Saying that Pope Francis’s intention in issuing the 2021 apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes on the celebration of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass was “to bring about greater unity in the Church,” Cardinal Wilton Gregory on July 22, 2022 promulgated liturgical norms for the implementation of that papal document in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
“It is clear that the Holy Father’s sincere intention is to bring about greater unity in the Church through the celebration of the Mass and sacraments according to the 1970 Roman Missal of Pope Paul VI, which was the fruit of the renewal in the liturgy that the Second Vatican Council called for,” said Cardinal Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, in a letter to priests serving in the archdiocese.
The title of Pope Francis’s apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes is a Latin phrase meaning “Guardians of the Tradition.” That apostolic letter promulgated by the pope on July 16, 2021 contains a set of norms for the celebration of what is popularly known as the Traditional Latin Mass. That Mass, also known as the Tridentine-rite Mass, is drawn from the 1962 Roman Missal that was issued prior to the revisions in the Roman Missal implemented after the Second Vatican Council.
On the day that Pope Francis issued Traditionis Custodes in July 2021, Cardinal Gregory said in a statement that he would prayerfully reflect on the apostolic letter and carefully consider how the Holy Father’s intentions would be implemented in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
The norms in the decree issued by Cardinal Gregory to implement Traditionis Custodes go into effect and are binding in the archdiocese on Sept. 21, 2022 – the feast day of St. Matthew the Apostle, the archdiocese’s patron saint. The decree states that effective on that date, three non-parochial churches are designated as locations where the celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal will take place on Sundays. Those three locations are the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Forest Glen, Maryland; the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, D.C., and the mission church of St. Dominic in Aquasco, Maryland.
As of that date, all priests, deacons and instituted ministers need to request in writing and receive permission from Washington’s archbishop to celebrate the Eucharist using the Roman Missal of 1962 either privately or publicly in the territory of the archdiocese. Quoting Traditionis Custodes, the norms state that clergy and ministers making this request must affirm in writing “the validity and legitimacy of the liturgical reform dictated by the Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs.”
In the archdiocesan norms, Cardinal Gregory noted that Pope Francis promulgated Traditionis Custodes and issued it motu proprio (Latin for “on his own impulse”) “as a means of encouragement and to bring harmony to the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of our Catholic Church so that together we may with one accord glorify God. Traditionis Custodes restored throughout the Roman Rite of the Church the celebration of the Mass according to the liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, and declared that these reformed liturgical books guarantee the fidelity of the reform of the Second Vatican Council.”
In his letter to priests about the archdiocesan norms, Cardinal Gregory noted that he had formed a working group to assist him with implementing Traditionis Custodes, and in the recent archdiocesan listening sessions for the worldwide Synod, the faithful offered their input about the Mass according to the liturgical books issued before 1970.
“In the time I have served as archbishop of Washington, I have discovered that the majority of the faithful who participate in these liturgical celebrations in the Archdiocese of Washington are sincere, faith-filled and well-meaning. Likewise, the majority of priests who celebrate these liturgies are doing their very best to respond pastorally to the needs of the faithful,” the cardinal said.
Cardinal Gregory – who earned a doctorate in sacred liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute (Sant’ Anselmo) in Rome – said that since becoming the archbishop of Washington, he has learned much about the history of the celebration of the pre-1970 Roman Missal in the Archdiocese of Washington, and how previous archbishops sought to faithfully follow the intentions of the popes regarding the celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal.
“I too, desire to follow the path most recently traced out for us by Pope Francis,” he said.
In that letter to priests, the cardinal announced that he has asked Msgr. Charles Pope – the pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Parish in Washington, D.C. – to act as his delegate in the pastoral care of faithful who wish to celebrate the Eucharist using the Roman Missal of 1962. The delegate will serve as a moderator of all the clergy and instituted ministers who have received permission to celebrate that Mass.
The cardinal added that it is his desire, “following the intention of Pope Francis, to ensure that those who celebrate the Mass according to the 1962 Missal continue to be provided for in our archdiocese, a plea that was expressed in our Synod listening sessions.”
Cardinal Gregory said that as the norms for Traditionis Custodes are being implemented in the archdiocese, “please be assured of my constant prayers for the faithful who share a deep devotion to the celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Missal.”
In the norms, the cardinal said he has asked the archdiocesan Offices of Liturgy, Ministerial Leadership, and Pastoral Ministry and Social Concerns to assist pastors “in accompanying our brothers and sisters who share that devotion.”
Cardinal Gregory explained that assistance may include “a pastoral implementation plan, personal pastoral visits, and catechetical resources that explain the Second Vatican Council's principles of liturgical renewal and the beauty of the reformed Mass, which includes increased use of Sacred Scripture and an updated liturgical calendar. Additionally, those devoted to the Mass celebrated according to the Roman Missal of 1962 can celebrate the reformed Mass using the approved rubrics, which include reverent movement and gestures, Gregorian chant, Latin, incense, and extended periods of silence.”
According to the archdiocesan norms for implementing Traditionis Custodes, “all celebrations of the liturgies on Christmas, the Triduum, Easter Sunday, and Pentecost Sunday in the Archdiocese of Washington are to use exclusively the liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, either in the vernacular or in Latin.”
The norms also state that “if permission is granted to celebrate the Eucharist according to the Roman Missal of 1962, the Scripture readings must be proclaimed in the vernacular, using the official translation recognized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the homily is to reflect the norms and directions for preaching indicated by the Second Vatican Council and post-conciliar documents.”
In addition, the norms also require that “all other sacraments are to be celebrated using the liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II. These rites may be celebrated in Latin.”
Cardinal Gregory in summarizing the purpose of the norms wrote that “the intention of these requirements is to foster and make manifest the unity of this local Church, as well as to provide all Catholics in the Archdiocese an opportunity to offer a concrete manifestation of the acceptance of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and its liturgical books.”
The norms will be reviewed in three years.
Washington’s archbishop began the archdiocese’s liturgical norms for the implementation of Traditionis Custodes by quoting St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6)
Cardinal Gregory then noted, “St. Paul's encouragement to the Roman community holds true today for our community in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, and indeed for the Universal Church.”
