IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // m 1.0 I.I lie '^'^ lu !■■■ iiiiii M 1.8 1.25 1.4 J4 ^ 6" — — ► PhotosraDhic Sdehces Corporation 23 we5T MA!N 5TRErT WiBSVER.NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^^ -■^ v G puni than e' christia of mcr F of our the off! Sradu.1 but litt many [ in thei cxceec fmnmi mm rVRLISHBD FOR THE JUBILEE GRANTED BY OUR HOLY FATHER THE POPE PIUS IX. IN HIS APOSTOLIC LETTERS DATED THE 20tH NOVEMBJBR, 1846. JOSEPH SIGNAY, \\Y THE MERCY OF GOD, AND THE FAVOUR OF THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE, ARCHBISHOP OF QUEBEC &c., &c., &,c. To the clergy and laity of our archdiocess, greeting and blessing in the Lord. V/UR Holy Father the pope Pius IX, to draw down the blessings of heaven on his pontificate, exhorts the faithful of the universe, in taking possession of the chair of St. I'oter, to unite their prayers with his, to implore from above more earnestly the protec- iioii of the ri^t hand of the Almighty ; and, as a further inducement to make them ( omply with his request, kindly grants them the solemn indulgence of the Jubilee, by the Apostolical Letters that will be published in every church of the archdjocess. With heartfelt satisfaction we invite you, dearly beloved brethren, to fully respond to the solicitude of the new Pontiff, whose providential election at this trying epoch, seems to promise to the Church of Jesus Christ a most glorious reign, and who already, by his acknowledged prudence and wisdom, calls forth the admiration of the universe. Receive wnh gratitude the spiritual favours offered to you, and to reap therefrom more abundant fruits, be attentive to strengthen yourselves more and more in the faith you profess ; 1)0 punctual in the accomplishment of the duties it commands, and adhere more strongly than ever to the supreme authority of the Holy See, which should be the guide of true christians amid the unceasing darkness spread around them by the ignorance and passions of men. For, alas ! with bitter regret we express it, dearly beloved brethren : that lively faith of our forefathers is imperceptibly weakening among us; a certain spirit of independence, the offspring of pride, is daily striving to suj:)ersede and destroy it ; our ancient morals are gradually disappearing before new customs, hailed with joy bv a world fond of pleasure, but little in accordance with the holy lessons of the gospel ; the inexcusable weakness of many parents renders children almost masters of their own actions, and leaves unrestrained in their breasts inclinations it would be so desiraWe to control ; a love of superfluities exceeding all bounds, is rapidly spreading even among the classes of society least 2 favoured by fortune ; intem))crance that seemed to have been banished from the country appears again with its usual train of crime and degradation ; associations, under the cover of secrecy and the pretence of more eflicacious benevolence, endeavour, these few years past, to strike their roots into the very heart of our cities and even some of our country parishes, braving thus the censures of the Church, and successfully ensnaring too confiding catholics : should not all this inspire us with well grounded alarms for the future ? We beseech you, dearly beloved brethren, to beware of all these novelties which cannot obtain among you unless at the expense of your faith and morals. Remember that if you are not firmly attached (o your religion, and faithful in the performance of the duties it prescribes, vainly will you look for your preservation as a people. If you dis- solve this social bond, your principal, if not your sole strength, you will share the fate of so many nations both of ancient and modern" times, that have been swept from the face of the earth, like those mentioned by holy Job, whom the breath of the Lord has annihilated in punishment of their crimes : Vidi eos qui operantur iniquitatem. . . .flante Deo, periisse (Job, IV. 8). What indeed has become of those powerful nations recorded in the annals of history ? Did not Moses seem to foretell their ruin, when speaking of the inhabitants of the land of promise, he informs us they were destroyed on account of their iniquities ? Propter impietates siias isttc delette sunt nationes—{Deut. IX. 4.) h not the history of the Jewish people, from the beginning to the end, a standing proof that God rewards or punishes nations, according as they fulfil or transgress his holy law ? Should not the misfortune that afflicts still, after more than eighteen centuries, that unhappy people, warn us of the fate awaiting us, if, like them, we were to abandon the ways of justice? You, whom your talents or your fortune have placed at the head of society, you have more than ever great obligations to fulfil. Remember that the more you are elevated above others, the more you are bound to edify them by christian piety. It is not in vain Divine Providence has granted you a more liberal portion of its gifts : it wishes you to use them for the advantage of religion, the sole guarantee of the safety of a nation. Assist us then by word and deed to avert impending misfortunes ; assist us to preserve our country, still so religious, from perverse doctrines, held out as the true means of pro- moting its advancement in the road of progress, but rather tending to make it retrograde mto the most disastrous errors ; assist us to reinstate in its rights parental authority so necessary for domestic happiness ; assist us to overcome vanity and intemperance, two scourges that would infallibly end in the universal ruin of society, by causing first that of the mdividual ; assist us finally to dissuade our brethren from becoming members of Secret Societies which catholics cannot adhere to, without forfeiting the obedience due to the decrees of the apostolic see, and incurring the anathemas of the Church. All this we confidently expect from the love you bear to your religion and your country ; by such conduct you will greatly add to the glory of the former and the happiness of the latter, and the catholic portion of the archdiocess, following your footsteps in the career of virtue, will be crowned, like the faithful inhabitant of Jerusalem mentioned by the Psalmist, with an unalterable and endless prosperity : JVon commovebitur in atemutn qui habitant in Jerusalem (Psalm. CXXIV. 