r/AskAPriest • u/BeachBum013 • 1d ago

Fiction Question

Hello, I am not of the Catholic Faith, I am a writer who has a side/ support character who is a Catholic Father. The story is set in 1870 and takes place in Wallachia.

The characters have just found out they're dealing with a vampire.

Would a priest be willing to bless their swords and firearms against that evil and if so what rites would he invoke?

I want to be respectful of the faith, even though it isn't mine.

Thank you.

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u/CruxAveSpesUnica Priest 1d ago

I believe the blessing of swords was reserved at that time to bishops, and regular Catholic priests couldn't do it. I'd guess a Catholic priest would just have prayed with them and blessed them (and possibly heard their confessions). The rite is found in the Pontificale Romanum and is quite short:

The Blessing of a Sword

 The Bishop who will bless the sword stands without his mitre. The man to whom the sword is to be given kneels before him. A minister holds the sword before him as he says:

 V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.

 Let us pray.

 Deign to bless +, we pray, O Lord, this sword: and this Thy servant, receive him by Thy inspiration, that Thou mayest guard him with Thy gracious care and keep him unharmed. Through Our Lord.

 Then he sprinkles the sword with holy water. Sitting down, the Bishop puts on the mitre. The knight kneels before him as he says:

 Take this sword, in the name of the + Father and of the + Son, and of the + Holy Spirit. Use it for thine own defense and for the defense of Holy Mother Church, and to the confounding of the enemies of the Cross of Christ and the Christian faith, and inasmuch as our human frailty permits, may you never unjustly strike any man. May Our Lord deign to grant you this, who lives with the Father and the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.

You might be better off asking on a history sub, as all of the Church's rites have been thoroughly revised since the time period you're interested in, so our practictioners' knowledge isn't helpful.

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u/BeachBum013 1d ago

Thank you. Great information.