IMPORTANT: Texts of the 7 New Prefaces of the Traditional Latin Mass

The seven new optional prefaces, three of which are ancient and four adapted from similar prefaces in the new missal (Novus Ordo), were promulgated by the Decree Quo Magis, published on March 25, 2020.

It is relevant to recall that new optional prefaces for the 1962 Missal had been foreseen by Pope Benedict XVI on the accompanying Letter to Summorum Pontificum, published on the same day as the motu proprio, July 7, 2007: "new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal." (Benedict XVI)

The Seven optional Prefaces are the following: Preface of the Angels (feasts and votive masses of the Angels and Dedication of St. Michael the Archangel - Sep. 29); Preface of Saint John the Baptist (on the festive and votive masses of the saint); Preface of Martyrs (on the festive and votive masses of Martyrs, other than St. John the Baptist); Preface of All Saints and of Patron Saints (not covered by other prefaces); Preface of the Most Blessed Sacrament (for Corpus Christi, for votive masses of the Blessed Sacrament, and for votive masses of O.L. Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest); Preface for the Dedication of a Church; Preface for Nuptial Masses (for nuptial masses "Pro sponsis").

***

PRÆFATIO DE ANGELIS

Canonical Commentary on the New Pontifical Decrees On Saints' Days and New Prefaces in the Traditional Missal (by Fr. Albert Marcello)

Cum Sanctissima and Quo Magis: A Canonical Commentary

by the Rev. Fr. Albert P. Marcello, III, J.C.D. (Cand.)

On 22 February 2020, two decrees, each issued along with a nota praevia, were issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith touching upon the celebration of the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite. The first decree, entitled Cum Sanctissima, deals with the question of the liturgical celebration of saints canonized subsequent to the issuance of the original 1962 liturgical books. The second decree, entitled Quo Magis, makes provision for seven (7) ad libitum prefaces to be permitted for usage in the Extraordinary Form. It should be noted that since the motu proprio of Pope Francis issued 17 January 2019[1], the same Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith enjoys competency for such matters which formerly were under the jurisdiction of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”.

Both of these decrees should be seen to respond to the desires of Pope Benedict XVI as noted in Con grande fiducia, the nota explicativa accompanying the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum: “the two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching: new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal.”[2] Universae Ecclesiae, the 30 April 2011 instruction which itself offered considerable guidance on the implementation of Summorum Pontificum, decreed: “New saints and certain of the new prefaces can and furthermore ought to be inserted into the older Missal, according to provisions which will be laid down imminently.”[3] Nearly nine years later, legislation has appeared from the Holy See on this matter.

One over-arching principle should be made very clear in discussing both of these decrees: the changes which have been implemented by these two (2) decrees are optional. No forma extraordinaria celebrant is being compelled to make any changes to the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 liturgical books. In a certain sense, the liturgical books of 1962 are being left as they are. This having been said, it is worth recalling, as the nota praevia for Cum Sanctissima likewise notes, up to and including the promulgation of the 1960 Codex Rubricarum, a number of Proprium Sanctorum Pro Aliquibus Locis (PSPAL) were included in the Missale Romanum. These Masses will be referred to in the nota praevia as well as in Cum Sanctissima itself.

1. Cum Sanctissima

In memoriam: Dario Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos (1929-2018)Throwback post: "All the parishes" should have the Traditional Latin Mass!

Dario Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos passed away on the 18th of May, 2018, according to the Colombian Bishops' Conference. He was 88. We ask all of our readers to pray and have Masses said for the repose of his soul.

Before going to Rome to head the Congregation for the Clergy, he was a bishop in his native Colombia for 25 years. The impact that he made can be seen in the glowing tribute (Cardinal who humbled a drugs baron) written for him in 1999 by his notoriously Leftist compatriot Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It includes the legendary story of his confrontation with Pablo Escobar. 

It is far more likely though that he will long be remembered for his many words and deeds on behalf of the cause of what he himself called the "Gregorian Rite", and for the faithful attached to it. He served as President of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" from 2000 to 2009, and arguably was its most effective President ever. At the very least he was the one most oustpoken in defending the rights of Traditionalists in the Church, and the Gregorian Rite itself. It may very well be said that he was the man behind the eventual promulgation of Summorum Pontificum by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. 

Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei's Ordo for 2015 now available

The Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", charged with the promotion and interpretation of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, has announced the publication of the 2015 Liturgical Ordo for the Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.

The Ordo (16 euros) is published by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana and it may be found in different online retailers, including IBS (currently for 13.60 euros). 

Supreme Liturgical Authority, in groundbreaking text, says: - Summorum Pontificum provides equal standing for both Forms - Conditions for participation at Traditional Mass same as in new Mass - and much more

Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caidos

On July 25, 2013, feast of the Patron Saint of Spain, Saint James the Greater, Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, put his signature on the preface to a remarkable work, the doctoral thesis presented by his fellow Spaniard, Fr. Alberto Soria Jiménez, O.S.B., dedicated to a profound canonical consideration of the juridical nature of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, its dispositions related to the forms and uses of the Roman Rite, and the history that led to it.

Fr. Soria is a monk in the abbey of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen (Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos), a Solesmes foundation near the Spanish capital, and his thesis was defended and approved at the Faculty of Canon Law of the University of San Dámaso, the main house for the formation of priests and theologians owned by the Archdiocese of Madrid, on May 29, 2013. The thesis was published just days ago by Spanish publisher "Ediciones Cristiandad" under the title "The Principles of Interpretation of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum" ("Los principios de interpretación del motu proprio Summorum Pontificum"), which is why the Cardinal's text has only now become available. 

Cardinal Cañizares' preface is a long presentation of the book, and it obviously includes many references to the work itself – but what makes it particularly special is the depth of the Cardinal’s appreciation for the motu proprio, and his defense (which had always been defended by those of us deeply appreciative of the nature of Summorum Pontificum) that what the motu proprio established in law was nothing less than the juridical equality of both forms of the Roman Rite. It is a groundbreaking text and we have translated below the most important excerpts of the Spanish original. 

