Leonine Prayers
Encyclopedia
The Leonine Prayers are a set of prayers that from 1884 to early 1965 were prescribed by the Popes for recitation after Low Mass
. They are still sometimes used at celebrations of the Tridentine Mass
today.
The prayers did not form part of the Mass itself, but were prescribed for specific intentions. The original intention was the defence of the temporal sovereignty of the Holy See. After this problem was settled with the Lateran Treaty of 1929, Pope Pius XI
ordered that the prayers should be said for the restoration to the people of Russia of tranquillity and freedom to profess the Catholic faith. This gave rise to the unofficial and inaccurate use of the name "Prayers for the Conversion of Russia" for the prayers, which were also known, less inaccurately, as "Prayers after Mass".
The final form of the Leonine Prayers consisted of three Ave Marias
, a Salve Regina
followed by a versicle and response, a prayer for the conversion of sinners and the liberty and exaltation of the Catholic Church, and a prayer to Saint Michael
the Archangel. Pope Pius X
permitted the addition of the invocation "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us", repeated three times.
The Holy See's 26 September 1964 Instruction Inter Oecumenici, which came into force on 7 March 1965, declared: "The Leonine Prayers are suppressed."
, Pope Pius IX
ordered that special prayers (three Ave Marias, and a Salve Regina followed by a versicle and response and a collect
) be said after Masses celebrated in the Papal States
. He did not make these prayers obligatory in other countries, but did ask Catholics everywhere to pray for the defeat of those bent on destroying the Holy See
's temporal sovereignty.
On 6 January 1884, in the context of anti-clerical political and social developments in the new Kingdom of Italy
, Pope Leo XIII ordered that the prayers be recited throughout the world. It is from Leo's name that the term "Leonine Prayers" is derived. In 1886, the prayer that follows the Salve Regina was modified to make it a prayer for the conversion of sinners and "the freedom and exaltation of Holy Mother Church". The prayer to Saint Michael was added at the same time.
Two slight changes were made later to the prayer after the Salve Regina, and in 1904, Pope Pius X granted permission to add at the conclusion of the Leonine Prayers a threefold invocation, "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us", a permission that was universally availed of.
In 1929, the state of Vatican City
was created, resolving the troubled relationship
between the Holy See and the Italian state, which had been the object of the Leonine Prayers, and thus removing their raison d'être. But the following year, Pope Pius XI ordered that the Leonine Prayers should be offered "to permit tranquillity and freedom to profess the faith to be restored to the afflicted people of Russia", not, as is sometimes said, "for the conversion of Russia".
The 26 September 1964 Instruction Inter Oecumenici on implementing the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy
of the Second Vatican Council
decreed: "The Leonine Prayers are suppressed".
or funeral Mass, a First Friday Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart, a Nuptial Mass, or the Mass after distribution of the ashes on Ash Wednesday
, or if the Mass was followed immediately by function such as Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
or a Novena
.
They were customarily said kneeling.
or in any other edition. But the fact that they were suppressed only after the 1962 Missal was issued is considered by some to mean that they are obligatory when Mass is celebrated in accordance with that Missal. Accordingly, they are still recited publicly sometimes after a celebration of Tridentine Mass. This is not the practice in the Ecône seminary
of the Society of St. Pius X
, and it has been argued that, since freedom to profess the faith has been restored in Russia, the purpose for which the Leonine Prayers were prescribed in 1930 has been achieved, leading to cessation of the law concerning them.
Low Mass
Low Mass is a Tridentine Mass defined officially in the Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as Mass in which the priest does not chant the parts that the rubrics assign to him...
. They are still sometimes used at celebrations of the Tridentine Mass
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
today.
The prayers did not form part of the Mass itself, but were prescribed for specific intentions. The original intention was the defence of the temporal sovereignty of the Holy See. After this problem was settled with the Lateran Treaty of 1929, Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
ordered that the prayers should be said for the restoration to the people of Russia of tranquillity and freedom to profess the Catholic faith. This gave rise to the unofficial and inaccurate use of the name "Prayers for the Conversion of Russia" for the prayers, which were also known, less inaccurately, as "Prayers after Mass".
The final form of the Leonine Prayers consisted of three Ave Marias
Hail Mary
The Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional biblical Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within the Catholic Church, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
, a Salve Regina
Salve Regina
The "Salve Regina", also known as the Hail Holy Queen, is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. The Salve Regina is traditionally sung at Compline in the time from the Saturday before Trinity...
followed by a versicle and response, a prayer for the conversion of sinners and the liberty and exaltation of the Catholic Church, and a prayer to Saint Michael
Prayer to Saint Michael
The Prayer to Saint Michael is a prayer, used mainly by Catholics, which is addressed to Michael the archangel.Pope Leo XIII added it in 1886 to the Leonine Prayers, which he had directed to be said after Low Mass two years earlier. The practice of reciting these prayers after Mass was suppressed...
the Archangel. Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
permitted the addition of the invocation "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us", repeated three times.
