The fabric of religion: vestments and devotional Catholicism in nineteenth-century America

The nineteenth century was a period of significant change in the American Catholic Church, as the church transitioned from a loosely organized body, with a religious emphasis on interiority and "plain piety," to a highly structured entity promoting an intensely sacramental and performative...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Material religion
Main Author: Haas, Katherine (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Taylor & Francis [2007]
In: Material religion
Further subjects:B Vestments
B Catholicism
B devotionalism
B Clergy
B Textiles
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:The nineteenth century was a period of significant change in the American Catholic Church, as the church transitioned from a loosely organized body, with a religious emphasis on interiority and "plain piety," to a highly structured entity promoting an intensely sacramental and performative style of "devotional Catholicism." Drawing on a wide variety of sources, including surviving objects, church-goods catalogs, ecclesiastical legislation, and contemporary Catholic literature, this article argues that nineteenth-century vestments fostered and reflected these ecclesiological and theological developments. Vestments provide an important angle from which to analyze the changes in the nineteenth-century church because they are closely connected with the person of the priest and the administration of the sacraments, both of which were at the heart of the new Catholicism. Throughout the century, bishops and church-sanctioned writers strove to control the use and meanings of vestments. Through their appearance and iconography, as well as the allegorical interpretations assigned to them, nineteenth-century vestments communicated key devotional Catholic tenets: the elevated position of the priest, the centrality of the Eucharist, and the internationalism and universality of the church.
ISSN:1751-8342
Contains:Enthalten in: Material religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2752/175183407X219741