Superstitious Use

In English law. When lands, tenements, rents, goods, or chattels are given, secured, or appointed for and towards the maintenance of a priest or chaplain to say mass; for the maintenance of a priest or other man to pray for the soul of any dead man in such church or elsewhere; to have and maintain perpetual obits, lamps, torches, etc., to be used at certain times to help to save the souls of men out of purgatory, — in such cases the king, by force of several statutes, is authorized to direct and appoint all such uses cy pres under the sign manual. Bac. Abr. "Charitable Uses and Mortmain" (D); Duke, Char. Uses, 105; 6 Ves. B67; 4 Coke, 104. In the United States, where all religious opinions are free, and the right to exercise vail. In Alabama and Wisconsin gifts for prayer or masses for the departed are invalid chiefly on the ground of want of living beneficiaries. 6 Cyc. 920.

In English Law. When lands, tenements, rents, goods, or chattels are given, secured, or appointed for and toward the maintenance of a priest or chaplain to say mass; for the maintenance of a priest or other man to pray for the soul of any dead man in such a church or elsewhere; to have and maintain perpetual obits, lamps, torches, etc., to be used at certain times to help to save the souls of men out of purgatory; in such cases the king, by force of several statutes, is authorized to direct and appoint all such uses to such purposes as are truly charitable; Bac. Abr. Charitable Uses and Mortmain (D); Duke, Char. Uses 105; 6 Ves. 567; 4 Co. 104. The doctrine has no recognition in this country; Appeal of Seibert, 18 Wkly. Notes Cas. (Pa.) 276; and a bequest to support a Catholic priest, and perhaps other uses void in England, would not be considered as superstitious uses; Methodist Church v. Remington, 1 Watts (Pa.) 219, 26 Am. Dec. 61; Witman y. Lex, 17 S. & R. (Pa.) 88, 17 Am. Dec. 644. Yet many of the superstitious uses of the English law would fail to be considered as charities, and would undoubtedly come under the prohibition against perpetuities. See Charities; Charitable Uses; 1 Jarin. Wills, ch. ix. In England there are three classes of persons who have been held obnoxious to the law against superstitious uses: 1. Roman Catholics. 2. Protestant dissenters. 3. Jews. Their various disabilities have been almost wholly removed. See Masses.