### CULT (Lat. *Cultus*, from *colere* = to cultivate, to honor).
SUMMARY:
I. General Notions
II. The Various Kinds of Cult
III. Origin and Development of Christian Cult
IV. Cult in Non-Christian Religions
V. Popular Cult.I. GENERAL NOTIONS
In its broadest sense, this term expresses the interior sentiment by which man acknowledges the excellence of another being; it may therefore be described as an act of esteem. To this fundamental expression of esteem, cult in the proper sense adds the sentiment of man’s inferiority and subjection in performing an act of cult toward the being who is the object of such cult. Cult is thus founded upon the greatness of a being who is honored precisely for this greatness and upon the rights which it confers upon him.It is therefore clear that, since the reason for cult is the excellence of a being, there must be as many forms of cult as there are types of excellence that are formally distinct. From this perspective, we can immediately distinguish between religious cult and profane cult. By religious cult we mean the recognition of all those forms of greatness that have God as their direct end or refer directly to God (God, Jesus Christ, the Saints, relics, ecclesiastical authorities...); by profane cult we mean the recognition of all other forms of greatness that are not God and do not refer directly to God (the fatherland, parents, national heroes, illustrious men, civil authorities...). Religious cult is thus the concrete expression of the duties of the moral virtue of religion, while profane cult is the expression of the duties of the virtues of piety and observance (v. CIANRESI, GIAPPONESI, MALABARICI).
Commonly, when speaking of cult, the term is reserved for religious cult, and the word cult is also used, more briefly, to denote religion itself. Hence one speaks of cults that are admitted or tolerated (Albertine Statute, art. 1; Law of 24 June 1929, no. 1159, arts. 1, 2); of legislation on cults; of a minister of cult, etc. The Catholic understanding of religious cult may be outlined in its fundamental lines as follows.
II. THE VARIOUS KINDS OF CULT
1. *Latria*. Since the ultimate foundation of cult is the greatness of a being, we, instructed by reason and faith, recognize in God the unparticipated and unparticipable greatness of the first principle and ultimate end of all things. God must therefore be the object of a cult that is proper to Him alone, which was already called *latria* in antiquity. The Italian term *adorazione* does not exactly translate *latria*, since it is sometimes used even with regard to the Blessed Virgin, and is also used with regard to the Pope (the triple *adorazione* of cardinals after their election).Cult of *latria* is owed to the Most Holy Trinity, to the individual Persons of the Most Holy Trinity, to Our Lord Jesus Christ, even under sacramental species (can. 1255 § 1), and to individual parts of His humanity, by reason of the hypostatic union (for which reason the Church has approved the sacred cult of the God-Man, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Precious Blood, and the Five Wounds). For non-dogmatic but practical reasons, of which the Church is the judge, the cult of the Holy Face or of the Face of Christ has not been approved (Decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, 4 May 1892), and the introduction of cult to the Head of Our Lord Jesus Christ has been prohibited (Holy Office, 18 June 1938: AAS, 30 [1938], pp. 226-27).
2. *Hyperdulia*. - Among all the saints, in the Blessed Virgin Mary, instructed by Revelation, we find a holiness possessed to a degree superior to that of any other saint and divine motherhood. The holiness of the Madonna, as a grace of Christ, differs from that of all other saints only quantitatively, not qualitatively; her divine motherhood is proper and exclusive to her. The Blessed Virgin will therefore be the object of a particular cult, called *hyperdulia*, both on account of her singular holiness and on account of her divine motherhood (can. 1255 § 1, 1276).
3. *Dulia*. - In the saints is found holiness, that is, martyrdom or the heroic practice of all Christian virtues, the fruit of supernatural grace, so that in them the essential holiness of God the Creator is reflected in a particular way. The saints will therefore, by reason of this divine life that is revealed particularly in them, be the object of a cult whose reason for being lies in the cult of *latria*, because the greatness venerated in the saints is the particular manifestation of divine perfection and is therefore a cult subordinate to the cult of *latria*, which is called the cult of *dulia* (can. 1255 § 1, 1276).
