Whether to Pray for the Emperor-Elect on Good Friday and Holy Saturday

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 3^rd or 4^th 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}

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[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.