The Revision of the Roman Rite : 1964 - 1970

Celebration of Mass according to
the 1965 Missale Romanum.

Among the many over-reaching claims made during the Troubles of the twelve years happily concluded in 2025 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 still suffering the after-effects of Traditionis Custodes.

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 English-language 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  

Suscipe Sancta Trinitas

One of the prayers which didn't survive the Missale Romanum final cut in 1970 was this one:

Accept, holy Trinity, this offering which we make to you in remembrance of the passion, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in honour of blessed Mary ever Virgin, of blessed John the Baptist, of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, of those whose relics rest here, and of all the Saints. To them may it bring honour, and to us salvation; and may they, whose memory we keep on earth, be pleased to intercede for us in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

This beautiful prayer, intended to be recited quietly after the washing of the hands during the Preparation of Gifts or Offertory, is a summary of the things a Catholic should keep in mind when praying the Mass. It reminds us firstly that all our worship is offered to the One God, who is a Trinity of Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Secondly, in reflecting the Anamnesis after the consecration, the prayer insists on the unity of Christ’s Paschal Mystery that is re-presented for us in sacramental form: His Passion, Resurrection and Ascension. Finally, it asserts that a secondary end of the Mass is the honour of the Saints (that is, the victory of Christ in His members is being praised), and accordingly it begs their intercession for us on Earth. 

One can only wonder at the mentality which saw fit to excise this prayer from the Mass. If there was one prayer that ought to have been retained at the Offertory, this was the one. After washing his hands and before inviting the people to prayer (Pray, brethren), the celebrant bowed before the altar and quietly prayed the Suscipe Sancta Trinitas.

If you are a priest reading this, you might consider praying this prayer at the Offertory when you offer the Ordinary Form of the Roman Mass. If you pray it according to the rubrics of the 1962 Missale Romanum, (namely bowed and silently) no one in the pews will be disturbed.  We won't tell Cardinal Roche.

How beautiful it would be if once again this prayer were recited at every Mass!  The Angels would rejoice.

The Throw-away Culture

 

The throw-away society we live in, where the value of anything is measured in short-term satisfaction, is consumerist and ungodly.  The Church is not immune from such a mentality, unfortunately.  Vestments can be purchased ONLINE quite readily and affordably and the merit of this is all measured by convenience.

The Saint Bede Studio wishes to offer an alternative to this culture.  Our vestments are made to last decades (if well cared-for).  They are the product of artistic and careful design, not mass-production (no pun intended).

One such is shewn in this post - a glimpse of a set of green vestments in the mediaeval style.  The vestments were made from a lovely shade of English ecclesiastical brocade and lined in taffeta of a deep red colour.  

The ornament was formed from a lovely braid in colours of red and ivory, upon black.  These vestments are simple in their ornamentation, but striking.  The maniple is finished with solid fringing in colours of green and ivory.  There is no need here for fine embroideries, but the effect is created with strong colours and contrasts.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Saint Camillus de Lellis

A kindly priest customer of the Studio sent us this rare portrait of Saint Camillus de Lellis (1550-1614), co-Patron Saint of Nurses.  Saint Camillus spent most of his life caring for the sick. Read more about him here.

Saint Camillus was ordained a priest in 1584 by the last Catholic English bishop, Lord Thomas Goldwell. 

The adjacent image of Saint Camillus is said to be only contemporaneous portrait of him and shews him during the Offertory of the Mass.  The Saint is wearing a style of chasuble common in the sixteenth century and often associated with Saint Philip Neri. Saint Philip was a spiritual mentor of Saint Camillus.

The chasuble is made from an ivory-coloured silk brocade interwoven with gold, but perhaps its most interest feature is its orphrey ornamentation.  The orphrey appears to be formed from a woven braid in colours of black and gold on an off-white base.  Most interesting is the design of this braid, being a series of interlinked geometric motifs: quite unlike the style of ornament found on other chasubles of this period and in the two centuries following.

AMDG

The Bidding Prayers

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council Sacrosanctum Concilium laid down the desire of the Fathers for the restoration of intercessions during the celebration of Mass :

53. The “common prayer” or “prayer of the faithful” is to be restored after the gospel and homily, especially on Sundays and holidays of obligation. By this prayer - in which the people are to take part - intercession will be made for holy Church, for the civil authorities, for those oppressed by various needs, for all mankind, and for the salvation of the entire world.

This paragraph made reference to Saint Paul’s admonition at 1 Tim. 2:1-2. This paragraph is found – with only slight alterations – in the General Instructions on the Roman Missal.

Such intercessions are, therefore, of Apostolic origin, and were everywhere known by the time of Saint Augustine. The Solemn Orations of the Good Friday afternoon Liturgy were the only survival of such intercessions in the Roman Missal for centuries. In the East, however, they were preserved in the unvarying Litanies, or Ektenia that are prayed throughout the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. From the East, such intercessions made their way during the first millennium into the various Rites in England and, centuries later, were incorporated into the Services of the Church of England, long after they had ceased being a usual feature of the Roman Rite.