The cult of *hyperdulia* and *dulia* toward the Blessed Virgin and the saints is, so to speak, a special form of religious cult, both because cult, as religion, is owed only to God, and because the Blessed Virgin and the saints are venerated only insofar as they are united to God, and God manifests His power in them. It is therefore a cult that does not terminate in the saints or in the Blessed Virgin but in God, as the liturgy expresses it: *«Sanctorum memoriam colimus, Domine, Te magnificamus...»*.
4. Absolute and Relative Cult
This cult of *latria*, *hyperdulia*, and *dulia*, if it terminates directly in God, the Blessed Virgin, or the saints, is called absolute; if it terminates in a representation (image) of God, the Blessed Virgin, or the saints, or in a relic, it is called relative (can. 1255 § 2).Thus, for example, relative cult of *latria* is owed to the Holy Cross and the instruments of the Passion, to images of God and Christ (Council of Trent, sess. XXV, *de invoc. Sanct. et s. imag.*: Denz-U, nn. 984-86). The same relative cult of *latria* is perhaps owed to relics that remain of the Blood of Christ, no longer pertaining to the hypostatic union, and to blood that has miraculously flowed from consecrated hosts, because it is nothing other than a sign of the true Blood of Jesus Christ.
The legitimacy of the cult of images and also of relics was already defined by the Second Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 787 (Denz-U, nn. 302-305; V. ICONOCLASTIA). The particular cult toward certain images, for example of the Blessed Virgin (miraculous, thaumaturgic images, etc.), was defended by Pius VI in his condemnation of the errors of the Synod of Pistoia, and is justified both by the practice of the Church and by the liberality of Divine Providence, which, as St. Augustine affirms, *«nec in omnibus memorii Sanctorum ista fieri voluit, qui dividit propria unicuique prout vult»* (Denz-U, n. 1570; CIC 1255, § 2).
For the different objects toward which cult is directed (the Blessed Virgin, the Cross, relics, the saints, etc.), see the relevant entries.
5. Internal and External Cult
Since cult, in its most intimate essence, is an act of esteem, by the exigency of sincerity, lest it become an act of hypocrisy, it must be an act of the internal powers of man, of the intellect and the will, that is, it must be internal. But since man is both soul and body, and all that is truly in man is reflected also in his external powers—not only as a manifestation but also as something that receives strengthening from the external powers—cult must also be external, which is moreover justified by the fact that God is the Creator both of the soul and of the body.6. Private and Public Cult
Man, considered as an individual, being a creature of God, is obliged to internal and external cult; this cult, which each individual renders to God, is private cult.Human society, which derives its raison d’être from the social nature that God has implanted in man, is likewise bound to render a cult that is public and social in character. This cult, by the very nature of things, must be an authoritative cult (i.e., rendered to God by those who are legitimately deputed to represent the whole of society and, as such, can stand before God in the name and on behalf of society itself) and external, precisely because it pertains to a society of men. The interiority—which has already been described as essential to the cult of God—since we cannot find it in society as such (which is an abstraction), must be sought in individuals, insofar as one of the duties of society is also to foster the development of the virtue of religion in its citizens. When man and society are elevated to an order surpassing the exigencies of their natural state, their cult becomes supernatural. In concreto, God established from the very origins of man a religious cult corresponding to the plan of grace, which attained its definitive form in the public cult of the Church.
“Cult, when rendered in the name of the Church by persons legitimately deputed for this purpose and through acts to be performed by institution of the Church, is said to be public; otherwise, it is private” (can. 1256).
Public cult with regard to canonized saints is permitted everywhere and without restriction; with regard to the blessed, it is permitted only with limitations both as to places and as to acts (can. 1277, § 1-2), while with regard to servants of God, even those merely under consideration for beatification, it is forbidden. Private cult (not to be confused with secret cult) may be rendered to anyone enjoying a reputation for holiness or considered a martyr.
