Passion Sunday - The Veil of St. Veronica and the Stational Liturgy at St. Peter's

Gregory DiPippo (NRL): On Passion Sunday, the Lenten station is kept at the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican. Each year on this day, Vespers is celebrated with particular solemnity, and one of the most beloved rituals of Rome's liturgical year is done, the exposition to the faithful of the Veil of St. Veronica. The altar is decorated with relics in a special arrangement, as also on the Ember Saturday of Lent.

Before Vespers, the canons and clergy in attendance gather on the west side of the main altar, facing the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles; the Litany of the Saints is sung, with the invocation "Sancte Petre, ora pro nobis" repeated three times.

This is the signal for the procession to begin slowly making its way down and back up the longest church nave in the world.

When the procession returns to the apse, Vespers is sung as usual on Sundays on holy days of obligation, underneath the magnificent Chair of St. Peter by Bernini. The celebrant (very often a bishop) is accompanied by two coped assistants, one of whom reads the lesson after the psalmody.

The other coped assistant, (not a thurifer in cassock and surplice) performs the incensation of the choir and the faithful; I have been told that this custom is a holdover from the pre-Conciliar traditions of the Basilica.

The choir then processes to the front of the altar, to the singing of the hymn Vexilla Regis, while two canons of the Basilica ascend to the balcony of the pillar of St. Veronica. (Each of the four pillars that support Michelangelo's massive dome was built also with a staircase inside it, and a balcony from which one of the principal relics of the church could be exposed on solemn occasions such as this one.) An antiphon and versicle are sung by the choir, followed by the prayer of the Veil of St. Veronica. A set of silver bells are then rung, and then the Veil is shown to the faithful from the balcony. This is not the place to comment on the authenticity of the Veil, which has a long and very complex history. I can only say that I have witnessed this ritual several times, and on each occasion, when it is shown to the crowds, the church becomes completely silent, even though many of the people present are obviously tourists who have no idea what is happening. (The canon here on the right is Mons. Camille Perl, former Secretary of the Ecclesia Dei commission; due to a technical fault wholly beyond my kenning, I had to convert this photograph to black and white.)

Here one can see the exposition of the Veil in the year 2008; my thanks to Mr. Lucas Viar for permission to use this video.

The prayer of the Veil as currently used at St. Peter's:

Deus, qui nobis signatis lumine vultus tui imaginem tuam relinquere voluisti: per passionem et crucem tuam tribue nobis, quaesumus; ut sicut nunc in terris per speculum et in aenigmate ipsam veneramur, ita facie ad faciem venientem judicem te securi videamus. Qui vivis.

God, who didst wish to leave Thy image to us, who are marked with the light of Thy countenance: through Thy passion and Cross grant us, we beseech Thee; that as now upon the earth we venerate it through a glass darkly, so in safety may we see Thee face to face when Thou comest to judge. Who livest etc.

The original version composed by Pope Innocent III in 1208:

Deus, qui nobis signatis lumine vultus tui memoriale tuum ad instantiam Veronicae sudario impressam imaginem relinquere voluisti, per passionem et crucem tuam tribue nobis quaesumus, ut ita nunc in terris per speculum et in aenigmate ipsam adorare et venerari valeamus, ut facie ad faciem venientem iudicem te securi videamus.Qui vivis.

God, who didst wish to leave as a memorial of Thee to us, who are marked with the light of Thy countenance, an image impressed upon a cloth at the urging of Veronica: through Thy passion and Cross grant us, we beseech Thee; that we may now upon the earth be so able to venerate and adore it through a glass darkly, that in safety may we see Thee face to face when Thou comest to judge. Who livest etc.

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[Re-publication with the permission of the auctor]

Johannes Burchardus – Diarium [Liber notarum]

Oto udostępniamy w jednym miejscu różne, a jednocześnie kompletne i uzupełniające się (w szczególności chodzi tu o komentarze wydawców) edycje Diarium („Dziennik”) – nazywanego także powszechnie Liber notarum („księga not”) – spisanego przez jednego z najsłynniejszych papieskich mistrzów ceremonii, Jana Burcharda (szczegółowe informacje na jego temat można znaleźć we wstępach udostępnianych dzieł).

