The Forgotten Customs of Saint Days (Part 3)

With Mr Plese we continue our journey through the forgotten and disused customs surrounding various well-known Saint's Feast Days. 

From One Peter Five

By Matthew Plese, TOP

As a continuation of Saint Day Customs Part 1 and Part 2, this third part is dedicated to various customs for the liturgical year which are not sufficient in themselves to justify an entire article but which nonetheless should be better known and observed by the faithful. In particular, the liturgical celebrations of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Mary Magdalene, Our Lady of Ransom, St. Raphael, St. Gerard Majella, St. Cecilia, and Mother Cabrini provide more opportunities for living a Catholic, liturgical life in the second half of the calendar year.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel (July 16)

The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel commemorates the appearance of Our Lady to St. Simon Stock, the superior general of the Carmelites, in Cambridge, England, on Sunday, July 16, 1251. The Carmelite Order was founded in the 1100s on Mount Carmel, the same place in the Holy Land mentioned in the Bible in 1 Kings 18:16-40. It was there that the prophet Elijah took his stand against the pagan prophets of Baal and Asherah by the power of God.

St. Simon Stock had appealed to Mary through prayer to help the new Carmelite order to overcome oppression. She appeared with the Brown Scapular and said to him:

Take, beloved son, this scapular of the order as a badge of my confraternity and for you and all Carmelites a special sign of grace; whoever dies in this garment, will not suffer everlasting fire. It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in dangers, a pledge of peace and of the covenant.

Later that day, St. Simon Stock was called promptly by Lord Peter of Linton: “Come quickly, Father, my brother is dying in despair!” St. Simon Stock placed his large Scapular over the dying man and prayed that Mary would keep her promise. The man instantly repented of his sins and died in a state of grace. Blessed Pope Gregory X was buried wearing the Scapular, only 25 years after the vision. When his tomb was opened over 600 years later, the wool scapular remained perfectly intact and had not degraded in the least.

The Church keeps the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 16th. And to show just how important the Scapular is, she sanctions and encourages the promises of the Scapular. For more on the Scapular, including the Sabbatine Privilege with its own additional requirements, click here.

As for customs related to the Feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel, there are many customs practiced by Italian Catholics. On these, Fish Eaters summarizes:

The Feast of Our Lady of Carmel is grandly celebrated in various places in Italy. In Rome, a statue of Our Lady of Carmel – Madonna del Carmine – is dressed in beautiful clothes and precious jewels given by the faithful, and then processed from the Church of Sant’Agata in Trastevere to the Basilica of San Crisogono, where it will remain for eight days, when it is processed back again. Food, music, traditional markets, and fireworks are all part of the celebrations.

In Avigliano, Potenza, Basilicata, in 1694, the people appealed to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel when they were suffering from both famine and earth tremors. They ran to the mountains and prayed there for 40 days, pleading with Our Lady that they would honor her if she would intercede for them. When no one died and no houses were destroyed by the great earthquake that came, they renamed their local mountain “Mt. Carmine” (Carmel), built a chapel in her honor, and bought a beautiful wooden statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to adorn it. Every year on the eve of this feast, they crown the statue and lay a mantle fixed with treasures over its shoulders. Then, on the 16th, the statue is processed from Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli to the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Carmine almost 6 1/2 miles away. The statue remains there for two months, being returned on the second Sunday in September.

Not far away from Avigliano is Viggianello, whose people honor Our Lady of Mt. Carmel on the third Sunday of August. Everyone wears their traditional clothing, but the women wear cirii on their heads – conical shaped structures decorated with wheat and ribbons. The men carry on their shoulders a great wooden structure – la meta – that is shaped and decorated in the same way, but with the addition of farm animals. All the while, bagpipers, accordionists, and tambourine players make music while people dance a tarantella called the “sickle dance.”

In Palmi, Calabria, a miracle took place that was officially recognized by the Vatican: on October 31, 1894, a statue of Our Lady of Carmel began doing very strange things. Its eyes would move, and its face would blanche, like the flesh of a woman who’s about to faint. This went on for seventeen days, and was written about not only in the local press, but nationally. On November 16th, the people spontaneously held a procession of the statue – and just when they made it to the end of the city, a violent earthquake struck, destroying most of the houses. But out of the 15,000 inhabitants of the town, fewer than ten were killed because most of them were taking part in the procession to honor the Blessed Virgin. Since then, every year on November 16, the people of Palmi have Mass followed by a procession of the statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

These customs did not only remain in Italy. Italian Immigrants to the United States brought devotion and customs to Our Lady of Mount Carmel to America and these customs are still publicly observed in some places such as in the greater New York City area as the article adds:

Italian immigrants brought their love of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to the United States, and in various places around America at this time, one can find festivals in her honor. Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City has a large one centered around the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at 275 North 8th Street. It includes a procession of Our Lady and is famous for its “Dancing of the Giglio” – a tall, three-ton tower that is carried down the street on men’s shoulders.

