The churching of women: a mother’s thanksgiving

IWhat churching was

The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1908 defines the churching of women as a blessing the Church gives to mothers after they recover from childbirth. It was not a law: the Roman Ritual itself calls it a “pious and praiseworthy custom,” offered to a mother who wishes to come to the church to give thanks to God for her safe delivery. She came to thank God, and to ask the graces she would need to raise her child as a Christian. The very word suggests a little pilgrimage of thanksgiving: as soon as she could leave the house, the first place she went was the church.

Its pattern is older than the Church. The Law of Moses sent a mother, when the days after a birth were fulfilled, to the door of the tabernacle with an offering (Leviticus 12:6, Douay-Rheims). Our Lady kept that law: “after the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord” (Luke 2:22, Douay-Rheims). The Church still keeps that day on 2 February, the feast long called the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, or Candlemas. The encyclopedia draws the line straight: as the Mother of Christ carried her Child to the Temple, so a Christian mother is glad to bring hers to God.

IIWhat the old Roman Ritual says

The rite is short, and every part of it is gladness. In the Rituale Romanum the mother kneels at the church door holding a lighted candle. The priest, in surplice and white stole, sprinkles her with holy water and prays Psalm 23 [24], “The earth is the Lord’s,” framed by an antiphon that turns the psalm toward her: Haec accipiet benedictionem a Domino, et misericordiam a Deo salutari suo, “She shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God her Saviour” (compare Psalm 23:5, Douay-Rheims).

Then he gives her the end of his stole and leads her in, saying, as the 1908 encyclopedia translates it: “Enter thou into the temple of God, adore the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary who has given thee fruitfulness of offspring.” She kneels before the altar and gives thanks; the priest prays the Our Father and a few versicles over her, then this prayer. He sprinkles her once more and sends her home with the peace and blessing of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

IIIThanksgiving, not impurity

It is often said that churching was about a woman being unclean. Its Old Testament pattern was indeed a law of purification (Leviticus 12), and in England the rite was also known as the purification of women. But read the Roman rite and the charge falls away: there is not a word of uncleanness in it. The mother comes pro gratiarum actione, to give thanks; the prayer praises God for turning the pains of childbirth into joy through Our Lady’s own childbearing; it asks that mother and child reach heaven together. The Christian rite kept the shape of the Temple visit — a mother coming to the house of God after a birth — and filled it with thanksgiving.

Nor did the Church keep it from grieving mothers. The same encyclopedia records a ruling of the Congregation of Sacred Rites in 1896: the blessing, in its ordinary form, without change or omission, was to be given to the mother even if her child was stillborn or had died without baptism. Its prayer still asks that she come to heaven with her child. The Church commends children who die without Baptism to the mercy of God, and that mercy gives us grounds to hope for their salvation (Catechism 1261).

IVHow a mother is blessed today

Today a new mother is blessed within her child’s baptism; the Book of Blessings points there first and keeps a separate order only for the mother who could not be present (nos. 237, 257–258). That order may be led by a priest, a deacon or a lay minister (no. 238). Its readings include Anna, the mother of Samuel, bringing her son to the Lord — “For this child did I pray, and the Lord hath granted me my petition” (1 Kings [1 Samuel] 1:27, Douay-Rheims) — and the canticle of Zachary.

The same book has an order for blessing a mother before childbirth, and another for blessing parents after a miscarriage (no. 279). If the old form of churching is dear to you, ask your priest; he can tell you what is possible in your parish. Whatever form it takes, no mother needs permission to give thanks.

VKeeping the thanksgiving yourself

• Go to Mass when you are able, and afterwards kneel for a few minutes before Our Lady’s altar or image. Light a candle, as mothers once held one at the door.
• Ask for a blessing. It is a small thing to ask a priest and a great thing to receive. If your child’s baptism is coming, listen for the blessing over you in the rite.
• Pray the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55), the song Our Lady sang when she brought her unborn Son to Elizabeth’s house, or the prayer above.
• Let your husband, or whoever stands with you, kneel beside you. Thanksgiving for a child belongs to the whole house.

If the weeks after a birth, or after a loss, become dark, do not carry them alone. Tell your priest and your doctor. The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline answers day and night, by call or text, in English and Spanish: 1-833-852-6262. Postpartum Support International’s HelpLine, 1-800-944-4773, takes a confidential message, and a trained volunteer calls or texts you back; it is a support line, not a crisis line (text “Help” to the same number in English, or 971-203-7773 en español). If you are thinking of harming yourself, or are in crisis, call or text 988. In an emergency, call 911.