L. Thuasne, Johannis Burchardi Argentinensis Capelle Pontificie Sacrorum Rituum Magistri Diarium sive rerum Urbanarum Commentarii (1483-1506), t. I [1483-1492], Paris 1883

L. Thuasne, Johannis Burchardi Argentinensis Capelle Pontificie Sacrorum Rituum Magistri Diarium sive rerum Urbanarum Commentarii (1483-1506), t. II [1492-1499], Paris 1884

L. Thuasne, Johannis Burchardi Argentinensis Capelle Pontificie Sacrorum Rituum Magistri Diarium sive rerum Urbanarum Commentarii (1483-1506), t. III [1500-1506], Paris 1885

A. Gennarelli Equite, Johannis Burchardi Argentinensis Protonotarii Apostolici et Episcopi Hortani Cappellae Pontificiae Sacrorum Rituum Magistri Diarium Innocentii VIII, Alexandri VI, Pii III, et Julii II tempora complectens, Florentiae 1854

J. Turmel, Le journal de Jean Burchard éveque et cérémoniaire au Vatican, Paris 1933

Johannis Burchardi Argentinensis Protonotarii Apostolici et Episcopi Hortani Cappellae Pontificale Sacrorum Rituum Magistri Diarium Innocentii VIII, Firenze 1896

F. L. Glaser, Pope Alexander VI and his court. Extracts from the latin Diary of Johannes Burchardus Bishop of Orta and Civita Castellana, Pontifical Master of Ceremonies, New York, 1921

G. G. L., Historia Arcana sive de vita Alexandri VI. Papae seu excerpta ex Diario Johannis Burchardi etc., Hannoverae 1647

Prezentujemy także artykuł dotyczący życia i dzieł dokonanych lub przypisywanych Janowi Burkardowi:

J. Lesellier, Les méfaits du cérémoniaire Jean Burckard, [in:] Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire, t. 44, 1927, pp. 11-34

Pope Paul VI giving Holy Communion and Sedia Gestatoria [1970]

The Papal "Cappa magna"

The Papal "Cappa magna"

Saint Pie X et la liturgie

Saint Pie X et la liturgie

B. Pierami O.S.B., Vie du Serviteur de Dieu Pie X, Turin-Rome 1929

Archivio de' Maestri delle Cerimonie Pontificie

Ristretto delle principali indicazioni sotti le quali sono raccolte in molti volumi e descritte con indice tutte le instruzioni, memorie, e manoscritti che si conservano nell'Archivio de' Maestri delle Cerimonie Pontificie, A tutto l'Anno 1803

Cardinal Wiseman - Four Lectures on the Offices and Ceremonies of Holy Week

Cardinal Wiseman, Four Lectures on the Offices and Ceremonies of Holy Week as performed in the Papal Chapels (delivered in Rome in the Lent of MDCCCXXXVII), Pittsburgh 1854

Jean XXIII - Journal de l'âme

Jean XXIII - Journal de l’âme

P. Rouillard (red.), Jean XXIII. Journal de l’âme – écrits spirituels,
Paris 1964, p. 44, 223, 283, 349, 376, 488, 499, 528-529

Portrait de Jean XXIII

Portrait de Jean XXIII

L. Chaigne, Portrait de Jean XXIII, Paris 1964

I. Nabuco - De episcopum consecratione a Romano Pontifice

Episcoporum consecrationes Summo Pontifici a iure reservantur, qui sat frequenter personaliter eas persolvit, praesertim si consecrandi sint e familia vel domo sua, seu SRE cardinales [1].

1. Consecrationes a Summo Pontefice fieri solent intra missam lectam, praesertim propter duo, I° quia missa solemnis Papae est nimis prolixa, et 2° quia solus Papa consecratur ad altare papale, ubi Papa solet solemniter celebrare [2]. Vide notam I, p. 221 [: Romae saeculo XIII, dominus apostolicus electo dabat hostiam integram et diaconus ministrans calicem cum sanguine Christi. Id etiam probat episcoporum consecrationes intra missarum solemnia, id est cum cantu et sacris ministris, a summo pontifice fieri consuevisse. Andrieu tome II, p. 336].

