I did not realize it, but last Sunday was Quasimodo Sunday.
The name Quasimodo to me was only the name of the character in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Having never read the novel, but seen the Disney animated feature, I was not familiar with why that character was given that name.
The Sunday after Easter is called Quasimodo Sunday because the words of that day’s traditional introit read “Quasi modo geniti infantes…” (“As newborn babies…”) (1 Peter 2:2).
In the novel, the abandoned child is given the name Quasimodo because he is found on the steps of Notre Dame cathedral on Quasimodo Sunday.
The Wikipedia entry explains:
Quasimodo’s name can be considered a pun. Frollo finds him on the cathedral’s doorsteps on Quasimodo Sunday and names him after the holiday. However, the Latin words “quasi” and “modo” also mean “almost” and “the standard measure” respectively. As such, Quasimodo is “almost the standard measure” of a human person.
