Leeds Parish Church, Leeds, West Yorkshire. Leeds has no Anglican cathedral, so the Parish church acts as a second base in the diocese, after Ripon Cathedral.

Combe Martin parish church (St Peter ad Vincula), North Devon, England.

The parish church of Saint Lawrence at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England.

A parish church (or parochial church), in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches.

In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, often allowing its premises to be used for non-religious community events.

The church building reflects this status, and there is considerable variety in the size and style of parish churches. Many villages in Europe have churches that date back to the Middle Ages, but all periods of architecture are represented.

Nearly every part of England is in a parish, and most parishes have a parish church, which is consecrated. If there is no parish church, the bishop licenses another building for worship, and may designate it as a Parish Centre of Worship, a building which is not consecrated, but dedicated, and for most legal purposes it is deemed to be a parish church.^[1] In areas of increasing secularisation or a shift in religious beliefs, centres of worship are becoming more common place as often larger churches are sold due to their upkeep costs, instead the church may use community centres or facilities of a local church of another denomination.

In cities without a Cathedral of a certain denomination, the Parish church may have administrative functions similar to that of a cathedral, however the diocese will still have a cathedral.

While smaller villages may only have a parish church, larger towns may have a parish church and then also smaller churches in various districts which do not have the status of 'parish church'. Often the Parish church will be the only one to have a full-time minister, who will also serve any smaller churches within the parish.

In the Roman Catholic Church, as the seat of worship for the parish, this church is the one where the members of the parish must go for baptisms and weddings, unless permission is given by the pastor for celebrating these sacraments elsewhere. One sign of this is that the parish church is the only one to have a baptismal font.

The Church of Scotland, the established Presbyterian church, also uses a system of parish churches, covering the whole of Scotland.

See also[link]

• Church of England parish church
• List of Church of Scotland parishes

References[link]

Alvar Aalto
Alvar Aalto portrayed on a stamp published in 1976.
Born	Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (1898-02-03)February 3, 1898 Kuortane, Finland
Died	May 11, 1976(1976-05-11) (aged 78) Helsinki, Finland
Nationality	Finnish
Awards	RIBA Gold Medal AIA Gold Medal
Work
Buildings	Paimio Sanatorium Säynätsalo Town Hall Viipuri Library Villa Mairea Baker House Finlandia Hall
Projects	Helsinki City Centre
Design	Savoy Vase Paimio Chair

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (February 3, 1898, Kuortane – May 11, 1976, Helsinki) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware. Aalto's early career runs in parallel with the rapid economic growth and industrialization of Finland during the first half of the twentieth century and many of his clients were industrialists; among these were the Ahlström-Gullichsen family.^[1] The span of his career, from the 1920s to the 1970s, is reflected in the styles of his work, ranging from Nordic Classicism of the early work, to a rational International Style Modernism during the 1930s to a more organic modernist style from the 1940s onwards. What is typical for his entire career, however, is a concern for design as a Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art; whereby he - together with his first wife Aino Aalto - would design not just the building, but give special treatments to the interior surfaces and design furniture, lamps, and furnishings and glassware. The Alvar Aalto Museum, designed by Aalto himself, is located in what is regarded as his home city Jyväskylä.^[2]

Biography[link]

Life[link]

The signature of Alvar Aalto on the wall of Jyväskylä's theatre building.

Alvar Aalto Studio, Helsinki (1954–56)

Main Building of the Jyväskylä University (1955)

Säynätsalo Townhall in Jyväskylä (1949–52)

Auditorium of the Viipuri Municipal Library in the 1930s.

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland.^[3] His father, Johan Henrik Aalto, was a Finnish-speaking land-surveyor and his mother, Selly (Selma) Matilda (née Hackstedt) was a postmistress. When Aalto was 5 years old, the family moved to Alajärvi, and from there to Jyväskylä in Central Finland. Aalto studied at the Jyväskylä Lyceum school, completing his basic education in 1916. In 1916 he then enrolled to study architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology, graduating in 1921.

In 1923 he returned to Jyväskylä, where he opened his first architectural office. Jyväskylä would become a notable city for his architecture, with more buildings designed by him than in any other city.^[4] The following year he married architect Aino Marsio. Their honeymoon journey to Italy sealed an intellectual bond with the culture of the Mediterranean region that was to remain important to Aalto for the rest of his life. The Aaltos moved their office to Turku in 1927, and started collaborating with architect Erik Bryggman. The office moved again in 1933 to Helsinki.

The Aaltos designed and built a joint house-office (1935–36) for themselves in Munkkiniemi, Helsinki, but later (1954–56) had a purpose-built office built in the same neighbourhood - the latter building nowadays houses the Alvar Aalto Academy. Aino and Alvar Aalto had 2 children, a daughter Johanna "Hanni" Alanen, born Aalto, 1925, and a son Hamilkar Aalto, 1928. In 1926 the young Aaltos designed and had built a summer cottage in Alajärvi, Villa Flora. Aino Aalto died of cancer in 1949. In 1952 Aalto married architect Elissa Mäkiniemi (died 1994), who had been working as an assistant in his office. In 1952 Aalto designed and had built a summer cottage, the so-called Experimental House, for himself and his new wife in Muuratsalo in Central Finland. Alvar Aalto died on May 11, 1976, in Helsinki.^[5]

Career[link]

• Early career: classicism

Although he is sometimes regarded as among the first and most influential architects of Nordic modernism, a closer examination of the historical facts reveals that Aalto (while a pioneer in Finland) closely followed and had personal contacts with other pioneers in Sweden, in particular Gunnar Asplund and Sven Markelius. What they and many others of that generation in the Nordic countries had in common was that they started off from a classical education and were first designing in the so-called Nordic Classicism style – a style that had been a reaction to the previous dominant style of National Romanticism– before moving, in the late 1920s, towards Modernism. On returning to Jyväskylä in 1923 to establish his own architect's office, Aalto busied himself with a number of single-family homes, all designed in the classical style, such as the manor-like house for his mother's cousin Terho Manner in Töysa in 1923, a summer villa for the Jyväskylä chief constable in 1923 and the Alatalo farmhouse in Tarvaala in 1924. During this period he also completed his first public buildings, the Jyväskylä Workers' Club in 1925, the Jyväskylä Defence Corps building in 1926 and the Seinajoki Defence Corp building in 1924-29. Aalto also entered several architectural competitions for prestigious state public buildings, both in Finland and abroad, including the two competitions for the Finnish Parliamentary building in 1923 and 1924, the extension to the University of Helsinki in 1931, and the building to house the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1926-27. Furthermore, this was the period when Aalto was most prolific in his writings, with articles for professional journals and newspapers. Among his most well-known essays from this period are "Urban culture" 1924), "Temple baths on Jyväskylä ridge" (1925), "Abbé Coignard's sermon" (1925), and "From doorstep to living room" (1926).^[6]

Villa Mairea in Noormarkku

Detail of Baker House facade on the Charles River

Auditorium of the University of Technology, Helsinki, Finland (1949-66)

House of Culture, Helsinki

Finlandia Hall (1962–71)

Enso-Gutzeit HQ, Helsinki (1959-62)

The Aalto-Theater opera house in Essen, Germany

• Early career: functionalism

The shift in Aalto's design approach from classicism to modernism is epitomised by the Viipuri Library (1927–35), which went through a transformation from an originally classical competition entry proposal to the completed high-modernist building. Yet his humanistic approach is in full evidence in the library: the interior displays natural materials, warm colours, and undulating lines. Due to problems over financing and a change of site, the Viipuri Library project lasted eight years, and during that same time he also designed the Turun Sanomat Building (1929–30) and Paimio Sanatorium (1929–33). Thus, the Turun Sanomat Building first heralded Aalto's move towards modernism, and this was then carried forward both in the Paimio Sanatorium and in the on-going design for the library. Although the Turun Sanomat Building and Paimio Sanatorium are comparatively pure modernist works, they too carried the seeds of his questioning of such an orthodox modernist approach and a move to a more daring, synthetic attitude.

Through Sven Markelius, Aalto became a member of the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), attending the second congress in Frankfurt in 1929 and the fourth congress in Athens in 1933, where he established a close friendship with László Moholy-Nagy, Sigfried Giedion and Philip Morton Shand. It was during this time that he followed closely the work of the main driving force behind the new modernism, Le Corbusier, and visited him in his Paris office several times in the following years.