_____________________________________________

Card. Cañizares Llovera

PREFACE OF CARDINAL CAÑIZARES TO THE DOCTORAL THESIS OF FR. ALBERTO SORIA JIMÉNEZ, O.S.B.

We find ourselves before a work that tackles, scientifically, a theme that in the past few years has been the object of heated controversies. Nevertheless, from its very beginning two characteristics of this work must be considered: its academic character and the belonging of the author to a community that is faithful to the great principles of the liturgy, but in which the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite is not celebrated. This has allowed him to observe the situation "from the outside," rendering possible the great objectivity reflected in his research.
...
The conception, clearly present both in the motu proprio and in the documents related to it, that the inherited liturgy is a wealth to be preserved, is to be understood in the spirit of the liturgical movement in the line of Romano Guardini, to which Benedict XVI owed so much of his personal relationship with the liturgy since his youth. The detailed and documented history of the process, from its beginnings in the 1970s up until today, that the author of this work presents to us, shows how this legislation was not the momentary result of pressure, nor a reflection of the personal and isolated opinion of the Pope, but rather that other persons had long wished for a similar solution. These criteria of the young priest Joseph Ratzinger were consolidated and purified throughout the years, and were taken up by John Paul II, who had considered the possibility of providing appropriate legislation.

The mood among the cardinals designated to reflect upon this theme was favorable [Rorate note: reference to the 1986 commission - cf our 2007 post on the revelation by Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos]. The cardinalatial commission established by John Paul II, in which the influence of Cardinal Ratzinger was undeniable, had proposed to, "eliminate the impression that each missal is the temporal product of each historic epoch," and had affirmed that, "liturgical norms, not being truly and properly 'laws,' cannot be abrogated, but subrogated: the preceding ones in the subsequent ones." The demonstration that is very important, and present in this investigation, is that the attitude of Benedict XVI is not so much a novelty or a change of direction, but rather an accomplishment of what John Paul II had already undertook -- with initiatives such as the consultation of the cardinalatial commission, the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei, and the creation of the Pontifical Commission of the same name, the mass of Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos in Santa Maria Maggiore in 2003, or the declarations of the pope to the Congregation for Divine Worship that same year.

The history of the process reveals that, from the beginning, the wish to preserve the traditional form of the mass was not limited to integrists, but that people of the world of culture or writers, such as Agatha Christie and Jorge Luis Borges, signed a letter demanding its preservation, and that Saint Josemaría Escrivá made use of a personal indult granted spontaneously by Abp. Bugnini himself. It is also to be noted the concern of Benedict XVI to emphasize that the Church does not discard her past: by declaring that the Missal of 1962, "was never juridically abrogated," he made manifest the coherence that the Church wishes to maintain. In effect, she cannot allow herself to disregard, forget, or renounce the treasures and rich heritage of the tradition of the Roman Rite, because the historical heritage of the liturgy of the Church cannot be abandoned, nor can everything be established ex novo without the amputation of fundamental parts of the same Church.

Another important aspect comes from the reading of the historical narrative in this work: the advances that have taken place throughout these years regarding the pastoral sensibility for these faithful, the greater attention to their persons and to their spiritual welfare. In effect, the legislation was at first [Rorate note: "Agatha Christie" Indult, personal indults, Quattuor abhinc annos, Ecclesia Dei adflicta] very limited, it took into account only the clerical world and it practically ignored the lay faithful, considering that the first concern was disciplinarian: to control the potential disobedience to the newly promulgated legislation. With time, the situation took on a more pastoral aspect, in order to meet the needs of these faithful, which ends up being reflected in the strong change of tone of the terminology being used: it is thus that the "problem" of the priests and faithful who remained attached to the so-called tridentine rite is not mentioned anymore, but rather the "wealth" that its preservation represents.

What was thus created was a situation that was analogous to the one that had been normal for so many centuries, because we must recall that Saint Pius V had not forbidden the use of the liturgical traditions that were at least 200 years old. Many religious orders and dioceses therefore preserved their own rite; as Archbishop of Toledo, I was able to live this reality with the Mozarabic Rite. The motu proprio modified the recent situation, by making clear that the celebration of the extraordinary form should be normal, eliminating every restriction [todo condicionamiento] related to the number of interested faithful, and not setting up other conditions for the participation in said celebration than the ones normally required for any public celebration of the mass, which allowed for a wide access to this heritage that, while it is by law a spiritual patrimony of all the faithful, is, in fact, ignored by a great part of them. In effect, the current restrictions to the celebration in the extraordinary form are not different from those in place for any other celebration, in whatever rite. Those who wish to see, in the distinction made by the motu proprio of cum and sine populo, a restriction to the extraordinary form forget that, with the missal promulgated by Paul VI, the celebration cum populo without the authorization and agreement by the parish priest or rector of the church is not allowed either.

On the other hand, the possibility, expressly contemplated in the motu proprio, that in the celebration sine populo the spontaneous presence of faithful be admitted without obstacles (an expression that had provoked more than one ironic remark by the critics of the document) simply allowed for the end of the strange circumstances by which, though celebrated by a priest in a completely regular canonical situation, this mass remained closed to the participation of the faithful simply because of the ritual form being used, a form that was on the other hand fully recognized by the Church. The situation of the 1970s -- in which priests who could not adopt the new missal for reasons of health, age, etc, were condemned to never again celebrating the Eucharist with a community, as small as it could be -- was also prevented, which would be seen, according to the current sensibility, as discriminatory. On the other hand, to deliberately restrict the mass cum populo, limiting in practice the celebration of the extraordinary form sine populo, would contradict the words and intentions of the conciliar constitution: "... whenever rites ... make provision for communal celebration involving the presence and active participation of the faithful, this way of celebrating them is to be preferred, so far as possible, to a celebration that is individual and quasi-private." (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 27)

...

