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April 13 , 2008

Logistics: Keeping track of details for pope’s U.S. Masses

By Cindy Wooden

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

Vatican City — From the huge windows of his office overlooking St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict XVI’s chief liturgist can, and does, keep track of every detail that goes into preparing a papal liturgy.

The papal venues in the United States are not directly under his nose, but Msgr. Guido Marini still knows every detail of the two evening prayer services and three Masses Pope Benedict will celebrate in Washington and New York April 15-20.

Marini, 43, did not plan every element of the five U.S. services, as he does with Vatican services, although he did make suggestions and did have veto power.

In an interview in early April, the monsignor said the readings, the prayers of the faithful, the music and the readers and servers, for the most part, are those decided by the liturgy organizers in the archdioceses of Washington and New York, who coordinated their efforts with a representative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Female altar servers will be involved in some of the liturgies in accordance with local diocesan practice, he said. And, just as at the Vatican, men and women will alternate reading the Scriptures and the prayers of the faithful.

Small modifications

Early in the planning process for a papal trip, the monsignor said, his office sends the local church a set of guidelines, which is “substantially the same” as the set developed during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II.

“A few small things were modified to reflect the liturgical attitudes of Pope Benedict,” he said; they include a request that a crucifix be placed on the altar for eucharistic celebrations, that concelebrating priests be as close to the altar as possible and that the offertory gifts be limited to the bread, wine and charitable gifts.

After the Vatican’s liturgical guidelines were sent to the United States, the coordinator appointed by the bishops’ conference, Msgr. Anthony Sherman, came to Marini’s office to discuss the initial choices made in Washington and New York.

“We discussed the liturgies, suggestions were made and decisions were taken,” he said.

In February, Marini and two of his assistants, including U.S. Msgr. William V. Millea, traveled to the two cities for more discussions, fine-tuning and site visits.

A few more details, such as which altar servers will be where, will be determined during quick run-throughs hours before the liturgies

Developing continuity

Marini knows that changes in papal liturgies at the Vatican have been fueling speculation and heated discussions on Italian blogs and Web sites; he insists the increased use of older liturgical elements — such as Gregorian chant and ancient vestments — do not indicate a return to the past but rather reflect “development in continuity.”

“In the liturgy, as in the life of the church itself, development in continuity should be visible,” he said. “There are great riches, treasures that we have received, that we cannot forget, but this does not mean we oppose new developments.

“Those who have preceded us created works of art, not so they would be admired in a museum, but so they would be used,” Marini said. “Using them today underlines our continuity with the past as we walk toward the future.”

As for rumors that Pope Benedict is preparing to celebrate a Mass according to the Tridentine rite, Marini said that as far as he knows that is just a rumor.

“My office has heard nothing of this. I know there are rumors, but I have not been asked to plan anything,” he said.