User:Sawyer777/Devotional Revolution

The devotional revolution was a period of Irish history between around 1850 and 1875 when the Catholic Church in Ireland was reformed and revitalized, led by Cardinal-Archbishop Paul Cullen.

Background

 * what irish catholicism was like before the famine
 * long-term degradation of church structure, catholic emancipation, population explosion, famine
 * Cullen arrives in 1850, appointed Archbishop of Armagh

In the year 1800, the Catholic population of Ireland was around 3.9 million people, with 26 bishops and 1,850 priests; the ratio of priests to faithful was roughly one to 2,100. By 1845 the Catholic population had risen to nearly 7 million, and for each priest there were around 3,000 faithful. The Catholic Church responded to this shortage by increasing the number of priests by 400 from 1840 to 1846, when the Great Famine started. However, the ratio in 1850 remained around the same as in 1800. The devastation of the Great Famine reduced the Catholic population by around 2 million by 1850.

Mass attendance in pre-Famine Ireland was relatively low, with around a third of the population attending. This was caused by the lack of priests and churches, and the small size of existing churches and chapels. The practice of "stations", celebrating religious rites in private houses in exchange for monetary offerings, was widespread. Many Irish people lacked the opportunity to participate in the sacraments, and scarcity of resources and the large population impeded evangelization of the poor.

In the early 19th century the Church also steadily reformed the behavior of the clergy, finding the most success in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Avarice and alcoholism were particularly problems among the Irish clergy. By the early 1840s, the movements of Father Mathew and Daniel O'Connell for temperance and the Repeal Association had contributed to the start of what would become the devotional revolution.

Reforms
According to the historian Emmet Larkin, the Synod of Thurles in 1850 marked the beginning of the devotional revolution. The synod focused on sacramental propriety and regulation of the clergy; it encouraged frequent celebration of the sacraments, dissuading administering of sacraments outside churches when possible.

Legacy

 * long-term effects on Irish Catholicism
 * after decline in prominence of the Church - factors

Historiography

 * coined by Larkin in 1972 - criticism & responses - how it's interpreted today in wake of secularism

journals

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book chapters

 * - see references & suggested reading at end