Some history about the missal in Christian religious practice…
For Christians, the death of Jesus Christ on the cross was the ultimate manifestation of God to man. Approached by the apostle Paul, the event was described as a sacrifice made to seal a new covenant with men, for their sins were, in this, redeemed[1]. To perpetuate the graces, the sacrifice was instituted by a priestly ministry through the mass[2]. Denis Crouan explains the ritual which, far from being merely symbolic: “Indeed, the Church, in offering Christ, offers itself, with all her members present at the same time as the Eucharistic sacrifice is accomplished on the altar.”[3] For the preparation and realization of the Mass with the faithful, the institution of the Christian Church established practices that have become multi-secular, themselves justified by Tradition, as a legacy of the apostles[4]. In this case, these rituals become the liturgy for Christians, represented by words and very specific management included in works dedicated to this achievement.
It was established that the writing of the Gospel texts was generally attributed between the 1st and 2nd centuries[5]. Among the oldest Christian texts, the Didachè, which appeared between the 1st and 2nd centuries of our era, containing Eucharistic prayers, could be traced to our time[6]. In the following centuries, the Christian mass evolved, giving way to the creation of different texts and was standardized in the Carolingian period[7]. In this case, the arrival of the first liturgical texts, which were then called sacramentary, did not appear until the 6th century in a fully edited form, although different texts were written before this period[8]. The Eucharist drew its origin from the Jewish tradition which included ritual acts of grace and blessing during meals, was preserved in the rites of the first Christian populations[9].
The period of the Middle Ages constituted a time of immense extension of the liturgy. Thus, we found the addition of appendixes, private devotional prayers, an increase in the number of offices and the sanctuary, especially for the dead, but also new psalms, the introduction of new songs, paraliturgical, etc.[10] On the other hand, certain practices were gradually falling into oblivion, such as the breaking of the bread (of the host) by the priest, or the offering, to name but a few[11]. However, Denis Crouan explains that with time, the mass became more of a devotion of the priest accompanied by an assistant. Indeed, the latter gradually gained in importance in the ritual, becoming “in-persona Christi”[12]. This evolution of the place of the priest was nevertheless peculiar to the Middle Ages, during which liturgical works were developed to serve this phenomenon. One could question the link between the increasing of liturgical production and the evolution of the rituals. The question is although delicate and cannot be explored in depth here but would be nevertheless worth exploring.
The period leading to the emergence of the first missals was dated to the 9th century but developed rapidly during the time of the Gregorian reform in the 11th century[13]. Sacramentary, supplemented by readings and hymns in the margins, seemed to gradually become missals[14]. What were called “plenary missals” definitively replaced the sacramentary during the 13th century[15]. A real change also took place through the manifestation of faith and practices: “Eucharistic devotion was clearly accentuated: people wanted to see and adore the Host; they proceeded to exhibitions of the Blessed Sacrament as well as to processions, as was the case for Corpus Christi; Eucharistic miracles multiplied […]”.[16] As a result, these new liturgical practices tended to distance themselves from the Mass, eventually becoming entirely independent of it.
How can such a change be explained? Crouan states that the process began in the 10th century, when the most important members of the ecclesiastical hierarchy were chosen by lords, princes, and kings.[17] As a result, the hierarchy declined as clerics failed to fulfil their obligations to their duties. Only the rural clergy seemed to be spared because of their geographical distance and lack of knowledge of Latin. Finally, this led to the foundation of religious centres, monasteries, and canonical communities[18]. The reform of Pope Gregory (1073-1085), known as the “Gregorian” reform, took place in the 11th century in a context of a desire to re-establish these deviant behaviours on the part of prelates[19]. This allowed for an important change in the new office, which was widely imposed. It is necessary to mention here that the work of transcription, although slow and costly, continued and any modification was still added on the manuscript. The first missal known today appeared in 1457 in the city of Constance, printed for the Rhineland region, then a new edition appeared in 1474 in Milan to which we will return later[20]. An additional missal joined them in Rome in 1475 and was also published in Paris in 1479. Finally, another work was printed in Paris and Salisbury in 1487, as well as others in Venice and Strasbourg.[21]. Printed in small quantities, these incunabula[22] were less expensive to produce than the employment of copyists working on parchment.
