Portio Congrua, the name given in the canon law to the suitable salary which was anciently allotted to the priest or minister of a parish.
Portion (p'n, clielek). In addition to the sense of dividing or allotting, this word is used in reference to a custom still prevalent among princes and rich peo- ple in the East, not only to invite their friends to feasts, but to send a portion of the banquet to those that can- not well come to it, especially their relations and those in a state of mourning. This sending of portions to those for whom nothing was prepared is alluded to in Neh. viii, 10. where it is said, " Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy unto our Lord : neither be ye sorry ; for the joy of the Lord is your strength." The historian is here describing a national festival where every one was supposed to be equally concerned; those then for whom nothing was prepared, it would seem, means those that were in a state of mourning ; mourning for private calamities be- ing here supposed to take the place of rejoicing for public concerns. But it is not only to those that are in a state of mourning that provisions are sometimes sent; others are honored by princes in the same manner who could not conveniently attend the royal table, or to whom it was supposed not to be convenient. M. D'Arvieux mentions that in Syria, when the grand emir of the Druses, with whom he resided, found it incommoded him to eat with him, he politely desired him to take his own time for eating, sending him what he liked from his kitchen, and at the time he chose. Thus David it maj' be presumed did to Uriah, for it is recorded " there followed him a mess of meat from the king" (2 Sam. xi, 8, 10). We likewise read in the book of Esther (ix, 19) : "Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions to one another." See Inherit- ance.
Portion (Parochial) is the mediety of a parish which was divided into several vicarages or parsonages.
Portionist, a term employed to designate a ben- eficed person in a cathedral who received only half or a moiety of his prebend, called in France a demiprt l» ndary, and in Spain a ratione.ro. Bursarius, in Scottish univer- sities, and the German Bursch were portions of money given to poor students, while the Cambridge pensioner lives at his own cost.
Portiuncula, the Indulgence of. In the vicin- ity of Assisi there stood a little church Nostra Signora degli Angeli, called also Portiuncula, which St. Francis, after his conversion, repaired, and soon afterwards re- ceived as a present for himself and his congregation, at the hands of the benedictine abbot of the Monastery of Monte-Subazio. A legend widely spread in the 14th century says that in this little church, the cradle of the
Franciscan Order, Christ himself granted to the saint his prayer for plenary indulgence for all those who, after partaking worthily of the sacraments of penance and of the altar, should visit Portiuncula. Christ made it a condition of his absolution that the consent of him to whom he had committed the power of binding and unbinding should also be obtained. Honorius III, who was then at Perugia, was willing to grant one or a few years, but demurred at the request of a plenary in- dulgence, inasmuch as the practice of the Roman see did not warrant such a thing. But as soon as the pope was informed that the saint was speaking in the Saviour's own name, he thrice exclaimed, " Thy will be done !" The cardinals did not approve of the pope's decision, as this indulgence, which could be gained so easily, would put a check to the ultramontane pilgrimages and to the crusades, the only means by which, up to that time, a plenary indulgence could be obtained. Honorius, being made sensible of these dangers, compromised mat- ters by making it a condition of the obtention of plenary indulgence that the visit to Portiuncula be made from the evening of August 1st to the evening of the 2d. At this decision of the pope Francis bowed his head in humility, and was about to leave the room, when the pope called him back, saying, "Foolish man, whither art thou going? what security hast thou for that which has just been granted to thee?" Whereupon the saint replied, " Your word, holy father, is enough for me. Let Jesus Christ be the notary, the Virgin Mary the deed, and the angels the witnesses; I need no other docu- ment." Some writers deem it a most doubtful matter that pope Honorius, contrary to the pontifical practice, which was not to grant indulgences for more than a few years, should have so liberally dealt with St. Francis, especially as no bull to that effect can be shown. But the testimonies of the 13th and 14th centuries in cor- roboration of the historical nucleus of the legend are too numerous to allow of any doubt. The Portiuncular in- dulgence was, besides, acknowledged not only by the popes of the 14th, but also by those of the 13th century; for instance, Alexander IV (1254-G1) and others. Pope Innocent XII, in 1695, extended the indulgence to all days of the year. Besides, inasmuch as many Roman Catholics could not afford to visit Portiuncula, the popes extended said indulgence (obtainable from the 1st to the 2d of Aug.) to all the churches of the Franciscans and Capuchins. In our time the Portiuncular indulgence can be obtained in some countries on the first Sunday of August, not only in the Franciscan, but in all churches where Catholic worship is held regularly on Sundays and holidays.