It was announced in the most recent edition of L’Osservatore Romano that Pope Francis will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first celebration of the liturgy in the vernacular by Paul VI. On March 7 at 6:00 PM, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at the church of All Saints on the via Appia Nuova. This was the same parish where Paul VI celebrated in the vernacular for the first time.[Hat tip to J.V.]
No doubt this announcement will have some up in arms, but for many in the Church this is yet another chance to celebrate the successful reforms [???] of Vatican II.
It will be interesting to see what he says during his homily. Pope Francis has been careful not to tread into the stormy seas of the liturgical wars of yesteryear. Rather than tell us his thoughts on how liturgy should be celebrated, he has shown us. This Mass, however, will provide him with a chance to talk directly about the liturgical reforms of Vatican II. We will see if he takes the bait.
Sunday, March 01, 2015
Coming soon: 50th anniversary celebration of Paul VI's Mass by Pope Francis
Editor, N.P.C., "Pope Francis to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Paul VI’s Use of the Vernacular" (Pray Tell, February 2, 2015):
"No doubt this announcement will have some up in arms"
ReplyDeleteNot at all. It is anything but a surprise.
Of course it will be on a Saturday :)
ReplyDeleteIf there were any Trad-wags living near that Church, they could have a bit of fun by having one of them dress up as Master Titta standing behind a chopping block waiting for one of his assistants to deliver unto him a copy of the promulgation of that Lil' Licit Liturgy and then Master Tita would solemnly cleave it with an axe after having read out the capital charges against that promulgation.
http://roma.andreapollett.com/S1/roma-c12.htm
http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_19690403_missale-romanum.html