I'm sure that what Benedict had to say about 'Sacred Silence' will be of interest to the readership here when the English translation of the homily is made available.
I see the old altar arrangement is back. I was hoping it had disappeared because Benedict didn't use it in Washington, but I guess that was just because he was using such short candles.
The darker haired Deacon to the left of the 5th photo down is often seen as Deacon at the Old Rite in Rome.
Nothing tremendously impressive about this Papal Mass.
I think the "reputation" some people have given Benedict XVI about his zeal for the liturgy etc. is overdone.
This is a nice Mass (even though in Italian rather than Latin), and an improvement over the JP II Mass for the same occasion....but still no big deal to get excited over.
Kenjiro,
His reputation not only comes from the actions he's implementing, but the prominence he's given such matters in his homilies, writings, etc.
I don't think it is over done whatsoever and I see no reason to say that.
I'm also not sure who is making a "big deal"; it's a papal liturgical event being reported on, end of story. Part of this blog's readership is very interested in what the Holy Father is doing liturgically, not only on the major solemnities or special events, but also what he is doing "day to day" (ordinations are not day to day of course), whether in the Vatican or in a Roman parish he is visiting.
Lovely service.
I see from various press photos that the Holy Father ordained an Iraqi priest - presumably Chaldean because of his vestments. Was he being ordained for the Diocese of Rome or for one of the Dioceses in Iraq?
I should add that it's exceptionally unusual for a priest to be ordained outside his own rite... although one can understand why the arrangements might be made when the possibility of being ordained by the Pope arises.
Shawn, I LOVE your website! I think that you are doing a great job! I personally think that the liturgies of today are much better that 25 years ago, would you agree?
Pax, Jerry
The Holy See's Bollettino for today says that one of ordinandi is from the Pontifical Urbanian College of Proganda Fide, so I assume that this refers to the new Chaldean priest.
Shawn,
Congratulations and well done to you and your colleagues at NLM. The photographs and commentaries you provide for us are most informative.
Regards,
Rufus.
Can I just point out that this is Gregor's post? I think credit should be given to him for this one.
Kenjiro
What company do you keep? I always enjoy your comments, even though I am unable to agree with all of them, but am I right in thinking that since theHoly Father's visit to America some of your more entrenched friends have been pouring cold water on his initiatives and persuading you to do likewise? There is a mentality that does not want to see anything good in contemporary Catholicism, even when it is manifestly clear that remarkable things are happening during the present pontificate. Or have you been influenced by the recent statement from Bishop Fellay cold-shouldering the Holy Father's eirenic olive branch to the SSPX? It is odd that, almost overnight, you have started to negatively criticize papal liturgies. Why have you cooled?
I am rather disappointed in the placement of the chair. I was hoping we would eventually remove that platform entirely and return to the original architeture and the liturgical arrangement which that implies.
Kenjiro
Regarding change in general, particularly with this pope. Do you think that we oftentime have in our own mind ideas and changes which serve as our own personal "marker" for what constitutes real progress and change, and when those objectives aren't met in our own mind, we see them as fauilure? I still think that B16 is thinking of change to the view of permanence. To change everything all at once would be to repeat the 60's & 70's; tumultuous and confusing, and NOT LASTING. I suppose (just a hunch) that the pope is thinking in terms of centuries, not decades...changing without people realizing there is such an abrupt turn. This would at least make sense of everything going on in Rome right now, whether it is intentional or not.
I don't think we should turn legitamet disappointment into despair.
I have to agree with Kenjiro on this one. It's nice to see some traditions being brought back into the liturgy. I don't doubt the pope's enthusiasm for liturgy either. But if you look at this Mass, there's really nothing worth writing home about. We have a seventh candlestick, a central crucifix and a nicer arm chair than before, but these all appeared months ago. All of it can be attributed to Marini, whom the pope picked. But it looks like this is as far is its going to go, and maybe we'll see a few traditional looking elements here or there, but I really don't think this is Benedict launching a massive project of liturgical reform. Nothing about the OF has changed during Benedict's pontificate. The Rite is still exactly the same, even if Benedict XVI decides to celebrate it with more solemnity than his predecessor. He's setting an example, for sure, but hasn't legislated anything and probably never will.
