The Revision of the Roman Rite : How did it happen?

Celebration of Mass according to
the 1965 Missale Romanum.

Among the many over-reaching claims made in the proclamations of this painful Pontificate is one that stated that the revisions of the Roman Rite - specifically those which took place in and after the year 1969 - are "irreformable".  Only those who try to ignore or hide history could possibly come up with such a statement.  Graves and funerary monuments abound of those who considered their work to be permanent or irreformable.  Perhaps this is a small consolation for those suffering the agonies of the Church at this present time.

One of the lessons to be learned, however, from the Revision of the Liturgical books, which took place (mainly) between the years 1965 - 1970 is that changes took place in stages.

The first stage - introducing vernacular into the Rite of Mass and the celebration of the Sacraments was very dramatic and well-received.  Why it was so popular would bear a great deal of discussion, beyond the scope of this brief overview.  But there were no widespread protests against the introduction of the vernacular into the Roman Rite.  It seemed such a good idea, at least at first.  

Changes to the ritual actions of the Mass took place by degrees and - except for the innovation of the celebration of Mass facing the people at freestanding altars, went by without a great deal of handwringing or even attention, except of course for the celebrant and his ministers.  Ritually, so much was altered step-by-step in this period, that when the New Order of Mass came into effect on the First Sunday of Advent, 1969, it was seen quite clearly as just another revision amongst a continuum of revisions. That was the strategy and it was successful.

In a previous post, we presented the first of the Liturgical books to be released as a result of the decree of the Second Vatican Council Sacrosanctum Concilium.  We will continue to examine the many Anglophone Missals which were produced between 1964 and 1968 in further posts. Retrospectively, the form of the Roman Rite which existed between these two years has become known as the Interim Rite.  During those years, of course, such a term was not known, since that would have given the game away.  Except for those working behind the scenes, no one in 1964 / 65 would have believed that the Roman Rite would have been so drastically altered, such that Old and New bear only a basic resemblance.

For a younger generation the Missals of the so-called Interim Rite are largely unknown.  They make for a most interesting study.

The celebrant giving the Blessing during a
celebration of the Mass of the "Interim Rite".
The missal resting upon the altar is one of the Latin & vernacular
editions 1965-1968.

AMDG