We believe that the best way to introduce our subject is to quote some
few passages from the authorized document published at Treves, with
special reference to the ceremonial which took place in that Cathedral,
giving an account of the history of the Holy Goat, and explaining and
defending the step which the Church was about to take in the matter. The
following are a few extracts:--
"Thirty-four years have now elapsed since our city found within its
walls 200,000 strangers, all actuated by a pious longing after this holy
relic, before which they might present their adoration, and, in lively
feelings of devotion, strengthen themselves in the faith and the love
of the Lord. The order which prevailed during the whole ceremony, though
nightly between twenty and thirty thousand persons were quartered in
the city--the universal devotion and edification manifested by the
pilgrims--still live in the recollection of all those who witnessed
the ceremony from its beginning to its close. * * Meanwhile, since
this period, the youth of our city have grown to ripe manhood; and,
accordingly, they have expressed the wish that the venerable relic
should be once more exhibited. These pious wishes could not remain
unknown to our worthy Bishop, who, indeed, had previously resolved
to meet them. Before his consecration in 1842, when he met Prince
Metternich in Coblentz--who is, from reasons known only to few, in
possession of one of the holy nails, and who then promised to restore
that which was the rightful property of the Cathedral of Treves--the
Bishop had determined to signalize the event of the restoration of the
Holy Nail, by exhibiting both the Nail and the Coat to the religious
worship of the people. But the promised return of the nail has not yet
taken place, although the confidence placed on the promise of the Prince
still allows us to cherish this hope. Notwithstanding, as this could
not be the case, in the present year, the Bishop resolved to satisfy the
general desire expressed for the exhibition of the holy coat."
From the historical inquiry it appears, according to the author, that
this said relic was brought by Helena, the mother of Constantine, from
the Holy Land, in the fourth century, and deposited in the Cathedral
of Treves, which was then the residence of the emperors, and the most
famous city in the empire, after Rome itself. It lay in concealment till
the 9th century. To Frederick I. is attributed the honour of reviving
the attention of the Church and people to the great treasure of their
cathedral and city. After being again 300 years concealed, Maximilian
I., to give pomp and distinction to a _diet_ held in the city, caused
it to be exposed to the adoration of the inhabitants. In the three
following centuries, (16th, 17th, and 18th,) the occasion of its
exhibition was the holding of the German Diet, when the city was filled
with princes and princesses, as well as crowds of devout pilgrims. In
the period of the French Revolution, it fared ill with the holy coat.
It was, according as danger threatened, carried to the fortress
of Ehrenbreitstein. On the new political organization of the Rhine
provinces, it was made the subject of earnest diplomatic transactions
between Nassau, France, and Bavaria--the last Elector of Treves, and
the Bishop, Carl Maunay; and the Church of Treves has to thank its
Bishop--whose requests Napoleon did not generally refuse--for the
recovery of much of their possessions, and for the restoration of this
relic, the most valuable of them all.
After being concealed for centuries, the first public representation
took place in 1196. In 1514, Leo X. issued a bull, proclaiming _complete
absolution of sin to all who, in the proper spirit, made a pilgrimage to
Treves, and contributed to the expenses of the spectacle_.
After a great deal about the history of the coat with its various
exhibitions, and a defence of the worship of relics, the Address closes
as follows:--
"The believing sight of this pre-eminently sacred relic, with
which stand connected, in a manner so immediate and impressive, the
associations with the whole life and sufferings of the Saviour, must at
once cause many overpowering thoughts and feelings to be awakened in the
soul, so that one must feel himself involuntarily torn asunder by them,
and believe that he is placed in the immediate presence of the body of
our Lord. * * In all these lively associations, the Christian believes
that he hears the voice of Him who wore this raiment, proclaiming the
words of eternal truth, and exhorting sinners to repentance; he believes
the holy garment encompassed with that brilliancy of light which on
Mount Tabor made Peter exclaim, 'It is good to be here;' he believes
that it is covered with that sweat which bedewed his face on the Mount
of Olives. Hence the phenomenon that often hardhearted men were led,
by the sight of the holy coat, and the feelings of devotion thereby
awakened, to turn into themselves; their heart has melted like ice
before the heat of the sun, and thus have they been brought back to God
and his means of grace in the Church. O! may many such miracles take
place in these days, which are now approaching. May God bless the
resolutions of the faithful, who come on a pilgrimage to our venerable
cathedral, guide their steps on the road to the august sanctuary, and
infuse devotion and love into their souls!"