We can do our part to honor Our Lady of Mount Carmel by wearing the Scapular (after we have been properly invested in it) and by buying Scapulars for family or friends who are Catholic but who do not wear the Scapular.

St. Mary Magdalene (July 22)

According to the Latin tradition in the Roman Catholic Church, Mary Magdalene is mentioned in Lk 7:36-50, Lk 10:38-42, and Jn 20:11-18. The Catholic Church believes these references all refer to Mary Magdalene. Clement Harrold summarizes this in the article “A Retrieval of the Traditional View of Mary Magdalene From the Fringes of Theology,” which carefully and thoughtfully analyzes the Scriptures and historical evidence:

Thus retrieved, Mary Magdalene shines forth once more as the one who loved much (Luke 7:47), the one from whom seven demons were cast out (Luke 8:2), the one who grasped the one thing necessary (Luke 10:42), the one who moved the God-Man to tears (John 11:33–35), the one who did a beautiful thing for Him (Mark 14:6), the one whose deed would be proclaimed throughout the world (Mark 14:9), and the one who first saw the Risen Lord and believed (John 20:18).

Gregory DiPippo writes:

From the time of St Gregory, the Western Church accepted that Mary Magdalene was also the sinful woman who anoints Christ’s feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee, as recounted in Luke 7, 36-50, the Gospel for her feast. This connection was probably made from the words that immediately follow this passage, or at least reinforced by them, Luke 8, 1-3. “And it came to pass afterwards, that he travelled through the cities and towns, preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of God; and the twelve with him: And certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities; Mary who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth, And Joanna the wife of Chusa, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who ministered unto him of their substance.” (Mark 16, 9 also refers to the seven devils.)

Because of her faith and repentance, she was privileged to be the first person (after the Blessed Virgin Mary according to tradition) that Jesus appeared to after His Resurrection (John 20:1-18). According to Roman tradition, in 45 AD, St. Mary Magdalene, along with Sts. Martha and Lazarus were seized by the Jews of Palestine. They were placed on a dilapidated boat without oars and cast into the stormy sea. They eventually reached France, where they settled and converted the people of Provence. St. Martha established a community of women, and St. Lazarus became a bishop. Mary Magdalene, however, is said to have retreated to a cave in the hills of La Sainte-Baume to live a life of penance for thirty years. Near her death, angels reportedly carried her to the Oratory of St. Maximinus in Aix, where she received Viaticum and passed away. Her body was initially interred at the St. Maximin Oratory in Villa Lata.

As the “Apostle to the Apostles,” before the changes to the Missal in 1955, the Creed was also said on her feast day. In honor of that, it is fitting that we should all pray the Creed on her feast day.

As for regional customs, this day is an ideal one to make or buy French madeleines, which are a light, cake-like, shell-shaped cookie that require a special madeleine pan to make. There are also Spanish Magdalena tea cakes which can be baked for her feast day. And as you eat them, listen to the Italian hymn “Magdalena degna da laudare” which dates back to the 13th century.

Our Lady of Ransom (September 24)

The Order of Our Lady of Ransom was founded in the Thirteenth Century by St. Peter Nolasco (January 28) and St. Raymond of Peñafort (January 23), aided by King James of Aragon. The object of the Order was to redeem Christians held in slavery by the Mohammedans. Pope Gregory IX instituted the feast of Our Lady of Ransom on September 24th and afterward, it was extended by Pope Innocent XII in 1696 to the Universal Church.

