Traditional Latin Mass
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The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy 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 eleme ...
in the Roman Rite of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
that appears in typical editions of the
Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...
published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almost exclusively in
Ecclesiastical Latin Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian thought in Late Antiquity and used in Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration down to the present day, especially in the Ca ...
, it was the most widely used Eucharistic liturgy in the world from its issuance in 1570 until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI (promulgated in 1969, with the revised Roman Missal appearing in 1970). The edition promulgated by
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
in 1962 (the last to bear the indication ''ex decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini restitutum'') and Mass celebrated in accordance with it are described in the 2007
motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...
'' Summorum Pontificum'' as an authorized form of the Church's liturgy, and sometimes spoken of as the Extraordinary Form, or the ''usus antiquior'' ("more ancient usage" in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
). "Tridentine" is derived from the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''Tridentinus'', "related to the city of Tridentum" (modern-day Trent, Italy), where the
Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...
was held at the height of the Counter-Reformation. In response to a decision of that council,
Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
promulgated the 1570 Roman Missal, making it mandatory throughout the
Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
, except in places and religious orders with missals from before 1370. Although the Tridentine Mass is often described as the Latin Mass, the post-Vatican II Mass published by
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
and republished by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
, which replaced it as the ordinary form of the Roman Rite, has its official text in Latin and is sometimes celebrated in that language. In 2007,
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 soverei ...
issued the ''
motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...
'' '' Summorum Pontificum'', accompanied by a letter to the world's bishops, authorizing use of the 1962 Tridentine Mass by all
Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
Catholic priests in Masses celebrated without the people. These Masses "may — observing all the norms of law — also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted". Permission for competent priests to use the Tridentine Mass as parish liturgies was to be given by the pastor or rector. Benedict stated that the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal is to be considered an "extraordinary form" (''forma extraordinaria'') of the Roman Rite, of which the 1970 Mass of Paul VI is the ordinary, normal or standard form. Since that is the only authorized extraordinary form, some refer to the 1962 Tridentine Mass as "the extraordinary form" of the Mass. The 1962 Tridentine Mass is sometimes referred to as the "''usus antiquior''" (older use) or "''forma antiquior''" (older form), to differentiate it from the Mass of Paul VI, again in the sense of being the only one of the older forms for which authorization has been granted. Portions of these circumstances for celebration of the 1962 Tridentine Mass were replaced and abrogated by
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. ...
's ''motu proprio'' '' Traditionis Custodes'' in 2021, imposing additional restrictions.


Language

In most countries, the language used for celebrating the Tridentine Mass was and is
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. However, there were exceptions. In Dalmatia and parts of Istria in
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
, the liturgy was celebrated in Old Church Slavonic, and authorization for use of this language was extended to some other Slavic regions between 1886 and 1935. Missionaries in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
were authorized to use
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...
and
Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...
translations of the ordinary and the proper of the Tridentine Mass at least through the middle 1800's. In the late 1500's, permission was granted for missionaries working in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to use
Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
for the mass. Similarly, in the seventeenth century, permission was granted for the
Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...
to use
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
at the mission in
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and the
Theatines The Theatines officially named the Congregation of Clerics Regular ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium), abreviated CR, is a Catholic order of clerics regular of Pontifical Right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa in Sept. 14, 1524. I ...
were granted permission to use Georgian or
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
at their mission in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. Permission to use Arabic was also extended to the
Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
in the Holy Land in the nineteenth century. In 1958, permission was given for
Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
to be used at masses in India. After the publication of the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, the 1964 Instruction on implementing the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy of the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
laid down that "normally the epistle and gospel from the Mass of the day shall be read in the
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
".
Episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...
s were to decide, with the consent of the Holy See, what other parts, if any, of the Mass were to be celebrated in the vernacular. Outside the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, the vernacular language was introduced into the celebration of the Tridentine Mass by some
Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the Great Chu ...
s and
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...
s with the introduction of the English Missal. Some
Western Rite Orthodox Western Rite Orthodoxy, also called Western Orthodoxy or the Orthodox Western Rite, are congregations within the Eastern Orthodox tradition which perform their liturgy in Western forms. Besides altered versions of the Tridentine Mass, congrega ...
Christians, particularly in the
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (AOCANA), often referred to in North America as simply the Antiochian Archdiocese, is the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in the United States and Canada. Origin ...
's Western Rite Vicariate, use the Tridentine Mass in the vernacular with minor alterations under the title of the "Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory". Most
Old Catholics The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...
use the Tridentine Mass, either in the vernacular or in Latin.


Terminology

The term "Tridentine Mass" applies to celebrations in accordance with the successive editions of the
Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...
whose title attribute them to the
Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...
(''Missale Romanum ex decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini restitutum'') and to the pope or popes who made the revision represented in the edition in question. The first of these editions is that of 1570, in which the mention of the Council of Trent is followed by a reference to
Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
(''Pii V Pont. Max. iussu editum''). The last, that of 1962, mentions the popes only generically (''Missale Romanum ex decreto SS. Concilii Tridentini restitutum Summorum Pontificum cura recognitum''). Editions later than that of 1962 mention the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
instead of the Council of Trent, as in the 2002 edition: ''Missale Romanum ex decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum auctoritati Pauli Pp. VI promulgatum Ioannis Pauli Pp. II cura recognitum''. Sometimes the term "Tridentine Mass" is applied restrictively to Masses in which the final 1962 edition of the Tridentine Roman Missal is used, the only edition still authorized, under certain conditions, as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass. Some speak of this form of Mass as "the Latin Mass". This too is a restrictive use of a term whose proper sense is much wider. Even the Second Vatican Council Mass has its normative text, from which vernacular translations are made, in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, and, except at Masses scheduled by the ecclesiastical authorities to take place in the language of the people, it can everywhere be celebrated in Latin. A few speak of the Tridentine Mass in general or of its 1962 form as the "Gregorian Rite". The term "Tridentine Rite" is also sometimes met with, but Pope Benedict XVI declared it inappropriate to speak of the 1962 version and that published by later Popes as if they were two "rites". Rather, he said, it is a matter of a twofold "use" of one and the same Roman "rite".
Adrian Fortescue Adrian Henry Timothy Knottesford Fortescue (14 January 1874 – 11 February 1923) was an English Catholic priest and polymath. An influential liturgist, artist, calligrapher, composer, polyglot, amateur photographer, Byzantine scholar, an ...
, Prosper Guéranger, and
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
Hugh Somerville-Knapman say that they should be separate rites, as the Mass promulgated at the Council of Trent was already the pre-existing liturgy of the Diocese of Rome and has direct continuity with the Mass practiced by the apostles, whereas the changes made in implementing the Mass of Paul VI are so great that it no longer resembles any Catholic liturgy practiced prior to the 20th century. Other names for the edition promulgated by
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
in 1962 (the last to bear the indication ''ex decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini restitutum'') are the ''Extraordinary Form'', or the ''usus antiquior'' ("more ancient usage" in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
).
Traditionalist Catholics Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions, and presentations of Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church before the liberal reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1 ...
, whose best-known characteristic is an attachment to the Tridentine Mass, frequently refer to it as the "Traditional Mass" or the "Traditional Latin Mass". They describe as a "codifying" of the form of the Mass the preparation of Pius V's edition of the Roman Missal, of which he said that the experts to whom he had entrusted the work collated the existing text with ancient manuscripts and writings, restored it to "the original form and rite of the holy Fathers" and further emended it. To distinguish this form of Mass from the Vatican II Mass, traditionalist Catholics sometimes call it the "Mass of the Ages", and say that it comes down to us "from the Church of the Apostles, and ultimately, indeed, from Him Who is its principal Priest and its spotless Victim".


Pope Pius V's revision of the liturgy

At the time of the Council of Trent, the traditions preserved in printed and manuscript missals varied considerably, and standardization was sought both within individual dioceses and throughout the Latin West. Standardization was required also in order to prevent the introduction into the liturgy of Protestant ideas in the wake of the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
. Pope Pius V accordingly imposed uniformity by law in 1570 with the papal bull "''Quo primum''", ordering use of the Roman Missal as revised by him. He allowed only those rites that were at least 200 years old to survive the promulgation of his 1570 Missal. Several of the rites that remained in existence were progressively abandoned, though the Ambrosian rite survives in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Italy and neighbouring areas, stretching even into Switzerland, and the Mozarabic rite remains in use to a limited extent in Toledo and
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, Spain. The Carmelite,
Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...
and Dominican religious orders kept their rites, but in the second half of the 20th century two of these three chose to adopt the Roman Rite. The rite of
Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
, in northern Portugal, seems to have been practically abandoned: since 18 November 1971 that archdiocese authorizes its use only on an optional basis. Beginning in the late 17th century, France and neighbouring areas, such as
Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...
,
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
and
Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
in Germany, saw a flurry of independent missals published by bishops influenced by
Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...
and
Gallicanism Gallicanism is the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by the monarch's or the state's authority—over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the Pope. Gallicanism is a rejection of ultramontanism; it has so ...
. This ended when Abbot Guéranger and others initiated in the 19th century a campaign to return to the Roman Missal. Pius V's revision of the liturgy had as one of its declared aims the restoration of the Roman Missal "to the original form and rite of the holy Fathers". Due to the relatively limited resources available to his scholars, this aim was in fact not realised. Three different printings of Pius V's Roman Missal, with minor variations, appeared in 1570, a folio and a quarto edition in Rome and a folio edition in Venice. A reproduction of what is considered to be the earliest, referred to therefore as the ''editio princeps'', was produced in 1998. In the course of the printing of the ''editio princeps'', some corrections were made by pasting revised texts over parts of the already printed pages. There were several printings again in the following year 1571, with various corrections of the text.


