Newsletter of the District
of the Formation of the Holy Mass
I - The Development of the Roman Rite up till 1570
there was no papal or conciliar legislation regulating the celebration
of Mass throughout the Roman Rite until the Bull Quo Primum Tempore
in 1570. The most significant aspect of the Missal promulgated
by this Bull is that it did not legislate on the manner in which
Mass should be celebrated but gave legal sanction to the manner
in which the Mass was being celebrated. The primary characteristic
of liturgical development until Vatican II was that legislation
codified development, not that development was initiated by legislation.
the fourth century no liturgical books were used during Mass except
for the Bible from which the lessons were read. The Mass contained
two distinct parts. The first was a Christianized synagogue service
of prayers, readings, and a sermon. At the end of this “Liturgy
of the Word” the catechumens, those who were not baptized, had to
leave, hence the name “Mass of the Catechumens”. Then followed
the second part, the Christian Mystery, the Eucharist. This was
an extempore celebration by the bishop but from apostolic times
it had already acquired fixed forms. When St. Paul recounts the
words of Institution he is citing an already established Eucharistic
faithful participated in the Eucharist with appropriate hymns and
responses, something they could not have done without fixed forms.
A characteristic of the Christian faith has been a conservative,
conservationist mentality. Thus a new bishop would be expected
to pray with the same prayers used by his predecessor because that
was the way things were done.
most evident characteristic of the Apostolic Church was missionary
zeal. Our Lord had commanded his apostles to preach the Gospel
unto all nations, and woe unto them who neglected His command.
When a missionary founded a new Church he would naturally use the
rites with which he was familiar. The constant movement of Christians
among the different Churches1 insured a fairly uniform
general pattern. This pattern still forms the basis of all the
ancient rites still in use today as is made clear in a description
of the liturgy in the celebrated Apologia (explanation or
justification) of St. Justin Martyr (d. about 164). All the elements
of the traditional Roman Mass can easily be discerned in his account.
the practice of writing down the liturgy had become established
in the fourth century the more or less uniform pattern previously
used crystallized into four parent rites from which all others are
derived. The word “rite” can be used in two different senses.
It can refer to the order of service for particular liturgical functions:
we thus refer to the rite of Baptism, the rite of Mass, the rite
for blessing palms. It can also refer to the entire complex of
liturgical services of a particular religion: we speak of Jewish
rites, Christian rites, Hindu rites. The Roman Rite in this sense
refers to all the liturgical services used by Churches within the
Roman Patriarchate. The term “liturgy” is also applied to a complex
of services and so the terms “Roman Rite” and Roman Liturgy” are
of the four rites derive from the three ancient patriarchates of
Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch which were recognized by the Council
of Nicea (325). The jurisdiction of a patriarch extends over the
territories adjoining his own see. Patriarchal jurisdiction includes
the right of ordaining the metropolitans, i.e. bishops of the principal
sees in the Patriarchate, trying them when accused, and hearing
appeals against their judgments. Jerusalem and Constantinople were
recognized as patriarchates by the Council of Chalcedon (451) but
their liturgies were derived from that of Antioch.
prestige of the patriarchal sees resulted in their liturgies being
gradually adopted by neighboring cities until they spread throughout
the patriarchate. The principle that rite corresponds with patriarchate
then evolved with one notable exception. Four “parent-rites” have
been referred to but the fourth, the Gallican Rite, does not derive
from a patriarchal see. The Pope was Patriarch of all Western (Latin)
Europe, yet the greater part of the West did not use the Roman Rite.
The North of Italy (whose center was Milan), Gaul, Germany, Spain,
Britain,3 and Ireland, all had their own liturgies.
These liturgies are all modifications of a common type and are referred
to as the Gallican Rite. It is obviously Eastern in origin and
may derive from Antioch, though this is disputed. In spreading
over Western Europe the rite was subjected to local variations and
history of the liturgy in the West from the sixth century onwards
is that of the gradual supplanting of the Gallican by the Roman
Rite but this was the work not of the popes but of the local bishops
or monarchs who wished to conform to the use of the Apostolic See.
the fifth century onwards, liturgical traditions and customs were
collected into books called Sacramentaries. A Sacramentary does
not correspond with the modern Missal as it only contained those
parts of the liturgy said by the priest at the altar, e.g. the Collects,
Preface, Cannon, but not the readings or chants. The most important
of these was the Gregorian Sacramentary, traditionally ascribed
to Saint Gregory I. The oldest surviving copy is dated about 811
or 812. This Sacramentary provides the basis of the Missal of St.
