Views from the Choir Loft

(Ecuador) • Archbishop Poisoned on Good Friday

Jeff Ostrowski · December 2, 2020

HIS PHOTOGRAPH shows the (dead) Archbishop José Ignacio Checa y Barba, on his throne wearing full pontifical vestments:

We have mentioned abstruse rubrics in the past:

* Revealed! • A Fascinating Mass Rubric Very Few Know
—Published on 7 September 2019.

…but there is another ceremony involving wine.

For pontifical Masses in the Extraordinary Form, there’s a rubric allowing an altar server to “taste” the wine to make sure it’s not poisoned. The archbishop of Quito’s murder was the last (documented) case of poisoning a bishop during the liturgy. He was 47 years old.

UITO IS THE CAPITAL of Ecuador. José Ignacio Checa y Barba was the Archbishop of Quito. Together with the president of Ecuador, they were the first in the world to devote their country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Archbishop Checa y Barba—in the past—had tended to remain aloof from all quarrels with the government, but things changed in 1877. On March 10, the archbishop issued a pastoral warning the faithful against heretical publications, and this angered the government, which protested on 12 March. Checa y Barba answered in a note of March 17, in which he “refused to give to Caesar what did not belong to Caesar.” A visit from Veintemilla on March 24 failed to change the archbishop’s mind.

On Good Friday (March 30) after consuming the SACRED HOST during the Mass of the Presanctified, the archbishop took some wine to purify the chalice. At the time, he remarked to the deacon on its bitter taste. He completed the services, but died amid horrible convulsions as soon as he returned to his palace. The autopsy revealed that he had been poisoned by strychnine. No one was ever punished for the crime.

Source: Polish Website

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

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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).

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

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