Anciently, the intercessions formed part of non-Eucharistic prayer service (sometimes called a Synaxis). But when such services came to be usually celebrated immediately before the Eucharistic Liturgy, the intercessions gradually fell into disuse. This was because intercessions made during the Eucharistic Liturgy often repeated those found in the Synaxis. Such was the origin of the Roman Mass being described in two parts: the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful.

What is found in almost all the ancient examples of these intercessions are common intentions, which were summarised and made explicit by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council.

It was never envisaged by the Council - nor was it part of the ancient practice - that such intercessions vary on a daily basis, nor that there be any inclusion of extemporaneous prayer. It might easily be argued that the Council Fathers wished that these intercessions would become fixed in people’s consciousness, by being prayed week after week. Such is the practice with our Eastern brethren.

Upon this simple concept outlined by the Council Fathers, there have been many accretions over the last 50 years. Not uncommonly, we find intercessions anaemic in their theological content and not specifically Christian in their outlook. We commonly find the intercessions to be linked to the Propers of the Mass, and the lections of the Mass of the Day, as if “theme” were all-important. But this was never intended by the Council Fathers. Furthermore, a new and more noble translation of the Roman Missal for the English-speaking world has highlighted the often unsacral, even trite expression of these intercessions. But even the formulae found in the Roman Missal are so terse as easily to be described as bland.

AMDG

The Mandatum

A 19th century engraving depicting the Pope, surrounded
by the Papal Court washing the feet of thirteen
poor men of Rome.
This rite took place in the Sistine Chapel on the
morning of Maundy Thursday.

The return to a more traditional liturgical praxis of Holy Week in the happy reign of Leo XIV brings a refreshment to those troubled by the developments of his predecessor. 

In this post, we wish to give an outline of the history of the Mandatum in order to present reasons why the significance of the Rite is open to different interpretations and philosophies.

The Catholic Encyclopædia (1907-1914) has an article on the history of the Mandatum, written by Herbert Thurston SJ, of which the following is an extract.  Father Thurston had written previously about the Mandatum in his monograph Lent and Holy Week (1904):

This tradition, we may believe, has never been interrupted, though the evidence in the early centuries is scattered and fitful. For example the Council of Elvira (A.D. 300) in Canon 48 directs that the feet of those about to be baptised are not to be washed by priests but presumably by clerics or at least lay persons. This practice of washing the feet at baptism was long maintained in Gaul, Milan, and Ireland, but it was not apparently known in Rome or in the East. In Africa the nexus between this ceremony and baptism became so close that there seemed danger of its being mistaken for an integral part of the rite of baptism itself (Augustine, Ep. LV, Ad Jan., n. 33). Hence the washing of the feet was in many places assigned to another day than that on which the baptism took place. In the religious orders the ceremony found favour as a practice of charity and humility. The Rule of St. Benedict directs that it should be performed every Saturday for all the community by him who exercised the office of cook for the week; while it was also enjoined that the abbot and the brethren were to wash the feet of those who were received as guests. The act was a religious one and was to be accompanied by prayers and psalmody, "for in our guests Christ Himself is honoured and received". The liturgical washing of feet (if we can trust the negative evidence of our early records) seems only to have established itself in East and West at a comparatively late date. In 694 the Seventeenth Synod of Toledo commanded all bishops and priests in a position of superiority under pain of excommunication to wash the feet of those subject to them. The matter is also discussed by Amalarius and other liturgists of the ninth century. Whether the custom of holding this Maundy (from Mandatum novum do vobis, the first words of the initial Antiphon) on Maundy Thursday, developed out of the baptismal practice originally attached to that day does not seem quite clear, but it soon became a universal custom in cathedral and collegiate churches. In the latter half of the twelfth century the pope washed the feet of twelve sub-deacons after his Mass and of thirteen poor men after his dinner. The Caeremoniale Episcoporum (1600) directs that the bishop is to wash the feet either of thirteen poor men or of thirteen of his canons. The bishop and his assistants are vested and the Gospel Ante diem festum paschae is ceremonially sung with incense and lights at the beginning of the function. Most of the sovereigns of Europe used also formerly to perform the Maundy. The custom is still retained at the Austrian and Spanish courts.

A number of points may be made here.  Although the origin of the Mandatum is a Divine Precept, which the Church has since earliest times considered binding, its expression and its symbolism are by no means clear in liturgical history. On the one hand, it is associated with the Catechumenate, on the other hand with the poor; yet again, a demonstration of the attitude of service which a bishop or religious superior ought to have towards his community.

The question of the Mandatum being linked to Ordination to the ministerial priesthood is somewhat less clear, although it is often spoken about.

