order that it may effect a nullification of the marriage.

According to the actual law (DecrctaL Greg. IX, Lib. 4 X tit. 7: Dc eo qui duxit. Cap. i, Propositum — Cap.vi, Significasti) there are two cases in which an adulterer may not marrj- one with whom the crime was committed; (1) When the adulterer promises to the partner in guilt marriage after the death of thi' other's legitimate spouse; (2) When the two attempted mar- riage and this w.as consummated during the lifetime of a legitimate spouse. Hence neither adultery alone without promise of marriage nor the promise of mar- riage without adulterj' forms a diriment, or nullifying, impediment. The promise must be accepted, and if it precede the adultery, must not have been recalled