Terminology for Sacred Places
Date: January 11, 2025
Author: Fr. Edward McNamara, LC
Question: The Catholic Church in Korea has built many temples, shrines and sanctuaries dedicated to blessed martyrs and to Our Lady. Each locality offers an English translation for foreign pilgrims. However, the translations are quite varied according to each locality. Could you offer guidance toward standardizing the usages and, wherever possible, to use official terminology? – S.C., Seoul, South Korea
Answer: The writer, a priest, went to offer examples which we will deal with below.
While I am sure there are people far better prepared than I, especially those who are officially entrusted with liturgical translations, I will do my best to contribute to an area that is not always covered in official documents. Whenever possible I will use expressions that are employed in sacred places in English-speaking countries.
Our correspondent writes:
“Holy ground/land: Some localities use this term for shrines related to martyrs, confessors of faith (venerable), and to Our Lady. My understanding is that in general, Holy Land or ground is referred to Israel.”
Our reader’s basic intuition is true, although the Holy Land is not limited to the current political borders of the state of Israel but includes all the land where Our Lord exercised his ministry on Earth, some of which is under other political jurisdictions.
If one were to take as a guide the current jurisdiction of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, it manages more than 50 holy sites across the region from Damascus in Syria to Mount Nebo in Jordan.
The expression “holy ground” may be used in English, but its use to refer to Catholic sites would be unusual. Far more common would be an indication that “This is a sacred place.”
The term “sacred place” is the expression used in the English translation of the Code of Canon Law. Thus:
“Can. 1205. Sacred places are those which are designated for divine worship or for the burial of the faithful by a dedication or a blessing which the liturgical books prescribe for this purpose.”
“Can. 1210. Only those things which serve the exercise or promotion of worship, piety, or religion are permitted in a sacred place; anything not consonant with the holiness of the place is forbidden. In an individual case, however, the ordinary can permit other uses which are not contrary to the holiness of the place.”
“Can. 1213. The ecclesiastical authority freely exercises its powers and functions in sacred places.”
Our correspondent continues:
“Shrine and Sanctuary: They used both for everything related to sacred person or place. My understanding is that shrine and sanctuary have a distinct meaning. A shrine is a sacred place that may be a church or other sacred space that preserves a relic or is the site of a historical event or apparition. Shrines are often dedicated to a particular saint and may be a statue, box, or chest that holds a relic. The sanctuary is the holiest part of a Catholic church and is where the altar is located: the space in the church for the high altar and the clergy.
“Sacred sites, holy sites, pilgrim sites: They used them indistinctly for any temple or shrine.”
In canon law the English word “shrine” translates the Latin sanctuarium. Again, we refer to the relevant canons:
“SHRINES
“Can. 1230. By the term shrine is understood a church or other sacred place to which numerous members of the faithful make pilgrimage for a special reason of piety, with the approval of the local ordinary.
“Can. 1231. For a shrine to be called a national shrine, the conference of bishops must give its approval; for it to be called an international shrine, the approval of the Holy See is required.
“Can. 1232 §1. The local ordinary is competent to approve the statutes of a diocesan shrine; the conference of bishops for the statutes of a national shrine; the Holy See alone for the statutes of an international shrine.
Ҥ2. The statutes are to determine especially the purpose, the authority of the rector, and the ownership and administration of goods.
“Can. 1233. Certain privileges can be granted to shrines whenever local circumstances, the large number of pilgrims, and especially the good of the faithful seem to suggest it.
“Can. 1234 §1. At shrines the means of salvation are to be supplied more abundantly to the faithful by the diligent proclamation of the word of God, the suitable promotion of liturgical life especially through the celebration of the Eucharist and of penance, and the cultivation of approved forms of popular piety.
“§2. Votive offerings of popular art and piety are to be kept on display in the shrines or nearby places and guarded securely.”
Occasionally we do find the English word “sanctuary” to refer to a shrine, but this is a misnomer, probably due to a simple anglicization of the Latin or taken from another Romance language such as Italian (Santuario della Madonna del Divino Amore), French (Sanctuaire de Lourdes), or Spanish (Santuario de la Virgen de Guadalupe).
The correct English translation for such sacred edifices is shrine.
The English word “sanctuary” is used in the liturgical books to refer to that part of the church building where most of the liturgy is centered and contains the altar, ambo, celebrants chair and, usually, the tabernacle. Historically, this part of the church was also called the presbytery, reserved for the officiating clergy and usually off-limits to the laity.
In English, however, sanctuary can also mean wildlife refuge, reserve, or a place of legal asylum. This use might lead to some confusion to tourists and pilgrims for whom English is a second language.
Therefore, shrine is to be preferred for any place that is covered by Canon 1230. Thus, we have several official shrines to St. Joseph in Canada and the United States; the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan; the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.; and the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Marilao, Bulacan, Philippines.
Overall, the islands of Great Britain and Ireland have 11 national shrines; the United States, 72; Canada, six; Australia, four; New Zealand, one; and many more in other countries that use English as a primary language. Therefore, it is fair to say that the word shrine is sufficiently consolidated as the proper technical term.
Expressions such as sacred sites, holy sites, pilgrim sites and the like are generic expressions and can refer to any place that is a destination for pilgrims pertaining to any religion whatsoever.
It would be nigh on impossible to try to standardize these expressions or limit them to Catholic shrines.
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Readers may send questions to zenit.liturgy@gmail.com. Please put the word "Liturgy" in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.