Historical variations

In the Apostolic Constitution ( papal bull) ''
Quo primum ''Quo primum'' (''from the first'') is the incipit of an Apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull issued by Pope Pius V on 14 July 1570. It promulgated the Roman Missal, and made its use obligatory throughout the Latin Church of the ...
'', with which he prescribed use of his 1570 edition of the Roman Missal, Pius V decreed: "We order and enjoin that nothing must be added to Our recently published Missal, nothing omitted from it, nor anything whatsoever be changed within it." This of course did not exclude changes by a Pope, and Pope Pius V himself added to the Missal the feast of Our Lady of Victory, to celebrate the victory of Lepanto of 7 October 1571. His immediate successor,
Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...
, changed the name of this feast to "The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary" and
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
changed it to "Our Lady of the Rosary". Pius V's work in severely reducing the number of feasts in the Roman Calendar (see this comparison) was very soon further undone by his successors. Feasts that he had abolished, such as those of the Presentation of Mary, Saint Anne and Saint Anthony of Padua, were restored even before Clement VIII's 1604 typical edition of the Missal was issued. In the course of the following centuries new feasts were repeatedly added and the ranks of certain feasts were raised or lowered. A comparison between Pope Pius V's Tridentine Calendar and the
General Roman Calendar of 1954 This article lists the feast days of the General Roman Calendar as they were at the end of 1954. It is essentially the same calendar established by Pope Pius X (1903–1914) following his liturgical reforms, but it also incorporates changes that w ...
shows the changes made from 1570 to 1954. Pope Pius XII made a general revision in 1955, and Pope John XXIII made further general revisions in 1960 simplifying the terminology concerning the ranking of liturgical celebrations. While keeping on 8 December what he called the feast of "the Conception of Blessed Mary" (omitting the word "Immaculate"), Pius V suppressed the existing special Mass for the feast, directing that the Mass for the Nativity of Mary (with the word "Nativity" replaced by "Conception") be used instead. Part of that earlier Mass was revived in the Mass that Pope Pius IX ordered to be used on the feast.


Typical editions of the Roman Missal

In addition to such occasional changes, the Roman Missal was subjected to general revisions whenever a new "typical edition" (an official edition whose text was to be reproduced in printings by all publishers) was issued. After Pius V's original Tridentine Roman Missal, the first new typical edition was promulgated in 1604 by
Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...
, who in 1592 had issued a revised edition of the
Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
. The Bible texts in the Missal of Pope Pius V did not correspond exactly to the new Vulgate, and so Clement edited and revised Pope Pius V's Missal, making alterations both in the scriptural texts and in other matters. He abolished some prayers that the 1570 Missal obliged the priest to say on entering the church; shortened the two prayers to be said after the
Confiteor The (; so named from its first word, Latin for 'I confess' or 'I acknowledge') is one of the prayers that can be said during the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church. It is also said in the Luther ...
; directed that the words "" ("Do this in memory of me") should not be said while displaying the chalice to the people after the consecration, but before doing so; inserted directions at several points of the Canon that the priest was to pronounce the words inaudibly; suppressed the rule that, at High Mass, the priest, even if not a bishop, was to give the final blessing with three signs of the cross; and rewrote the rubrics, introducing, for instance, the ringing of a small bell. The next typical edition was issued in 1634, when Pope Urban VIII made another general revision of the Roman Missal. There was no further typical edition until that of
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
in 1884. It introduced only minor changes, not profound enough to merit having the papal bull of its promulgation included in the Missal, as the bulls of 1604 and 1634 were. In 1911, with the bull ''Divino Afflatu'', Pope Pius X made significant changes in the rubrics. Pope Pius XII radically revised the
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...
and Easter Triduum liturgy, suppressed many
vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' ( Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become gener ...
s and octaves and made other alterations in the calendar (see
General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII In 1955, Pope Pius XII made several changes to the General Roman Calendar of 1954; those changes remained in force until 1960, when Pope John XXIII decreed a new revision of the General Roman Calendar (see General Roman Calendar of 1960). The chan ...
). John XXIII's 1960 Code of Rubrics were incorporated in the final 1962 typical edition of the Tridentine Missal, replacing both Pius X's "Additions and Changes in the Rubrics of the Missal" and the earlier "General Rubrics of the Missal". The
General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These cele ...
was revised partially in 1955 and 1960 and completely in 1969 in
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
's ''
motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...
'' ''
Mysterii Paschalis ''Mysterii Paschalis'' is an apostolic letter issued ''motu proprio'' (that is, "of his own accord") by Pope Paul VI on 14 February 1969. It reorganized the liturgical year of the Roman Rite and revised the liturgical celebrations of Jesus C ...
'', again reducing the number of feasts.


1962 Missal

The Roman Missal issued by Pope John XXIII in 1962 differed from earlier editions in a number of ways. * It incorporated the change made by John XXIII in 1962, when he inserted into the canon of the Mass the name of Saint Joseph, the first change for centuries in the canon of the Mass. *In addition, the 1962 Missal removed from the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews the adjective ''perfidis'', often mistakenly taken to mean "perfidious" instead of "unbelieving". In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI authorized, under certain conditions, continued use of this 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as an "extraordinary form", alongside the later form, introduced in 1970, which he called the normal or ordinary form. Pre-1962 forms of the Roman Rite, which some individuals and groups employ, are generally not authorized for liturgical use, but in early 2018 the Ecclesia Dei Commission granted communities served by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter an indult to use, at the discretion of the Fraternity's superior, the pre-1955 Holy Week liturgy for three years (2018, 2019, 2020).


Liturgical structure

The Mass is divided into two parts, the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful. Catechumens, those being instructed in the faith, were once dismissed after the first half, not having yet professed the faith. Profession of faith was considered essential for participation in the
Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
ic sacrifice. This rule of the '' Didache'' is still in effect. It is only one of the three conditions (baptism, right faith and right living) for admission to receiving Holy Communion that the Catholic Church has always applied and that were already mentioned in the early 2nd century by Saint
Justin Martyr Justin Martyr ( el, Ἰουστῖνος ὁ μάρτυς, Ioustinos ho martys; c. AD 100 – c. AD 165), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and philosopher. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and ...
: "And this food is called among us the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined" (''
First Apology The ''First Apology'' was an early work of Christian apologetics addressed by Justin Martyr to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius. In addition to arguing against the persecution of individuals solely for being Christian, Justin also provides the ...
'', Chapter LXVI).


Before Mass

Asperges Asperges is the rite of sprinkling a congregation with holy water. The name comes from the first word in the 9th verse of Psalm 51 (Psalm 50 in the Vulgate) in the Latin translation which is sung during the traditional form of the rite (or opti ...
(Sprinkling with
holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...
,
Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
br>51:9, 3
is an optional penitential rite that ordinarily precedes only the principal
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 eleme ...
on Sunday. In the sacristy, a priest wearing an alb, if he is to celebrate the Mass, or surplice, if he is not the celebrant of the Mass, and vested with a stole, which is the color of the day if the priest is the celebrant of the Mass or purple if he is not the celebrant of the Mass, exorcises and blesses salt and water, then puts the blessed salt into the water by thrice sprinkling it in the form of a cross while saying once, "Commixtio salis et aquæ pariter fiat in nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti" (May a mixture of salt and water now be made in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit). After that, the priest, vested in a
cope The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A c ...
of the color of the day, while the choir sings an antiphon and a verse of
Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
50/51 or 117/118, sprinkles with the holy water the altar three times, and then the clergy and the congregation. This rite, if used, precedes the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar. During the
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
season, the "Asperges me..." verse is replaced by the "Vidi aquam..." verse, and "Alleluia" is added to the "Ostende nobis..." verse and to its response. Following the Asperges, Mass begins.


Mass of the Catechumens

The first part is the Mass of the Catechumens.


