Holy water
Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from Christianity to Sikhism. The use of holy water as a sacramental for protection against evil is common among Lutherans, Anglicans, Catholics, and Eastern Christians.
In Christianity
In Catholicism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and some other churches, holy water is water that has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, for the blessing of persons, places, and objects, or as a means of repelling evil.History
The Apostolic Constitutions, whose texts date to, attribute the precept of using holy water to the Apostle Matthew. It is plausible that the earliest Christians may have used water for expiatory and purificatory purposes in a way analogous to its employment in Jewish Law. Yet in many cases, the water used for the sacrament of Baptism was flowing water, sea- or river-water, which — in the view of the Catholic Church — could not receive the same blessing as that water contained in the baptisteries. However, Eastern Orthodox Christians do perform the same blessing, whether in a baptistery or for an outdoor body of water.Use and storage
Sprinkling with holy water is used as a sacramental that recalls baptism. In the West, the blessing of the water is traditionally accompanied by exorcism and by the addition of exorcised and blessed salt.File:Angelo acquasantiera at Santa Maria degli Angeli - front.jpg|thumb|upright|A holy water container at the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome
Holy water is kept in the holy water font, which is typically located at the entrance to the church. Smaller vessels, called stoups, are usually placed at the entrances of the church, to enable people to bless themselves with it on entering.
In the Middle Ages Christians esteemed the power of holy water so highly that in some places fonts had locked covers to prevent the theft of holy water for unauthorized magic practices. The Constitutions of Archbishop Edmund Rich prescribe that: "Fonts are to be kept under lock and key, because of witchcraft. Similarly the chrism and sacred oil are kept locked up."
Proper disposal
In Catholicism, holy water, as well as the water used during the washing of the priest's hands at Mass, is not allowed to be disposed of in regular plumbing. Roman Catholic churches will usually have a special basin that leads directly into the ground for the purpose of proper disposal. A hinged lid is kept over the holy water basin to distinguish it from a regular sink basin, which is often just beside it. Items that contained holy water are separated, drained of the holy water, and then washed in a regular manner in the adjacent sink.Hygiene
Holy water fonts have been identified as a potential source of bacterial and viral infection. In the late-19th century, bacteriologists found staphylococci, streptococci, coli bacilli, Loeffler's bacillus, and other bacteria in samples of holy water taken from a church in Sassari, Italy. In a study performed in 1995, 13 samples were taken when a burn patient acquired a bacterial infection after exposure to holy water. The samples in that study were shown to have a "wide range of bacterial species", some of which could cause infection in humans. During the swine-flu epidemic of 2009, Bishop John Steinbock of Fresno, California, recommended that "holy water should not be in the fonts" for fear of spreading infections. Also in response to the swine flu, an automatic, motion-detecting holy-water dispenser was invented and installed in an Italian church in 2009. In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Episcopal Conferences directed that holy water be removed from the fonts or stoups.Christian traditions
Roman Catholics
Sacramental and sanctification
A blessing, as a prayer, is a sacramental. By blessing water, Catholic priests praise God and ask for his grace. As a reminder of baptism, Catholic Christians dip their fingers in holy water and make the sign of the cross when entering a church.Fr. John F. Sullivan, writing in the early twentieth century, noted that, "Besides the pouring of baptismal water... the sprinkling with holy water is a part of the ceremonies of Matrimony, of Extreme Unction and of the administration of the Holy Eucharist to the sick, and it is employed also in services for the dead."
The Sunday liturgy may begin with the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling Holy Water, in which holy water is sprinkled upon the congregation; this is called "aspersion". This ceremony dates back to the 9th century. An "aspergill" or aspergillum is a brush or branch used to sprinkle the water. An aspersorium is the vessel which holds the holy water and into which the aspergillum is dipped, though elaborate Ottonian examples are known as Situla. Blessed salt may be added to the water where it is customary to do so.
