Everything You Need to Know About the Ex Voto (a Christian Offering)
We designate by the name “ex voto” (some speak of votive offering) types of Christian offerings which, although still used today in the Church, can be linked to even older traditions.
A form of homage particularly appreciated in Latin countries, ex votos can take a whole host of forms (we will present the most common in this article) and cover very different meanings and messages too.
To give thanks to the Saints, to Christ or to the Virgin, to protect yourself from accidents or pitfalls or simply to say thank you, there is an ex voto for each of your aspirations.
Contents :
Definition: what is an ex voto?
Definition: what is an ex voto?
Finding the definition of an ex voto is both simple and complicated.
As we said in the introduction, this is a kind of Christian (and even mainly Catholic) offering.
The term offering is, however, misleading here: we should not make a mistake with those that the pagans of past centuries may have practiced!
While they saw the offering as an “exchange”, as a gift for gift, Christians who use ex votos do so more with a view to pure giving and thanksgiving.
For a greater good received, for an illness cured, an accident avoided or simply for the gift of life... There is certainly no shortage of reasons to say thank you!
Another way to find the definition of an ex voto can be to look at its etymology, the origin of the word.
As such, the term comes from Latin and actually corresponds to the abbreviation of the expression “ ex voto suscepto ”, which translates into French as “by the vow that was made”.
Initially, therefore, votive offerings were a way of thanking a divinity or superior force through whom one of our wishes, or one of our requests, had been fulfilled. As we have just said, there was therefore an idea of exchange, of a market.
In short, if we want to provide a more precise definition, it may be good to look at the history of the ex voto, as well as to illustrate all this through some forms that it can take.
Well that’s precisely what we are now going to do together…
Some emblematic examples
An example is worth a thousand words!
We believe in the truth of this saying, and will therefore now illustrate our point with some examples of ex voto widespread in the Christian tradition of yesterday as well as today.
Saint's medals
In the Roman Catholic Church, medals bearing the effigy of religious figures have been used for centuries as good luck charms... and as ex votos.
Already, wearing a medal is a way of venerating the figure found there. A bit in the way that wearing a small cross as a pendant allows us to pay homage to Christ and remind us of his persecution, a medal of a Saint or the Virgin will serve to give them special attention.
Some in the Church may even wear the right religious medal as a way of asking for the intercession of the Saint it represents on our behalf.
It is therefore not uncommon to see unfortunate or sick people wearing such jewelry and, this is the subject of our article, using it as an ex voto.
In fact, the use of saints' medals is so anchored in Christian tradition that some believers consider them to be "sacramentals", in other words as "elements carrying a spiritual meaning and being linked to the sacraments".
In short, if all this has aroused your curiosity and you would like to discover some models of Catholic medals, this special collection should please you.
The candle
In just about every church or cathedral we can enter there is a small box containing candles.
More than a way to make a donation and support the parish, lighting a candle is in reality a form of homage, a form of ex voto.
The most famous is the famous “Paschal candle”, lit during the Easter vigil during Easter night, but we can also cite the Advent crown, made up of four candles lit during the four weeks preceding Christmas.
Light in general, and therefore a fortiori that emitted by religious candles, also carries a very particular meaning which is presented to us in several verses of the Bible.
Here are a few :
- “ God said, “Let the light shine!” » And the light begins to shine. » - Genesis 1:3
- “ I am the light of the world. » - John 9:5)
- “ Likewise, let your light shine in the eyes of men, that when they see your good deeds they may give glory to your Father who is in heaven ” - Mt 5:16
- “ The source of life is in you, in your light we see light. » - Psalms 119.105
It’s clear, light has a unique meaning in the Christian tradition!
The crucifix
We couldn't talk about ex votos without talking about the crucifix!
In each Church accepting offerings, the place intended to receive them almost systematically includes one. The reason for this is simple: the crucifix indicates the present of Christ, the love he has for each of us and his death as a martyr aiming to cleanse humanity of its sins.
From an aesthetic point of view, crucifixes are differentiated from other forms of cross by the presence of Christ on them (more precisely of his body, described by the term "corpus"), to remind us more intensely of the sacrifice he made for us.
Appearing in the 10th century, crucifixes were first used anecdotally in churches, gradually becoming an essential “decoration” (the term is probably poorly chosen).
Catholics and Orthodox, for their part, will have no problem wearing this type of pendant decorated with a crucifix. .. but it may be interesting to note that the presence of Christ suffering on the cross is not something well seen by all Christian currents.
The Protestant and Reformed movements consider that, given that crucifixes were not present in the early days of the Church, this is a purely human invention and a sort of deviation from the Christ tradition. original.
They, therefore, will surely not choose this form of ex voto and will prefer a simple cross!
Incense
Burning incense is something extremely common in the various religions and forms of spirituality of the world.
Dating from ancient Egypt (perhaps even earlier, but the first traces go back there), used from Europe to the Far East, including of course India, Africa and the Arab world, incense is truly recognized by all for its link with the divine and the sacred.