It was not until the completion of the Paimio Sanatorium (1929) and Viipuri Library (1935) that Aalto first achieved world attention in architecture. His reputation grew in the USA following the critical reception of his design for the Finnish Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair, described by Frank Lloyd Wright as a "work of genius". It could be said that Aalto's international reputation was sealed with his inclusion in the second edition of Sigfried Giedion's influential book on Modernist architecture, Space, Time and Architecture: The growth of a new tradition (1949), in which Aalto received more attention than any other Modernist architect, including Le Corbusier. In his analysis of Aalto, Giedion gave primacy to qualities that depart from direct functionality, such as mood, atmosphere, intensity of life and even national characteristics, declaring that "Finland is with Aalto wherever he goes".

• Mid career: experimentation

Aalto's early experiments with wood and his move away from a purist modernism would be tested in built form with the commission to design Villa Mairea (1939) in Noormarkku, the luxury home of the young industrialist couple Harry and Maire Gullichsen. It was Maire Gullichsen who acted as the main client, and she worked closely not only with Alvar but also Aino Aalto on the design, inspiring them to be more daring in their work. The original design was to include a private art gallery, but this was never built. The building forms a U-shape around a central inner "garden" the central feature of which is a kidney-shaped swimming pool. Adjacent to the pool is a sauna executed in a rustic style, alluding to both Finnish and Japanese precedents. The design of the house is a synthesis of numerous stylistic influences, from traditional Finnish vernacular to purist modernism, as well as influences from English and Japanese architecture. While the house is clearly intended for a wealthy family, Aalto nevertheless argued that it was also an experiment that would prove useful in the design of mass housing.^[7]

His increased fame led to offers and commissions outside Finland. In 1941 he accepted an invitation as a visiting professor to MIT, in the USA. This was during the Second World War, and he involved his students in designing low-cost, small-scale housing for the reconstruction of war-torn Finland. While teaching at MIT, Aalto also designed the student dormitory, Baker House, completed in 1948. This building was the first building of Aalto's redbrick period. Originally used in Baker House to signify the Ivy League university tradition, on his return to Finland Aalto used it in a number of key buildings, in particular, in several of the buildings in the new Helsinki University of Technology campus (starting in 1950), Säynatsalo Town Hall (1952), Helsinki Pensions Institute (1954), Helsinki House of Culture (1958), as well as in his own summer house, the so-called Experimental House in Muuratsalo (1957).

• Mature career: monumentalism

The early 1960s and 1970s (up until his death in 1976) were marked by key works in Helsinki, in particular the huge town plan for the void in centre of Helsinki adjacent to Töölö Bay and the vast railway yards, and marked on the edges by significant buildings such as the National Museum and the main railway station, both by Eliel Saarinen. In his town plan Aalto proposed a line of separate marble-clad buildings fronting the bay which would house various cultural institutions, including a concert hall, opera, museum of architecture and headquarters for the Finnish Academy. The scheme also extended into the Kamppi district with a series of tall office blocks. Aalto first presented his scheme in 1961, but it went through various modifications during the early 1960s. Only two fragments of the overall plan were ever realized: the Finlandia Hall concert hall (1976) fronting Töölö Bay, and an office building in the Kamppi district for the Helsinki Electricity Company (1975). The Miesian formal language of geometric grids employed in the buildings was also used by Aalto for other sites in Helsinki, including the Enso-Gutzeit building (1962), the Academic Bookstore (1962) and the SYP Bank building (1969).

Following Aalto's death in 1976 his office continued to operate under the direction of his widow, Elissa, completing works already to some extent designed. These works include the Jyväskylä City Theatre and Essen opera house. Since the death of Elissa Aalto the office has continued to operate as the Alvar Aalto Academy, giving advice on the restoration of Aalto buildings and organising the vast archive material.

Awards[link]

Aalto's awards included the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects (1957) and the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects (1963). He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1957.^[8]

Works[link]

Aalto's career spans the changes in style from (Nordic Classicism) to purist International Style Modernism to a more personal, synthetic and idiosyncratic Modernism. Aalto's wide field of design activity ranges from the large scale of city planning and architecture to interior design, furniture and glassware design and painting. It has been estimated that during his entire career Aalto designed over 500 individual buildings, approximately 300 of which were built, the vast majority of which are in Finland. He also has a few buildings in the USA, Germany, Italy, and France.^[9]

Aalto claimed that his paintings were not made as individual artworks but as part of his process of architectural design, and many of his small-scale "sculptural" experiments with wood led to later larger architectural details and forms. These experiments also led to a number of patents: for example, he invented a new form of laminated bent-plywood furniture in 1932. His experimental method had been influenced by his meetings with various members of the Bauhaus design school, especially László Moholy-Nagy, whom he first met in 1930. Aalto's furniture was exhibited in London in 1935, to great critical acclaim, and to cope with the consumer demand Aalto, together with his wife Aino, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl founded the company Artek that same year. Aalto glassware (Aino as well as Alvar) is manufactured by Iittala.

Aalto's 'High Stool' and 'Stool E60' (manufactured by Artek are currently used in Apple stores across the world to serve as seating for customers. Finished in black lacquer, the stools are used to seat customers at the 'Genius Bar' and also in other areas of the store at times when seating is required for a product workshop or special event.

Significant buildings[link]

KUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Denmark (1958–72)

The main building Capitolium of the University of Jyväskylä

• 1921–1923: Bell tower of Kauhajärvi Church, Lapua, Finland
• 1924–1928: Municipal hospital, Alajärvi, Finland
• 1926–1929: Defence Corps Building, Jyväskylä, Finland
• 1927–1935: Municipal library, Viipuri, Finland (now Vyborg, Russia)
• 1928–1929, 1930: Turun Sanomat newspaper offices, Turku, Finland
• 1928–1929: Paimio Sanatorium, Tuberculosis sanatorium and staff housing, Paimio, Finland
• 1931: Central University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia (former Yugoslavia)
• 1932: – Villa Tammekann, Tartu, Estonia
• 1934: Corso theatre, restaurant interior, Zürich, Switzerland
• 1936–1938: Ahlstrom Sunila Pulp Mill, Housing, and Town Plan, Kotka
• 1937–1939: Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, Finland
• 1939: Finnish Pavilion, at the 1939 World's Fair
• 1947–1948: Baker House, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• 1949–1966: Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland
• 1949–1952: Säynätsalo Town Hall, 1949 competition, built 1952, Säynätsalo (now part of Jyväskylä), Finland
• 1950–1957: Kansaneläkelaitos (National Pension Institution) office building, Helsinki, Finland
• 1952–1958: House of Culture, Helsinki, Finland
• 1953: The Experimental House, Muuratsalo, Finland
• 1958–1987: Town centre, Seinäjoki, Finland
• 1958–1972: KUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Aalborg, Denmark
• 1959–1962: Enso-Gutzeit Headquarters, Helsinki, Finland
• 1962: Aalto-Hochhaus, Bremen, Germany
• 1965: Regional Library of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland
• 1962–1971: Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland
• 1963–1965: Building for Västmanland-Dala nation, Uppsala, Sweden
• 1965–1968: Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland
• 1970: Mount Angel Abbey Library, St. Benedict, Oregon, USA
• 1959–1988: Essen opera house, Essen, Germany

Furniture and glassware[link]

Tea cart (tea trolley)

Armchair 400 with reindeer fur

Chairs

• 1932: Paimio Chair^[10]
• 1933: Three-legged stacking Stool 60^[11]
• 1933: Four-legged Stool E60^[12]
• 1935-6: Armchair 404 (a/k/a/ Zebra Tank Chair)^[13]
• 1939: Armchair 406^[14]

Lamps

• 1954: Floor lamp A805^[15]
• 1959: Floor lamp A810^[16]

Vases

• 1936: Aalto Vase

Quotes[link]

• "God created paper for the purpose of drawing architecture on it. Everything else is at least for me an abuse of paper." Alvar Aalto, Sketches, 1978, 104.
• "We should work for simple, good, undecorated things" and he continues, "but things which are in harmony with the human being and organically suited to the little man in the street." Alvar Aalto, speech in London 1957.