The 1962 Missal, on the other hand, has already seen more changes to the text, rubrics and calendar in the past few months than it has in the past 40 years. All of these have tried to make the 1962 missal more like the 1970 (vernacular readings, toned down Good Friday prayers, calendar changes following the calendar for the new missal). I suspect the intention in Rome is to turn the 1962 Missal into something like the 1965 and to give local bishops conferences (most of whom hate the EF) more say in the "development" of the rite. There seems to be no interest at the highest levels of the Church hierarchy in recovering the Missal's historic richness, which only started to be compromised in the 1950s. At the same time, the whole jew prayer fiasco has shown very clearly where the Vatican's priorities lie. That the Vatican isn't afraid to alter the liturgy for ecumenical reasons and then use the missal as a billboard to speak to the world about jews and salvation. The traditional liturgy is no longer sacrosanct, as it was in traditionalist circles before the MP, when the Vatican could care less about it and showed no interest in reforming it. Liturgical reform will be different today. A lot of boundaries have been crossed in the past 60 years, a lot of traditional rules broken. Are these rules concerning organic development suddenly going to be followed, now that the Missal has returned? Probably not. I wonder what all of this means for the future of the two liturgies.
Sorry if my attitude sounded alittle obnoxious. I was just disappointed in afew things.
And to answer Fr. Symondson, yes, one of my friends from the agency I work for a lot is a hardline SSPX Catholic. Her name is Cheryl. She's been telling me since we all were in Mexico (and saw mostly good Masses, but also some weirdo stuff too in parishes -imported from the USA) that all the liturgical directions this Pope is taking for the better will vanish in a heartbeat once he's gone. I'd like to think that's not true. But all the "rumors" about the situation of Archbishop Ranjith in Rome, and appointments coming point in the direction that she's right.
The Pope's Mass in Washington was a shock to me. I just didn't think Pope Benedict and his new people in liturgy would allow that kind of junk to happen. It was awful. I know it wasn't Benedict or Guido Marini's fault...it was Wuerl. But still, I thought there would be more screening out the bad stuff and highlighting the good. Didn't happen.
I agree with you Kenjiro, yes it is better than the JP 2 clown Masses but, I myself like "most" of us here and this is a great site are waiting for the Holy Father to say the TLM. You said nothing harsh, just simply there is not anything more traditional coming from Rome as of yet, I wish this Mass was in Latin even though it was for Roman priests.
Kenjiro,
You can be annoyed or disappointed by anything and still be civil about things. I for one thank Mr. Tribe, I am certainly among those who profoundly appreciates this blog because, among other things, it gives such attention to the "goings on," large or small, to the liturgical activities of the Holy Father.
Another cheap and below the belt shot at Pope John Paul II above I see - I do not recall this Pope in any clown masses - if you have no respect that's one thing, but one would think one could refrain from making things up all together.
Zadoc,
The Iraqi priest is going to serve in Baghdad, so I'm a little confused as to how this is supposed to be an ordination of the Diocese of Rome, unless of course they consider all ordinations taking place in Rome to be ordinations of the dicocese - regardless of where the priests are to serve.
Kenjiro & Co
If I were you I would give Cheryl of the SSPX a wide berth. People like her turn up in offices all over the world. Trust her to pour cold water on your time in Mexico. These people have no desire to see the Church move into a more traditional form from the caricature that immediately followed Vatican II and gave Archbishop Lefebvre grounds for an entrenched position. Understandable though hie motives were at the time, since the unlawful episcopal ordinations and his death the SSPX has moved into the position of become a self-authenticating body. It is against its interests to see any improvement in the Catholic Church and whatever good is done will be seen as transient. Nothing will persuade them otherwise, they have too much to lose. Rumours from Rome are also pernicious and frequently wrong. The Devil works through division and there is a whiff of sulphur here.
Many are worried that the reign of Pope Benedict will be short. Others are impatient that he has not effected change faster. Don't you remember that when he was first elected he made it plain that there would be no sudden changes because the Church as a whole had suffered too much rapid change during the last forty years to endure more? Festina lente is his policy and it is beginning to work.
Your generation (and younger) has the future before you and there are clear signs that the policies of the past do not work with young people, many want something more solid and better. It is astonishing that since the Holy Father's visit applications for the priesthood have markedly increased in New York. See CNN for further evidence. These young men would have been inspired by the Holy Father's sermons and speeches as much as the papal liturgies and the holiness of Pope Benedict. See that as a positive sign of change.
