The increasing influence of the liturgical school 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 brand new secretary and undersecretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship both have studied on 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 the place pontiffs, including Pope Francis, traditionally rejoice Ash Wednesday Mass yearly.

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

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

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

One of the crucial 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 things, 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. three, 2017, the place Pope Francis shifted the translations of liturgical texts to the local 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 issues.

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 is at present the director of the Rome vicariate's liturgical office.

Midili is a candidate to succeed Msgr. Guido Marini as the pope's master of ceremonies. One other candidate for the position is Fr. Pietro Muroni, dean of the Pontifical City University’s school of theology, and marketing consultant of the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff. He studied at 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 excellent effort to stability custom and innovation as Pope Francis' master of ceremonies.

But the growing influence of Sant'Anselmo’s positions on liturgical issues has not passed unnoticed among the many curia ranks. And a few 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 based on Pope John XXIII's 1962 missal.