What is quite clear, amongst various uncertainties, is that throughout its history, the Mandatum had no relationship with ordinary parish life: it was a rite which pertained to the Diocesan Cathedral or Church of a Religious Community.  Only since 1955, with the revisions of the Holy Week Liturgy approved by Pope Pius XII, has the Mandatum been included in the ceremonies of the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday and consequently, celebrated ordinarily in parishes. Perhaps this revision was not as laudable as was thought at the time.

In the last two decades, we have witnessed the spectacle of all sorts of curious and frightful additions to the Mandatum, advocated by tinpot liturgists (we will refrain from describing any of these dismal accretions).  And so, the symbolism of this ancient rite has become obscured again.  An unfortunate by-product of this trajectory is that the real focus of the Evening Mass of Maundy Thursday - the Institution of the Blessed Eucharist and Ministerial Priesthood - becomes obscured.

Happily, we note that in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary forms of the Roman Rite, the Mandatum is OPTIONAL.  In the more ancient (pre-1955) rites of Maundy Thursday, as we noted, the Mandatum is reserved to the local Bishop's celebration of Holy Week.  Its being observed at a time other than during the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday is something which, we might suggest, could be given serious consideration. Were that to happen, perhaps it would be of lesser consequence if the feet of women or non-Christians were also washed. 

AMDG

The Liturgical Question that will not go away

Figure 1.
The celebration of Mass "ad orientem" according to
the New Missal in a French Monastic Community.

Twenty years ago, a priest of the Toronto Oratory published a book titled The Mass and Modernity : Walking to Heaven Backward. It is an excellent philosophical study and profound in its discussion of the difficulties facing the Church because of the collapse of her Liturgical praxis. EN1   The author, Father Robinson, was inspired by a celebrated phrase in one of the Sermons of Saint JH Newman on the path we take to salvation.  Father Robinson observes that Saint Newman was writing about the individual who learns the truth about faith and right conduct through the experience of error : 

He [Newman] was reminding us that, in fact, we all make mistakes about the meaning of life and how it should be lived. But things do not stop there because we then go on to act out these mistaken ideas, and this is true even if or when we are not very clear as to what exactly the ideas are. Bad practice is based on confused and false principles, and it is by an often bitter experience that we finally see the truth a bit more clearly and so find ourselves a little nearer to the Promised Land.  EN2

Father Robinson suggests that this metaphor of the path to salvation is most applicable to the intense debates about the Church's Liturgy over almost 60 years.  It would be fair to conclude that these debates (some have termed them "wars") are but one manifestation of the increasingly polarised state of the Church.  In this little essay, we cannot plumb the philosophical depths of the arguments held by each side, nevertheless observing that these philosophical differences are the substance of the disagreement.  It would be regrettable to describe this debate as political, even though it manifests itself politically and in externals. 

The current phase of these debates presents irreconcilable differences - each side deems the other to be in an indefensible situation and harming the good of the Church.  This is debated continuously and often heatedly, on the wide-world of the Web.  The subject matter is so familiar to readers, that it is unnecessary to mention the small details, but merely to make some observations. 

OPPOSING POSITIONS 

There are two opposing positions (with many variations) in this particular battle of the Liturgy Wars.  

The first position is a rejection of the notion that the Roman Rite has two forms, Ordinary and Extraordinary, since this is deemed to be contrary to the decisions of the Second Vatican Council.   EN3  The notion is to be corrected by the suppression of that form which preceded the Council (the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite), regardless of the confusion or scandal that might be caused in the process.  

The opposing position is that the Rites which were promulgated after the conclusion of the Council (the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite) were an illegitimate and fraudulent exercise in ecclesiastical authority, which cast aside Tradition for misguided ideological ends; the remedy, therefore, is that those revised Rites be suppressed, regardless of the practical difficulty of doing so. 

There are loud voices making clear these two positions, but not everyone who takes an interest in these matters holds to one or the other of the two positions. Many are disturbed by the intensity in which these two positions are debated. 

The Catholic World is not divided into Defenders of Liturgical Tradition and its Opponents.  There are many debates in the Church and perhaps they are underpinned by the same divergent philosophies.  Defenders of a strict liturgical Tradition are not numerous in the sum of the Church's Faithful and they seem mainly to be voices of the Western World. The Churches of Africa, Asia and South America do not seem to be deeply involved in this particular liturgical debate and are largely content with the revised Rites which emerged after 1969.  We might be mindful that the Faithful in these continents comprise a large number of the world's Catholics. 

BUILDING UP THE SACRED 

In his instruction Desiderio desideravi, the present Bishop of Rome wished to encourage a culture where the Sacred Liturgy is celebrated with sacrality and due decorum and that the Faithful be well-formed in what takes places when they gather to celebrate the Rites of the Church. This is an admirable aspiration, which aligns with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on the Sacred Liturgy and, indeed, the teachings of previous Popes. But, unfortunately, the same vigour with which the Holy See acts to restrict the celebration of the former Missal is not also applied to the much more numerous and widespread abuses - worldwide - in the manner of celebrating the Revised Rites. The failure to act against these abuses - some of them sacrilegious - undermines what the Bishop of Rome claims he has "desired with a great longing". 