400th Anniversary of the Rituale RomanumApostolic Constitution Apostolicæ Sedi, of June 17, 1614

Paul V Borghese, the great pontiff whose name and surname lord over the façade of the Vatican Basilica and Saint Peter's Square, promulgated at the Liberian Basilica, exactly  400 years ago, on June 17, 1614, the last of the great books that form the basic liturgical texts of our Roman Rite.

In chronological order of publication, they are the following:

1568 - July 9 : Breviarum Romanum [Saint Pius V, Apostolic Constitution "Quod a Nobis]

1570 - July 14 : Missale Romanum [Saint Pius V, Apostolic Constitution "Quo primum tempore"]

1596 - February 10 : Pontificale Romanum [Clement VIII, Apostolic Constitution "Ex quo in Ecclesia Dei"]

1600 - July 14 : Cæremoniale Episcoporum [Clement VIII, Apostolic Constitution "Cum novissime"]

1614 - June 17 : Rituale Romanum [Paul V, Apostolic Constitution "Apostolicae Sedi"]

In all cases, let us remember that these were revised (in the case of most) or new books, as demanded by the Fathers of the Council of Trent, but their content was not new - they should rather be considered compilations of what the best liturgical experts of the time considered the purest and most venerable texts of the Rite. Their contents were in most cases indistinguishable from the best works preceding the great Council: there was never any question of mere invention, or pseudo-archaeological repristination, much less ideological considerations, other than the need to preserve, by authentic repristination, the utmost orthodoxy of the formulas following a century of religious upheaval in Europe.

The Ritual itself is the ultimate compilation: its purpose was to put together in a single volume all the Sacramental orders and other relevant blessings and services celebrated by a priest that are not included in the official texts present in the Missal or the Breviary - though it does include several also published there, being as it is the essential convenient reference book for priests. It is for that reason that it looks less precise than the other liturgical volumes, but that is an essential aspect of its variegated nature. And, indeed, it is for that reason that all priests used to have at least a miniature version of it almost always at hand - and traditional priests still do: one never knows when the Rituale will be needed.

For a final liturgical law note, remember that the entire traditional Roman Ritual, in its last editio typica (1952), as all liturgical books of the Roman Rite in place in 1962, is fully in force for use by all priests of the Latin Church (cf. Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum and its application Instruction Universae Ecclesiae, n. 35: "The use of the Pontificale Romanum, the Rituale Romanum, as well as the Cæremoniale Episcoporum in effect in 1962, is permitted, in keeping with n. 28 of this Instruction, and always respecting n. 31 of the same Instruction.") This must always remain the case: as Benedict XVI taught, truly ad perpetuam rei memoriam..., "What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful" - "it behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place."

______________________________________

APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION

"Apostolicæ Sedi"

OF POPE PAUL VI

on the Edition of the Roman Ritual

POPE PAUL V

ad perpetuam rei memoriam

Called by divine munificence, and not through any personal merit, to occupy the Apostolic See, we deem it our duty to watch with full earnestness over all that concerns the decorum of God's house. And such constant vigilance on our part prompts us to take suitable measures so that, as the Apostle admonishes, everything in divine worship may function decently and orderly. Particularly is this true in regard to the administration of the sacraments of the Church of God; here especially our office obliges us to provide that a religious observance be given those rites and ceremonies established by apostolic tradition and the decrees of the fathers. 

Pope Pius V, our saintly predecessor, fully conscious of his obligation which is now ours, labored with pastoral indefatigability to publish first the Roman Breviary, then the Roman Missal--both having been worked out with much labor and zealous care--so that there might be, God willing, a uniform manner of chanting and praying the Church's liturgy. He did this not only to restore careful observance of the sacred rites in celebrating the Holy Sacrifice and chanting the Divine Office, but also for the purpose of promoting the bond of Catholic unity in faith and in government, under the visible authority of the Roman Pontiff, the successor of St. Peter. 

With similar wisdom our predecessor of blessed memory, Clement VIII, followed in the footsteps of Pius V. He not only gave to the bishops and lesser prelates of the Church the carefully revised Pontifical; but he also made a systematic compilation of many other ceremonies wont to be used in cathedrals and lesser churches, embodied in the Ceremonial which he promulgated. With all this accomplished there remained to be published, by authority of the Holy See, a volume of the Ritual which would contain the genuine and sacred rites of the Catholic Church, those which must be observed by shepherds of souls in the administration of the sacraments and in other ecclesiastical functions. 

Amidst the numerous existing rituals it would rank as the official and authorized one, by whose standard the officiants could fulfill their priestly office unhesitatingly, and with uniformity and precision. This matter had been urged a long time ago. But since the work of the General Councils (whose acts by God's help have been published both in the Greek and Latin tongues) is at present hindered, we considered it our obligation to prosecute the business in right good earnest. 

In order that the task proceed correctly and orderly as it should, we assigned it to certain of our venerable brethren among the cardinals, outstanding for their piety, learning, and sagacity. Aided by the counsel of scholars and through comparison with ancient as well as other available rituals--in particular that erudite work of Julius Antonius of blessed memory, Cardinal with title of St. Severina, a man of singular piety, zeal, and learning--the commission of cardinals has succeeded in compiling a ritual of desired brevity, after mature deliberation and with the help of God. 

Now as we see lying before us this well-arranged assortment of received and approved rites of the Catholic Church, we deem it fitting that it be published for the universal utility of God's Church, under the title of "Roman Ritual." Therefore, we exhort in the Lord the venerable brothers patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, and their vicars, beloved sons of ours, as well as abbots, all pastors wherever they labor, and all others concerned, sons of the Roman Church, that in future they use during the sacred functions this Ritual, made official by the authority of the same Church, mother and mistress of all; and that in a matter so important as this they observe inviolately whatever the Catholic Church with her ancient and approved traditions has laid down.

Given at Rome, at St. Mary Major, under the fisherman's seal, on June 17, 1614, in the tenth year of Our Pontificate.

