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A Solemn High Mass in the traditional Roman Rite was celebrated at St Peter’s Basilica on the Feast of St Michael the Archangel. The liturgy marked the first of its kind at a main altar of the basilica since restrictions were imposed on the use of the 1962 Missal more than two years ago.
The Mass took place on 29 September at the Altar of St Michael, situated on the main floor of the basilica, and was celebrated according to the Missal of St John XXIII, identifiable by the use of the maniple.
The liturgy came as an apparent surprise to those present, given that the celebration of the older form of the Mass has, since March 2021, been limited almost entirely to the Clementine Chapel in the crypt of the basilica, and only at certain times by specially authorised priests.
Confirmation of the Mass and whether it was indeed the older rite came via Facebook, when Peter A. Carter, executive director of the Sacred Music Project, told the Catholic Herald that he had intended to attend a Low Mass in the crypt but discovered that a Solemn High Mass was instead taking place in the basilica above.
Mr Carter, who is no stranger to the traditional rite and has co-authored a forthcoming book on sacred music with Cardinal Robert Sarah, described it as a “surprise blessing” to witness the celebration of the feast in such a setting.
The Catholic Herald can confirm, after reviewing video footage posted on Twitter by LifeSiteNews Vatican correspondent Michael J. Haynes, that the celebrant was Monsignor Marco Agostini, papal ceremonial officer.
The timing of the liturgy has drawn particular attention, coming less than a month before the annual Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage, during which the Vatican has already confirmed that a Pontifical Mass in the older form will again be celebrated.
Observers say the Mass on the Feast of St Michael suggests a possible softening of the 2021 prohibition, which abruptly ended the daily celebration of the traditional liturgy at multiple side altars of the basilica, including the Altar of Blessed Innocent XI.
Until then, priests from around the world visiting Rome were able to offer the Mass privately in the Extraordinary Form, following the provisions of Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. That papal decree affirmed that the older liturgy had never been abrogated and gave wide liberty for its celebration, with many clergy opting to use the 1962 Missal at the basilica’s side altars.
The curtailment of those celebrations in March 2021 was followed four months later by the publication of Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis’s motu proprio which placed further restrictions on the use of the traditional liturgy throughout the world. Since then, the number of Masses offered in the older form in St Peter’s Basilica has been sharply reduced and restricted to the crypt.
Whether it represents a wider shift in the Vatican’s approach remains unclear, but the occasion has already been welcomed by many devotees of the traditional liturgy as an unexpected moment of encouragement.
(Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images)
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