As for Roman papal liturgy. What Mgr Marini has done is simply apply what was ordered after the Second Vatican Council for the celebration of the Roman Rite, There is nothing essentially innovative in that beyond the fact that the rubrics were not for a long time properly applied. Potentially this has universal significance but it will take time before the results are seen on a wider stage. In an age of mass media the world can now see what is being done in St Peter's and change for the better is bound to follow.
The Holy Father's mission to preach Christ as Hope to the American Church is of far greater significance than Cheryl and her gripes over the coffee machine, the photo-copier, or while she is doing her nails. And the same applies to the humourless malcontents who chime in on the NLM comboxes from time to time to disseminate bitterness and despair.
Emelio,
I distinctly remember a JPII Mass in which natives wearing loin cloths danced about and came up on the altar. It's true that they weren't wearing red noses, as they weren't wearing much of anything at all, but that is most certainly a "clown Mass" of the type that Wolf is lamenting.
I frequently agree with Kenjiro, but I have to disagree with him that no change is coming out of this pontificate.
Look at the daily Mass as shown on EWTN. Increasingly large portions of a Mass watched by millions of Catholics both within and without the US are being said in latin, even though it is the OF Mass.
One of my brothers attends a Mass that is similarly reverent.
I'll concede that there has been absolutely no improvement in the quality of the Mass said in my parish, or even in the majority of parishes, but change is coming.
Many Catholics in the parishes with the worst abuses will leave the church for protestant denominations. Hell, PRE, CCD or whatever passes for catechism today has virtually instructed them to leave the faith.
However, those of us who remain will restore the church. It will be a long hard struggle, but reform will come, if for no other reason than vocations to liberal dioceses and relgious orders is drying up. They will wither on the vine, whereas tradional orders will thrive.
We may become a much leaner church in the next few decades, but we will be stregthened for the centuries of growth to come.
Can anyone comment about the chance that Don Guido Marini has the TLM in the works for the Holy Father to say this Summer and is just making sure everthing goes to plan and it is done correctly and to show the world the return of the Traditional Latin Mass?
No cheap shot at JP 2 just the truth, you know very well of his "Masses" with circus perfomers, naked women in Papua New Guinea, Aztec priests in Mexico, these are facts not cheap shots as you state. One is allowed to state the facts about Popes and still be a loyal Roman Catholic, JP 2 did not enhance the Church in 27 years, on the other hand look what Benedict has done in barely three. And please refrain from the harsh tones to Kenjiro he has his opinions as well as we all do.
sadly, i'm inclined to agree with kenjiro.
at today's mass, 4 of the 5 altar boys were girls, so there is very little chance of tradition minded vocation springing forth from my parish.
actually, there's not much chance of any kind of vocation springing forth from this parish.
the musical selection today include how great thou art, the old rugged cross, amazing grace, and one 'catholic' hymn written back in the '70s.
several weeks back, the church did post the posture for mass in the bulletin, and many people did in fact kneel after communion, but there wasn't a peep from the pulpit to remind people that they are not to stand after communion.
on the contrary, despite his allowing the proper posture to be printed, my pastor continues to argue that they must stand - in clear defiance of the bishops' ruling on the matter.
we have four extraordinary eucharistic ministers assisting the priest in the distribution of communion and another six distributing the precious blood.
it's a three ring circus during communion with up to 15-17 people on the altar at one time - only one of them a priest.
if reform of the Mass doesn't com soon, there won't be much of a church left to reform.
I understand that 28 of the ordinands were from the Diocese of Rome, with the one exception being the Iraqi priest who is a student at Propaganda Fidei. One presumes that his ordination was a sign of the Holy Father's concern for the plight of Christians in Iraq.
This was a wonderful Mass. What more do people actually want?
The entire ordinarium sung in Latin, superb vestments, oriented towards the Lord, a superb homily, and a very reverent celebrant.
Honestly, I think THIS is what the council had in mind.
I can't ask for much more than a true and genuine fulfillment of the wishes of the council fathers. This is what the new liturgical movement is all about.
Justin,
People have different expectations when they're viewing the present from the perspective of the past. But that's the difference between traditionalists and everyone else, I guess. When you realize a Mass like the one John XXIII opened the council with was standard for hundreds adn hundreds of years, this Mass looks pretty pathetic. To be honest, I don't think the council could have even conceived of a Mass this simplistic. It's so different from anything the fathers would have known. Then again, the same fathers were bishops throughout the 70s and are largely responsible for the mess we're in now.