PAULUS PP. V

[Thanks to Schola Sainte-Cécile for the anniversary reminder; Sancta Missa for the translation above, slightly edited.]

Unbelievable - dying Mario Palmaro's only way to arrange Traditional Funeral Mass: ask for city permit and shame pastor into "allowing" it

The other-than-human hatred for the Traditional Mass continues even after death - in January, our contributor Joseph Shaw presented the Latin Mass Society's guide on a way of ensuring your own Funeral Rites are conducted according to the Traditional Roman Rite (at least in some jurisdictions, see here: A Practical guide to having a Traditional Funeral Mass).

Now, used as he was to the diabolical hatred for the Latin Mass, the late Mario Palmaro (requiescat in pace) devised, during the several months of excruciating suffering and pain caused by the disease that led to his death, another way to ensure the pastor of the cathedral of his city, Monza, would "allow" his funeral Mass to be performed in the Traditional Roman Rite in the Duomo:

"Mario Palmaro leaves a wife and four young children, yet in order to have a Catholic funeral he had to resort to a sort of ploy: while still alive he asked the pastor (archpriest) of [the Cathedral of] Monza, to have the Holy Catholic Mass (V.O.) [i.e. Vetus Ordo] celebrated at his death; the priest answered - 'no way.' But Mario had already written to the Mayor [for a permit], if the funeral were to be refused in the Church, that it be done by a Catholic priest (faithful to the Vetus Ordo) in the square [outside the cathedral]. And the Mayor gave his consent. So, faced with something that could have become a shameful scandal, the pastor had the Mass of All Ages celebrated inside the Cathedral in the presence of a deeply moved crowd." [Riscossa Cristiana, in Italian]*

A great friend of Rorate was present in the Duomo, and he tells us well over one thousand faithful attended the Funeral Mass. Palmaro acted based on experience: one of the first articles we published in translation here by Mario Palmaro and Alessandro Gnocchi was on the denial of the Traditional Funeral Mass for Alessandro Gnocchi's own father (Another traditional funeral Mass denied by a diocese, Nov. 11, 2011).

A subitanea et improvisa morte, libera nos, Domine.

*[Important update, Mar 19, 9:00pm]: the original text of this note, translated above, was the following: "Mario Palmaro lascia la moglie e quattro figli in giovane età e per avere il funerale cattolico ha dovuto ricorrere ad una astuzia: ancor vivo ha chiesto all’arciprete di Monza che nel duomo, alla sua morte, fosse celebrata la S. Messa cattolica; l’arciprete rispose picche. Ma Mario aveva già scritto al sindaco che nel caso gli fossero state vietate le esequie in Chiesa, fossero fatte da un sacerdote cattolico (fedele al vetus ordo) in piazza. E il Sindaco acconsentì. Così, di fronte a quello che poteva divenire uno scandalo vergognoso, l’arciprete ha fatto celebrare la S. Messa di sempre nel duomo alla presenza di una immensa e commossa folla di fedeli." || Several days after our publication, it was changed to this in Riscossa Cristiana, which was brought to our attention today, and changes the order of events: "Ma Mario minacciò di chiedere al Sindaco l’autorizzazione a celebrare le esequie in piazza, con un sacerdote cattolico (fedele al vetus ordo). Così, di fronte a quello che poteva divenire uno scandalo vergognoso, l’arciprete ha fatto celebrare la S. Messa di sempre nel duomo alla presenza di una immensa e commossa folla di fedeli." [Translation: "But Mario threatened to ask the Mayor for a city permit to celebrate the funeral in the square with a Catholic priest (faithful to the vetus ordo). So, faced with something which could have become a shameful scandal, the archpriest allowed the Holy Mass of Ages to be celebrated in the Duomo in the presence of a deeply-moved crowd of people."]

For the Record - Costa Rica: step-by-step account of how Latin Mass was banned in practice in an entire country

A stable group of faithful tried for years to convince their Archbishop in San José, Costa Rica, to please, for the love of God Almighty, be open to the celebration of a regular Traditional Latin Mass in their diocese. Some of them have been contacting the blog for help at least since 2010. There are priests who are qualified, but afraid and silent. Even visiting priests (one of them a priest who works for the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei!) are told that they can celebrate only private Masses without any faithful - yes, all of this is a clear violation of Summorum Pontificum, but why would the authorities care?

This, dear readers in more privileged areas, is the reality in most of the Catholic world. Is there a thirst for the Latin Mass in Latin America? Yes there is, desperately: it was the traditional Latin liturgy that was the liturgical instrument of the greatest work of evangelization ever accomplished, the conversion of what would become Latin America. But violent rejection is what is found instead in many places. It appears beyond comprehension because it is beyond human understanding, as this hatred for the Traditional Mass cannot come from a mere human source.

_____________________________

From the Una Voce of Costa Rica blog:

Official Communiqué

- To the Confused Catholics of Costa Rica and Abroad -
[versión en español aquí]

The purpose of this statement is to present a summarized report of the situation in Costa Rica, particularly in the Archdiocese of San José, in relation to the Mass of Ages, also called the Tridentine Mass, Traditional Latin Mass or Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Una Voce Costa Rica, member of the Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce, a federation with recognition from the Holy See, has been working in recent years for all Catholics in Costa Rica to enjoy what in the letter accompanying the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of His Holiness Benedict XVI was called "a precious treasure to be preserved."

Liturgical Peace and Vocational success in a diocese? It's all up to a good Bishop: the example of Fréjus-Toulon, France

Enough with bad news from intolerant bishops who should know better, and intelligent laymen who should know even better, and instead temporize with each prevailing wind.

Amidst the greatest crisis of bishops in living memory, one good Ordinary makes all the difference: as we have always said, if one bad Bishop can destroy the work of generations, one good Bishop can build up generations of good priests and faithful laity. And, not surprisingly, the best Bishops of our age, instead of inflaming disputes or marginalizing the faithful, open up the Church to Traditional liturgical sensibilities and the glorious liturgical liberty desired by Benedict XVI in Summorum Pontificum.

