Imported Devotions: Roman Catacomb Saints in Ultramontane Montreal Michel Dahan Department of History McGill University, Montreal December 2014 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Masters of Arts © Michel Dahan, 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many have helped, encouraged and supported me as this project gradually took shape. This thesis would never be the same without them. I would like to thank Dr. John Hellman who was the first to lead me to consider relics of saints as a significant element of popular piety in Montreal and a subject worth investigating. I also wish to thank Dr. Jarrett Rudy, under whose supervision this thesis was written. His dedication to this project, his guidance and his invaluable feedback have contributed in many ways to shape this thesis. To him I owe a profound debt of gratitude. I also would like to thank Dr. Colleen Gray for her help, advice and willingness to share her extensive knowledge of Canadian Church history. Furthermore, this thesis would have never been completed without the many archivists who have generously given of their time to welcome and help me. I am especially thankful to Reverend François Sarrazin and Mr. Stéphane Comeau for their trust and confidence in allowing me to explore and use the many documents of the Archives of the Archdiocese of Montreal. These sources constitute the backbone of my thesis. A special thanks to my colleagues from the Archdiocese who have contributed in many ways to this thesis through their support, their suggestions and by sharing with me their knowledge on relics and catacomb saints. I am especially grateful to my parents, family and friends. To them I express my deep gratitude. Finally and most importantly, my thanks go to my wife who supported me throughout these two years. Thank you for your love, help and advice. Thank you also for the many sacrifices you have made to allow me to complete this project. The writing of this thesis would have never been possible without you. 1 To my daughter Sophie, 2 ABSTRACT This thesis is about the rise and fall of the devotion to the relics of Roman catacomb saints in ultramontane Quebec. In the nineteenth century, largely under the impulse of Montreal’s bishop Ignace Bourget, Quebec’s Catholic Church imported from Rome dozens of these remains. As a result, new devotions developed around saints unheard of before in Canada: Abondius, Zénon, Zotique, Asellus, Janvière, Innocent. This thesis is meant to be a reflection on the significance of the devotion to Roman catacomb saints in the religious experience of nineteenth century Catholics. In many ways this devotion paralleled ultramontanism, rising and culminating in the same period. Understanding the development of the devotion to catacomb saints can lead us to comprehend how ultramontane piety was lived in Quebec. This devotion was not a minor expression of popular piety but a significant element of lived religion and of the religious experience of many Catholics. The devotion to catacomb saints spread across Quebec through religious education, processions and distributions of relics and the promise of indulgences. Ultimately, however, both the clergy and the laity adopted Roman martyrs because they sincerely believed in the intercession of these saints. Because they have now largely been removed from the public sphere, it is difficult for us today to understand the significance that these relics once possessed. This thesis seeks to bring to light elements of a devotion that has now almost completely disappeared. 3 RÉSUMÉ Ce mémoire porte sur la naissance et le déclin de la dévotion aux reliques des saints des catacombes romaines dans le Québec ultramontain. Au cours du dix- neuvième siècle, en particulier sous l’influence de l’évêque de Montréal Ignace Bourget, l’Église catholique du Québec a fait venir de Rome des dizaines de ces reliques. En conséquent, de nouvelles dévotions se sont développées envers des saints jusqu’alors inconnus au Canada : Abondius, Zénon, Zotique, Asellus, Janvière, Innocent. Ce mémoire se veut une réflexion sur la signification de la dévotion aux saints catacombaires romains dans l’expérience religieuse des catholiques du dix- neuvième siècle. De plusieurs manières, cette dévotion allait de pair avec l’ultramontanisme, naissant et culminant durant la même période. Comprendre le développement de la dévotion aux saints catacombaires peut nous mener à mieux saisir comment la piété ultramontaine était vécue au Québec. Cette dévotion n’était pas une expression mineure de la piété populaire, mais un élément significatif de la religion vécue et de l’expérience religieuse de plusieurs catholiques. La dévotion aux saints des catacombes se répandit au Québec à travers l’éducation religieuse, les processions et la distribution de reliques, et les promesses d’indulgences. Cependant, en définitive, le clergé et les laïcs adoptèrent les martyrs romains parce qu’ils croyaient sincèrement au pouvoir d’intercession de ces saints. Parce qu’ils ont été pour la plupart retirés de la sphère publique, il est difficile pour nous aujourd’hui de bien saisir la signification que ces reliques possédaient auparavant. Ce mémoire cherche à mettre en lumière les éléments d’une dévotion qui a aujourd’hui presque complètement disparu. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................................... 1 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 RÉSUMÉ ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF ABREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 6 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 7 CATACOMB SAINTS: A HISTORIOGRAPHICAL OVERVIEW............................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1 THE ROOTS OF A DEVOTION: ORIGIN AND AUTHENTICITY .................................................. 19 THE PLACE OF RELICS IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD ........................................................................................... 21 MODELING FAITH ON THE EUROPEAN EXAMPLE: THE ADOPTION OF A FOREIGN DEVOTION ................ 23 A DEVOTIONAL TRANSFORMATION: IGNACE BOURGET’S FUNDAMENTAL ROLE ...................................... 27 IMPORTING RELICS THROUGH ULTRAMONTANE NETWORKS ....................................................................... 33 THE PINNACLE OF THE DEVOTION: SAINT ZÉNON AND HIS COMPANIONS .................................................. 39 A DEVOTION TURNED TOWARDS ROME ............................................................................................................ 42 THE DECLINE OF THE DEVOTION TO CATACOMB SAINTS .............................................................................. 47 CHAPTER 2 THE DIFFUSION OF THE DEVOTION: PUBLIC PROCESSIONS, RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF RELICS ....................................................................................................... 55 TRANSLATIONS OF RELICS: AN ULTRAMONTANE DEVOTION IN MONTREAL’S PUBLIC SPACE ............... 56 PRAYERS AND NOVENAS ...................................................................................................................................... 62 RELICS OF SAINTS IN MONTREAL’S PROTESTANTS NEIGHBORHOODS ........................................................ 63 CATACOMB SAINTS AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION ......................................................................................... 69 THE CIRCULATION OF RELICS: HOLY FABRICATIONS ..................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER 3 ADOPTING THE DEVOTION: MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE .................................................. 78 THE FINANCIAL COST OF A CORPS SAINT .......................................................................................................... 79 PROPER NAME AND BAPTIZED MARTYRS ........................................................................................................ 81 AN ENDURING DEVOTION: RELIQUARIES AND MIRACLES ............................................................................. 87 ADOPTING THE SAINTS : TOPONYMY AND ANTHROPONYMY ........................................................................ 92 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 99 APPENDIX 1: LIST OF IMPORTED CATACOMB SAINTS .......................................................... 106 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................................... 108 5 LIST OF ABREVIATIONS ACAM Archives de la Chancellerie de l’Archevêché de Montréal ACND Archives de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame ACSV Archives des Clercs de Saint-Viateur ASP Archives des Soeurs de la Providence BANQ Bibliothèque et Archives nationales