Anyone know?

[casidyjulian]

Why do I have 100 year old catholic literature falling out of my walls? (well the closet doorway). We are in the process of remodeling a 120 year old house. There was a pamphlet about Holy Mass behind the lathe and plaster in my closet doorway. Does this mean anything? Why is this done? Thanks.

 

[LilyM]

Why do I have 100 year old catholic literature falling out of my walls? (well the closet doorway). We are in the process of remodeling a 120 year old house. There was a pamphlet about Holy Mass behind the lathe and plaster in my closet doorway. Does this mean anything? Why is this done? Thanks.

I know old newspapers have been found under flooring and things like that - sometimes a little extra backing or insulation material is needed, and newspaper or other papers are a cheap option. I’m sure in such cases people would probably use whatever was to hand - if it had been a house built or renovated by Jehovah’s Witnesses you might have found old copies of their Watchtower Magazine or something.

 

[casidyjulian]

I know old newspapers have been found under flooring and things like that - sometimes a little extra backing or insulation material is needed, and newspaper or other papers are a cheap option. I’m sure in such cases people would probably use whatever was to hand - if it had been a house built or renovated by Jehovah’s Witnesses you might have found old copies of their Watchtower Magazine or something.

Possible. I know the people who we bought the house from were decedents of the people who built the house.They were Catholic. This was just one pamphlet and there were no other papers. But there have been others around the doors. I was wondering if this was some sort of blessing on the house, or a superstition?

 

[Nine_Two]

Possible. I know the people who we bought the house from were decedents of the people who built the house.They were Catholic. This was just one pamphlet and there were no other papers. But there have been others around the doors. I was wondering if this was some sort of blessing on the house, or a superstition?

As far as I know, Catholic blessings just use water and oil.

It could be someone who was superstitious, but you’d think they’d use something that actually means something. Pamphletes usually aren’t seen as anything much.

 

[RebeccaJ]

Could be any reason. Over the years as we’ve remodeled we have come across all sorts of items. Usually, they are dated somehow. Coins, Newspapers. Other than that, a lot of construction garbage that no one bothered to clean up before the walls went up.

Maybe a friend or relative kept giving the carpenter pamphlets, so they got incorporated into your walls. Who knows.

Old documents can be worth something. Maybe check out if you can sell them to a collector.

 

[SteveVH]

Why do I have 100 year old catholic literature falling out of my walls? (well the closet doorway). We are in the process of remodeling a 120 year old house. There was a pamphlet about Holy Mass behind the lathe and plaster in my closet doorway. Does this mean anything? Why is this done? Thanks.

To answer your question, placing Catholic literature in walls is certainly not a Catholic practice if that is what you are wondering. Paper of all sorts, especially news papers, were used for insulation as they create a lot of dead air space. Not a good thing in the event of a fire though.

 

[wmscott]

Why do I have 100 year old catholic literature falling out of my walls? (well the closet doorway). We are in the process of remodeling a 120 year old house. There was a pamphlet about Holy Mass behind the lathe and plaster in my closet doorway. Does this mean anything? Why is this done? Thanks.

It’s a sign, God wants you to become a Catholic, sorry I could not resist, peace.

 

[Jim_Dandy]

As a former Protestant, I know the first thing that comes to the mind of some Protestants is that finding a Catholic pamphlet in the wall of an old building is an indication of a superstitious practice of some kind. But that’s not one of our “superstitious” practices.

Did you read the pamphlet? Whaddaya think? Who was the publisher?

Jim Dandy
Ex-Southern Baptist, ex-agnostic, ex-atheist, ecstatic to be Catholic!

 

[JHow]

I vote for carelessness over superstition. All kinds of garbage gets stuck behind walls, under floors, and in drains (this can cause big problems - think lost painter rag down an open toliet drain) on construction sites.

I know of a case where an apartment owner discovered an entire cement-mixer (the small kind) bricked up into a corner of the apartment. Apparently it was too hard to carry back down the stairs at the end of the project. The owner noticed that their apartment had an odd shaped room compared to their upstairs neighbors and they couldn’t explain it, so they broke into the wall and found the mixer. They had to dismantle it to get it out.

 

[barrymilligan]

Could be any reason. Over the years as we’ve remodeled we have come across all sorts of items. Usually, they are dated somehow. Coins, Newspapers. Other than that, a lot of construction garbage that no one bothered to clean up before the walls went up.

Maybe a friend or relative kept giving the carpenter pamphlets, so they got incorporated into your walls. Who knows.

Old documents can be worth something. Maybe check out if you can sell them to a collector.

i also found old newspapers dated from the 1960s when i fitted new windows im a c
arpenter and ive come across all sorts of things in my joinery carear even gravestones

 

[MercyMia]

I second the theory that it was just used as stuffing or just didn’t clear it away before sealing up the surfaces. People have found all sorts of things like this in old homes, usually its newspaper.

If the papers are 120+ years old it might neat for you to drop them off at the local church office and leave them with them. Or you can double check to make sure they aren’t valuable before you do, though I doubt they have value other than cool factor.

God bless and happy re-modeling!

 

[casidyjulian]

Thank you all so much for you (name removed by moderator)ut. I’m pretty sure I’m going to take it down to the local catholic church and see if they would like to have it. It is really neat to find something so old. I says Pope Pius IX 1860 on it. Looks like it is from Chicago. The title is “The Infinite Value of Holy Mass”

It looks like one of those papers they give you when you leave mass (my dad is catholic, so I’ve been to Mass quite a few times)