There are few better examples of this in our age than Bishop Dominique Rey, of Fréjus-Toulon (on the Côte d'Azur, southern France). Paix Liturgique reports:

Letter n. 429 of Paix Liturgique - March 5, 2014

A French diocese with no lack of vocations and attractive for priests, whichever may be their sensitibility? A diocese that, on top of that, has practically no church without a priest? This diocese, and it truly exists, is that of Fréjus-Toulon. The secret is simply and entirely in the great pastoral "realism" of the diocesan team that welcomes clergymen, or future clergymen, as they are, respecting their own identity, with the only condition of their having a true will to evangelize.

In fact, a space of true Christian freedom was established in the diocese guided today by Bp. Rey; and of true liturgical peace, as witnessed by the establishment, for the greater good of all, of a Summorum Pontificum [academic] course within the diocesan seminary itself. In many respects, the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon is certainly the one where the spirit of the Motu Proprio has developed best, to the point that more and more parish priests spontaneously open up, within their pastoral, a "window" for the traditional liturgy.

It is about this that we wish to give today a very concrete example through that of the Cathedral of Fréjus, the sole French cathedral where the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated every single day!

I - The History of a Mass

Chambéry, Nîmes, Verdun, Noyon, Cayenne, Toulon and Fréjus [the last two co-cathedrals of the same diocese]. These are the seven French cathedrals that offer at least once a month a celebration according to the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite to their faithful. Only in three of them is the Mass offered every Sunday: Saint-François-de-Sales de Chambéry (9h30 AM), Notre-Dame de Noyon (6 PM) and Saint-Léonce de Fréjus (at 7:30 AM)! Despite this difficult Sunday timeslot, the latter is nonetheless the only French cathedral offering the daily application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

... It was the auxiliary priest, Father Forestier, who began celebrating in the extraordinary form in the cathedral in 2011, invited by Father Boussand, who was then temporarily responsible for Saint-Léonce, other than his position as pastor of Saint-Aygulf. ... It was in 2012, with the nomination as vicar of Father Brustenga, that the celebration of the extraordinary form became daily in the Cathedral. Father Brustenga, a Spanish priest ordained in 1986, began by celebrating at 7:30 in the morning, Sundays included. Wishing to allow more faithful to take part, particularly the young, he decided to change the time of the weekday masses to 7 AM, in order to allow students to arrive in their classes on time. The extraordinary form is thus offered every day at Saint-Léonce and even twice on Mondays and Saturdays.

According to one of the regular faithful at Saint-Léonce, the assistance to the very early [weekday] Masses of Father Brustenga went from just a few individuals to twenty today. ...

II – Reflections of Paix Liturgique.

In 2014, the presence of twenty faithful at a 7 AM Mass on a weekday is a heavenly gift that many pastors would love to have. The pastoral zeal of the priest who celebrates this Mass finds its reward in this. Of course, such an "extraordinary" result is only possible thanks to the environment of peace that the Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon established in his diocese, and to the goodwill of the pastor, Father Warowny, who nonetheless has an entirely liturgical sensibility.

In sum, what we see in the cathedral of Fréjus is an application that is perfectly serene and true to the spirit that animated Benedict XVI at the time of the promulgation of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. ...

Note: in 2013, Fréjus-Toulon, a diocese with a population of about 1 million people (23rd diocese in France by population), had 10 priestly ordinations; still not enough, but by far the largest group in France; in second place came Versailles (8th in population, another diocese very open to Summorum Pontificum), with 8, and Paris (1st in population), with 6 ordinations. Most dioceses had none whatsoever, and most of those that held ordinations ordained only 1 (source). In 2012, Paris had 10 ordinations, and Fréjus-Toulon was the second, with 7 (source). In 2011, Fréjus-Toulon was the first, with 15 ordinations, 6 in Metz, and Versailles the third, with 5 (source).

[Source; our translation, as usual. Tip and image of Fréjus: Tradinews]

The Mass of 1965: back to the future? Why it is not an option

The Psalm Iudica (psalm 42): crossed out in 1965

One reason why many good-hearted people wanted a 'Reform of the Reform' is that some kind of reform was called for by the Second Vatican Council in Sacrosanctum Concilium ('SC'). Now that some of them have given up on the project of tinkering with the Novus Ordo, an alternative would seem to be going back to the 1962 Missal and using the Council's criteria to make the reform again. To undertake the Reform We Should Have Had. Fr Somerville-Knapmann suggests it might look like the transitional Missal of 1965. Fr Mark Kirby says very much the same thing with more detail.

The first thing to note is that this wasn't a new edition of the Missal, but just a set of provisional revisions made by the Instruction Inter Oecumenici. There was another lot in 1967, and then the new Missa Normativa came out in 1969. Inter Oecumenici says about itself that it authorizes or mandates that those measures that are practicable before revision of the liturgical books go into effect immediately.

Again:

Until reform of the entire Ordo Missae, the points that follow are to be observed: 

The End of the "Reform of the Reform": "I could have better spent my time with the Traditional Roman Liturgy"

Pontifical Mass in Nagasaki
1949

Friends, readers, especially young priests, listen to the voice of experience, do not waste your "energy" trying to square the circle of the 1960s "fabrication" [copyright: RATZINGER Joseph]. Listen to Dom Mark Kirby (first post here):

After having devoted nearly forty years to a worthy “reform of the reform”; after having taught and defended the Novus Ordo Missae to the best of my ability; after having composed — to a certain acclaim, even from a dean of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Liturgy — an entire monastic antiphonal in modal plainchant for the French liturgical texts; after having composed hundreds of plainchant settings for the Proper of the Mass in the vernacular; after having fought mightily for the restoration of the Proper Chants of the Mass; after having argued to the point of exhaustion for an intelligent obedience to the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani; after having poured myself out in lectures and in preaching to priests, seminarians, and religious, I am obliged to conclude that I could have better spent my time and my energy humbly carrying out the traditional liturgy such as I discovered it — and such as I so loved it — in the joy of my youth. I say this not with bitterness but with the seasoned resignation of a weary veteran lately come home from an honourable defeat in the liturgical Thirty Years War.

