As anticipated by Messa in Latino yesterday, Msgr. Guido Marini's appointment as Bishop of Tortona was included today, August 29, in the Vatican Bollettino.
The same announcement was made at the Santuario della Madonna della Guardia by the Archbishop of Genoa, Marco Tasca OFMConv. Msgr. Marini was present and Tasca placed the purple zucchetto on the new Bishop-elect right after.
The Pope has confirmed Monsignor Guido Marini as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies. Born 49 years ago in Genoa, Monsignor Guido Marini had been called to this position by Benedict XVI in October 2007.
"The Holy Father Francis, for the celebration of the Holy Mass on the occasion of his enthronement on the Roman Cathedra (4.7.2013), made use of the pastoral cross of Paul VI, with the intention of alternating its use in the upcoming celebrations with that of Benedict XVI."
Mons. Guido MariniMaster of Ceremonies Benedict XVI“I think the pope's attention to the liturgy, his lessons in this environment and his example, help many priests and many Catholics to rediscover the central value of the liturgy for the life of the Church and for the life of each person.”According to the Papal Master of Ceremonies, the liturgy is not an area only reserved for experts. But he notes that Catholics need help to understand the full meaning of the liturgical symbols and gestures.Mons. Guido MariniMaster of Ceremonies Benedict XVI“The liturgy has a popular dimension that should be preserved because through the liturgy we find ourselves with the mystery of God. There the mystery of salvation it is made real for the life of each person. So it is important to prepare people so they can read the gestures and symbols of the liturgy.”In recent years, Benedict XVI has brought back some traditional liturgical elements that were rarely used. For example, the presence of the crucifix in the center of the altar or the receiving communion on the knees. They are gestures the pope has explained as the so-called “hermeneutic of continuity.”Mons. Guido MariniMaster of Ceremonies Benedict XVI“The hermeneutics of continuity highlights that in the life of the Church there is an authentic growth in the way in which they don't cut the roots so that this development includes the richness of its history and tradition.”He says that for now it is not expected that the pope will celebrate a mass according to rites prior to the Second Vatican Council.Monsignor Marini regularly receives instructions from the pope, but the office of liturgical ceremonies also proposes elementsfor each celebration.Mons. Guido MariniMaster of Ceremonies Benedict XVI“In addition to putting into practice the instructions of the pope, we suggest some liturgical elements. He decides whether to accept them or not. It's to say, in every ceremony there are instructions from the Holy Father and suggestions presented by our department.”In any case, since the pope has written many works on the liturgy, from his time as a cardinal, for the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations, it is very easy to know what the pope expects of every celebration. In other words, that the celebration helps draw people closer to the mystery of God.
When shall we see Pope Benedict celebrating the Latin Mass according to the extraordinary Roman Rite, that of Saint Pius V? I personally viewed the 'motu proprio' as an act of liberality, of openness, not of closemindedness.[G.Marini:] "I do not know. Many faithful have availed themselves of this possibility. The Pope will decide, if he considers it appropriate."[...] The Pope, a year ago, celebrated Mass in the Sistine Chapel with his back turned to the people. Who it was who proposed it to him?[G. Marini:] "It was I who proposed it to him. The Sistine Chapel is a treasure chest. It seemed a strained effort to alter its beauty b y building an artificial, made-up stage. In the ordinary rite, this celebration 'with the back turned to the people' is a foreseen position. Yet I underline: the back is not turned to the faithful, but the celebrant and the faithful are turned towards the only point that counts, which is the Crucifix."
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In the recent visit to Santa Maria di Leuca and Brindisi, the Pope has distributed communion to the kneeling faithful in the mouth. Is it a practice destined to become usual in papal celebrations?