The times of the late Middle Ages witnessed troubled times within the Church. Some of the most notable events included the abdication of Pope Clement V in the 13th century, the trial of the Knights Templar in the 14th century, a period followed by troubles in the councils and papal elections.[23] Similarly, the Great Western Schism was the consequence of conflicts between King Philip IV the Fair and the Pope, then the latter with the emperor.[24] This major crisis resulted in the development of the ideologies of Gallicanism (independence and autonomy from the pope) and national particularities[25]. As a result, the institution was weakened. These geopolitical issues resulted in a precarious environment for the management of the liturgy and its exercise. One can thus observe an almost total disappearance of some rituals. Denis Crouan even uses the expression “liturgy on the cheap”[26] to speak of the trend. As a result, deviant practices multiplied, even to the point of ignoring the most fundamental rules. An initiative was undertaken by Pope Pius II in the 1450s to bring about a reform, but the project failed[27]. Then, it was Pope Sixtus IV, who proposed to rework the liturgical chant, but no new measures were instituted for the liturgy. Attempts at reform continued under Leo X (1513-1521) who appointed Zaccaria Ferrari, a humanist, to revise the hymnal. The Holy See deplored the excessive use of terms from paganism and showed a desire to remain within the principles of Tradition. The rules were thus simplified by categorization, they became understandable, which allowed to put forward the whole Sunday cycle. In the same way, the writings dedicated to the service were corrected and elements were removed to guarantee an efficient course of the service.
In summary, from its ancestor the sacramentary, the missal represented a “vector of tradition”, which “governs a total cultic action of body and word […]” and “constitutes one of the translations of the faith”[28]. Historically and spiritually linked to ritual practice, to the Eucharist and to the history of the Church, the book of the missal seemed to be illustrated over time as a fundamental object in the life of Christians. We have seen the evolution of these rites and especially of the Eucharistic rites and Masses. Thus, the missal was the fruit of this evolution, as a support to serve these new practices. Moreover, these multi-secular rites were greatly influenced by the different religious orders and by the political and structural crises of the institution. Therefore, a plurality of rites emerged in different times and regions. However, it would be wrong to think that all the initiatives of reforms came only from within the institution. In fact, at the beginning of the 16th century, the Vatican had been receiving requests for several years from synods or provincial councils demanding a profound reform of the entire liturgy.
Political issues surrounding the organization and conduct of the Council
In the face of the growing pressure of the Reformation, the establishment of a council gradually appeared a necessity for the various powers that were present at the time. Charles V, following the Edict of Worms, had banished Luther, and his followers, as well as his ideas and any writings produced by them[29]. However, the prohibition of Lutheranism did not prevent its propagation, nor the protection of the theologian by certain princes of the Empire, which was then more divided than ever[30]. To achieve a return to religious unity, Charles V finally concluded that it was essential to establish the conditions for a dialogue and declared himself in favour of a council[31]. The concern was also present in the Papal States, which feared a collapse of Christendom. The institution therefore organized the meeting of the Fathers of the Church requested by John Calvin and Luther under the new pontificate of Paul III[32].
A posteriori, three periods could be distinguished on the whole of the Council of Trent from 1545 to 1563. The first, from 1545 to 1549, was marked by Charles V’s desire to save the religious unity of his empire. After a first stop in 1549, the prelates met again in 1551[33]. The period witnessed an intensification of the war between the emperor and the reformed princes of the empire. Charles V obtained the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, but the Council did not resume until 1560[34]. During the whole period, various conflicts, sometimes armed, opposed the king of France Francis I and Charles V, as well as the war of Parma against Henry II, with sometimes the military intervention of the pope with the emperor, as against the league of Smalkalde with German protestant princes[35]. The end of the council, on the contrary, was characterized by its pacifism, although the differences of interests continued to slow down its progress. Charles V failed in bringing in the Protestant theologians, whose movement had been taken over by the politics of the princes[36].
The tradition of the Council inherited from the Middle Ages meant that the first topics were dealt with in a specific order[37]. First, sacramental theology, then issues around Scripture, Tradition, original sin, and justification[38]. Marriage was addressed twice in 1547 and 1563, while the sacrifice of the Mass was treated at different times during the three periods[39]. On the other hand, the work done on the historical documents has brought to light a rather heterogeneous degree of achievement in the writing of the decrees. The last years of the Council, between 1562 and 1563, were used to deal with internal questions of the institution[40].
What changes did the new missal make? For what purpose?
The Council managed to combine the political issues of its time with the need for the institution to counter ideas considered heretical. Then, to reform itself, the Church instituted a new disciplinary system, a better instruction of the clergy, developed the catechism and imposed the power of the pope as its representative and ruler [41]. In addition, the historian Catherine Finot explains that the Council led to a pastoral reform, but also the establishment of cultural activities by the monasteries, missionary programs, improvement of the hospital, etc.[42] Moreover, it was on the last day of the Council of Trent, December 4, 1563, that a decree was published detailing the instructions for the establishment of new liturgical materials. Here is an excerpt: “[…] since the Holy Assembly cannot decide in a distinct and convenient manner, it ordered that this same work be transmitted to the Sovereign Pontiff, so that, according to his advice and under his authority, it may be completed and published. It also decrees that the Fathers, who have had to examine the question of the Catechism, the Missal and the Breviary, act in the same way.”[43]
However, it is well known that a missal already existed at the time of the opening of the Council of Trent. Printed for the first time on December 6, 1474, by printer Zarotto under Pope Sixtus IV[44], this work could not cope with the multiple traditions, rites, votive masses, masses of saints, prefaces, prayers, and chants used in the ecclesiastical provinces[45]. Only two copies were preserved until today though there had been seven editions published during the next thirty years, along with four editions of the Ambrosian Missal[46]. According to abbot Claude Barthe, the printing press was in the present case the “ultimate means of stabilization and at the same time of very wide diffusion »[47].
