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October 8, 1991
ARE YOU IN MY PEW?
One of the questions that is inevitably asked of parishioners in the Basilica Cathedral and some other churches in the archdiocese is about the numbers that are applied to every pew in the church and an explanation about the small brass plate that sits below the pew number. Why are the pews in most churches numbered?
In the 1800’s because voluntary offerings in Sunday collections were unpredictable, pastors introduced pew rents to stabilize parish finances. Originating in Germany, the pew rent system was common place in North America by the 1840’s. In the new churches it was commonly used to secure a steady income from which the debt on new buildings could be paid.
Parishioners could literally “rent a pew”. It was reserved for their use during one or all of the Sunday Masses and other devotions and events. The brass plate is a card holder where the name of the family “renting” the pew was inserted.
The pews were also in demand. Every Sunday notices were read reminding parishioners if they had not paid their “pew rent” that they should pay immediately or forfeit the right to claim the pew!
The practice was so prevalent that for certain celebrations the Archbishop of St. John’s had to make a special plea that the “pew holders” in the Basilica cathedral give up their pews for special occasions. For example when Pope Pius XI died in 1939, Archbishop Roche requested “Pew holders in the upper centre section are requested to give their pews on that day (February 19, 1939) for the use of those who desire to attend the ceremony ….”
In some diocese the practise was so prevalent that regulations ensured that a proportion of pews (at least one sixth) always remained free to insure that the poor would have a seat in the church. The seats of renters who had not arrived before a certain point in the celebration were also regarded as free for occupation by others.
In most churches in the Archdiocese of St. John’s the idea of “pew rents” was allowed to fade away quietly. In place of pew rents for a particular pew, in some churches, a general pew collection or second collection was held every Sunday. In the Basilica Cathedral Parish this general offering was seen by some parishioners as a way to hold on to the pew that they saw as “their family pew.” To this very day older parishioners continue to sit in what was “their family pew.”
The pew collection, previously the pew rent, was officially ended by a decision of the Basilica Cathedral Parish Council on this day on October 8, 1991.
For more information on this and other related subjects contact the Archives of the R.C. Archdiocese. www.stjohnsarchdiocese.nf.ca
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Larry Dohey
Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s
P.O. Box 1363
St. John’s, NL
A1C 5M3
709-726-3660
E-mail: archives@nf.aibn.com
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