I think so. Regarding it, it should not be forgotten that the distribution of communion in the hand still remains, from a juridical viewpoint, an indult from the universal law, granted by the Holy See to those Episcopal Conferences which have made a request for it. The mode adopted by Benedict XVI tends to underline the force of the norm valid for the entire Church. In addition, a preference could perhaps be seen for the use of this mode of distribution, which, without eliminating anything from the other, puts into light better the truth of the real presence in the Eucharist, aids the devotion of the faithful, introduces with greater ease the sense of mystery. Aspects which, in our age, pastorally speaking, it is urgent to underline and recover.
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Still today the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, on the use of the Roman Liturgy from before the reform effected in 1970, seems to give rise to contrasting interpretations. Celebrations presided by the Pope according to the extraordinary form, that is, the ancient one, are predictable?
It is a question which I do not know how to answer. Regarding the mentioned motu proprio, considering it with serene attention and without ideological views, together with the letter addressed by the Pope to the Bishops of the whole world to present it, a double precise understanding is brought forth. First of all, that of favoring the accomplishment of "a reconciliation in the interior of the Church"; and, in this sense, as it has been said, the motu proprio is a most beautiful act of love for the unity of the Church. In second place - and that is a datum not to be forgotten - its purpose is to favor a reciprocal enrichment between both forms of the Roman Rite: in such a way, for example, that in the celebrations according to the Missal of Paul VI (which is the ordinary form of the Roman Rite) "will be able to demonstrate more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage".
Will Benedict XVI celebrate a Mass using the ancient rite, liberalized by him with the motu proprio?
"I do not know it and I in not in a position to answer it. I believe that a serene, ecclesiological, and non-ideological reading of this decision of the Pontiff ought to be important. The liturgy of the Church, as in any case all of her life, is made up of continuity: I speak of development on continuity. This means that the Church proceeds in her historical path without losing sight of her own roots and of her own living tradition: that may demand, in some cases, even the recovery of precious and important elements which, along the path, went astray, were forgotten or that the passage of time rendered less luminous in their authentic meaning. It seems to me that the Motu proprio moves in that direction: reaffirming with great clarity that there is continuity in the liturgical life of the Church, without rupture."
"My very first reaction was one of great surprise and great fear. Afterwards, I lived with a certain trepidation the eve of the beginning of my service and, also, I greatly felt the separation from my diocese and from my city [Genoa], from my sister and from her family, from so many friendly people, from the sets in which I practiced my priesthood in particular ways: the [Archdiocesan] Curia, the Seminary, the Cathedral. At the same time, though, I remained much honored of having been called by the Holy Father to carry out the service of Master of Liturgical Celebrations. I immediately felt the opportunity which was granted to me of being beside the Holy Father as a true grace for my priesthood."
Monsignor Guido Marini, Genoese, 42, thus describes describes to Il Reformista his arrival at the Vatican last October to take the post of Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations. A nomination which allows him to work in close contact with Benedict XVI.
"I have found precise confirmation of what I felt at the beginning of this new task of mine - he says - every time I have had the grace of meeting the Holy Father. These meetings have been and are always motive of great joy and of great emotion for me. I have never thought that I, careful reader and admirer of cardinal Ratzinger, that I would one day have the pleasure of being close to him as I am now. And, besides, every time, along with the profound veneration which the figure of the Pope provokes in me, I live the experience of his serene, gentle, kind, and delicate human demeanor which fills my heart with joy and invites me to apply myself with every energy to cooperate with generosity, humility, and fidelity in the fulfillment of his Magisterium in the liturgical field, as much as it related to my competences."
..."The position of the Cross at the center of the altar - Marini says - signals the centrality of the Cruficied in the eucharistic celebration and the exact interior orientation which the entire assembly is called to have during the eucharistic liturgy: we do not look at ourselves, but at Him who was born, dies and was risen for us, the Savior. The salvation comes from the Lord, He is the East, the Sun which rises, to whom we must all turn our gaze, from whom we must all receive the gift of grace. The question of liturgical orientation, and the even practical way by which this takes shape, has great relevance, because a fundamental theological, anthropological, ecclesiological datum, inherent to the personal spirituality, is connected to it."
