THE CIRCUMCISION OF THE LORD AND THE OCTAVE OF THE NATIVITY.
Year of Christ 1.
PrefaceJesus Christ: The Circumcision of the Lord and the Octave of the Nativity
[1] The Kalends of January have always been celebrated by Christians with the greatest reverence, on account of the Octave of the Lord's Nativity, The Kalends of January are celebrated. the memorial of the most holy Circumcision of Christ, and the most august name of Jesus, in which indeed all people must be saved. Rightly therefore did the Church prefer to follow the ancient Romans in beginning the year from this day, rather than other nations who had established some other starting point, so that this day itself might bear the sacred symbol of our salvation.
[2] Concerning the day of the Kalends itself, the rites of the pagans, the fasts, litanies, and laws enacted against gift-giving and profane luxury by Christians, Baronius comments learnedly in his Notes on the Martyrology. Concerning the mystery of the Circumcision and the most holy name of Jesus, there exist very many homilies of the Holy Fathers and many treatises of more recent authors. Here we shall give only a sermon of Bishop Faustinus, delivered against the superstitious customs of certain Christians, which, as far as we know, has not been previously published, and which our Peter Francis Chifflet extracted from the ancient documents of the monastery of Accinctus. Then we shall append certain materials collected by our Herbert Rosweyde from various authors and manuscripts concerning the sacred foreskin of Christ.
SERMON OF BISHOP FAUSTINUS
ON THE KALENDS OF JANUARY
transcribed from an ancient codex by Peter Francis Chifflet of the Society of Jesus.
Jesus Christ: The Circumcision of the Lord and the Octave of the Nativity
By Bishop Faustinus.
[1] The Kalends of January are named after Janus. The day of these Kalends, dearest brothers, which they call the January Kalends, received its name from a certain Janus, a wicked and sacrilegious man. This Janus was once a leader and prince of pagan people: who was worshipped as a god: whom ignorant and rustic men, while fearing him as a king, began to worship as a god. For they bestowed upon him an unlawful honor, trembling at his royal power. For foolish men, ignorant of God, considered those to be especially among the gods whom they saw to be most exalted among men. And so it happened that the worship of the one true God was transferred to the many names of gods, or rather of demons. Therefore they named the day of today's Kalends after the name of Janus, as has been said: The beginning and end of the year were dedicated to him. so that to this man, upon whom they wished to confer divine honors, they might also assign both the end of one year and the beginning of another.
[2] And because among them the January Kalends were said to complete one year and begin another, they therefore placed the Kalends at the boundary: so that it would be believed to end one year and begin another. And hence it is that the ancient worshippers of idols fashioned two faces for Janus himself; Two faces were attributed to him one before him, another behind him: one which seems to look upon the past year, another which looks to the future. And so foolish men, by assigning two faces to him, while they wished to make him a god, made him a monster. That is, they wanted there to be in their god a beginning which is monstrous even in a beast. And therefore, by an excellent declaration and sign of their very error, while they wished him to appear a great god through religious vanity, they proclaimed him a demon.
[3] Pagans and certain Christians put on monstrous figures on the January Kalends. Hence it is that on these days pagan people are driven by a perverse order of all things to obscene deformities: so that the worshippers might make themselves such as he was who is worshipped. For on these days wretched men, and what is worse, even some who are baptized, assume adulterous forms; they take on monstrous appearances. Among which things I hardly know what should be laughed at first, or rather lamented. For what wise person could believe that any people of sound mind can be found who, making themselves into a stag, would wish to transform themselves into the appearance of wild beasts? Some are clothed in the skins of cattle, others take on the heads of beasts, rejoicing and exulting if they have thus transformed themselves into bestial forms so that they no longer appear to be human. From this they show and prove that they have the mind of beasts more than a beastly appearance. For although they wish to express in themselves the likenesses of various animals, it is certain that in these people there is more the heart of cattle than the human form.
[4] Others assumed female dress. And then how shameful is it that men born as such are clothed in women's tunics, and by the most disgraceful transformation effeminate their manly strength with girlish figures; not blushing to insert their military arms into women's garments? They display bearded faces, yet wish to appear as women: and rightly they no longer have manly strength, who have passed over into women's dress. For it must be believed that by the just judgment of God it happened that those who had deformed themselves with the appearance of women would lose their military valor.
[5] And because God, being pleased, has deigned to inspire in you that, out of love for the faith, this wretched custom should be entirely abolished from this city; I ask you, dearest brothers, that it should not be enough for you that you yourselves, by the gift of God, do not commit this evil; but wherever you see it being done, rebuke, correct, and admonish, and by your salutary counsel call back foolish men from this wretched sacrilege: and that you may consecrate yourselves entirely to the divine mercy, reject also those other observances, like the poisons of the devil: which, what is worse, many among the Christian people are still not ashamed to observe.
[6] Other superstitious observances on the January Kalends. For there are some who on the January Kalends observe auguries in such a way that they will not give fire from their house or any other kindness to anyone who asks. They also both receive diabolical gifts from others and offer them to others. Some rustics also, on the night that has just passed, arranging their tables full of many things necessary for eating, wish them to remain so arranged all night long, believing that the January Kalends can grant them this: that throughout the whole year their feasts may continue in such abundance. And because, as it is written, "A little leaven corrupts the whole lump" (1 Cor. 5:6), even these and other similar things, which it would take long to describe, which are believed by the ignorant to be small or no sins at all; order them to be removed from your households: and command this, that they celebrate these Kalends just as they are accustomed to celebrate those of other months. For whoever wishes to observe anything of pagan custom on these days, it is to be feared that the name of Christian may not be able to profit them.