Prayers at the foot of the altar

The sequence of Prayers at the foot of the altar is: * Sign of the cross :The priest, after processing in—at solemn Mass with deacon, and subdeacon, master of ceremonies and servers, and at other Masses with one or more servers—and at Low Mass placing the veiled chalice on the centre of the altar, makes the sign of the cross at the foot of the altar. At Solemn Mass, the chalice is placed beforehand on the
credence table A credence table is a small side table in the sanctuary of a Christian church which is used in the celebration of the Eucharist. (Latin ''credens, -entis'', believer). The credence table is usually placed near the wall on the epistle (south) sid ...
. * Psal
42
( MT, i.e. Masoretic numbering), known by its incipit ', is recited, except in Masses of the season during Passiontide and in Requiem Masses. It is preceded and followed by an antiphon of the same psalm: "'" (Translation: "I shall go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth"), is recited by the priest, alternating with the deacon and subdeacon (if present) or servers. * is recited: : *The double form of a prayer of general confession of sins, known by its incipit ''
Confiteor The (; so named from its first word, Latin for 'I confess' or 'I acknowledge') is one of the prayers that can be said during the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church. It is also said in the Luther ...
'' (I confess), is recited: : ::(Translation: I confess to almighty
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the
holy Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
apostles
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...
and
Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, to all the saints, and to you, brethren, that I have
sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
ned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore, I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, all the saints and you, brethren, to
pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...
for me to the Lord our God.) :The servers pray for the priest: "May Almighty God have mercy on thee, forgive thee thy sins, and bring thee to life everlasting." Then it is the ministers' or servers' turn to confess sinfulness and to ask for prayers. They use the same words as those used by the priest, except that they say "you, Father," in place of "you, brethren", and the priest responds with the same prayer that the servers have used for him (but using the plural number) plus an extra prayer. * The following verses are then said by priest and ministers (or servers): ::℣. Deus, tu conversus vivificábis nos. ::℟. Et plebs tua lætábitur in te. ::℣. Óstende nobis, Dómine, misericórdiam tuam. ::℟. Et salutáre tuum da nobis. ::℣. Dómine, exáudi orátionem meam. ::℟. Et clamor meus ad te véniat. ::℣. Dóminis vobíscum. ::℟. Et cum spíritu tuo. Thou wilt turn, O God, and bring us to life: (Ps. 84:7-8) And thy people shall rejoice in thee. Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy. And grant us thy salvation. O Lord, hear my prayer. And let my cry come unto thee. The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit. The priest then says, ' (Let us pray). After this he ascends to the altar, praying silently "Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech thee O Lord, that with pure minds we may worthily enter into the holy of holies", a reference to Exodusbr>26:33-34
1 Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the book ...
br>6:16
1 Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the book ...
br>8:6
2 Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...
br>3:8
Ezekielbr>41:4
and others. He places his joined hands on the edge of the altar, so that only the tips of the small fingers touch the front of it, and silently prays that, by the merits of the Saints whose relics are in the altar, and of all the Saints, God may pardon all his sins. At the words ' (whose relics are here), he spreads his hands and kisses the altar.


Priest at the altar

*
Introit The Introit (from Latin: ''introitus'', "entrance") is part of the opening of the liturgy, liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, Psalms, psalm verse and ' ...
** The priest again makes the sign of the Cross while he begins to read the Introit, which is usually taken from a
Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
. Exceptions occur: e.g. the Introit for
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
Sunday is adapted from Wisbr>10:20-21
and the antiphon in Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary was from the poet Sedulius. This evolved from the practice of singing a full Psalm, interspersed with the antiphon, during the entrance of the clergy, before the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar were added to the Mass in medieval times. This is indicated by the very name of "Introit". *
Kyrie Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...
** This part of Mass is a linguistic marker of the origins of the Roman liturgy in
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
. "Kyrie, eleison; Christe, eleison; Kyrie, eleison." means "Lord, have mercy; Christ have mercy;…" Each phrase is said (or sung) three times. * Gloria in excelsis Deo ** The first line of the ''Gloria'' is taken from Lk . The ''Gloria'' is omitted during the penitential liturgical seasons of Advent, Septuagesima, Lent, and Passiontide, in which violet vestments are worn, but is used on feasts falling during such seasons, as well as on Holy (Maundy) Thursday. It is always omitted for a Requiem Mass. * The
Collect The collect ( ) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. Collects appear in the liturgies of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches, among othe ...
** The priest turns toward the people and says, "Dominus vobiscum." The servers respond: "Et cum spiritu tuo." ("The Lord be with you." "And with thy spirit"). The Collect follows, a prayer not drawn directly from Scripture. It tends to reflect the season.


Instruction

* The priest reads the Epistle, primarily an extract from the letters of St. Paul to various churches. In his ''motu proprio'' '' Summorum Pontificum'', Pope Benedict XVI has permitted this to be read in the vernacular language when Mass is celebrated with the people. * Between the Epistle and the Gospel two (rarely three) choir responses are sung or said. Usually these are a
Gradual The gradual ( la, graduale or ) is a chant or hymn in the Mass, the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, and among some other Christians. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because it was once chanted ...
followed by an
Alleluia Alleluia (derived from the Hebrew ''Hallelujah'', meaning "Praise Yahweh") is a Latin phrase in Christianity used to give praise to God. In Christian worship, Alleluia is used as a liturgical chant in which that word is combined with verses of ...
; but between
Septuagesima Septuagesima (; in full, Septuagesima Sunday) is the name for the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday. The term is sometimes applied to the seventy days starting on Septuagesima Sunday and ending on the Saturday after Easte ...
Sunday and
Holy Saturday Holy Saturday ( la, Sabbatum Sanctum), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday), the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory, Sabado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter ...
, or in a
Requiem Mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
or other penitential Mass the Alleluia is replaced by a Tract, and between
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
Sunday and Pentecost the Gradual is replaced by a second Alleluia. On a few exceptional occasions (most notably Easter, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, and in a Requiem Mass), a
Sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...
follows the Alleluia or Tract. ** The Gradual is partly composed of a portion of a
Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
. * The
Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
reading, an extract from one of the four Gospels ** Before the reading or chanting of the Gospel, the priest prays: "Cleanse my heart and my lips, O almighty God, who didst cleanse the lips of the prophet Isaias...", a reference to
Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
br>6:6
In this passage, after being cleansed by the
angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...
, Isaiah was instructed to prophesy. * The Homily ** The rite of Mass as revised by Pope Pius V (the Tridentine Mass) does not consider a sermon obligatory and speaks of it instead as merely optional: it presumes that the Creed, if it is to be said, will follow the Gospel immediately, but adds: "If, however, someone is to preach, the Homilist, after the Gospel has been finished, preaches, and when the sermon or moral address has been completed, the Credo is said, or if it is not to be said, the Offertory is sung." By contrast the Roman Missal as revised by Pope Paul VI declares that the homily may not be omitted without a grave reason from Mass celebrated with the people attending on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation and that it is recommended on other days. * The Creed ** The
Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is ...
, professing faith in God the Father, in God the Son, in God the Holy Spirit, and in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. At the mention of the
Incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...
, the celebrant and the congregation genuflect.


Mass of the Faithful

The second part is the Mass of the Faithful.


Offertory

* Offertory Verse ** After greeting the people once more ("''Dominus vobiscum/Et cum spiritu tuo''") and giving the invitation to pray (''Oremus''), the priest enters upon the Mass of the Faithful, from which the non-baptized were once excluded. He reads the Offertory Verse, a short quotation from Holy Scripture which varies with the Mass of each day, with hands joined. * Prayer of Humble Access ** The priest offers the host, holding it on the paten at breast level and praying that, although he is unworthy, God may accept "this spotless host (or victim, the basic meaning of ''hostia'' in Latin) for his own innumerable sins, offences and neglects, for all those present, and for all faithful Christians living and dead, that it may avail unto salvation of himself and those mentioned. He then mixes a few drops of water with the wine, which will later become the Blood of Jesus, and holding the chalice so that the lip of the chalice is about the height of his lips, offers "the chalice of salvation", asking that it may "ascend with a sweet fragrance." He then prays a prayer of contrition adapted from Danbr>3:39-40
* Incensing of the offerings and of the faithful ** At a High Mass, the priest blesses the
incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also b ...
, then incenses the bread and wine. Among the prayers the priest says is
Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
br>141:2-4
"Let my prayer, O Lord, be directed as incense in Thy sight;...", which is prayed as he incenses the altar. The priest then gives the thurible to the deacon, who incenses the priest, then the other ministers and the congregation. * Washing the hands ** The priest prays
Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
br>26:6-12
"I will wash my hands among the innocent..." * Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity ** This prayer asks that the Divine Trinity may receive the oblation being made in remembrance of the passion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and in honour of blessed Mary ever Virgin and the other saints, "that it may avail to their honour and our salvation: and that they may vouchsafe to intercede for us in heaven..." * Orate fratres, Suscipiat and
Secret Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...
;
Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and ...
concludes Offertory ** Here the priest turns to the congregation and says the first two words, "Orate, fratres," in an elevated tone and then turns around while finishing the exhortation in the secret tone. "Pray, Brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father almighty." ** The altar servers respond with the Suscipiat to which the priest secretly responds, "Amen.": ''Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium de manibus tuis, ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui, ad utilitatem quoque nostram, totiusque ecclesiæ suae sanctæ.'' A translation in the English is: "May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands, to the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His Holy Church." ** The Priest then says the day's Secret inaudibly, and concludes it with ''Per omnia sæcula sæculorum'' aloud. ** The altar servers and (in dialogue Mass) the congregation respond: "Amen."