Continuity
A "repositioning", that of the Cross, which makes clear how the liturgical practices of the past must live still today:
"The liturgy of the Church - Marini explains -, as by the way all her life, it made of continuity: I might say development in continuity. This means that the Church proceeds in her historical path without losing sight of her own roots and her own living tradition: that may demand, in some cases, even the retrieval of precious and important elements which were lost, forgotten along the way, and which the passage of time has made less luminous in their authentic meaning. When this happens, it is not a return to the past, but a true and enlightened progress in the liturgical field."
And, in this progress, the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum cannot be unmentioned:
"A twofold precise understanding comes up when considering with attention the Motu proprio and also the letter addressed by the Pope to the bishops of all the world to present it. First of all, that of attaining "a reconciliation in the bosom of the Church"; and, in this sense, as it has been said, the Motu proprio is an extremely beautiful act of love towards the unity of the Church. Secondly, and this is a fact not to be forgotten, that of favoring a mutual enrichment between both forms of the Roman Rite: in such a way, for instance, that in the celebrations according to the Missal of Paul VI (ordinary form of the Roman Rite) it 'will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage'."
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Monsignor, first of all, welcome and good work...
"Thank you for the wishes, I truly need them. You know, I have been in Rome for a very short time, and I look around, I study, I reflect: there is so much to do and to toil, believe me."
So it goes from one Marini...to another: what do you say to Piero, your predecessor?
"I thank him from my heart. He gave so much to the Church, he served two Popes, and I find myself only at the beginning of my path."
You have been called to a difficult job...
"Certainly. The life of every head of liturgical ceremonies of the Holy Father is filled with problems. We are under the limelights, we cannot allow ourselves the luxury of making great mistakes."
Many have claimed that you were called because [you are] liturgically more traditionalist and sober than Archbishop Piero Marini. But what is your conception of the liturgy?
"[It is] as the Church wishes and teaches, not more and not less. I am not the kind of person who looks for inventions and oddities. I may even seem banal, but the liturgy is respect to the rules laid down by the Church, and I see no reason for which I should disobey it."
It is said precisely that in Genoa, where you worked up to now, the liturgy was well cared for, sober and elegant, without bizarre adornments...
"But liturgy is naturally thus. I repeat: no one can act against the liturgical laws of the Church. The Mass is a gift, a grace, not a show. Therefore, no invention, but absolute respect for liturgical rules."
Pope Benedict XVI, other than a great theologian, is also a fine liturgist. He attributes to the liturgy, [when] correctly executed, a notable relevance...
"Working together with the Holy Father will be a grace for me. The popularity of the Pontiff, his preaching of truth and courage, are before the eyes of all. Regarding the liturgy, I completely share the thesis of the Pope: the Mass is Sacrifice."
In your opinion, have there been liturgical abuses recently?
"You know, the Church is large. But, as the Pontiff himself recognized in the accompanying letter to the Motu Proprio 'Summorum Pontificum', there have been abuses and extravagant interpretations. What I can say is that certainly I will not be the author of any fabrication, I will limit myself to scrupulously apply the existing rules."
By the way, what do you think of the Motu Proprio which has liberalized the Mass in the Tridentine Rite?
I agree with the Motu Proprio 100%; [it is] an act of good sense, of justice, of freedom, and of foresight.
In the brief written note with which the new Master of Pontifical Ceremonies willed to express his own "sentiments", other than [expressing] "thanks" to the Pope for the selection and to Bagnasco "for the paternal affection with which he has followed my path this year and, especially, in the past few months", Marini also wished to convey a thought on the deceased Cardinal Giuseppe Siri: "I believe that he is also glad to see one of his priests, whom he received in Seminary, called to carry out this job, he who loved and promoted the liturgy so much."
