Crusade, Bull of the

CRUSADE, Bull of the. - A pontifical document containing the favors, privileges and indults granted to the kings of Spain for the faithful who took up arms or contributed with alms to the liberation of their country from the Mohammedans. The document, issued in the various forms of bull, brief, apostolic letter, continued to be called down to our own days Bulla cruciatae, because it was under that form that the most ancient concessions of it were obtained.

I. HISTORY

The first b. of the C. is that of Alexander II (1063) to Ramiro I of Aragon, who was besieging the pious Arab stronghold of Graus or Grados; there followed those: of Urban II (1089) to the count of Barcelona, Berenguer Ramón II, engaged in the reconquest of Tarragona and which served as a model for the later b. (1095) of the same Pope for the great Crusade to the Holy Land; of Gelasius II (1118) to Alfonso I of Aragon, engaged in the conquest of Saragossa; of Callixtus II (1122) for the resumption of the war against the Moors of Tortosa and Lérida; of Eugene III (1148), to Count Berenguer IV the Saint, for the conquest of Tortosa; of Innocent III (1212) to Alfonso VIII for the war that ended with the victory of Las Navas; of Gregory IX (1232) to King James I the Conqueror, for the liberation of Valencia; of Clement IV (1265) for the conquest of Murcia; of Benedict XII (1340) to Alfonso XI for the war against Abú 'l-Hasan, king of Morocco, who had invaded the peninsula; and especially those of Sixtus IV and Innocent VII (the dates do not agree) to Ferdinand V of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, his spouse, for the reconquest of the kingdom of Granada. Once this was accomplished and the armed struggle had ceased with the definitive triumph over the Moors, the popes continued to grant and reconfirm the b. of the C., devoting the offerings of the faithful to the reconstruction of devastated churches, to the erection of new ones and in general to works aimed at the restoration of worship. This they did not do in the form of a perpetual concession, but by constantly proroguing the b. of the C. and modifying it according to the times down to our own day. There is therefore a long series of them, beginning with that of the time of Leo X down to us. To be remembered in a particular way is Benedict XV, who with an apostolic letter of 12 Apr. 1915 (AAS, 7 [1915], pp. 557-569) confirmed and increased the ancient favors, but adapting them better to present circumstances. Pius XI, then, with another apostolic letter of 15 Aug. 1928 (AAS, 21 [1929], pp. 12-21) determined with greater precision certain points in order to adapt them to the new CIC.

The privileges of the b. were enjoyed not only by the Spaniards, but also by the inhabitants of the regions that became subjects of Spain (mission territories, kingdom of Naples and Sicily, Latin America, Portugal) and often they continued to enjoy them even when they recovered their independence (Naples and Sicily, for example, until 1906 [decree of the S. Congregation of the Holy Office of 5 Sept. 1906]; Portugal still today, although with various particular modifications.

II. CURRENT DISCIPLINE

In Spanish territory, anyone, even a foreigner, may enjoy the favors granted in the bull of the C., provided he has obtained the so-called "sommario" and paid a fixed offering. The faculty continues even when, these conditions having been met, the person finds himself for some reason abroad.

The favors granted concern the acquisition of indulgences, dispensation from fasting and abstinence, the commutation of certain vows, the recitation of the Divine Office, dispensation from irregularities and from impediments to marriage, private oratories, etc. The bull must be promulgated and published every year.

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