21. HOLY WATER FONT
What has so far been said of the sacrarium is sufficient. Now the holy water font will be dealt with. It should be of marble or solid stone, not porous or with cracks, and it will be supported by an appropriately worked column shaft.
It will be placed not without, but within the church, in sight of those entering, if possible on the right side.{1} A holy water font will be set near the men’s entrance, another near the women’s.
It will not be set against the wall, but will be at a reasonable distance therefrom, depending on the space of the site. It will be supported by a column, as mentioned above, or by a pillar or a base, which do not bear any profane images.{2}
It will have a suitable sprinkler, attached to the rim with a small chain, in brass, ivory or even iron, if well made, or some other suitable material. In its upper part, the sprinkler will have bristles rather than a sponge.
It can terminate in a sponge if this is enclosed in a small sphere of silver, brass or tin, with holes all around and with bristles attached outside.{3}
Notes
Chapter XXI, p.
- The outside fonts, for the most part, served the biological necessities of the animal kingdom as well as the human: thus, for the sake of propriety, fonts were moved inside the church. However, several rural churches have retained their exterior fonts, see Figs. 21.1 and 21.2.
In his advice to the clergy, Borromeo maintained that within the door of every parochial church there was to be a stone holy water font accessible to the people. Fonts outside of the churches were to be removed. The holy water was to be changed every week, and this was to be done before Mass with the priest dressed in a surplice and stole.(a)
- Here again the instructions are both technical and functional with no reference to medieval symbolism. Chapter 24 will deal expressly with the division of sexes.
- Psalm refers to the rite of purification: “Sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be cleansed; wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow.” The bristles replace the branches of hyssop. These are still in vogue today. although no longer attached to the holy water font, these sprinklers are used to bless the faithful during the Sunday Asparagus.
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