192 THEISLAND ACADIANS 
     
    
   
   
    
     beliefs and practices, established ceremonies, and precise regulations 
     
     laid down by the Church. It was within this framework that Acadians 
     
     lived their faith and communicated with God and the saints. 
     
    

    
     For centuries Acadians were profoundly marked by their religious 
     
     heritage, brought mainly from France by their ancestors. Passed down 
     
     for generations, it was comprised of partly religious and partly 
     
     superstitious beliefs and practices, undoubtedly dating back to pre- 
     
     Christian times; and of a rigour typical of the Catholic religion prac- 
     
     tised by the early settlers. A negative approach was characteristic of 
     
     this Catholicism with a stern, omnipresent God always ready to punish 
     
     the slightest error. This perspective of the Catholic religion was per- 
     
     petuated in the new world by a clergy trained for a long time according 
     
     to the Jansenist doctrine. 
     
    

    
     No doubt the prolonged absence of priests amidst the Acadians, 
     
     throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, contributed to 
     
     keeping alive beliefs and practices that often related more to super- 
     
     stition than to religion. Traces of this traditional mentality can still 
     
     be found today. Let us look at some of the manifestations of popular 
     
     beliefs which, it should be pointed out, are not always specifically 
     
     Acadian and are often shared by other Catholic peoples. 
     
    

    
     To ensure that this omnipresent God protected them, the Aca- 
     
     dians surrounded themselves with numerous holy objects. The crucifix 
     
     and holy pictures would always be given a place of honour in most 
     
     rooms in their dwellings. Consecrated branches were also placed 
     
     throughout the house and outbuildings, usually near a window as 
     
     protection against thunder. Holy water was also used during storms 
     
     and sprinkled on the stove, windows and mirrors to protect against 
     
     lightning. According to some beliefs, holy water also had medicinal 
     
     qualities: it was rubbed on different parts of the body to cure all sorts 
     
     of ills. Consecrated medals were so popular that it would be unheard 
     
     of not to wear one since they ensured divine protection. When Acadian 
     
     women were still wearing the traditional dress, their costume would 
     
     not have been complete without a little cross around the neck, or 
     
     failing a cross, a medal®’. 
     
    

    
     The worship of saints was also a well established practice. Their 
     
     intercession could be of assistance in obtaining favours from Heaven. 
     
     The Blessed Virgin, among the most popular of saints, was chosen as 
     
     the patron saint of the Acadians in 1881 and referred to as Our Lady