 eremonies of the  oman ite
Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described
"The old Roman rite preserves its right of citizenship in the Church and cannot be considered extinguished"
Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei declared in
the Basilica of St Maria Maggiore in Rome on 24th May 2003.
Today, as the traditional liturgy of the Roman rite enjoys its resurgence amongst Catholics, young and old,
the need for an up to date ceremonial manual fo the celebration of the traditional liturgy according to
the liturgical books in use in 1962 is greater than ever in the past forty years.
This volume, a new, revised, corrected and expanded edition of Adrian Fortescue and J.B. O'Connell's classic
work, is published to guide and to assist those celebrating the traditional liturgy today.
As Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos states in his preface, "Dom Alcuin Reid OSB has continued the work of these
distinguished experts on the liturgical ceremonies by bringing this useful manual into line with the
specific requirements of the liturgical books in use in 1962."
Ceremonies covered in this manual include pontifical, solemn and low Mass, Vespers, Holy Week and the liturgical
year, the sacraments, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, funerals, episcopal visitation and more.
Preface
It is my pleasure to present this fourteenth edition of The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described
a work orignally written by the noted scholar, the Reverend Doctor Adrian Fortescue, and subsequently revised
many times by Canon JB O'Connell. Dom Alcuin Reid OSB has continued the work of these distinguished experts
on liturgical ceremonies by bringing this useful manual into line with the specific requirements of the
liturgical boks in use in 1962.
The permission for the reintroduction into public worship of the Roman Missal according to the typical
edition of 1962 dates from the issuance of hte Letter Quattuor abhinc annos of 3 October 1984 by the
Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship. The use of this missal was further encouraged by His Holiness
Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei of 2 July 1988. Particularly since then
there has been a growing desire for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in this venerable form
of the Roman Rite on the part of a good number of the faithful. Likewise, a growing number of diocesan
Bishops, whose responsibility it is "to control, promote and protect the entire liturgical life of the
Church entrusted to him" (Second Vatican Council's Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops, Christus
Dominus 15; Code of Canon Law, canon 838), have accepted the invitation of the Holy Father to
make "a wide and generous application of the directives already issued some time ago by the Apostolic See,
for the use of the Roman Missal according to the typical edition of 1962" for the benefit of "all those
who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition" (Ecclesia Dei 6,c). This development has
rendered Dom Alcuin's most recent revision of this manual on ceremonies a particularly felicitous one.
May the publication of this new edition of a classic work contribute to "that blended 'harmony' which the
earthly Church raises up to Heaven under the impulse of the Holy Spirit" (Ecclesia Dei 5, a)!
Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos
President
Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei
17 June 2003.
For further information or comments please
contact info@farnboroughabbey.org
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