| Quo Primum Tempore Latin for 'From the Beginning Whence' Apostolic constitution ofPopePius V | |
|---|---|
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| Signature date | 17 July 1570 |
| Subject | On the prumulgation of the newRoman Missal |
| Text | |
| Cristiani populi → | |
Quo Primum Tempore (English:From the beginning whence) is theincipit of anApostolic Constitution in the form of aPapal bull issued byPope Pius V on 14 July 1570. This Pontifical decree promulgated theRoman Missal and made its use obligatory throughout theLatin Church of theCatholic Church, except where there existed a differentCatholic Massliturgy of theLatin Church of at least two hundred years prior and standing.
The declared reason for this measure was this: "It is most becoming that there be in the Church... only one rite for the celebration of Mass." However, he made the exception mentioned, which permitted the survival, within limited areas or in celebrations by members of certain religious orders, ofLatin liturgical rites other than theRoman Rite, rites such as theAmbrosian andMozarabic Rites, that of the Diocese ofLyon and certainCatholic Order Rites. Some of these dioceses and religious orders have since decided to adopt the Roman Rite. Others preferred not to avail themselves of the exemption to which they were entitled and instead to adopt the Roman Missal immediately.
Thus, although the bullQuo primum contained expressions such as "Let all everywhere adopt and observe what has been handed down by the Holy Roman Church, the Mother and Teacher of the other Churches, and let Masses not be sung or read according to any other formula than that of this Missal published by Us. This ordinance applies henceforth, now, and forever, throughout all the provinces of the Christian world", exceptions were allowed from the start, and not all priests—even those withinLatin Rites—were obliged to adopt the Missal of Pius V.[1]
In the bull Pope Pius V declared:
"By this present Constitution, which will be valid henceforth, now, and forever, We order and enjoin that nothing must be added to Our recently published Missal, nothing omitted from it, nor anything whatsoever be changed within it."
And he concluded:
"No one whosoever is permitted to alter this notice of Our permission, statute, ordinance, command, precept, grant, indult, declaration, will, decree, and prohibition. Should anyone dare to contravene it, let him know that he will incur the wrath ofAlmighty God and of the Blessed ApostlesPeter andPaul."
Further editions of the Roman Missal were published in 1884 byPope Leo XIII, in 1920 byPope Benedict XV and in 1962 byPope John XXIII with certain differences.
The apostolic constitutionMissale Romanum ofPope Paul VI replaced the Tridentine Mass with the newMass of Paul VI, as requested by theSecond Vatican Council through the ConstitutionSacrosanctum Concilium. InMissale Romanum, Paul VI states that the new liturgical norms are to be "firm and effective, now and in the future, notwithstanding, to the extent necessary, the apostolic constitutions and ordinances issued by Our predecessors, and other prescriptions, even those deserving particular mention and derogation."[2]
In hismotu proprioSummorum Pontificum,Pope Benedict XVI liberalised the use of the 1962 version of the Roman Missal, stating that it was never abrogated and was thus to be considered as the "extraordinary form of the Roman Rite", whereas the Mass of Paul VI was to be considered as the "ordinary form of the Roman Rite".[3]
These provisions were later reversed byPope Francis in hismotu proprioTraditionis custodes, stating that "the liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI andSaint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique expression of thelex orandi of the Roman Rite" and that all provisions contrasting with that were abrogated.[4]
