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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

PDF Download • Extremely Rare Sequence (Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi)

Andrea Leal · September 23, 2020

HENEVER a Franciscan priest says the Traditional Latin Mass, there are a few variations. For example, during the Confíteor, the name of Saint Francis is added. I am told these small liturgical changes are not nearly as drastic of other orders, such as the Order of Preachers (“Dominicans”) or the Premonstratensians (“Norbertines”). However, there are some special feasts that Franciscan priests utilize when they say the Extraordinary Form: October 4th is an example. It is the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, and it has special Mass propers, including a Sequence! The “sign” it mentions is the SACRED STIGMATA which Saint Francis received.

I have created a recording of this hauntingly beautiful Sequence (Sanctitatis Nova Signa) because we will be singing it on October 4th here in Las Vegas. My intention was to just record it for my reduced Schola—the fewer singers you have, the more certain they have to be of the music. There is very little room for error; a single misstep can easily cause a train wreck in a hymn of this length! But as I worked on it, I found it to be so incredibly beautiful that I decided I had to share it with you. I do not know of any other recordings in existence, although perhaps there is one out there somewhere that I haven’t found yet.

*  PDF Download • “Sanctitatis Nova Signa” (Single Page)
—SEQUENCE for 4 October: Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Here’s a direct link to the YouTube file.

You can download a literal English translation by Father Aquinas Byrnes:

*  PDF Download • English Translation & Explanation

It appears someone has attempted a metrical translation of all ten verses. A different attempt at a metrical translation can be found here. “Sanctitátis nova signa prodiérunt laude digna” has two melodies. The recording above is the secondary option with an alternate melody. The first option given for this Sequence sounds very similar to the melody of the LAUDA SION on the feast of Corpus Christi—but it isn’t quite the same. In some ways, learning a piece of plainchant that is similar but not identical is more difficult than learning a completely new melody.

Father Francisco Nahoe, OFM Conv, very kindly shared this with us:

In 1228, Pope Gregory IX (d. 1241) canonized Saint Francis of Assisi, barely two years after his death on 3 October 1226. The 13th century had already seen a profusion of composed poetic tropes aggregated to the Roman rite, especially following the interlectionary chants. We might, then, have expected the early appearance of a sequence for the Poverello. Indeed, the Renaissance scholar, Friar Luke Wadding (1588-1657) ascribes the Sanctitatis nova signa to the first biographer of the saint, Friar Thomas of Celano (1185-1260), best known for the Requiem sequence, Dies iræ, a paradigm of medieval piety. The association of Celano with the sequence for October 4 suggests a close relationship between Franciscan hagiography and the liturgical celebrations of the Order.

Twenty quatrains of iambic tetrameter, the text of the Sanctitatis extolls both the virtue of Saint Francis and the miraculous signs that underscore his holiness, the stigmata in particular. Wadding assigns a second sequence to Celano, the Fregit victor virtualis, composed in tercets. We associate at least two other sequences with the feasts of Saint Francis: Lætabundus, which re-works the now suppressed Christmas sequence, attributed to Cardinal Thomas of Capua (d. 1243), and Caput draconis, attributed by Friar Salimbene to Pope Gregory, formerly Ugolino di Conti, the cardinal Protector of the Friars Minor. Sanctitatis nova signa, however, was the only sequence to have appeared in any of the gradualia published in the last few centuries.

There are three versions of the Missale Romano-Seraphicum: Conventual, Observant and Capuchin. The Sanctitatis sequence is obligatory in the latter two, but not in the Conventual edition. Moreover, the sequence has two settings in the Graduale Romano-Seraphicum.

HERE SEEM TO HAVE BEEN numerous hymns written to honor Saint Francis of Assisi. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and you’ll encounter Franciscan plainchant books containing at least twenty different hymns; but I would like to emphasize one hymn in particular, Decus Morum Dux Minorum, which does something I’ve never seen before. The ending of each line is the title of a famous hymn! Online, I have seen certain parties criticize the Brébeuf hymnal because of its strong emphasis on the ancient Catholic hymns. Yet, Decus Morum reminds us how important these hymns were to Catholics. Having worked on the Brébeuf snippets index, I can attest to the fact that the ancient hymns (in yellow highlight below) form the core of the Brébeuf hymnal.

Notice the astonishing Latin rhymes of the first and third lines:

*  PDF Download • Decus Morum Dux Minorum

Readers will remember Phoebe Wing, who published a review of the FSSP Sacred Music Symposium. Miss Wing has transcribed Palestrina’s setting of this wonderful medieval hymn to Saint Francis: Decus morum dux minorum.

