Devotional Items: Meaning, Origin and Proper Blessing

A rosary in a coat pocket, a cross above the door, a statue of Our Lady on the chest of drawers: in Catholic homes, devotional items are met at every turn. Hardly anyone asks what they actually are and why the priest blesses them. Yet the Church has clear terms for them, from the Latin word devotio to the 1917 Code of Canon Law. This guide explains those terms, tells the history of objects of devotion and shows where the line to superstition runs.

What are devotional items?

Devotional items are objects with which Catholics accompany their prayer and their worship of God and veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints: rosaries, crosses and crucifixes, medals, statues and holy pictures. They are not part of the liturgy but of personal piety, at home and on the way.

The word goes back to the Latin devotio. In Church Latin, according to Georges' dictionary (1913), it means “devotedness to God, devotion, piety” (translated from the German). Meyers Konversations-Lexikon of 1905 explains devotion in Church usage as “the self-giving veneration of God and the saints, and then devotion in prayer” (translated from the German). Devotional items are thus, quite literally, things of devotion.

A cross above the bed, a hand-knotted rosary in the pocket or a picture of Our Lady in the prayer corner (Herrgottswinkel) remind us of God in daily life and call us to prayer. Their meaning lies not in the material but in the devotion to which they lead.

What is the difference between devotional items and sacramentals?

Devotional items and sacramentals differ by the blessing. A rosary or a cross is at first simply an object of devotion. Only when a priest blesses it with the formula prescribed by the Church does it become a sacramental, through which the Church, by her intercession, obtains spiritual effects.

“Sacramentalia sunt res aut actiones quibus Ecclesia, in aliquam Sacramentorum imitationem, uti solet ad obtinendos ex sua impetratione effectus praesertim spirituales.”

Sacramentals are things or actions which the Church, in a certain imitation of the sacraments, is accustomed to use in order to obtain through her intercession effects that are chiefly spiritual.

Codex Iuris Canonici 1917, can. 1144. Our translation

The sacraments were instituted by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. They work ex opere operato, by virtue of the sacred action performed. Sacramentals do not work in this way. The dogmatic treatise of Joseph Pohle, adapted by Arthur Preuss (1915), explains that their power comes not only from the piety of the one who uses them but also from the intercession of the Church. Otherwise it would make no difference whether one sprinkled oneself with holy water or with ordinary water. In 1947, in the encyclical Mediator Dei (no. 27), Pope Pius XII calls this efficacy an effect ex opere operantis Ecclesiae, from the action of the Church. This is also shown by the fact that the formulas of blessing are petitions to God and not promises.

Where do devotional items come from?

The oldest devotional items date from the early Church: small crosses worn round the neck and coin-like medals bearing Christian symbols, some of which were found in the Roman catacombs. From the 12th century pilgrims brought pilgrim badges home from the shrines, and in the 16th century blessed medals came into use.

In the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1911, Herbert Thurston describes a medal which the archaeologist de Rossi assigns to the late 4th century, bearing the inscription Successa vivas (“Successa, mayest thou live”), as well as moulds found in Africa for casting small crosses with loops.

Later the great shrines cast badges of lead or pewter, which pilgrims wore on the hat or the breast. On 18 January 1200 Pope Innocent III granted the canons of St Peter's the right to cast and sell such badges bearing the image of the Apostles Peter and Paul; the pilgrims wore them, so the letter says, for the increase of their devotion. In the 16th and 17th centuries medals of bronze and silver gradually took their place, and from the 16th century the popes blessed them and enriched them with indulgences.

A well-known tradition is found in the Life of St Genevieve of Paris. St Germanus of Auxerre, who travelled to Britain in 429, is said to have hung round the girl's neck a pierced bronze coin bearing the sign of the cross, as a reminder of her consecration to Christ. How old this Life is remains disputed: its editor Bruno Krusch considered it in 1896 to be a forgery no older than the 8th century, whereas Thurston in 1911 held it to be early.

What kinds of devotional items are there?

Devotional items include above all rosaries, crosses and crucifixes, medals, scapulars, statues and holy pictures. Some accompany daily prayer in the hand; others stand on the home altar as a cross or statue and remind the household of God, Our Lady and the saints.

Many devotional items combine several signs. A rosary usually carries a medal as its centrepiece and a crucifix. How to pray it with the traditional prayers is shown in our Rosary prayer companion.

How do you have devotional items blessed?

You have devotional items blessed by a Catholic priest, most simply after Holy Mass in the sacristy. Any priest may bless, except for the blessings reserved to the Pope, to bishops or to others. The blessing is valid only with the formula the Church prescribes.

This is laid down in the 1917 Code: any priest can impart blessings, except those reserved to the Pope, to bishops or to others (can. 1147 § 2). Consecrations and blessings are invalid if the formula prescribed by the Church is not used (can. 1148 § 2). What is commonly called a consecration of such objects is, in canon law, a blessing (benedictio); consecration in the proper sense is reserved to the bishop (can. 1147 § 1). For some objects, such as the St Benedict medal, the priest needs, according to Thurston, a special faculty and a particular formula of blessing.

It is best to have a rosary blessed only after you have bought it. Indulgences attached to a rosary or another object cease, according to can. 924 § 2, only if it is entirely destroyed or sold. Giving it away, on the other hand, does no harm.

Is wearing devotional items superstition?

Wearing devotional items is not superstition, as long as you trust in God and not in the object. St Thomas Aquinas calls it superstitious to place one's hope in the manner of writing or of tying on. The sign of the cross on such things he expressly exempts.

In the Summa theologiae (II-II, q. 96, a. 4) St Thomas asks whether it is lawful to wear sacred words round the neck. He names two precautions. The words must contain nothing that invokes demons, nothing unknown and nothing false. And nothing vain may be added, such as inscribed magical characters other than the sign of the cross, nor any hope placed in the manner of writing or of tying on. Otherwise it is lawful. The same holds for relics:

“Si portentur ex fiducia Dei et sanctorum quorum sunt reliquiae, non erit illicitum.” If they are worn out of trust in God and in the saints whose relics they are, it will not be unlawful.

St Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae II-II, q. 96, a. 4 ad 3. Our translation

It is not the object that brings anything about, but God, whom one petitions by means of it. A rosary in the pocket is therefore a reminder to pray and not a substitute for prayer.

How should blessed devotional items be treated?

Blessed devotional items are to be treated with reverence and must not be put to profane use, even when they are private property. So canon 1150 of the 1917 Code lays down. Following ancient custom, broken blessed objects are therefore not thrown away but burned or buried.

Following ancient custom, whatever is combustible is burned, such as a holy picture, a scapular or a wooden rosary. The ashes of sacred things no longer fit for use were placed in the sacrarium, a covered shaft beside the altar or in the sacristy (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911). What does not burn, such as metal, stone or resin, is buried in the earth. You may also hand the object to your parish priest.

Before doing so, it is worth asking whether it can be repaired. A broken cord on a rosary can often be replaced. If in doubt, ask the priest whether the rosary should be blessed again afterwards.

Mentioned in this article Ebony Rosary Hand-knotted on a black cord, with ebony beads (8 mm), St Benedict medal and St Benedict cross. View the rosary Mentioned in this article Siena Standing Cross, 47 cm Hand-carved in Italy from limewood, painted in colour, with a base for the home altar and the desk. View the standing cross

Frequently asked questions about devotional items