Antique 1895 Holy Childhood Membership Certificate | Cachet de la Sainte Enfance | Engraving | French Catholic Mission

An original 19th-century French membership certificate of the Œuvre de la Sainte-Enfance (Pontifical Association of the Holy Childhood) – the famous “Cachet de la Sainte Enfance” – issued to a child member in 1895.

The front is a finely detailed steel engraving of a mission orphanage in China: religious sisters in white cornettes care for and teach a group of children, while a kneeling boy is presented in prayer before a statue of the crowned Virgin and Child. Beneath it is the Latin text of Exodus 2:9, spoken by Pharaoh’s daughter to the mother of Moses, with its French translation:

“Accipe puerum istum et nutri mihi; ego dabo tibi mercedem tuam”
(“Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will give thee thy wages”)

The certificate is completed by hand in ink with the member’s name, Joseph Dessauvages, recording that he was received into the Association of the Holy Childhood in 1895.

On the reverse

The printed rules of the Œuvre de la Sainte-Enfance: its purpose, the daily Hail Mary and the small monthly contribution of five centimes asked of each child, the categories of membership, the Masses offered for members living and deceased, and the plenary and partial indulgences granted by the Holy See. It closes with a Prayer to the Child Jesus. Printed in Paris by the Catholic publisher Téqui, 92 rue de Vaugirard. The wording reflects the missionary outlook and vocabulary of its time.

Historical note

The Holy Childhood Association was founded in 1843 by Bishop Charles de Forbin-Janson of Nancy to enlist Catholic children in Europe to pray and give for the baptism, care and education of abandoned children in China and other mission lands. It grew into one of the largest children’s organisations of the 19th century and today continues as one of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

Details

• Type: engraved and hand-completed membership certificate
• Origin: France, printed in Paris (Téqui)
• Date: 1895
• Language: French and Latin
• Size: approx. 8.5 × 13.9 cm (3.3 × 5.5 in)
• Condition: good; light toning, a small tear and nick to the right edge, a small mark on the reverse

A charming piece of Catholic missionary history and a fine example of 19th-century French devotional engraving. The item you receive is the exact one pictured.