Tridentine rite High Mass at St. Peter's for 1st time in 40 years

The following is redacted from ZENIT. The full article can be found here.

An Extraordinary Tridentine Rite MilestoneArchbishop Burke Presides Over High Mass in St. Peter's

By Robert Moynihan

ROME, OCT. 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- There has been almost no coverage anywhere in the mainstream press about an extraordinary event that occurred yesterday morning in St. Peter's Basilica -- the celebration by Archbishop Raymond Burke, head of the Apostolic Signature, of the first High Mass according to the old Latin rite in St. Peter’s Basilica in 40 years, since 1969.

And because of that lack of press coverage, the old Mass, that "mysterious tapestry of texts and actions," as Cardinal Ratzinger once termed it -- sometimes illogical, sometimes jumbled, but nevertheless always wonderful -- returned to St. Peter’s Basilica after 40 years without any special notice at all, almost, as it were, silently, almost like "a thief in the night."

Oct. 18 was the Feast of St. Luke, author of one of the Gospels, and also of the Book of Acts.

The chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament, which is on the right side of St. Peter’s Basilica, was filled to overflowing by the time the Mass began at just after 9:30 am.

Full house

Outside, it was raining, and a bit of water pooled and glistened in different places on the marble floor where those present repeatedly knelt down on the hard stone during the celebration.

I myself found a place to stand in the back, as all the seats were taken. About 400 people were present.

Many low old rite Masses have been celebrated in different chapels of the basilica over the years, especially in the past two years since the promulgation on July 7, 2007, of "Summorum Pontificum," Benedict XVI's "motu proprio" calling for wider celebration of the old Mass.

But this was the first High Mass in the old rite since 1969.

Monsignor Guido Pozzo, recently appointed by Benedict XVI to head the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- the commission in charge of dialogue with the Society of St. Pius X, which wishes to celebrate the Mass only in the old rite -- was also present.

A unique spiritual experience

The two choirs, of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, one of brothers and one of sisters, were extraordinary.

As one Italian who attended put it, "It seemed we were immersed in choirs of angels. The presence of the celestial dimension of the rite was almost tangible. Believe me, I am not exaggerating."

But the morning was marked by a bit of confusion.

Instead of beginning at 10 a.m., the Mass was moved forward to 9:30 a.m. This meant that some dozens of people, who had planned to arrive at 10 a.m., found the Mass already 30 minutes under way when they arrived, and the chapel full. Many of them were turned away by Vatican ushers, as I witnessed with my own eyes, looking out the window from the back of the chapel where I standing.

But some of those present said they were puzzled why the Vatican seemed to treat this Mass like a "poor sister," assigning it to a small chapel, and changing the celebration time at the last minute.


Papal high Mass?

The question that comes to mind after attending this event is, could the Pope celebrate such a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica?

There are some impediments.

The ceremonial for a pontifical High Mass in the old rite is elaborate, and it has been so many years since one has been celebrated that many feel it would not be celebrated smoothly, if the Pope decided to do it.

And many Vatican officials seem reluctant, at best, to embrace the return of the old Mass.

No high-ranking Vatican officials were present at the Mass except for Monsignor Pozzo.

And Vatian Radio yesterday broadcast a report on a Mass celebrated elsewhere in the Basilica for the 400th anniversary of St. Leonardi, but made no mention at all of Archbishop Burke’s Mass.

And so the Mass was celebrated quietly, almost unobserved.

And after Mass, in the square, the sun broke through the clouds, and bathed the piazza in a warm October light.

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Robert Moynihan is founder and editor of the monthly magazine Inside the Vatican. He is the author of the book "Let God's Light Shine Forth: the Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI" (2005, Doubleday). Moynihan's blog can be found at www.insidethevatican.com. He can be reached at: editor@insidethevatican.com.

I sense an undercurrent of triumphalism in Archbishop Burke's remarks and in Moynihan's report, but that just might reflect my ambivalence regarding the emphasis some place on the spirituality of extraordinary form of the Mass as if that weren't present in the ordinary form. There is much to be valued in each form of the Mass. I too quickly tire of those who claim a blanket superiority of one form over the other. Not surprisingly readers of the National Catholic Reporter appear to be quick to attack both the Archbishop and the extraordinary form of the Mass.