Pontifical High Mass
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In the context of the Tridentine Mass of the Roman Catholic Church, a Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a bishop.
In the early Church, Mass was normally celebrated by the bishop, with other clergy. In the Roman Rite this evolved into a form of Solemn High Mass celebrated by a bishop accompanied by a deacon, subdeacon, thurifer, acolytes and other ministers, under the guidance of a priest acting as Master of Ceremonies. Most often the specific parts assigned to deacon and subdeacon were performed by priests. The parts to be said aloud were all chanted, except that the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, which before the reform of Pope Pius V were said in the sacristy or during the entrance procession, were said quietly by the bishop with the deacon and the subdeacon, while the choir sang the Introit.
A Low Mass celebrated by a bishop is almost identical with a priest's Low Mass, except that the bishop put on the maniple only after the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar.
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[edit] Differences from ordinary Solemn Mass
[edit] Celebration by a Bishop other than the Pope
In contrast to celebration by a priest, a bishop celebrated almost the entire first half of the Solemn High Mass (until the offertory) at the cathedra (often referred to as his throne) to the left of the altar. Instead of saying "Dominus vobiscum" (The Lord be with you) as the opening liturgical greeting, a bishop says "Pax vobis" (Peace to you).
A bishop also wore vestments additional to those of a priest:
- The dalmatic, the distinctive vestment of a deacon, worn under the bishop's chasuble to show that he has the full powers of the sacrament of Holy Orders.
- The tunicle, the particular vestment of the subdeacon, worn under the bishop's dalmatic, further to show the fullness of the major orders. Since the 19th century it looks almost exactly the same as the dalmatic.
- The mitre, the bishop's hat.
- The crosier, the bishop's hooked staff.
- buskins, a special form of socks, along with sandals a specially decorated form of footwear, in the shape of loafers.
- a pectoral cross
- liturgical gloves
- A metropolitan archbishop, celebrating Mass within the area of his jurisdiction, wears a pallium over the chasuble, as a sign of the special authority granted by the Pope, but which technically is not extensive, over the suffragan bishops.
When the bishop sits down at the throne, a special silk cloth, called a gremial(e), of the same liturgical colour as the bishop's vestments, was placed in his lap.
[edit] Papal Mass
Note the presence of multiple assistant priests and ministers, and the mitre and the papal tiaras placed on the altar.
The Pope's Pontifical High Mass, when celebrated with full solemnity, was even more elaborate. The Gospel and Epistle were sung not only in Latin by a Latin-Rite deacon and subdeacon, but also in Greek by Eastern Rite clergy, wearing the vestments of their own rite and observing its customs, such as placing the deacon's stole on the Gospel Book and bowing rather than genuflecting. This was done to stress the unity of the universal Catholic Church, formed by both the Eastern and the Western (Latin Rite) Churches in full communion. (If Latin, rather than a living language, is used at a Papal Mass, this practice is retained, as seen at the inauguration of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI.)
Fanfares were sounded on silver trumpets at the elevations. The Pope drank the consecrated wine (transubstantiated, according to Catholic doctrine, into the blood of Christ) through a golden tube. Even for the laity, the use of a tube (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 248-250)[1] is one of the four ways envisaged in the 1970 revision of the Roman Missal for receiving Communion from the chalice. It was also customary, even at non-papal Pontifical High Mass, for some of the bread for use at the Mass to be symbolically tested, as a precaution against poison or invalid matter, by a deacon in the presence of the Pope or other bishop in a short ceremony called the praegustatio.
[edit] Anglican use of the term
As distinct from the use of the term in the context of the Tridentine Mass, as above, the term "pontifical high Mass" is used in Anglo-Catholic Anglican contexts to refer to a Mass celebrated by a diocesan bishop, usually in the presence of his throne. It is one of four full-form pontifical functions, the other three being pontifical Evensong, high Mass in the presence of a greater prelate, and solemn Evensong in the presence of a greater prelate. The ministers required at the service are a deacon and subdeacon of the Mass, assistant deacons in dalmatics, and an assistant priest in cope and surplice, who acts as the episcopal chaplain, along with the usual servers.[1]
