Last Sacrament Visitation Set [1910s-1920s approx.]
Utilitarian Object
Identifier:
OBJ.O.1991.6Description
A visitation set for administering Catholic last rites at home. This set includes the following items: a large (8.5" long x15" wide x3.5" deep) composite wood box with both a hinged lid and front panel to open into a miniature alter (exterior brass detailing on lid, interior painted purple); two pewter candle holders affixed to the box; two white candles; a pewter basin for holding holy water affixed to the box; a glass bottle from which holy water would be poured into the basin (impressed with a cross and crown one one side and "Holy Water" on the other); a small pewter or silver plated eucharist plate (a.k.a. paten or diskos) engraved with IHS (a monogram symbolizing Jesus' name in Greek, IHΣΟΥΣ) from which communion bread or a wafer would be offered; a silver plated spoon for offering communion bread; a crucifix made of wood and silver; a pamphlet excerpted from James Joseph McGovern's 1906 Manual of the Holy Catholic Church (How to Assist the Sick and Dying, Advice on Visiting the Sick); and a wooden-handled brush (aspergillum) for sprinkling holy water on the visited.This set was used by priests from St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Old Town, Maine, probably in the 1910s or 1920s. It was part of the estate of Phoebe Sirois, a parishioner of St. Joseph's who is buried in St. Joseph's cemetery. St. Joseph's parish and St. Mary's merged in 1992 into the Parish of the Resurrection of the Lord. The former St. Joseph's church was built in 1912 and is now named Holy Family Church. Old Town Museum is housed in the former St. Mary's Church.