[Cardinal Siri,] A prelate careful to all that the Tradition of the Church has handed over, even and especially in liturgical matters. So careful that there are those who say today that, if he were still alive, he would be, more than anyone else, glad with the liberalization of the ancient rite promoted by Ratzinger thanks to the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. A liberalization which monsignor Guido certainly sees with benevolence, if it be true - as it is true - that also thanks to his work as cerimoniere of Archbishops Tettamanzi and Bertone, and Bagnasco up to yesterday, the ancient Genoese liturgical school has shone again and has shown its beauty in the cathedral of San Lorenzo.
A splendor which originates from the work of monsignor Moglia, a man for whom the vision of the Bugninist school (to which belongs the now former papal cerimoniere Piero Marini), according to which Vatican II broke with the past also in liturgical matters, was something to be rejected because of its falsehood.
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In the Vatican, there is a small office expecting [don Guido]: three monsignors (Enrico Viganò, Giulio Viviani e Konrad Krajewski) and two addetti to the Papal Sacristy (Mario Mattei e Giuseppe Viscardi) who propably expected anything, except the nomination of a head of ceremonies from outside of their office.
Yet, Ratzinger has decided so. His will is to have a cerimoniere who is not a protagonist (never before as in the age of Piero Marini was a Papal cerimoniere so much spoken of) and who knows how to give to his ceremonies that sumptuosity mixed with sobriety which has not always been seen recently inside the Vatican walls.
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Luigi Accattoli
CITTÀ DEL VATICANO— ... [T]he nomination of the new "Master of Ceremonies" is expected for the next few days, in substitution of Archbishop Piero Marini. After the arrival of the new cerimoniere, it is "probable" that the Pope will celebrate a Mass in the old rite, in Saint Peter's, obviously entirely in Latin: it could take place on December 2, First Sunday in Advent.
If that celebration truly happens, the passage of power between the current and the future "Master of Ceremonies" will have a generational and symbolical significance, for a Pope has not celebrated with the old Missal for over forty years: for a traditional "Papal Mass", it is necessary to move back to before 1965, the closing year of the Second Vatican Council, when Paul VI introduced the first changes.
It is said that the new "Master" is another Marini, in his last name, his first name being Guido, a Genoese priest up to now unknown in Rome. It is said that he was presented to the Pope by Cardinal Bertone, who esteems him [after] having had him as cerimoniere in Genoa. Nothing is known about his position regarding the old Missal, but it is supposed that he would be more favorable to it than the Marini currently in charge, who is a passionate supporter of the liturgical reform.
Nothing precise is known of the intention of the Pope to give to the bishops an "example" of spontaneous use of the old rite - other than through granting of the demands of the faithful (as the motu proprio [Summorum Pontificum] which he published in July foresees). The rumor comes from the lips of those who hope that gesture and who say that it would definitively "disencumber" the old Missal, which still faces resistances, despite the recent "liberalization", as well as from those who fear that the Pope may accomplish this gesture, because it would be "another step away from the Council".
"It is only a rumor for the moment - says a monsignore who is neither favorable nor opposed to it -, but everyone talks about it here [in the Vatican], and I believe that he will do it even if he risks raising controversy, because Catholics who are under fifty have never seen a Pope celebrate with his back turned to the people and pronouncing the 'Eucharistic prayer' sottovoce. In the meantime, the 'court' that accompanied the Pontiff in the celebrations has been abolished and I would really like to see how the old Papal Mass would be carried out today!"
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The new Marini and Vian [new director of L'Osservatore Romano] will assume their offices after October 21: on that day, the Pope will be visiting Naples, and that will be the last public occasion for Mario Agnes ... and Marini senior.
The new Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith was named soon after the election of Pope Benedict XVI. Two and a half years have passed since April 2005, and several heads of dicasteries have been replaced: delicate positions such as that of Secretary of State, Prefect of Propaganda Fide, Prefect of Clergy... The head Bugninist in the Congregations (Domenico Sorrentino, former Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship) was replaced in November 2005... Even the motu proprio on the liberalization of the Traditional Mass, which many deemed impossible, has been published. Yet, Archbishop Piero Marini, Master of Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies, has remained in his place.