View source for Religion:Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary

{{short description|Christian feast day}}
[[File:Provins Saint-Quiriace vitrail 435.jpg|thumb|Marriage of the Virgin, Saint-Quiriace de Provins]]
The '''Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary''' or '''Marriage of the Virgin Mary''' is a [[Religion:Christian|Christian]] feast is celebrated by certain parts of the Roman Catholic Church such as the Oblates of Saint Joseph. It was formerly generally observed on January 23, but was removed from many local calendars by the [[Religion:Sacred Congregation of Rites|Sacred Congregation of Rites]].

== History ==

In Matthew 1:16, Joseph is described as the husband of Mary. It is probable that Joseph and Mary were [[Social:Engagement#Betrothal|betrothed]] in [[Place:Nazareth|Nazareth]].<ref name=souvay>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htm Souvay, Charles. "St. Joseph." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 7 Aug. 2013]</ref> The term "betrothal" indicates more than an engagement. It was customary in that time and place to celebrate marriage in two stages, the first being the contractual arrangements culminating in consent or "betrothal". After a period of around one year in which the couple were preparing for conjugal living, the second stage of actually conveying the wife to their new home would be accompanied by a great feast such as the Marriage Feast at Cana recounted in the John 2:1-11.<ref name=oblates>[http://osjusa.org/st-joseph/scripture/joseph-in-the-gospel-of-matthew/i-3-joseph-betrothed-just-man-husband-of-mary/ "Background of Betrothal and Divorce", Oblates of St. Joseph]</ref>

== Feast day==

The first definite knowledge of a feast in honour of the espousals of Mary dates from August 29, 1517, when with nine other Masses in honour of Mary, it was granted by Leo X to the Nuns of the Annunciation, founded by Saint Jeanne de Valois.<ref name=holweck>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05543a.htm Holweck, Frederick. "Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 7 Aug. 2013]</ref> In certain particular churches the espousals of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph are honoured with an office on January 23.<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/PRESENT.htm Butler, Alban. ''The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints'', Vol. III]</ref> The Oblates of St. Joseph celebrate January 23 as the feast of “The Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph”.<ref>[http://osjusa.org/st-joseph/liturgy/part-a/ "A5:Feast of the Espousals", Oblates of St. Joseph]</ref>

Gaspar Bertoni, founder of the Stigmatines, chose Mary and Joseph, in the context of their espousals, as patrons of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://stigmatines.com/patrons.htm |title="The Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph, our Patrons", Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata |access-date=2014-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328011647/http://stigmatines.com/patrons.htm |archive-date=2014-03-28 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== In art ==
In art the subject can be covered in several different scenes, and the betrothal of Mary, with Joseph's blossoming rod, is often shown.  Wedding processions are also shown, especially in the Early Medieval period. The scene, or scenes, is a common component in larger cycles of the ''Life of the Virgin'' and thus very frequently found, especially in the [[History:Middle Ages|Middle Ages]]; it is not found in the typical cycle in a Book of hours.

The marriage scene has been painted by, among others, Giotto, Perugino, Raphael, Domenico Ghirlandaio (1485–90, at the Tornabuoni Chapel), Bernardo Daddi (now in the Royal Collection), Veronese (in San Polo church, Venice), and Pieter van Lint (1640, Antwerp Cathedral). The subject is depicted in a fresco in the German Chapel at the Shrine of the Holy House in Loretto, Italy;<ref>[http://osjusa.org/st-joseph/art/the-matrimony/ Seitz, Ludovic. "The Matrimony", Shrine of the Holy House, Loretto, Italy]</ref> in a sculpture in the left portico of [[Engineering:Sagrada Família|Sagrada Família]] Basilica in Barcelona, Spain;<ref>[http://osjusa.org/st-joseph/art/the-betrothal-11/ Gaudi, Antoni. "The Betrothal", Holy Family Basilica, Barcelona, Spain]</ref> and in a stained glass window at St. Rita Basilica, Cascia, Italy.<ref>[http://osjusa.org/st-joseph/art/the-betrothal-10/ Consadori, Silvio. "The Betrothal", St. Rita Basilica, Cascia, Italy]</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Giotto di Bondone - No. 11 Scenes from the Life of the Virgin - 5. Marriage of the Virgin - WGA09183.jpg|Giotto, c 1305
File:Domenico Ghirlandaio - Marriage of Mary - WGA8838.jpg|Domenico Ghirlandaio (1485–90, at the Tornabuoni Chapel)
File:Casamento - perugino1.jpg|by Perugino
File:MarriageVirgin.jpg| by Raphael
File:Rosso fiorentino, sposalizio della vergine, s. lorenzo.jpg|Betrothal of the Virgin, Rosso Fiorentino, 1523
</gallery>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.franciscan-archive.org/scotus/opera/Monte-ST3-29.pdf Aquinas, Thomas. "Summa Theologica III q29. Of the espousals of the Mother of God"]
* [http://osjusa.org/st-joseph/art/the-wedding-3/ Sansonvino, Andrea. "The Wedding", marble sculpture, Loretto, Italy, (1526)]


[[Category:Catholic devotions]]
[[Category:Catholic liturgy]]

{{Sourceattribution|Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary}}