Memorials[link]

Aalto has been commemorated in a number of ways:

• Alvar Aalto is the eponym of the Alvar Aalto Medal, now considered one of world architecture’s most prestigious awards.
• Aalto was featured in the 50 mk note in the last series of the Finnish markka (before its replacement by the Euro in 2002).
• 1998 marked the centenary anniversary of Aalto's birth. The occasion was marked in Finland not only by several books and exhibitions but also by the promotion of specially-bottled red and white Aalto Wine, and a specially-designed cup-cake.
• In the year of his death, 1976, Aalto was commomorated on a Finnish postage stamp.
• Aalto University, a new Finnish university (an amalgamation of Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics and TaiK) established in 2010, is named after Alvar Aalto.
• An Alvar Aallon katu (Alvar Aalto Street) can be found in three different Finnish cities: Jyväskylä, Oulu and Seinäjoki.

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

Göran Schildt

Göran Schildt has written and edited many books on Aalto, the most well-known being the three-volume biography, usually referred to as the definitive biography on Aalto.

• Alvar Aalto. The Early Years Rizzoli: New York, 1984.
• Alvar Aalto. The Decisive Years Rizzoli: New York, 1987.
• Alvar Aalto. The Mature Years Rizzoli: New York, 1991.
• The Architectural Drawings of Alvar Aalto, 1917–1939, in eleven volumes. Prepared by the Alvar Aalto Archive in collaboration with the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, and the Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä; with introduction and project descriptions by Göran Schildt. Garland Publishing: New York, 1994.
• Alvar Aalto in His Own Words. Rizzoli: New York, 1998.
• Alvar Aalto: The Complete Catalogue of Architecture, Design and Art. Rizzoli: New York, 1994.

Other books

• Alvar Aalto Architect, Alvar Aalto Academy: Helsinki. A 28-part series of books chronicling significant Aalto works. Volumes already published:
  • Volume 7: Sunila.
  • Volume 9: Villa Mairea.
  • Volume 13: University of Technology, Otaniemi.
  • Volume 20: Maison Carreé.
• Alvar Aalto Arkkitehti / Architect 1898–1976, Rakennustieto / Alvar Aalto Foundation: Helsinki, 1999.
• Fleig, Karl Alvar Aalto, Editorial Gustavo Gili: Barcelona, 1992.
• Porphyrios, Demetri Sources of Modern Eclecticism, Academy Editions: London, 1982.
• Pallasmaa, Juhani (Ed.) Alvar Aalto Furniture, Museum of Finnish Architecture. Helsinki 1984.
• Pelkonen, Eeva-Liisa Alvar Aalto: Architecture, Modernity, and Geopolitics. Yale Architecture Press: New York, 2009.
• Reed, Peter (Ed.) Alvar Aalto: between humanism and materialism. Museum of Modern Art/H.N. Abrams. New York, 1998.
• Ruusuvuori, Aarno (Ed.) Alvar Aalto 1898–1976. Museum of Finnish Architecture: Helsinki 1998
• Jormakka, Kari; Gargus, Jacqueline; Graf, Douglas The Use and Abuse of Paper. Essays on Alvar Aalto. Datutop 20: Tampere 1999.
• Connah, Roger Aaltomania – Readings against Aalto? Building Information Ltd: Helsinki, 2000.
• Weston, Richard Alvar Aalto. Phaidon: London, 1995.

Aalto research

• The extensive archives of Alvar Aalto are nowadays kept at the Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä, Finland. Material is also available from the former offices of Aalto, at Tiilimäki 20, Helsinki, nowadays the headquarters of the Alvar Aalto Foundation.
• Since 1995 the Alvar Aalto Museum and Aalto Academy has published a journal, Ptah, which is devoted not only to Aalto scholarship but also to architecture generally as well as theory, design and art.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alvar Aalto

Archives

• Alvar Aalto Foundation Custodian of Aalto's architectural drawings and writings.

Resources

• Alvar Aalto at the Museum of Modern Art
• Alvar Aalto biography at FinnishDesign.com
• Short Biographies: Alvar Aalto
• Aalto bibliography – From the official site
• Alvar Aalto – Design Dictionary Illustrated article about Alvar Aalto
• Alvar Aalto Biography in Spanish about Alvar Aalto
• Modern Furniture and the history of Moulded Plywood Role played by Alvar Alto in the use of Moulded plywood for furniture.
• Alvar Aalto in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Alvar Aalto at Find a Grave

Catalogs

• Artek.fi, Aalto furniture; company founded by Aalto.
• Alvar Aalto glassware, iittala.com
• Between Humanism and Materialism New York Museum of Modern Art exhibit site. Contains an especially useful timeline of his life and career.

Buildings and reviews

• Checkonsite.com - Alvar Aalto architecture guide.
• "Ahead of the curve" The Guardian – Fiona MacCarthy recalls a shared lunch of smoked reindeer and schnapps in his elegant Helsinki restaurant
• Baker House
• North Jutland Museum
• S. Maria Assunta – Riola BO Italy

Shops

• Alvar Aalto Collection Tomorrow's Antique Alvar Aalto furniture collection.
• Coliseum-shop.com Alvar Aalto Furniture Selection.
• Aalto.com – Alvar Aalto Collection Shop dedicated to Alvar Aalto designs.

All Saints
Painting by Fra Angelico
Also called	All Hallows, Hallowmas
Observed by	Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism[1] and Methodism,[2] among other Christian denominations
Liturgical Color	White
Type	Christian
Date	November 1 (Western Christianity) Sunday after Pentecost (Eastern Christianity)
Observances	Church services
Related to	All Hallow's Eve, All Souls' Day

All Saints' Day (in the Roman Catholic Church officially the Solemnity of All Saints and also called All Hallows or Hallowmas^[3]), often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown. In the Western calendar it is the day after Halloween and the day before All Souls' Day.

In Western Christian theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. It is a national holiday in many historically Catholic countries. In the Catholic Church and many Anglican churches, the next day specifically commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet been purified and reached heaven. Christians who celebrate All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day do so in the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual bond between those in purgatory (the 'Church Suffering'), those in heaven (the 'church triumphant'), and the living (the 'church militant'). Other Christian traditions define, remember and respond to the saints in different ways; for example, in the Methodist Church, the word "saints" refers to all Christians and therefore, on All Saint's Day, the Church Universal, as well as the deceased members of a local congregation, are honoured and remembered.^[2][4]

In the East[link]

Eastern Orthodox icon of All Saints. Christ is enthroned in heaven surrounded by the ranks of angels and saints. At the bottom is Paradise with the bosom of Abraham (left), and the Good Thief (right).

Eastern Christians of the Byzantine Tradition commemorate all saints collectively on the first Sunday after Pentecost, All Saints' Sunday (Greek: Αγίων Πάντων, Agiōn Pantōn).

The feast of All Saints achieved great prominence in the ninth century, in the reign of the Byzantine Emperor, Leo VI "the Wise" (886–911). His wife, Empress Theophano—commemorated on December 16—lived a devout life. After her death in 893,^[5] her husband built a church, intending to dedicate it to her. When he was forbidden to do so, he decided to dedicate it to "All Saints," so that if his wife were in fact one of the righteous, she would also be honored whenever the feast was celebrated.^[6] According to tradition, it was Leo who expanded the feast from a commemoration of All Martyrs to a general commemoration of All Saints, whether martyrs or not.

This Sunday marks the close of the Paschal season. To the normal Sunday services are added special scriptural readings and hymns to all the saints (known and unknown) from the Pentecostarion.

In the late spring, the Sunday following Pentecost Sunday (50 days after Easter) is set aside as a commemoration of all locally venerated saints, such as "All Saints of America", "All Saints of Mount Athos", etc. The third Sunday after Pentecost may be observed for even more localized saints, such as "All Saints of St. Petersburg", or for saints of a particular type, such as "New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke."

In addition to the Sundays mentioned above, Saturdays throughout the year are days for general commemoration of all saints, and special hymns to all saints are chanted from the Octoechos.

In the West[link]

The Western Christian holiday of All Saints' Day falls on November 1, followed by All Souls' Day on November 2, and is a Holy Day of Obligation in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church.

