Are these Communion Chalices? If so, what should I do with them?

[casslean]

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but I wasn’t sure where else to put it.

My sister was given these as part of a lot - she and her friends do a lot of antiquing, flea markets, etc and she had bought a number of other cups and the person threw these in. I noticed them when I was over at Christmas and to me, they look quite a lot like the Communion chalices we use in our parish, only I can’t be sure. My sister gave them to me when I mentioned them, but I’m not sure how to ascertain if they ARE Communion chalices and what I should do in that case. They are made of brass, I think, and are quite badly tarnished (I’m working on getting them cleaned). There are no markings anywhere on either.

This woman has given her Catholic bibles, books, figures, prayer books, etc that she has found - they get passed on to me for the church. I was thinking I’d clean these up and use them as decor pieces, but I don’t want to do anything improper.

Any help anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bonnie]

Probably not chalices. If you google “metal wine cups” you’ll see some that look like yours. Even if they were at one time used as chalices, there shouldn’t be a problem with using them. If you need reassurance, show them to your priest & ask him.

 

[Gertabelle]

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but I wasn’t sure where else to put it.

My sister was given these as part of a lot - she and her friends do a lot of antiquing, flea markets, etc and she had bought a number of other cups and the person threw these in. I noticed them when I was over at Christmas and to me, they look quite a lot like the Communion chalices we use in our parish, only I can’t be sure. My sister gave them to me when I mentioned them, but I’m not sure how to ascertain if they ARE Communion chalices and what I should do in that case. They are made of brass, I think, and are quite badly tarnished (I’m working on getting them cleaned). There are no markings anywhere on either.

This woman has given her Catholic bibles, books, figures, prayer books, etc that she has found - they get passed on to me for the church. I was thinking I’d clean these up and use them as decor pieces, but I don’t want to do anything improper.

Any help anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

We have a brass “chalice” in our kitchen. They’re very popular at our local Renaissance Festival in the summer. Just because it’s metal and shaped like a goblet doesn’t mean it was used as a chalice at mass.

Here’s something I found in a quick Google search:

Paragraph 328 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) reads, “Sacred vessels are to be made from precious metal. If they are made from metal that rusts or from a metal less precious than gold, then ordinarily they should be gilded on the inside.”

Under the guidelines given in the GIRM, precious metal is the preferred and best material to use. Chalices and patens made completely from 14kt gold may not be within the budget for many parishes, and so gold plating is acceptable. The outside may be gold or silver, but the inside (which will hold and touch the consecrated Body and Blood) should be plated (gilded) with gold.

The GIRM does allow other materials to be used, but only according the custom of a particular region:

Paragraph 329: In the Dioceses of the United States of America, sacred vessels may also be made from other solid materials that, according to the common estimation in each region, are precious, for example, ebony or other hard woods, provided that such materials are suited to sacred use and do not easily break or deteriorate. This applies to all vessels which hold the hosts, such as the paten, the ciborium, the pyx, the monstrance, and other things of this kind.

This allowance does not imply that any material may be used just because people like it; this allowance gives dioceses the permission to use materials aside from precious metals that are considered precious materials in a particular region. Precious metals with a gold interior are the traditional and preferred materials.

 

[Luz_Maria]

They also look a little like the small silver “cup” (for the life of me, I can’t remember the name of it) I gave my friend’s daughter for her Batmitzvah with her Hebrew name inscribed on it in Hebrew.

Enjoy them in good health!

 

[casslean]

Thank you! That is helpful, especially the information regarding gold gilding! These are silver on the inside, so definitely not gilded.

Now to get them polished up!