By the very nature of things, public cult, like external cult in general, remains under the authority of the Church. The Holy See has reserved to itself, as a major prerogative, the regulation of the liturgy and the approval of liturgical books (can. 1257), the approval of new litanies (can. 1259, § 2), the confirmation of patron saints (can. 1278), the canonization of the blessed and the beatification of servants of God (can. 1999 § 1). Above all, it is the Holy See’s responsibility to oversee abuses. The most recent interventions of the Holy See in this area include the prohibition of the Devotion to the annihilated love of Jesus and the Rosary of the Holy Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Holy Office, 12 Dec. 1939: AAS, 32 [1940], p. 24), and the prohibition of the association known as the Marian Crusade (Holy Office, 8 Mar. 1941: AAS, 33 [1941], p. 69).
The canons (1255–1321) grant Ordinaries very extensive faculties both of oversight and of regulation.
The cult of God, that is, the recognition and homage paid to the majesty of God, is first expressed in adoration—almost a contemplation of God’s greatness in contrast to the creature’s littleness—and in thanksgiving. To these sentiments are added petition (i.e., the asking of favors), which flows from an awareness of one’s own littleness, and, after sin, propitiation, that is, the asking for forgiveness. The various acts of cult, necessarily (though not all with equal intensity), must express all four of these sentiments; each of them, however, emphasizes one in particular: thus, while praise stresses adoration most strongly, prayer stresses petition most strongly. Only sacrifice, by its very nature, expresses all four sentiments of divine cult equally, although the particular intentions of the celebrant or those for whom the Mass is offered may focus on thanksgiving (e.g., a Mass *pro gratiarum actione*) or on propitiation (e.g., a Mass *pro remissione peccatorum*), and so forth.
The principal acts of cult are: sacrifice, adoration, praise, oaths, exorcisms, vows, offerings, tithes. Even almsgiving or acts of other virtues may become acts of cult if, in the intention of the one performing them, they are directed to the cult of God.
External cult is concretized in formulas, acts, and gestures, the complete classification of which is difficult. Among the principal ones may be mentioned: the building of churches or altars, the placing of images in a church, the painting of a servant of God in a particular posture (with a halo or nimbus), genuflection, bowing, standing with arms outstretched in the form of a cross, incensation, processions, blessings, consecrations, the lighting of candles, the offering of votive gifts, and so on.
The system of the various formulas, acts, and gestures by which the cult of God is concretely expressed in the Catholic Church—considered, however, not from the external perspective, i.e., in the ordering of rites and ceremonies, but from the internal perspective, i.e., as the cult of God offered by the mystical body of Christ which is the Church—is the liturgy (Pius XII, encyclical *Mediator Dei*, 20 Nov. 1947: AAS, 39 [1947], pp. 528–29).
In the *Codex Iuris Canonici*, Part III of Book III, entitled *De Cultu Divino*, contains various other juridical norms on cult; these, which comprise canons 1255–1321, are discussed in the entries relating to the matters therein regulated (see especially ALTARE; CHIESA; COMUNICAZIONE NELLE COSE SACRE; EUCARISTIA; GIURAMENTO; LITANIE; LITURGIA; MUSICA SACRA; PROCESSIONE; QUARANT'ORE; RELIQUIE; SUPPELLETTILI SACRE; TABERNACOLO; VOTO).
III. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIAN CULT
Just as the kingdom of Israel had a social organization and a liturgical ceremonial, so too the Kingdom of God, that is, the Church—which is not only a mystical body but also a social body—required its own liturgical organization. Unlike the Old Testament, in the New Testament the Divine Master contented Himself with a few essential elements, leaving the particulars to be determined according to the times, places, and diverse peoples: “Pray together, preach, baptize, celebrate my memory,” and a few other injunctions that the Church itself shaped according to the particular needs of individuals and the exigencies of social life.The Apostles, although they still went to the Temple and took occasion there to preach, held the gatherings of the first believers in houses, where they renewed the Lord’s Supper by distributing the Eucharistic bread, read the Scriptures, imparted necessary teachings, and presided over common prayer.