Also detracting from claims made in Traditionis Custodes and Desiderio desideravi is a vast body of reputable scholarship discussing the development of the Revised Rites and the ideology underpinning those revisions. It is no longer credible simply to assert that the New Order of Mass is the "unique" expression of the Roman Rite, nor to claim that it is completely consonant with the Tradition of the Church's liturgical prayer and ritual gestures. It is well that these objections be understood and not be dismissed out of hand as the ravings of agitators and arch-conservatives. 

It must also be remembered, on the other hand, that for the majority of Catholics, such scholarship is not relevant to their faith-lives. The majority of Catholics are content with the state of the Church's Liturgy as they experience it each week. Some, however, are more disposed to a re-sacralisation of the Rites than others.  Priests who celebrate both forms of the Roman Rite may not have the luxury to choose one to the exclusion of the other, nor think it desirable.

MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES 

Those who are convinced that the Church is going to abandon the Revised Rites in favour of a more strict liturgical Tradition are going to be disappointed. And those who believe that they can stifle the aspirations of Faithful Catholics with authoritarian acts of ritual repression will also be disappointed. When insufficient magnanimity underpins both positions, neither can expect or deserve success. 

It is justly pointed out that the perilous speed in which the revision of the Church's principal rites was carried out in the period 1965 - 1969 was harmful to the Church. Pope Benedict, in criticising the Revisions, noted a mentality which produced a "banal product of the moment".  EN4  These insightful words have been conveniently ignored. 

In the fifty or so years since, there have been too many changes in the Liturgy for the Faithful adequately to accommodate.  A liturgical spirituality cannot be formed in a milieu of ongoing adaptations and the frequent introduction of new music and liturgical texts.  In the West, the results of this are all-too evident. Why then, would the solution be to introduce another raft of changes, aimed at reversing those revisions? Why would that be any more prudent and less disruptive? 

FEWER DOCUMENTS AND MORE REAL DIALOGUE 

A stalemate is not quite the end of the matter, however, nor is that a Christian manner of resolving disagreements. We might hope for (but not expect soon), dialogue, rather than pronouncements from on high, whilst noting that this issue did not figure at all in the opaque discussions of the much-vaunted Synod on Synodality.  At this moment, Authority is interested in only certain debates.  

Everyone who takes the view that a "Reform of the Reform" is needed, has his or her own ideas on what form that should take. Might it not be best, however, that the future of liturgical reform be taken slowly, carefully and with greater charity on all sides? Those agitating for complete suppression of the Revised Rites might take a step backwards to reflect on wider realities within the Church.  Similarly, the Holy See should allow the more ancient Rites of the Church to be celebrated without paranoid restrictions and cease the unpastoral ostracisation and misrepresentation of its adherents.  The sanctification of the Church through its Sacred Liturgy is not well-served by ideological attempts to deny realities, even with the noble motives and aspirations. We should hope and pray for a ceasefire in these Liturgy Wars.  

Over a passage of years - not even the blink of an eye in God's time - it will become obvious, more acceptable, that aspects of the Revised Rites are a product of an era which is gone and no longer enriching to the Church, or providing what is needed to draw souls to Christ.  And those who have defended (should we write "imposed"?) those Revisions so emphatically will also be gone.  A reform of the Roman Rite is necessary and desirable, but can only be attempted at a moment free from rancour.  The process of Reform should not be limited to discussions between liturgical scholars, nor should the experiences of the last sixty years  - good and bad - simply be set aside, as if they never took place.  Learning from collective mistakes and setting aside imperfect premises, such a reform might be undertaken carefully, rooted in Tradition, but with pastoral sensitivity, one cautious step at a time, and backward. 

We advance to the truth by experience of error; we succeed through failures. We know not how to do right except by having done wrong. We call virtue a mean, that is, as considering it to lie between things that are wrong. We know what is right, not positively, but negatively; we do not see the truth at once and make towards it, but we fall upon and try error, and find it is not the truth. We grope about by touch, not by sight, and so by a miserable experience exhaust the possible modes of acting till naught is left, but truth, remaining. Such is the process by which we succeed; we walk to Heaven backward. 

 Saint J.H. Newman "Parochial and Plain Sermons" Vol. 5, no. 8. 

 

Figure 2.  A scene at the Second Vatican Council.

END-NOTES

EN1  Robinson, Jonathon, The Mass and Modernity : Walking to Heaven Backward, Ignatius Press, San Francisco 2005.

EN2  Robinson, op.cit., page 344.

EN3   The terms Ordinary and Extraordinary as applied to the Mass of the Roman Rite originated in 2007 with Pope Benedict's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.  In this essay, we will refer to the Ordinary form as The Revised Rites since we are also discussing the revised liturgical books of the Sacraments, Episcopal ceremonies &c.