The Holy See's 26 September 1964 Instruction Inter Oecumenici, which came into force on 7 March 1965, declared: "The Leonine Prayers are suppressed."
History
In 1859, faced with rebellion against his temporal sovereignty in the course of the RisorgimentoItalian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
, Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
ordered that special prayers (three Ave Marias, and a Salve Regina followed by a versicle and response and a collect
Collect
In Christian liturgy, a collect is both a liturgical action and a short, general prayer. In the Middle Ages, the prayer was referred to in Latin as collectio, but in the more ancient sources, as oratio. In English, and in this usage, "collect" is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable...
) be said after Masses celebrated in the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
. He did not make these prayers obligatory in other countries, but did ask Catholics everywhere to pray for the defeat of those bent on destroying the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
's temporal sovereignty.
On 6 January 1884, in the context of anti-clerical political and social developments in the new Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
, Pope Leo XIII ordered that the prayers be recited throughout the world. It is from Leo's name that the term "Leonine Prayers" is derived. In 1886, the prayer that follows the Salve Regina was modified to make it a prayer for the conversion of sinners and "the freedom and exaltation of Holy Mother Church". The prayer to Saint Michael was added at the same time.
Two slight changes were made later to the prayer after the Salve Regina, and in 1904, Pope Pius X granted permission to add at the conclusion of the Leonine Prayers a threefold invocation, "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us", a permission that was universally availed of.
In 1929, the state of Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
was created, resolving the troubled relationship
Roman Question
thumb|300px|The breach of [[Porta Pia]], on the right, in a contemporaneous photograph.The Roman Question was a political dispute between the Italian Government and the Papacy from 1861 to 1929....
between the Holy See and the Italian state, which had been the object of the Leonine Prayers, and thus removing their raison d'être. But the following year, Pope Pius XI ordered that the Leonine Prayers should be offered "to permit tranquillity and freedom to profess the faith to be restored to the afflicted people of Russia", not, as is sometimes said, "for the conversion of Russia".
The 26 September 1964 Instruction Inter Oecumenici on implementing the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy
Sacrosanctum Concilium
Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, is one of the constitutions of the Second Vatican Council. It was approved by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,147 to 4 and promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1963...
of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
decreed: "The Leonine Prayers are suppressed".
Rubrics
According to the original decree of 6 January 1884 that imposed the Leonine Prayers, they were to be said after every Low Mass, but later decrees, whose interpretation was not always clear, spoke rather of "private Masses", what in present-day legislation are called Masses without the people. According to one influential rubricist, the Leonine Prayers could be omitted after a Low Mass that was celebrated with special solemnity, such as an ordinationHoly Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
or funeral Mass, a First Friday Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart, a Nuptial Mass, or the Mass after distribution of the ashes on Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
, or if the Mass was followed immediately by function such as Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is a devotional ceremony celebrated within the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in some Anglican and Lutheran Churches, Liberal Catholic churches, Western Rite Orthodox churches, and Latinised Eastern Catholic Churches.Benediction of the...
or a Novena
Novena
In the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of a prayer repeated on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. The prayers may come from prayer books, or consist of the recitation of the Rosary , or of short prayers through the day...
.
They were customarily said kneeling.
Continued use
The Leonine Prayers were never included in the 1962 edition of the Roman MissalRoman Missal
The Roman Missal is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.-Situation before the Council of Trent:...
or in any other edition. But the fact that they were suppressed only after the 1962 Missal was issued is considered by some to mean that they are obligatory when Mass is celebrated in accordance with that Missal. Accordingly, they are still recited publicly sometimes after a celebration of Tridentine Mass. This is not the practice in the Ecône seminary
The International Seminary of Saint Pius X
The International Seminary of Saint Pius X is the premier seminary of the Society of Saint Pius X.It is situated at Écône in the Valais Canton of Switzerland and is one of the six houses for formation for the future priests of The Society of Saint Pius X....
of the Society of St. Pius X
Society of St. Pius X
The Society of Saint Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre...
, and it has been argued that, since freedom to profess the faith has been restored in Russia, the purpose for which the Leonine Prayers were prescribed in 1930 has been achieved, leading to cessation of the law concerning them.