(Osculatorium, Tabula Pacis, Lapis Pacis).

A tablet to be kissed. The primitive usage in the Church was for the "holy kiss " to be given promiscuously. Later (Const. Apostol., VIII, xxix) men of the laity saluted men with the kiss, while women kissed women. This latter manner of giving the peace among the laity seems to have been maintained till the thirteenth century, when a substitute for the actual kiss was introduced in the shape of a small wooden tablet, or plate of metal ( osculatorium, deosculatorium, asser ad pacem etc.) bearing an image of the Blessed Virgin, of the titular of the church, or other saint, or more frequently of the crucifixion. The earliest notice of these instruments is in the records of English councils of the thirteenth century (Scudamore, "Notit. Eucharist.", 438). This departure from the prevailing usage is attributed by Cardinal Bona (Rer. Liturg., II, xvi, X7) to the Franciscans. Kissed by the celebrant and cleansed with a linen cloth, the tablet or plate was carried to others to be likewise kissed by them. This ceremony stills obtains in low masses (Rubr. Mis., X, n. 3), when the peace is thus given to prelates and princes, not to others except in rare cases established by custom. The acolyte or server kneeling at the right of the celebrant presents the tablet. The celebrant kissing it says: "Pax tecum"; the server answers: "Et cum spiritu tuo". The server then carries the instrument in turn to those who are to receive the peace , saying to each: "Pax tecum"; each responds, "Et cum spiritu tuo", and then genuflects.

The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes.

Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.

No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.

Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912

Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online