Sabbatine Privilege

Our Lady of Mount Carmel with angels and souls in Purgatory. Baroque sculpture from Beniaján (Spain)

In Roman Catholicism, the Sabbatine Privilege refers to a belief in the early liberation of souls from Purgatory, on the first Saturday after death, through the special intercession and petition of the Virgin Mary. The Privilege is based on an apocryphal Papal Bull Sacratissimo uti culmine, dated 3 March 1322 and attributed to Pope John XXII. The Bull is universally regarded by scholars as inauthentic.

In this bull, the Pope was said to have declared that the Mother of God had appeared to him, most urgently recommended to him the Carmelite Order and its members, revealed the Sabbatine privilege, and asked that he reveal and ratify it before the world.

Officially, the Carmelite Orders merely encourage a belief of Mary's aid and prayerful assistance for wearers of the Brown Scapular that live and die in the state of grace, observe chastity according to their state in life, and live a life of prayer and penitence, and commend devotion to Mary especially on Saturdays. They explicitly state in official catechetical materials that they do not promulgate the Sabbatine privilege, and are in line with official Church teachings on the matter.

History

According to the apocryphal bull, the Blessed Virgin is said to have asked that Pope John, should ratify the indulgences which Jesus Christ had already granted in heaven for the members of the Carmelite Order and for the members of the confraternity. She herself would graciously descend on the Saturday (the Sabbath, hence 'Sabbatine') after their death to liberate and conduct to heaven all who were in Purgatory. The bull lists the conditions which the confratres and consorores must fulfill. These conditions include: to observe chastity according to their state of life, recite daily the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays, or accomplish faithfully some other similar sacrifice.

Information of this Bull is derived from a work of the Carmelite Balduinus Leersius ("Collectaneum exemplorum et miraculorum" in Bibliotheca Carmelit, I, Orléans, 1752, p. 210), who died in 1483. The privilege was not without opposition. In 1603 a book containing the privileges of the Carmelite Order, including the Sabbatine privilege, was condemned by the Portuguese Inquisition. Six years later the church in Portugal put all books mentioning the Sabbatine privilege on the Index of Forbidden Books. An appeal to Rome ended when the Roman authorities supported the Inquisition's ban.

The tradition of the Sabbatine Bull seems to have spread in the fifteenth century. Historically, however, the tradition of the Sabbatine Bull is vulnerable. No evidence of the Bull appears in the registers of John XXII. Its literary character is entirely too odd to recommend it as the work of John XXII. The authenticity of the Bull was keenly contested, especially in the seventeenth century, but was vigorously defended by the Carmelites. The chief opponents of its authenticity were Joannnes Launoy and the Bollandist Daniel Papebroch, both of whom published works against it. Today it is universally regarded by scholars as inauthentic, even the "Monumenta histor. Carmelit." of the Carmelite B. Zimmerman (I, Lérins, 1907, pp. 356–63) joining in rejecting it. Carmelite historians have determined that the bull is a fifteenth-century forgery originating in Sicily.

Determination of the forgery casts serious doubt on its tradition that the Sabbatine Privilege originated in a Marian apparition to Pope John XXII. That the Sabbatine Privilege is an interpretation, based on theological grounds, of the Marian promise to St. Simon Stock is the most plausible explanation of the origin of the Sabbatine Bull. Copies of the Bull indicate a close relationship between the promise to St. Simon Stock and the Sabbatine Privilege. "It would seem, then, that the Sabbatine Privilege arose historically in a fuller understanding of the Marian promise to St. Simon Stock."

The Decree of the Holy Office of January 20, 1613, expresses no opinion concerning the validity of the Bull. It permitted the Carmelites to preach that

"the faithful may devoutly believe that the Blessed Virgin by her continuous intercession, merciful prayers, merits and special protection will assist the souls of deceased brothers and members of the confraternity, especially on Saturday, the day which the church dedicates to the Blessed Virgin. The conditions for trusting in such a favor are that the recipients die in a state of grace, wear the Carmelite habit, observe chastity according to their state in life and recite the little office of the Blessed Virgin; if they can not recite it they are to observe the church fasts and abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays, unless Christmas falls on these days."

This was not a confirmation of the Sabbatine privilege. It simply permitted that the faithful may believe that Our Lady will assist members of the scapular confraternity after the deaths if certain other requirements are kept. The Bull forbids the painting of pictures representing, in accordance with the wording of the Bull, the Mother of God descending into Purgatory.