The origin of the festival of All Saints celebrated in the West dates to May 13, 609 or 610, when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs; the feast of the dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Martyres has been celebrated at Rome ever since. There is evidence that from the fifth through the seventh centuries there existed in certain places and at sporadic intervals a feast date on 13 May to celebrate the holy martyrs.^[7] The origin of All Saints' Day cannot be traced with certainty, and it has been observed on various days in different places. However, there are some who maintain the belief that it has origins in the pagan observation of 13 May, the Feast of the Lemures, in which the malevolent and restless spirits of the dead were propitiated. Liturgiologists base the idea that this Lemuria festival was the origin of that of All Saints on their identical dates and on the similar theme of "all the dead".^[8]

The feast of All Saints, on its current date, is traced to the foundation by Pope Gregory III (731–741) of an oratory in St. Peter's for the relics "of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors, of all the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world", with the day moved to 1 November and the 13 May feast suppressed.^[9]

This usually fell within a few weeks of the Celtic holiday of Samhain, which had a theme similar to the Roman festival of Lemuria, but which was also a harvest festival. The Irish, having celebrated Samhain in the past, did not celebrate All Hallows Day on this November 1 date, as extant historical documents attest that the celebration in Ireland took place in the spring: "...the Felire of Oengus and the Martyrology of Tallaght prove that the early medieval churches [in Ireland] celebrated the feast of All Saints on April 20."^[10]

A November festival of all the saints was already widely celebrated on November 1 in the days of Charlemagne. It was made a day of obligation throughout the Frankish empire in 835, by a decree of Louis the Pious, issued "at the instance of Pope Gregory IV and with the assent of all the bishops", which confirmed its celebration on November 1. The octave was added by Pope Sixtus IV (1471–1484).^[11]

The festival was retained after the Reformation in the calendar of the Anglican Church and in many Lutheran churches. In the Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden, it assumes a role of general commemoration of the dead. In the Swedish calendar, the observance takes place on the Saturday between October 31 and November 6. In many Lutheran Churches, it is moved to the first Sunday of November. In the Church of England it may be celebrated either on 1 November or on the Sunday between 30 October and 5 November. It is also celebrated by other Protestants of the English tradition, such as the United Church of Canada, the Methodist churches, and the Wesleyan Church.^[12]

Protestants generally regard all true Christian believers as saints and if they observe All Saints Day at all they use it to remember all Christians both past and present. In the United Methodist Church, All Saints' Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in November. It is held, not only to remember Saints, but also to remember all those who have died who were members of the local church congregation.^[13] In some congregations, a candle is lit by the Acolyte as each person's name is called out by the clergy. Prayers and responsive readings may accompany the event. Often, the names of those who have died in the past year are affixed to a memorial plaque.

In many Lutheran churches, All Saints' Day and Reformation Day are observed concurrently on the Sunday before or after those dates, given Reformation Day is observed in Protestant Churches on October 31. Typically, Martin Luther's "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" is sung during the service. Besides discussing Luther's role in the Protestant Reformation, some recognition of the prominent early leaders of the Reformed tradition, such as John Calvin and John Knox, occurs. The observance of Reformation Day may be immediately followed by a reading of those members of the local congregation who have died in the past year in observance of All Saints' Day. Otherwise, the recognition of deceased church members occurs at another designated portion of the service.

Roman Catholic Obligation[link]

In Catholicism, All Saints' Day is a Holy Day of Obligation in many (but not all) countries, meaning going to Mass on the date is required unless one has a good reason to be excused, such as illness. However, in a number of countries that do list All Saints' Day as a Holy Day of Obligation, including England and Wales, the solemnity of All Saints' Day is transferred to the adjacent Sunday, if 1 November falls on a Monday or a Saturday, while in the same circumstances in the United States the Solemnity is still celebrated on November 1 but the obligation to attend Mass is abrogated.

Customs[link]

All Saints' Day at a cemetery in Sanok - flowers and light candles to honor the memory of deceased relatives. Poland, 1 November 2011

In Mexico, Portugal and Spain, offerings (Portuguese: oferendas, Spanish: ofrendas) are made on this day. In Spain the play Don Juan Tenorio is traditionally performed.

All Saints' Day in Mexico, coincides with the first day of the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) celebration. Known as "Día de los Inocentes" (Day of the Innocents), it honours deceased children and infants.

Portuguese children celebrate the Pão-por-Deus tradition, going door-to-door where they receive cakes, nuts and pomegranates. This only occurs in some areas around Lisbon.

Hallowmas in the Philippines is variously called "Undas" (based on the word for "[the] first"), "Todós los Santos" (literally "All Saints"), and sometimes "Áraw ng mga Patáy" (lit. "Day of the Dead"), which refers to the following day of All Souls' Day but includes it. While traditionally, Filipinos observed this day solemnly by visiting the graves of deceased relatives, offering prayers and flowers, lighting candles, cleaning and repairing the graves, this tradition is slowly dying. Instead it has been replaced by Filipinos spending the day, and often the entire night, picnicking and holding reunions at the cemetery near their loved ones. Many sing, bring Karaoke TV sets and musical instruments, and even burst fire crackers. In fact, for the past few years, the government has banned bringing of liquor, sharp instruments and guns due to incidents of drunkenness and resulting violence during the festival. [14]

In Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, France, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain, and American cities such as New Orleans, people take flowers to the graves of dead relatives.

In Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Catholic parts of Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden, the tradition is to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives.

In English-speaking countries, the festival is traditionally celebrated with the hymn "For All the Saints" by William Walsham How. The most familiar tune for this hymn is Sine Nomine by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Catholics generally celebrate with a day of rest consisting of avoiding physical exertion.

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• Veneration of the dead
• Halloween
• Dziady
• Day of the Dead
• Irish calendar
• Litany of the Saints

External links[link]

• All Saints Day
• All Saints and All Souls Day American Catholic
•  "All Saints' Day". Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913. 
• All Saints Sunday Orthodox England
• A Vigil service for All Saints All Hallows' E'en - "Halloween"
• First Sunday after Pentecost, or All Saints Sunday by Sergei Bulgakov, Handbook for Church Servers
• Synaxis of All Saints Icon and Synaxarion of the feast
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "All Saints, Festival of". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Saint Dominic Savio
A prayer card depicting St. Dominic Savio.
Confessor
Born	(1842-04-02)April 2, 1842 San Giovanni, a frazione of Riva presso Chieri, Piedmont, Italy[1]
Died	March 9, 1857(1857-03-09) (aged 14) Mondonio, a frazione of Castelnuovo d’Asti (today Castelnuovo Don Bosco), Piedmont, Italy[1]
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	5 March 1950 by Pope Pius XII
Canonized	12 June 1954 by Pope Pius XII
Major shrine	The Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin (his tomb)[2]
Feast	9 March (formerly 6 May)[3]
Patronage	choirboys, falsely accused people, juvenile delinquents, Pueri Cantores[4]

Dominic Savio (Italian: Domenico Savio; April 2, 1842 – March 9, 1857^[5][6]) was an Italian adolescent student of Saint John Bosco. He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14, possibly from pleurisy.^[7]

His teacher, John Bosco, had very high regard for Savio, and wrote a biography of his young student, The Life of Dominic Savio. This volume, along with other accounts of him, were critical factors in his cause for sainthood. Despite the fact that many people considered him to have died at too young an age – fourteen – to be considered for sainthood, he was considered eligible for such singular honour on the basis of his having displayed "heroic virtue" in his everyday life.^[8] He is the only saint of his age group, which includes Maria Goretti (age 11) and Ponticus of Lyons (age 15),^[9] who was declared to be a saint not on the basis of his having been a martyr, but on the basis of having lived what was seen as a holy life. He was canonised a Saint on June 12, 1954 by Pope Pius XII,^[10] making him the youngest non-martyr to be canonised in the Catholic Church.^[11]

Biography[link]

The major part of the biographical information known about Dominic Savio comes from his biography written by John Bosco, in addition to the testimonies given by Savio's family and friends.^[12]

Early life[link]

At home[link]

Savio was born on April 2, 1842, to Carlo and Brigida Savio. They lived near Turin. When he was two years old, his parents returned to their native place at Murialdo on the outskirts of Castelnuovo d'Asti (which was the birth-place of John Bosco),^[13] and from where they had gone to Riva in 1841^[14] His parents took great care to give him a Christian upbringing.^[15] By the age of four, Dominic was able to pray by himself and was occasionally found in solitude, praying.^[14] In his biography of Dominic, John Bosco records that Savio's parents recollect how he used to help his mother around the house, welcome his father home, say his prayers without being reminded, (even reminding others when they forgot) and say Grace at mealtimes unfailingly.^[15]

