The Ceremonies of the Holy Week at Rome by Charles Michael Baggs

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[Footnote 66: This chapel was erected by Paul III according to the
design of Antonio Sangallo. Its two large frescoes are the last
efforts of the genius of Michelangelo, then aged 75 years: they
represent the crucifixion of S. Peter and the conversion of S. Paul.
The fall of Simon Magus, and the baptism conferred by S. Peter,
painted on the righthand-wall are works of Federico Zuccheri; on the
opposite side S. Paul at Malta, and restoring the young man, who had
fallen from a window, are by Lorenzo Sabbatino da Bologna, the ceiling
was painted by Federico Zuccheri. The B. Sacrament is publicly and
solemnly exposed in this chapel for the adoration of the faithful on
the first Sunday of Advent as well as on holy-thursday See Chaltard;
_Descriz. del Vaticano_ Taja, _Palazzo Vaticano_.]

[Footnote 67: S. John Chrysostom established processions at
Constantinople in opposition to those of the Arians; and the empress
Eudoxia supplied the people with silver crosses and wax lights, to be
carried on such occasions. Socrat. Hist. Eccl. lib. VI, c. 8, Sozomen
lib. VIII, c. 8. Processions were incompatible with the persecutions
of the first three centuries. During them, and even long after
Constantine, in consequence of the discipline of secrecy, there was
neither public exposition or procession of the B. Sacrament. The
faithful however adored it privately, as for instance, S. Gregory
Nazianzen relates of his sister Gorgonia, that when seized by a fever
"she fell down with faith before the altar, and invoked with a loud
cry Him who is honoured thereupon". (Discourse on her funeral). S.
Cyril of Jerusalem also exhorts the believer, that when he receives
the chalice of the blood of Christ he should bow down profoundly
and adore. (Catech. 5), The office and mass of Corpus Christi
were composed by S. Thomas Aquinas. As holy-thursday is in great
part devoted to the sufferings of Christ, the festival of _Corpus
Christi_ with its procession was instituted about the middle of the
thirteenth century by Urban IV at the petition of B. Juliana of Mount
_Cornelione_, and in consequence of the miracle of Bolsena, well known
as the subject of one of Raffaello's frescoes in the Vatican. See
Bened. XIV, De Festis, and the authors cited by him. The miraculous
corporal stained with blood is still preserved at Orvieto, the
celebrated cathedral of which owes its foundation to the miracle. "No
one eats that flesh, says S. Augustine, unless he has first adored" in
ps. 98 "The flesh of Christ," says S. Ambrose "which we adore even now
in the mysteries, and which the apostles adored in the Lord Jesus" (de
Spir. S. lib. 34, c. 12) All the fathers and liturgies mention this
adoration, which was therefore derived from apostolic tradition. Sala
ad Bonae lib. 2, c. 13.]

[Footnote 68: In the Greek church communion is on this day reserved
for the sick of the ensuing year under the form of bread alone,
according to Leo Allatius. (De utriusque Ecclesiae consensione). Pope
Innocent I in the beginning of the 5th century directs, that the
eucharist be preserved on this day for the priest and the sick. This
reservation is mentioned also in the Gregorian sacramentary, without
any mention of the sacred blood, since it might be spilt. It has taken
place in the Pauline chapel ever since its erection by Paul III. A
particle of the B. Sacrament was formerly preserved after mass on
festivals and carried back in procession to the sacristy: it was
carried to the altar in procession on the next festival, and a portion
or the whole of it was put into the chalice before the host was
broken. See Cancellieri, De Secretariis T. I, p. 217, seq.]

[Footnote 69: These prelates used to refer cases and petitions to the
Popes, as they now do the former to their tribunal, which according to
Gonzalez derives its name of _Segnatura_ from the _signature_ of the
sovereign affixed to its decree.]