Consecration

*
Preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often close ...
of the Canon **"The Roman Canon dates in essentials from before St. Gregory the Great, who died in 604, and who is credited with adding a phrase to it. (See
History of the Roman Canon *''This article is mainly a transcription of the section headed "History of the canon" of the article "Canon of the Mass" by Adrian Fortescue in the 1908 ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', now in the public domain. It has been updated to take account of the ...
.) It contains the main elements found in almost all rites, but in an unusual arrangement and it is unclear which part should be considered to be the
Epiclesis The epiclesis (also spelled epiklesis; from grc, ἐπίκλησις "surname" or "invocation") refers to the invocation of one or several gods. In ancient Greek religion, the epiclesis was the epithet used as the surname given to a deity in reli ...
. ** Dominus vobiscum. ''Et cum spiritu tuo.'' Sursum corda. ''Habemus ad Dominum.'' Gratias agimus Domino Deo nostro. ''Dignum et iustum est.'' The first part can be seen above at the Collect; the rest means: Lift up your hearts. ''We lift them up to the Lord.'' Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. ''It is right and just.'' **Next a preface is prayed, indicating specific reasons for giving thanks to God. This leads to the
Sanctus The Sanctus ( la, Sanctus, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' ( el, ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition. In Western Christianity, th ...
. *
Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...
or rule of consecration **
Intercession Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of praying to a deity on behalf of others, or asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Timothy specified that intercession prayers s ...
(corresponding to the reading of the diptychs in the Byzantine Rite—a diptych is a two-leaf painting, carving or writing tablet.) *** Here the priest prays for the living, that God may guard, unite and govern the Church together with the Pope and "all those who, holding to the truth, hand on the catholic and apostolic faith". Then specific living people are mentioned, and the congregation in the church. Next, Mary ever Virgin, Saint Joseph, the Apostles, and some Popes and other Martyrs are mentioned by name, as well as a generic "and all your Saints", in communion with whom prayer is offered. ** Prayers preparatory to the consecration *** A prayer that God may graciously accept the offering and "command that we be delivered from eternal damnation and counted among the flock of those you have chosen". ** Consecration (
transubstantiation Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις '' metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of ...
) and major elevation *** The passage Lkbr>22:19-20
is key in this section. In '' Summa Theologiae'
III 78 3
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...
addresses the interspersed phrase, "the mystery of faith". On this phrase, see '' Mysterium fidei''. ** Oblation of the victim to God ***An oblation is an offering; the pure, holy, spotless victim is now offered, with a prayer that God may accept the offering and command his holy angel to carry the offering to God's altar on high, so that those who receive the Body and Blood of Christ "may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing". ** Remembrance of the Dead *** The priest now prays for the dead ("those who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace") and asks that they be granted a place of refreshment, light and peace. This is followed by a prayer that we be granted fellowship with the Saints. John the Baptist and fourteen martyrs, seven men and seven women, are mentioned by name. ** End of the Canon and doxology with minor elevation *** The concluding
doxology A doxology (Ancient Greek: ''doxologia'', from , '' doxa'' 'glory' and -, -''logia'' 'saying') is a short hymn of praises to God in various forms of Christian worship, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derive ...
is: ''Per ipsum, et cum ipso, et in ipso, est tibi Deo Patri omnipotenti, in unitate Spiritus Sancti,'' ("Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, there is to you, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit," − spoken silently while making five signs of the cross with the host) ''omnis honor, et gloria.'' ("all glory and honour." − still silently while briefly raising host and chalice a little together). This is followed by replacing the host on the corporal and the pall on the chalice and genuflecting. After this the priest sings or says aloud: ''Per omnia sæcula sæculorum" ("For ever and ever." The response "Amen" symbolically ratifies the Canon prayer.


Elevation candle

Until 1960, the Tridentine form of the Roman Missal laid down that a candle should be placed at the Epistle side of the altar and that it should be lit at the showing of the consecrated sacrament to the people. In practice, except in monasteries and on special occasions, this had fallen out of use long before Pope John XXIII replaced the section on the general rubrics of the Roman Missal with his Code of Rubrics, which no longer mentioned this custom. On this, see Elevation candle.


Communion

:::::::::::*The
Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
and Libera nos ::::::::::::*The " Libera nos" is an extension of the Lord's Prayer developing the line "sed libera nos a malo" ("but deliver us from evil"). The priest prays that we may be delivered from all evils and that the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, together with the apostles and saints, may intercede to obtain for us peace in our day. :::::::::::* Fraction of the Host ::::::::::::*During the preceding prayer, the priest breaks the consecrated Host into three parts, and after concluding the prayer drops the smallest part into the Chalice while praying that this commingling and consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ may "be to us who receive it effectual to life everlasting." :::::::::::*
Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the " Lamb of God" is honoured within the Catholic Mass and other Christian liturgies descending from the Latin liturgical tradition. It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and ...
::::::::::::* "Agnus Dei" means " Lamb of God". The priest then prays: "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us." He repeats this, and then adds: "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace." The Mass of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday has "have mercy on us" all three times. In Requiem Masses, the petitions are "grant them rest" (twice), followed by "grant them eternal rest." * The Pax **The priest asks Christ to look not at the priest's sins but at the faith of Christ's Church, and prays for peace and unity within the Church. Then, if a High Mass is being celebrated, he gives the sign of peace to the deacon, saying: "Peace be with you." *Prayers preparatory to the Communion ** In the first of these two prayers for himself, the priests asks that by Holy Communion he may be freed from all his iniquities and evils, be made to adhere to the commandments of Jesus and never be separated from him. In the second he asks: "Let not the partaking of Thy Body, O Lord Jesus Christ...turn to my judgment and condemnation: but through Thy goodness may it be unto me a safeguard...." * Receiving of the Body and Blood of our Lord ** The priest quietly says several prayers here, before receiving Communion. The first is said in a low voice while taking up the Host onto the paten. The second of them, spoken three times in a slightly audible voice, while the priest holds the Host in his left hand and strikes his breast with his right, is based on : "Lord, I am not worthy...." Then, after having reverently consumed the Host, he takes up the chalice while in a low voice reciting : "What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things he hath rendered unto me? I will take the chalice of salvation; and I will call upon the name of the Lord." immediately adding : "Praising I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies." **If the priest is to give Communion to others, he holds up a small host and says aloud: "Behold the Lamb of God ...", and three times: "Lord, I am not worthy ...". He then gives Communion, first making with the host the sign of the cross over each communicant, while saying: "May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul for eternal life. Amen."


Conclusion

* Prayers during the Ablutions ** The prayers now focus on what has been received, that "we may receive with a pure mind", "that no stain of sin may remain in me, whom these pure and holy sacraments have refreshed." * Communion Antiphon and Postcommunion ** The communion antiphon is normally a portion of a Psalm. The Postcommunion Prayer is akin to the Collect in being an appropriate prayer not directly drawn from Scripture. *
Ite Missa est ''Ite, missa est'' are the concluding Latin words addressed to the people in the Mass of the Roman Rite, as well as the Lutheran Divine Service. Until the reforms of 1962, at Masses without the Gloria, '' Benedicamus Domino'' was said instead. ...
; Blessing ** "Go, it is the dismissal." The word "Mass" derives from this phrase. ** After saying a silent prayer for himself, the priest then gives the people his blessing. ** Prior to the revisions of Pope Pius XII and Pope John XXIII, the ''Ite Missa est'' was replaced with ''
Benedicamus Domino ''Benedicamus Domino'' (Latin: "Let us bless the Lord") is a closing salutation that was formerly used in the Latin Mass instead of the ''Ite, missa est'' in Masses which lack the Gloria (i.e., Masses of the season during Advent, Septuagesima, Lent, ...
'' ("Let us bless the Lord") on days in which the ''Gloria'' was not said and the rubrics required the priest to wear violet vestments (i.e., Masses of the season during Advent, Septuagesima, Lent and Passiontide; vigils; certain votive Masses). In the 1962 Missal, ''Benedicamus Domino'' is said only when the Mass is followed by another liturgical action, such as the Eucharistic Processions on Holy Thursday and Corpus Christi. ** In Requiem Masses, the ''Ite Missa est'' is replaced with '' Requiescant in pace'', with the response being "Amen" instead of ''Deo gratias''. * The Last Gospel ** The priest then reads the Last Gospel, the beginning of the
Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
, , which recounts the Incarnation of the Son of God. On certain occasions, as for instance at the Day Mass on Christmas Day, another Gospel passage was read instead because that Gospel is read as the Gospel of the Mass, but
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
's revision of the rubrics decreed that on those and on other occasions the Last Gospel should simply be omitted.