EN4  The following article is an investigation of the words written by the then Cardinal Ratzinger : https://sharonkabel.com/post/ratzinger-fabricated-liturgy/

AMDG

On the Importance of Altar frontals : part 1

Excepting perhaps for the altar canopy or civory, the most worthy, liturgical, notable and appropriate adornment of any altar is its altar frontal (antependium). More than any other adornment does the use of the antependium highlight the primacy of the altar. And yet, the antependium is the adornment most frequently lacking from our altars. 

The Altar of the Confession in Saint Peter's Basilica
Pope Benedict is seen here offering Mass on Pentecost 2008.
This marvellously embroidered frontal in crimson red and gold
frequently clothes this altar for Papal Masses.

The Rev'd JB O’Connell speaks of the symbolism of the antependium:

As the early linen clothing of the altar recalled our Lord’s burial shroud, so the precious fabric of the later frontal is to recall his royalty....The clothed altar with its beauty and changing colours is a symbol of the Mystical Body - the whole Christ, Christ united with all his saints - it translates this doctrine into the language of colour and form. In addition to its symbolical value, the frontal - with its sequence of colours and its changing form and decoration - lends variety and new beauty to the altar, and helps to mark the degrees of festivity in the Church’s liturgy. Because of its function as an adornment of the altar - although not its primary purpose, which is its symbolism - some liturgical writers maintain that its use is not obligatory, by custom, if the altar is itself made of precious material and highly decorative. But if the frontal is not used, not only is its symbolism disregarded, but the altar is without change of permanent adornment, degrees of festivity cannot be adequately expressed, nor can the liturgical changes of season or feast be fully indicated. 

J.B. O’Connell, Church Building and Furnishing: the Church’s Way, pp.188-89.

The use of the antependium has been a continual practice in the basilicas of Rome.
To this day, the Altar of the Confession in S’ Peter’s Basilica
is clothed with an antependium during the Papal Masses.
Shewn in this image is one of the elaborately-worked antependia used in Saint Peter's.

It may also be observed that many altars of no particular artistic merit, and especially altars which are simply supported on two or four pillars and lack a solid panel underneath the altar table, can be particularly enhanced by the use of an antependium. 

Until 1960, the Rubrics of the Roman Missal and the directives of the Ceremonial of Bishops required that altars, but specifically high altars be clothed with an antependium: it was not a matter of choice or dependent upon the beauty or otherwise of any given altar.  Unhappily, however, the directives were largely ignored.  Recognising this failure, the revised rubrics of the 1960 Missal omitted the sentence which required the use of an antependium, although maintaining that rubric which required the antependium to be changed according to the season or festival.  

The altar in Saint Peter's without an antependium.
The altar is of surprising plainness, indicating that it was
intended that the central altar of Christendom
would always be clothed for Mass.

Even after the requirement for an antependium had been relaxed by the revised rubrics of 1960, the American scholar of canon and liturgical law Father Frederick McManus (who was to become prominent amongst the liturgical reformers), advocated the use of antependia:

The use of the frontal as the vestment of the altar remains proper and entirely suitable...it is still very desirable as a worthy vestment for the altar...and as an effective indication of the liturgical celebration.

F.R. McManus, Handbook For the New Rubrics, Baltimore, 1961, pp. 202-03.

Sufficient has been quoted to demonstrate that even if the antependium is not required, its use is eminently suitable and desirable liturgically, important symbolically, and could not be recommended strongly enough. Very few altars are incapable of having antependia attached to them, even if some ingenuity in keeping them in place is required.

A wider view of the Altar of the Confession, decorated for Christmas.
The altar is manifestly enhanced by the magnificent antependium.

Click on the images for an enlarged view. 

AMDG

A Rose by any other name but Pink

Figure 1. Pope Paul VI in 1978

wearing a rose chasuble 

made from dupion silk.
Image: L'Osservatore Romano

Twice a year, the Church breaks the tone of its penitential seasons by the use of rose-coloured vestments.  Rose-coloured vestments were never commonplace and they still are not.  Nevertheless, you will find various pronouncements these days (usually on websites) about what the real or authentic shade of rose is which is to be used for vestments.

Newsflash: there is no official shade of Rose designated by the Church, nor has there ever been.  One reason for this is rather simple: only in the nineteenth century did the process of dyeing fabric become sufficiently sophisticated to ensure that much the same shade of a colour emerged from one batch of fabric dyeing to another.

Many different colours have been deemed by the Church as acceptable as liturgical Rose.  Some of these are a salmon shade; some a silvery-pink, almost mushroom-colour; some close to what we would call Bishop's purple or fuchsia.

Another thing is certain: Bubblegum Pink is not Rose, nor has it been a traditional variation for use on these days. Whilst not intending to get into the argument as to whether the use of pink (be it vibrant or subdued) is a fitting colour for a man to wear, Bubblegum Pink certainly manifests a lamentable lack of liturgical good taste. And yet we find so many pink vestments for sale from ecclesiastical suppliers etc.  We may wonder why any priest would submit to wearing such.