[Footnote 70: They are formed of peacocks' feathers, the eyes of which
according to Macri and others signify the vigilance and circumspection
of the Pontiffs. They are mentioned in the apostolic constitutions, in
which it is prescribed, that two deacons should hold, them in order
to drive away flies, which might otherwise fall into the chalice.
Accordingly, at the ordination of the deacons in the Greek church,
among other instruments a Flabellum is given to them for their
ministry at the altar: this S. Anastasius is said to have used while
a deacon. Flabella are mentioned in the liturgies of SS. Basil,
Chrisostom, and other Greek and Syriac liturgies, Flabella are in
the Latin church a mark of distinction, and are carried for the Grand
Prior of the knights of Malta the bishop of Troja in Aquila, and the
archbishop of Messina, as well as for His Holiness.]

[Footnote 71: Since the time of Clement XIV, the custom of reading
from the _loggia_ on this day the bull in _Coena Domini_ has been
abolished. (On this bull see de Maistre du Pape lib. 2, c. 14).
According to the doctrine of S. Paul, the B. Sacrament is the bond
as it is the symbol of union or _communion_ between the faithful; "We
being many are one body, all who partake of one bread" 1 Cor. X, 17,
and hence this day of its institution was selected for the public
_excommunication_ of those, who reject the doctrines of the church, or
maliciously oppose her ordinances. After the bull had been read "many
candles are lighted, of which the Lord Pope himself holds some, and
each cardinal and prelate one lighted, and he extinguishes and throws
them on the ground, saying, we excommunicate all the aforesaid; and
then the bells are rung together without observing any order". Ap.
Gatticuin, Acta Cerem. 82. These ceremonies are interpreted to mean
the _extinction of the grace_ of the holy Ghost; and the dispersion
of unbelievers, as on the contrary the regular and orderly ringing of
bells calls the faithful together.]

[Footnote 72: It is supported by the subdeacon habited in the tunic or
_tonacella_.]

[Footnote 73: John the deacon, in his life of Gregory the great,
mentions the _Sacellarius_ or Treasurer (see Thomassin lib. 2. c. 103,
n. 11), whom that holy Pope commanded according to custom to invite
the twelve pilgrims to dinner. Besides the gifts mentioned above,
the white dress is given to these _apostles_, who are chosen by some
Cardinals, Ambassadors, the Propaganda, the _Maggiordomo_, and the
captain of the Swiss guards.]

[Footnote 74: The water is brought to him by the Prince assisting at
the throne, and the towel is presented by the first Cardinal Priest.
When the Pope is prevented from performing this ceremony, the Cardinal
Dean supplies his place in presence of the sacred college (Lunadoro).
In that case the gospel is sung, not by a cardinal, but by the prelate
who is deacon of the _cappella_. Formerly, according to the MS.
Pontifical of the Apamean church written in 1214, Vespers were sung by
the Pope's chaplains, while he washed the feet of twelve subdeacons.]

[Footnote 75: Chardin and other travellers testify, that this practice
is preserved in modern times. In Homer's Odyssey the custom of taking
a bath before a banquet is frequently mentioned, III, 467; IV, 49, VI.
216; VIII, 449.]

