Friday, October 24, 2014

Roman Episcopal Consecration

After our post on Pius XII's toying with the Pontificale Romanum, one reader reminded his Traddiness that within the City of Rome there was a variation that involved the speaking of the prayers before 1950. The consecrating bishop would say or sing the prayers while the co-consecrators would mumble them in a low voice off to the side, reading from their own books. I believe Marko pointed out that in the revised Pontificale shown in our post, the instructions were in the singular rather than the plural. This is because, per the Acta Apostoilicae Sedes of 1950, the co-consecrators did the deed in turn one after another rather than simultaneously. In the clip shown below from the film The Cardinal, which takes place during the years of Pius XI, the pre-1950 Curial practice is portrayed.
 
 
 
From the film Becket, a portrayal of an episcopal consecration in English.
 
 
Of course, the Curial Pontificale Romanum would hardly have been
used in 12th century England. Does anyone know if Sarum or York
pontifical books survive?


1 comment:

  1. I am not sure about The Cardinal, but remember that Becket had a really awkward scene with a partially exposed women that rather surprised me since the movie is 1) about a Catholic saint and 2) from the sixties. I only mention this because it is not brought up at all when the movie is mentioned in recommended lists on some Catholic sites. Happy New Year and God Bless.

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