Some
who are using the Pre-55 Holy Week are discussing the issue of whether to pray
for the Emperor-Elect or not on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. As some legal
experts have pointed out, as well as historian Charles Coulombe – the
abdication of a sovereign (in this case Francis II) does not dissolve his
throne, let alone the throne of an Empire that is Holy and Apostolic. So, it
would make sense to continue to pray for the Emperor-Elect whom at this time
would be Karl von Habsburg and in the future his son Ferdinand von Habsburg.
Bl.
Cardinal Schuster writes in his magnum opus, in regards to Good Friday, “…prayer
is made that the Roman Emperor may subdue all the barbarians, and the Roman
Empire is considered as the only legitimately constituted temporal power,
exactly as St. Leo (the Great) deemed it to be.”[1] And Dom Gueranger, writing
in the mid-nineteenth century, after the abdication of Francis II, writes that “The
Church of Rome, in the following “Prayer,” had in view the Emperor of Germany,
who was formerly the head of the Germanic confederation, and, in the Middle
Ages, was entrusted, by the Church, with the charge of propagating the Faith
among the northern nations. This “Prayer” is now omitted, excepting in those
countries, which are subject to Austria.”[2]
Some
oratories of the ICRSS are retaining the solemn oration for the Emperor-Elect
on Good Friday and his mentioning in the Præconium on Holy Saturday.
This begged the question, what’s the history of its usage between 1806 - 1955?
Did churches and oratories simply drop the oration and omit the line in the Praeconium?
Or did only former territories of the Holy Roman Empire retain it? Would
another good reason to continue its use, be the symbolism of a desire to usher
in and restore Christendom and by extension the Reign of Christ the King? While
these are indeed good questions for competent historians, it can safely be said
that in matters liturgical these questions are non plus because of one
important fact: The weight and current lawful relevance of S.R.C. Decrees.
The
S.R.C. ruled that the prayer within the Solemn Orations on Good Friday and the Praeconium
on Holy Saturday be retained in the Missal but not said: “As the Roman Empire
has ceased with the person of Francis II, Emperor of Austria, today the
Orations for the Roman Emperor assigned to Good Friday in the Missa
Præsanctificatorum and to Holy Saturday in the final part of the Paschal
Praise [Exultet] are not to be said anymore; it is thus asked: 1. Are the
foresaid Orations to be expunged in new editions of the Roman Missal? And if
negative, 2. Does a short rubric declaring that today they are to be omitted
have to be added to both Orations? And if negative, 3. Does at least an
annotation of this kind need be added to the beginning of the Missal, after the
General Rubrics and among the Decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites? Respondeo.
“Re. 1 and 2 negative; Re. 3 affirmative.”[3]
Sylvester
Malone, writing in the Dublin Review, states, “We know that from the days of
Charlemagne till the Western Emperor and Empire disappeared before the legions
of Napoleon, mention of the Roman empire and prayers for it were found in the
liturgy. But as Frederick Joseph resigned[4] the title and dignity it
became a question whether the prayers for an emperor of the Western Empire
should continue. The case was submitted to the Holy See. The decision was that,
though circumstances altered, in each edition of the Roman Missal the prayer
should be slavishly copied or printed though no longer verified by actual
circumstances…”[5]
It
is the opinion of this essay, that based on the Catholic Integralism of the
time (1800-1870), the Popes and their Curias who were mostly Zelanti,
and the resolute desire to preserve Christendom from completely collapsing
after the devastating blow by Protestantism, Liberalism, and Revolutions, the
S.R.C., who speaks on behalf of the Pope, wished that the Catholic book
publishers, approved by the Holy See, should retain the printing of the prayers
for the H.R.E. on Good Friday & Holy Saturday in the Missal and Evangelarium:
(1)
out
of silent protest at the current situation of the Holy Roman Empire,
(2)
out
of respect to the Holy Roman Emperor elect,
(3)
and
out of hope that one day Christendom may be restored.
And
this is why one continued to see the prayers in the liturgical books that were
being printed until 1955. Then, as part of the New Liturgical Movement, the
prayers were finally expunged from the New Holy Week (1956) and its subsequent
liturgical books.
It
is also important to keep in mind that S.R.C. decrees must be obeyed and
followed, which includes, according to approved authors,[6] all S.R.C. decrees
from 1602-1955 or 1962 depending upon which editio of the Missale
Romanum one follows. The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (p.c.e.d.) reiterated this point in a
response to a dubia that was sent to them in November, 2018 from Mgr.
Pietras of Warsaw, Poland. The p.c.e.d.
also stated that all of their own decisions have the weight of S.R.C. decrees.
Therefore,
it can be suggested that priests, instead of ignoring the S.R.C. in this
matter, can use the Collect for the Holy Roman Emperor (Elect) as a
commemoration whenever the Ordo prescribes an ad libitum collect as the
3rd or 4th commemoration, or when they have a private
Mass with a rank (usually Simplex) that allows for votive collects.[7]
In
conclusion, it is important to pray for the Emperor-Elect, especially that he
may one day realize the gravity of his position and take up once again sword &
scepter, and ascend the Imperial throne in defense of the Church and
Christendom. And it has been shown, there are many ways to pray for the
Emperor-Elect without violating any S.R.C. decrees.
© Stefano Pio,
A.D. 2021
[1] “The Sacramentary,” Vol. II; parts
3 & 4, p. 210. 1925. Bl. Cardinal Schuster in his description of the solemn
orations, a.k.a., the Great Litanies makes no mention that the prayer for the
Emperor is abolished. This may be the case because His Eminence is giving a
mere historical account of the Roman Missal.
[2] The Liturgical Year, Vol. 6 – Passiontide
& Holy Week, p. 479.
[3] S.R.C., Decretum 3103, Dubium III
[4] Editor’s Note: the proper term is
“abdicated.”
[5] Dublin Review, Vol. V, 1881.
[6] Vavasseur, Haegy, & Stercky.
[7] https://ordorecitandi.blogspot.com/2020/03/notes-on-addition-of-votive-collects-at.html.: This of course can only be done
in Pre-55 liturgy since in 1962, commemorations were severely limited and
categorized into two classes – privileged commemorations and ordinary
commemorations.