[7] In ancient times a universal fast was established on this day. And therefore our holy ancient Fathers, considering that the greatest part of the human race on these days devoted itself to gluttony or luxury, raging with drunkenness and sacrilegious greetings; decreed throughout the whole world that a public fast should be proclaimed in all churches: so that wretched people might recognize that they were doing so much evil that on account of their sins it was necessary for all churches to fast. Let us therefore fast, dearest brothers, It was still observed in the time of Faustinus. on these days, and with true and perfect charity let us mourn the folly of wretched men: so that they may thus at least understand their own evil, when they see us observing a public fast on their behalf. For it should not be despaired that God cannot correct them by your prayer, who through his Apostle promised with ineffable kindness, saying: "He who causes a sinner to be converted from the error of his way shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20).
[8] Nothing should be given to foolish men engaged in revelry. For whoever on these Kalends bestows any kindness upon foolish people playing in luxury, let him not doubt that he is a participant in their sins. For he who faithfully considers the salvation of his soul ought rather to grieve and weep for them, than to relax his mind to unhappy laughter with them or about them. But you, brothers, who by God's favor are accustomed to cry out daily: "My eyes are ever toward the Lord" (Ps. 25:15); and again: "To you I have lifted up my eyes" (Ps. 123:1); it is not fitting that your eyes, which are daily sanctified by watching for God in church, It is not permitted even to watch their follies. should be polluted by viewing the luxury of foolish people. Rather you should disdain and despise the work of the devil, so that the charity of Christ may remain whole in you. Cry out therefore with the Prophet, saying: "Turn away my eyes that they may not see vanity" (Ps. 119:37); fearing what the Apostle says: "You cannot be partakers of the table of God and the table of demons: you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons" (1 Cor. 10:21). But I believe in the mercy of God, that by your correction their folly is to be amended; so that not only for yourselves, but also for those who profit by your example, doubled rewards may be repaid to you by God. May he deign to grant this, whose kingdom and dominion endures forever and ever. Amen.
COMMEMORATION OF THE MOST HOLY FORESKIN OF CHRIST, AT ANTWERP AND ELSEWHERE.
CommentaryJesus Christ: Commemoration of the Most Holy Foreskin of Christ. BHL Number: 4161
From various authors. From Toledo and manuscripts.
[1] The foreskin of Christ was long preserved at Antwerp. For nearly five centuries the people of Antwerp boasted that the most holy foreskin of Christ had been preserved among them among other illustrious relics of the saints: which, however, around the year 1566, when churches and sanctuaries were plundered by the monstrous fury of the Calvinists, was lost. But since other churches also maintain that it exists in their possession, The same relics are often believed to be in different places. I shall set forth what various authors have recorded about it: I shall leave the judgment on the whole matter to the reader. Nor is it new for several churches to contend over certain illustrious relics, as will be apparent from the histories of the saints, since often one set of relics was given to princes or substituted for other more illustrious ones; and these were nevertheless venerated with great faith by pious people and provided the occasion for many miracles.
[2] As for the question debated by some, whether Christ rose again with his foreskin (on which one may consult Titus of Bostra and Theophylact on chapter 2 of Luke, and other interpreters and doctors), our Francisco Suarez, 3rd part, question 54, article 4, disputation 37, section 1, explains it in such a way that he acknowledges Christ indeed rose with his foreskin, yet does not derogate from the tradition asserting that it is also preserved on earth. For he considers it probable that what was cut off remained on earth; but that the risen body had a foreskin formed from some portion of the matter which had at one time been in Christ's body and had been dissolved through continuous nourishment. In what place, however, that small piece of skin, cut from the most holy body of Christ, is now preserved, is not sufficiently established.
[3] Innocent III, book 4 on the Mysteries of the Mass, chapter 30: What shall be said about the circumcision of the foreskin, or the cutting of the umbilical cord? Did they likewise return to the truth of human substance at Christ's resurrection? For it is believed to be preserved in the Lateran basilica: although some say that the foreskin of Christ was brought to Jerusalem by an Angel to Charlemagne, Brought by an Angel to Charlemagne and placed at Aachen. who transported it and placed it at Aachen. But afterwards it was placed by Charles the Bald in the Church of the Savior at Charroux. It is better, however, to entrust the whole matter to God than to define anything rashly.
[4] James of Voragine in the Golden Legend, on the feast of the Circumcision: Concerning the flesh of the Lord's circumcision, it is said that an Angel brought it to Charlemagne; and he honorably placed it at Aachen in the church of St. Mary: but Charles is said to have afterwards transferred it to Charroux. Now, however, it is said to be at Rome in the church called the Sancta Sanctorum. Whence there is written:
"The circumcised flesh of Christ, the bright sandals, and the precious cutting of the umbilical cord are preserved here."
Whence on that day a Station is held at the Sancta Sanctorum. Peter de Natalibus, book 2, chapter 27, has the same.
[5] Ferreolus Locrius, in his work on Mary Augusta, book 4, chapter 6. Symphorian Campegius, in a booklet on the holy places of Gaul, At Le Puy it is also said to be preserved, along with the mitre of Aaron. published in Paris 67 years ago, says that at Le Puy in the Auvergne, which town is now called Le Puy, the Lord's foreskin and the mitre or infula of Aaron are carefully preserved and held in great veneration.