1. 2.) In fine, let us not neglect, dearly beloved brethren, the singular favours the God of mercies affords us during the holy time of the Jubilee. Let us unite our prayers with those of the great catholic society, to obtain from heaven the choicest blessings on the universal Church and on the sainted and illustrious Pontiff presiding over it. Let us specially supplicate for the Church of Canada, that its children contributing to its dory by the smcerity of their faith and the regularity of their morals, may render it the joy of the supreme Pastor of souls for evermore. For these reasons, having invoked the name of God, we have ordained and do or- dain as lollows : — ... J ° • The above nnentioned Apostolical Letters of His Holiness the Pope Pius IX. will be read and published throughout the whole archdiocess, on Sunday the sixteenth of May next, at the prone of the parochial churches or chapels and others wherein divine service is publicly celebrated, m the chapters also of all religious communities ; and if ihey come to hand after that date, they will be read and published the first Sunday ader their reception. o The time of the Jubilee, by a private indult of the Holy See, bearing date the .onth of January of this year, will continue three months, from the appomted day for the 1 la ion 0? the Apostolical Letters, until the fifteenth of August next, festival of the r Sinn of the Blessed Virgi.!. In whatever localities the Apostolical Letters are feSl only aft ulesS^ the time of the Jubilee will continue also three months, beginning on the day of their publication. 30. In the interval of these three months, the Reverend P^fi^h-P^f '^^^ ^^'^.f °"- .les will select three weeks, during which they wil perform for the benefit of the faithful r heir charge, the solemn exercises of the Jubilee : those who may have been ab- S or sick during that interval, will choose for the same object three other weeks as soon as possible after the expiration of the fixed time. 4 o . The opening of the solemn exercises of the Jubilee will be announced in each parish or mission the Bay before they begin by the ringing of bells during a quarter of Kour, after the evening Mgelus ; and the close m the same manner, the last day of the exercises, also after the evening Mgelus. 5°. Thtfirstjjay of the exercises, the ^'f »: ^i,^f ''C.f \^« X§.^^^^^^^^^^ the conventual mass, to implore the assistance of the Holy Ghost. The last day the Fe t: She sung in thanksgiving for favours received, f he exercises on the appomted days may be closed in the evening by the benediction of the Holy [sacrament. 6°. To gain the indulgence of the Jubilee, it is requisite, according to the Apos- tolical Letters, 1 => . To visit twice the churches or chapels marked out for the stations, or at t one of them, and to offer there some devout praj^ers ; 2° .To fast Wednesday. F Ty and Saturday of one and the same week ; 3 <= . fo go to confession and to receive the blessed Eucharist ; 4 » . To give alms to the poor, according to each one s abilities. T gh a?l These conditions, by the indult of the tenth of January last, may be fulfi led uring the three months of the'duration of the J ubilee in the archd.ocess, we nevertheless exhort the faithful to perform them during the three weeks selected for he solemn exer- cises in their respective localities. By the same indult, confessors may, for a reason- able cause, substitute to these practices, confession and communion excepted, the reci- tation of certain prayers or other religious exercises. 7 => . We design as stations of the Jubilee, in the parish oi Mire-Dame of Quebec, the metropolitan and two other churches of the same parish at the option o the faithful ; in the parish of St. Roch of Quebec, the parochial church and the ,^hape»;» the Genera Hospital ; in the parish of Three Rivers, the parochial and the Ursuline Lad.es churches in the country parishes and missions, their churches or chapels. In localities ha- ing nei- ther church nor chapel, or where they are difficult of access, confessors may change into other pious practices the visits prescribed therein. 8 o . Persons travelling during the time of the Jubilee may gain the indulgence, im- mediately after their return, by visiting twice the metropolitan ^^ parochial church of their residence, and fulfilling the other requisite conditions. Sick persons may also enjoy the s me prTv lege by performing, as far as possible, the same practices ; such as they cannot accomplish, may be changed or deferred for a short time by the confessor. Children JoZfi^g ySmade their first communion, will be entitled to the same favour, by per- lorming, as much as possible, the duties prescribed. 9 o . All approved priests can. during the time of the Jubilee, absolve from cases reserved to the Sovereign Pontiff and ourselves, and commute ^o^« '"l«/'»\«r ?'«"« uorks, the vows of entering into religion and perpetual chastity excepted, as is more fully explained in the Apostolical Letters. 100. Nuns may also, during the same time, choose confessors among the priests appointed to hear their confessions. For them and all persons residing in their nrionas teries. we assign as stations their own church, as well as the chapels or oratories selected by the Lady Superior. The present Pastoral letter will be reaA and published, articles 9 © . and 10 ® . el cepted, at the prone, of all parochial churches or chapels and others wherein divine sel vice is publicly celebrated, in the chapter also of all religious communities, the fiif Sunday after its reception. Given at Quebec under our Sign and Seal, and the countersign of our Secretar the twenty-third of April, one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven. liJH JOS. Archbishop or Quebec. By His Grocers command, C. F. Cazeau, Pst. Secretary. A true ropy. ■'f.mfffi4^ ^ Secrctorji. and 10®. ej ein divine lities, the firj 3ur Secretar :bec. V, Pst. Secretary. '%w' Secveturij. tar