At the village school[link]

Fr. Giovanni Zucca from Moriondo, who was then the chaplain at Murialdo when Dominic was five years old,^[16] notes in a statement to John Bosco that he came to notice Dominic due to his regular church attendance with his mother, and his habit of kneeling down outside the church to pray (even in the mud or snow) if he happened to come to Church before it had been unlocked in the morning. The chaplain also notes that Savio made good progress at the village school not merely due to his cleverness, but also by working hard. He would not join the other boys in doing something that he believed to be morally wrong and would explain why he thought a particular deed was wrong.^[16] At the age of five, he learned to serve Mass, and would try to participate at Mass every day as well as go regularly to Confession. Having been permitted to make his First Communion at an early age, he had much reverence for the Eucharist.^[17]

First Communion[link]

At that time, it was customary for children to receive their First Communion at the age of twelve.^[18] (Pope Pius X would later lower this age to seven)^[19][20] After initial hesitation, and subsequent consultation with other priests, the parish priest agreed to permit Dominic to receive his First Communion at the age of seven, since he knew the catechism and understood something of the Eucharist.^[21] He spent much time praying and reading in preparation,^[22] asking his mother's forgiveness for anything he might have done to displease her and then went to Church. In his biography of Dominic Savio, John Bosco devotes a chapter to tell of Dominic's First Communion. He says that several years later, whenever Dominic talked of the day of his First Communion, he said with joy:

"That was the happiest and most wonderful day of my life"^[21]

John Bosco records that on the day of his First Communion, Dominic made some promises which he wrote in a "little book", and re-read them many times. John Bosco once looked through Dominic's book, and he quotes from it the promises that he made:^[22]

Resolutions made by me, Dominic Savio, in the year 1849, on the day of my First Communion, at the age of seven.

1. I will go to Confession often, and as frequently to Holy Communion as my confessor allows.

2. I wish to sanctify the Sundays and festivals in a special manner.

3. My friends shall be Jesus and Mary.

4. Death rather than sin.^[23]

At the county school[link]

Dominic had to go to another school and it was decided that he would go to the County School at Castelnuovo, three miles (5 km) from his home.^[24] (Castelnuovo d' Asti, now Castelnuovo John Bosco, was the birthplace of another contemporary of John Bosco, Joseph Cafasso, also a saint. He was four years the senior of John Bosco, and was Bosco's mentor and advisor.^[25]) Now ten years old, Dominic walked daily to and from school. In his biography of Dominic Savio, John Bosco records how a local farmer once asked Dominic, on a hot sunny day, if he was not tired from walking, and received the reply: "Nothing seems tiresome or painful when you are working for a master who pays well."^[26] Don Bosco also notes that Dominic refused to go swimming^[27] with his friends since Dominic considered that in such a situation, it would be "also easy to offend God",^[24] he believed that on a previous occasion his friends behaved in, what was to him, a vulgar manner.^[28] In his biography Bosco records that Fr. Allora, the head of this school, had this to say about Dominic: "...Hence it may very well be said that he was Savio (wise), not only in name, but in fact, viz., in his studies, in piety, in conversation and his dealing with others, and in all his actions. ..."^[26]

Under Don Bosco's mentorship[link]

Meeting with John Bosco[link]

St. John Bosco (Don Bosco), the spiritual mentor of St. Dominic Savio.

It was Fr. Giuseppe Cugliero,^[24] Dominic's teacher at school, who gave a high account of him to John Bosco and recommended that Bosco meet him during the Feast of the Rosary, when he would take his boys to Murialdo. Accordingly, accompanied by his father, Dominic met John Bosco on the first Monday in the month of October, 1854.^[29] John Bosco records this conversation in some detail. He notes that Dominic was eager to go to Turin with John Bosco, and that he wished to become a priest after completing his studies in that town.^[30] This meeting was the beginning of their relationship, the result of which was that John Bosco agreed to take Dominic to Turin with him.^[29]

At the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales[link]

John Bosco records that when Dominic arrived at the Oratory, he at once placed himself under his guidance.^[31] He also notes that Dominic worked diligently and followed the school rules. He would happily listen to talks and sermons (even if they tended to be lengthy at times), and would, without hesitation, ask for clarification on points that were not clear to him. John Bosco also notes how Dominic was obedient to his teachers and chose his companions carefully.^[32] This happened in the year 1854, while, in Rome, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was being defined. Preparations for the observation of this feast were thus going on at the Oratory. Don Bosco records that, at the advice of his confessor, Dominic renewed his First Communion promises at the altar of Mary at the Oratory. John Bosco says that, from this point the result of Dominic's attempts towards holy life were so apparent, that he (John Bosco) took to recording the various incidents that occurred for future reference.^[31]

John Bosco's mother, who was called "Mamma Margaret" remarked to him of Dominic,^[33]

"You have many good boys, but none can match the good heart and soul of Dominic. I see him so often at prayer, staying in church after the others; every day he slips out of the playground to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. When he is in church he is like an angel living in Paradise."

Resolve to become a saint[link]

Around six months after Dominic had come to the Oratory, he had the occasion to listen to a talk on sainthood. John Bosco records that the talk had three main points that impressed Dominic:^[34]

1. That it is God's will that each one should become a saint.

2. That it is easy to become a saint.

3. That there is a great reward waiting in heaven for those who try to become saints.

This inspired Dominic to take a conscious decision to become a saint. The immediate result of this was that, not being sure how to live a saintly life, and worried about it, he was quiet and worried for the next few days. Noticing this, John Bosco spoke to Dominic and advised him to resume his customary cheerfulness, persevere in his regular life of study and religious practices, and especially not neglect being with his companions in games and recreation.^[35] On learning that his first name meant "belonging to God", his desire to be a saint intensified.^[34]

Attempts to do penances[link]

In his desire to become a saint, Dominic attempted to perform physical penances, like making his bed uncomfortable with small stones and pieces of wood, sleeping with a thin covering in winter, wearing a hair shirt, and fasting on bread and water. When his superiors (i.e., John Bosco, or his Rector, or his confessor) came to know this, they forbade him from doing bodily mortification, as it would affect his health.^[36] John Bosco told Dominic that as a schoolboy, the best penance would be to perform all his duties with perfection and humility, and that obedience was the greatest sacrifice.^[37] Thus, Dominic formed an important aspect of his philosophy of life, which was, in his words, "I can't do big things but I want everything to be for the glory of God."^[38] Don Bosco notes that from that time on, Dominic did not complain about the food or the weather, unlike some other boys at the Oratory, bore all suffering cheerfully, and practised custody of his eyes and tongue.^[39] Eugenio Ceria, a Salesian commentator on the autobiography of John Bosco, (Memoirs of the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales) notes that by this time, owing to his experience as an educator, John Bosco's ideas on several pedagogical and spiritual principles were well developed and linked and this led him to associate the fulfillment of daily duties with holiness in his advice to Savio.^[40]

The Immaculate Conception Sodality[link]

A painting depicting Mary as the Immaculate Conception. The definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception had a profound effect on the spirituality of Dominic Savio.

The definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary had an impact on Dominic and he was anxious to create at the school a lasting reminder of this event.^[41] He now felt that he had not long to live. With the help of his friends, he started a group called the Sodality of Mary Immaculate, the main aim of which was to be to obtain the special protection of Mary during life and at the time of death. The means Dominic proposed to this end were: (1) to honour, and to bring others to honour, Mary by different means, and (2) to encourage frequent Communion.^[42] On June 8, he and his friends read out together before the altar of Mary at the Oratory, the set of rules they had drawn up. There were twenty-one articles (which were recorded by John Bosco in his biography), ending with an appeal to Mary for her assistance. These were submitted to the rector, and, after careful perusal, he gave his approval, under certain conditions.^[42] One of the members of this Sodality, Giuseppe Bongioanni,^[42] (who was later ordained a priest) was later to found the Sodality of the Blessed Sacrament, which became a traditional sodality in Catholic schools.^[41]

Preparation for a holy death[link]

All the pupils under John Bosco observed a monthly event called The Exercise of a Happy Death; this practice continues under the name The Monthly Day of Recollection.^[43] This practice was encouraged by Pope Pius IX.^[44] Part of this was to make a Confession and Communion as though they were the last ones to be made before death. Bosco notes that Dominic observed this practice devoutly, and that one day, Dominic said that he would be the first amongst the group to die.^[44] During the month of May, before his death, the intensity of his spiritual practices increased. John Bosco notes that he said, "Let me do what I can this year; if I am here next year I'll let you know what my plans are."^[45]

Failing health[link]

Dominic's health was steadily deteriorating, but he spent most of his time with his friends, talking with them, and encouraging those who were experiencing troubles.^[46] He also helped at the school infirmary whenever his companions were admitted. On the recommendation of doctors, Dominic was sent home to recover from his ill health, but a few days later Bosco found him back at the Oratory. In spite of his affection for Dominic, and his wish to allow Dominic to remain at the Oratory, John Bosco decided to follow the recommendation of the doctors, especially since Dominic had developed a severe cough^[47] and he wrote to Dominic's father, fixing the date of his departure on March 1, 1857. Though Dominic said that he wanted to spend his last days at the Oratory, he accepted this decision and spent the evening before his departure at John Bosco's side, discussing spiritual matters. (Bosco recorded a part of this conversation in his biography of Dominic).^[46] On the morning of his departure, Don Bosco notes that Dominic made the Exercise of a Happy Death with great zeal, even saying that this would be his final such devotion.^[48] He said his farewell to John Bosco, asking as a keepsake that Bosco add his name to the list of those who would participate in the Plenary Indulgence that John Bosco had received from the Pope, to which John Bosco readily agreed.^[46] He then said took leave of his friends with great affection, which surprised them, for his illness was not considered by many of his companions to be serious.^[47]

Death[link]

In his first four days at home his appetite decreased and his cough worsened; this prompted his parents to send him to the doctor, who, at once, ordered bed rest.^[49] Inflammation was diagnosed, and as was the custom at that time, the doctor decided to perform bloodletting. The doctor cut Dominic's arm ten times in the space of four days and it is now considered that this probably hastened his death.^[50] In his biography, John Bosco records that Dominic was calm throughout the procedure. The doctor assured his parents that the danger had passed and now it only remained for him to recuperate. Dominic, however, was sure that his death was approaching, and asked that he be allowed to make his Confession and receive Communion. Though they thought it unnecessary, his parents sent for the parish priest who heard Dominic's confession and administered the Eucharist.^[51] After four days, in spite of the conviction of the doctor and his parents that he would get better, Dominic asked that he be given the Anointing of the Sick in preparation for death. Again, his parents agreed, to please him. On March 9, he was given the papal blessing and he said the Confiteor. Don Bosco records that throughout these days, he stayed serene and calm.^[52] On the evening of March 9, 1857, after being visited by his parish priest, he asked his father to read him the prayers for the Exercise of a Happy Death from his book of devotions. Then he slept a while, and shortly awakened and said in a clear voice,

"Goodbye, Dad, goodbye . . . what was it the parish priest suggested to me ... I don't seem to remember . . . Oh, what wonderful things I see ...".^[52]

With these words, Dominic died, though, at first, it appeared to his father that he was asleep.^[53] Dominic's father wrote in a letter to John Bosco, conveying the news of the death of his son,

"With my heart full of grief I send you this sad news. Dominic, my dear son and your child in God, like a white lily, like Aloysius Gonzaga, gave his soul to God on March 9th after having received with the greatest devotion the Last Sacraments and the Papal Blessing."

Notable incidents in the life of Dominic Savio[link]

Pope Pius XI, who described Dominic Savio as "small in size, but a towering giant in spirit."

In order to give the reader a well rounded picture of Dominic's personality Don Bosco recorded several incidents from Dominic's life in his biography.^[32]

Before he joined the Oratory[link]

At the school at Mondonio[link]

John Bosco records this from the testimony of Fr Giuseppe Cugliero.^[54] One day, in the absence of his teacher, two of Dominic's classmates stuffed the room-heating iron stove with snow and rubbish as a prank. Fearing expulsion, they blamed Dominic. Fr. Cugliero soundly berated Dominic in front of the class and Dominic bore this silently.^[55] The following day, the true culprits were discovered. On being asked why he had remained silent, Dominic replied that he had thought that he would be let off with a scolding whereas the other boys might have been expelled. Dominic added that Jesus had remained silent when blamed unjustly and that he was trying to imitate him.^[50] Mary Reed Newland, in her book, suggests that, since Dominic was yet to meet John Bosco, this incident is indicative of the upbringing his parents had given him.^[56]

First meeting with Don Bosco[link]

The first time John Bosco met Dominic, to test his intelligence, he gave him a copy of The Catholic Readings (pamphlets on the subject of Catholic Apologetics)^[57], asking him to recite a particular page by heart and explain its meaning the next day, and then spoke for a while with Dominic's father. Ten minutes later, he found Dominic was beside him reciting the page and explaining its meaning satisfactorily.^[30]

At the Oratory[link]

At one time a boy can show great promise and soon after he can act in a way that would show the exact opposite. And if one is not careful, a career that began with the highest hopes can end with disappointment and sorrow to all concerned. It was not so with Dominic. All the virtues which had begun to grow at different stages of his life now continued their growth in a wonderful way, without any of them impeding the others. In order to make sure that he understood the rules and discipline of the school well, he went to one of the teachers and asked him to help and advise him how best to be faithful to them and to correct him if he neglected any of his duties. His relations with his companions showed the same wisdom. The first advice Dominic was given to help him become a saint was to set out to win souls for God, because there is no holier work in this life than to work for the good of souls for whom Jesus Christ shed the last drop of his blood. Dominic grasped this completely and often was heard to say: "How happy I would be if only I could win all my companions for God”. He never let any occasion slip for giving a friendly word of advice or of quietly recalling anyone to duty who said or did anything contrary to God's law.^[58]

Resolves a conflict[link]

At the Oratory, two of his friends had a disagreement and decided to fight each other by throwing stones. They being older and stronger than Dominic (his hard work and intelligence had caused him to be promoted from the first form to the second form^[59]), physical intervention was not possible. He tried to reason with them but with no positive result. Thus, on the day of the fight, he went with them to the site where the fight was to take place, and just before they could start, he placed himself between them, and holding up his crucifix, requested that they throw their first stones at him. Ashamed, the two boys gave up their fight. Dominic then persuaded them to go to Confession.^[60]

Control of the eyes[link]

Don Bosco records that once a boy who was visiting had brought with him a "magazine with bad pictures",^[39] and a group of fascinated boys were looking. On finding out, Dominic snatched the magazine and tore it up, saying,

"....You know well enough that one look is enough to stain your souls, and yet you go feasting your eyes on this. I know it is fascinating but your soul will feast one day on a much more satisfying feast."

^[39]

Influence over his friends[link]

John Bosco records that Dominic spent a lot of time with his friends, encouraging them in their devotions, discouraging those with a habit of swearing,^[61] and teaching Catechism at Sunday School.^[62] Bosco also records that he would encourage his friends to make frequent use of the sacrament of confession and take Communion regularly, even giving them encouragement and advice in spiritual practices during games.^[63] John Bosco makes particular mention of two of Dominic's friends, Camillo Gavio of Tortona,^[64] and John Massaglia of Marmorito.^[65] (these two friends were dead by the time John Bosco wrote the biography, as he thought it best not to write about the friends of Dominic who were still alive.)

Incidents with special spiritual significance[link]

"Distractions"[link]

John Bosco records that Dominic occasionally had intense experiences during prayer, which Dominic described as such:

"It is silly of me; I get a distraction and lose the thread of my prayers and then I see such wonderful things that the hours pass by like minutes”.^[66]

On one occasion, he was missing from breakfast and the rector finally found him in the chapel, standing motionless and gazing at the tabernacle. He was not aware that the morning Mass had ended.^[67] On another occasion, John Bosco records that he saw Dominic in the chapel, speaking to God, and then waiting, as though listening to a reply.^[66]

Pope Pius IX, who formally defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, and who figured in a vision that occurred to Dominic Savio.