We know that the reformation of the missal was therefore in the minds of his contemporaries during the period, and even that petitions were sent to the catholic Church[48]. However, the project really took shape when the commission in charge of dealing with these abuses in the celebration of the mass noted theologically questionable elements as well as dissonances in the practices[49]. In the present case, the Council of Trent reacted with a disciplinary decree named the De observandis et evitandis in celebration missae which illustrated different issues; among them the masses celebration, the lack of formation, ignorance, or the Protestant Reformation[50]. Yet, author Barthe nuanced about these gaps, arguing that historians had tended in the past to exaggerate or generalise their importance[51].
Along with the breviary, the Index and the writing of the catechism, the missal were entrusted to the Holy See as one of the unfinished tasks of the Council. Indeed, the prelates’ members of the commission did not have access to the proper documentary materials to prepare the “critical work” that was needed for the printing.[52] Cardinals Calini († April 1570), Marini (1509-1573) and Foscarari (1512-1564), along with the brilliant intellectual Guglielmo Sirleto (appointed in 1565), were entrusted with the task of editing the new missal. The missal was finally published under Pope Pius V, who issued the bull Quo Primum Temporum on July 14, 1570. [53] The primary objective here was to make the book the only reference that would be used everywhere and by everyone. Otherwise, only an exception was granted to churches that could justify liturgical rites older than two hundred years.[54] Finally, the Council of Trent succeeded to reiterate “the solemn importance of the sacrificial value of the mass, along with the legitimacy of the rituals and the dignity of the Roman Canon”.[55]
In summary, the Council of Trent succeeded in its objective of reinforcing Catholic dogma, through the authority of its institution and the publications of new edited texts. Measures were also taken to eliminate abuses and many privileges. Historians agree that the bulk of the work done was on “dogmatic problems and disciplinary reforms”[56]. Moreover, the Council made it possible to put into practice a work of pedagogy and moral instruction with the publication of new materials. These materials could be used for the whole of the Catholic community or for the ministry of future prelates. Among them are the Sixto clementine Vulgate (1592), the Profession of Faith and the Index (1564), the Roman Catechism (1566), the Breviary (1568) and finally, the Missal (1570)[57]. In a way, one could say the Council of Trent answered different points that were raised by the Protestants. On the other hand, along with the political actors, it failed to engage a real debate and to include them. These new publications materialized the reaction of the Church, as part of the Counter-Reformation. Thus, one could also say that these elements have allowed to bring authority and dignity to the new Missal in all Christianity, especially when one knows that these texts have crossed the centuries.
[1] Le Nouveau Testament. (2000). Swiss Bible Society. Letter of Paul to the Romans, 5:6-11.
[2] Crouan, D. (2005). Histoire du Missel Romain. Tequi. p.9
[3] Cité par Ibid. (1970). Review Esprit et Vie, l’ami du clergé. Langres.
[4] Ibid. p.10
[5] Comby, J.-U. (s.d.). « RÉDACTION DES QUATRE ÉVANGILES ». In Encyclopædia Universalis. https://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/redaction-des-quatre-evangiles/
[6] Barthe, C. (2016). Histoire du missel tridentin et de ses origines. VIA ROMANA.p.43
[7] Ibid. p.71
[8] Ibid. p.68
[9] Silly, R. (2021). Jerusalem Bible School. In: Dictionnaire Jésus. Bouquins.p.323
[10] Barthe, C. (2016). Histoire du missel tridentin et de ses origines. VIA ROMANA.p.103
[11] Crouan, D. (2005). Histoire du Missel Romain. Tequi. p.41
[12] Ibid. p.43
[13] Barthe, C. (2016). Histoire du missel tridentin et de ses origines. VIA ROMANA.p.103
[14] Ibid.
[15] Crouan, D. (2005). Histoire du Missel Romain. Tequi. p.40
[16] Cité par Ibid. Ladame, J., & Duvin, R. (2008). Les prodiges eucharistiques. Editions de l’imprimerie Saint Joseph.