Pius V and fixed the liturgical calendar. In 785 or 786 Charlemagne
obtained a copy of this Sacramentary from Pope Adrian I in order
to obtain a more uniform liturgy within his empire. The Sacramentary
was incomplete and did not include the ordinary Sunday Masses.
Charlemagne entrusted his liturgical reform to the direction of
an Anglo-Saxon, Alcuin of York (c. 735-804). Alcuin had the task
of completing the Gregorian Sacramentary, which he did with Masses
and prayers drawn from the Gallican sources. His Missal was made
the official Mass book for the Frankish Church and spread throughout
Europe. It was largely instrumental in achieving the high degree
of uniformity which existed in pre-Reformation Europe. But although
the Gallican liturgy was eventually supplanted by the Roman liturgy
it was a Roman liturgy containing distinct Gallican elements. Father
So we see that at the latest by the tenth or eleventh century
the Roman Rite has driven out the Gallican except in two sees (Milan
and Toledo), and is used alone throughout the West, thus at last
verifying here too the principle that rite follows patriarchate.
But in the long and gradual supplanting of the Gallican Rite the
Roman was itself affected by its rival, so that when at last it
emerges as sole possessor it is no longer the old pure Roman Rite,
but has become the gallicanized Roman Use that we now follow.
Roman elements are sober, restrained and dignified while the Gallican
elements are more exuberant and contribute the variety and emotion
which play a vital role in bringing the Roman Mass as near to perfection
as any earthly liturgy can be.
the pontificate of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), the Franciscans
decided to adopt the Missal according to the Rite of the Roman Curia
(Missale Romanum for short) and the wandering friars eventually
carried it all over the world. It was soon the predominant Mass
book in Christendom and paved the way for the reform of St. Pius
V, even though there were still some developments to come, e. g.
the prayers at the foot of the altar, the priest’s Offertory prayers,
the Last Gospel. Pope Nicholas III (1277-1280) imposed a modified
version of the Franciscan version of the Missal of the Curia upon
the diocese of Rome and it is in all important respects the form
found in the Missal of St. Pius V. The first printed Roman Missal
was published in Milan in 1474; the Order of Mass is virtually identical
to that contained in the Missal of 1570.
Protestant Reformation provided the stimulus for a liturgical reform
which would have become necessary in any case. The exuberance of
some local variations of the Roman Rite with their many sequences
and all sorts of customs, some of them strange and eclectic had
lasted long enough. But far more important was the need for a uniform
and authoritative liturgical expression of Catholic Eucharistic
teaching. This would provide a bastion of the true faith against
the Protestant heresies which the Reformers had expressed in their
new liturgies. As I have shown in Cranmer’s Godly Order,
the Reformer’s gave liturgical expression to their heresies principally
by removing prayers from the variants of the Roman Rite previously
used in the local churches over which they had obtained control.
The two particular Protestant bêtes noires were the Offertory
Prayers and the Roman Canon.
Council of Trent codified Catholic Eucharistic teaching in clear
but inspiring terms. This teaching must remain unmodified until
the end of time:
And so this Council teaches the true and genuine doctrine about
this venerable and divine sacrament of the Eucharist -- the doctrine
which the Catholic Church has always held and which She will hold
until the end of the world, as She learned it from Christ Our Lord
Himself, from His Apostles, and from the Holy Ghost, Who continually
brings all truth to Her mind. The Council forbids all the faithful
of Christ henceforth to believe, teach, or preach anything about
the most Holy Eucharist that is different from what is explained
and defined in the present decree.
Council decreed a reform of the Roman Rite and it appears not merely
reasonable but obvious that it intended the reformed Missal to be
invested with the same permanence as its doctrinal teaching. The
Missal is, therefore, not simply a personal decree of the Sovereign
Pontiff, but an act of the Council of Trent even though the Council
closed on 4 December 1563 before the Commission finished its task.