I respect those priests and layfolk who continue to believe in “the reform of the reform”. I honour their devotion and perseverance but, from where I stand and at this point in my life, I think their energy misplaced. Life is short. I can no longer advise others to devote the most productive years of their life to patching up a building that was, manifestly, put up with haste during a boom in frenzied construction; it has shifting foundations, poor insulation, defective fixtures, and a leaky roof. Right next door, there is another old house, comely, solidly built, and in good repair. It may need a minor adjustment here or there, but it is a house in which one feels at home and in which it is good to live, and it is there that I choose to live out my days. If others choose to live in the “fix–up” next door, I can only wish them well, confident that we can live as good neighbours all the same, with frequent chats over the fence in the back garden, exchanging insights, and perhaps even learning something from one another.

One the things I have learned over the past forty years, and this amidst the taedium of much dura et aspera, is that monks (and nuns) who profess the contemplative life gained nothing from changing the forms, content, and language of the sacred liturgy. Liturgical change swept through monasteries like a hurricane, leaving the most pitiful destruction in its wake. Did the so–called liturgical renewal in monasteries give rise to an increase in vocations? Did it generate a more generous commitment to the touchstones of sound monastic observance? Did it foster a greater zeal for the Opus Dei? Few monasteries have recovered from the ensuing decades of liturgical unrest.

...

I shall never forget the anguish generated by trying to invent new psalm tones suited to the vernacular, all the while clinging desperately in my heart to the chants of the Antiphonale Monasticum that had taken root there. Memories of the traditional liturgy persisted, through the winter of my discontent, like the lovely blossoms of the crocus, in trying to pierce the frozen crust that had been laid over my hortus conclusus. The “bare ruin’d choirs” of so many abbeys today attest, sadly, to the inward wreckage wrought by liturgical innovation, even when carried out, as it usually was, with the best intentions, and out of a skewed notion of uncritical obedience to what was misrepresented as “the mind of the Church”. [Source]

Terminology: What is the "official" name of the Traditional Latin Mass?Is it "Extraordinary Form"?

We never thought it would be necessary to write this, since both aspects we will treat seem to be obvious, and have seemed so since 2007. Yet, there have been so many misunderstandings regarding the expression "Extraordinary Form" that we feel constrained to make two points clear.

______________

(1) Why was the name "Extraordinary Form" introduced by Benedict XVI in the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum? Answer: in order to solve a liturgical law conumdrum.

Traditionally, throughout the history of the Church - at least since the differentiation of rites became clear and attached to specific patriarchies and geographical areas - bi-ritual priests have been exceptional. They still are an exception. Additionally, Benedict XVI felt the need to finally undo the injustice that had been kept - and defended by most canonists - since the advent of the Apostolic Constitution Missale Romanum, of Paul VI (1969), that had created the Novus Ordo Missae: had it, and the previous and subsequent documents that modified all rites of sacraments, abrogated the Traditional Roman Rite?

The use of the term "form" solved both problems: it did not make all priests in the Latin Church, including the vast majority of secular priests, immediately bi-ritual (in law), which would be rather untraditional; and, most importantly, it solved the apparent problem of the impossibility of the abrogation of a liturgical rite of immemorial origin. (It was an apparent problem because, as the Pope implied when he said that "what earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful," the immemorial liturgical Rites and Uses of the Latin Church could not and cannot be simply abrogated.) In a sense it is a benevolent artifice, a noble intellectual construction, since the common celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass seem to express two very distinct rites - but the use of such legal constructions is quite common in law, and there is nothing unseemly in it. The use of the terminology made clear that celebrating the Traditional Mass is a solemn right of each priest of the Latin Church.

______________

(2) Despite this, the expression "Extraordinary Form" is NOT the "official" name of the Traditional Roman Rite. It is just one of the many ways to refer to it. In fact, as it can be seen in the very texts of the official documents, several different names are used to refer to the Traditional Roman Rite.

The motu proprio itself speaks in its first words of the "extraordinary use" and of the "ancient form" (antiqua forma) of the Roman Rite. In its articles, mention is made of "the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII" (that is, Missal of St. Pius V also is as "official" as "Missal of Bl. John XXIII" - no wonder Cardinal Navarette-Cortes used the term in 2008); it is an "extraordinary expression" (extraordinaria expressio), and also "extraordinary form" (forma extraordinaria). It is also called by the motu proprio the "earlier liturgical tradition".

The rites of sacraments according to the Traditional Rituale Romanum are characterized as according to the more ancient ritual (Rituale antiquior), same adjective applied to the Pontifical, and to the form itself: earlier form (forma antiquior).

All these names are included in the short text of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum itself!

In the letter to bishops, mention is also made of "the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970". The Pope says in the letter that they are not "two rites" (though in the letter he uses the name "new rite"! - making us quite comfortable with also using the expression old rite...), but also uses different names for it therein: a "usage", the "earlier Form", the "1962 missal", the "old Missal", the "ancient Latin liturgical tradition" (a very beautiful name, by the way)

In the Instruction Universae Ecclesiae, preference is given to the expression "forma extraordinaria", but also there all kinds of different expressions: "usage", "use", "Usus antiquior", "1962 Missal"...

These are just the "official" names used widely in the documents themselves - not forgetting the need for clarity that demands a continued use of expressions that are established in the vernacular, such as Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in English, and "Tridentine Mass" (even if not particularly exact) in English and in several European languages. Not to mention the very respectable use (for instance, by former President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos) of the expressions "Gregorian Rite" and "Classical Roman Liturgy".