2. Episcopi conconsecrantes intra archiepiscopos Apostolico solio assistentes seliguuntur. Vide notam 2, p. 182 [: Privilegium erat Apostolicum, et quidem exclusivum, consecrandi episcopos sine conconsecratoribus. In Ordine Romano XXXV saeculi X legis “Et benedicet eum Dominus Apostolicus per semetipsum... nam a ceteris episcopis benedici non potest minus quam a tribus.” Andrieu, Ordines Romani, IV, p. 44. Sed multum antea diaconus Carthaginiensis Fulgentius Ferrando, in suo Breviario, capite VI, scripsit “Ut unus episcopus episcopum non ordiner, excepta Ecclesia Romana.” Apud Duchesne, Les Origines du culte chrétien, ed. 3, p. 361. Grisar, Storia di Roma e dei Papi, Roma 1908, in- 4, p. 776. Privilegium tam insigne reliquerunt summi pontifices inde a saeculo XII vel circiter, amore forsan uniformitatis. Quis scit utrum ad tam singulare privilegium revertantur aliquando Petri successores. Vide excurcum De consecratione Summi Pontificis, n. 291a].

3. Capellani assistentes erunt episcopi duo ex assistentibus ad solium vel e familia sua, qui utuntur superpelliceo super rochetum et cruce pectorali.

4. Papa consecrationem exsequitur iuxta P[ontificalem] R[omanum] et induitur omnibus vestibus pontificalibus. Facit praeparationem et se vestit ad thronum, ubi in fine sacras deponit vestes.

5. Vittae lineae capiti et humeris electi imponuntur ab uno e subdiaconis apostolicis. Pius XI, Ad incrementum decoris, n. 78.

6. Super dona offerenda stemmata Summi Pontificis tantum apponentur.

7. Inthronizatio, quicumque sit electus, fit ad faldistorium, adstante Papa ad parvum thronum in suppedaneo a latere evangelii.

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[1] Apud APC (1907, p. 96) habes relationem episcoporum a summis pontificibus consecratorum; ibi videbis quam frequenter id fiebat. Gregorius XVI consecravit episcopum unum ad altare papale, contra regulam generalem. Die 25 Februarii 1906, in dominica quinquagesima, Pius X quatuordecim episcopos Galliae consecravit; die 28 Octobris 1926, in festo SS. AA. Simonis et Judae, Pius XI sex episcopos e Sinis sacravit; et in festo ssmae. Trinitatis anni iubilaei 1933 quinque episcopos e locis missionum nativos (Sina, India, Annam). Demum in festo D. N. Iesu Christi Regis anni 1939 Pius XII in Basilica sancti Petri duodecim sacravit episcopos missionarios, quos in perpulchra homilia salutavit. AAS 1940, p. 595. Die 27 Decembris 1958 Ioannes XXIII, g. r., consecravit cardinalem Tardini, a secretis Status, insimul cum aliis septem praesulibus.

[2] "Au XII^e siècle une vieille tradition (inde a sancto Gregorio Papa I) ne permettait de célébrer à l'autel de Saint-Pierre d'autre ordination que celle du Pape lui-même". Andrieu, Ordines Romani, IV, p. 127, Ordo XXXVI.

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I. Nabuco, Pontificalis Romani expisitio iuridico-pratica, Tornaci 1962, p. 182, 221, 257

Sainte Thérese de l’Enfant-Jésus et la Chapelle Papale [beatification et canonisation]

(D’apres la Semaine Religieuse de Bayeux et Lisieux, et plusieurs témoins.)

Elle a vraiment laissé, dans l’âme de ceux qui en furent les heureux témoins, une impression profonde, ineffaçable, et par-dessus tout réconfortante, cette spelndide manifestation mondiale du 17 mai, en l’honneur de notre nouvelle Sainte : Soeur Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus ! Oui, c’est de tous les continents, de tous les pays d’Europe, de toutes les provinces de France que l’on est accouru vers la Ville Eternelle ; et, en ce dimanche d’apothéose, ils étaient plus de 150.000 à vouloir entrer dans la Basilique de Saint-Pierre, la plus grande du monde, qui, malgré ses colossales dimensions, ne peut guère contenir que 50.000 personnes.

Sainte Thérese de l’Enfant-Jésus et la Chapelle Papale [beatification et canonisation]

Le soleil voulut être de la fête et brilla d’un éclat magnifique. Toutes les maisons de l’historique et populaire quartier du Borgo, qui environne immédiatement le Vatican, avaient leurs façades pavoisées de draperies ; les encadrements des fenêtres étaient fleuris de roses écarlates, de ces roses que Soeur Thérèse affectionnait tant !