The matter was remitted to Pope Pius IV but he died before the work
was concluded so that it was his successor, St. Pius V, who promulgated
the Missal resulting from the Council with the Bull Quo Primum
Tempore, July 14, 1570. Because the Missal is an act of the
Council of Trent its official title is Missale Romanum ex decreto
sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini restitutum (“The Roman Missal
restored according to the decrees of the Holy Council of Trent”).
This was the first time during the one thousand, five hundred and
seventy years of the Church’s history that a Council or Pope had
legislated on the subject of the liturgy.
Bull Quo Primum Tempore
Does not promulgate a new missal but consolidates and codifies (statuimus
et ordinamus) the immemorial Roman Rite.
It extends its use throughout the Latin Church except:
For the rites having a continuous usage of over two hundred years,
And grants an indult to all priests to freely and lawfully use this
Missal in perpetuity.
The Bull specifies minutely the persons, times, and places to which
its provisions apply.
The obligation is confirmed by express sanctions.
2 - The Bull Quo Primum and other subsequent papal texts.
give hereafter four major texts, (the first one complete, the other
three, extracts only) in order to show the mind of the Magisterium
in liturgical matters before Vatican II. It can be summed up in
the words “Tradidi quod et accepi - I have passed on what I myself
have received”(cf. I Cor. XI, 23). The difference between this
pre-Vatican II conservative attitude and the new conciliar attitude
of creativity, of inculturation, of evolution, which now exists
in the Church is very clear. As it was said above, the primary
characteristic of liturgical development until Vatican II was that
legislation codified development, not that development was initiated
first text is the famous Bull Quo Primum of 1570 with notes
from a well-known French canonist. Less than 35 years later, Pope
Clement VIII, in his Brief Cum Sanctissimum of 1604, calls
everyone’s attention on the necessity to cling faithfully to Quo
Primum. Another 30 years later, Urban VIII makes a new examination
on the fidelity to observe the prescriptions of his predecessors.
(We must always keep in mind that the Protestant reformation was
in full bloom all the time.) Finally, St Pius X, in 1911, legislating
on the Divine Office this time, takes nevertheless as his rule to
walk in line with the three popes previously mentioned. How far
have our modern liturgists gone from this attitude of respect towards
the ancients! “(These popes) religiously kept this law: the heritage
of our Fathers” (St. Pius X).
a) The Bull Quo Primum
Tempore, July 14th, 1570
of the Servants of God
perpetuam rei memoriam
Our elevation to the Apostolic throne We gladly turned Our mind
and energies, and directed all Our thoughts, to the matter of preserving
incorrupt the public worship of the Church; and We have striven,
with God’s help, by every means in Our power to achieve that purpose.
amongst other decrees of the Holy Council of Trent, We were charged
with revision and re-issue of the sacred books, to wit the Catechism,
the Missal and the Breviary; and whereas We have with God’s consent
published a Catechism for the instruction of the faithful, and thoroughly
revised the Breviary for the due performance of the Divine Office,
We next, in order that Missal and Breviary might be in perfect harmony,
as is right and proper (considering that it is altogether fitting
that there should be in the Church only one appropriate manner of
Psalmody and one sole rite of celebrating Mass), deemed it necessary
to give Our immediate attention to what still remained to be done,
namely the re-editing of the Missal with the least possible delay.
resolved accordingly to delegate this task to a select committee
of scholars; and they, having at every stage of their work and with
the utmost care collated the ancient codices in Our Vatican Library
and reliable (original or amended) codices from elsewhere, and having
also consulted the writing of ancient and approved authors who have
bequeathed to us records relating to the said sacred rites, thus
restored the Missal itself to the pristine form and rite of the
holy Fathers. When this production had been subjected to close
scrutiny and further amended We, after mature consideration, ordered
the final result be forthwith printed and published in Rome, so
that all may enjoy the fruits of this labor: that priests may know
what prayers to use, and what rites and ceremonies they are to observe
henceforward in the celebration of Masses.