No sacrifices were offered there; these, moreover, had already ceased among the Jews, along with other ceremonies, when the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70. Furthermore, unlike the Jews, for whom the day consecrated to God was the Sabbath, the faithful kept as their holy day the following day, which they called Sunday (q.v.) in memory of Christ’s Resurrection. Just as the Jews celebrated their Passover in spring in memory of their liberation from the bondage of Egypt and continued to celebrate it even after their dispersion, so too in Christian assemblies the Pasch was celebrated in the same season in memory of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection, the liberator of men from the bondage of sin.
In this way, the first nucleus of the ecclesiastical year was established, and after overcoming certain difficulties provoked by particular customs that had developed in the province of Asia (v. QUARTODECIMANI), a consistent and uniform practice came into being regarding this matter.
Despite persecutions, in the 2nd and 3rd centuries there was a gradual advancement in the external forms of worship, which was increasingly taking place in buildings specifically designated for this purpose. Already the Didache (90-100), Clement of Rome in the final chapters of his Epistle to the Corinthians (96-98), and St. Ignatius (107) in his letters provide important details about the sacred synaxis and the hierarchy that succeeded the apostolic regime. Even Pliny, proconsul in Bithynia, in his famous letter to Trajan, left some brief indications on the matter. Following them were St. Irenaeus, St. Hippolytus, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, and the authors cited by Eusebius in his history, who offer new details corresponding precisely to the constant development of propagation and internal life, and shed light on the progressive organization of the catechumenate and baptismal rites, the organization and evolution of hierarchical degrees and their attributions. Already, the memories and tombs of those who had most illustriously adorned individual churches with their learning and martyrdom began to be held in veneration.
But all this saw a broader development after the peace granted to the Church with Constantine’s Edict in 313; the spacious and magnificent churches, the ever-increasing throngs of the faithful, and the more complex hierarchical organization required not only more precise regulations but also more evolved external forms. The ecclesiastical year was now enriched with the feast of Pentecost and the commemoration of the manifestation of Jesus Christ in the world (Christmas and Epiphany), while the cult of the Virgin, though included within the memory of the Savior’s mysteries, acquired a quite particular prominence that would lead to the institution of special feasts. Psalmody, processions, and various ceremonies were added to render the primitive simplicity more solemn, provoking criticism not only from pagan intellectuals but also from Christians such as Vigilantius, who earned the rebuke of St. Jerome and St. Augustine.
When it was perceived that there was no longer any danger of confusion with Jews and pagans, common terms (such as pontifex, priest, altar, etc.) entered into use that could no longer give rise to misunderstandings, and incense, aspersion with water, and anointing with oils—gestures already possessing a sacred meaning—were adopted for worship, which could well contribute to rendering their symbolic significance more august. On the other hand, customs that could serve superstitious practices were prohibited; and it cannot be said that the struggle against certain heterodox cultural forms cost the leaders of the Church little effort. Thus, in the Christian temple there was admitted not only paintings or mural music of symbolic and historical significance, but also the veneration of images of the Redeemer, the Virgin, and the saints. Sacred song was also accepted in the Church, at least by the 4th century, thanks precisely to the attractions it exerted, even though it had been used in Jewish and pagan ceremonies. It succeeded in clothing Christian thoughts and assuming a ecclesiastical tone that found its perfection in Gregorian chant—a perfection that, like the figurative arts, was destined for constant progress. Nor should it be said, as some schools have done, that this constitutes formal dependence of Christianity on Judaism and idolatry, or a contamination of Christianity by them, but rather a coincidence arising from the fact that certain forms of worship present themselves spontaneously to the religious mind of man and are thus transmitted through generations. In Christianity, these forms were indeed adopted more out of necessity than by virtue of special prescriptions; and since it was not possible to vary infinitely around the primitive and substantial core, they passed from church to church with mutual exchanges until they had attained such maturity of plastic expression as to admit only very limited modifications and additions thereafter.
IV. CULT IN NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS
Cult as a manifestation of religious sentiment is found in all religions because in each the sense of the present divinity (sensus numinis) bends the individual and the group to which he belongs toward veneration and, at the same time, toward the request for what is necessary to meet its various needs. In the concept of cult, whether it pertains to a field, a person, or a divinity, there is always implied the intent to obtain a benefit from the action performed.