Catechesis

The Sabbatine privilege thus consists essentially in the early liberation from Purgatory, through the special intercession and petition of the Virgin Mary, which she graciously exercises in favour of her devoted servants preferentially on the day consecrated to her, Saturday. Furthermore, the conditions for the gaining of the privilege are of such a kind as justify a special trust in the assistance of Mary.

In 2001 Patrick McMahon, O.Carm., and Sam Anthony Morello, OCD, completed a booklet containing the updated catechesis on the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Morello and McMahon had been mandated by the five Carmelite provincials in the United States to prepare a booklet that would present the official teaching of the Catholic Church and the Carmelite Orders on this sacramental for which the Carmelite Orders are responsible.

When asked what theological meaning could be drawn from the stories if they are not historically factual, Morello said,

“We know that private revelation can neither add to nor detract from the deposit of faith. The Sabbatine Privilege or the historicity of the vision is not part of the deposit of faith. Private revelation cannot change that.” Morello continued, “What we are talking about here is the grace of final perseverance. We believe that the story expresses our confidence that Mary will seek that grace for all who remain faithful to the Carmelite vocation throughout their lives not only the religious, but the laity who affiliate to the order through the scapular."

McMahon added, “People are free to believe it if they wish, but we cannot say that the Church teaches it."

In the early 21st century, the Carmelite Orders — while encouraging a belief in Mary's general aid and prayerful assistance for their souls beyond death, and commending devotion to Mary, especially on Saturdays which are dedicated to her — state explicitly in their official catechetical materials that they do not promulgate the Sabbatine privilege, and are in agreement with official Church teaching on the matter.

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Sabbatine Privilege — The name Sabbatine Privilege is derived from the apocryphal Bull "Sacratissimo uti culmine" of John XXII, 3 March, 1322. In this Bull the pope is made to declare that the Mother of God appeared to him, and most urgently recommended to him the Carmelite Order and its confratres and consorores. The Blessed Virgin asked that John, as Christ's representative on earth, should ratify the indulgences which He had already granted in heaven (a plenary indulgence for the members of the Carmelite Order and a partial indulgence, remitting the third part of the temporal punishment due to their sins, for the members of the confraternity); she herself would graciously descend on the Saturday (Sabbath) after their death and liberate and conduct to heaven all who were in purgatory. Then follow the conditions which the confratres and consorores must fulfill. At the end of the Bull the pope declares: "Istam ergo sanctam Indulgentiam accepto, roboro et in terris confirmo, sicut, propter merita Virginis Matris, gratiose Jesus Christus concessit in cœlis" (This holy indulgence I therefore accept; I confirm and ratify it on earth, just as Jesus Christ has graciously granted it in heaven on account of the merits of the Virgin Mother).

Authenticity and historical controversy

Our first information of this Bull is derived from a work of the Carmelite Balduinus Leersius ("Collectaneum exemplorum et miraculorum" in "Bibliotheca Carmelit.", I, Orleans, 1752, p. 210), who died in 1483. The authenticity of the Bull was keenly contested especially in the seventeenth century, but was vigorously defended by the Carmelites. The chief opponents of its authenticity were Joannnes Launoy and the Bollandist, Daniel Papebroch, both of whom published works against it. To-day it is universally regarded by scholars as inauthentic, even the "Monumenta histor. Carmel." of the Carmelite B. Zimmerman (I, Lérins, 1907, pp. 356-63) joining in rejecting it.

