Rare Catholic prayer book printed in 1596 uncovered at Canadian university had librarian 'freaking out' | CBC News

Ruth-Ellen St. Onge was busy preparing for an upcoming exhibition that will showcase a variety of texts published by the renowned Plantin Press when she saw something in the McMaster University Libraries catalog records that had her "freaking out."

"I saw this note on something called the universal short title catalog that said 'lost book,' and my heart started beating really fast," St. Onge told CBC Hamilton. 

"I was like, oh, what's going on here?" 

St. Onge — McMaster University Libraries' distinctive collections cataloguing librarian — uncovered a rare book titled Officium beatae Mariae virginis, which translates to The Book of Hours of the Virgin Mary, published by Plantin Press in 1596.

The tiny prayer book, which the public can view in early May, was written in Latin and sold across Europe, typically purchased by devout Catholics or members of religious orders. Known as a 'book of hours' for its structured prayers designated for specific times of day, these volumes were often used daily, making their survival over centuries quite rare, according to the university.