[6] [The Blessed Virgin preserved Christ's foreskin: then gave it to St. John; along with the blood wiped from Christ's wounds.] St. Bridget, book 6 of Revelations, chapter 112. Mary says: When my son was circumcised, I preserved that membrane with the greatest honor wherever I went. For how could I hand over to the earth that which had been generated from me without sin? When the time of my calling from this world was at hand, I entrusted it to St. John my guardian, along with that blessed blood which remained in his wounds when we took him down from the Cross. After St. John and his successors were removed from the world, with wickedness and treachery growing, the faithful who then existed hid those things in a most clean place underground, and they were long unknown. Until an Angel of God revealed them to God's friends. Afterwards preserved at Rome. O Rome! O Rome! If you knew, you would truly rejoice: indeed if you knew how to weep, you would weep unceasingly, because you have a treasure most dear to me, and you do not honor it.
[7] Alphonsus Salmeron, volume 3 on the Gospels, Treatise 36, page 320: The Blessed Virgin is said to have most carefully preserved the ring of the circumcision as a most precious thing, and before she ascended into heaven (as tradition holds) she left it in the keeping of Blessed Mary Magdalene: [Salmeron thinks the foreskin of Christ was given by the Blessed Virgin to the Magdalene.] afterwards, as James the Bishop of Genoa testifies, it was brought by an Angel to Charlemagne: this ring was first guarded at Aachen, then at Charroux. Finally, however, it is established by the most certain tradition that this foreskin came to his primary bride, that is, the Roman Church, which is the mother and mistress of all churches, and was most faithfully, as was fitting, and most reverently preserved in the Lateran temple, in the place so called the Sancta Sanctorum, for many centuries, as such a monument of Christ's love demanded.
[8] John Baptist Signius in his Reliquary, chapter 1: The foreskin is read to have been brought by an Angel to King Charles, who afterwards built in its name the monastery of Charroux in the diocese of Poitiers, The monastery of Charroux. and named Charroux from that circumcised flesh, that is, the foreskin. Meanwhile the foreskin itself is guarded at Rome above the Lateran high altar in a marble tabernacle along with other relics, according to the testimony of Onuphrius Panvinius on the seven principal churches of the city.
[9] A description of the Sanctuary of the Lateran Church, manuscript, in the codex of Marchiennes and of the Bruges College of the Society of Jesus: In the same sacred Lateran palace there is a certain oratory of St. Lawrence, The oratory of St. Lawrence in the Lateran Church. in which three most holy altars are counted: the first, in a cypress chest which Leo III made, contains three caskets. In one is a Cross of the purest gold, adorned with gems and precious stones, namely hyacinths, emeralds, and prasines. And in the middle of that Cross is the umbilical cord of the Lord and the foreskin of his Circumcision, and it is anointed with balsam from above, The umbilical cord and foreskin of Christ were preserved there. and each year the same anointing is renewed, when the Lord Pope with the Cardinals makes a procession for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross from the church of St. Lawrence itself to the church of St. John. And in another silver and gilded casket with historical scenes, there is a Cross painted in enamel, and beneath that casket is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The sandals of Christ. In the third casket, which is silver, are sandals, that is, the shoes of the Lord.
[10] M. Attilius Serranus, On the Seven Churches of the City, chapter on the Lateran Basilica, page 71: From here one arrives at the chapel of the Holy Savior, which many writers affirm was formerly called that of St. Lawrence, especially the Librarian in the Life of Pope Stephen III. This afterwards received the name Sancta Sanctorum on account of the innumerable relics of the Saints. Here there were for some time hidden the heads of the Apostles, the foreskin of Christ, The head of St. Agnes. and the head of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, which along with many others were removed from there. Nevertheless many holy and venerable relics are still preserved there. Now, however, on account of the most holy image of Christ the Savior placed there, it is called the Chapel of the Savior.
[11] The same author, in the same place, chapter on the relics of the Lateran Church: In the chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum, which is called St. Lawrence's ... Under the altar is a cypress chest closed with many keys, made by Pope Leo III, and adorned with these golden letters, Sancta Sanctorum, within which are many other smaller caskets and tabernacles full of relics: among them a small silver-gilt casket in the shape of a Cross, in the middle of which is a golden Cross. In it was the Foreskin, as is evident from the manuscript Lateran Sanctuary, although Serranus does not expressly state this.
[12] Illustrious is what Francisco de Toledo, our author, writes about the foreskin carried away from Rome and then recovered, in his commentary on Luke chapter 2, annotation 31. It was learned from three most illustrious women, namely Magdalena Strozzi, formerly wife of Flaminius Anguillara, and from Clarice her daughter, who had married Sciarra Colonna; and finally from Emilia Orsini, Magdalena's kinswoman, who was married to Virginio Anguillara; that in the year 1527, at the time when Rome fell to the plundering of the enemy, from the most august Lateran Basilica, from the place most reverently called the Sancta Sanctorum, [The foreskin of Christ along with other relics was stolen; a soldier buried it in the ground.] a certain soldier stole the foreskin of Christ the Lord along with other relics, and departing from the city was captured by peasants; brought to Calcata (this is the name of a village subject to the Anguillara family, distant from Rome only twenty miles), and thrust into a cellar as a prison, the sacrilegious man buried the treasure he had stolen.