Prayers of the priest before and after Mass

The Tridentine Missal includes prayers for the priest to say before and after Mass. In later editions of the Roman Missal, including that of 1962, the introductory heading of these prayers indicates that they are to be recited ''pro opportunitate'' (as circumstances allow), which in practice means that they are merely optional and may be omitted. The original Tridentine Missal presents most of the prayers as obligatory, indicating as optional only a very long prayer attributed to Saint Ambrose (which later editions divide into seven sections, each to be recited on only one day of the week) and two other prayers attributed to Saint Ambrose and Saint Thomas Aquinas respectively. In addition to these three prayers, the original Tridentine Missal proposes for the priest to recite before he celebrates Mass the whole of Psalms 83–85, 115, 129 (the numbering is that of the
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...
and
Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
), and a series of
collect The collect ( ) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. Collects appear in the liturgies of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches, among othe ...
-style prayers. Later editions add, after the three that in the original Missal are only optional, prayers to the Blessed Virgin, Saint Joseph, all the angels and saints, and the saint whose Mass is to be celebrated, but, as has been said, treats as optional all the prayers before Mass, even those originally given as obligatory. The original Tridentine Missal proposes for recitation by the priest after Mass three prayers, including the '' Adoro te devote''. Later editions place before these three the Canticle of the Three Youths ( Dan) with three collects, and follow them with the '' Anima Christi'' and seven more prayers, treating as optional even the three prescribed in the original Tridentine Missal.


Leonine Prayers

From 1884 to 1965, the Holy See prescribed the recitation after
Low Mass Low Mass (Latin ''Missa lecta'', "read Mass") is a Tridentine Mass defined officially in the Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as a Mass in which the priest does not chant the parts that the rubrics assign to him. A ...
of certain prayers, originally for the solution of the Roman Question and, after this problem was solved by the
Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty ( it, Patti Lateranensi; la, Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle ...
, "to permit tranquillity and freedom to profess the faith to be restored to the afflicted people of Russia". These prayers are known as the
Leonine Prayers The Leonine Prayers are a prescribed set of Catholic prayers for recitation by the priest and people after Low Mass required within the Roman Rite of the Latin Church from 1884 to 1965 . They are commonly called Prayers after Mass. The name derives ...
because it was
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
who on 6 January 1884 ordered their recitation throughout the world. In 1964, with effect from 7 March 1965, the Holy See ended the obligation to recite the Leonine Prayers after Low Mass.


Participation by the people

The participation of the congregation at the Tridentine Mass is interior, involving eye and heart, and exterior by mouth. Except in the Dialogue Mass form, which arose about 1910 and led to a more active exterior participation of the congregation, the people present at the Tridentine Mass do not recite out loud the prayers of the Mass. Only the server or servers join with the priest in reciting the prayers at the foot of the altar (which include the
Confiteor The (; so named from its first word, Latin for 'I confess' or 'I acknowledge') is one of the prayers that can be said during the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church. It is also said in the Luther ...
) and in speaking the other responses. Most of the prayers that the priest says are spoken inaudibly, including almost all the Mass of the Faithful: the offertory prayers, the Canon of the Mass (except for the preface and the final doxology), and (apart from the
Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the " Lamb of God" is honoured within the Catholic Mass and other Christian liturgies descending from the Latin liturgical tradition. It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and ...
) those between the
Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
and the postcommunion. At a
Solemn Mass Solemn Mass ( la, missa solemnis) is the full ceremonial form of a Mass, predominantly associated with the Tridentine Mass where it is celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon,"The essence of high Mass is not the music but the deacon ...
or Missa Cantata, a choir sings the servers' responses, except for the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar. The choir sings the
Introit The Introit (from Latin: ''introitus'', "entrance") is part of the opening of the liturgy, liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, Psalms, psalm verse and ' ...
, the
Kyrie Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...
, the Gloria, the
Gradual The gradual ( la, graduale or ) is a chant or hymn in the Mass, the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, and among some other Christians. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because it was once chanted ...
, the Tract or
Alleluia Alleluia (derived from the Hebrew ''Hallelujah'', meaning "Praise Yahweh") is a Latin phrase in Christianity used to give praise to God. In Christian worship, Alleluia is used as a liturgical chant in which that word is combined with verses of ...
, the
Credo In Christian liturgy, the credo (; Latin for "I believe") is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed – or its shorter version, the Apostles' Creed – in the Mass, either as a prayer, a spoken text, or sung as Gregorian chant or other musical sett ...
, the Offertory and Communion
antiphon An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominentl ...
s, the
Sanctus The Sanctus ( la, Sanctus, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' ( el, ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition. In Western Christianity, th ...
, and the
Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the " Lamb of God" is honoured within the Catholic Mass and other Christian liturgies descending from the Latin liturgical tradition. It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and ...
. Of these, only the five that form part of the
Ordinary of the Mass The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Mass or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed. It is contrasted to the ''pr ...
are usually sung at a Missa Cantata. In addition to the
Gregorian Chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek (language), Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed ma ...
music for these, polyphonic compositions exist, some quite elaborate. The priest largely says quietly the words of the chants and then recites other prayers while the choir continues the chant.


Different levels of celebration

There are various forms of celebration of the Tridentine Mass: *
Pontifical High Mass A Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a bishop using certain prescribed ceremonies. Although in modern English the word "pontifical" is almost exclusively associated with the pope, an ...
: celebrated by a
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
accompanied by an assisting priest,
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
, subdeacon,
thurifer A thurible (via Old French from Medieval Latin ) is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in Christian churches including the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian Church of t ...
, acolytes and other ministers, under the guidance of a priest acting as Master of Ceremonies. Most often the specific parts assigned to deacon and subdeacon are performed by priests. The parts that are said aloud are all chanted, except that the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, which before the reform of Pope Pius V were said in the sacristy, are said quietly by the bishop with the deacon and the subdeacon, while the choir sings the Introit. The main difference between a pontifical and an ordinary High Mass is that the bishop remains at his cathedra almost all the time until the offertory. * Solemn or High Mass (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''Missa solemnis''): offered by a priest accompanied by a deacon and subdeacon and the other ministers mentioned above. * Missa Cantata (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "sung mass"): celebrated by a priest without deacon and subdeacon, and thus a form of Low Mass, but with some parts (the three variable prayers, the Scripture readings, Preface, Pater Noster, and Ite Missa Est) sung by the priest, and other parts (Introit, Kyrie, Gloria, Gradual, Tract or Alleluia, Credo, Offertory Antiphon, Sanctus and Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and Communion Antiphon) sung by the choir. Incense may be used exactly as at a Solemn Mass with the exception of incensing the celebrant after the Gospel which is not done. *
Low Mass Low Mass (Latin ''Missa lecta'', "read Mass") is a Tridentine Mass defined officially in the Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as a Mass in which the priest does not chant the parts that the rubrics assign to him. A ...
: the priest sings no part of the Mass, though in some places a choir or the congregation sings, during the Mass, hymns not always directly related to the Mass. In its article "The Liturgy of the Mass", the 1917 ''
Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'' describes how, when concelebration ceased to be practised in Western Europe, Low Mass became distinguished from High Mass: :The separate celebrations then involved the building of many altars in one church and the reduction of the ritual to the simplest possible form. The deacon and subdeacon were in this case dispensed with; the celebrant took their part as well as his own. One server took the part of the choir and of all the other ministers, everything was said instead of being sung, the incense and kiss of peace were omitted. So we have the well-known rite of low Mass (''missa privata''). This then reacted on high Mass (''missa solemnis''), so that at high Mass too the celebrant himself recites everything, even though it be sung by the deacon, subdeacon, or choir. On the origin of the "Missa Cantata", the same source gives the following information: :high Mass is the norm; it is only in the complete rite with deacon and subdeacon that the ceremonies can be understood. Thus, the rubrics of the
Ordinary of the Mass The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Mass or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed. It is contrasted to the ''pr ...
always suppose that the Mass is high. Low Mass, said by a priest alone with one server, is a shortened and simplified form of the same thing. Its ritual can be explained only by a reference to high Mass. For instance, the celebrant goes over to the north side of the altar to read the Gospel, because that is the side to which the deacon goes in procession at high Mass; he turns round always by the right, because at high Mass he should not turn his back to the deacon and so on. A sung Mass (missa Cantata) is a modern compromise. It is really a low Mass, since the essence of high Mass is not the music but the deacon and subdeacon. Only in churches which have no ordained person except one priest, and in which high Mass is thus impossible, is it allowed to celebrate the Mass (on Sundays and feasts) with most of the adornment borrowed from high Mass, with singing and (generally) with incense.


