Mass rock
Encyclopedia
A Mass rock was a stone used in mid-seventeenth century Ireland as a location for Catholic worship. Isolated locations were sought to hold religious ceremony, as observing the Catholic mass was a matter of difficulty and danger at the time as a result of both Cromwell
's campaign against the Irish, and the Penal Law
of 1695. Bishops were banished and priests had to register to preach under the 1704 Registration Act
. Priest hunter
s were employed to arrest unregistered priests and Presbyterian preachers under an Act of 1709.
In many instances a stone would be taken from a church ruin, and relocated to a rural area, with a simple cross carved on its top. Because the activity was illegal, the services were not scheduled and their occurrence was communicated verbally between parishioners. The practice had waned by the late seventeenth century, when worship moved to thatched Mass houses..
Similar stones, known as Mass Stones, are found in Scotland.
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's campaign against the Irish, and the Penal Law
Penal Laws (Ireland)
The term Penal Laws in Ireland were a series of laws imposed under English and later British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour of members of the established Church of Ireland....
of 1695. Bishops were banished and priests had to register to preach under the 1704 Registration Act
Registration Act
The Registration Act was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of Ireland passed in 1704, one of a series of Penal laws. Its long title is An Act for registering the Popish Clergy and its citation is 2 Ann c.7...
. Priest hunter
Priest hunter
A priest hunter was a person who, acting on behalf of British forces, spied on or captured Catholic priests during Penal Times in seventeenth and eighteenth century Ireland....
s were employed to arrest unregistered priests and Presbyterian preachers under an Act of 1709.
In many instances a stone would be taken from a church ruin, and relocated to a rural area, with a simple cross carved on its top. Because the activity was illegal, the services were not scheduled and their occurrence was communicated verbally between parishioners. The practice had waned by the late seventeenth century, when worship moved to thatched Mass houses..
Similar stones, known as Mass Stones, are found in Scotland.