Celebret
The (sometimes also) celebret even celebret , (of lat. Celebret "he would celebrate") is a certificate ( Litterae commendatitiae ) that enables a Catholic priest allowed in a foreign diocese the Holy Mass to celebrate.
This certificate is issued by the responsible professor ( bishop or abbot ) and states that the respective priest is free from canonical censorship . The Council of Trent stipulated that no foreign cleric should be approved by a bishop to celebrate Holy Mass without a letter of credentials from his own ordinariate . Normally, permission to celebrate Holy Mass should not be given to a priest from another diocese without this signed and sealed document. The seal used to be the more important requirement as it was more forgery-proof.
Canon law ( CIC ) regulates in can. 903 this case as follows:
“A priest is to be admitted to the celebration even if the Rector of the Church does not know him, provided that he presents a letter of recommendation from his ordinary or superior, which was issued no more than a year ago, or if it can reasonably be assumed that he would be in relation to the celebration is not subject to any obstacle. "
The Celebret should be recognized by an ecclesiastical officer of the foreign diocese. A priest with a regular certificate or with a known good reputation may be allowed to celebrate Mass until he has received approval in a reasonable time. A cleric with appropriate credentials cannot normally be denied the celebration of Holy Mass; however, it is expected to accept acceptable restrictions.
In days gone by , the Celebret was very important as it was virtually impossible to quickly verify the identity of a foreign cleric. Especially for traveling clerics, e.g. B. military chaplains or missionaries , as well as priests on vacation, at conferences or at Catholic days , this certificate is still important.
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- Brockhaus encyclopedia in twenty-four volumes. Nineteenth, completely revised edition. Volume twenty-fourth Wek – Zz and fourth addendum. FA Brockhaus GmbH, Mannheim 1994, ISBN 3-7653-1124-3 , p. 487.