Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Pope

Basic data
Surname	Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Pope (Officium de Liturgicis Celebrationibus Summi Pontificis)
Seat	Cortile di San Damaso SCV-00120 Città del Vaticano
Master of Ceremonies (Maestro)	Guido Marini (since 2007)

The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Pope ( Latin Officium de Liturgicis Celebrationibus Summi Pontificis ) is the former office for the papal ceremonies , which was ordered by Pope John Paul II with the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus on June 28, 1988 in the current way .

history

At least since the Renaissance there was a college at the papal court that was responsible for preparing the liturgical celebrations of the Pope , as well as those that were only performed in his name, i.e. without his presence. In a brief of May 10, 1563, Pope Pius IV regulated the rights and duties of the "master of ceremonies".

Through the Apostolic Constitution Immensa Aeterni Dei , Pope Sixtus V created the Congregatio pro sacris ritibus et caeremoniis in 1588 . In the 17th century the Congregatio caeremonialis became independent. She was responsible for the ceremonies of the papal chapel and the papal court.

By the order of Pope Benedict XV. of June 25, 1917 the office formed a college chaired by a prelate appointed directly by the Pope. The members of the quorum were among the house prelates and apostolic protonotaries , while the master of ceremonies was among the monsignori. The order of 1970, i.e. under Pope Paul VI. , the quorum again sets twelve ceremonies.

Of these, eight are permanent ceremonies, the other four are assigned to them. Their tasks are not limited to the ceremonies of the Pope, but also to those performed on his behalf. They also lead ceremonies for which they are sent or requested and belong to the retinue of the papal legates , who act as authorized representatives on the papal mandate. During the sedis vacancy they take part in the general congregations of the cardinals and accompany them to the conclave .

The master of ceremonies and the ceremonial officers are each appointed for five years and are supported in their work by some curia officials who run the secretariat. A group of persons in charge of the papal sacristy and various consultors are also assigned to them.

Pope John Paul II transferred the function of the papal sacristan to the master of ceremonies on January 14, 1991, who is also responsible for the papal sacristy and the services in the Apostolic Palace .

Since 2007, Guido Marini has headed the Office of the Pope's Liturgical Celebrations. On September 24, 2008 it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI. had set up an entirely new advisory group for the Office. The new advisors are all proven conservatives: Uwe Michael Lang , Nicola Bux , Paul CF Guenther , Juan José Silvestre Valor . All advisors who had been appointed under Piero Marini , the master of ceremonies of Pope John Paul II , were dismissed.

Master of ceremonies

The current reigning master of ceremonies Guido Marini

• Jacobus Raymundi 1411–1417 Ceremonial cleric of Pope Benedict XIII.
• Matheus Petri, 1411–1423 ceremonial cleric of Pope Benedict XIII. , again from 1447–1450 under Nicholas V.
• Guido de Busco († 1438) (BBKL)
• Petrus Burgensis under Pope Nicholas V.
• Enea Silvio Piccolomini († 1468)
• Agostino Patrizi Piccolomini 1483 († 1495)
• Johannes Burckard of Strasbourg 1484–1503 († 1506)
• Paride De Grassis 1503–1528 († 1528) under Pope Julius II.
• Biagio Marchielli († 1540)
• Giovanni Francesco Firmano (1523-1565)
• Cornelio Firmano
• Francesco Mucanzio with Giovanni Mucanzio 1573–1592
• Paolo Alaleona (1585-1590)
• Paolo Alaleone de Branca (1557)
• Giovanni Battista Alaleona (1605-1621)
• Michele Lonigno under Paul V and Urban VIII.
• Francesco Maria Febei (1616–1680) with Carlo Vincenzo Carcarasio and Fulvio Servanzi (approx. 1618–1686)

...

• Fiorenzo Angelini (1947-1954)
• Enrico Dante (1954–1967)
• Annibale Bugnini CM (1968–1970), “delegato per le ceremonie pontificie”, together with Abbot Gabriele Brasó and Virgilo Noè, formed the “Commission for the application of the norms of the liturgical constitution in papal celebrations”
• Virgilio Noè (1970–1982)
• John Magee (1982-1987)
• Piero Marini (1987-2007)
• Guido Marini (since 2007)

literature

• Günther Wassilowsky, Hubert Wolf: Papal Ceremony in the Early Modern Age - The Diary of the Master of Ceremonies Paolo Alaleone de Branca during the pontificate of Gregory XV. (1621-1623) . Rhema-Verlag, Münster 2007, ISBN 978-3-930454-80-8

Web links

• official website
• Piero Marini: The Magistri Cæremoniarum custodians and promoters of the roman liturgy (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Marc Dykmans: L'oeuvre de Patrizi Piccolomini ou Le cérémonial papal de la première Renaissance , Vol. 1. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City 1980, ISBN 88-210-0518-6 , p. 9
2. ↑ Erwin Gatz : Art. Curia, Roman . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie (TRE), Vol. 20: Crusades - Leo XIII. De Gruyter, Berlin 1990, pp. 343-352, here p. 348.
3. ↑ Paul Winninger: Vanity in the Church . Styria, Graz 1970, p. 20.
4. ↑ Summorum Pontificum - Reform of the liturgy of the Catholic Church Article: "New advisers for the liturgies of the Pope"
5. ↑ M. Dykmans: Paris de Grassi . In: Ephemerides Liturgiae 96 (1982) 407-482; 99 (1985) 383-410; 100 (1986) 282-313; Philipp Stenzig: Ambassadorial ceremony at the papal court of the Renaissance: the “Tractatus de oratoribus” of Paris de Grassi - edition and commentary . Lang, Frankfurt, M. [u. a.] 2013. ISBN 978-3-631-62611-5