The ''Roman Pontifical'', in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''Pontificale Romanum'', is the

pontifical A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy ...

as used by the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the '' sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while d ...

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 the

liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of the Catholic ...

that contains the rites and ceremonies usually performed by

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

s of the

. The pontifical is the compendium of rites for the enactment of certain

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the rea ...

and

sacramentals A sacramental in Christianity is a material object or action (in Latin ''sacramentalia'') ritually blessed by a priest to signal its association with the sacraments and so to incite reverence during acts of worship. They are recognised by the Ca ...

that may be celebrated by a bishop, including especially the consecration of holy

chrism Chrism, also called myrrh, ''myron'', holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Anglican, Assyrian, Catholic, Nordic Lutheran, Old Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Latter Day Saint churche ...

, and the sacraments of

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an wikt:affirmation, affirma ...

and holy orders. However, it does not include the rites for the

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 element ...

or the

Divine Office Divine Office may refer to: * Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church * Canonical hours In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark t ...

, which can be found in the

Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the ...

and

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic Church, Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the br ...

respectively. Because of the use of the adjective ''pontifical'' in other contexts to refer to the Pope, it is sometimes mistakenly thought that the ''Pontificale Romanum'' is a book reserved to the Pope. It could be argued that it is the book of those entitled to the use, in certain contexts, of the ''pontificalia'', i.e. episcopal insignia. These are not always limited just to bishops, but–according to current 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' of the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

–it can in certain circumstances be used by others including

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

s and rulers of dioceses or quasi-dioceses who have not been ordained bishops.

Sources

The Pontifical has its sources mostly in texts and rubrics which existed in the old

sacramentaries In the Western Christianity , Western Church of the Early Middle Ages , Early and High Middle Ages, a sacramentary was a book used for Liturgy, liturgical services and the Mass (liturgy), mass by a bishop or Priest#Christianity, priest. Sacramen ...

and '' Ordines Romani'' and were gradually collected together to form one volume for the greater convenience of the officiating bishop. The earliest pontificals date from the late ninth century. From the mid-tenth century, one particular compilation, known to historians as the Pontificale Romano-Germanicum, became dominant, and was widely copied.

Edition history

Under

Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

, a standard version was published for the use of the entire

, under the title ''Pontificale Romanum.'' It was reprinted by authority with many variations many times, and its last typical edition following this form is from 1962. In 1968, it was recast and restructured according to the decisions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

. In December 2021, six months after the promulgation of the motu propio, Traditionis custodes, which put restrictions on the use of the Missal of 1962, Arthur Roche,

Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...

, stated that Bishops did not have permission to authorize the use of the ''Pontificale Romanum'' that was issued in 1962 and that this edition was no longer in use. On February 11, 2022, however, Pope Francis clarified in a Latin statement that the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, and bishops who work with their priests and apostolates, may continue to utilize the former liturgical books ("namely the Missal, the Ritual, the Pontifical and the Roman Breviary, in force in the year 1962"), and other former Ecclesia Dei communities have taken this to mean that the same applies to them.

References

* {{Authority control Roman Rite liturgical books Types of illuminated manuscript

Sources

Edition history

See also

References

References