Pynchon's Denomination

[Paul Mackin]

On Tue, 1 Aug 2000 Orlowsky at aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated Tue, 1 Aug 2000  3:46:51 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Paul Mackin <pmackin at clark.net> writes:
> 
> << On Tue, 1 Aug 2000, JEANNIE BERNIER wrote:
> 
> > Someone said his mum was Catholic
> 
> It was only Jules in the Playboy article. 
>  >>
> 
> There's objective evidence, too.  The death notice for Catherine
Bennett Pynchon stated that a funeral mass was being held at St.
Dominic's RC Chapel.  See Newsday for November 19, 1996.


That's pretty conclusive I guess. Jeannie also wondered if Mr. P
converted. The same kind of evidence should be available from his
death notice I imagine. I don't believe conversion was the general
practice in those days. I know it wasn't in my family. Let me see if I can
remember the rigmarole. In order to be "married in the Church by a
Priest" which Mrs. P would surely have wanted both the Catholic and the
nonCatholic have to promise to raise the children as Catholics. This alone
would NOT entitle them to an actual nuptial Mass, which requires that both
parties be either birth or converted Catholics, but to a simpler and
lesser  afternoon ceremony. As I said in my memory conversion in order to
get married never seemed to happen.  Except in Evelyn Waugh  novels. Rex's
funny conversion in Bridehead Revisited.    

			p.