Revision of the Roman Missal

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...
began in earnest the work of revising the Roman Missal with a revision of the rites of Holy Week, which, after an experimental period beginning in 1951, was made obligatory in 1955. In 1960,
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
(1958–1963) ordered the suppression of the word "perfidis" ("unbelieving" i.e. not believing in Jesus), applied to the
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s, in the rites for Good Friday. He revised the rubrics to the Order of Mass and the Breviary. Two years later, in 1962, he made some more minor modifications on the occasion of publishing a new typical edition of the Roman Missal. This is the edition authorized for use by virtue of the ''Quattuor abhinc annos'' indult (see below, under ''Present status of the Tridentine Mass''). Among the other changes he made and that were included in the 1962 Missal were: adding St. Joseph's name to the Roman Canon; eliminating the second Confiteor before Communion; suppressing 10 feasts, such as St. Peter's Chair in Rome (or, more accurately, combining both feasts of St Peter's Chair into one, as they originally had been); incorporating the abolition of 4 festal octaves and 9 vigils of feasts and other changes made by Pope Pius XII; and modifying rubrics especially for Solemn High Masses. On 4 December 1963, the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
decreed in Chapter II of its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy ''
Sacrosanctum Concilium ''Sacrosanctum Concilium'', the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, is one of the constitutions of the Second Vatican Council. It was approved by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,147 to 4 and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 4 December 1963. ...
'':
" e rite of the Mass is to be revised ... the rites are to be simplified, due care being taken to preserve their substance. Parts which with the passage of time came to be duplicated, or were added with little advantage, are to be omitted. Other parts which suffered loss through accidents of history are to be restored to the vigor they had in the days of the holy Fathers, as may seem useful or necessary. The treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly so that a richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God's word ... A suitable place may be allotted to the vernacular in Masses which are celebrated with the people ... communion under both kinds may be granted when the bishops think fit...as, for instance, to the newly ordained in the Mass of their sacred ordination, to the newly professed in the Mass of their religious profession, and to the newly baptized in the Mass which follows their baptism..."
The instruction ''Inter Oecumenici'' of 26 September 1964 initiated the application to the Mass of the decisions that the Council had taken less than a year before. Permission was given for use, only in Mass celebrated with the people, of the vernacular language, especially in the Biblical readings and the reintroduced Prayers of the Faithful, but, "until the whole of the Ordinary of the Mass has been revised," in the chants (Kyrie, Gloria, Creed, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and the entrance, offertory and communion antiphons) and in the parts that involved dialogue with the people, and in the Our Father, which the people could now recite entirely together with the priest. Most Episcopal Conferences quickly approved interim vernacular translations, generally different from country to country, and, after having them confirmed by the Holy See, published them in 1965. Other changes included the omission of Psalm 43 (42) at the start of Mass and the Last Gospel at the end, both of which Pope Pius V had first inserted into the Missal (having previously been private prayers said by the priest in the sacristy), and the Leonine Prayers of
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
. The Canon of the Mass, which continued to be recited silently, was kept in Latin. Three years later, the instruction ''Tres abhinc annos'' of 4 May 1967 gave permission for use of the vernacular even in the Canon of the Mass, and allowed it to be said audibly and even, in part, to be chanted; the vernacular could be used even at Mass celebrated without the people being present. Use of the maniple was made optional, and at three ceremonies at which the
cope The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A c ...
was previously the obligatory vestment the
chasuble The chasuble () is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. In the Eastern ...
could be used instead.
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
continued implementation of the Council's directives, ordering with Apostolic Constitution ''Missale Romanum'' of Holy Thursday, 3 April 1969, publication of a new official edition of the Roman Missal, which appeared (in Latin) in 1970.


Opposition to the latest revisions of the liturgy

Some
Traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions, and presentations of Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church before the liberal reforms of the Second Vatican Council ( ...
s reject to a greater or lesser extent the changes made since 1950. None advocate returning to the original (1570) form of the liturgy, though some may perhaps wish a re-establishment of its form before Pius X's revision of the rubrics in 1911. Some are critical of the 1955 changes in the liturgy of Palm Sunday and the Easter Triduum and in the liturgical calendar (see
General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII In 1955, Pope Pius XII made several changes to the General Roman Calendar of 1954; those changes remained in force until 1960, when Pope John XXIII decreed a new revision of the General Roman Calendar (see General Roman Calendar of 1960). The chan ...
), and instead use the General Roman Calendar as in 1954. Others accept the 1955 changes by Pius XII, but not those of Pope John XXIII. Others again, in accordance with the authorization granted by Pope Benedict XVI in '' Summorum Pontificum'', use the Missal and calendar as it was in 1962. They argue that many of the changes made to the liturgy in 1955 and onward were largely the work of liturgist
Annibale Bugnini Annibale Bugnini (14 June 1912 – 3 July 1982) was a Catholic prelate. Ordained in 1936 and named archbishop in 1972, he was secretary of the commission that worked on the reform of the Catholic liturgy that followed the Second Vatican Counci ...
, whom traditionalists say was more interested in innovation than the preservation of the apostolic traditions of the Church. Some of them argue that, unlike earlier reforms, the revision of 1969-1970 which replaced the Tridentine Mass with the Mass of Pope Paul VI represented a major break with the past. They consider that the content of the revised liturgy is, in Catholic terms, seriously deficient and defective; some hold that it is displeasing to God, and that no Catholic should attend it. When a preliminary text of two of the sections of the revised Missal was published in 1969, Archbishop
Marcel Lefebvre Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (; 29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Catholic archbishop who greatly influenced modern traditional Catholicism. In 1970, he founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a community to tra ...
(who later established
Society of Saint Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Sec ...
) gathered a group of twelve theologians, who, under his direction, wrote a study of the text. They stated that it "represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass as it was formulated in Session 22 of the Council of Trent". Cardinal
Alfredo Ottaviani Alfredo Ottaviani (29 October 1890 – 3 August 1979) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII named him cardinal in 1953. He served as secretary of the Holy Office in the Roman Curia from 1959 to 1966 when that dicaste ...
, a former Prefect of the Sacred
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...
, supported this study with a letter of 25 September 1969 to Pope Paul VI. Cardinal
Antonio Bacci Antonio Bacci (4 September 1885 – 20 January 1971) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Secretary of Briefs to Princes from 1931 to 1960, when he was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope John XXIII. He is perhap ...
signed the same letter. The critical study became known as " the Ottaviani Intervention". Cardinal Ottaviani subsequently stated in writing that he had not intended his letter to be made public, and that Pope Paul VI's doctrinal exposition, on 19 November and 26 November 1969, of the revised liturgy in its definitive form meant that "no one can be genuinely scandalized any more". Jean Madiran, a critic of Vatican II and founder-editor of the French journal ''Itinéraires'', claimed that this letter was fraudulently presented to the elderly and already blind cardinal for his signature by his secretary, Monsignor (and future Cardinal) Gilberto Agustoni, and that Agustoni resigned shortly afterwards. This allegation remains unproven, and Madiran himself was not an eyewitness of the alleged deception. From the 1960s onwards, Western countries have experienced a drop in Mass attendance (in the United States, from 75% of Catholics attending in 1958 to 25% attending by 2002). These same countries saw a decline in seminary enrollments and in the number of priests (in the United States, from 1,575 ordinations in 1954 to 450 in 2002), and a general erosion of belief in the doctrines of the Catholic faith. Opponents of the revision of the Mass liturgy argue, citing opinion poll evidence in their support, that the revision contributed to this decline. Others, pointing, among other considerations, to the fact that, globally, there are more priests and seminarians now than in previous years (in 1970, there were 72,991 major seminarians worldwide, in 2002, there were 113,199, an increase of 55%, at a time, however, when there was an increase of global population of 64%), suggests that the apparent decline of Catholic practice in the West is due to the general influence of secularism and liberalism on Western societies rather than to developments within the Church. In the United States however, Traditional Catholic parishes have been growing since 2007 even as overall Catholic attendance continues to decline.


Attitudes of Popes since the Second Vatican Council


Pope Paul VI

Following the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in 1969-1970, the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
granted a significant number of permissions for the use of the former liturgy. For example, elderly priests were not required to switch to celebrating the new form. In England and Wales, occasional celebrations of the Tridentine Mass were allowed in virtue of what became known as the " Agatha Christie indult". However, there was no general worldwide legal framework allowing for the celebration of the rite. Following the rise of the
Traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions, and presentations of Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church before the liberal reforms of the Second Vatican Council ( ...
movement in the 1970s, Pope Paul VI reportedly declined to liberalise its use further on the grounds that it had become a politically charged symbol associated with opposition to his policies.


Pope John Paul II

In 1984, the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
sent a letter known as '' Quattuor abhinc annos'' to the presidents of the world's
Episcopal Conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...
s. This document empowered diocesan bishops to authorise, on certain conditions, celebrations of the Tridentine Mass for priests and laypeople who requested them. In 1988, following the excommunication of Archbishop
Marcel Lefebvre Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (; 29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a French Catholic archbishop who greatly influenced modern traditional Catholicism. In 1970, he founded the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a community to tra ...
and four bishops that he had consecrated, the Pope issued a further document, a ''
motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...
'' known as ''
Ecclesia Dei ''Ecclesia Dei'' is the document Pope John Paul II issued on 2 July 1988 in reaction to the Ecône consecrations, in which four priests of the Society of Saint Pius X were ordained as bishops despite an express prohibition by the Holy See. The ...
'', which stated that "respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of all those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition". The Pope urged bishops to give "a wide and generous application" to the provisions of ''Quattuor abhinc annos'', and established the Pontifical Commission ''Ecclesia Dei'' to oversee relations between Rome and Traditionalist Catholics. The Holy See itself granted authorisation to use the Tridentine Mass to a significant number of priests and priestly societies, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, the
Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP; la, Institutum Christi Regis Summi Sacerdotis []; french: Institut du Christ Roi Souverain Prêtre []) is a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right in communion with ...
, and the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney.