There are various customs throughout the Catholic world in honor of Our Lady of Ransom’s including the famous ones in Barcelona, Spain and in the Dominican Republic as Fish Eaters summarizes:

In Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, the Fiestas de la Mercé (Fiestas de la Merced in Spanish) lasts for a week. It is marked by the usual Masses and processions, and also includes marathons, dances, fireworks coordinated to music, and the presence of los gigantes y cabezudos – great papier-mâché giants with large heads, common in Southern European celebrations. During the fireworks, there is the Correfoc in which people dressed as demons run through the streets and frighten people. Finally, there is the building of Castells – great towers made of human beings. Participants dress in white pants, red shirts, and wide, black belts, and then, against a backdrop of medieval flute music, arrange themselves to form tall towers. Also in Barcelona is the Basílica de la Mercè, the mother church of the Mercedarian Order. At the top of its dome stands a statue of Our Lady of Ransom holding her Son.

In the Dominican Republic, tradition holds that Our Lady of Mercy appeared in the middle of a battle between natives and Christopher Columbus and his men, her appearance frightening the natives and causing them to scatter. But the natives came back for more and fought so aggressively that Columbus was about to leave when Fray Juan Infante told him to press on, promising him victory at the hand of Our Lady of Mercy. The Spanish won, and a church was built at the site of victory in Santo Serro. Great celebrations are had there on la Dia de las Mercedes, and also in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, where September 24 is a national holiday.

Castellers de Barcelona during La Mercè 2001

September 24th is also the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham and thus is an appropriate day for us to pray for the return of all lapsed Catholics and all heretics – especially those in the Church of England – to the True Catholic Faith. For prayers to say for this intention, see Prayer for the Conversion of the Anglicans.

St. Gerard Majella (October 16)

Born on April 6, 1726, in Muro Lucano, Italy, St. Gerard grew up in a devout family but faced significant hardships early in life, including the death of his father when he was young. Despite these challenges, he remained deeply committed to the Catholic Faith.

Gerard initially sought to join the Capuchin order but was rejected due to his frail health. However, he eventually joined the Redemptorists, founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori, as a lay brother in 1749. In this capacity, he performed various humble tasks and became known for his deep piety, humility, and miracles. His profound spiritual insight and dedication to God earned him widespread admiration.

Throughout his life, Gerard was credited with numerous miracles, including healing the sick, multiplying food, and other extraordinary events. One of the most famous incidents involved a young woman who falsely accused him of fathering her child. Gerard chose to remain silent during the investigation, and the woman later recanted her accusation, vindicating him.

Gerard’s reputation as a miracle worker grew, and he became particularly renowned for his intercession in matters related to childbirth. Many expectant mothers sought his prayers, and numerous reports of miraculous interventions during difficult pregnancies and births were attributed to him. This legacy continues today, with many people seeking his intercession for safe childbirth and the well-being of mothers and children.

Saint Gerard Majella died on October 16, 1755, at the age of 29. He was canonized by Pope Pius X in 1904. His feast day is celebrated on October 16th, and he remains a beloved figure, especially among those praying for a safe and healthy childbirth. October 16th is an ideal day to pray for pregnant mothers, for the pro-life cause, and for new mothers undergoing struggles.

St. Raphael (October 24)

The angels that we know by name (i.e., Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel) are called “Archangels” because of their high rank (arching above the other angels). They are not Archangels in terms of the second-lowest tier in the ninefold hierarchy of angels. Rather, these three are three of the seven seraphim angels, the highest-ranking, who continually stand before the presence of God in Heaven.

Archangel Raphael is known through the Book of Tobias in the Old Testament. He appeared in human form as a gracious young man called Azarias, to protect the younger Tobias on his journey from Ninive to a city of the Medes. In the process he found a wife for Tobias, and later delivered her from an evil spirit; he also healed the elder Tobias of blindness. Raphael is “one of the seven who stand before the Lord” (Tob. 12:15). The day’s Collect speaks of him as a companion in journeys. The reading shows him as presenting our prayers to God. The Gospel is a reminder of Raphael’s healing powers, for his name means “God has healed.” See “An Exposition of Angels: All You Need To Know” for more information on angels.

The feast day of Raphael was included by Pope Benedict XV for the first time in the General Roman Calendar in 1921, for celebration on October 24. In honor of his feast day, pray the Litany to St. Raphael the Archangel and the Chaplet of St. Raphael. It is also an ideal day to pray for the souls of the sick and for the souls in Purgatory. A prayer for the former through the intercession of St. Raphael is as follows:

O Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, great Prince of the Heavenly Court, illustrious for thy gifts of wisdom and grace, guide of those who journey by land or sea, consoler of the afflicted and refuge of sinners: assist me in all my needs and in all the suffering of this life, I beseech thee, as once thou didst help the young Tobias in his travels. And because thou art “the medicine of God,” I humbly pray thee to heal me of the many infirmities of my soul and of the ills which afflict my body if this be for my greater good. I especially ask of thee for an angelic purity, which may fit me to be the temple of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

As for food, since fish is part of the story of St. Raphael in the Scriptures, it would be a fitting dish for the day.