[13] Not long after, having been granted his liberty, he returned to Rome, and seized by illness, took himself to the Hospital of the Holy Spirit in Sassia, where, near death, he declared that he had buried the most holy relics in the ground in a village near Rome (he did not remember the name), belonging to the Anguillara family. On his deathbed he reveals this. When this was reported to Pope Clement VII, he ordered a letter written to Giovanni Battista Anguillara, husband of Lucrezia Orsini (he was lord of Calcata, Stabio, and Massano), that he should employ every diligence in searching for the relics. He did what was commanded, but nothing was found.
[14] Finally, in October 1557, it pleased divine goodness that they should be found by a visiting priest who presided over the church of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian at Calcata, to which was attached the cellar in which we said the soldier had been imprisoned: the most holy relics were deposited in a small steel casket of half a palm in length, At length they are found much later. four fingers in height, closed above with an arched lid. The priest brought the casket to Magdalena Strozzi, lady of that place, who at that time was staying at Stabio, one mile from Calcata. This most noble woman, therefore, together with the priest, Lucrezia Orsini, and her daughter Clarice, seven or eight years old, opened the casket and found the relics wrapped in very ancient silk cloths, to each of which was attached a name on a polished parchment, but so consumed by the passage of time that they could scarcely be read. Therefore, in order to arrange them honorably, Magdalena unwrapped them one by one (for there were quite a number) and placed them in a silver basin, inserting them into new silk pouches with their names likewise attached to each. Among other things, first was found a particle of the flesh of Blessed Valentine the Martyr, A particle of the flesh of St. Valentine the Martyr, entirely fresh. equal in size to a nut, which at that very time appeared to have been freshly cut. Secondly, there was found a part of a jawbone with one tooth of St. Martha, the sister of St. Mary Magdalene. The joy of finding the treasure increased the anticipation of finding more. Certain relics of St. Martha.
[15] The third was a silk pouch the size of a walnut, on which the name JESUS was inscribed: when Magdalena began to undo its first thread, she felt her hands grow stiff; [When Magdalena Strozzi attempted to open the pouch containing Christ's foreskin, her fingers stiffened three times.] she rubbed them, as is customary, and again attempted to undo what she had begun: but again she felt a numbness in her hands, greater than before, to the amazement of those present, ignorant of what lay hidden in the small pouch. Wherefore, with mind raised up, judging that heavenly aid must be implored, she thus addressed God most good in her heart: Although I confess myself a sinner, and therefore most unworthy to touch divine things, yet my soul is my witness that I have undertaken this office not arrogantly but humbly; not to scorn sacred things but to preserve them honorably. When therefore her fingers stiffened a third time with greater rigidity but the same result, most eager to untie the very difficult knot, grasping the sacred bundle, she tried to bring together the two fingers of each hand, which she immediately felt hardened with stiffness, as though made of metal. And what wonderfully increases the magnitude of the miracle, she could neither join her fingers nor touch the most sacred little ball. The spectacle drew forth amazement, and amazement drew from the bystanders and especially from Magdalena herself most abundant tears. Then Lucrezia, as though divining, said: I would believe that the most holy foreskin of Christ is contained here, about which Pope Clement once wrote to my husband Giovanni Battista.
[16] A most sweet odor was wafted from that bundle. When this most perceptive woman had spoken these words, they suddenly perceived a most sweet odor wafted from the same little ball, whose composition they could not even imagine. Nor had that odor merely filled the room in which they were contemplating the relics, but it was so diffused through all parts of the house that Flaminius, Magdalena's husband, quickly sent someone to his wife to learn what that odor was which seemed to spread from her chamber: but the prudent woman preferred for the time being to conceal what was happening rather than rashly reveal a secret of which she herself was ignorant.
[17] Meanwhile, the women were struck with no small fear and uncertain what to do or where to turn. The priest who was present, himself also terrified by the novelty of the matter, offered this counsel: that they should allow the young virgin Clarice to put the final hand to this most difficult work. The matrons present agreed, and the mother considered herself fortunate if she were surpassed by her daughter in untying the knot. The bundle is opened by the virgin Clarice. Clarice therefore received the little ball with reverence, without delay or difficulty untied it, unrolled and separated it, and placed the most holy foreskin of Christ in the silver basin with the other relics, and finally placed it in a silver vessel; it was thick and curled, like a red chickpea. So much has the innocence of life and bodily integrity always availed with God most good. For two days a sweet odor clung to her hands. Moreover, that divine odor was so diffused upon the hands of both mother and daughter that it continued for two whole days.
[18] They then proceeded to examine and arrange the remaining relics, from the unwrapping of which, however, no odor emanated, as it had not from the earlier ones; nor was it necessary to employ any effort in unrolling or arranging them. Finally, Magdalena entrusted everything deposited with the greatest honor in the same casket to the priest, to be carried to the church of Calcata, whom, having conceived some suspicion about him shortly after, she dismissed, and replaced him with another of her own subjects. The matter could not long remain hidden: The said relics are preserved in the church at Calcata. but when it had been very quickly spread abroad, the Lady of Calcata, fearing that such a great treasure might be stolen through someone's malice, wished it to be preserved in the church sacristy, that is, in a more secure place.