[17] Ibid. p.43
[18] Ibid. p.43
[19] Paul, J. (2004). Chapitre 1 – Principes et idéologie des réformateurs. In , J. Paul, Le christianisme occidental au Moyen Âge: IVe-XVe siècle (pp. 215-229). Paris: Armand Colin. https://doi-org.scd1.univ-fcomte.fr/10.3917/arco.paul.2004.01.0215
[20] Crouan, D. (2005). Histoire du Missel Romain. Tequi. p.45
[21] Ibid. p.45
[22] Meaning “cradle” in English, the word designates printed books that were made before January 1501. Incunable | Enssib. (n.d.). Enssib. https://www.enssib.fr/le-dictionnaire/incunable
[23] Paul, J. (2004). Chapitre 2 – Crises dans l’Église. In Le christianisme occidental au Moyen Âge (pp. 316–333). Armand Colin. https://doi.org/10.3917/arco.paul.2004.01.0316
[24] Ibid.
[25] Chelini, J. (2002). Chapter VI. In: Histoire religieuse de l’Occident médiéval. Hachette Littératures.
[26] Crouan, D. (2005). Histoire du Missel Romain. Tequi. p.47 Note: The exact French words are “liturgie au rabais”.
[27] Ibid. p.47
[28] Barthe, C. (2016). Histoire du missel tridentin et de ses origines. VIA ROMANA. p.12
[29] Alexandre Henne, Histoire du règne de Charles-Quint en Belgique, vol. 4, E. Flatau, 1859, page 302.
[30] Carpentier, J., & Lebrun, F. (2014). Histoire de l’Europe. Points. p.229
[31] Lecler, J., Holstein, H., Adnès, P., & Lefebvre, C. (2005). Le concile de Trente (1551-1563): Histoire des conciles oecuméniques, tome XI. Fayard. p.20
[32] Carpentier, J., & Lebrun, F. (2014). Histoire de l’Europe. Points. p.223
[33] Lecler, J., Holstein, H., Adnès, P., & Lefebvre, C. (2005). Le concile de Trente (1551-1563): Histoire des conciles oecuméniques, tome XI. Fayard. p. 542
[34] Ibid. p. 543
[35] Carpentier, J., & Lebrun, F. (2014). Histoire de l’Europe. Points. p.229
[36] Ibid. p. 543
[37] Lecler, J., Holstein, H., Adnès, P., & Lefebvre, C. (2005). Le concile de Trente (1551-1563): Histoire des conciles oecuméniques, tome XI. Fayard. p. 533
[38] Ibid. p.534
[39] Ibid. p.535
[40] Ibid. p.535
[41] Hildesheimer, F. (2019). IV. Ecclesia semper reformanda. In: F. Hildesheimer, Une brève histoire de l’Église: Le cas français, IVe-XXIe siècles (pp. 109-140). Paris: Flammarion.
[42] Fino, C. (2013). Les aspects éthiques de la réforme pastorale post-tridentine. Transversalités, 126, 95-117. https://doi-org.scd1.univ-fcomte.fr/10.3917/trans.126.0095
[43] Rooses, M. (1896). Christophe Plantin, imprimeur anversois. (2ème édition). Joes Maes. p.152
[44] Missale Romanum. (1474). Antonii Zarotte Mediolani; Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana. https://ambrosiana.comperio.it/opac/detail/view/ambro:catalog:530588
[45] Lecler, J., Holstein, H., Adnès, P., & Lefebvre, C. (2005). Le concile de Trente (1551-1563): Histoire des conciles oecuméniques, tome XI. Fayard. p. 562
[46] Barthe, C. (2016). Histoire du missel tridentin et de ses origines. VIA ROMANA. p.113
[47] Ibid. p.113
[48] Lecler, J., Holstein, H., Adnès, P., & Lefebvre, C. (2005). Le concile de Trente (1551-1563): Histoire des conciles oecuméniques, tome XI. Fayard. p.562
[49] Ibid. p.562
[50] Barthe, C. (2016). Histoire du missel tridentin et de ses origines. VIA ROMANA. p.113
[51] Ibid. p.113
[52] Ibid. p.114
[53] See the text of the Bull Quo Primum, of Saint Pius V, of July 14, 1570. In Barthe p.119
[54] Lecler, J., Holstein, H., Adnès, P., & Lefebvre, C. (2005). Le concile de Trente (1551-1563): Histoire des conciles oecuméniques, tome XI. Fayard. p.562
[55] Barthe, C. (2016). Histoire du missel tridentin et de ses origines. VIA ROMANA. p.114
[56] Lecler, J., Holstein, H., Adnès, P., & Lefebvre, C. (2005). Le concile de Trente (1551-1563): Histoire des conciles oecuméniques, tome XI. Fayard. p. 534
[57] Cité par Ibid. Guy Bédouelle, La Réforme du Catholicisme (1480-1620), p. 62-69 et 93-101.