Michael - would ANY celebration of the Novus Ordo Missae have placated you? Since you assessed the whole ceremony as "pathetic," my guess is that none would. I didn't wake up expecting the Pope to pontificate from the Altar of the Chair - assisted by the Prince assistant to the throne, elevating the Host to the salute of silver trumpets from on high in the dome of the basilica.. no, I didn't did you? I was expecting a very dignified celebration of the Novus Ordo, the use of Italian to some degree since it was the ordination primarily of priests for the Diocese of Rome, etc..which is pretty much how things went.
I also await the day when the Holy Father celebrates the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the extraordinary form. It is coming!
I suspect we will see this before year's end. The Holy Father is prudent and is moving step by step to begin to restore what was taken from the faithful a generation ago. This will take time. So many know nothing else. Even I , who am not young, do not know chant or any of the lovely music that was once an aid to the Holy Mass. But I hope that I will come to know all this.
An issue that is perhaps confusing to people is they are believing that everything should change overnight, not only in the Vatican, but also in their parish.
It takes time folks, and actually, the speed of changes that came under Msgr. Marini is more than I would have predicted.
Thank you Fr. Symondson & Wolf W. I appreciate your comments.
Cheryl is very strident in her SSPX views. It made me laugh that Fr. Symondson would picture her griping at the water cooler or doing her nails ! Actually, she's a recruiter who is always looking for new models for our agency. I myself am one of 12 top models- 8 girls, 4 guys in our agency. But there's also about 50 others who I guess you call just "back-ups, substitutes" etc...whenever we need big group shots.I started out that way and got lucky.
Although Benedict XVI looks good for 81, we can't expect him to still be here in 10-15 years (though he might be in 10). That's why I wish he'd go alittle faster.
Also I wanted to that Fr. Symondson for the good comment about the "rumors" coming from Rome, and how some are like the work of the devil.
I've noticed on this site, and others that nothing gets people churned up faster than news of a potentially bad appointment going to be made in Rome....especially in the Curia.
I did watch the Pope's Mass of Ordination, and did catch some fotos on the "fotografica Felici" site, of all the lower rank bishops in the Curia who supposedly are so against the Tridentine Latin Mass and Catholic tradition. 95% of them are really old men ! Piero Marini included.
If these are the people who are against Catholic tradition...they should be retired within 5-10 years or sooner. That's how old they all look.
One contributer mentioned about liberal dioceses and liberal Orders dying out. Very true. The more an Order liberalizes, the faster it dies out. The more an Order returns to or is founded based on Catholic tradition, the more it grows and flourishes. Especially if it has the TLM.
Just a quick note: I've now updated the post with photographs of the entire liturgy.
With regard to complaints about the state of things in one's own parish, I fail to see how that's the Pope's fault nor do I even see what he's supposed to do about it. I've been very dissatisfied with the liturgy in my own parish for quite some time, but I wouldn't be expecting the Holy Father himself to come in and sort things out. Instead I've used the resources on the internet to teach myself several plainchaint settings of the ordinary and how to sing the propers using psalm tones and I'm in the process of setting up a small schola for our parish (spoke to the parish priest first and got his OK). We're eight or nine-fold strong and having our second practice tomorrow. We're starting out with Missa Orbis Factor (but with Gloria VIII).
BTW I'm planning for us to sing the Gradual in English using the Grail translation.
It was Archbishop Marini who encouraged ethnic engagement in papal Masses. In fairness to him, I don't believe he did this to disrupt the Mass, but to make the participants feel welcome in the Holy Father's presence and offer to him what was significant for them in their own countries. This was seen, I suspect, as an expression of the universality of the Church. It went too far and sometimes got out of hand but I am sure that this was his intention and agreed by Pope John Paul II on that understanding. Some would also argue that it emphasized the reality that the Catholic Church is no longer a European entity. Clown Masses, which are largely American and Northern European in origin, were never permitted.
