This articlerelies largely or entirely on asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Cistercian Rite" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2024)

TheCistercian Rite is theliturgical rite, distinct from theRoman Rite, specific to theCistercian Order of theCatholic Church.

The Cistercian Rite is to be found in theliturgical books of this reformed branch of theBenedictines. The collection, composed of fifteen books, was made by the General Chapter of Cîteaux (the place from which the order takes its name), most probably in 1134; they were later included in the Missal, Breviary, Ritual and Martyrology of the order. WhenPope Pius V ordered the entire Church to conform to theRoman Missal andRoman Breviary, he exempted the Cistercians, because their rite had been more than 200 years in existence. UnderClaude Vaussin, General of the Cistercians in the middle of the seventeenth century, several reforms were made in the liturgical books of the order, and were approved byPope Alexander VII,Pope Clement IX andPope Clement XIII. These approbations were confirmed byPope Pius IX on 7 February 1871 for the Cistercians of theCommon and the Strict Observance (Trappists).^[1]

The Cisterciancanonical hours (or Divine Office) was even then quite different from the Roman, as it followed exactly the prescriptions of theRule of St. Benedict (seeBenedictine Rite), with a very few minor additions.^[1]

In the Cistercian Missal before the reform of Claude Vaussin, there were wide divergences between the Cistercian and Roman rites. The psalm "Judica" was not said, but in its stead was recited theVeni Creator; theIndulgentiam was followed by thePater andAve, and theOramus te Domine was omitted in kissing the altar. After thePax Domini sit semper vobiscum, theAgnus Dei was said thrice, and was followed immediately byHæc sacrosancta commixtio corporis, said by the priest while placing the small fragment of the Sacred Host in the chalice; then theDomine Jesu Christe, Fili Dei Vivi was said, but theCorpus Tuum andQuod ore sumpsimus were omitted. The priest said thePlaceat, and then "Meritis et precibus istorum et omnium sanctorum. Suorum misereatur nostri Omnipotens Dominus. Amen", while kissing the altar; he also ended Mass with the sign of the Cross. Outside of some minor exceptions in the wording and conclusions of various prayers, the other parts of the Mass were the same as in the Roman Rite. Also in some Masses of the year the ordo was different; for instance, onPalm Sunday the Passion was only said at thehigh Mass, at the otherMasses a special gospel only being said. However, since the time of Claude Vaussin the differences from the Roman Mass became insignificant.^[1]

The differences in the ritual were very small. As regards the last sacraments, Extreme Unction was given before theHoly Viaticum, and inExtreme Unction the wordPeccasti was used instead of theDeliquisti that was then in the Roman Ritual. In theSacrament of Penance a shorter form of absolution might be used in ordinary confessions.^[1]

• Liturgy of the Hours
• Catholic liturgy
• Latin liturgical rites

• Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference
• Articles incorporating text from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles needing additional references from January 2024
• All articles needing additional references
• Articles containing Latin-language text