Pope Benedict XVI

As a cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger was regarded as having a particular interest in the liturgy, and as being favourable towards the pre-Vatican II Mass. He criticized the erratic way in which, contrary to official policy, many priests celebrated the post-Vatican II form. In September 2006, the Pontifical Commission ''Ecclesia Dei'' established the
Institute of the Good Shepherd The Institute of the Good Shepherd (french: Institut du Bon Pasteur, la, Institutum a Bono Pastore) is a Catholic society of apostolic life of traditionalist Catholic priests promoting Tridentine Mass and other traditional sacraments, in full ...
, made up of former members of the Society of St. Pius X, in Bordeaux, France, with permission to use the Tridentine liturgy. This step was met with some discontent from French clergy, and thirty priests wrote an open letter to the Pope. Consistently with its previous policy, the Society of St Pius X rejected the move. Following repeated rumours that the use of the Tridentine Mass would be liberalised, the Pope issued a ''
motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...
'' called '' Summorum Pontificum'' on 7 July 2007, together with an accompanying letter to the world's Bishops. The Pope declared that "the Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the ''lex orandi'' (law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nevertheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by St. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same 'Lex orandi'". He further stated that "the 1962 Missal ... was never juridically abrogated". He replaced with new rules those of ''Quattuor Abhinc Annos'' on use of the older form: essentially, authorization for using the 1962 form for parish Masses and those celebrated on public occasions such as a wedding is devolved from the local bishop to the priest in charge of a church, and "any priest of the Latin rite" may use the 1962 Roman Missal in "Masses celebrated without the people", a term that does not exclude attendance by other worshippers, lay or clergy. While requests by groups of Catholics wishing to use the Tridentine liturgy in parish Masses are to be dealt with by the parish priest (or the rector of the church) rather than, as before, by the local bishop, the Pope and Cardinal Darío Castrillón stated that the bishops' authority is not thereby undermined.


Pope Francis

Pope Francis on the 16th of July 2021 released an
Apostolic Letter Ecclesiastical letters are publications or announcements of the organs of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authority, e.g. the synods, but more particularly of pope and bishops, addressed to the faithful in the form of letters. Letters of the pop ...
''
Motu Proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...
'', '' Traditionis custodes'', on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the Reform of 1970. In ''Traditionis custodes'', the Pope says "the liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique expression of the ''
lex orandi ''Lex orandi, lex credendi'' (Latin: "the law of what is prayed sthe law of what is believed"), sometimes expanded as ''Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi'' (Latin: "the law of what is prayed swhat is believed sthe law of what is lived"), is ...
'' of the Roman Rite". He also greatly restricted the use of the Tridentine Mass. Pope Francis added that it is the exclusive competence of the local bishop to authorize the use of the 1962 Roman Missal in his diocese, according to the guidelines of the Apostolic See. Pope Francis expressed to the Bishops of the world in his letter accompanying the motu proprio that there is a need in "due time" for those who are attached to the 1962 Mass to return to the celebration of the Mass of Paul VI. In June 2022, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter entitled, "Desiderio Desideravi", where he stated that he did not believe the 1962 Missal was the path forward for the Church, insisting that the Church could not "go back to the ritual form which the Council Fathers sought the need to reform".


Present regulations

The regulations set out in '' Traditionis custodes'' provide that: * The bishop of the diocese is the sole authority to decide whether the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal may take place in his diocese. He must abide by the following norms: **The bishop must decide the locations and times when Mass according to the 1962 rubrics may take place. This cannot occur within parochial churches, nor can the bishop erect new personal parishes dedicated to the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missal. **The bishop must ensure that the existing communities that celebrate Mass according to the 1962 rubrics are effective for the spiritual growth of his people, and he has the option to revoke the permissions given to these communities. He may not "authorize" the establishment of new groups that gather for celebration according to the 1962 Roman Missal. **The bishop should appoint a priest to act as a delegate for the pastoral care of the groups of the faithful attached to the 1962 liturgical rites. The priest must understand the Missal of 1962 well, must be well-versed in ecclesial Latin, and must exhibit pastoral charity and a desire for ecclesial communion. *Priests ordained before the publication of ''Traditionis custodes'' (16 July 2021) who celebrated Mass according to the 1962 Missal before the publication of ''Traditionis custodes'' should request permission from the bishop of the diocese to continue to celebrate Mass according to the 1962 rubrics. *Priests ordained after the publication of ''Traditionis custodes'' must submit a formal request to the bishop of the diocese in order to gain permission to celebrate Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal. The bishop must then consult the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
before the bishop grants permission to the priest. *The scriptural readings in a Mass celebrated according to the 1962 Missal are to be proclaimed in the vernacular according to the translation approved by the respective Episcopal Conference. *Communities belonging to institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life which use the 1962 Missal for conventual or "community" celebration in their oratories fall under the competence of the
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL; la, Congregatio pro Institutis Vitae Consecratae et Soci ...
, which has the authority to grant and revoke permission to celebrate Mass according to the 1962 Missal. The ''motu proprio Traditionis custodes'' abrogates all previous norms, instructions, permissions and customs that do not conform to it. In December 2021, additional restrictions and guidelines were issued by the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...
in the form of a '' Responsa ad dubia:'' * if a non-
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
, oratory or
chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
cannot be found for a group to gather to celebrate the Mass according to the 1962 Missal, the diocesan bishop can ask the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
for permission to use a parish church, however the Mass should not be listed in the parish schedule and when a non-parish church, oratory or chapel becomes available, the permission to celebrate the Mass in the parish church will be withdrawn. * The diocesan bishop is only authorized to grant permission to personal parishes dedicated to the celebration of the 1962 Missal, to be able to celebrate the sacraments of
Baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
,
Reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedra ...
,
Matrimony Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
and
Extreme Unction In the Catholic Church, the anointing of the sick, also known as Extreme Unction, is a Catholic sacrament that is administered to a Catholic "who, having reached the age of reason, begins to be in danger due to sickness or old age", except in t ...
according to the pre-Vatican II
Roman Ritual The ''Roman Ritual'' ( la, Rituale Romanum) is one of the official liturgical books of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. It contains all of the services which may be performed by a priest or deacon which are not contained within either the '' ...
. * The diocesan bishop is not authorized to grant permission for the use of the Pontificale Romanum (the Pontifical Missal) issued in 1962. This also means that the sacraments of Holy Orders and Confirmation may only be celebrated in the post-Vatican II form. * In order for a priest to be granted permission to celebrate the Mass according to the Missal of 1962, he must recognize the validity and legitimacy of concelebration and is not to refuse to concelebrate at the diocesan
Chrism Mass The Chrism Mass is a religious service held in Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism. The Chrism Mass is one of the most solemn and important liturgies of the Christian liturgical calendar. The ancient Christian Apostolic Tradition (c ...
. * No vernacular lectionaries may be published that reproduce the cycle of readings from the 1962 Rite. * The faculty to celebrate according to the 1962 missal, granted by a diocesan bishop to a priest, is restricted to the territory of that diocese. * Deacons and instituted ministers participating in the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 missal, must have permission from the diocesan bishop to do so. * A priest who has been granted faculties to celebrate the 1962 missal is not permitted to celebrate both the Mass according to the 1962 missal and the post-Vatican II missal on the same day. In December 2021, in an interview with the
National Catholic Register The ''National Catholic Register'' is a Catholic newspaper in the United States. It was founded on November 8, 1927, by Matthew J. Smith as the national edition of the '' Denver Catholic Register''. The ''Registers current owner is the Ete ...
,
Arthur Roche Arthur Roche (born 6 March 1950) is an English cardinal of the Catholic Church who has served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship since 2021. He previously served as secretary of the congregation from 2012 to 2021. Prior to his s ...
, the Prefect for the Congregation in charge of the implementation of Traditionis Custodes, reiterated Pope Francis' statement that the Mass according to the Missal promulgated by Paul VI and John Paul II, is "the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite". Roche also emphasized that "the liturgy is never simply a matter of personal tastes or preference" and that the lex orandi is "determined by the Church and not individual members". Roche also stated that continuing to allow the celebration of Mass according to the Tridentine form was a concession and that the promotion of the Tridentine Mass has "been curtailed". In February 2022, the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, a society of apostolic life dedicated to the celebration of the Traditional Liturgy, was granted full permission to celebrate the Traditional Mass, Breviary, Sacraments and the Pontifical Missal. The permission is restricted to the Fraternity's churches and oratories, unless the local ordinary grants permission for priests of the fraternity to celebrate elsewhere in the Diocese, with the exception of private masses.