Such is the spirit of the authorized document, issued under the
auspices of the ecclesiastical authorities at Treves; and it may well
be questioned, whether, in the most gloomy periods of Catholic
superstition, anything has appeared which savoured more of all that is
degrading and blasphemous in the system. On the 6th of July 1844,
the general announcement of what was to take place was made, with the
regulations to be observed by the different processions of pilgrims.
After stating their joy at the proposed spectacle, the chief
announcement is made as follows:--"This holy relic will accordingly be
exhibited for a period of six weeks, beginning with the 18th August, in
order to satisfy the desires of those who may have the pious intention
of proceeding to Treves, to worship the holy garment of our divine
Saviour by immediate view, each of whom will, according to the bull of
Pope Leo X., dated 26th January 1514, receive _complete absolution_. * *
Accordingly, we intimate to all within the bishopric, what we believe
to be called for, that there should not be a too numerous streaming
together of the faithful on the same day, causing disorder and
confusion; and also that no neighbourhood may be deprived to too great
an extent of its inhabitants. Accordingly, it is required that two
separate days be allocated for each part of the bishopric, so as to
divide the number of those who intend to come to Treves; and also that
the localities for particular days be so arranged as to prevent the
crowding together of too many pilgrims on the same line of road." Then
follow fourteen regulations to carry out these views, the whole signed
by the Vicar-General.
The long-looked for day at length arrived. The whole country was in
commotion, and from many hundred places at once the pilgrimages began.
Every possible arrangement had been made by the authorities of Treves
for the reception of, and maintenance of order among the vast and
motley assemblage that streamed hither and thither, to take part in
the ceremonial. It was a period when devotion was worked up into a wild
enthusiasm, and all for the time, whatever their age, or sex, or land,
or character might be, were hurried along by the same frenzied zeal, and
felt the ordinary differences of life and society to vanish before the
august ceremony that for the time had assimilated all classes of the
faithful. On the morning of the 18th August, all the bells in the
churches were made to announce that the ceremony had actually begun. The
steamers on the Moselle were crowded with passengers, who disembarked
amid the discharge of cannon. All kinds of vehicles, in addition to the
regular post-conveyances, were called into requisition, and the romantic
appearance and interest of the whole was enlivened and enhanced by the
motley groups of pilgrims, in all varieties of costume, who had made
the journey on foot. Pontifical High Mass was performed by Dr. William
Arnoldi. An oration by Dr. Braun followed, bearing upon the great event
of the day. Then came the elevation and exhibition of the holy
relic; and at ten o'clock the procession of the pilgrims commenced.
Gens-d'armes were stationed without, the clergy of the cathedral
within,--whilst, in the immediate neighbourhood of the relic, was a
guard of honour, composed of the most respectable of the citizens, and
recognised by their silk sashes over the shoulder, in the yellow and red
colours of the city. Benches were placed from the portal on the right
side of the cathedral, to the choir, and between these the procession
moved. Each of the pilgrims was allowed to stand a short time before the
relic, yet so vast was the concourse, that between one and two thousand
are reported to have passed in the short space of an hour.