The Catholic Church teaches this use of holy water and making a sign of the cross when entering a church reflects a renewal of baptism, a cleansing of venial sin, as well as providing protection against evil. It is sometimes accompanied by the following prayer:
Some Catholics believe that water from specific shrines can bring healing – although that water is not the same as typical holy water found in parishes, since it has not been blessed by a priest.
Formula
The traditional Latin formula for blessing the water is as follows:Exorcizo te, creatura aquæ, in nomine Dei Patris omnipotentis, et in nomine Jesu Christi, Filii ejus Domini nostri, et in virtute Spiritus Sancti: ut fias aqua exorcizata ad effugandam omnem potestatem inimici, et ipsum inimicum eradicare et explantare valeas cum angelis suis apostaticis, per virtutem ejusdem Domini nostri Jesu Christi: qui venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos et sæculum per ignem. Deus, qui ad salutem humani generis maxima quæque sacramenta in aquarum substantia condidisti: adesto propitius invocationibus nostris, et elemento huic, multimodis purificationibus præparato, virtutem tuæ benedictionis infunde; ut creatura tua, mysteriis tuis serviens, ad abigendos dæmones morbosque pellendos divinæ gratiæ sumat effectum; ut quidquid in domibus vel in locis fidelium hæc unda resperserit careat omni immunditia, liberetur a noxa. Non illic resideat spiritus pestilens, non aura corrumpens: discedant omnes insidiæ latentis inimici; et si quid est quod aut incolumitati habitantium invidet aut quieti, aspersione hujus aquæ effugiat: ut salubritas, per invocationem sancti tui nominis expetita, ab omnibus sit impugnationibus defensa. Per Dominum, amen.
A priest may choose from three other formulae found in the Book of Blessings for blessing water. They are to be accompanied by the priest blessing the water with the sign of the cross. They are as follows:
V. Blessed are you, Lord, all-powerful God, who in Christ, the living water of salvation, blessed and transformed us. Grant that when we are sprinkled with this water or make use of it, we will be refreshed inwardly by the power of the Holy Spirit and continue to walk in the new life we received at Baptism. We ask this though Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
V. Lord, holy Father, look with kindness on your children redeemed by your Son and born to a new life by water and the Holy Spirit. Grant that those who are sprinkled with this water may be renewed in body and spirit and may make a pure offering of their service to you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
V. O God, the Creator of all things, by water and the Holy Spirit you have given the universe its beauty and fashioned us in your own image. R. Bless and purify your Church. V. O Christ the Lord, from your pierced side you gave us your sacraments as fountains of salvation. R. Bless and purify your Church. V. Priest: O Holy Spirit, giver of life, from the baptismal font of the Church you have formed us into a new creation in the waters of rebirth. R. Bless and purify your Church.
Protection against evil
In his book The Externals of the Catholic Church, originally published in 1917, Fr. John F. Sullivan writes:The prayers said over the water are addressed to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that through the power of the Blessed Trinity the spirits of evil may be utterly expelled from this world and lose all influence over mankind. Then God is besought to bless the water, that it may be effective in driving out devils and in curing diseases; that wherever it is sprinkled there may be freedom from pestilence and from the snares of Satan.
Catholic saints have written about the power of holy water as a force that repels evil. Saint Teresa of Avila, a Doctor of the Church who reported visions of Jesus and Mary, believed fervently in the power of holy water and stated that she used it with success to repel evil and temptations. She wrote:
The 20th-century nun and mystic Saint Faustina in her diary said she once sprinkled a dying sister with holy water to drive away demons. Although this was wrong to do, since it was the priest's duty, she remarked, "holy water is indeed of great help to the dying".
In Holy Water and Its Significance for Catholics, Cistercian priest Henry Theiler states that in addition to being a strong force in repelling evil, holy water has the twofold benefit of providing grace for both body and soul.
The new Rituale Romanum excludes the exorcism prayer on the water. Exorcised and blessed salt has traditionally been added to the holy water as well. Priests can continue to use the older form if they wish as confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI in Summorum Pontificum, which states "What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too".