chalice
![[chalice and paten]](http://saints.sqpn.com/wp-content/gallery/new-catholic-dictionary/chalice-and-paten.jpg "baroque chalice and paten; location and church unknown; photographed by Andreas püttmann on 8 January 2007; swiped off the Wikipedia web site")
Derivation
- Latin: caliae, cup
Article
The cup used at Mass to contain the Precious Blood of Christ, to commemorate that used by Our Lord at the Last Supper. A chalice is usually from 8 to 11 inches in height, with a wide base, a stem with a knob midway, and a cup. The whole may be of gold or silver, or the cup only. In case of poverty it is permitted to make the cup of inferior metal, but this must be gold-plated within. Chalices are blessed by a bishop, who anoints them with holy chrism, a ceremony which goes back to the time of Pope Saint Gregory the Great. Formerly, if a plated chalice needed regilding it had to be reconsecrated, but under the present law this is not necessary. In art the chalice is a symbol of the Holy Eucharist, and is often depicted with a Host above it. As the Sacramental Cup, it signifies faith.
Profiled Saints associated in art with a chalice
- Saint Barbara
- Saint Bruno of Querfort
- Saint Cedd
- Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
- Saint Hugh of Lincoln
- Saint James of the Marches
- Saint John the Apostle
- Saint Josaphat Kuncevyc
- Saint Juvenal of Narni
- Saint Louis Bertrand
- Saint Richard of Chichester
- Saint Tarcisius
- Saint Thomas Aquinas
MLA Citation
- “chalice”. Emblems of the Faith. Saints.SQPN.com. 19 August 2010. Web. {today’s date}. <http://saints.sqpn.com/chalice/>