1. **Cult and Magic.** — The similarity that is observed in more than one case between certain religious ceremonies and some magical practices must not lead to the conclusion that religion and magic were originally identical, for they are distinct from one another by virtue of two fundamental criteria: a) a social one: religion performs its rites in function of and for the benefit of the social group and does so by directing, in the person of one invested with social authority by the group (king, priest, etc.), the rites to the superior Power capable of granting the requests made to it; whereas magic, through the sorcerer or magician or witch, operates by virtue of the powers possessed by the latter, in service of private interests and often to the detriment of others; b) an individual one, in that the religious man bends his knees and joins his hands because, conscious of his own weakness, he directs himself to the Being whom he knows to be powerful and placable; whereas the magician feels himself in possession of a force capable of dominating that of nature and therefore commands rather than prays.
2. **Cult and Myth.** — Since man is endowed with reason, the act of cult always has an intellectual justification that legitimizes it, suggested by fantastic motives based on external associations not due to rational arguments or scholarly research or scientific observation. Myth is therefore a necessary complement to cult in that it justifies the ceremonial, explains its purpose to the mind of the individual and the group whose action it unifies, and dangerously renews its efficacy by rendering it alive and current when, in coincidence with seasonal rhythms or various circumstances of social life, it is necessary to renew the sacred action once found effective (v. MYTH).
3. **Cult and Symbol.** — The ceremonies of cult have a value not only realistic but above all symbolic, relating to the supernatural Powers with which one wishes to enter into relation. An immersion in the Ganges is not a bath for cleanliness but intends, through those sacred waters, to attain a spiritual end; the ritual meal of the totemic kangaroo among the Arunta (Central Australia) is not meant to be the cheerful conclusion of an excursion in the forest but intends, through the ingestion of the sacred animal, to renew the group’s supply of holiness and to recall, with dances and allusive songs, the mythical history of the tribe. It is necessary to keep this fundamental symbolic value of the rite in mind so that it may not be reduced to a strange and inconclusive mimicry of reality.
The cultural elements of a religion can be grouped around four points: a) the places of worship, i.e., in its broadest sense, the sanctuary, which ranges from a limited clearing in a dense forest or an open-air space enclosed by rough stones, up to the most sumptuous temple; b) the people, namely the priesthood in its various categories and functions, from the medicine-man who can satisfy all the needs of the community to the priest invested with specific functions as sacrificer, diviner, exorcist, teacher, and so on; c) the times, i.e., the sacred calendar that gives a religious rhythm to the life of the group and allows it to renew, at fixed dates—which in natural religions coincide with the rhythm of the seasons—its supply of religious energy; d) the rites, i.e., all those gestures, movements, and formulas through which the group or the individual establishes contact with the higher powers.
a) The places. — The place where the divinity manifests itself to the social group must be a special place, withdrawn from profane use and sharing in the sacredness proper to the god, so that whoever approaches it without the necessary dispositions is punished, while whoever accesses it in a state of ritual purity receives an increase of blessing. The choice of the place is generally determined by natural features: the suggestive clearing of a wood, the proximity of a spring, the isolated presence of a tree, a mound or elevation of ground, a rock, or a cave; a feature that suggests, besides the presence, also the nature of the god. The first type of sanctuary will therefore be a sacred enclosure, made of stones or trees that delimits the space reserved for the divinity, separating it from profane use. It is found everywhere under various names: it is the cromlech of prehistorics, the various palisades of primitives, the haram of the Arabs, the hērem of the Hebrews, the tēmenos or peribolos of the Greeks, the sacellum of the Romans, the so-called "cimitero" of rural Christian churches. Strict prescriptions regulate access to this enclosure: one cannot hunt or cut wood there because it is reserved for the divinity; nor can one exercise human justice or capture someone seeking refuge there, because whoever enters it comes into possession of the divinity and is therefore sacred (sacer, taboo) and inviolable.