[19] A procession to the sacred foreskin on the January Kalends. Finally, in the year 1559, on the very Kalends of January, by divine inspiration, certain women of the Confraternity of St. Ursula from Massano (which place is one mile from Calcata) undertook a journey for the purpose of visiting the most holy relics, devoutly carrying lighted candles in their hands after midday: to whom several men also joined themselves, likewise bearing torches, with their children. When they arrived at Calcata, on the plain on which the church is situated, they all prostrated themselves on the ground with the greatest submission of spirit: and thus, on their knees, they reached the threshold of the church in which the same relics were preserved. Then they asked the priest Aristantes, a man of the greatest integrity, to display the most holy foreskin to them: the priest brought it from the sacristy and placed it on the altar. And behold suddenly (the matter exceeds all wonder) a cloud filled the temple, which enveloped the most holy relics, the priest, [When the relics were displayed, a cloud and other portents were seen in the church.] and the altar itself, so that none of these could be seen by anyone for a space of about four hours, except for the cloud, stars, and flames of fire, which were borne up and down through the church. All who were present were rightly dismayed by this spectacle and began to implore mercy with intense voice as tears and sobs permitted: there were those who, When bells were rung, many gathered. ringing the bells, summoned by their sound the multitude not only of Calcata but also of the villages of Stabio and Massano: many, shut out from the doors of the church, climbed the roofs and, tearing off the tiles, prepared a way for themselves to see what was being witnessed. Flaminius, lord of the place, who at that time had gone out some distance to hunt for pleasure, heard the sound of the bells: and without delay sent one of his household to investigate the matter: he returned most quickly and declared that he saw in the church a cloud, stars, and flames along with the multitude. The lord himself flew there, and upon his return to the village, by the will of God everything disappeared. The priest afterwards related that during all that time he had been deprived of all sense and thought.
[20] The matter is presented to Pope Paul IV. Not long after, Magdalena came to Rome and informed Pope Paul IV of everything, who sent Pipinellus and Attilius Caecius, Canons of the Lateran Basilica, to Calcata, to be more fully instructed about the truth of the matter. They therefore summoned the most distinguished women, Magdalena, Lucrezia, and Clarice, and inquired of them whether they recognized the same relics that they had previously said were shown to them by the priest. They affirmed this, as was recorded in public documents and testimonies.
[21] While these things were being done in May 1559 (it was a very beautiful day), another remarkable miracle occurred. For the senior of those Canons, with two fingers of each hand, tested whether the foreskin of Christ was hard or soft, [A certain Lateran Canon, pressing the foreskin of Christ, tore it apart: and immediately a horrible storm arose.] and to be more certain, pressing it, he carelessly tore it into two parts: whereupon (wondrous to tell) such thunder, such lightning, so darkened was the sky over that place, that in the middle of the day those present longed for light: all, terrified with fear, seemed to be giving up their souls.
[22] Having set down the relics, the Canons returned to Rome and reported to the Pontiff what they had seen and heard, and testified openly to all that these were the true relics of our Savior: and they were the same authorities who had found in very ancient codices that this most holy foreskin of Christ had once been preserved at the Sancta Sanctorum in a crystal vessel which was supported on either side by two Angels exquisitely crafted in gold. Moreover, to the present day they are guarded at Calcata in the church of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian with the greatest veneration, Many miracles happen there. where God most good works these and daily more miracles. So that this place might be the more celebrated, Emilia Orsini, Magdalena's kinswoman, in July 1584, obtained from Sixtus V a plenary indulgence in the same church on the very day of the Circumcision of the Lord, Indulgences are granted by the Pontiff. as is clear from the Apostolic letters, for a period of ten years.
[23] It remains for us to set forth what favors the Antwerp claim: let others judge what weight these may have. To me it certainly seems probable The foreskin of Christ, or at least a portion of it, was preserved at Antwerp. that at least a small particle of the sacred foreskin existed there. The first is the testimony of the Antwerp Chapter given in the year 1416. The second is the testimony of Theobald, Archbishop of Besancon, in the year 1427. The third that of John, Bishop of Cambrai, in the year 1428. The fourth is the testimony of Pope Eugenius in the year 1446. To this is added a Bull of Clement VIII, given in the year 1599, by which the Confraternity of the Circumcision, already long established in the city of Antwerp, is confirmed.
[24] Letter of the Antwerp Chapter. The letter of the Antwerp Chapter reads as follows: To all the faithful of Christ to whom this present writing shall come, the Dean and Chapter of the collegiate church of Blessed Mary at Antwerp, * of the diocese of Cambrai, greeting in Christ Jesus our Lord, and pious knowledge of the truth.
If veneration and honorific worship is owed to the sacred bones and other proven relics for recalling to us the merits of the Saints and for imitating their life; how much greater is owed to the Lord's foreskin, which from the uncontaminated flesh of Christ, who is the Holy of Holies, as the pledge and beginning of our redemption, was cut in the infancy of his tender age and in the first shedding of his precious blood, and was left to the world, as we piously believe, the bride of Christ, the Church, saying, "If my husband have no name and relics upon the earth" (2 Kings 14:7). Since indeed this most holy foreskin of our Lord Jesus Christ, at least (lest we seem to derogate from certain places) a notable portion of it, has been with us and has been for many hundreds of years, as we have learned from the report of our elders and from their very ancient writings left behind; lest we be accused of irreverence and negligence toward so sacred a thing, like those Cistercians whom Caesarius mentions; in order to do what is in us, we wish this same to be known to all of you by this our writing. Caesarius, book 8, chapters 84, 85, 86.