Kenjiro
Next time Cheryl of the FSSP goes off the deep end don't jeopardize your career by presenting counter-arguments. Smile sweetly, and say nothing.
hiberniensis,
i'm not blaming the pope for what goes on in my parish.
i hld my parish priest most responsible, and secondly tmy former bishop whom my priest says authorized such abuses.
i communicate with my pastor (very politely i might add) on an almost weekly basis about getting him to follow the rubrics (such as they are) established by the usbc.
even after admitting that he's wrong, in writing if not in word, he refuses to bring the Mass in accordance with the orders of either the holy father or the bishops.
frankly, i don't know what else i can do about the issue other than wait until our new bishop is installed, at which point i will address the issue with him.
with any luck, he could get transferred, but since he's a monsignor, i doubt he'll be forced to go anywhere that he doesn't already want to go - and he doesn't want to go anywhere at the moment.
meanwhile, attendance at Mass continues to suffer, as does the weekly offertory.
the $4,000 per month decline in the offertory might be what ultimately gets the diocese's attention, whereas earlier complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
May the Holy Father live two times more than Methuselah!!
Thank you, Father. THat's good advice, and pretty much what I do. I let her rant.
Actually, it's she rather than me who could get into trouble. She's very vocal about religions, and I don't say a word. : )
But when we were in Mexico, she did take the handful of us who are really devoted Catholics who were down for the shoot and project for the clients to some really interesting SSPX religious houses....the Minim nuns, and another group of friars beloning to another sede-vacantist group. They looked like Capuchins, but their habit was black.
As much as I enjoyed the religious sites I visited (I must sound weird that I mostly visited religious places on my 5 days off in Mexico instead of hitting the beach like a lot on the crew!! I did that too, but I loved exploring functioning religious houses, and going into the hills and visiting remote villages.
Finding a village of Muslims in Mexico was really, really weird. Close your eyes there and listen to the call to prayer coming from the minaret and you'd think yourself in Morrocco...not Mexico. Really surreal. It was a former Protestant village of not much more than 300 people....but now all Moslem. Islam is getting a foothold in Mexico. I don't know how they did it...but it's spreading in the hills. Better them than fundamentalist Christians from the USA I think.
The Muslims keep to themselves, whereas the fundamentalist Christians there try to push it down your throat!
I think the next big Papal occasion in Corpus Christi. I wonder if it will be much more elaborate and returning alot of traditions under Guido Marini...compared to last year and Piero Marini.
"One contributer mentioned about liberal dioceses and liberal Orders dying out. Very true. The more an Order liberalizes, the faster it dies out. The more an Order returns to or is founded based on Catholic tradition, the more it grows and flourishes. Especially if it has the TLM."
Neocats? They're enormous and growing.
What? An Eastern Rite priest ordained by a Latin Rite Bishop? I thought that was a great scandal after reading the (removed) post of Bishop Fellay doing the same!
I am getting a bit tired of the complaints about the DC Mass. Was the music terrible? Deplorable? Yes. It was. But honestly, I attended it, and I have to say, I was so caught up in being near the Holy Father and assisting at his Mass that a lot of the music just passed me by (I suppose I have gotten used to bad music anyhow, having served as deacon at a variety of parishes in the last year). But really, folks, the Vicar of Christ was in our midst, and he celebrated Mass for us, and gave us the body of Christ. It sure beat the daily Mass with Fr. Personality in the local parish.
The Mass appeared far worse on television because of the way the audio was handled -- in an open air stadium it was not quite as obnoxious as it sounded on television.
In any case, I wish we could just move on. I will always remember and be grateful for those five days when Pope Benedict was in our country. Hopefully we can move beyond the griping and continue a more rational discussion about ways that the liturgy might be reformed.
Those photos of the sign of peace were indeed very edifying and very moving for me, especially, with just over a month to go until ordination!
The scandal of an SSPX bishop ordaining someone of a different Church sui iuris was that he did so without jurisdiction. The Holy Father has jurisdiction over all the Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. He can "dispense" himself (though technically, no dispensation is needed) to ordain a cleric of any Church.
There are occasions when a bishop may ordain a cleric of a different Church sui iuris - with permission (which is how some Churches, such as the Russian Church sui iuris, manage to exist despite having no bishops proper).
The symbolism of the seven candles is obscured by their not being evenly spaced. How sad that the newly ordained were treated to something improperly done on their first day. There is no precedent for this arrangement and they would be better off using the short candles and processional cross standing next to the altar if, as they are demonstrating, it is absolutely necessary to have an unobstructed view of the celebrant in the ordinary form.
Anonymous: I am sure that the ordinandi all felt terribly slighted.
Come on! As if the spacing of candles is a matter of divine law!