Figure 2. Pope Paul VI greeting a priest
after Mass in Saint Peter's on Laetare Sunday 1978.
Both are wearing rose 

chasubles made from dupion silk.
Image: L'Osservatore Romano

Adjacent are two pictures of another shade of Rose.  These are sets of vestments worn by Pope S. Paul VI on Laetare Sunday, 1978. The vestments are made from dupion silk of a very subdued silvery-rose.  Ornamenting them is a column-orphrey almost fuchsia in colour.  Sadly, these vestments have not been seen in Papal Masses since :  lamentable sets of brighter pink vestments, of rather unimaginative fabric and design, have been used instead.

Below is an image of a set of Rose vestments made by the Saint Bede Studio of similar colour to the vestments of S. Paul VI.

AMDG

The Liturgical Colours of Lent

What is the colour set down by the Church for Lent?  

The Church’s liturgical books cite the colour violaceus (a Latin word), which can be translated as violet or purple.  Unfortunately these alternate translations are used indiscriminately, even though they refer to two quite different colours.

In descriptive terms, violet is tinged with blue; purple is tinged with red.  

We know that the vesture of bishops is a colour we call Roman purple.   Is this the colour intended for sacred vestments in the Seasons of Lent (and Advent)? Some say yes, some say no. The practice throughout the world and in Rome itself has differed over the course of the last several centuries.

Let’s try to identify what is a suitable colour for Lenten vestments.  The Season of Lent is penitential and its vestments ought to be distinguished by being sombre. The purple of bishops, however, is intended to be a mark of their rank, and is derived from the use (by the ancient Romans) of purple robes to denote dignity, prestige and royalty. Consequently, Roman purple or fuchsia is not intended to be penitential.

Would the darker colour, then, violet (closer to indigo)  be correct?  Although the use of dark violet is now widespread,  its development for liturgical use dates from the 19th century.  Furthermore, such a colour was not used in Rome for sacred vestments until much more recently.

There is no correct colour, nor even shade of colour for Lenten violaceus.  But sombreness is the appropriate mood for the Season, at least in the Western Church.

AMDG.

A beautiful prayer : Suscipe Sancte Trinitas

In this week following the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, let us consider one of the prayers which did not survive the Missale Romanum final cut in 1969:

Accept, holy Trinity, this offering which we make to you in remembrance of the passion, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in honour of blessed Mary ever Virgin, of blessed John the Baptist, of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, of those whose relics rest here, and of all the Saints. To them may it bring honour, and to us salvation; and may they, whose memory we keep on earth, be pleased to intercede for us in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord.  Amen.

This beautiful prayer, intended to be recited quietly after the washing of the hands during the Preparation of Gifts or Offertory, is a summary of the things a Catholic should keep in mind when praying the Mass. It reminds us firstly that all our worship is offered to the One God, who is a Trinity of Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Secondly, in reflecting the Anamnesis after the consecration, the prayer insists on the unity of Christ’s Paschal Mystery that is re-presented for us in sacramental form: His Passion, Resurrection and Ascension. Finally, it asserts that a secondary end of the Mass is the honour of the Saints (that is, the victory of Christ in His members is being praised), and accordingly it begs their intercession for us on Earth. 

One can only wonder at the mentality which saw fit to excise this prayer from the Mass. If there was one prayer that ought to have been retained at the Offertory, this was the one. After washing his hands and before inviting the people to prayer (Pray, brethren), the celebrant bowed before the altar and quietly prayed the Suscipe Sancta Trinitas.

If you are a priest reading this, you might consider praying this prayer at the Offertory when you offer the Ordinary Form of the Roman Mass. If you pray it according to the rubrics of the 1962 Missale Romanum, (namely bowed and silently) no one in the pews will be disturbed by hearing a prayer recited which is not contained in the New Order of Mass.  Be respectful of sensibilities.

How beautiful it would be if once again this prayer were recited at every Mass!  The Angels would rejoice.

CONTRASTS (continued)

Contrasts

These engravings were taken from Teaching Truth by Signs and Ceremonies, by the Rev'd James Meagher, New York, 1885 (left) and Vestments and Vesture, by Dom E A Roulin OSB, Edinburgh, 1930 (right).

CONTRASTS (continued)

Two images of Solemn Mass both celebrated in Gothic Revival Churches. 

An inventive use of tapestry fabric is shewn in the "gothic" vestments (above);
whilst an anaemic colour palette and awkward construction is demonstrated
in the other, in the manner of the Spanish Baroque.

AMDG.

CONTRASTS

Image : www.lepetitplacide.org

Processions to Mass celebrated in the Extraordinary Form 

(above) a French Monastery,  (below) an English parish. 

Click on the images for enlarged views.

Image : www.clerus.org

Re-posted.