[25] For our elders have handed down to us that when the most illustrious and most Christian Prince of blessed memory, Godfrey de Bouillon, King of Jerusalem, was ruling in the Holy Land, The foreskin of Christ was transmitted from Jerusalem to Antwerp. there was with him a certain noble man, a citizen of Antwerp, Henry Noese, a priest and chaplain of that same Lord Godfrey: who thereafter was made Bishop of Jerusalem, ** and seeing the fury of the infidel pagans growing stronger under Baldwin, the successor and brother of the aforesaid King Godfrey; moved by love of his native land, before he was overtaken by bodily death there, in order to take so sacred a thing away from the unworthy infidels, he faithfully transmitted the Lord's foreskin, previously acquired and proven by sufficient evidence, through the hands of a certain fellow countryman, his faithful chaplain and ours, Arnold Heerbrant, to our aforesaid church of Antwerp as a perpetual memorial of himself, worthy to be adored by the faithful: for the Lord says through the Prophet: "From Jerusalem shall go forth relics" (Isaiah 37:32). And elsewhere: "I will destroy from this place (namely Jerusalem) relics" (Zephaniah 1:4). And: "I will cause the relics of this people to possess" (Zechariah 8:12).
[26] * But lest this matter should at first glance seem to some to have been received by us with some levity, passing over in silence any stupendous miracles which followed as attestation of this sign, which the Lord once deigned to work, we shall faithfully relate them.
It happened indeed that once a venerable Father and our Lord the Bishop of Cambrai visited our church in the manner of pastoral care. While he was about to celebrate the most holy foreskin of the Lord, about which we are speaking to you, during the solemnities of his Mass, he waited for it to be brought to him in person and placed upon the corporal he was using; so that he might behold it with fear and reverence. When our predecessors, who were present at the time, justly assented to his devout request; having first enjoined common prayers upon the people through the same bishop, while he himself prayed within the secrets of his Mass, [Three drops of blood exuded from the foreskin onto the corporal of the Bishop of Cambrai, who seemed to doubt the truth.] if perhaps the Lord might deign to send him some sign; (wondrous thing!) behold, from the aforesaid foreskin of the Lord he saw, amazed, three drops of blood exuding onto the corporal upon which it had been placed, which to this very day remain and are notably apparent among us, and immediately whatever wound of doubt had clung to his breast regarding this matter was cut away: yet the pious Father, led by repentance, prayed to the Lord and had the people pray for him, fearing lest in this matter he might have somehow incurred the fault of tempting God.
[27] But what shall we say of that renowned Queen of Sicily, of revered memory among us, [The Queen of Sicily, vowing to visit the foreskin of Christ, is cured of an incurable disease.] who once, suffering from an incurable disease and entirely ignorant of our place at Antwerp, being taught only in spirit and vision by the Lord, devoutly vowed to visit this sacred foreskin of the Lord and the threshold of our church in person: at that very moment she was cured and made whole. And when she bodily fulfilled what she had promised by vow, relying on the support of merchants; as the Queen approached, our clergy came out in procession to meet her, and brought the sacred foreskin; behold a demoniac reproached the Canons in a horrible voice, [A demoniac is freed in the presence of the foreskin. The Queen of Sicily gives ornaments to the Antwerp Church.] because they were carrying the flesh of the immortal King to meet a mortal woman, and he was immediately freed from the demon. And there are preserved among us to this day the precious ornaments as a sign of this, which this devout matron left to our Church with thanksgiving.
[28] What hearts, we ask, are so stony among men, for whom these testimonies are not sufficient? Whom would these things not move to pious faith, to adore most devoutly this most sacred foreskin of the Lord, which we faithfully and piously believe to be with us, if not bodily present, at least in mind faithfully with us; unless perhaps those against whom the famous Aurelius Augustine so beautifully inveighs in his books On the City of God, whose characteristic it is, as he says, to believe nothing about past or future things which they have not seen up close or experimentally with their own eyes? Augustine, City of God, book 21, chapter 5. These therefore are our monuments in this matter: this is the faithful account of our elders, which we write, which every year from such a time that no contrary memory exists, are proclaimed to many thousands of people. In testimony of which things we have thought to confirm this present writing of ours with the appending of our seal, from certain knowledge. Given at Antwerp in our capitular place in the year of the Lord one thousand four hundred and sixteen, on the tenth day of the month of June.
It was sealed with one seal of the aforesaid Chapter in green wax.
[29] Letter of John de Gaure, Bishop of Cambrai. The letters of John of Cambrai and Theobald of Besancon are as follows: To all and each of the faithful of Christ who shall inspect these present letters, John, by the grace of God and of the Apostolic See, Bishop of Cambrai, eternal greeting in the Lord.