In the center of the sacred enclosure there is generally a stone, more or less square or conical, which is considered as the embodiment of the divinity: oil for libations or the blood of victims is poured over II. But most often the sacred place is not limited to an open-air enclosure. In its center rises a covered and enclosed building, in which the divinity, represented by a sacred object or an image that portrays it, dwells as in its house. Only priests may enter it as they are the special servants of the god: the people remain excluded and assist from the outside in the performance of the ritual. In the great monarchies of the East, where political centralization corresponds to a similar religious centralization, temples assume great economic importance: they have many attached buildings for the administration of goods, for the lodging of personnel assigned to various services; among the Greeks and Romans, on the other hand, the temple is isolated as it is solely the dwelling of the god, without administrative buildings, given the smaller number of attendants and the different organization of the priesthood.
Exceptions to this rule are the religions of mystery, because in them the sacred place is not only the dwelling of the god but also a place of gathering for the faithful who have dedicated themselves to him; and historical religions arising from a founder or reformer, because the sacred place becomes the center of assembly for the adherents who gather there to hear the teaching of the founder explained and to perform those acts of worship that he has imposed on the community. The temple of Mahāyāna Buddhism, which developed especially in China and Tibet, the Muslim mosque, the Christian church are places of gathering for the faithful and not merely the exclusive dwelling of the divinity.
Once built, the sacred building, before being used for its purpose, requires a special ceremony, namely its dedication, which while separating it from profane use dedicates and consecrates it expressly to the divinity. Thus, the Roman magistrate dedicated the temple by holding its doorpost with one hand throughout the time in which he pronounced the dedication formula; in Christian liturgy the dedication of the church is performed by making an external and internal circumambulation of it and by depositing under the high altar the relics of a martyr saint, as a sacred protection of the building.
b) The people. — Just as the sanctuary, so the priesthood has a social value in that the priest is the official intermediary between the group and the divinity. In primitive nuclei his functions are fused with those of the head of the group (king-priest, king-sorcerer), in that it is above all his magical powers, his ability to interpret the will of the gods, that serve the group which is concerned to secure good hunting, a good harvest, the safety of livestock, immunity from epidemics, and the successful outcome of a war. The functions of king and priest begin to separate as, with the development of the cult life of the group, its needs and the sacred ceremonial develop with a greater specification of the various functions. Thus in natural religions there are three fundamental types of priests: the sacrificer, the diviner, and the exorcist (v. SACERDOZIO).
c) The times. — Sacred times are those fixed by the sacred calendar and which commonly take the name of festivals. In every human group the importance of festivals is great because they serve to renew the cohesion of the group, orienting its thought and action toward a single direction, and to recall to memory the ideas and events from which the group recognizes the benefit of its existence.
Given the two elements, cultic and notional, of which every religion consists, in the celebration of festivals there will also be found: 1) a set of rhythms (dances, processions, banquets, formulas) through which the group expresses and actually experiences its unity of feeling; 2) a series of ideas or notions (beliefs, myths, legends) that explain the meaning of the festival and justify, in the eyes of the group, the reason for its cohesion and its sacred action.
The festival brings with it, as a consequence, a suspension of ordinary occupations, a suspension accompanied, for greater emphasis, by a change of clothing, preparatory rhythms (fasting, purifications, God’s truce), and the celebration of competitions, games, fairs, and markets.
And since the life of human groups is regulated by the succession of the seasons that determine the times of hunting and the rhythm of agricultural occupations, the series of festivals follows, in natural religions, whether tribal or national, the vicissitudes of the agricultural year. Upon the seasonal calendar are always grafted festivals and commemorations relating to the events of the history of the group and to the great figures who directed them. Such are in the Athenian calendar the Panathenaea and the Apaturia, and in the Roman the Regifugium and the Poplifugia, as well as the Parilia, in which to the pastoral meaning has been added that of the civil foundation of Rome. The same may be said of the lunar calendar of the Jews, in which to the agricultural festival of Passover has been added the memory of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, and of the lunar calendar of the Muslims that commemorates the birth of Muhammad, his ascension, etc. In Christianity the religious calendar is independent of the civil one and is entirely regulated by the life of the divine Founder, from Advent, which prepares for his birth, to the Sundays after Pentecost that recall the expansion into the world of the Church he founded. For all these matters V. CALENDARIO.
d) The rites. — Regarding the definition and classification of rites V. PREGHIERA; RITO; SACRIFIZIO.