[Footnote 76: The emperors of Costantinople used (according to
Codinus De Officiis Aulae Costantinop.) to wash the feet of twelve poor
persons: and Vespasiano Fiorentino in the fifteenth century, in his
life of Alfonso di Napoli quoted by Cancellieri, says that "Il Giovedi
Santo lavava i piedi a tanti poveri, quant' egli aveva anni, et
lavavagli, come si deve ... et a tutti dava una veste bianca, et un
pajo di calze, et un Alfonsino, et un fiorino et un carlino, et non
so che altra moneta. Dipoi il Giovedi medesimo faceva ordinare una
cena,... et la Maesta del Re la pigliava, et metteva loro innanzi, e
con il vino, et quello avevano di bisogno con grandissima umilta".
See also Martene, De Ant. Eccl. Rit. Lib. IV, c. XII, Sec. 8. Our readers
will here call to mind the good old custom still preserved of the
maundy of our British Sovereigns, so called from mandatum, the first
word of the first anthem sung during, the washing of the feet. In the
Greek church, according to Baillet, not only are the feet of twelve
poor persons washed, but the name of an apostle is given to each of
them; as it may be supposed, nobody is anxious to have the name of
Judas Iscariot: so lots are drawn to determine the person who is to
represent that traitor. This may remind us of the threat of Leonardo
da Vinci to copy the head of Judas, in his celebrated last supper,
from the importunate Prior of S. Maria delle Grazie of Milan. Poor
Leonardo despaired of finding a model for the head of our Saviour; and
for more than a year was seeking the rabble for a fit subject whom he
might represent as Judas: meantime the Prior was continually worrying
him to finish the fresco. "In ogni caso poi" said he to Lodovico
Sforza, "faro capitale del ritratto del P. Priore, che lo merita
per la sua importunita e per la sua poca discrezione". The story of
Leonardo bears some resemblance to the manner in which Michelangelo
punished Biagio da Cesena Pontifical Master of Ceremonies, who
before Daniel of Volterra had acquired his well-known nickname of
_braghettone_ complained to the Pope, that the naked figures of
the last judgment were unworthy of a house of prayer. The artist
introduced his censor in his painting as Minos judge of the infernal
regions, with long ears like those of the other devils, and a
serpent's tail. Paul III when appealed to is said to have answered,
that if his Ceremoniere had been in Purgatory, he might have helped
him out, but out of hell there was no redemption. This Papal witticism
Platner could not find in any writer earlier than Richardson (See
Beschreibung der Stadt Rom) but _se non e vero, e ben trovato_.
Dante was not more scrupulous than Michelangelo about thrusting his
opponents into his _inferno_.

Pictoribus atque poetis
Quidlibet audendi semper fuit aequa potestas.
]

[Footnote 77: The mosaics with which it was adorned by Pope Leo III
are preserved in the great niche adjoining the _scala santa_.]

[Footnote 78: The Portuguese, Spanish and some other churches
are generally distinguished on this day by the brilliancy of the
illumination of their _sepulchres_.]

[Footnote 79: In the eighth century Pope Hadrian I, according to
Anastasius, suspended under the principal or _triumphal_ arch, as it
was called, a silver cross with 1365 or 1380 small lamps, which where
lighted at Easter and other great festivals. This was perhaps the
origin of the cross which used to be suspended in S. Peter's at this
season.]

[Footnote 80: We have already mentioned an ancient Christian fresco in
which an aspergillum is represented.]

[Footnote 81: Formerly, as Card. Borgia has proved (De Cruce Vaticana)
this ceremony was performed in S. Peter's on good Friday. In other
churches there were two distinct observances; 1. that of stripping
the altars on holy Thursday, when Christ's passion began; and 2. that
of washing them with wine and on good Friday, when blood and water
flowed from His side, as the Abbot Rupert observes. For the ancient
ceremonies of this day at Rome see besides the Apamean Pontifical
above-cited, the Pontificals of Egebert archbishop of York and of
Tirpin archbishop of Rheims ap. Martene, loc. cit. In some places
the fast of Lent was not observed on this day, as appears from
S. Augustine, Ep. 54 and Januarium. Of old this was the day for
shaving in preparation for Easter-Sunday: it was therefore called
shere-Thursday.]

CHAP. V.

ON THE CEREMONIES OF GOOD-FRIDAY

_CONTENTS._

Ancient ceremonies at Rome--Service in the Sixtine
chapel--Passio--Sermon and indulgence--Prayers for all
mankind--exposition of the cross; ancient crucifixes and
crosses--_adoration_ of the cross; its antiquity--Palestrina's
_improperii_, Trisagion--chant of the hymn _Pange lingua
gloriosi lauream etc_,--Procession of the B. Sacrament--_Mass_
of the Presanctified, Vespers--Tenebrae--Veneration of the
principal relics at S Peter's--Grounds of belief in the
genuineness of relics--1. Relic of the cross--2. of the
lance--3. _Volto Santo_--Reflections--Recapitulation.