We make known that we, holding all and each of the indulgences granted by the most Reverend Father and Lord in Christ, Lord Theobald, by the same grace Archbishop of Besancon, in the letters of that most Reverend Father noted below, as valid and acceptable by our ordinary and Pontifical authority, insofar as we can and ought with God and by law, give our consent and assent equally in the concession of these indulgences. Furthermore, so that the Chapel founded in honor and under the title of the most holy foreskin of the Savior our Lord Jesus Christ, situated and established in the collegiate and parochial Church of the glorious Blessed Virgin Mary, of the town of Antwerp, of our Diocese, of which mention is made in the said letters inserted below, may be frequented with fitting honors and unceasingly venerated by the faithful of Christ; and that the faithful themselves may the more willingly assemble and flock to the same for the sake of devotion, prayer, vow, and pilgrimage, the more they shall see themselves refreshed by the gift of heavenly grace; at the request of the Brethren of the Confraternity of the most holy foreskin petitioning us about this; to all and each truly penitent, confessed and contrite, and existing in a state of grace, Bishop John grants indulgences in the chapel of the holy foreskin. who shall attend the Mass which is celebrated every Saturday in the said chapel out of reverence and honor for the same sanctuary, and who shall have devoted themselves to this purpose; or who shall have extended helping hands toward the increase of divine worship to be done in the said chapel, or toward the work of maintaining and repairing the same chapel; or who shall have visited the said chapel itself on the feasts of the Circumcision, Nativity, Epiphany, Easter, and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, Pentecost, the Most Holy Trinity, and All Saints, as well as on the five feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and on the day of the procession when the said sanctuary is carried processionally through the said town, and during the octaves of the same feasts having octaves, for the sake of devotion, prayer, or pilgrimage, seeking pardon of their sins from the Lord; trusting in the mercy of almighty God and the merits and intercessions of the glorious Virgin Mary his Mother, and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all Saints male and female; we have mercifully relaxed in the Lord and do relax by these presents forty days of indulgence from the penances imposed upon them, as often as they shall have salutarily performed the aforesaid or any of the aforesaid, the Lord being propitious, which we wish to endure perpetually in their full force. In testimony of which we have thought to append our seal to these our present letters. Given and done at Antwerp of our said Diocese, in the year of the Lord one thousand four hundred and twenty-eight, on the twenty-first day of the month of October.
[30] The tenor of the letters of the said most Reverend Father the Lord Archbishop of Besancon, of which mention is made above, follows word for word and is as follows:
Letter of Theobald de Rougemont, Archbishop of Besancon. Theobald, by the grace of God and of the Apostolic See, Archbishop of Besancon, to all the faithful of Christ who shall inspect these present letters, greeting in him who is the true salvation of all, and to abound in works of charity.
We most willingly assent to the pious wishes of the faithful, through which the worship of the divine name is increased, and insofar as we can with God, we impart our gracious and benevolent assent, that their devotion may grow. Since therefore, as we learned today while passing through Antwerp of the diocese of Cambrai by chance, from the trustworthy report of many, the most holy foreskin of the Savior our Lord Jesus Christ is said to rest in the collegiate and parochial church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the said place, and is probably honorably preserved in golden vessels in a certain part of the same church; out of honor and reverence for which sanctuary certain faithful Christians cause one Mass to be solemnly celebrated each Saturday of every week by certain chaplains appointed for this purpose in a certain chapel of the said holy foreskin; Every Saturday a Mass of the holy foreskin is customarily said. Wishing therefore that the same chapel, in which the said foreskin is now known to be, or in which perhaps it will be transferred in future times, may be perpetually frequented with fitting honors, and that the faithful of Christ may the more willingly flock to the same for the sake of devotion, and may more readily and promptly extend helping hands to the fabric of the same chapel; trusting in the mercy of almighty God, of the glorious Virgin Mary his Mother, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, of St. John the Evangelist and St. Stephen the Protomartyr, our patrons, and the merits and intercession of all Saints male and female; to all truly penitent and confessed, [Theobald grants indulgences to those hearing Mass, or visiting the chapel of the holy foreskin, etc.] who shall devoutly hear the said ordinary Mass, and for the sake of devotion shall have visited the same chapel on the day of the feast of the Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ, and on the feast of the Trinity, and during their octaves; and who shall personally walk in procession with the same on the day of the procession itself, and shall have extended helping hands to the fabric of the same chapel or to the increase of divine worship, on each of the days on which they shall have performed this pious and salutary work, we mercifully relax in the Lord forty days from the penances imposed upon them; these presents to endure in their force for perpetual times. In testimony of which we have thought to append the seal of our Chamber to these presents. Given at Antwerp on the seventeenth day of the month of October, in the year of the Lord one thousand four hundred and twenty-seven.