therefore, in order that all everywhere may adopt and observe what
has been delivered to them by the Holy Roman Church, Mother and
Mistress of the other churches, it shall be unlawful henceforth
and for ever throughout the Christian world to sing or to read Masses
according to any formula other than that of this Missal published
by Us; this ordinance to apply to all churches and chapels, with
or without cure of souls, patriarchal, collegiate and parochial,
be they secular or belonging to any religious Order whether of men
(including the military Orders) or of women, in which conventual
Masses are or ought to be sung aloud in choir or read privately
according to the rites and customs of the Roman Church; to apply
moreover even if the said churches have been in any way exempted,
whether by indult of the Apostolic See, by custom, by privilege,
or even by oath or Apostolic confirmation, or have their rights
and faculties guaranteed to them in any way whatsoever; saving only
those in which the practice of saying Mass differently was granted
over 200 years ago simultaneously with the Apostolic See’s institution
and confirmation of the church, and those in which there has prevailed
a similar custom followed continuously for a period of not less
than 200 years; in which cases We in no wise rescind their prerogatives
or customs aforesaid. Nevertheless, if this Missal which We have
seen fit to publish be more agreeable to these last, We hereby permit
them to celebrate Mass according to its rite, subject to the consent
of their bishop or prelate, and of their whole Chapter, all else
to the contrary notwithstanding.1 All other churches
aforesaid are hereby denied the use of other missals, which are
to be wholly and entirely rejected; and by this present Constitution,
which shall have the force of law in perpetuity, We order and enjoin
under pain of Our displeasure2 that nothing be added
to Our newly published Missal, nothing omitted therefrom, and nothing
whatsoever altered therein.
specifically command each and every patriarch, administrator and
all other persons of whatsoever ecclesiastical dignity, be they
even Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, or possessed of any other
rank or pre-eminence, and We order them by virtue of holy obedience
to sing or to read the Mass according to the rite and manner and
norm herein laid down by Us, and henceforward to discontinue and
utterly discard all other rubrics and rites of other missals, howsoever
ancient, which they have been accustomed to follow, and not to presume3
in celebrating Mass to introduce any ceremonies or recite any prayers
other than those contained in this Missal.
by these presents and by virtue of Our Apostolic authority We give
and grant in perpetuity4 that for the singing or reading
of Mass in any church whatsoever this Missal may be followed absolutely,5
without any scruple of conscience or fear of incurring any penalty,
judgment or censure, and may be freely and lawfully used.6
Nor shall bishops, administrators, canons, chaplains and other secular
priests, or religious of whatsoever Order or by whatsoever title
designated, be obliged to celebrate Mass otherwise than enjoined
by Us. We likewise order and declare7 that no one whosoever
shall be forced or coerced into altering this Missal; and this present
Constitution can never be revoked or modified, but shall forever
remain valid and have the force of law, notwithstanding8
previous constitutions or edicts of provincial or synodal councils,
and notwithstanding the usage of the churches aforesaid, established
by very long and even immemorial prescription, saving only usage
of more than 200 years.
it is Our will, and by the same authority We decree,9
that one month after publication of this Our Constitution and Missal,
priests of the Roman Curia shall be obliged to sing or to read the
Mass in accordance therewith; others south of the Alps, after three
months; those who live beyond the Alps, after six months or as soon
as the Missal becomes available for purchase.
in order that the said Missal may be preserved incorrupt and kept
free from defects and errors, the penalty for non-observance in
the case of all printers resident in territory directly or indirectly
subject to Ourselves and the Holy Roman Church shall be forfeiture
of their books and a fine of 100 gold ducats payable ipso facto
to the Apostolic Treasury. In the case of those resident in other
parts of the world it shall be excommunication latae sententiae10
and other penalties at Our discretion; and by Our apostolic authority
and the tenor of these presents We also decree that they must not
dare or presume either to print or to publish or to sell or in any
way to take delivery of such books without Our approval and consent,
or without express permission of the Apostolic Commissary in the
said parts appointed by Us for that purpose. Each of the said printers
must receive from the aforementioned Commissary a standard Missal
to serve as an exemplar for subsequent copies, which, when made,
must be compared with the exemplar and agree faithfully therewith,
varying in no wise from the first impression printed in Rome.
since it would be difficult for this present simultaneously, We
direct that it be as usual, posted and published at the doors of
the Constitution to be transmitted to all parts of the world and
to come to the notice of all concerned Basilica of the Prince of
Apostles, at those of the Apostolic Chancery, and at the end of
the Campo de’Fiori;11 moreover We direct that printed
copies of the same, signed by a notary public and authenticated
with the seal of an ecclesiastical dignitary, shall possess the
same unqualified and indubitable validity everywhere and in every
country that would attend the display there of Our present text.