I believe there is some allusion to divine law in having seven candles like the seven lamps that shone before the holy place in the temple. These candles were meant to compliment the immense space they were designed for and should be arranged in the traditional manner or replaced with the small ones. This arrangement causes discomfort and confusion in me naturally. Sorry.
Kenjiro
You ought to write a book about your Mexican experiences. They are fascinating. Do you know 'Robbery Under Law'?, Evelyn Waugh's book about Mexico in the 1930s? It's worth tracking down.
Cheryl of the SSPX (sorry I linked her with the FSSP) sounds astonishing. From my limited experience of office life, stridently religious colleagues frequently cause more trouble than the entire staff put together. But it is of the stuff of novels to think of somebody like her recruting for a modelling agency. I think she would have much in common with Anonymous of the Seven Candlesticks. A marriage made in Switzerland perhaps?
Michael
The Neo Catechumenate is an orthodox body, despite their former liturgical practices. Liberalism, in the sense usually applied, is foreign and abhorrent to them. But as for their liturgical irregularity, this was one of the first things that the Holy Father cleared up.
I meant, of course, 'recruiting', not 'recruting'.
Magister 63:
The Holy Father can ordain a priest of the Chaldean Church (the Patriarch of which was present in St Peter's Basilica) because the Chaldean Church is in communion with the See of Rome, which the SSPX is not. Bishop Felley is not a member of the College of Bishops, membership of which requires sacramental ordination, which he has, and hierarchical communion with the Roman Pontiff and the other members of the College, which he does not have (cf. c 336), and so he cannot ordain any bishop, priest or deacon in the Catholic Church (cf. c 1021).
The Ordination Mass was a very beautiful, dignified and worthy celebration (I was there), and we can rejoice that 29 men have been ordained to the ministerial priesthood.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone informed His Holiness or Mgr. Marini of this blog? If anyone has a contact in Vatican City - he/she might do us a favour!?!??
Andrew - he could ordain validly, but illicitly. This is the danger in all these splinter group bishops and priests out there.. if ordained correctly, then they have valid but illicit faculties.
Visually, this is a very splendid celebration and a stark departure from the recent past in terms of vestiture and altar arrangement. Rome wasn't built in a day either. I have great faith in the Holy Father. As Father Z states "brick by brick." Tom
To the discussion of the Holy Father celebrating the EF...
One thing to consider is that the Holy Father has been very strong in his position that the two forms are both good and holy, and can exist together. IF the Holy Father chooses to celebrate the EF, I think he will do it in such a way as to reinforce this position. I think it is very likely that great care would be taken to celebrate the EF so that the differences between the OF and the EF are greatly minimized. I don't think you'll see many obvious differences in the photo's. There won't be a papal court, etc and perhaps the Mass would be said in another roman church.
That is, of course, IF he chooses to celebrate the EF. I would not be surprised if he did not take that step.
Emilio:
Bishop Felley can indeed ordain validly - the sacramental power of orders can never be taken away, and bishops who are not members of the College of Bishops can confer the sacrament validly. My point is that because he is not in communion with the See of Rome, it would be wrong to imply that the Holy Father's ordination to the priesthood of a member of the Chaldean Catholic Church along with 28 members of the Latin Catholic Church should somehow be compared unfavourably with his not ordaining members of a schismatic Church.
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No one is mentioning that sitting among the Chaldeans was the Assyrian Church of the East Bishop who petitioned Rome for unity with the Chaldeans... He has a diocese of 6 priests and 3,000 he is bringing into union with the Catholic Church via the Chaldeans in America... This is rather a big deal, and he was sitting right there alongside the other Chaldean bishops as the Pope ordained a Chaldean priest for service in Iraq.
This is big.
Emilio,
Did they really blow trumpets from the dome at the elevation?
Regarding this mass, well its nothing like pre. 1970, sadly. But it is a huge improvement on the Paul VI and JPII era. The altar arrangements. chairs etc and vestments have improved. Although there is really nothing special about these in particular, they are better than many modern versions. The mitre in quite good. Things seemed to have slowed re changes. Maybe this is as far as it going. I was hoping for restoration of the papal chair away from the altar. But it looks unlikely.
I don't see any reason why the Prince Assistant Attending at Formal Functions. Regardless of pastoral over temporal concerns. After all Swiss Guard are present.
Does anyone see any reason why the fanon cannot be re introduced?
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