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QUO PRIMUM TEMPORE
14 July 1570
PIUS: BISHOP
Servant of the Servants of God
For an Everlasting Memorial
Upon our elevation to the
Apostolic throne We gladly turned Our mind and energies, and directed
all Our thoughts, to the matter of preserving incorrupt the public
worship of the Church; and We have striven, with God’s help, by every
means in Our power to achieve that purpose.
Whereas amongst other
decrees of the Holy Council of Trent We were charged with revision and
re-issue of the sacred books, to wit the Catechism, the Missal and the
Breviary; and whereas We have with God’s consent published a Catechism
for the instruction of the faithful, and thoroughly revised the Breviary
for the due performance of the Divine Office, We next, in order that
Missal and Breviary might be in perfect harmony, as is right and proper
(considering that it is altogether fitting that there should be in the
Church only one appropriate manner of Psalmody and one sole rite of
celebrating Mass), deemed it necessary to give Our immediate attention
to what still remained to be done, namely the re-editing of the Missal
with the least possible delay.
We resolved accordingly
to delegate this task to a select committee of scholars; and they,
having at every stage of their work and with the utmost care collated
the ancient codices in Our Vatican Library and reliable (original or
amended) codices from elsewhere, and having also consulted the writing
of ancient and approved authors who have bequeathed to us records
relating to the said sacred rites, thus restored the Missal itself to
the pristine form and rite of the holy Fathers. When this production had
been subjected to close scrutiny and further amended We, after mature
consideration, ordered that the final result be forthwith printed and
published in Rome, so that all may enjoy the fruits of this labor: that
priests may know what prayers to use, and what rites and ceremonies they
are to use henceforward in the celebration of Masses.
Now therefore, in order that all everywhere
may adopt and observe what has been delivered to them by the Holy Roman
Church, Mother and Mistress of the other churches, it shall be unlawful
henceforth and forever throughout the Christian world to sing or to read
Masses according to any formula other than that of this Missal published
by Us; this ordinance to apply to all churches and chapels, with or
without care of souls, patriarchal, collegiate and parochial, be they
secular or belonging to any religious Order whether of men (including
the military Orders) or of women, in which conventual Masses are or
ought to be sung aloud in choir or read privately according to the rites
and customs of the Roman Church; to apply moreover even if the said
churches have been in any way exempted, whether by indult of the
Apostolic See, by custom, by privilege, or even by oath or Apostolic
confirmation, or have their rights and faculties guaranteed to them in
any other way whatsoever; saving only those in which the practice of
saying Mass differently was granted over two hundred years ago
simultaneously with the Apostolic See’s institution and confirmation of
the church, and those in which there has prevailed a similar custom
followed continuously for a period of not less than two hundred
years; in which cases We in no wise rescind their
prerogatives or customs aforesaid. Nevertheless, if this Missal which We
have seen fit to publish be more agreeable to these last, We hereby
permit them to celebrate Mass according to this rite, subject to the
consent of their bishop or prelate, and of their whole Chapter, all else
to the contrary notwithstanding. All other churches aforesaid are hereby
denied the use of other missals, which are to be wholly and entirely
rejected; and by this present Constitution, which shall have the force
of law in perpetuity, We order and enjoin under
pain of Our displeasure that nothing be added to Our newly published
Missal, nothing omitted therefrom, and nothing whatsoever altered there
in.
We specifically command
each and every patriarch, administrator and all other persons of
whatsoever ecclesiastical dignity, be they even Cardinals of the Holy
Roman Church, or, possessed of any other rank or pre-eminence, and We
order them by virtue of holy obedience to sing or to read the Mass
according to the rite and manner and norm herein laid down by Us, and
henceforward to discontinue and utterly discard all other rubrics and
rites of other missals, howsoever ancient, which they have been
accustomed to follow, and not to presume in celebrating Mass to
introduce any ceremonies or recite any prayers other than those
contained in this Missal.
Furthermore, by these presents and by virtue
of Our Apostolic authority, We give and grant in perpetuity that for the
singing or reading of Mass in any church whatsoever this Missal may be
followed absolutely, without any scruple of conscience or fear of
incurring any penalty, judgment or censure, and may be freely and
lawfully used. Nor shall bishops, administrators, canons, chaplains and
other secular priests, or religious of whatsoever Order or by whatsoever
title designated, be obliged to celebrate Mass otherwise than enjoined
by Us. We likewise order and declare that no one whosoever shall be
forced or coerced into altering this Missal; and this present
Constitution can never be revoked or modified, but shall forever remain
valid and have the force of law, notwithstanding previous constitutions
or edicts of provincial or synodal councils, and notwithstanding the
usage of the churches aforesaid established by very long and even
immemorial prescription, saving only usage of more than two hundred
years.
Consequently it is Our
will, and by the same authority We decree, that one month after
publication of this Our Constitution and Missal, priests of the Roman
Curia shall be obliged to sing or to read the Mass in accordance
therewith; others south of the Alps, after three months; those who live
beyond the Alps, after six months or as soon as the Missal becomes
available for purchase.
Furthermore, in order that the said Missal
may be preserved incorrupt and kept free from defects and errors, the
penalty for nonobservance in the case of all printers resident in
territory directly or indirectly subject to Ourselves and the Holy Roman
Church shall be forfeiture of their books and a fine of 100 gold ducats
payable ipso facto to the Apostolic Treasury. In the case of
those resident in other parts of the world it shall be excommunication
latae sententiae and all other penalties at Our discretion; and
by Our Apostolic authority and the tenor of these presents. We
also decree that they must not dare or presume either to print or to
publish or to sell, or in any way to take delivery of such books without
Our approval and consent, or without express permission of the Apostolic
Commissary in the said parts appointed by us for that purpose. Each of
the said printers must receive from the aforementioned Commissary a
standard Missal to serve as an exemplar for subsequent copies, which,
when made, must be compared with the exemplar and agree faithfully
therewith, varying in no wise from the first impression printed in Rome.
But, since it would be difficult for this
present Constitution to be transmitted to all parts of the world and to
come to the notice of all concerned simultaneously, We direct that it
be, as usual, posted and published at the doors of the Basilica of the
Prince of the Apostles, at those of the Apostolic Chancery, and at the
end of the Campo de’Fiori; moreover We direct that printed copies
of the same, signed by a notary public and authenticated with the seal
of an ecclesiastical dignitary, shall possess the same unqualified and
indubitable validity everywhere and in every country that would attend
the display there of Our present text. Accordingly, no one whosoever is
permitted to infringe or rashly contravene this notice of Our
permission, statute, ordinance, command, direction, grant, indult,
declaration, will, decree and prohibition. Should any person venture to
do so, let him understand that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God
and of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.
Given at St. Peter’s,
Rome, in the year of Our Lord’s Incarnation one thousand five hundred
and seventy, on the fourteenth day of July in the fifth year of Our
Pontificate.
| H. Cumin |
Caesar Glorierius
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