A Rose by any other name but Pink

Figure 1. Pope Paul VI in 1978

wearing a rose chasuble 

made from dupion silk.
Image: L'Osservatore Romano

Twice a year, the Church breaks the tone of its penitential seasons by the use of rose-coloured vestments.  Rose-coloured vestments were never commonplace and they still are not.  Nevertheless, you will find various pronouncements these days (usually on websites) about what the real or authentic shade of rose is which is to be used for vestments.

Newsflash: there is no official shade of Rose designated by the Church, nor has there ever been.  One reason for this is rather simple: only in the nineteenth century did the process of dyeing fabric become sufficiently sophisticated to ensure that much the same shade of a colour emerged from one batch of fabric dyeing to another.

Many different colours have been deemed by the Church as acceptable as liturgical Rose.  Some of these are a salmon shade; some a silvery-pink, almost mushroom-colour; some close to what we would call Bishop's purple or fuchsia.

Another thing is certain: Bubblegum Pink is not Rose, nor has it been a traditional variation for use on these days. Whilst not intending to get into the argument as to whether the use of pink (be it vibrant or subdued) is a fitting colour for a man to wear, Bubblegum Pink certainly manifests a lamentable lack of liturgical good taste. And yet we find so many pink vestments for sale from ecclesiastical suppliers etc.

Figure 2. Pope Paul VI greeting a priest
after Mass in Saint Peter's on Laetare Sunday 1978.
Both are wearing rose 

chasubles made from dupion silk.
Image: L'Osservatore Romano

At an old post on the Blog, The New Liturgical Movement, we find a number of interesting vestments in that shade of Rose commonly found in Italy in centuries past: a salmon colour.  Go there and take a look.  But don't be mistaken about that particular shade of Rose being universal: it was used in Italy, but probably not much elsewhere.

Adjacent are two pictures of another shade of Rose.  These are sets of vestments worn by Pope S. Paul VI on Laetare Sunday, 1978. The vestments are made from dupion silk of a very subdued silvery-rose.  Ornamenting them is a column-orphrey almost fuchsia in colour.  Sadly, these vestments have not been seen in Papal Masses since :  lamentable sets of brighter pink vestments, of rather unimaginative fabric and design, have been used instead.

Below is an image of a set of Rose vestments made by the Saint Bede Studio of similar colour to the vestments of S. Paul VI.

AMDG

On the Feast of Saint Charles Borromeo

In the Calendars of the Roman Rite, 4th November is set down as the Feast of S' Charles Borromeo (Cardinal-Archbishop of Milan 1560-1584). If Saint Charles, were alive today I suspect he would be regarded as hero to those who cherish the traditions of the Church. An important figure at the Council of Trent and confidant of Popes, he was anxious to preserve traditions and not allow fashion, false doctrine or laxity to push Tradition to one side. As Archbishop of Milan he wrote and legislated in minute detail about the Sacred Liturgy and everything associated with it.

Saint Charles laid down regulations about the dimensions of vestments for the Sacred Liturgy because, it would seem, he was concerned that the form of the vestments, which had been handed down for centuries, was being cast aside in favour of something convenient and “fashionable”. The chasuble, derived from the Latin word for “a little house” had been for centuries an ample garment. In the 15th and 16th centuries, there had been significant divergence from this Tradition, however, resulting in a form of chasuble that was not ample, but cut right back so that it comprised a sort of narrow pendant, front and back, on the wearer. We know this form of chasuble as the “Roman” or “fiddleback” chasuble, and some claim that this is the form of the chasuble that is truly “traditional”. But Borromeo didn’t think that: he thought it represented a break with Tradition. And he specified the minimum size to which he expected chasubles to conform. They were to be at least 54 inches (138cm) wide and, at the back, they were to reach down almost to the heels of the wearer. Saint Charles was not attempting to determine how a chasuble should be decorated, he was simply trying to preserve a minimum standard for the dimensions of the chasuble.

A greeting on the Feast of Saint Charles to all priest-customers of the Saint Bede Studio.

Discussing the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy

Occasionally on this Blog, articles pertaining to the traditions and celebration of the Sacred Liturgy in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary forms of the Roman Rite appear. This was one of the intentions of establishing this Blog in 2007.  How complicated and unpleasant matters pertaining to the Church's worship have become since that year! 

One of the differences between the pre and post Vatican Council II Church is now most everyone has an opinion on the Sacred Liturgy.  In a digital age, these opinions - for better or worse - can now be shared quickly and effectively.  But being the loudest voice does not necessarily equate to the most prudent one, nor the most reliable one.

Discussing the renewal of the Sacred Liturgy  is a sensitive issue and what is written ought not be presented in a manner which might cause confusion or scandal.  It ought be scholarly, but also mindful of the sensibilities of the Faithful.  A pious woman once gave me a reminder : it is better to pray about the reform of the Liturgy than to write articles about it. Probably both can be done, so long as the prayer informs the writing.