[31] The diplomas of Eugenius and Clement read as follows: Eugenius, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, Letter of Pope Eugenius IV. for the perpetual record of the matter. Placed upon the watchtower of Apostolic dignity by divine disposition, we pursue with constant cares, so that those for whom the Son of God deigned to endure human afflictions, purged of their sins, may obtain the salvation of their souls. Since therefore (as the petition recently presented to us on behalf of our beloved son Master Anselm Fabri of Breda, Dean of the Church of Blessed Mary at Antwerp, Anselm Fabri of Breda, Dean of Antwerp. of the Diocese of Cambrai, our Notary and corrector of Apostolic letters, stated) in the chapel, near whose altar in the aforesaid church the Lord's Foreskin is said to be honorably preserved, and where the aforesaid Anselm instituted and endowed a certain perpetual Chaplaincy; a great many faithful of Christ, out of singular devotion, are accustomed to assemble, embracing a Confraternity there, of which the said Anselm is a member, for the propagation of divine worship; We, desiring with the utmost affection that this devotion and worship may flourish and increase, and inclined to the supplications of Anselm himself, who is also our Referendary, in this matter; [Eugenius grants to the members of the holy foreskin confraternity that they may choose their own confessors,] by Apostolic authority and the tenor of these presents we grant to all and each of the faithful of Christ, up to the number of 25, who are now and in the future members of this confraternity, that each of them may choose suitable priests as their confessors, who, having diligently heard their confessions, may grant them due absolution and impose a salutary penance for sins, crimes, and offenses they have committed, in cases reserved to the Apostolic See once, and in other cases as often as appropriate, And that they may obtain from them a plenary indulgence once. and may grant them full remission of all their sins, for which they are contrite in heart and have confessed with their mouth, even once only at the point of death: provided, however, that those confessors shall impose upon those to whom satisfaction must be made, the obligation to make it if they survive, or through their heirs if they should then have departed, which obligation they shall be bound to fulfill. And lest anyone on this account (God forbid) be rendered more inclined to commit illicit acts in the future, we decree that if, out of confidence in this remission, they shall have committed any sins, [If they sin more freely in such confidence, he decrees that the bull shall not profit them for those sins.] the said remission shall in no way avail them with respect to those sins: and that each of the aforesaid faithful, after they shall have wished the said concession of remission to profit them, or to make use of it, shall thenceforth fast every Friday for one year, legitimate impediment ceasing: The members are bound to fast on all Fridays for one year. and if on the said Fridays they are already bound to fast by precept of the Church, regular observance, imposed penance, vow, or otherwise, they shall fast one other day of each week of the same year on which they are not bound to fast. If, however, they are legitimately impeded during the aforesaid year or any part of it, they shall be bound to make up the fast in the following year or as soon as they can, in like manner. Moreover, if they shall at any time be unable conveniently to fulfill the aforesaid fast in whole or in part, their aforesaid confessors may commute it into other works of piety as they shall see expedient for the salvation of their souls, which they shall likewise be bound to fulfill. Otherwise, the concession of remission made to those only shall be of no force or effect. Let no man therefore dare to infringe upon this page of our concession and will, or rashly oppose it. If anyone should presume to attempt this, let him know that he shall incur the wrath of almighty God and of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul. Given at Rome at St. Peter's in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1446, on the 5th of the Kalends of February, in the sixteenth year of our Pontificate.
[32] Letter of Clement VIII. Pope Clement VIII, for the perpetual record of the matter. Since, as we have been informed, in the Cathedral Church of Antwerp there exists one pious Confraternity of the faithful of Christ of both sexes under the invocation of the Circumcision of the Lord, not however of people of one particular trade, canonically established, which is accustomed to exercise itself in pious works of charity; [The Pontiff grants plenary indulgence to the members of the Circumcision confraternity on the day of entrance and of death.] We, so that the aforesaid Confraternity may receive ever greater increase, trusting in the mercy of almighty God and the authority of his blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, grant to all the faithful of Christ of both sexes who shall hereafter enter the said Confraternity, on the first day of their entrance, if they are truly penitent and confessed and have received the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, a plenary indulgence; and also to those who are now and hereafter enrolled in the same Confraternity as members, at the point of death of each of them, if they are likewise truly penitent and confessed and refreshed with holy communion, or if they cannot do this, at least truly contrite and have devoutly invoked the name of Jesus with mouth or heart, likewise a plenary indulgence; and also to all the faithful of Christ of both sexes, likewise truly penitent and confessed and refreshed with most holy communion, Likewise to all visiting their chapel on the feast of the Circumcision. who shall devoutly visit the church or chapel of the aforesaid Confraternity on the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord from first vespers until sunset of the same feast each year, and there shall pour forth pious prayers to God for the concord of Christian princes, the extirpation of heresies, and the exaltation of holy Mother Church, we likewise mercifully grant in the Lord a plenary indulgence and remission of all their sins.
[33] [He grants the members other indulgences on the feasts of St. Arnulph, Begga, Gertrude, and Ivo.] Moreover, to the same members of both sexes, now and in the future, who shall piously visit the said church or chapel on the feasts of St. Arnulph the Bishop, Duchess Begga, Gertrude, and Ivo the Advocate of the poor, and there shall pray as aforesaid, seven years and as many quarantines: and as often as they shall attend Masses and other divine offices celebrated and recited in the said Confraternity from time to time, or the public or private congregations of the same Confraternity held anywhere, or shall receive the poor in hospitality, or shall make or have made or procured peace with their own enemies or those of another, Also to those exercising other pious works. and also those who shall accompany to burial the bodies of the deceased, both members and others, or shall escort any processions customarily held by the same Confraternity with the permission of the Ordinary, and the said most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist both in processions and when carried to the sick or elsewhere however and whenever it shall be carried from time to time, or at the signal of the bell shall once say the Lord's Prayer and the Angelic Salutation, or shall also recite five times the Lord's Prayer and Angelic Salutation for the souls of the deceased members of the said Confraternity, or shall bring some wayward person back to the way of salvation, and shall teach the ignorant those precepts which are necessary for salvation, or shall exercise any other work of piety or charity; as often for each of the aforesaid works we relax sixty days of penances imposed upon them or otherwise owed in the customary form of the Church, these presents to be valid perpetually for the members, but for non-members for ten years, excepting the Jubilee year, notwithstanding anything to the contrary. Given at Rome at St. Peter's under the ring of the Fisherman, the third day of November, 1599, in the eighth year of our Pontificate. Signed: M. Vestrius Barbianus.
NotesSide Note * afterwards a new episcopal see was erected here.
Side Note ** this does not agree with the history of the holy war.
Side Note * These testimonies of Sacred Scripture are transferred here with rather excessive force.