Pope Pius XII Liturgy Reforms
Encyclopedia
The liturgical reforms of Pope Pius XII continued a process initiated by Pope Saint Pius X, who began the process of encouraging the faithful to a meaningful participation in the liturgy. Pope Pius XII
redefined liturgy
in light of his previous encyclical Mystici Corporis and reformed several liturgical practices in light of this teaching. The liturgical teaching of Pius XII is contained especially in his encyclical Mediator Dei of 1947. Although Pius XII felt compelled to reprove the desire for novelty among certain leaders of the Liturgical Movement, the liturgical reforms undertaken later in his pontificate were in fact relatively broad in their scope.
always in the mornings, as a reflection of the original sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In light of the displacement and persecution in much of Europe during World War II
, evening Masses were permitted on a provisional basis. They turned out to be popular, opening the Church to new publics. He also permitted Church services to take place Saturday evening to fulfil Sunday obligation.
at Masses in the evening and at other times, Pius XII decreed several changes to regulations regarding the Eucharistic fast. Prior to 1953, Catholics were required to abstain from consuming any food from midnight forward receiving Holy Communion. This requirement to fast from midnight was abolished by the Apostolic constitution
Christus Dominus, issued in 1953. Four years later, in the Motu Proprio
Sacram Communionem, the fasting requirements were further reduced.
In 1948 the pope erected a Pontifical Commission for the Reform of the Liturgy. Monsignor Annibale Bugnini
, who served until the pontificate of Paul VI, under whom he drafted the revision of the Ordinary of the Mass
and the whole of the Roman Missal
, was appointed secretary of this Commission.
The Sacred Congregation of Rites
had jurisdiction over the Rites and ceremonies of the Latin Church
such as Holy Mass, sacred functions and divine worship. It issued the location of the blessed sacrament within the Church, to be always at the main altar in the centre of the Church. The Church should display religious objects, but not be overloaded with secondary items or even Kitsch
. Modern sacred art
should be reverential and still reflect the spirit of our time. Since 1942, Priests are permitted to officiate marriage
s without Holy Mass. They may also officiate confirmations in certain instances.
, a new celebration of Easter night by means of De Solemni Vigilia Paschali Instauranda. This has been highlighted as his most important reform, as the Easter ceremonies are the centre of all Christian faith and life. In antique times Christians had baptised neophytes during a night-long Vigil preceding Easter Sunday. The celebration concluded after dawn by the offering of Mass. In time this Mass became the Mass of Easter Sunday, which was separated liturgically from the observance of the Easter Vigil, itself being anticipated on the morning of Holy Saturday. This practice of celebrating the Vigil on the morning of Holy Saturday was in place by the twelfth century, after the hour of the liturgical observance had already been moved back bit by bit over preceding centuries. Pius XII restored the older time for the observance of the ceremonies, but most importantly created a dramatically restructured form of the ceremonies. His re-introduction of the Easter Vigil
was generally popular, although it faced a cool reception from prelates like Cardinal Siri of Genoa and Cardinal Spellman of New York. Other Christian denominations adopted the popular Roman Catholic Easter ceremonies in later years, an ecumenical influence of Pius XII. The new Easter Vigil reduces the number of prophecies (Old Testament passages read before the blessing of the font and the Mass) from twelve to four. The rite for blessing the Paschal Candle was also changed: formerly the deacon would process into the church with a triple-branched candlestick known as the arundo (a symbol of the Blessed Trinity), which would be used to light the Easter Candle. With Bugnini's reform to the Easter Vigil, the Paschal Candle itself is carried in procession and the arundo is suppressed. The Candle is no longer blessed during the singing of the Exsultet, though the liturgical text in question refers to the blessing of the candle. The "renewal of baptismal promises", devised for the new Easter Vigil, introduced into the liturgy of the Mass the principle of vernacularism for the first time.
, which significantly changed the most important ceremonies in the Roman liturgy. In 1955, four years after the introduction of the new ad experimentum Easter Vigil, Pius XII promulgated new liturgies for Holy Week in the decree Maxima Redemptionis (November 19, 1955). In addition to the new Easter Vigil, described above, the rites for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday were also greatly modified.