The relic itself was placed near the altar in a gold frame, with a glass
front at a considerable distance from it; its shape resembling a French
blouse,--the colour somewhat brown--though the poor peasantry were
taught to believe that to every eye it presented a combination of
colours entirely distinct. An opening was made on each side of the
frame, to allow the hand to come in contact with the relic; and whatever
did touch it, was believed to acquire a peculiar sanctity. A deep basin
was placed in front, to receive the offerings of the pilgrims, which
were to be given to the Cathedrals at Treves and Cologne, and to a
Catholic seminary in the former city.
No certificate of creed was required, so that the crowds of Protestants,
who were drawn from mere curiosity, had the fullest opportunity of
seeing what was to be seen. The ceremony continued daily, during the
whole six weeks, for twelve hours, and was opened and closed by the
chime of the cathedral bells. At the commencement the weather was fine,
but in a few days it became quite unsettled and stormy; yet nothing
could damp the long-cherished ardour of the pilgrims. Band after
band advanced, and, like the crusaders of old, all the sufferings and
hardships of the journey were forgotten as they approached the Holy
City. The fatigues of long travelling were so far relieved by addresses
from the clergy who marched with their parishioners, and still more by
the sacred music which, ever and anon, filled the air. Vast bodies of
clergy, from distant parts, arrived to take part in the ceremonial with
the general body of the faithful, and, afterwards, share in the heavy
duties of the Mass and the Confessional, as required for such an
extraordinary occasion. At last, to complete the arrangements, on the
evening of the 23d, an immense banner, with a red cross on a white
ground, was elevated to the top of the cathedral, to direct the weary
steps of the pilgrims, and to cheer their hearts as they approached the
august city. So vast occasionally was the concourse, that on some days
not fewer than about 20,000 were quartered within the walls. Fortunately
such arrangements had been made with regard to the supplies of
provisions, that but a small rise of price in the necessaries of life
was perceptible, which is certainly remarkable, when it is stated that
in one week, at least 150,000 strangers visited the city, and in the
whole time about 1,200,000. Truth also requires the remark--that, taken
as a whole, matters were conducted with general decorum and regularity,
though it requires but little knowledge of human nature to see that
where there was such a miscellaneous concourse of people, often ill
fed and ill lodged, the ordinary regulations and observances of society
would be disregarded, and a strong encouragement and temptation be given
to immorality and crime. Although it was officially stated that there
was accommodation in the city and neighbourhood for 20,000 persons,
still all the powers of military police, and clergy combined, could not
prevent many mournful scenes of misery and vice. It is, by the way, a
most significant fact that, along with the announcement now mentioned
there was added, under equally official authority, the urgent request
that "_all citizens and strangers should avoid all criticism on
religious matters or opinions_." If anything were required to convince
one that the high authorities of Treves were afraid of the effects of
free discussion, or even doubtful allusion to what might well make the
most bigoted inquisitive, this significant sentence is sufficient.
Such were the scenes which, with every variety of incident, were being
enacted at Treves--a melancholy exhibition of priestly power to give
currency and strength to superstition and blind idolatry, as well as of
the state of passive submission on the part of the people, to all that
the Church, in the arrogance of its blasphemies, may command. The voice
of politics was, for a time, hushed--the busy commerce of the city, and
even the harvest labours of the field were silent--everything like this
world's occupations and concerns were all alike neglected, to give pomp
and emphasis to the sad spectacle of men's faith deceived and led astray
by a piece of an old garment. Not merely from the poor villages in the
vicinity, but from the enlightened towns on the Rhine, from Coblentz,
and Bonn, and Cologne, the processions of pilgrims came. Take one
specimen:--On the evening of the 22d September, a most numerous
procession, which had left Cologne nine days before for Treves,
returned. This procession was composed chiefly of the lowest classes,
with a vast proportion of women of every age. A body of white-dressed
girls had advanced a long way to meet the procession, bearing all kinds
of church emblems in their hands--crucifixes, flowers, anchors, hearts,
&c. The pilgrims were all supplied with medals and engravings of the
Holy Coat, as well as with small books containing an account of its
history and miracles. These were people who looked poor and miserable,
and who evidently had not the means to undertake such a journey, and
yet, such was the passion for visiting Treves, that the pawnbrokers
reaped a rich harvest from the desperate attempts made to collect money
enough to supply their bare wants during their absence from home, and to
give their votive offerings to be applied as before mentioned. Cases the
most heart-rending have been published of poor people parting with their
last possessions to obtain means for the journey, from which they looked
for such marvellous results. The sick even were carried thither, with
the firm belief that they would be healed; and the debased devotion of
the pilgrims broke out in such expressions--"Holy Coat, we pray to thee.
