Mass Appeal

This morning I had a lovely visit with Larry Conrad as we walked through church and he explained the customary liturgical practices as St Timothy's. Some that have great theological reasoning and some that have been done for so long - no one really remembers why! This is, of course, the same in every church. Every worshipping community has their own preference in doing things and even though in the Episcopal Church our worship is universal in terms of the Prayer Book, some churches are high and some are low and some are in between (by high I mean very liturgical, formal, etc. and low being the opposite). This morning's meeting with Larry reminded me of a recent article I read about the changes Pope Benedict XVI has made since his election to the pontificate. No one scrutinizes liturgical changes the way people analyze the pope. Here are some of the differences that might when you points at a trivia contest (from Zenit.org):

"1. The camauro appeared before Christmas, although this Pope does not seem to use the broad Roman hat which matches his red cloak. This made a splash in the news."

2. The Pope seems to use the state stole more than his predecessor."

3. At the meeting with the diplomats for the New Year the Pope used the velvet-and-fur mozzetta (I think this was for winter and seems to have disappeared since Paul VI)."

4. Prelates of honor seem to be resuming the mantelletum and all sorts of clergy are using the biretta, rather openly at papal functions. During the last pontificate these were invisible, although I understand permitted. I do not know what to make of all of this. Is a signal being sent? Is there a move to what my mother called "a touch of class"? Indeed, what are the usual rules for customary "choir dress" for diocesan clergy?”

There are several questions involved. But first a distinction must be made between liturgical vesture and the non-liturgical vesture that popes traditionally wear and those that form part of papal protocol due to his role as a head of state.

Among traditional papal garments are the camauro (a red, fur-lined cap), the broad red-and- gold trimmed hat, and the several formal stoles and mozzettas used when receiving civil dignitaries.

Their use often depends on papal taste. For example, Pope Blessed John XXIII revived the use of the camauro which his predecessors had largely abandoned. Pope John Paul II rarely used the more formal vestures, and since he was Pontiff for so long perhaps many came to believe that they had somehow been abolished.

This was not the case, however, and Pope Benedict XVI has simply opted to use some of the more formal attire that remains part of papal protocol. Thus he has used both the broad-brimmed hat and the camauro on some occasions. Apart from his personal taste, it must also be remembered that the Holy Father began his ministry when he had already turned 78 and probably needs more protection from heat and cold than the athletic John Paul II did when called to be Peter’s Successor at age 58.

Keeping warm was also a motivation for John XXIII’s use of the camauro. He was also elected as an elderly man.

The increase in some aspects of solemnity in papal liturgies is perhaps even more noteworthy. The Holy Father and his personally appointed master of liturgical celebrations have clearly opted to restore some elements that had fallen into disuse, in order to give more splendor to the rites. This can be seen in the style of albs, surplices and vestments used in the celebrations. In some cases this means using older vestments from the pontifical sacristy such as the magnificent golden miter used in the elevation of new cardinals. This miter, emblazoned with the figure of Our Lady of Guadalupe, had been a gift from Mexican Catholics to Blessed Pope Pius IX.

The violet cope used for this year’s Palm Sunday procession was a new and faithful replica of one that had belonged to the renaissance Medici Pope Leo X. The custom has also been revived of having two cardinal deacons, in miter and dalmatic, accompany the Pope in these processions to hold the cope.

The practice of placing the crucifix at the center of the altar in front of the celebrant is certainly a personal initiative of Benedict XVI.He had already made this suggestion as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in his book “The Spirit of the Liturgy.” For him this practice is a means of creating a “liturgical east” that helps the celebrant to concentrate on the essential meaning of the sacrifice of the Mass even when celebrating facing the people.

Finally, the vesture of cardinals, bishops, canons and other honorary prelates is still determined by the norms emanated by Paul VI in the 1969 instruction of the Secretariat of State “Ut Sive Sollicite,” substantially repeated in the Ceremonial of Bishops, Nos. 1199-1210.