Chalices Part I: Vessels transcending generations

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
“The chalice is emblematic of who the priest is and what he does. The most important thing that he does is to offer the eucharistic sacrifice.” – Father Andrew Galles, director of worship
 
When a priest is ordained, he generally receives a personal chalice as a gift or acquires one with historical significance. He will keep the vessel throughout the remainder of his life. Each priest’s chalice has special meaning and some have a long history.
 
“It’s a sacred vessel used for Mass,” Father Galles explained. “Once it’s made to be used for the sacred liturgy, it is never to be used for anything else again.”
 
The director of worship said it is common that a newly-ordained priest may receive a chalice that a deceased priest once called their own. Depending upon the condition of the vessel, it may be refurbished and/or replated “and put back into the service of the liturgy.”
 
There are a number of chalices from priests who have died, stored by the diocesan Office of Worship, awaiting new life in the church. Also in storage are chalices that came from parishes.
 
“We have chalices that are well over 100 years old that are still being used at Mass and they have been passed down through generations of priests,” Father Galles pointed out.
 
Some seminarians with deceased relatives who were priests may seek out a historical chalice for their own personal vessel.
 
“I have had situations where seminarians have reached out to me, knowing there was a relative who was a priest and wanting to know if there was a chalice anywhere in the diocese’s keeping that was owned by that priest,” the director of worship said.
 
Not an heirloomChalice formerly owned by Bishop Edmond Heelan
As a chalice is used in the sacrifice of the Mass, it should not be treated simply as an heirloom, but should be recognized as something sacred and “should always remain in the custody of the diocese,” the director of worship said.

 However, some priests have been buried with their first chalices, which is acceptable as that vessel would no longer be used in Masses. Vessels can also be buried alone “as an appropriate end of its liturgical life.” 

The priest, who also serves as parochial vicar for the Cathedral Parish, noted that several bishops’ chalices that were returned to the diocese were refurbished and put into service at the Cathedral of the Epiphany, the mother church of the diocese. Some are smaller chalices that were used in bishops’ chapels while others may have been purchased in honor of or in memory of a bishop.
 
“All of this patrimony that exists that gets passed down and continues to be used in the liturgy, I would call a very tangible connection with the past and with our tradition,” the priest said.
 
New chalices
Like Father Galles, some priests receive their first chalice as a gift from their parents. He was able to select his chalice, which now includes engraving on the bottom noting the date of his ordination.
 
Including the sentimental value and liturgical value of a priests’ personal chalice, the vessels are also valuable works of art. Many are gold-plated and most are ornate and rich with symbolism.
 
All chalices or patens that will hold the Eucharist “must be precious metals,” Father Galles explained. He estimates that chalices are worth from $5,000 to $15,000 and are locked away for safekeeping when not in use during a liturgy.
 Chalice from St. Boniface Church, Sioux City
Some priests may reserve their personal chalices for a special occasion such as Easter or Christmas while others keep their chalices in service. The priests of the Cathedral Parish generally use their chalices when they preside at weekend Masses.
 
“It’s important to be able to use our own personal chalices because they have a special connection with them, whether it’s the connection of the gift of your parents or the connection to that previous priest, now deceased, who used to use it,” explained Father Galles. “There’s a sense that when you’re using those things, you’re also offering a prayer for either the benefactors of the chalice, whether that’s your parents or the generous donors who gave it or even the repose of the soul of that priest (who owned the chalice).”
 
The director of worship stressed that there is a deeper connection when presiding at a Mass with a personal chalice, especially one passed down from a deceased priest.

 “It goes back to the whole idea that we’re connected. In many ways, we can’t see through the veil of the living and the dead when we’re in the liturgy,” he said. “I would emphasize it is not just a sentimental connection, but truly that theological connection which is placed across the plane of the liturgy in which, as we know, time does not exist. It’s the whole idea of the connection between the living and the dead.” 
Ordination gift from Father Galles' parentsFather Galles’ first chalice
A few months before his June 3, 2017, priestly ordination, then-Deacon Galles traveled to New York with friends and selected the chalice that would become his own.
 
His chalice has a sterling silver cup and the base and cup are gold-plated. Psalm 116:13 is inscribed in Latin, surrounding the exterior of the cup – in English reads, “I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.”
 
Six oxidized metal medallions surround the base of the chalice depicting the Crucifixion, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. John the Evangelist, St. Paul, St. John the Baptist and St. Benedict. The priest pointed out his middle name is John, hence the inclusion of two saints named John.
 Engraving on the bottom of the chaliceThe director of worship intends to use the chalice at the funerals of his parents in the future and would like to see the vessel passed on to another priest after his own death. 
“It’s nice when you have that generational use of vessels in the Mass,” he said.
 
Be sure to watch future articles in LumeNotes and posted to the Lumen Media site with stories about the history of other diocesan priests’ personal chalices.