Holy Coat, pray for us," and the like. The higher classes, of course,
consulted their own convenience in their modes of travelling, employing
the Rhine and Moselle steamers or their private conveyances; but it is
melancholy to think, that such vast bodies of the respectable classes
did lend their influence to these unholy exhibitions.
But without entering into farther details let us hasten to the closing
scene on the 7th October. At 2 p.m. the doors of the Cathedral were
closed, and the ceremony of removing the holy relic from public view
proceeded with in presence of the whole body of the clergy. At four the
doors were re-opened, and Bishop Arnoldi delivered a discourse, to a
vast audience, on the "_Unity of the Church._" At its close, began
the procession of the civil officials, of teachers of all grades, of
merchants and artisans, and of the guard of honour, dressed in black,
with wax torches, through the transept into the choir, to join in the
_Te Deum_. After the hymn of St. Ambrose had been sung, accompanied by
the thunder of the cannon and the pealing of all the bells in the city
and neighbourhood, the general procession advanced through the chief
streets of the city. The committee were in front, followed by the guard
of honour; they were succeeded by the different fraternities, all with
wax candles--a strong choir of singers, then vast crowds of the people,
with the various trades, each with their peculiar flags and emblems.
They proceeded through the chief parts of the city to the palace of the
Bishop, which was brilliantly illuminated. He, accompanied by the head
Bishop of Verdun and the dignitaries of the Cathedral, dispensed
the benediction. Then advanced from the arch-diocese of Cologne
a torch-procession, accompanied by instrumental music. The whole
proceedings were closed by the chorus,--"Lord God! we praise thee," in
the Cathedral. The chief streets of the city were illuminated in the
evening, and the grand organ continued pealing. In the middle window of
the Cathedral where, in former times, the exhibition of the relic had
taken place, was a transparency of the Cross, with splendid emblematic
devices.
While all this was going on within the Cathedral, outside there was
everything to call the mind of the devotee from the scene in which
he had taken part; for, in addition to the jostling and bustle of
the crowded city, there was everything in the way of the ordinary and
extraordinary sights of a fair, to make him forget the feelings
and object of his pilgrimage. Menageries, panoramas, plays, &c, all
solicited the attention and money of those assembled, equally with the
music and services of the Cathedral.
The bishops who had officiated during the ceremonial from first to
last, were those of Metz, Nancy, Verdun, Luxembourg, Spires, Limburg,
Osnabrueck, Muenster, Cologne, with several from Holland. Each bishop
entered the city amid the ringing of the church bells. The pilgrims from
France did not enter the city in processional order, but their clergy
were numerously represented. During the whole period, processions to the
city were not uncommon. Controversies between several of the journals,
as to many occurrences connected with the proceedings, have taken place.
Charges have been advanced, and as flatly contradicted, so that we do
not feel called on to detail either the nature of the charges or the
defence. It is easy enough admitting exaggeration on both sides.
