HOME BLESSINGS
The Epiphany blessing of homes is a centuries old tradition where priests or deacons would visit homes in their parish after the Feast of the Epiphany, blessing the home and marking the lintel above the door with chalk.
If you would like one of the deacons to come bless your home, fill out the form below.
Please respond by January 6. We will get back with you to schedule a day and time for the blessing during the first weeks of January.
Register Here For a Home Blessing
THE CHALKING OF THE DOORS - EPIPHANY TRADITION EXPLAINED
If you’re a Catholic, you’ve probably seen it: a mysterious series of letters and numbers, looking for all the world like an equation, inscribed in chalk over a doorway at your parish, or at the home of a friend. Maybe you thought you could figure it out. Maybe you were too embarrassed to ask, “What the heck is that?”
If you don’t know what the chalk is all about, don’t be ashamed. You’re certainly not alone.
Epiphany (also known as Twelfth Night, Theophany, or Three Kings Day) marks the occasion of a time-honored Christian tradition of “chalking the doors.” The formula for the ritual — adapted for 2026 — is simple: take chalk of any color and write the following above the entrance of your home: 20 + C + M + B + 26.
The letters have two meanings. First, they represent the initials of the Magi — Caspar, Malchior, and Balthazar — who came to visit Jesus in His first home. They also abbreviate the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat: “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross, and the “20” at the beginning and the “26” at the end mark the year. Taken together, this inscription is performed as a request for Christ to bless those homes so marked and that He stay with those who dwell therein throughout the entire year.