TheGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM)—in theLatin original,Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani (IGMR)—is the detailed document governing the celebration ofMass of theRoman Rite in whatsince 1969 is its normal form. Originally published in 1969 as a separate document, it is printed at the start of editions of theRoman Missal since 1970.
The 1960Code of Rubrics replaced theRubricae Generales Missalis, which had been in theTridentine Roman Missal since its first edition in 1570 and had been amplified and revised byPope Clement VIII in 1604. This had been supplemented, since the 1920 edition, by theAdditiones et Variationes in Rubricis Missalis ad normam Bullae "Divino afflatu" et subsequentium S.R.C. decretorum (Additions and Variations to the Rubrics of the Missal in accordance with the BullDivino afflatu and subsequent decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites), which indicated the changes in the Roman Missal that followed from thereform of the Roman Breviary by Pope Pius X.
Inhis 1962 edition,Pope John XXIII had made some changes to the document at the beginning of the Roman Missal calledRitus servandus in celebratione Missarum ('Rite to be observed in celebration of Masses').[1]
In his apostolic exhortationSacramentum caritatis,Pope Benedict XVI stressed the importance of proper knowledge of theGeneral Instruction not only for priests but also for the laity:[2]
The eucharistic celebration is enhanced when priests and liturgical leaders are committed to making known the current liturgical texts and norms, making available the great riches found in theGeneral Instruction of the Roman Missal and theOrder of Readings for Mass. Perhaps we take it for granted that our ecclesial communities already know and appreciate these resources, but this is not always the case. These texts contain riches which have preserved and expressed the faith and experience of the People of God over its two-thousand-year history.
In the circumstances indicated in themotu proprioTraditionis Custodes of 2021, theCatholic Church permits celebrations of Mass in accordance with the1962 edition of the Roman Missal. Such celebrations are governed not by theGeneral Instruction but by the 1960Code of Rubrics, particularly its sectionRubricae generales Missalis Romani (General Rubrics of the Roman Missal), and by theRitus servandus in celebratione Missae (Rite to be observed in celebration of Mass).[citation needed]
TheGeneral Instruction is arranged in nine chapters, preceded by a preamble. The chapter headings are:
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TheLatin original may be consulted at a number of sites. The most easily legible on a computer screen is perhaps that of theSalesians of Don Bosco (German Salesians).[3]
An English translation, but with adaptations for theUnited States, can be consulted at the appropriate web page of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Divine Worship.[4] The same translation, but with adaptations instead forEngland andWales, may be found at the web site of the England & Wales Liturgy Office.[5]
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