The ancient custom of beginning a feast with first Vespers on the eve of the feast was abolished, with certain exceptions. Following the reform, most feasts have only one set of Vespers (what formerly was known as second Vespers), celebrated on the afternoon of the feast itself. The purpose of this derogation of the ancient custom was to simplify the process by which a feast had to be commemorated when the second Vespers of one feast coincided with the first Vespers of the subsequent feast. The reform also abolished the custom whereby Vespers was
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
redefined liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
in light of his previous encyclical Mystici Corporis and reformed several liturgical practices in light of this teaching. The liturgical teaching of Pius XII is contained especially in his encyclical Mediator Dei of 1947. Although Pius XII felt compelled to reprove the desire for novelty among certain leaders of the Liturgical Movement, the liturgical reforms undertaken later in his pontificate were in fact relatively broad in their scope.
Evening Masses
Until Pius XII, the Church celebrated MassMass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
always in the mornings, as a reflection of the original sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In light of the displacement and persecution in much of Europe during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, evening Masses were permitted on a provisional basis. They turned out to be popular, opening the Church to new publics. He also permitted Church services to take place Saturday evening to fulfil Sunday obligation.
Eucharistic fast
To allow for the faithful to receive CommunionEucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
at Masses in the evening and at other times, Pius XII decreed several changes to regulations regarding the Eucharistic fast. Prior to 1953, Catholics were required to abstain from consuming any food from midnight forward receiving Holy Communion. This requirement to fast from midnight was abolished by the Apostolic constitution
Apostolic constitution
An apostolic constitution is the highest level of decree issued by the Pope. The use of the term constitution comes from Latin constitutio, which referred to any important law issued by the Roman emperor, and is retained in church documents because of the inheritance that the canon law of the...
Christus Dominus, issued in 1953. Four years later, in the Motu Proprio
Motu proprio
A motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him....
Sacram Communionem, the fasting requirements were further reduced.
Liturgical use of the vernacular
Combining continuity and innovation, the reforms made under Pius XII to the sacred Liturgy helped to prepare the way for the more dramatic liturgical reforms that would follow the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), though it is unclear how far Pope Pacelli himself intended these reforms to go. One goal of the liturgical magisterium of Pius XII was to restore a more reverential atmosphere within Church buildings. The use of vernacular language, cautiously favoured by Pope Pius, was hotly debated at his time. He increased non-Latin services, especially in countries with expanding Catholic mission activities. Though insisting on the primacy of Latin in the liturgy of the Western Church (cf. Mediator Dei, par. 60), the pontiff did nevertheless approve the use of the vernacular in the Ritual for sacraments and other rites outside the Mass. All such permissions, however, were to be granted by the Holy See, and Pius XII strongly condemned the efforts of individual priests and communities to introduce the vernacular on their own authority.In 1948 the pope erected a Pontifical Commission for the Reform of the Liturgy. Monsignor Annibale Bugnini
Annibale Bugnini
Annibale Bugnini, C.M. was a Roman Catholic prelate. Ordained in 1936 and named archbishop in 1972, he was secretary of the commission that worked on the reform of the Catholic liturgy that followed the Second Vatican Council....
, who served until the pontificate of Paul VI, under whom he drafted the revision of the Ordinary of the Mass
Ordinary of the Mass
The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Eucharist or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed...
and the whole of the Roman Missal
Roman Missal
The Roman Missal is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.-Situation before the Council of Trent:...
, was appointed secretary of this Commission.
New Liturgical Propers and other directives
Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Pius XII instituted a number of new feasts and approved new Propers. After defining the Dogma of the Assumption in 1950, a new mass formula (the mass Signum magnum) was introduced for the feast, which falls on August 15. Pius XII also instituted the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which he established as a double of the second class and fixed to August 22, the octave day of the Assumption. Other new feasts included the feast of the Queenship of Mary (May 31) and the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker (to coincide with the socialist holiday of May 1), which thus replaced the Feast of Saint Joseph Patron of the Universal Church, observed until then (from 1870) as a movable feast on the third Wednesday after Easter. Pius XII added to the missal and breviary a new Common of Holy Pontiffs, in order to highlight the special role of the Roman pontiffs in the economy of the Church. Until then, holy popes had been commemorated liturgically using the same texts as other bishops. The new mass for holy pontiffs begins with the Introit Si diligis me.The Sacred Congregation of Rites
Sacred Congregation of Rites
The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on January 22, 1588 by Pope Sixtus V and dissolved by Pope Paul VI on May 8, 1969....
had jurisdiction over the Rites and ceremonies of the Latin Church
Latin Church
The Latin Church is the largest particular church within the Catholic Church. It is a particular church not on the level of the local particular churches known as dioceses or eparchies, but on the level of autonomous ritual churches, of which there are 23, the remaining 22 of which are Eastern...
such as Holy Mass, sacred functions and divine worship. It issued the location of the blessed sacrament within the Church, to be always at the main altar in the centre of the Church. The Church should display religious objects, but not be overloaded with secondary items or even Kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
. Modern sacred art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
should be reverential and still reflect the spirit of our time. Since 1942, Priests are permitted to officiate marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
s without Holy Mass. They may also officiate confirmations in certain instances.
