The Pelican and Christ

Recently Gemma posted an interesting piece called "Recovering What Was Lost . . . ".  It tells about how she found a vintage tabernacle veil at a local antique store.  This amazing find has a pelican emblem.

I have long wondered about the symbolism identifying the pelican as a symbol for Christ.  The Catholic Herald has a very interesting article about this symbol and it history.  It turns out the usage is very ancient:

"The symbolism of the mother pelican feeding her little baby pelicans is rooted in an ancient legend which preceded Christianity. The legend was that in time of famine, the mother pelican wounded herself, striking her breast with the beak to feed her young with her blood to prevent starvation. Another version of the legend was that the mother fed her dying young with her blood to revive them from death, but in turn lost her own life. Given this tradition, one can easily see why the early Christians adapted it to symbolize our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

"The pelican symbolizes Jesus our Redeemer who gave His life for our redemption and the atonement He made through His passion and death. We were dead to sin and have found new life through the Blood of Christ. Moreover, Jesus continues to feed us with His body and blood in the holy Eucharist. This tradition and others is found in the Physiologus, an early Christian work which appeared in the second century in Alexandria, Egypt."

 You can read more at the above link to The Catholic Herald.