See POPULAR CULT.
— Popular cult is the complex of traditional forms through which the people express their sentiment and innate artistic taste in participation in the rites of the Church and in religious life in general. These forms range from the simplest to the grandest and most complex. In many Catholic countries, a wooden cross is observed on the doors of farmhouses; in the midst of wheat fields or atop sheaves of grain, a cross is made from simple reeds or interwoven ears of grain. Around the images that stand at the head of the bed (or even in the kitchen), farmers customarily place branches of blessed olive. Shepherds paint the monogram of Mary on the fleece of sheep using sinopia. The image of St. Anthony Abbot is never lacking on doors or inside stables. In some regions, the principal works of the fields are not undertaken without traditional rites and sacred songs, with invocations to the Madonna and to the patron saints, which vary according to the place. Images of the Madonna del Fuoco, St. George, and St. Anthony are painted on the large farm carts of Romagna and other regions. Similarly, in maritime life, from the ceremony of the baptism of the boat to that of the blessing of the sea, there are countless circumstances and forms in which popular cult is manifested: images of saints, the Madonna, and the Holy Family are painted on the sides of boats, which are often given the names of sacred figures as a protective invocation.
Of particular interest and significance is the offering of ex-votos, especially the painted tablets on which the miraculous episode is depicted for which the offerer gives thanks to the Virgin or the invoked saint. Thus, alongside the prayers taught by the Church, the people also know and repeat their own prayers, which present in plain and easily remembered and understandable form the concepts and teachings of Christian doctrine, or evoke episodes from the life of Christ and the saints, or express the sentiment and faith of the humble with particular forms of devotion. Moving and significant is the homage of flowers, candles, and lamps to the Madonna on the facades of houses, at street corners, and so on.
Original and expressive manifestations of popular cult also occur during pilgrimages to shrines, with the adorning of flowers and sacred images on the staffs used for the long journey, with the traversing of stretches of road or climbing the steps of the sanctuary on one’s knees, with songs and hymns and other expressions of faith that sometimes reach the point of intense mysticism or even transcendent enthusiasm. Important in this regard are the patronal festivals, with the competition among the faithful or members of confraternities for the honor of carrying the statue of the saint, with illuminations, bands, and fireworks, and so on. But the most original and grandiose forms can be observed during the various calendar festivals according to the liturgical year. The custom of strewing flowers along the streets or tossing flowers from windows as a procession passes is full of poetry, as at Marta (Bolsena) during the festival of the “Barabbata.” In certain places, such as Genzano and Torre del Greco, the flower-strewn path takes on the character of a true work of art with the creation of a floral carpet that covers an entire street and presents admirable chromatic and decorative effects. Elements of popular cult also manifest themselves in the conduct of processions, with children dressed as angels, with the adorning of flowers, ribbons, medals, and offerings for the statue of the saint or the Madonna, and with other simple customs according to local traditions.
The same can be said for all those manifestations known as “living relics of sacred drama.” Very ancient are also the bonfires for St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, the Ascension, the bonfires for St. Anthony Abbot, the torch processions for the Assumption, and similar events. Some of these manifestations reach spectacular grandeur, especially with sacred carts shaped like bell towers, candelabras, lilies, or even large boats: they sometimes attain colossal proportions.
The Van Gennep states that “popular cult and official cult move on two different planes.” But in the majority of cases, it is observed that they are rather complementary and integrative elements through which the humble classes manifest their participation, with their sentiments and faith, in the rites of the Church. It is not that sometimes one cannot detect some excess or some distorted survival of pre-Christian ritual forms, but precisely the Church provides for the regulation of these manifestations, allowing them to be expressed when they serve to keep alive and safeguard the faith in the hearts of the people, without exceeding the limits set by liturgical norms.