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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli Speaks About Roman Missal, Third Edition

Jeff Ostrowski · March 2, 2014

OST REVEREND Arthur J. Serratelli, Bishop of Patterson, NJ, is a member of ICEL and Vox Clara. He is well-known for his expertise in liturgical and scriptural matters. He’s also very funny and energetic. The following talk (November, 2011) was made available by Mount St. Mary’s Seminary:

      * *  Bishop Serratelli • New Roman Missal

The entire speech is fascinating, and it has a lot of “zingers” which I won’t spoil. He also mentions some sad realities. For instance, he says major catechesis is needed because none of the children who approach him for Confirmation can tell him anything about the Mass, except that “it’s a celebration.”

At the end, Bishop Serratelli answers questions. He notes that the previous ICEL translation avoided words like “soul” and “grace.” If you forgot what the old ICEL translation looked like, click on these:

      * *  Example #1 — The old (discredited) ICEL translation

      * *  Example #2 — The old (discredited) ICEL translation

I find it very cool that Cardinal DiNardo and Bishop Serratelli (among others) sometimes offer the Extraordinary Form:

NEWS FROM NOVEMBER 2013

Cardinal DiNardo was elected to chair the Committee on Divine Worship, but his election as Vice-President of the USCCB prevented him from assuming leadership of the committee. Therefore, the bishops elected Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, New Jersey, to chair the committee beginning 14 November 2013. Bishop Serratelli previously chaired the committee from 2007-2010.

BIOGRAPHY OF BISHOP SERRATELLI

Bishop Arthur Joseph Serratelli was born in Newark, New Jersey on April 18, 1944, the son of Eva Fasolino and the late Pio Serratelli. He attended Ann Street School in Newark and completed his grammar school education at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Newark. He then attended Seton Hall Preparatory School and Seton Hall University in South Orange. He studied for two years at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, and then at the North American College in Rome. While in Rome, he did his theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University and Scripture studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Seton Hall University in 1965, a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University in 1969, a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Biblical Institute in 1976, and a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University in 1977.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1968, Bishop Serratelli served for one year as parochial vicar at St. Anthony Parish, Belleville. He taught Systematic Theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary for two years and then returned to Rome for higher studies. From 1977 until 2002, he taught Sacred Scripture and biblical languages at the seminary. He was Rector of St. Andrew’s College Seminary at Seton Hall University from 1997-2000.

He also taught at the Redemptorist Seminary in Esopus, New York; St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, New York; the Institute of Religious Studies, Archdiocese of New York; and the lay ministry program of the Educational Program Service of Trinity College, Washington. Bishop Serratelli has been active in giving retreats to priests and religious, diocesan convocations and lectures throughout the United States. He had also been a weekend assistant in Most Blessed Sacrament Parish, Franklin Lakes, and served in Holy Family Parish, Nutley and Saint Anthony Parish, Passaic.

His Holiness, Pope John Paul II named him a Prelate of Honor in 1998. His appointment as Titular Bishop of Enera and Auxiliary Bishop of Newark was announced on July 3, 2000. His Episcopal Ordination was celebrated on September 8, 2000. He was appointed Vicar for Ministries, Regional Bishop for Essex County, and Vicar for the Apostolates and Education shortly thereafter. In March 2002, he was appointed Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Archdiocese of Newark. He was installed as Paterson’s seventh bishop on July 6, 2004 at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Paterson.

As a member of the USCCB in Washington, Bishop Serratelli serves as chairman of the Committee on Divine Worship and member of the Ad hoc Sub-Committee for the Review of Scripture Translations. He is also the chairman of the International Committee on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) and member of the Vox Clara Commission. Bishop Serratelli also serves on the Task Force for the Review of the Lectionary, Ad hoc Committee for the Review of the Catechism and the Ad hoc Committee for the Spanish Bible for the Church in America.

IF YOU STILL HAVEN’T HEARD ENOUGH, George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, delivered this address at a Rome conference marking the 50th anniversary of Sacrosanctum Concilium. (Courtesy of ZENIT.)

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Bishop Arthur J Serratelli Vox Clara 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

“The Humanists abominated the rhythmical poetry of the Middle Ages from an exaggerated enthusiasm for ancient classical forms and meters. Hymnody then received its death blow as, on the revision of the Breviary under Pope Urban VIII, the medieval rhythmical hymns were forced into more classical forms by means of so-called corrections.”

— ‘Father Clemens Blume, S.J.’

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