Accordingly, no one whosoever is permitted to infringe or rashly
contravene this notice of Our permission, statute, ordinance, command,
direction, grant, indult, declaration, will, decree and prohibition.
Should any person venture to do so, let him understand that he will
incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed Apostles Peter
at St. Peter’s, Rome, in the year of Our Lord’s Incarnation one
thousand five hundred and seventy, on the fourteenth day of July
in the fifth year of Our Pontificate.
by John Warrington
b) The Brief Cum Sanctissimum,
July 7th 1604
an Everlasting Memorial
THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT of the Eucharist by means of which Christ
Our Lord has made us partakers of His Sacred Body, and ordained
to stay with us unto the consummation of the world, is the greatest
of all the Sacraments, and it is accomplished in the Holy Mass offered
to God the Father for the sins of all the people, it is highly fitting
that we who are in one body which is the Church and who share of
the one Body of Christ, should use in this ineffable and awe-inspiring
Sacrifice the same manner of celebration and the same ceremonial
observance and rite.
only have the Roman Pontiffs, Our Predecessors, always desired,
and for a long time greatly striven to achieve, this aim, but above
all Pope Pius V of happy memory undertook, in accordance with the
decree of the Council of Trent, to bring the Roman Missal into conformity
with the old and purer pattern and to have it printed in Rome.
Although he very severely forbade under many penalties that anything
should be added to it, or that anything for any reasonable removed
from it, nevertheless, in the course of time, it has come to pass
that, through the rashness and boldness of the printers, or of others,
many errors have crept into the missals which have been produced
in recent years. That very old (Latin) version of the Holy bible,
which even before St. Jerome’s time was held in honor in the Church,
and from which almost all the Introits, Graduals and Offertories
of the Masses had been taken, has been entirely removed; the texts
of the Epistles and Gospels, which hitherto were read during the
celebration of the Mass, have been disturbed in many places; different
and utterly unusual beginnings have been prefixed to the Gospel
texts; and finally many things have been here and there arbitrarily
these changes seem to have been introduced under the pretext of
conforming everything to the standard of the Vulgate edition of
the Holy Writ, as if it were allowable to anyone to do so on his
own authority, and without the advice of the Apostolic See.
considered these innovations, in Our pastoral solicitude which induces
us to earnestly protect and preserve in everything and especially
in the sacred rites of the Church the best and old norm, We have
ordered in the first place that the above-mentioned printed Missals,
so corrupted, be banned and declared null and void and that their
use be disallowed in the celebration of the Mass, unless they be
entirely and in everything emended according to the original text
published under Pius V. We have also entrusted some of Our Venerable
Brethren, Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, versed in Holy Writ
and skilled in ecclesiastical antiquity, with the business of restoring
the Missal to its primitive and purest form. In their loyalty to
Us, and in their piety and devotion to the Church these Cardinals,
employing also other learned men trained in ecclesiastical scholarship
and having searched for, and diligently examined, old Missals and
other books bearing upon the subject, have endeavored to restore
the Roman Missal to its original purity and to confirm and attest
the painstaking care and diligence of Pius V and of those appointed
c) The Brief Si Quid Est,
September 2nd, 1634
an Everlasting Memorial
THERE IS ANYTHING DIVINE among man’s possessions which might excite
the envy of the citizens of Heaven (could they ever be swayed by
such a passion), this is undoubtedly the Most Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass, by means of which men, having before their eyes and taking
into their hands the very Creator of Heaven and earth, experience,
while still on earth, a certain anticipation of Heaven.
keenly, then, must mortals strive to preserve and protect this inestimable
privilege with all due worship and reverence and be ever on their
guard lest their negligence offend the angels who vie with them
in eager adoration!
view of this consideration, following in the footsteps of the Supreme
Pontiffs, Our Predecessors, Pius V and Clement VIII, who undertook
to review and restore more diligently the rite and prayers pertaining
to the celebration of this sacred Mystery, We have ordered that
these be again examined and that if by chance anything, as often
happens, has been corrupted in the course of time, it shall be restored
to its former standard.
