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Views from the Choir Loft

Pope Francis Celebrates Mass “Ad Orientem”

Jeff Ostrowski · November 2, 2013

243 Pope Francis Ad Orientam Pope Francis “ad orientem” EVERAL YEARS AGO, someone did the world a beautiful favor by creating a Facebook “fan” page for Msgr. Guido Marini, who entered the national spotlight when he became Papal M.C. during the pontificate of Benedict XVI. Msgr. Marini is one of the “cooler heads” carefully evaluating the post-Conciliar liturgical reforms and observing that some went beyond what the Council fathers wanted.

Those who follow his FB page were recently shown pictures of Pope Francis offering Mass according to the traditional arrangment: ad orientem (a.k.a. “versus apsidem”). In the past, we’ve spoken about ad orientem many times, for example, here, here, here, and here.   (By the way, I very much doubt that Msgr. Marini personally maintains this “fan” page, although he’s probably aware of its existence.)

Pope Francis celebrating in this manner was a bit of a surprise, since members of his generation aren’t usually accustomed to ad orientem. On the other hand, it’s possible that Cardinal Bergoglio was serving on the Congregation for Divine Worship when it issued a famous ruling (25 September 2000) saying Mass should not be offered versus populum (“facing the people”) if a High Altar be present. [Can anyone confirm the dates Cardinal Bergoglio served on that Committee?] I would suggest that, while his ad orientem celebration is encouraging, it does not merit the frenzy observed in certain circles.

Finally, I would like to point out that the correct spelling is ad orientem — not “ad orientam.” This can be a deadly trap, since we have words in English like “orientation” and “orientate.”

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Ad Orientem, Mass Facing The People Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Been to Catholic church and heard Mass. Execrable music! Organ played by a young girl who made impossible harmonies. Sermon very long. The preacher screamed loud enough to tire his lungs. The congregation was affected.”

— Louis Moreau Gottschalk (8 May 1864)

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