Mother Cabrini (November 13 or 22)

From childhood, Frances Cabrini desired to become a missionary for Christ. After some unsuccessful starts, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Codogno, Italy; and in 1889 at the urging of Pope Leo XIII, she accepted the invitation of New York’s Archbishop Corrigan to work among the numerous Italian immigrants of that era. Mother Cabrini founded orphanages, schools, and hospitals all over the United States, and extended her institute to Central and South America, France, Spain, and England. Everywhere her work succeeded only through her unbounded trust in God’s providence. Though always in poor health, she traveled constantly, crossing the Atlantic twenty-five times in spite of a great fear of ocean voyages.

A naturalized citizen of the United States, Mother Cabrini died in 1917 in the convent of her great hospital in Chicago and was canonized in 1946, the first American citizen-saint. Her feast day was assigned for the United States to November 22nd until the change to the calendar in 1960 when her feast was moved to November 13th, the day of her beatification, in order to avoid conflicting with the greater ferias of Advent. In both instances, her feast day is not kept on the Universal Calendar – it is kept only in the United States.

For Italian Americans, this day is one that should be widely celebrated. Two dishes worth preparing on this day are pasta fazool or a simple rigatoni along with Panna Cotta for dessert. And at the meal, pray for more missionaries like St. Cabrini who are willing to go to the limits of their physical abilities for the honor and glory of God.

For those in the area, the shrines in the United States in her honor can be found in New York, Chicago, and Golden (Colorado).

St. Cecilia (November 22)

Saint Cecilia lived in Rome during the 2nd or 3rd century. She is believed to have been a noblewoman who converted to Christianity and took a vow of virginity. Despite being forced into marriage with a pagan nobleman named Valerian, she persuaded him to respect her vow of chastity. Eventually, Valerian and his brother Tiburtius converted to Christianity and were martyred for their faith.

Cecilia was arrested and condemned to death for her faith. Multiple attempts to execute her failed; she survived being suffocated in a steam bath and decapitation. It is said she remained alive for three days after the latter attempt, during which she continued to preach and sing hymns to God.

Cecilia was buried in the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, later her remains were transferred to the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome. She is often depicted in art with musical instruments, especially the organ or the violin, highlighting her association with music.

Her feast day is celebrated on November 22nd. It is a day particularly marked by musical celebrations in her honor and it is a great day to pray for Catholic musicians and to promote authentic, traditional Catholic music which is so needed for the restoration of Catholic culture.

There is also an inspiring Italian tradition associated with St. Cecilia as detailed by Fish Eaters:

In Taranto, Italy (in the region of Puglia, found at Italy’s heel), St. Cecilia’s day is seen as the beginning of the Advent and Christmas seasons. At 3:30am, the church bells are rung, and musicians are blessed. Then a great procession – with lots of music, of course – is held, with the statue of St. Cecilia being carried from the Cathedral of S. Cataldo to the Church of S. Giuseppe. In celebration, the people eat pettole, a fried, crisp-on-the-outside and chewy-on-the-inside snack that can be made up to be either savory or sweet (note that the accent is on the first syllable of the word “pettole”). According to a legend that has been handed down for generations, pettole were born thanks to a Taranto woman who let the bread rise too much on the feast of Santa Cecilia because she was so distracted by the music of the bagpipers parading through the streets of the city. When she realized that the dough was no longer good for making bread, she decided to make balls out of it and fry them in oil.

Conclusion

Beyond assisting at Mass and praying the Divine Office, we can and should observe the forgotten customs that further underscored authentic Catholic culture. Catholic culture is more than just going to Mass – much more. Catholic culture is built on fasting periods, assisting at Processions, having various items blessed at different parts of the year. It features days of festivity like Martinmas and promotes family time and charitable works like visits to grandparents on Easter Monday. It is replete with food customs to celebrate the end of fasting periods and filled with special devotions during periods of penance. It is our heritage. These traditions are our birthright. They are ours as much as they were our ancestors. We must reclaim them. We must spread them. We must love them and observe them. May the glory of our Catholic heritage adorn our lives with customs throughout the entire year.