CDF issues new Eucharistic prefaces, optional saint feasts for extraordinary form of Roman rite

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2020 / 09:20 am

On Wednesday the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued two decrees giving new Eucharistic prefaces and provision for the optional celebration of more recently named saints in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass.

The decree Quo magis provides seven new Eucharistic prefaces for the extraordinary form of the Mass, which may be used for particular occasions, such as votive Masses or the feast days of saints, according to a note accompanying the rescript.

The second decree, Cum sanctissima, establishes a provision for the celebration of the third class feasts of saints canonized after July 1960, whose memorials were established after the 1962 Roman missal.

At the same time, Cum sanctissima includes a list of 70 third class feasts, equivalent to a memorial in the ordinary form, which should never be impeded by the celebration of other feasts.

According to the note accompanying the decree, these saints' days were chosen because of their importance "in the plan of salvation or in the history of the Church" and "in terms of either the devotion they have generated or their writings," or their long devotion in Rome.

"In choosing whether or not to make use of the provisions…" the decree said, "the celebrant is expected to make use of good pastoral common sense."

The decrees are both signed by Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the CDF, and by Archbishop Giacomo Morandi, CDF secretary. They were approved by Pope Francis in December 2019.

With the publication of the decrees, the CDF has carried out requests made by Pope Benedict XVI to the pontifical commission Ecclesia Dei, which was tasked with dialogue with traditionalist groups in light of Benedict's 2007 apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum.

The commission Ecclesia Dei was concluded and absorbed into the CDF in January 2019 by Pope Francis.

Summorum Pontificum gives the norms for the celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Roman missal, the Roman rite's extraordinary form.

First established in 1988 by Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia Dei was reformed by Benedict XVI in 2009 with the instruction Universae Ecclesiae, which linked the commission to the CDF.