Mass card
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Mass stipend. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2022. |
A Mass card is a card which indicates that a person, whether living or deceased, will be included in the intentions at a specific Catholic Mass or set of Masses. The donor makes a nominal donation to a parish or monastery at which the Mass will be said, and presents the card to the person or, if deceased, their family.[1][2]
The donation of a Mass stipend for the celebration of a Mass goes back to the eighth century.[1] Mass cards are a more recent custom, with the term's first recorded use in 1930.[3] The large number of requests for Mass cards sometimes poses a dilemma, since an individual Mass is supposed to be said to each card signed according to canon law.[2][4] Typically, the diocese sets a minimum donation for Mass stipends, and donors are asked to cover this amount for expenses.
Mass cards are sometimes sold with a printed signature of an unaffiliated priest, without being linked to a specific priest or Mass being celebrated.[4][5] In Ireland, a section of the Charities Act 2009 made it illegal to sell Mass cards without an arrangement with a Catholic bishop or provincial, with conviction leading to a jail sentence of 10 years or a fine of up to €300,000.[6][7] The law was upheld in a constitutional challenge in 2009, in a case where one of Ireland's largest commercial Mass card sellers gave €100 each month to a canonically suspended priest in the West Indies to say three Masses for about ten thousand people, until approval was withdrawn during litigation.[6]
References
- ^ a b Kaleta, Paweł (2021-06-17). "Towards a New Understanding of Mass Stipends". Roczniki Nauk Prawnych. 30 (3): 197–212. doi:10.18290/rnp20303-10. ISSN 2544-5227. S2CID 237787616. Archived from the original on 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ a b Dalton, William (1990). "Mass Stipends, Mass Offerings, Mass Cards". The Furrow. 41 (9): 500–508. ISSN 0016-3120. JSTOR 27661813. Archived from the original on 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ "Definition of MASS CARD". Merriam Webster. Archived from the original on 2016-07-02. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ a b Dwyer, Kilian; Dalton, Fr.; Cosgrave, Bill (1990). "Mass Stipends, Mass Offerings, Mass Cards [with Reply]". The Furrow. 41 (12): 716–723. ISSN 0016-3120. JSTOR 27661879. Archived from the original on 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ "Anger over Mass card 'industry'". BBC News. 2008-03-06. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
- ^ a b "Mass card law challenge lost". RTÉ. 2009-12-17. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
- ^ "Charities Act 2009 – No. 6 of 2009". Houses of the Oireachtas. 2007-04-12. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27. Retrieved 2022-08-27.