Pastoral letter by Monseigneur de Saint-Vallier on the dress code for the
inhabitants of Villemarie, 26 April 1719.
We, Jean, By Grace And the Holy Apostolic See
Bishop of quebec, to Our Dear Children The inhabitants of The parish of Ville
marie Greetings and Our Lord’s Blessings.
It is with sorrow that we learned upon Our return
from france of the lack of decorum You exhibit in dressing merely in a Shirt
without under garments And without britches during the Summer months in order
to counter the extreme heat, which Startled us all the more as we See in this
practice the violation of The rules of modesty advocated for All Christians,
And Almost an invitation to sin, for you And for all persons who can See You
in this manner, requiring that We list for you the endless Number of sins
for which You will be found guilty at your Hour of Death, not merely your
Own sins but also those of others, for which The prophet King asked God so
insistently to be delivered, and which Are all the more dangerous as they
are not known,
And which never Cease to offend God to the extent that He may refuse to
grant us The most necessary of graces. For this reason, we have required of
monsieur Le marquis de Vaudreuïl Governor general for the whole of the country
to assist us by whatever means in order to eradicate from Your parish This
most heinous custom that is certain to Be The damnation of a great number
of fathers as well as children. If You are concerned by Our reprimands And
respond to our paternal Exhortations, Rest assured that We will view You as
our Dearest Children, whom We will have fathered once again in the image of
Jesus-Christ, Quos iterum parturio in Christo. There is no temporal nor Spiritual
Benediction that We will not bestow upon You Dear Children, If you accept
to submit Yourselves
to more modest conduct In your work and activities. If You oblige us to
bemoan God regarding the stubbornness with which some of you would like to
maintain Such a despicable custom, which we regard as pernicious for Society
as well as for morality, we can do nothing in the name of God And humanity
to Have you do Your duty, but we do Hope that through The goodness of Your
Hearts, And with the obedience of Children you will accept to do Whatever
is required of you by Your immediate pastor for Your Salvation. It is hoped
that this misbehaviour will cease And that we will have The consolation of
finding in You faithful Christians and obedient Children. Et erunt docibiles
Dei. Given at Ville marie by Us and our Secretary, And Sealed with the Seal
of Our Arms this Twenty-Six April seventeen Hundred nineteen.
[signed]Jean bishop of quebec
By Monseigneur
[signed]Tessié
Source: Archives nationales du Canada, , MG18, H25, no 1, de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier, Jean-Baptiste, Pastoral letter on the dress code for the inhabitants of Villemarie, April 26, 1719.
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