Lastly, in the current pontificate, the rite has more than once been called "Vetus Ordo", including once by Pope Francis himself, and once in the document of intervention in the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Besides, with the coming canonization of the Pope of 1962, we will soon have reason to mention the Missal of Saint John XXIII...

______________

THEREFORE: (1) do not feel forced in any way to use the name Extraordinary Form as if it were the only acceptable name - it is not even the exclusive name used in the documents themselves;

(2) do not complain when others use it, just do not use it yourself.

______________
[Reposted, with recent events included in the text.]

IMPORTANT Pope Francis on Feb. 14: "Old Mass? Just a kind of fashion!"

Yesterday (Friday, Feb. 14), Pope Francis held an audience with the Bishops of the Czech Republic who came to Rome for their ad limina visit.

In the visit, as it usually happens in such cases, other than the formal address, the Pope heard the questions and comments of the bishops. Archbishop Jan Graubner, of Olomouc, told the Czech section of Vatican Radio what the Pope told him:

[Abp. Jan Graubner speaks:] When we were discussing those who are fond of the ancient liturgy and wish to return to it, it was evident that the Pope speaks with great affection, attention, and sensitivity for all in order not to hurt anyone. However, he made a quite strong statement when he said that he understands when the old generation returns to what it experienced, but that he cannot understand the younger generation wishing to return to it. "When I search more thoroughly - the Pope said - I find that it is rather a kind of fashion [in Czech: 'móda']. And if it is a fashion, therefore it is a matter that does not need that much attention. It is just necessary to show some patience and kindness to people who are addicted to a certain fashion. But I consider greatly important to go deep into things, because if we do not go deep, no liturgical form, this or that one, can save us."

[Tip and translation: Czech reader MC, directly into English from Czech original.]

_____________________________

Roman weather: always hard to predict

Traditionalists are extremely stable and strongly fashion-averse. But as for the winds in Rome!... Roma è mobile, qual piuma al vento! Under seven years ago, the opinion of the then-reigning and still living Holy Father (one who was much more acquainted with the issue at hand) was quite different:

Immediately after the Second Vatican Council it was presumed that requests for the use of the 1962 Missal would be limited to the older generation which had grown up with it, but in the meantime it has clearly been demonstrated that young persons too have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist ... . ... What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place. (Benedict XVI, July 7, 2007 Letter to Bishops)

Pope Francis appoints a Tradition-friendly Bishop in Italy

It cannot be said that the appointment of bishops has gotten worse in the new Pontificate: as in the past ones, one finds great names favorable to Tradition along with mediocre liberals and liberal careerists. Not any different from what used to happen in the Benedictine years, which did not give us, alas, and contrariwise to what had been expected, a continuous parade of solid episcopal appointments.

The appointment on January 25 by Pope Francis of the rector of the seminary of the diocese of Albenga-Imperia (Liguria), Msgr. Antonio Suetta, as new bishop of the neighboring diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo, on the border with France, was widely welcomed by Tradition-minded Catholics throughout Italy. As we have often reported here, the bishop of Albenga-Imperia, Mario Oliveri, has made his diocese an "oasis for the 1962 Missal in Italy". In contrast the diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo has not been as welcoming. Bishop-elect Suetta has been a faithful follower of Bp. Oliveri, and will hopefully proceed with at least being open to Traditional practices in the diocese he will now head.

(Tip and image source: Cordialiter)

A Call for Unity

Ecce quam bonum et quam iucundum...

The division of the Traditional Catholic world was a master stroke by the enemies of the 1962 Missal and of the Roman Catechism. They have managed to sow discord between friends and to establish fratricidal hatred among priests who used to march together hand in hand. The first group began to treat their brothers as radicals, the second called the others sellouts. The former were convinced that those who remained under Abp. Lefebvre would soon fall in total schism, and the latter thought with certitude that their former brothers would abandon both Mass and Catechism.

What can we say more than a quarter-century later? That, on both sides, these judgments were, in great measure, overreactions.

On its own side, for all its known problems, the Society of Saint Pius X did not become schismatic or a parallel "church". It has always kept contacts with Rome and has made what it considered necessary in order to regularize its situation with the successive popes, even if, for reasons that its superiors considers prudential (and with which we ourselves may prudentially disagree), regularization has not been achieved for the moment. On the other side, the Ecclesia Dei communities never abandoned the Traditional Mass, nor traditional Catechesis.

It must be said in all honesty: on the side of the SSPX, recognition of the Pope remains, and the desire for its work to be recognized is still sought, according to different measures that vary from person to person. On the side of the Ecclesia Dei communities, there remains a disapproval of the new Mass (regardless of the fact that it is considered both valid and legitimate) and of the alteration of traditional doctrine, both of which are also expressed differently from person to person. The exceptions within these groups confirm the rule in both communities.

VERY RELEVANTThe Franciscans of the Immaculate under visitation 30 of 33 FI-run TLMs in Italy shut down since July 11

Il Coordinamento Nazionale del Summorum Pontificum reports that out of 33 sites where the Franciscans of the Immaculate had offered the Traditional Latin Mass daily or weekly before July 11, only 3 still have this Mass. 

More specifically, the Vetus Ordo had been said daily, or at least weekly, in almost all the houses of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in Italy. In addition, it was celebrated in parishes entrusted to the friars, namely, the parishes of All Saints' (Ognissanti) in Florence, Santo Spirito in Ferrara, S. Maria Maggiore in Trieste and S. Domenico in Teramo. The Vetus Ordo was also celebrated by the friars in the Santuario della B. V. Addolorata in Campocavallo, the FI's Seminary in Sassoferrato, and in Santa Maria Annunziata in Borgo in Rome (the Nunziatina). 