It only remains to notice the inseparable adjuncts of such
proceedings--the _miracles_ which are said to have been effected. To a
Protestant, who has not spent some time in a Catholic country, it must
seem in the highest degree strange to hear of solemn statements,
by opposite newspapers in support of, or in opposition to, certain
pretended miracles; nay, not only so, but to have counter-medical
certificates pitted against each other on the issue. Yet all this has
lately been done. It would be worse than useless to recite the floating
stories which one hears in the neighbourhood, about Protestant clergymen
dying suddenly in the full possession of health, for having denounced
the whole thing as a piece of imposture to a body of passing pilgrims,
or of the many miraculous cures of sight, lameness, and the like. Yet,
that all this is fact, any intelligent and inquiring tourist of the
Rhine can testify. One case, in particular, created great interest,
that of the Countess Droste-Vischering, a relation of the Archbishop of
Cologne, who has been for many years unable to walk without the use of
crutches, but who, after beholding the Holy Coat, was enabled, to the
wonderment of all, to walk home unassisted. The plain truth comes out
from her medical adviser,--that she had been long suffering from a
diseased knee-joint, that she resolved at all hazards to go to Treves,
and that, while in a fit of ecstasy before the relic, she had excited a
degree of energy, in stretching or bending the diseased limb, which had
given the temporary relief, by relaxing the long rigid muscles. Since
this period she has had relapses, and is, we believe, now using the
crutches, which had been too hastily hung up in the Cathedral as a
thank-offering for her marvellous restoration. Yet this simple story
is paraded about and magnified into a miracle, to give still greater
_eclat_ to the Holy Coat and the church ceremonies connected with it.
It would be useless to enter into other details, when all are equally
barefaced. The above case may be selected as a rather better than
average specimen of the popish miracles of the continent.
And now, in finishing this part of the subject, we may be allowed
to quote the opinion of one of the great organs of German
Catholicism:--"Who can deny that this exhibition of the Holy Coat has
been an event for the Rhine provinces and the West of Europe, which,
in its consequences, must be of the greatest moment, whilst, for its
grandeur, in church history it is unprecedented? Proceeding from a small
circle, it has already embraced a wide circumference in its influence."
After enumerating the quarters from which the crowds of pilgrims
flocked, he proceeds:--"Who shall name those, principally from the
higher classes, who came as single pilgrims from distant cities and
lands, and what language do all these bands speak? They proclaim the
triumph of faith over a system of false enlightenment; the victory
of the newly-awakened elements of the day over all overthrowing
tendencies--in a word, they proclaim the power of the Church, which
has brought together such vast bodies of men, separated among so many
princes by language and habits, yet made to act as the members of one
and the same body."
We now turn to the more pleasing part of the subject, the statement of
the more striking particulars connected with the late re-action against
this God-dishonouring spectacle. It was impossible that a movement so
singular and extensive should escape being made the subject of general
newspaper remark and criticism. And, as the fact has proved, it has
been argued and re-argued in a hundred ways by Catholic and Protestant
journals, so that the whole bearings of the case, and the positions
of all the different political and religious parties in the country in
relation to it, have been brought and kept steadily before the public
mind. This, it is clear, can be but seldom realized where the State
puts its _imprimatur_ upon the full freedom of the press, and where,
in consequence, _public opinion_ is but struggling for existence and
definite expression, instead of being, as in Britain, the one element
which overrules and directs the movements of the whole social system.
_We_ can appreciate the effects of _free inquiry_;--and when we know
that this is now being unsparingly applied to the workings of that
system, which "loves the darkness rather than the light," we may,
under God's guidance and blessing, be allowed to look for new and large
results, in the way of the exposure of errors, which have the sanction
of long centuries of ignorance, and of great preparatory movements at
least, for the reception of the truth as it is in Jesus. This is one
great point gained; and if the spirit of inquiry, which has now been
excited, could be but well directed, we might already rejoice in the
Protestant prospects of Germany. That men feel unsatisfied with _what
is_, is manifest--that feelings long kept under, are now obtaining clear
and full expression--that men are being undeceived in having so long
believed a lie, and often in agony of spirit are seeking for the simple
truth to bring peace to their souls--all this, and much more is evident,
and calls loudly for our active sympathies and prayers.