Present practice

The publication of ''Summorum Pontificum'' has led to an increase in the number of regularly scheduled public Tridentine Masses. On 14 June 2008 Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos told a London press conference that Pope Benedict wanted every parish to offer both the old and the new forms for Sunday Mass. In order to provide for priests who celebrate the Tridentine Mass, publishers have issued facsimiles or reprintings of old missals. There were two new printings of the 1962 Tridentine Missal in 2004: one, with the imprimatur of
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
Fabian Bruskewitz of
Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...
, by Baronius Press in association with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter; the other by the Society of St. Pius X's publishing house,
Angelus Press The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Seco ...
. In 2008 PCP Books also produced a facsimile of the 1962 altar missal. On March 25, 2020 the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...
issued two decrees giving new Eucharistic prefaces and provision for the optional celebration of more recent saints in the Tridentine form. The decree ''Quo magis'' provides seven new Eucharistic prefaces for the extraordinary form of the Mass, which may be used for particular occasions, such as votive Masses or the feast days of saints. The second decree, ''Cum sanctissima'', establishes a provision for the celebration of the third class feasts of saints canonized after July 1960, whose memorials were established after the 1962 Roman Missal. ''Cum sanctissima'' includes a list of 70 third class feasts, equivalent to a memorial in the ordinary form. On 16 July 2021
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. ...
issued a
motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...
entitled '' Traditionis Custodes'' in which he regulates the use of the 1962 Roman Missal. The new circumstances of Extraordinary Form celebration established by ''Traditionis Custodes'' are more restrictive than those of ''Summorum Pontificum'' and placed emphasis on celebration of the Ordinary Form according to the
liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of the Catholic C ...
s of Popes Paul VI and John Paul II as "the unique expression of the ''lex orandi'' of the Roman Rite.". On 18 December 2021, the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...
issued a Responsa regarding certain provisions of Traditionis Custodes.


Demography

In December 2021, it was noted that communities regularly attending the Tridentine Mass "show slow but steady growth each year and their members tend to be younger than average churchgoers." It has been estimated, in December 2021 that in the US, around 150 000 Catholics regularly attended the Tridentine Mass. Those Catholics represented 1% of the at the time 21 million regularly mass-going Catholics in the US. It was also estimated, still in December 2021, that there were possibly 60 000 Traditionalist Catholics in France. Those made up possibly 4% to 7% of all practicing Catholics in the country. An important part of Traditionalist Catholics of France are in groups not in communion with the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
.


See also

*
List of communities using the Tridentine Mass Despite the Tridentine Mass being supplanted by a new form of the Roman Rite Mass, some communities continued celebrating pre-conciliar rites or adopted them later. This includes priestly societies and religious institutes which use some pre-1 ...
*
Sacred language A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Concept A sacr ...
*
Western Rite Orthodoxy Western Rite Orthodoxy, also called Western Orthodoxy or the Orthodox Western Rite, are congregations within the Eastern Orthodox tradition which perform their liturgy in Western forms. Besides altered versions of the Tridentine Mass, congrega ...
*
Pre-Tridentine Mass Pre-Tridentine Mass refers to the variants of the liturgical rite of Mass in Rome before 1570, when, with his bull ''Quo primum'', Pope Pius V made the Roman Missal, as revised by him, obligatory throughout the Latin Church, except for those plac ...
*
Communion-plate A communion-plate is a metal plate held under the chin of a communicant while receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. Its use was common in the last part of the nineteenth century and during most of the twentieth. Terminology The commu ...
* ''
Ad orientem ''Ad orientem'', meaning "to the east" in Ecclesiastical Latin, is a phrase used to describe the eastward orientation of Christian prayer and Christian worship, comprising the preposition ''ad'' (toward) and ''oriens'' (rising, sunrise, east), ...
'' (direction the priest stands, as opposed to '' Versus populum'')


References


Notes


Citations


Further reading

* Woods, Thomas E., ''Sacred Then and Sacred Now: The Return of the Old Latin Mass'' (Roman Catholic Books, 2008 ) * Hull, Geoffrey, ''The Banished Heart: Origins of Heteropraxis in the Catholic Church'', 1995, rpt. T&T Clark/Continuum, London 2010. * Aillet, Marc, ''The old Mass and the new : explaining the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI'' (Ignatius Press 2010 ) * Jungmann, Joseph, ''The Mass Of The Roman Rite : Its Origins and Development (Missarum Sollemnia)'', volume 1, (Christian Classics 1951- )


External links


Full texts of Tridentine Roman Missals


1962 typical edition of the Roman Missal
Accurately reproduced, but only in black and white. 78 Mb.

* ttps://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC05532785&id=YOtZKUW7ZYIC&pg=RA2-PR7&lpg=RA2-PR7&dq=missale&as_brr=1#PPP6,M1 Missale Romanum published by Pustet, 1894 (1884 typical edition)br> Roman Missal, published by Pustet, 1862 (1634 typical edition, updated to 1862)Missale Romanum, 1577, (1570 typical edition)


Texts of parts of the Tridentine Missal (post-1604)


English translation of the ''Ritus servandus in celebratione Missae''
(The 1962 Missal left this text unaltered, but completely revised the ''Rubricae generales Missalis Romani''. The English text, titled "Rubrics of the Missale Romanum 1962", is in fact a translation of the ''Ritus servandus'', not of the ''Rubricae generales''.)

(Latin text with English translation)

(The text is presented as that of the 1962 edition, but the spelling of the Latin, e.g. "coelum", "quotidianum", use of the letter J, shows that, apart from the insertion of "sed et beati Ioseph eiusdem Virginis Sponsi" in the Canon of the Mass, it is really the 1920 text, identical with the 1962 text except for spelling and this insertion)
Ordinary of the Mass, with English translation
(This text too is presented as that of the 1962 edition, but is the same hybrid text as in the previous site)

(The 1920 text, with "sed et beati Ioseph eiusdem Virginis Sponsi" inserted into the Canon)
F. X. Lasance, ''The New Roman Missal'' (1942)
(a hand missal for the faithful)
The Roman Missal adapted to the use of the laity from the Missale Romanum
incorporating rubrical changes by Pope
Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...
in 1913
A Manual of Prayers for the Catholic Laity: The Official Prayerbook of the Catholic Church (1896)"> A Manual of Prayers for the Catholic Laity: The Official Prayerbook of the Catholic Church (1896)
Official pew missalette adopted for American Catholics by the
Third Plenary Council of Baltimore The Plenary Councils of Baltimore were three national meetings of Catholic bishops in the United States in 1852, 1866 and 1884 in Baltimore, Maryland. During the early history of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States all of the diocese ...
.
The Catholic's Vade Mecum: A Select Manual of Prayers for Daily Use
An English Catholic prayer book and missalette published in 1850.
Roman Missal for the Use of the Laity
in English and partly in Latin, published in London in 1806. Its Canon of the Mass includes the mention, by name, of the king.
The Saint John Fisher Missale
Text and plainchant of the Order of Mass and other parts of the 1962 Roman Missal (e.g., propers of Sundays and First and Second Class feasts), interpolated with elements removed from the Roman Missal after 1900 but still used in many places, and with material from sources such as the pre-1570 English '' Sarum Missal'', material that was thus never part of the Missal authorized by Pope Pius V (se
Introduction
.


History



* ttp://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/DocumentContents/Index/2/SubIndex/41/DocumentIndex/314 ''Cum santissimum'', promulgating the 1604 Roman Missal (Pope Clement VIII)
''Si quid est'', promulgating the 1634 Roman Missal (Pope Urban VIII)


* ttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09790b.htm Liturgy of the Mass (article in ''Catholic Encyclopedia'')


Comparison with non-Roman Western rites and uses


Tridentine Ordinary of the Mass compared with the Lyonese, Bragan, Dominican, Carthusian, Carmelite, Ambrosian and MozarabicThe ancient liturgy of the Church of England, according to the uses of Sarum, Bangor, York & Hereford and the modern Roman liturgy arranged in parallel columns
Tridentine Ordinary of the Mass and Canon compared with the Medieval English uses of Sarum, Bangor, York and Hereford.


Media


Tridentine Mass celebrated in Notre-Dame in Paris in 2017Multimedia tutorial on the Tridentine Mass: Photos, Videos, and Audio


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130130082723/http://www.latinmassireland.org/thelatinmass/latinmass_audio.html Audio files - Text of the MassLatin Mass Society of Ireland.
Video of a 1941 Solemn High Mass narrated by Fulton SheenVideo of a Solemn High Mass celebrated at the SSPX Seminary of St. Cure d'Ars, Flavigny, FranceVideo of a Traditional Mass for Christmas
held at St. Roch's in West Bangor, Pa. *
Photographs of a Traditional (Tridentine) Mass


Directories of Latin Masses


Worldwide Latin Mass directory
* ttp://latinmassdir.org/ List of pre-1970-style Masses with approval of the Holy See, worldwide {{Catholic Church 1570 establishments in Italy