After July 11, by order of the Apostolic Commissioner, the Seminary in Sassoferrato was closed (as Rorate earlier reported) and another three houses suppressed (in the Diocese of Albenga-Imperia, where the bishop had tried to support the friars in trying to retain the Traditional Latin Mass, as reported in numerous sources). In the remaining places where the FI had offered the Vetus Ordo before July 11, only the Ognissanti in Florence, S. Domenico in Teramo, and the Santuario della B. V. Addolorata in Campocavallo still have them. Requests to continue the celebration of the Vetus Ordo in the other sites were refused by the Apostolic Commissioner.

A brief English notice relaying the same news can be found here; this page also appeals to readers for information on the state of TLM sites formerly run by the FI in countries outside of Italy.

Please, also send this information or corrections to Rorate for a fair and accurate future report on the status of FI-kept Traditional Masses in Italy and throughout the world.

Summorum Pontificum and Liturgical Law

Our second "Summorum Note" was on what changes the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum made to the Law of the Latin Church and the liturgical rights or prerogatives of priests and faithful.

Six years later, are those rights and prerogatives under threat? They should not be, as you can see in Fr. Cassian Folsom's excellent talk on Summorum Pontificum and Liturgical Law, given on Dec. 13 at the Brompton Oratory (we announced the event here):

Despite the practical difficulties involved in this arrangement [two forms in one Rite as established in Summorum Pontificum], Gamber thought that in the long run, it would foster the unity of the Church’s liturgical prayer. “If we allow the traditional rite to continue unchanged and nurture it, alongside the new rite but allowing the traditional rite to exist as a living liturgy, not as a museum piece, it will manifest itself within the universe of the Church and among the different peoples as an important element: the unity of cult.”

Source: PDF document. In audio here at the website of the Monks of Norcia (Nursia).

Important Sign of the Times: After 14 years, First Saturday TLM abolished at Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome

Beginning today [yesterday], first Saturday of the year, a 14-year-old custom has been interrupted: the celebration of the Holy Mass in the Ancient Rite every first Saturday of the month in honor of the Virgin, in the Cesi Chapel of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major [Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome].

The person responsible for the suspension is the Archpriest of the Basilica, Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló.

The information above is from Chiesa e post concilio and, though we cannot verify the responsibility of the Cardinal -- which can, in any way, be presumed -- we have been able to confirm independently that, for the first time in 14 years, the First Saturday Mass at Santa Maria Maggiore was not celebrated yesterday. Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló, a Spaniard, was Apostolic Nuncio in Argentina from 2000 to 2003 and is considered a close friend of the Pope since his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

A community of the Franciscans of the Immaculate have aided in the service of the Liberian Basilica in the past few years, but this is an independent matter, as these First Saturday Masses were celebrated before they arrived there and until the first Saturday of December 2013. [Image: First Saturday Traditional Latin Mass celebrated in the Cappella Cesi in 2010.]

________________________

[Note: See also below our two new pieces on the intervention on the Franciscans of the Immaculate, by Antonio Socci ("In the Vatican, a new Progressive Inquisition") and Sandro Magister ("With the Franciscans of the Immaculate, treatment worse than disease").]

Father Manelli’s Pastoral Report to the Franciscans of the Immaculate

The following is a translation of the fourth part of Fr. Stefano Manelli’s Pastoral Report to the Franciscans of the Immaculate titled “The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum for the growth of the Religious Life," issued after the promulgation of Summorum Pontificum. The first parts are available in Italian on Chiesa e postConcilio.  Fr. Manelli, in his Introduction, using St. Ambrose’s image of the Church as the moon that reflects the light of Christ the sun, speaks as follows: 

Mindful of the words and thoughts of the holy Archbishop of Milan let us now turn our attention to the real situation of the Church in which we live.  Let us say first of all that it is certainly not difficult to admit that today the splendor of the Bride of Christ is passing through an eclipse of perhaps singular proportions in her two thousand year history.  This crisis, that embraces the entire inner life of the Bride of Christ, according to the Holy Father Benedict XVI, ‘depends in great part of the collapse of the liturgy’ that happened not in the Council but in the post-Conciliar time.

Father Manelli goes on to offer concrete numbers that show the precipitous decline in the major religious orders.  The main part of the Pastoral Report, using patristic, medieval and post-Tridentine sources, lays out clearly the relationship of the Religious Life and the Liturgy, the Religious Life and the Mass, and the Religious Life and the Divine Office.  Part 4 deals with the consequences of the liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council.

-------------------------------------------------------

The Motu Proprio “Summorum Pontificum” for the growth of the Religious Life 

 Fr. Stefano M. Manelli, F.I.

(Founder and Minister General of the Franciscans of the Immaculate)

4.  What happened in the decade of the 1960s?

Until the decade of the 1960s, the liturgical patrimony that characterized every single Religious Order remained nearly unchanged, save for the appropriate marginal modifications regarding, for example, the liturgical calendar, which has always been enriched or trimmed under the watchful supervision of the official Church.  In those years the Church still enjoyed an extraordinary fecundity of religious vocations, an accompanying growth in the Missions, and a solidity and maturity of the Christian life of the people of God.

Franciscans of the Immaculate part 2, from our very well-informed sourceFriars who signed petition told by Volpi they were "outside the Church"Threatened to deny them Sacraments if they didn't sign retractions

Rorate has, from the beginning, done everything we can to shed light on the unjust and problematic Vatican intervention in the Franciscans of the Immaculate (FI). Last week, Catholic World Report ran a completely erroneous story on the FI, and Rorate's very well-informed source wrote a thorough rebuttal. Then, yet another piece was written by the website owned by Ignatius Press, which must be corrected for the record. 

This is the second piece written by our very well-informed source (we cannot underline this enough). While we urge anyone who wishes to reprint this to do so, we must request you cite Rorate Caeli as the source, and either reprint it in full or link to the full story. To read all of Rorate’s coverage of this sad situation, click the label “FFI under intervention” at the bottom of this post.

From our very well-informed source:

Commissioner Fr. Volpi, who has brought the interdiction upon the FI, at the order of Pope Francis.

I see that Michael J. Miller has done me the courtesy of replying. Some further comments and clarifications seem appropriate.