"_The principal object of the church in the office of this
day is, that Jesus Christ crucified may be placed before
our eyes, that touched with contrition at the sight, our
souls may be so disposed, as to obtain the fruit of
redemption_" Bened. XIV, De Festis D.N.J.C. lib. 1. c. 7.

[Sidenote: Ancient ceremonies.]

On good Friday the Pope used formerly to go with the Cardinals and the
other members of the court to the Oratory of S. Lorenzo called _Sancta
Sanctorum_ in the Lateran palace, where they venerated and kissed the
relics of SS. Peter and Paul, as well as two crosses preserved there.
One of these was then carried by a Cardinal Priest, and and the Host
consecrated on the preceding day was borne by another Cardinal of
the same order; the Pope, the Cardinals and all the others were
bare-footed, and walked in procession reciting psalms to S. John
Lateran's and thence to S. Croce, where the station was held and the
ceremonies of the day were performed.[82]

[Sidenote: Service in the Sixtine chapel.]

[Sidenote: Passio.]

[Sidenote: Sermon and indulgence.]

These take place at present in the Sixtine chapel; in which the yellow
colour of the candles and torches, the nakedness of the Pope's throne
and of the seats of the church denote the desolation of the church at
the sufferings and death of her divine founder. The Cardinals do not
wear their rings; their dress is of purple, which is their mourning
colour; in like manner the Bishops do not wear rings and their
stockings are black: those of the Cardinals are purple; and the
maces as well as the soldiers' arms are reversed. The Card. great
Penitentiary with the sacred ministers are habited in black. There is
no thurifer and there are no lights; for the death of the Son of God
is going to be commemorated; and while He was hanging upon the cross
and when He died, there was darkness over the whole earth. The Pope
is habited in a red cope: he does not wear his ring nor give his
blessing: but if he be present at this part of the service, His
Holiness kneeling with the Card. Penitentiary at his left hand offers
up prayers for a short time before the altar. This, which was stripped
on the preceding day, is now covered with a linen cloth by two
_Cerimonieri_[83]. The Pope then goes to His seat; and the Card.
Celebrant accompanied by the ministers to the altar, and thence to
his _faldistorio_ or seat. An appropriate passage from the prophecy
of Osee is sung by one of the choir, and the precept from Exodus
concerning the killing of the paschal-lamb, a type of Christ, by
the subdeacon. The Pope and the Card. Celebrant also read both these
lessons, after each of which a tract is sung by the choir; and between
them a prayer by the Celebrant. After the prophecies, which are a
powerful confirmation of the truth of our holy religion, the account
of the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, penned by an eye-witness
S. John, the disciple of love, is recited[84]. It is read in a low
voice by the Card. Celebrant and sung with the same impressive chant
as on Palm-Sunday by three cantors wearing the alb, a black maniple
and stole: they used formerly to recite it bare-footed. At those words
"And bowing down his head he gave up the ghost" all kneel to adore
their Redeemer. It is related of a servant of God of the name of
Piccolomini, that he expired in church on good Friday when those
words were sung. The latter part is chanted, but without the usual
ceremonies, by the deacon, after he has taken off his folded chasuble
and put on the large band or stole. A short sermon is then preached by
a conventual Friar, who afterwards according to custom publishes the
indulgence or remission of temporal punishment of thirty years granted
by the Pope to those who have confessed and sincerely repented of
their sins. See p. 37. As Morinus has shewn (De Penitentia cap. 4.) in
most churches penitents were absolved and reconciled after the gospel.

[Sidenote: Prayers for all mankind.]

