The growing influence of the liturgical faculty Sant’Anselmo in the Vatican

Pontificio Sant'Anselmo, Rome / ElijahOwens by way of Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.zero)

Vatican Metropolis, Jul 22, 2021 / 11:10 am (CNA).

The new secretary and undersecretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship each have studied at the Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo, an institute in Rome whose faculty of liturgy has had growing affect in liturgical norms coming from the Vatican.

Created in 1637, disbanded in 1837 and restored by Pope Leo XIII in 1887, the Ateneum’s headquarters have been on the historic Aventino Hill in Rome since 1896.& The Pontifical Liturgical Institute of the Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo was established in 1961 by Pope John XXIII and was entrusted to the Benedictine monks.&

The Apostolic See established it as the school of Sacred Liturgy of the Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo; it's situated just some ft away from the Roman Church of Santa Sabina where pontiffs, including Pope Francis, historically rejoice Ash Wednesday Mass yearly.

Archbishop Piero Marini, the pope's grasp of ceremonies for his trips in Italy and a former grasp of ceremonies for Pope John Paul II, can also be a proud alumnus of the institute. Piero Marini is considered chargeable for the extravagant liturgical vestments that John Paul II was pressured to put on during his last years. Upon getting into his workplace, Pope Benedict XVI instantly transferred Marini to the workplace for Eucharistic Congresses.& &

Fr. Corrado Maggioni, who has been serving at the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments since 1990 and is now an undersecretary on the congregation, additionally studied at Sant'Anselmo.

In the course of the discussions related to the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council and its ensuing implementation, the Pontifical Institute turned a reference point for every liturgical debate - often taking the “progressive” aspect.

Probably the most outstanding academics at the Sant'Anselmo is the theologian Andrea Grillo, a vigorous defender of the current motu proprio& Traditionis custodes which abrogated the liberalization of accessibility to the Historic Ceremony Mass made by Benedict XVI.&

Amongst other issues, Grillo has campaigned in favor of imposing an institutional silence on the pope emeritus, and attacked repeatedly the 4 cardinals who introduced the dubia& about Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation& Amoris Laetitia.

Maggioni and Archbishop Marini have been both members of the commission that drafted the motu proprio& Magnum Principium of Sep. 3, 2017, the place Pope Francis shifted the translations of liturgical texts to the native bishops' conferences; this ended the Vatican’s policy of manufacturing uniform translations.&

Cardinal Robert Sarah, then-prefect of the congregation, was marginalized from these discussions.

When the Vatican formally announced that Pope Francis appointed Bishop Vittorio Viola as secretary of the Congregation for the Divine Worship, and Msgr. Aurelio Garcia Macias as undersecretary, it turned evident to insiders that the more liberal Sant'Anselmo Institute had taken management of most liturgical points.

Observers declare that the Sant’Anselmo alumni and professors at the moment are in all places. Msgr. Maurizio Barba, an official of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, teaches there. And so does the Carmelite Friar Giuseppe Midili, who's presently the director of the Rome vicariate's liturgical office.

Midili is a candidate to succeed Msgr. Guido Marini because the pope's grasp of ceremonies. One other candidate for the place is Fr. Pietro Muroni, dean of the Pontifical City College’s school of theology, and marketing consultant of the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff. He studied on the Sant'Anselmo too.&

There are exceptions to the views of the institute’s alumni; Msgr. Guido Marini, additionally an alumnus of the institute, has made an ideal effort to stability tradition and innovation as Pope Francis' grasp of ceremonies.

But the growing affect of Sant'Anselmo’s positions on liturgical points has not handed unnoticed among the curia ranks. And some insiders are saying that the institute’s cohort is behind Pope Francis' motu proprio& Traditionis Custodes, which abrogated the liberation of the celebration of Plenty in accordance with Pope John XXIII's 1962 missal.