Quo primum

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Text of the Bull Quo Primum Tempore, Pope Pius V in a Roman Missal published in the reign of Pius XII in 1956.

After its initial Latin words Quo primum , a papal bull or apostolic constitution Pope Pius V of July 14, 1570 is quoted in which the Missal Romanum, published by him on behalf of the Council of Trent, is in force as a missal binding for all churches of the Roman rite sat. It essentially corresponds to the bull Quod a Nobis of July 9, 1568 regarding the Roman breviary . Instead of the new books, however, the liturgical books of those orders of worship that were more than 200 years old at the time, namely certain diocesan and religious liturgies, could still be used and printed.

background

The aim of the liturgical reform of the 16th century was to preserve and unify the mass celebrations criticized by the Reformation within the Catholic Church. For this purpose, a “revised and purified” version of the missal was produced according to the Pristina sanctorum patrum norma , the “time-honored norm of the fathers”. This task was entrusted to "selected scholars" who compared the oldest manuscripts available at the time in the Vatican Library and from other origins, as well as the writings of recognized liturgists from the pre-Reformation period. The main basis of the scholarly work was the Missale curiae used in the Roman Curia , of which numerous editions were printed between 1474 and 1570. Although Quo primum tolerated and should not suppress older traditions, the Missal Pius V became more and more popular in the period that followed, since the desire to guarantee an impeccable administration of the sacramental rite was a matter of urgency during the Counter-Reformation .

Because of his anti- reformist apodictic formulations:

“From now on, in all the times to come, the Christian world should not sing or read anything other than the Missal published by Us. (...) We stipulate and order that nothing may ever be added to this Missal just published, or taken away from it or changed in it. "

The bull is sometimes used by traditionalist currents as evidence that the Catholic Church in the Second Vatican Council fell away from the true faith with the liturgical reform and the introduction of a renewed missal.

However, Pope Paul VI. With his Apostolic Constitution Missale Romanum of April 3, 1969, everything that opposed the entry into force of the liturgical reform of the 2nd Vaticanum (i.e. just the above phrase), with the same authority based on a council as Pius V declared in "Missale Romanum" Paul VI .:

"Our orders and regulations should be valid and legally binding now and in the future, with the repeal of any conflicting constitutions and ordinances of our predecessors as well as all other instructions of whatever kind."

Of course, this did not completely prohibit the “old mass”, which was generally put out of use (cf. the motu proprio of Pope Benedict XVI. Summorum pontificum ).

literature

  • Martin Klöckener: The bull "Quo primum" Pope Pius' V of July 14, 1570. For the promulgation of the post-Tridentine Roman Missal. Liturgical source texts Latin-German 2 . In: Archives for liturgical science 48 (2006) 41–51.

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