Christ, says S. Paul, died for all men, and when suffering on
the cross, He prayed even for his relentless persecutors: on the
anniversary then of his death it is fit that His church should pray
for all men, that all may be saved by the application of His merits to
their souls. The Card. Celebrant commences the beautiful, charitable,
and ancient prayers of this day with the words, Let us pray, dearly
beloved, for the holy church of God etc. The deacon then kneeling says
(according to the ancient custom mentioned by S. Cesarius of Arles
in his 36th homily, and by S. Basil in his book on the Holy Ghost c.
XXVII) Let us bend our knees, and the subdeacon answers, Stand up, as
it was customary to pray standing. This form is repeated before each
prayer, except that which is offered for the Jews[85]: for their
soldiers, bowing the knee before our Lord, mocked him saying in
derision, Hail king of the Jews. Prayers follow for the Pope, for all
the clergy, and holy people of God (formerly for the Emperor also) and
catechumens who are to receive baptism on the day following. Having
prayed for all members of the church, we then pray for heretics and
schismatics, that God may deign to "deliver them from all errors,
and bring them back to their holy mother the catholic and apostolic
church"; and these petitions are followed by others for the conversion
of Jews and Pagans[86].

[Sidenote: Exposition of the cross: ancient crucifixes and crosses.]

[Sidenote: _Adoration_ of the cross: its antiquity.]

When these prayers are ended[87] the officiating Cardinal takes off
his chasuble, and going to the epistle-side of the altar receives from
the deacon the crucifix[88] covered with a black veil. Then turning
towards the people, and uncovering the upper part of the crucifix, he
sings, Behold the wood of the cross, on which hung the salvation of
the world; in singing which words he is joined by two tenor-voices
from the choir. The choir answers, Come, let us adore[89]. The Pope
and all others kneel, except the Cardinal celebrant, who advances
nearer to the middle of the altar, and uncovers the right arm of the
crucifix, and repeats the same words in a higher tone, and again in
a still higher tone before the middle of the altar, where he uncovers
the whole cross. The choir answers as before, and all except the
celebrant kneel each time the words are repeated. The Cardinal then
places the crucifix on a rich cushion lying on the steps of the
altar[90].

[Sidenote: Trisagion.]

I observed above, that it was formerly customary for the Pope and all
others to walk bare-footed in the procession of this day, as others
royal personages have done; for instance, S. Louis of France, S.
Elisabeth of Hungary, and others. Thus to be barefooted was a sign of
mourning (1 Sam. XV, 30. Jer. II, 25) among the Jews. Their priests
were without shoes at their functions, in token of reverence (Exod.
III, 5. Jos. V, 15). Some memorial of this practice is preserved in
the present custom of taking off the shoes of the principal persons
who revere and kiss the cross on this day. The Pope's shoes are taken
off by an _Ajutante di Camera_, His cope by acolythes (_Votanti di
Segnatura_), and afterwards His Holiness then makes three profound
genuflections before the crucifix, gradually approaching nearer to it,
and then kisses it in token of his love for Him, who died upon it for
our salvation[91]. He also empties a purse, containing an offering
of 100 _scudi d'oro_, into a silver basin near the crucifix. When the
Pope is about to make the first genuflection, the choir begins to sing
the _improperii_, the sentiments of which, and the chant composed by
Palestrina [92], are admirably adapted to the pathetic ceremony. In
them God enumerates the unparalleled benefits which he lavished upon
the Jews, and the atrocious crimes by which they repaid Him. At the
end of each _improperium_ or reproach, the Trisagion is sung by one
choir in Greek, and in Latin by another "Holy God! Holy strong one!
Holy immortal, have mercy on us"[93]. The Pope then returns to his
throne; he resumes his previous vestments and reads the _improperii_
from the Missal held as usual by an assist. bishop kneeling. The
Cardinal celebrant and all the other members of the sacred college,
after their shoes have been taken off, assisted by the _Ceremonieri_
revere and kiss the crucifix in the same manner as the Pope has done;
and each of them leaves an offering of a _scudo d'oro_ according to
an ancient custom.[94] When they return to their places, their shoes
are put on by their respective _camerieri_, who afterwards leave the
chapel. The patriarchs and bishops assistant and non-assistant and the
generals of religious orders without shoes, and all the other prelates
etc. wearing their shoes, _adore_ and kiss the cross in like manner,
observing the same order as in going to receive palms on the preceding
sunday; and they also make their offerings before the cross. When
the sacred college has finished the _adoration_, the choir having
ended the _improperii_ sings the anthem _Crucem tuam_, the psalm
_Deus misereatur nostri_, the hymn _Pange lingua gloriosi lauream
certaminis_[95] etc. Towards the end of this beautiful ceremony the
candles are lighted, the deacon spreads out the corporal[96] as usual,
placing the purificator near it. He then respectfully takes the cross,
and places it on the altar amid the candlesticks.