AMDG

The Papal Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica 60 years ago

Adjacent is a rather rare photograph, taken in Saint Peter's during a Session of the Second Vatican Council.

Standing at the centre of the altar is Pope Paul VI and with him, concelebrating bishops. At the Opening of the Third and Fourth Sessions of the Council, which took place on 14th September, 1964 and 14th September, 1965 respectively, Pope Paul concelebrated Mass in the basilica with a select number of the Council Fathers.

This Mass, of course, is being celebrated according to those modifications of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite known colloquially as The Interim Missal. The Rite of concelebration, however, is quite similar to that which is found in the new Missal of 1969.

Nevertheless, the concelebrated Masses celebrated in Saint Peter's before the introduction of the new Missal differed very significantly from those after that date, as is illustrated by this photograph. Although the Basilica on this occasion was filled with bishops, archbishops and cardinals from all around the world, only a small number concelebrated with the Pope.

These concelebrants were standing at the altar during the Canon and Communion Rite. To facilitate this, a temporary enlargement of the altar of the Confession was made, together with platforms on which the concelebrants would stand.

It was of little importance that the concelebrants obscured the congregation's view of the principal celebrant, the Pope. The most important considerations, therefore, were that the concelebrants stood at the altar in close proximity to each other (and the principal celebrant) AND that they could clearly look upon the elements to be consecrated.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

AMDG

The Revision of the Roman Rite : 1964 - 1970

Celebration of Mass according to
the 1965 Missale Romanum.

Among the many over-reaching claims made during the Troubles of the twelve years happily concluded 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 still suffering the after-effects of Traditionis Custodes.

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  

Papal Liturgies of the 16th century

At an old blog post, we found the adjacent image of a fresco and a description of the Coronation of the Spanish King Charles as Holy Roman Emperor at Bologna.

The Coronation was performed by Pope Clement VII in the Cathedral of San Petronio, Bologna on 24th February 1530.

The fresco is not painted onto a wall, but on the ceiling of the office of the Mayor of Florence in the Palazzo Vecchio.  It was painted by the artist Giorgio Vasari after 1555.

Vasari's depiction of the Coronation is quite interesting for students of the history of sacred vestments because, since it is painted in the middle of the 16th century, a transitional point from mediaeval to baroque styles is illustrated.

A detail of Vasari's 16th century fresco.

In the detail shewn above, Pope Clement is placing the crown upon the head of the Emperor. We find the Pope vested in a linen albe, with close fitting sleeves and whose skirt is ornamented with an embroidered apparel. It would appear that the cuffs of the albe are enriched in some way. Notice, however, that there is no sign of lace in the Pope's albe. Over the albe, the Pope is wearing an ample golden chasuble. The chasuble is very flowing and partly folded back at the arms. Not unusually, we find the painting does not represent the Pope dressed in full pontificals, since he lacks the tunicle and dalmatic, but most importantly, he is lacking the pallium. An extremely short and narrow maniple is upon the left forearm of the Pope. This is a far-cry from the exaggerated spade-ended maniples of the High Baroque.

Assisting the Pope are two deacons, vested in matching dalmatics which are also quite ample. The dalmatic are ornamented with the clavi, but also an apparel at the upper back (presumably also upon the breast). A roundel upon the apparel appears to be embroidered with IHS. Pendants of tassels hanging from the shoulders of the dalmatic are also depicted, a feature of late mediaeval / early baroque ornamentation. It is believed that such tassels were originally an elaboration of the lacing used to tie together the front and back of the dalmatic at the shoulders. Subsequently, they became purely decorative.

Another detail of Vasari's fresco.

Another detail of Vasari's fresco is shewn above, which depicts some of the bishops present at the Coronation. These bishops are all depicted wearing Mass vestments: amice, albe, cincture, stole, maniple and chasuble. In each case, the amice of the bishops is ornamented with an apparel: a survival of mediaeval usage. Although their albes are unornamented, the close-fitting cuffs appear to be decorated. The four bishops are wearing chasubles which are less ample than the one the Pope is depicted as wearing, but nevertheless appear to be gathered away from the elbows and are long and flowing. Each of the chasubles is decorated with the TAU Cross, which was the usual form of ornament in Italy. The bishop in the centre, with hand raised, also wears a diminutive maniple.

We might also comment on the mitres worn by these bishops, which are more or less identical to each other. They are the simplex mitres worn by non-officiating or concelebrating bishops, just as happens today. These mitres are also in the style of the 15th century (which differed little from that of the 14th century) being neither excessively tall (these ones are approximately 12" tall) nor with rounded sides (a style which became fashionable in Rome in the 16th century and persists to this day).

Although the scene depicted by Vasari is probably not very accurate as a presentation of a Papal Liturgy, nevertheless it undoubtedly depicts the style of vestments used throughout Italy in the 16th century. It demonstrates that Catholic Tradition in the age of the Council of Trent did not include "fiddleback" chasubles, lace albes and excessively tall mitres.  

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

AMDG