Dans Saint-Pierre, où de grandes tentures tamisent l’éclat de la lumière qui pénètre à flots par les baies géantes, les pèlerins sont entassés. L’illumination de la Basilique n’avait jamais atteint, paraît-il, une splendeur pareille (le soir, sur la place Saint-Pierre et aux alentours immédiats, plus de 500.000 personnes contemplèrent le féerique embrasement de l’imposante Basilique. Un désir personnel du Souverain Pontife avait motivé cette illumination extérieure qui ne s’était vue depuis 1870). A gauche et à droite de la Confession, deux grandes toiles représentent les miracles de la nouvelle Sainte. Sous la coupole, on avait installé quatre puissants « mégaphones », qui, reliés électriquement à un microphone très sensible, installé à proximité du Pape, projetèrent la voix renforcée du Saint-Père aux quatre coins de l’immense Basilique.

Cependant la procession se forme et s’organise dans la chapelle Sixtine et dans les vastes appartements du Palais pontifical ; les cloches s’ébranlent en accents joyeux, et le cortège incomparable, franchissant le seuil de Saint-Pierre, s’avance entre les Gardes palatins, l’arme au pied. On distingue, minuscules, les taches claires des bannières et des croix ; et le défilé commence, composé de 33 Cardinaux, de plus de 200 Archevêques et Évêques, précédés d’un innombrable clergé.

Pendant que l’étendard de Thérèse traversa la Basilique, ce furent des acclamations frénétiques et des supplications émouvantes. Sur la passage du Saint-Père, les applaudissements retentirent de nouveau, roulant en tonnerre, sous les caisson dorés.

Il était 10 h. ½ environ, quand Mgr Sébastiani, Secrétaire des Brefs aux Princes, prononça la solennelle invitation : « Assurgite igitur : Petrus per Pium locuturus est. Levez-vous tous : Pierre va parler par la bouche de Pie. » Alors, devant les Cardinaux et les Evêques debout, S. S. Pie XI, assis, mitre en tête, docteur de l’Eglise universelle, prononça la formule rituelle « déclarant Sainte la Bienheureuse Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus, et décidant que, chaque année, le jour de sa naissance (au ciel), c’est-à-dire le 30 septembre, sa mémoire sera pieusement rappelée par l’Eglise universelle ».

Nous ne pouvons ici raconter tous les détails de l’imposante cérémonie, ni exprimer l’émotion ressentie au fond de nos coeurs en entendant, au Confiteor, le Vicaire de Jésus-Christ nommer l’humble Vierge Thérèse, après es saints Apôtres Pierre et Paul, puis en écoutant la si touchante Homélie du Souverain Pontife après le chant de l’Evangile.

Ce sont là des impressions qui ne s’effaceront jamais...

[Au moment précis où le Saint-Père terminait cette Homélie, quelques roses – émouvant symbole – se détachant d’un lampadaire, vinrent tomber doucement aux côtés du Pontife.]

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Sainte Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus.

Histoire d’une âme écrite par elle-même,

Lisieux (Calvados), p. 583-584, 589.

The Ember Saturday of Lent at St. Peter's

NLM: When the Lenten station is held at St. Peter's Basilica, on Ember Saturday and Passion Sunday, and on a few other occasions, the Papal altar is decorated with relics according to a particular arrangement. The relics of martyrs are placed closer to the edge of the mensa, and those of other saints further in; the four corners are decorated with reliquaries shaped like obelisks, with long bones (tibias and such) in them.

The Ember Saturday of Lent at St. Peter's

On each of the two short sides of the altar is set a rectangular panel containing relics 35 Popes; between the two of them, all of the Sainted Popes except the most recent.

On the long side facing the apse, a bust reliquary of Pope St. Damasus I (366-84, feast on December 11), containing the relics of his skull, is placed in the middle. This is a particularly appropriate choice, since Damasus was a great promoter of devotion to the saints and the cult of the relics, particularly those of the Roman martyrs. Within many catacombs, he rearranged the spaces around the tombs of the martyrs to make it easier for pilgrims to find and visit them, decorating the tombs themselves with elaborately carved inscriptions written by himself in classical poetic meter. For this reason, he is honored as the patron saint of archeologists.

Porteur de Tiare