Special knowledge[link]

John Bosco narrates how Dominic came to his room one day and urged him to accompany him. He led Bosco through many streets to a block of flats, rang the doorbell, and at once, went away. When the door opened, John Bosco found that within, there was a dying man who was desperately asking for a priest to make his last confession.^[68] Later, John Bosco asked Dominic how he had known about that man. However, since the question made Dominic uncomfortable, John Bosco did not press the matter.^[66]

The vision of England[link]

John Bosco records that Dominic once recounted to him a vision he had:^[66]

"... . One morning as I was making my thanksgiving after Communion, a very strong distraction took hold of me. I thought I saw a great plain full of people enveloped in thick fog. They were walking about like people who had lost their way and did not know which way to turn. Someone near me said: 'This is England'. I was just going to ask some questions, when I saw Pope Pius IX just like I have seen him in pictures. He was robed magnificently and carried in his hand a torch alive with flames. As he walked slowly towards that immense gathering of people, the leaping flames from the torch dispelled the fog, and the people stood in the splendour of the noonday sun. 'That torch', said the one beside me, 'is the Catholic Faith, which is going to light up England'".

At his last goodbyes, Dominic requested John Bosco to tell the pope of his vision, which he did in 1858. The pope felt that this confirmed the plans he had already made concerning England.^[68]

His mother's pregnancy[link]

On September 12, 1856, Dominic asked John Bosco permission to go home, saying that his mother was ill, though he had received no communication. Dominic's mother was then expecting a baby and was in great pain,^[69] and when Dominic reached the house, he hugged and kissed his mother, and then left. His mother felt her pain leave her and Dominic's baby sister, Catherine was born.^[70] The women assisting at the birth found that Dominic had left a green scapular around his mother's neck. His sister Theresa later wore this same scapular when she was in labor. She testified that it had been passed around to several other pregnant women and was later lost.^[70]

Charles Savio's vision of Dominic after his death[link]

The veneration of Dominic Savio grew with an event narrated by his father:^[71]

"I was in the greatest affliction at the loss of my son, and was consumed by a desire to know what was his position in the other world. God deigned to comfort me. About a month after his death, during a very restless night, I saw, as it were, the ceiling opened, and Dominic appeared in the midst of dazzling light. I was beside myself at this sight, and cried out: "O Dominic, my son, are you already in Paradise?" "Yes," he replied, "I am in Heaven." Then pray for your brothers and sisters, and your mother and father, that we may all come to join you one day in Heaven." "Yes, yes, I will pray," was the answer. "Then he disappeared, and the room became as before."Which is another one of his miracles.

[edit] The Life of Dominic Savio

Pope Pius X, who set in motion the canonisation process for Dominic Savio.

Soon after the death of Dominic, John Bosco wrote his biography, The Life of Dominic Savio, which contributed to his canonisation.^[4] The original Italian edition was considered so well-written during the time of Don Bosco that, along with his History of Italy and Ecclesiastical History, it was used in many public schools as part of the course materials on the Italian language.^[72] Among the other writings of John Bosco^[73] are the Biography of Fr. Joseph Cafasso,^[25] The Life of Francis Besucco and The Life of Michael Magone.^[74]

Sainthood[link]

Though some were of an opinion that Dominic was too young to be canonised, Pope Saint Pius X insisted that this was not so, and started the process of his canonisation.^[75] Dominic Savio was declared Venerable in 1933 by Pope Pius XI, was beatified in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, and declared a saint in 1954.^[5] Pope Pius XI described him as "small in size, but a towering giant in spirit."^[76]

Memorials[link]

Schools[link]

U.S.A.[link]

In the saint's honour, there is a senior high school, Dominic Savio High School, in Austin, Texas, a middle school in Niagara Falls, New York, and in East Boston, Massachusetts, a college preparatory school, Savio Preparatory School (formerly St. Dominic Savio High School) which closed at the conclusion of the 2008 academic year. In Tempe, AZ, St. Dominic Savio Academy^[77] is a school for children with autism and related disorders.

United Kingdom[link]

In the United Kingdom, there is a primary school named after him, in Woodley, Berkshire and Savio House Retreat Centre in Bollington, Cheshire.

Ireland[link]

In Ireland there is a school called Saint Dominics in Kenagh, Co. Longford

India[link]

In India, there are high schools named after the saint – St. Dominic Savio's High School<http://stdominicsavios.com>, in Patna and St. Dominic Savio High School (http://www.stdominicsavio.com, in Mumbai). In Lucknow there in an Intermediate College named after the saint – St. Dominic Savio College. In Mumbai, there is a St. Dominic Savio High School. In Chennai TN, there is St. Dominic Savio Preparatory school.

Malta[link]

In Malta, the presence of the Salesians is felt strongly. In Dingli, Savio College (a secondary boys school for pupils aged 11–15) is dedicated to the saint. Furthermore, a Youth Centre or "Oratorju" (oratory) dedicated to the same saint is found in Birkirkara.

Belgium[link]

In Belgium, there is a ‘dienstencentrum Gid(t)s’, commonly known as Dominiek Savio Instituut^[78]

Thailand[link]

There is a school named after him – Saint Dominic School – in Bangkok.^[79]

Australia[link]

Dominic College is situated in Glenorchy, Tasmania.^[80]

Dominic College is the result of the amalgamation of Savio College, Holy Name Secondary School for girls, Savio Primary and St. John's Primary Schools.

The school was formed in 1973 and was the first Co-educational Catholic College in the State of Tasmania. The school has classes from Kindergarten to Year Ten and the Senior Campus amalgamated with other Catholic Secondary Colleges in 1995 to form Guilford Young College.

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dominic Savio

• Dominic Savio at Find a Grave

The Holy Innocents by Giotto di Bondone.

The Massacre of the Innocents was an episode of infanticide by Herod the Great, the king of Iudaea Province. According to the Gospel of Matthew^[1] Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the village of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi. The incident, like others in Matthew, is described as the fulfillment of a passage in the Old Testament read as prophecy,^[2] in this case a reading of Jeremiah: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children."^[3]

The infants, known as the Holy Innocents, have been claimed as the first Christian martyrs. The number of infants killed is not stated, with modern scholars disputing earlier accounts.^[4] The historicity of the episode is disputed: it is "an open question that probably can never be definitively decided",^[5] however according to Paul Maier "most recent biographers of Herod ... deny it entirely".^[6]

Biblical account[link]

10th century illuminated manuscript

In Matthew's account, magi from the east go to Judea in search of the newborn king of the Jews, having "seen his star in the east". The King, Herod the Great, directs them to Bethlehem, and asks them to let him know who this king is when they find him. They find Jesus and honor him, but an angel tells them not to alert Herod, and they return home by another way.

The Massacre of the Innocents is at Matthew 2:16-18, although the preceding verses form the context:

When [the Magi] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."^[7] When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."^[3]

Matthew's purpose is to present Jesus as the Messiah, and the Massacre of the Innocents as the fulfillment of passages in Hosea, referring to the exodus, and Jeremiah, to the Babylonian exile.^[8][9] Raymond Brown sees the story as patterned on the Exodus story of the killing of the Hebrew firstborn by Pharaoh and the birth of Moses.^[9]

Historicity[link]

The single account of the Massacre comes in the Gospel of Matthew: it is not mentioned in Luke's gospel or by any contemporaneous historians, or by the later Roman Jewish historian, Josephus.

