The Agatha Christie indult is a nickname applied to the permission granted in 1971 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

for the use of the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or ''usus antiquior'' (), Vetus Ordo or the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or the Traditional Rite, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. '' Indult'' is a term from

Catholic canon law The canon law of the Catholic Church () is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the system of religious laws and ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Catholic Church to regul ...

referring to a permission to do something that would otherwise be forbidden, while

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

was an English writer who was one of the many famous signatories of the petition for the canon law.

Description

Following the introduction of the

Mass of Paul VI The Mass of Paul VI, also known as the Ordinary Form or , is the most commonly used Catholic liturgy, liturgy in the Catholic Church. It was Promulgation (Catholic canon law), promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 and its liturgical books were p ...

to replace the

in 1969–1970, a petition was sent to the Pope asking that the Tridentine form of the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

be permitted to continue for those who wished in England and Wales. Some English Catholics had an attachment to the Tridentine Mass, as it was the form celebrated by the English Martyrs of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, and by priests in periods when Catholicism was subjected to sometimes severe persecution. Moreover, the petition noted the exceptional artistic and cultural heritage of the Tridentine Mass, and was signed by many prominent non-Catholic figures in British society, including

, Vladimir Ashkenazy,

Kenneth Clark Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director and broadcaster. His expertise covered a wide range of artists and periods, but he is particularly associated with Italian Renaissa ...

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

, F. R. Leavis,

Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Anglo-Irish poet and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudony ...

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973) was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford family#Mitford sisters, Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the ...

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her fi ...

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She possessed a voice ...

, as well as two

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishops, those of Exeter and of Ripon. Cardinal John Carmel Heenan, Archbishop of Westminster approached Pope Paul VI with the petition and asked that use of the Tridentine Mass be permitted, and the Pope approved the request on 5 November 1971. Supposedly, the Pope had read the letter and exclaimed in excitement, “Ah! Agatha Christie!”, and so decided to grant it, thus giving the indult its nickname. Between then and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

’s worldwide indult in 1984, the Bishops of England and Wales were allowed to grant permission for occasional celebrations of Mass in the Old Rite, with the modifications introduced in 1965 and 1967. Indult Letter from Divine Worship Nov 5 1971

Indult Letter from Divine Worship Nov 5 1971

Signatories of the original appeal

The following were signatories of the original petition to Pope Paul VI: * Harold Acton * Vladimir Ashkenazy * John Bayler * Lennox Berkeley * Maurice Bowra *

Nevill Coghill Nevill Henry Kendal Aylmer Coghill (19 April 1899 – 6 November 1980) was an Anglo-Irish literary scholar, known especially for his modern-English version of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''. He was an associate of the literary discuss ...

Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine ''Horizon (British magazine), Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote ''Enemies of Pro ...

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom ...

* Hugh Delargy * Robert Exeter * Miles Fitzalan-Howard * Constantine Fitzgibbon * William Glock * Magdalen Goffin *

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

* Ian Greenlees * Joseph Grimond * Harman Grisewood * Colin Hardie * Rupert Hart-Davis * Barbara Hepworth *

Auberon Herbert Hon. Auberon Edward William Molyneux Herbert (18 June 1838 – 5 November 1906) was an English writer, theorist, philosopher, and 19th century Individualism, individualist. He was a son of the Henry John George Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon, ...

* John Jolliffe * David Jones *

Osbert Lancaster Sir Osbert Lancaster (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian, stage designer and author. He was known for his cartoons in the British press, and for his lifelong work to inform the general publi ...

* F. R. Leavis *

* Compton Mackenzie * George Malcolm * Max Mallowan * Alfred Marnau *

* Raymond Mortimer *

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was a conservative British journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, i ...

* John Murray * Seán Ó Faoláin * E. J. Oliver * Oxford and Asquith * William Plomer * Kathleen Raine *

William Rees-Mogg William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg (14 July 192829 December 2012) was a British newspaper journalist who was Editor of ''The Times'' from 1967 to 1981. In the late 1970s, he served as High Sheriff of Somerset, and in the 1980s was Chairman of ...

* Ralph Richardson * John Ripon * Charles Russell * Rivers Scott *

* Philip Toynbee * Martin Turnell * Bernard WallThe Bernard and Barbara Wall Papers
, Georgetown University Library * Patrick Wall * E. I. Watkin * R. C. Zaehner {{div col end

References

External links

The "Heenan" Indult
- The Latin Mass Society website
Text of the original appeal
-

Institute of Christ the King The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, , abbreviated as ICKSP and ICRSS, is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right in communion with the Holy See of the Catholic Church. The institute has the stated goal of honouring God and ...

website Tridentine Mass Catholic Church in England and Wales Agatha Christie

Description

Signatories of the original appeal

See also

References

External links