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Views from the Choir Loft

Celebrating Parish Weddings

Fr. David Friel · February 9, 2014

OR ALMOST TEN YEARS, I have belonged to a local group called the Association of Church Musicians in Philadelphia (ACMP). This group offers many wonderful things throughout the year: skills sessions, annual pastor/musician banquet, member directory, quarterly newsletter, networking opportunities, scholarships for high schools students involved with parish music programs, and an end-of-year Vespers and awards ceremony. The ACMP has been a terrific blessing to our archdiocese.

The Association also offers an annual winter workshop, which I attended yesterday. Last year’s topic was “Celebrating Parish Funerals,” while this year’s focus was “Celebrating Parish Weddings.” The keynote speaker was Msgr. Richard Hilgartner, executive director of the USCCB Secretariat for Divine Worship. Among the many topics discussed were the present Rite of Marriage, the forthcoming second edition of the Order of Christian Matrimony, and best practices for providing music during nuptial Masses.

One of the issues that received a lot of attention during the question & answer sessions was the Gloria. The rubrics of the third edition of the Roman Missal introduced a change that continues to confuse many parish musicians and priests. Because of the evident confusion among the workshop attendees, I thought it would be worthwhile to address the topic here.

Under the new rubrics, the nuptial Mass is treated like a Feast, which means that the Gloria is to be sung. The matter is treated in an article appearing in the NewsLetter of the Secretariat (Volume XVLIII, January 2012):

3. What are the new rubrics in the Missal regarding the Gloria? In the Roman Missal, Third Edition, the rubrics call for the Gloria more frequently than before. Nine out of the ten Ritual Masses prescribe the Gloria, the only exception being the Mass for the Institution of Lectors and Acolytes. These Masses are all treated as if they were Feasts, and the Gloria is used for them even when celebrated during Advent or Lent. Thus, for example, Masses for Confirmation, Holy Orders, or Marriage would include the Gloria even when they occur during Advent or Lent. (It should be noted, though, that Ritual Masses are prohibited on Sundays of Advent and Lent.)

So, in summary, the Gloria is to be sung at every nuptial Mass, regardless of the season, but it is never used at a wedding ceremony outside of Mass.

Additionally, the rubrics now make clear that the Act of Penitence is omitted. This creates what can seem a rather awkward progression: entrance chant, Sign of the Cross, greeting, Gloria, collect. It doesn’t seem to be the natural flow of our Catholic ritual. Msgr. Hilgartner explained, however, that the forthcoming second edition will include an introductory passage to be read after the greeting, which will ease the transition a bit. He read the draft of the introduction to us, and it impressed me as a beautiful and understandable précis on the theology of Holy Matrimony.

Incidentally, if you are responsible for providing wedding music regularly and you are looking for solid options, check out this complete package resource and these Responsorial Psalms.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Nuptial Mass, Roman Missal Third Edition, USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Only against this background, of the effective denial of the authority of Trent, can one understand the bitterness of the struggle against allowing the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missal after the liturgical reform. The possibility of so celebrating constitutes the strongest, and thus (for them) the most intolerable contradiction of the opinion of those who believe that the faith in the Eucharist, as formulated by Trent, has lost its validity.”

— Cardinal Ratzinger, 2001

Recent Posts

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  • “My First Year with the Latin Mass” • A Music Director’s Perspective
  • Boston Auxiliary Bishop: “In offering the Traditional Mass for the first time, after removing the vestments, I knelt in the back pew and wept.”

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