Modern liberal scholarship, says Marcus Borg, regards the biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus as symbolic narratives rather than factual history.^[10] Thus, according to Paul L. Maier, the majority of Herod biographers and theologians hold that the Massacre of the Innocents is "legend and not historical":^[11] Geza Vermes and E. P. Sanders, for example, regard the story as part of a creative hagiography.^[12] Robert Eisenman argues that the story may have its origins in Herod's murder of his own sons, an act which made a deep impression at the time and which was recorded by Josephus.^[13] Other arguments against historicity include the silence of Josephus (who does record several other examples of Herod’s willingness to commit such acts to protect his power, noting that he "never stopped avenging and punishing every day those who had chosen to be of the party of his enemies")^[14] and the views that the story is an apologetic device or a constructed fulfilment of prophesy.^[15]

Some biblical scholars hold a generally sceptical view of the incident's historicity. Whilst acknowledging that the episode "contains nothing that is historically impossible" Hill says that Matthew's "real concern is ... with theological reflection on the theme of OT fulfilment".^[16]

R. T. France argues for plausibility on the grounds, inter alia, that “the murder of a few infants in a small village [is] not on a scale to match the more spectacular assassinations recorded by Josephus”;^[17] Schnackenburg follows this line also,^[18] and Gordon Franz points to Josephus' failure to mention other pivotal events in the first century AD, such as "the episode of the golden Roman shields in Jerusalem which was the cause of the bad blood between Herod Antipas and Pontus (sic) Pilate".^[19] In similar vein Barclay follows Carr in finding Josephus' silence not relevant, drawing a parallel with the diarist John Evelyn's failure to mention the masscre at Glencoe.^[20] Maier argues that sceptics have tended to "regard opinion as fact, and have largely avoided a careful historical search into the parameters of the problem". After analysing the arguments against the historicity of the infant massacre Maier concludes they all "have very serious flaws".^[21] Maier follows Jerry Knoblet^[22] in arguing for historicity based on the "identical personality profiles that emerge of Herod" in both Matthew and Josephus;^[23]

Later accounts[link]

The story's first appearance in any source other than Matthew is in the 2nd-century apocryphal Protoevangelium of James of c.150 AD, which excludes the Flight into Egypt and switches the attention of the story to the infant John the Baptist:

"And when Herod knew that he had been mocked by the Magi, in a rage he sent murderers, saying to them: Slay the children from two years old and under. And Mary, having heard that the children were being killed, was afraid, and took the infant and swaddled Him, and put Him into an ox-stall. And Elizabeth, having heard that they were searching for John, took him and went up into the hill-country, and kept looking where to conceal him. And there was no place of concealment. And Elizabeth, groaning with a loud voice, says: O mountain of God, receive mother and child. And immediately the mountain was cleft, and received her. And a light shone about them, for an angel of the Lord was with them, watching over them."^[24]

The Massacre of the Innocents at Bethlehem, by Matteo di Giovanni

The first non-Christian reference to the massacre is recorded four centuries later by Macrobius (c. 395-423), who writes in his Saturnalia:

"When he [emperor Augustus] heard that among the boys in Syria under two years old whom Herod, king of the Jews, had ordered to kill, his own son was also killed, he said: it is better to be Herod's pig, than his son."^[25]

The story assumed an important place in later Christian tradition; Byzantine liturgy estimated 14,000 Holy Innocents while an early Syrian list of saints stated the number at 64,000. Coptic sources raise the number to 144,000 and place the event on 29 December.^[26] Taking the narrative literally and judging from the estimated population of Bethlehem, the Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) more soberly suggested that these numbers were inflated, and that probably only between six and twenty children were killed in the town, with a dozen or so more in the surrounding areas.^[4]

In the arts[link]

Cornelis van Haarlem, Massacre of the Innocents, 1590, Rijksmuseum

Medieval liturgical drama recounted Biblical events, including Herod's slaughter of the innocents. The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, performed in Coventry, England, included a haunting song about the episode, now known as the Coventry Carol. The Ordo Rachelis tradition of four plays includes the Flight into Egypt, Herod's succession by Archelaus, the return from Egypt, as well as the Massacre all centred on Rachel weeping in fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy. These events were likewise in one of the Medieval N-Town Plays.

The theme of the "Massacre of the Innocents" has provided artists of many nationalities with opportunities to compose complicated depictions of massed bodies in violent action. It was an alternative to the Flight into Egypt in cycles of the Life of the Virgin. It decreased in popularity in Gothic art, but revived in the larger works of the Renaissance, when artists took inspiration for their "Massacres" from Roman reliefs of the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs to the extent that they showed the figures heroically nude.^[27] The horrific subject matter of the Massacre of the Innocents also provided a comparison of ancient brutalities with early modern ones during the period of religious wars that followed the Reformation - Bruegel's versions show the soldiers carrying banners with the Habsburg double-headed eagle (often used at the time for Ancient Roman soldiers).

Rubens' Massacre of the Innocents, Toronto

The 1590 version by Cornelis van Haarlem also seems to reflect the violence of the Dutch Revolt. Guido Reni's early (1611) Massacre of the Innocents, in an unusual vertical format, is at Bologna.^[28] The Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens painted the theme more than once. One version, now in Munich, was engraved and reproduced as a painting as far away as colonial Peru.^[29] Another, his grand Massacre of the Innocents is now at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. The French painter Nicolas Poussin painted The Massacre of the Innocents (1634) at the height of the Thirty Years' War.

The Childermass, after a traditional name for the Feast of the Holy Innocents, is the opening novel of Wyndham Lewis's trilogy The Human Age. In the novel The Fall (La Chute) by Albert Camus, the incident is argued by the main character to be the reason why Jesus chose to let himself be crucified—as he escaped the punishment intended for him while many others died, he felt responsible and died in guilt. A similar interpretation is given in José Saramago's controversial The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, but there attributed to Joseph, Jesus' father, rather than to Jesus himself. As depicted by Saramago, Joseph knew of Herod's intention to massacre the children of Bethlehem, but failed to warn the townspeople and chose only to save his own child. Guilt-ridden ever after, Joseph finally expiates his sin by letting himself be crucified (an event not narrated in the New Testament).

The Massacre is the opening plot used in the 2006 movie The Nativity Story.

The folk group Show of Hands wrote a song from the perspective of the families of the massacre, called "Innocen'ts song/ Gwithian".

Feast days[link]

Triumph of the Innocents by William Holman Hunt

The commemoration of the massacre of these "Holy Innocents" — considered by some Christians as the first martyrs for Christ^[30]—first appears as a feast of the western church in the Leonine Sacramentary, dating from about 485. The earliest commemorations were connected with the Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January: Prudentius mentions the Innocents in his hymn on the Epiphany. Leo in his homilies on the Epiphany speaks of the Innocents. Fulgentius of Ruspe (6th century) gives a homily De Epiphania, deque Innocentum nece et muneribus magorum ("On Epiphany, and on the murder of the Innocents and the gifts of the Magi").^[31]

Today, the date of Holy Innocents' Day, also called Childermas or Children's Mass, varies. 27 December is the date for West Syrians (Syriac Orthodox Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and Maronite Church) and East Syrians (Chaldeans and Syro-Malabar Catholic Church). 28 December is the date in the Church of England, the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic Church (in which, except on Sunday, violet vestments were worn before 1961, instead of red, the normal liturgical colour for celebrating martyrs). The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the feast on 29 December.

In the 1962 Roman Catholic calendar, the violet vestments for Holy Innocents were eliminated (red used instead), and if December 28 falls on Sunday, this feast is commemorated on the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas.

In Spain, Hispanic America and the Philippines^{[citation needed]}, December 28 is a day for pranks, equivalent to April Fool's Day in many countries. Pranks (bromas) are also known in Spain as inocentadas and their victims are called inocentes, or alternatively, the pranksters are the "inocentes" and the victims should not be angry at them, since they could not have committed any sin. One of the more famous of these traditions is the annual "Els Enfarinats" festival of Ibi in Alicante, where the inocentadas dress up in full military dress and incite a flour fight.^[32] Various Catholic countries had a tradition (no longer widely observed) of role reversal between children and their adult educators, including boy bishops, perhaps a Christianized version of the Roman annual feast of the Saturnalia (when even slaves played "masters" for a day). In some cultures it is said to be an unlucky day, when no new project should be started.

In addition, there was a medieval custom of refraining where possible from work on the day of the week on which the feast of "Innocents Day" had fallen for the whole of the following year until the next Innocents Day. This was presumably mainly observed by the better-off. Philippe de Commynes, the minister of King Louis XI of France tells in his memoirs how the king observed this custom, and describes the trepidation he felt when he had to inform the king of an emergency on the day.^[33]

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• Flight into Egypt
• Seven Sorrows of Mary
• Matthew 2:16
• Matthew 2:17
• Matthew 2:18

References[link]

• Albright, W.F. and C.S. Mann. "Matthew." The Anchor Bible Series. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1971.
• Clarke, Howard W. The Gospel of Matthew and its Readers: A Historical Introduction to the First Gospel. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003.
• Robert Eisenman, 1997. James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls (Viking/Penguin)
• Goulder, M.D. Midrash and Lection in Matthew. London: SPCK, 1974.
• Jones, Alexander. The Gospel According to St. Matthew. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1965.
• Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Massacre of the Innocents

• Catholic Encyclopedia: "Holy Innocents"
• Images of the "Massacre of the Innocents"
• The Holy Martyred 14,000 Infants