Revised Easter Vigil
In 1951, on an ad experimentum basis, Pope Pius XII introduced the Easter VigilEaster Vigil
The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this service that people are baptized and that adult catechumens are received into...
, a new celebration of Easter night by means of De Solemni Vigilia Paschali Instauranda. This has been highlighted as his most important reform, as the Easter ceremonies are the centre of all Christian faith and life. In antique times Christians had baptised neophytes during a night-long Vigil preceding Easter Sunday. The celebration concluded after dawn by the offering of Mass. In time this Mass became the Mass of Easter Sunday, which was separated liturgically from the observance of the Easter Vigil, itself being anticipated on the morning of Holy Saturday. This practice of celebrating the Vigil on the morning of Holy Saturday was in place by the twelfth century, after the hour of the liturgical observance had already been moved back bit by bit over preceding centuries. Pius XII restored the older time for the observance of the ceremonies, but most importantly created a dramatically restructured form of the ceremonies. His re-introduction of the Easter Vigil
Easter Vigil
The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this service that people are baptized and that adult catechumens are received into...
was generally popular, although it faced a cool reception from prelates like Cardinal Siri of Genoa and Cardinal Spellman of New York. Other Christian denominations adopted the popular Roman Catholic Easter ceremonies in later years, an ecumenical influence of Pius XII. The new Easter Vigil reduces the number of prophecies (Old Testament passages read before the blessing of the font and the Mass) from twelve to four. The rite for blessing the Paschal Candle was also changed: formerly the deacon would process into the church with a triple-branched candlestick known as the arundo (a symbol of the Blessed Trinity), which would be used to light the Easter Candle. With Bugnini's reform to the Easter Vigil, the Paschal Candle itself is carried in procession and the arundo is suppressed. The Candle is no longer blessed during the singing of the Exsultet, though the liturgical text in question refers to the blessing of the candle. The "renewal of baptismal promises", devised for the new Easter Vigil, introduced into the liturgy of the Mass the principle of vernacularism for the first time.
The New Rite of Holy Week
Perhaps the most significant and bold liturgical reform under Pius XII was the promulgation of a new rite of Holy WeekHoly Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
, which significantly changed the most important ceremonies in the Roman liturgy. In 1955, four years after the introduction of the new ad experimentum Easter Vigil, Pius XII promulgated new liturgies for Holy Week in the decree Maxima Redemptionis (November 19, 1955). In addition to the new Easter Vigil, described above, the rites for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday were also greatly modified.
Reform of the rubrics and liturgical calendar
The rubrics and calendar of the Mass and the Divine Office were reformed by the constitution Cum hac nostra aetate (March 23, 1955). The reform to the calendar, the most dramatic before its complete overhaul in 1969, consisted mainly in the abolition of various octaves and vigils. An octave is the week-long prolongation of a great feast, either by the celebration of a proper Mass all through the Octave or by the addition of an additional Collect when the Mass of another feast is celebrated. Of the 18 octaves existing in the Roman calendar, all but three (Easter, Pentecost, Christmas) were purged in the reform, including the octaves of the Epiphany, Corpus Christi, the Ascension and the Immaculate Conception. A vigil is a day of liturgical preceding a feast. The reform of 1955 eliminated roughly half the vigils in the Roman calendar, including the vigil of the Epiphany and the vigils of the Apostles.The ancient custom of beginning a feast with first Vespers on the eve of the feast was abolished, with certain exceptions. Following the reform, most feasts have only one set of Vespers (what formerly was known as second Vespers), celebrated on the afternoon of the feast itself. The purpose of this derogation of the ancient custom was to simplify the process by which a feast had to be commemorated when the second Vespers of one feast coincided with the first Vespers of the subsequent feast. The reform also abolished the custom whereby Vespers was
Literature
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis, (AAS) Roma, Vaticano 1939-1959
- Mediator Dei, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, (AAS) Roma, Vaticano 1947, 521 ff
- Gabriel Bertoniere, The historical development of the Easter vigils in the Greek Church and Related Services, Rome 1972
- Paul Bradshaw, The New Westminster Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship 2005