[Sidenote: Chant of _Pange lingua_ etc.]

A procession, arranged like that of the preceding day, now goes to
the Pauline chapel. Assisted as usual by the first Card. priest, the
Pope kneels and incenses the B. Sacrament three times. _M. Sagrista_
delivers the B. Sacrament to the Cardinal celebrant, who presents it
to the Pope; His Holiness covers it with the end of the veil placed
over his shoulders[97] and the procession returns to the Sixtine
chapel [98]. In the mean time the choir sings the hymn "_Vexilla Regis
prodeunt_". When the Pope arrives at the altar, he delivers the B.
Sacrament to the Card. Celebrant, who places it on the altar. His
Holiness then incenses it and returns to his throne.

During the procession the crucifix on the altar of the Sixtine chapel
is removed, and a larger cross containing a considerable relic of the
true cross is substituted for it. This relic was sent to Pope Leo the
Great in the 5th century by Juvenal Bishop of Jerusalem. It was lost,
but found again by Pope Sergius I in 687: it was stolen at the sack
of Rome in 1527, and removed from its case of silver: however it was
recovered by Clement VII, who ordered the rich cross, in which it
is at present preserved, to be made: in 1730 it was again stolen but
recovered once more by Clement XII. At the close of the last century,
though the candlesticks, and the statues of the Apostles belonging
to the papal chapel were lost, this cross was preserved. In 1840 His
present Holiness Gregory XVI ordered it to be again exposed to the
public veneration in the Sixtine chapel: He gave it to the charge
of the chapter of S. Peter's, who deliver it to _M. Sagrista_ on
Good-friday morning: and it remains in the Sixtine chapel till the
end of Tenebrae on that day. Moroni _Cappelle Pontificie etc._

The _Mass_ of the _Presanctified_, as it is called, is next
celebrated; Card. Tommasi, following S. Cesarius of Arles, calls
it the office, and not the mass of good-Friday; for mass, strictly
speaking, is not offered up on this day, since no consecration takes
place, and the B. Sacrament is received by the celebrant under the
form of bread alone, as it could not be preserved with safety under
the form of wine[99].

[Sidenote: Mass of the Pre-Sanctified.]

The Card. Celebrant places the B. Sacrament on the paten[100] and
thence on the corporal. In the meantime the deacon puts wine into the
chalice, and the subdeacon water, which however are neither blessed or
consecrated[101] on this day. The cardinal then places the chalice on
the altar, and the deacon covers it with the _palla_ or pall (a small
square piece of linen, which serves to prevent flies etc. from falling
into it). The Cardinal incenses the offerings and the altar, washes
his hands, and recites the _Orate Fratres_ and Our Father. All then
kneel to adore the blessed Sacrament, which he raises over the paten.
He divides it as usual, but without saying any prayer [102], into
three parts, putting one of them into the chalice. Striking his
breast, and acknowledging his own unworthiness, he receives communion,
taking the sacred host, and afterwards the consecrated particle with
the wine in the chalice [103]. He then receives the ablution, washes
his hands, and returns to the sacristy with the sacred ministers.

[Sidenote: Vespers.]

Anciently on fasting days nothing was allowed to be eaten till sunset;
and Vespers used therefore to be said before dinner: now that the one
meal allowed on such days may be eaten as early as noon, the ancient
practice of saying Vespers before dinner is still preserved. Vespers
are therefore sung immediately after the mass of the Presanctified:
they consist of the Our Father and Hail Mary said in secret, of five
psalms with their anthems, and the _Magnificat_ with its anthem. At
the verse 'Christ became obedient unto death', all kneel down to adore
Him, and the _Miserere_ and the usual prayer are recited, but without
the solemnity of Tenebrae[104].

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