The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff ( la, Officium de Liturgicis Celebrationibus Summi Pontificis, it, Ufficio delle Celebrazioni Liturgiche del Sommo Pontefice) is that section of the Roman Curia responsible for organizing and conducting liturgies and other religious ceremonies performed by the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. It is headed by a "master" appointed for a term of five years. The office and the consultants who advise it support the pope in expressing his interpretation of the liturgical modifications instituted following the Second Vatican Council. Popes have at times supported postconciliar reforms, restored earlier practices, and introduced further innovations. When

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

named five new consultants in September 2013, he included none of those appointed by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

, who were known to promote a return to preconciliar liturgical practices. Benedict restored preconciliar elements to the rite for the canonization of saints and Francis removed them and further shortened the ceremony. Guido Marini, the Master when Francis instituted his changes, is known as a traditionalist, but performs to the pope's instructions. In the words of one journalist, his job is "to thread papal preferences into the pageantry". For example, he works to ensure that liturgical music is integrated into the liturgy as Francis prefers, so that participants are never forced to wait for music to conclude before proceeding. On 19 January 2019,

transferred responsibility for the

Sistine Chapel Choir The Sistine Chapel Choir, as it is generally called in English, or officially the Coro della Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina in Italian, is the Pope's personal choir. It performs at papal functions in the Sistine Chapel and in any other churc ...

from the Papal household to this Office.

Masters of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations

Enrico Dante Enrico Dante (5 July 1884 – 24 April 1967) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as papal master of ceremonies from 1947 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965. His face became very familiar ...

(1947 – 1967) *

Annibale Bugnini Annibale Bugnini (14 June 1912 – 3 July 1982) was a Catholic prelate. Ordained in 1936 and named archbishop in 1972, he was secretary of the commission that worked on the reform of the Catholic liturgy that followed the Second Vatican Counci ...

(1968 – 9 January 1970) *

Virgilio Noè Virgilio Noè (30 March 1922 – 24 July 2011) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and cardinal. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1991. Early life and ministry Noè was born in 1922 in Zelata di Bereguardo, Lombardy. He studied at th ...

(9 January 1970 – 30 January 1982) * John Magee (6 March 1982 – 11 February 1987) *

Piero Marini Piero Marini (born 13 January 1942) is a Roman Catholic archbishop who is president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. For twenty years he served as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, in charge of the ...

(23 February 1987 – 1 October 2007) *

Guido Marini Guido Marini (born 31 January 1965) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who serves as the bishop of Tortona in northern Italy. A priest since 1989, from 2007 to 2021 he was Master of Pontifical Liturgical Ceremonies, serving under Pope ...

(1 October 2007 – 29 August 2021) *

Diego Giovanni Ravelli Diego Giovanni Ravelli (born 1 November 1965) is an Italian priest of the Catholic Church who has worked for the papal household since 1998 and has served as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations and head of the Pontifical Sistine Chapel ...

(11 October 2021 – present) In addition to assisting the pope at sacred functions, the Papal Master of Ceremonies assists cardinals on various occasions: during consistories, when a cardinal takes possession of his

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...

, and during solemn celebrations of

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

or other important religious services. When a cardinal is created at a consistory, the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations assigns one of the Office's Masters of Ceremonies to him. The Master is assisted by several Masters of Ceremonies. They at times hold other offices in the Roman Curia. With the most recent appointment on 14 June 2020, there are eight Masters of Ceremonies.

References

Bibliography

* Günther Wassilowsky, Hubert Wolf: ''Päpstliches Zeremoniell in der Frühen Neuzeit – Das Diarium des Zeremonienmeisters Paolo Alaleone de Branca während des Pontifikats Gregors XV. (1621–1623)''. Rhema-Verlag, Münster 2007, (with the complete original Latin text of the diarium) {{Portal bar, Catholicism, Vatican City 1947 establishments in Europe Catholic liturgy Departments of the Roman Curia

Masters of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations

See also

References

Bibliography