In 1379, in consequence of the hostility still shown to their order and especially to its name, the Carmelites besought Urban VI to grant an indulgence of 3 years and 3 quarantines to all the faithful who designated them and their order "Ordinem et Fratres B. Mariae Genetricis Dei de Monte Carmeli" (Bullar. Carmelit. I, 141); this was granted by Urban on 26 April, 1379. It is difficult to understand why, instead of asking for this indulgence, they did not appeal to the old promise and the recent "Bulla sabbatina", if the scapular was then known and the promise to St. Simon Stock and this Bull were genuine and incontestable. While the Bull of John XXII was ratified by some later popes in the sixteenth century (cf. Bullar. Carmelit., II, 47, 141), neither the Bull itself in its wording nor its general contents were thereby declared authentic and genuine. On the contrary, the ratification by Gregory XIII on 18 September, 1577 (Bullar. Carmelit., II, 196), must be interpreted quite in the sense of the later Decree of the Holy Office. This Decree, which appeared in 1613, expresses no opinion concerning the genuineness of the Bull, but confines itself to declaring what the Carmelites may preach of its contents. The Bull forbids the painting of pictures representing, in accordance with the wording of the Bull, the Mother of God descending into purgatory (cum descensione beatae Virginis ad animas in Purgatorio liberandas). It must be also remembered that the latest authentic summary of indulgences of the Carmelite Order of 31 July, 1907 (Acta S. Sedis, XL, 753 sqq.), approved by the Congregation of Indulgences, says nothing either of the Bull of John XXII, of the indulgences granted by him, or of the Sabbatine privilege of the Carmelites. To learn the meaning and importance of the Sabbatine privilege, we may turn only to the above-mentioned Decree of the Holy Office. It was inserted in its entirety (except for the words forbidding the painting of the pictures) into the list of the indulgences and privileges of the Confraternity of the Scapular of Mount Carmel.

Magisterial formulation, meaning, and conditions

We reproduce here the whole passage dealing with the Sabbatine privilege, as it appears in the summary approved by the Congregation of Indulgences on 4 July, 1908. It is noteworthy that the Bull of John XXII, which was still mentioned in the previous summary approved on 1 December, 1866, is no longer referred to (cf. "Rescript. authent. S.C. Indulg.", Ratisbon, 1885, p. 475). Among the privileges, which are mentioned after the indulgences, the following occurs in the first place: "The privilege of Pope John XXII, commonly [vulgo] known as the Sabbatine, which was approved and confirmed by Clement VII ("Ex clementi", 12 August 1530), St. Pius V ("Superna dispositione", 18 Feb., 1566), Gregory XIII ("Ut laudes", 18 Sept., 1577), and others, and also by the Holy Roman General Inquisition under Paul V on 20 January, 1613, in a Decree to the following effect:

It is permitted to the Carmelite Fathers to preach that the Christian people may piously believe in the help which the souls of brothers and members, who have departed this life in charity, have worn in life the scapular, have ever observed chastity, have recited the Little Hours [of the Blessed Virgin], or, if they cannot read, have observed the fast days of the Church, and have abstained from flesh meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays (except when Christmas falls on such days), may derive after death — especially on Saturdays, the day consecrated by the Church to the Blessed Virgin — through the unceasing intercession of Mary, her pious petitions, her merits, and her special protection.

With this explanation and interpretation, the Sabbatine privilege no longer presents any difficulties, and Benedict XIV adds his desire that the faithful should rely on it (Opera omnia, IX, Venice, 1767, pp. 197 sqq.). Even apart from the Bull and the tradition or legend concerning the apparition and promise of the Mother of God the interpretation of the Decree cannot be contested.

The Sabbatine privilege thus consists essentially in the early liberation from purgatory, through the special intercession and petition of Mary, which she graciously exercises in favour of her devoted servants preferentially — as we may assume — on the day consecrated to her, Saturday. Furthermore, the conditions for the gaining of the privilege are of such a kind as justify a special trust in the assistance of Mary. It is especially required of all who wish to share in the privilege that they faithfully preserve their chastity, and recite devoutly each day the Little Hours of the Blessed Virgin. However, all those who are bound to read their Breviary, fulfil the obligation of reciting the Little Hours by reading their Office. Persons who cannot read must (instead of reciting the Little Hours) observe all the fasts prescribed by the Church as they are kept in their home diocese or place of residence, and must in addition abstain from flesh meat on all Wednesdays and Saturdays of the year, except when Christmas falls on one of these days. The obligation to read the Little Hours and to abstain from flesh meat on Wednesday and Saturday may on important grounds be changed for other pious works; the faculty to sanction this change was granted to all confessors by Leo XIII in the Decree of the Congregation of Indulgences of 11 (14) June, 1901.

For the text of the Bull see Bullarium Carmelit., I (Rome, 1715), 61 sq.; for its defence cf. Carmelite authors, e.g. BROCARD, Receueil d'instructions (4th ed., Ghent, 1875); RAYNAUD, Scapulare Partheno-Carmeliticum (Cologne, 1658). For the explanation of the privilege, consult BERINGER, Die Ablässe (13th ed.), 659 sqq.