It is therefore not surprising that this substance constitutes a popular ex voto. Unlike other forms of offering, this one is appreciated by almost all Christians, from Catholics to Orthodox, including Protestants!
When we are interested in the Gospels, we can also find mention of them, as in this passage from the Book of Revelation :
“ Another angel came. He moved towards the altar, holding a golden censer. They gave him much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of incense rose from the hand of the angel before God with the prayers of the saints. The angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar and threw it onto the earth. Then there were thunderclaps, voices, lightning and an earthquake. » - Revelation 8:3-5
We leave you to reflect on this passage and its spiritual meaning…
The milagro
This is undoubtedly the least known form of ex voto in our article, but undoubtedly not the least used… at least in Mexico!
First of all, you should know that Mexicans are a particularly religious and pious Catholic people, and undoubtedly those who believe the most in the powers of votive offerings.
They have also developed a particular concept to designate their offerings: milagros.
The word “milagro” literally meaning “miracle”, we can already easily see the idea behind it!
Made up of medals, food, small lucky charms or small sculptures, the milagros form a rather disparate ensemble and therefore difficult to summarize in a few words.
It is, however, interesting to note that their use is very ritualized, the faithful placing their milagro in a “manda”, a sort of small altar dedicated to a particular Christian figure that is found almost everywhere in churches and around them. places of pilgrimage.
In short, as we will see in a few moments, the tradition of ex votos is in reality intrinsically linked to Mexican culture and its history.
Talking about milagros here is therefore not without meaning, far from it…
Ex votos as a form of painting
Among all the types of ex votos that we have just talked about, there is one that deserved an entire point dedicated to it: paintings.
While most religious artistic works will be painted on canvas, those that serve as ex votos may use other media such as wood, metal and even plastic.
The goal here is to make something that carries meaning and messages, yes, but also that is not too expensive and that can be left in a temple or an altar without difficulty.
This is how the tradition of votive offerings gave birth to a form of pictorial art in its own right.
Historically, votive paintings (the name given to ex votos which take this form) were commissioned from local artists to thank that one of our prayers had been answered, that the illness of one of our loved ones had been cured or to any other personal reason.
The less fortunate could even create them themselves, sometimes in drawing form on simple pieces of wood.
Really, the important thing with votive paintings is not the aesthetic (they will not be used to decorate your living room) but the meaning and intention that you give them.
If this type of ex voto speaks to you, here is an icon of Mary holding a small Jesus, and another representing the scene of the Ascension.
Both carry strong Christian messages, one evoking the maternal and benevolent love of the Virgin, and the other reminding us of the dual human and divine nature of Christ.
Ex votos throughout history and cultures
The last point we will look at today in our discovery of the “ex voto phenomenon” will be its history.
Yes, to fully understand the meaning of something, knowing how to place it in time and space is often essential... and what's more, it will give you some anecdotes to tell your friends!
A Roman and ancient origin
We mentioned it with the etymology of the term “ex voto” but, yes, this form of offering goes back to Antiquity. Generally, most polytheisms of past centuries used offerings.
Archaeologists have, for example, found traces of it in Mesopotamia, but also in ancient Egypt and among the Etruscans, to name a few. The cult of a particular divinity involved the presence of offerings, while an ancient sanctuary proposed the exchange of blessings for gifts.
Regarding ex votos, it seems that the tradition is linked to the phenomenon of “donaria”, kinds of gifts given to the deities which were hung by priests on the walls of Roman temples.
Yes, this may be shocking for some Christians, but this tradition, although well anchored in the Church, was already practiced (in certain forms in any case) by pagans and heretics!
In fact, this is true for a lot of things that we might wrongly think are specific to Christianity...
Very popular with Italians…
Historically, ex votos therefore stem from Roman civilization. It is therefore completely normal that it was in Italy that they were used the most.
In particular, in the 15th century a formidable tradition of Christian votive painting developed in the region which, even today, magnifies the numerous churches of the country. A model of Italian devotion, the people used it as a means of prayer and the exaltation of art.
Certain models commissioned by wealthy clients, true patrons in short, constitute some of the most beautiful works of all time, works that we can admire in the most prestigious museums on the planet.
In short, from Renaissance Italy, ex votos spread throughout Christianity, even crossing the Atlantic a few centuries later...
…but also Mexicans!
Indeed, ex votos traveled to America thanks to European settlers who arrived en masse at the end of the 15th century.
Of the entire continent, however, there is one region where they took on an unexpected magnitude: we talked about it earlier, it is Mexico.
As soon as the Spaniards arrived, the tradition of votive offerings truly spread throughout the country, undoubtedly because the Meso-American civilizational soil, also made of offerings and even sacrifices, lent itself rather well to it.
It was thus around the 19th century, with technical progress giving access to cheap paints, that the real boom in ex voto took place, thousands of painters devoting themselves to this form of art, and a population everyone using them in their daily lives.
Lucky charms featured in this article
Crucifix Stake Pendant
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Ascension Icon
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