A Roman Catholic testator by his will bequeathed 1,000 pounds for Masses, foundation and other and also devoted four houses ‘for one Foundation Mass to be said for my soul and the souls of my parents and relatives during the space of 25 years’ and directed that property should revert to a named church. Evidence was given that by a ‘Foundation mass’ was intended a mass the saying of which was to be paid for out of the interest of an investment fund so that unless the gift was charitable it would be void for perpetuity.
Held: A gift for the saying of masses is charitable as being for the advancement of religion because it enables a ritual act to be performed which is the central act of the origin of a large proportion of Christian people, and because it assists in the endowment of priests whose duty it is to perform the act period.
[1934] 1 Ch 162
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Gilmour v Coats HL 1949
Prayers Alone did not make Convent Charitable
A trust to apply the income of a fund for all or any of the purposes of a community of Roman Catholic Carmelite nuns living in seclusion and spending their lives in prayer, contemplation and penance, was not charitable because it could not be shown . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Charity
Updated: 19 November 2021; Ref: scu.653059