ATHER Valentine Young, a Franciscan priest who died in January of this year, has written: “The Liber Usualis took care of most of our liturgical needs. We had supplements to take care of our special Franciscan feasts, both for the Masses and Office. We also had a Cantuale with special Franciscan hymns. I still have a copy of ours.” These are the Franciscan plainchant books I’ve been able to locate:

*  PDF Download • CANTUALE ROMANO-SERAPHICUM (193 pages)
—Franciscan plainchant published in 1922.

*  PDF Download • GRADUALE ROMANO-SERAPHICUM (178 pages)
—Franciscan plainchant published in 1924.

*  PDF Download • CANTUALE ROMANO-SERAPHICUM (403 pages)
—Franciscan plainchant published in 1951.

*  PDF Download • Missae Propriae Ordinis Fratrum Minorum (192 pages)
—Franciscan plainchant published in 1951.

My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, uploaded those books back in 2015.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Saint Francis Assisi, Sanctitatis nova signa prodiérunt laude digna, Sanctitatis nova signa SEQUENCE Last Updated: September 26, 2020

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About Andrea Leal

Andrea Leal is a wife and homeschooling mother of 6 children. She serves as choir director for the Traditional Latin Mass in Las Vegas.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “21 September 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 21 September 2025) discusses some theological items—supported by certain verses in ancient Catholic hymns—and ends by explaining why certain folks become delirious with jealousy when they observe feats by Monsignor Ronald Knox.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!
    It’s always amusing to see old diocesan newspapers—in huge capital letters—advertising the Cheapest Catholic Paper in the United States. The correspondent who sent this to me added: “I can think of certain composers, published by large companies in our own day, who could truthfully brag about the most tawdry compositions in the world!” I wonder what she could have meant by such a cryptic comment…
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Dom Murray Harmonies
    Along with so many others, I have deep respect for Dom Gregory Gregory Murray, who produced this clever harmonization (PDF) of “O SANCTISSIMA.” It’s always amazed me that Dom Gregory—a truly inspired composer—was so confused when it came to GREGORIAN CHANT. Throughout his life, he published contradictory statements, veering back-and-forth like a weather vane. Toward the end of his life, he declared: “I see clearly that the need for reform in liturgical music arose, not in the 18th and 19th centuries, but a thousand years earlier—in the 8th and 9th centuries, or even before that. The abuses began, not with Mozart and Haydn, but with those over-enthusiastic medieval musicians who developed the elaborate and flamboyant Gregorian Chant.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Karl Keating • “Canonization Questions”
    We were sent an internet statement (screenshot) that’s garnered significant attention, in which KARL KEATING (founder of Catholic Answers) speaks about whether canonizations are infallible. Mr. Keating seems unaware that canonizations are—in the final analysis—a theological opinion. They are not infallible, as explained in this 2014 article by a priest (with a doctorate in theology) who worked for multiple popes. Mr. Keating says: “I’m unaware of such claims arising from any quarter until several recent popes disliked by these Traditionalists were canonized, including John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II. Usually Paul VI receives the most opprobrium.” Mr. Keating is incorrect; e.g. Father John Vianney, several centuries ago, taught clearly that canonizations are not infallible. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen would be another example, although clearly much more recent than Saint John Vianney.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Vatican II Changed Wedding Propers?
    It’s often claimed that the wedding propers were changed after Vatican II. As a matter of fact, that is a false claim. The EDITIO VATICANA propers (Introit: Deus Israel) remained the same after Vatican II. However, a new set of propers (Introit: Ecce Deus) was provided for optional use. The same holds true for the feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great on 3 September: the 1943 propers (Introit: Si díligis me) were provided for optional use, but the traditional PROPRIA MISSAE (Introit: Sacerdótes Dei) were retained; they weren’t gotten rid of. The Ordo Cantus Missae (1970) makes this crystal clear, as does the Missal itself. There was an effort made in the post-conciliar years to eliminate so-called “Neo-Gregorian” chants, but (contrary to popular belief) most were retained: cf. the feast of Christ the King, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and so forth.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Since the English is not meant to be sung, but only to tell people who do not understand Latin what the text means, a simple paraphrase in prose is sufficient. The versions are not always very literal. Literal translations from Latin hymns would often look odd in English. I have tried to give in a readable, generally rhythmic form the real meaning of the text.”

— Fr. Adrian Fortescue (1913)

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