The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff ( la, Officium de Liturgicis Celebrationibus Summi Pontificis, it, Ufficio delle Celebrazioni Liturgiche del Sommo Pontefice) is that section of the Roman Curia responsible for organizing and conducting liturgies and other religious ceremonies performed by the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. It is headed by a "master" appointed for a term of five years. The office and the consultants who advise it support the pope in expressing his interpretation of the liturgical modifications instituted following the Second Vatican Council. Popes have at times supported postconciliar reforms, restored earlier practices, and introduced further innovations. When

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

named five new consultants in September 2013, he included none of those appointed by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

, who were known to promote a return to preconciliar liturgical practices. Benedict restored preconciliar elements to the rite for the canonization of saints and Francis removed them and further shortened the ceremony. Guido Marini, the Master when Francis instituted his changes, is known as a traditionalist, but performs to the pope's instructions. In the words of one journalist, his job is "to thread papal preferences into the pageantry". For example, he works to ensure that liturgical music is integrated into the liturgy as Francis prefers, so that participants are never forced to wait for music to conclude before proceeding. On 19 January 2019,

transferred responsibility for the Sistine Chapel Choir from the

Papal household The papal household or pontifical household (usually not capitalized in the media and other nonofficial use, ), called until 1968 the Papal Court (''Aula Pontificia''), consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremoni ...

to this Office.

Masters of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations

Enrico Dante Enrico Dante (5 July 1884 – 24 April 1967) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as papal master of ceremonies from 1947 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965. His face became very familiar a ...

(1947 – 1967) * Annibale Bugnini (1968 – 9 January 1970) * Virgilio Noè (9 January 1970 – 30 January 1982) * John Magee (6 March 1982 – 11 February 1987) * Piero Marini (23 February 1987 – 1 October 2007) * Guido Marini (1 October 2007 – 29 August 2021) * Diego Giovanni Ravelli (11 October 2021 – present) In addition to assisting the pope at sacred functions, the Papal Master of Ceremonies assists cardinals on various occasions: during consistories, when a cardinal takes possession of his titular church, and during solemn celebrations of

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

or other important religious services. When a cardinal is created at a consistory, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations assigns one of the Office's Masters of Ceremonies to him. The Master is assisted by several Masters of Ceremonies. They at times hold other offices in the Roman Curia. With the most recent appointment on 14 June 2020, there are eight Masters of Ceremonies.

References

Bibliography

* Günther Wassilowsky, Hubert Wolf: ''Päpstliches Zeremoniell in der Frühen Neuzeit – Das Diarium des Zeremonienmeisters Paolo Alaleone de Branca während des Pontifikats Gregors XV. (1621–1623)''. Rhema-Verlag, Münster 2007, (with the complete original Latin text of the diarium) {{Portal bar, Catholicism, Vatican City 1947 establishments in Europe Catholic liturgy Departments of the Roman Curia

Masters of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations

See also

References

Bibliography