Daily Rome Shot 1022: “laymen, vagabonds or dirty people”

From: Instructiones Fabricae et Supellectilis Ecclesiasticae, I, 23 by St. Charles Borromeo:

Even in the most modest church there must be at least two, to keep men distinct from women. If there are many officiants, as in cathedrals and collegiate churches, there will be one for each, always distinct between those reserved for one sex and the other. It must be made of wood, closed on five sides but open on the front, with the possibility however of locking it with a gate or a grate so that “when the confessor is not there, lay people, vagabonds or dirty people cannot sit there and sleep idly, with irreverence of the ministry that is exercised there. It must be divided vertically into two areas, one for the priest and one for the penitent, and must be placed so that the priest is always towards the high altar and the penitent towards the door. The partition between the two areas must be opened by a door which towards the confessor will have a curtain and towards the penitent a rather thick grate with holes the size of a chickpea. On both sides there will be reminder signs for the respective functions.

[…]

Nice people! Great service!

In every parish church there will be two confessionals so that the men, often displaying a certain amount of irreverence regarding the holy place or the holy action and not without offence to the pious objects, will not be intermingled with the women, nor crowded together with them when there is a large number for confession, but separated. In this way the men confess in one confessional, the women in the other; as is the case in many of the churches in this province, in which there are distinct parts for men and women; in those cases where the distinction has not been confirmed by a provincial decree, one confessional will be for the use of the parish priest, and the other for that of another confessor priest if, with the permission and approval of the Bishop, it is at times necessary to have him called in when there are a great number of penitents.

[…]

The prescribed form to be used in building the confessional is described below. Once this has been observed, some decoration may be added, such as carved moldings on the front or some other type of suitable ornament. First of all the confessional will be made entirely of worked wooden panels, either walnut, or some other type of wood. These will enclose it on both sides and on the back and will cover the upper part, while it will be completely open in the front part, and must not be closed in any way. It can however have, above all in the more frequented churches, a latticework door or a wooden gate, the parts of which are about four ounces apart, furnished with lock and key so that, when the confessor is not there, laymen, vagabonds or dirty people cannot idly sit or sleep therein, with irreverence of the sacred function there exercised.

Black to move and mate in 3.

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I’d rather not report on the disappointing results of the Chess.com Classic 2024. Everything changed on a single blunder.

On a happier note, help the traditional Benedictine monks of Le Barroux. Get some of the wine they make from the revived vineyards of the Avignon Popes in southern France.