Ritual Mass

Ritual Mass is a Mass whose proper texts accompany the celebration of a sacrament or sacramental according to an approved ritual book.

Authority level: Dogma

Sacraments and sacramentals within Mass

Ritual Masses join a proper Mass formulary to a sacrament or sacramental celebrated within the Eucharistic liturgy. They include Masses connected with Christian initiation, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Matrimony, religious profession, the institution of ministries, the blessing of an abbot or abbess, the consecration of virgins, and the dedication of a church or altar where the approved books provide them.

Common descriptions such as Nuptial Mass, Ordination Mass, profession Mass, and dedication Mass name particular ritual celebrations. The sacramental rite and the Eucharist retain their own integrity; ministers may not improvise a hybrid rite or insert ceremonies merely because they suit the occasion.

Nuptial and ordination Masses

A Nuptial Mass is the celebration of Matrimony within Mass using the Order of Celebrating Matrimony and the permitted Mass texts. The spouses exchange consent and confer the sacrament upon one another in the Latin tradition, while the priest or deacon assists in the Church's name. The nuptial blessing is a liturgical blessing, not a replacement for consent.

At an Ordination Mass, a bishop confers the sacrament of Holy Orders by the laying on of hands and the consecratory prayer. The rites for bishops, priests, and deacons differ according to the order conferred. The Mass manifests that ordained ministry arises within the Church's sacramental life and is ordered above all to the Eucharist and the service of God's people.

Limits

Ritual Masses are prohibited on specified high-ranking days, including Sundays of Advent, Lent, and Easter, solemnities, the Easter Octave, All Souls, Ash Wednesday, and Holy Week. The applicable ritual book and calendar determine whether the rite itself may still occur and which Mass texts must be used.