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Golden Rose Which:
GOLDEN ROSE, an ornament symbolizing spiritual joy, blessed by the pope on Laetare Sunday (the fourth Sunday of Lent) and presented by him in recognition of outstanding service to the church. The custom originated sometime before the llth century.
Originally, the Golden Rose was a single rose, but by the 15th century it had become more elaborate and was often encrusted with jewels. Among those to whom it was given was an American, Mary G. Caldwell, who received it in 1887 after having given a large donation for the founding of the Catholic University of America. It was presented to the Queen of Belgium in 1925 and to the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal in 1964.Ever since the Middle Ages the pope has, on Laetare Sunday, blessed a golden rose which he bestows on some beneficiary. Some Italian writers have declared that the term sub rosa is derived from the fact of consecrated roses being placed over the confessionals at Rome to denote secrecy, the rose being a symbol of silence. In legend, Saint Dorothea, who suffered martyrdom under Fabricius, made a convert of Theophilus by sending him some roses from paradise. The rose is an attribute of Saints Casilda, Elizabeth of Portugal, Rose of Lirna, Rose of Viterbo, Rosalia, and others.
GOLDEN BULL, a charter authenticated by a golden seal, or bulla. Historically, this name refers only to a few charters of great political significance, including the Golden Bulls of the Holy Roman Empire, of Hungary, Milan, and the duchy of Brabant. The most important was the German imperial Golden Bull of 1356.
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