rubrics which had been allowed to gradually degenerate from the
old usage and rite, have been restored to their former pattern;
those which did not seem to be easily intelligible to the readers
have been more clearly stated; and moreover, having compared the
pertinent texts with the Vulgate edition of Holy Writ, the differences
which had crept into the Missal have been emended according to this
standard and norm.
granting this permission, the Inquisitors or the Ordinaries must
very diligently compare the Missals to be printed, both before and
after they have been printed, with the standard text revised by
Our authority, and they must not allow anything to be added to,
or removed from, it. In granting the original license, they must
attest in their own handwriting that, having made the collation,
the Missals are found to agree perfectly with the standard edition.
This document must be printed always at the beginning or at the
end of every Missal.
d) The Apostolic Constitution
Divino Afflatu, November 1st, 1911
of the Servants of God
an Everlasting Memorial
Predecessors, St. Pius V, Clement VIII and Urban VIII on revising
the Roman Breviary, religiously kept this law, the heritage of our
Fathers. Therefore, the Psalter must be recited in its entirety,
unless because of changed circumstances this recitation be frequently
document dwells on the Divine Office, the Breviary. The important
element here for our purpose is the reference to and the work in
continuity with the previous Popes: “...this law, the heritage
of our Fathers.”)
Part 3 - The Mass Itself
give in this section the precise or approximate date of the various
parts of the Roman Rite, codified by St Pius V. St Gregory the
Great proclaimed the practice “to imitate what is found as being
the best in the usages of the various churches”. It is truly an
historical monument, similar to an old monastery restored, enlarged
many times in the course of history. A work of art, the pearl of
great price, matured under the rays of Divine grace reaching it
through the Magisterium, the Saints, the Martyrs. Our Mass is one,
holy, Catholic and, we prove it here, apostolic.
- Mass of the Catechumens
Preparatory Prayers at the Foot of the Altar
They were said freely from earliest times but were finally
imposed to all by St. Pius V in 1570.
Sign of the Cross
Psalm 42 Judica Me.
Confiteor and Verses
From the Introit to the Creed
Celestinus I (422-432)
Gloria in excelsis
freely from 1st c.; then fixed by St. Damasus (366-384)
Gradual - Alleluia (Tract)
freely from 1st c., then fixed by St. Damasus (366-384)
4th c.: Apostles' Creed; then Nicean (425) Creed
- Mass of the Faithful
|12. Offering of Bread Suscipe, Sancte Pater
8th c.; Rome 11th c.
Mixing of Water and Wine Deus qui
rite: Our Lord; the prayer: early centuries
Offering of Wine Offerimus
8th c.; Rome 11th c.
In Spiritu Humilitatis - Veni Sanctificator
8th c.; Rome 11th c.
the rite before 4th c.; the prayer around 7th-8th c.
Prayer to the Blessed Trinity Suscipe
c.; Rome 12th c.
5th c.; Pope Gelasius (492-496) wrote many; Pope Pelagius II
(579-590) already mentioned the main 10: Common, Christmas,
Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity, Apostles,
Of the Cross, Pref. of Our Lady in 1095, Of the Dead 11th c.,
St. Joseph 19th c.
of the following prayers go back to the first centuries, a few
names of notable Saints were added with time.
Memento of the Living
Hanc Igitur: the second part, from the words diesque
nostros in tua pace disponas were added by Pope St. Gregory
the Great (590 - 604) during the siege of Rome by the Lombards.
Unde et Memores
Supplices te rogamus
Memento of the Dead
Nobis quoque peccatoribus
Commingling of Body and Blood
First Prayer before Communion Domine Jesu Christe
The Kiss of Peace
Second and Third Prayers
Two Ablution Prayers
before 8th c.; rite: irregularly until 13th c.
Ite Missa est
Prayer to the Blessed Trinity Placeat
Blessing itself: 1st c.; at this moment of the Mass: 11th c.
devotion: 10th c.; by law, from St. Pius V (1566-1572)
Dom Guéranger, Institutions Liturgiques - Extraits; Explication
de la Sainte Messe; Pierre Lebrun, Explication des prières
et cérémonies de la Messe.