Monday, March 18, 2013

Pope Francis goes Pope Benedict in first papal Mass

There are some rumblings among more tradition-minded Catholics about whether Pope Francis is "low church" in his approach to the liturgy, whether he will chart a course that undermines the progress Pope Benedict made in rediscovering the riches of our whole tradition.

I have no predictions to make, and I can make no promises in behalf of our holy father; but I can say two things:

1) How about we wait and actually see what he will do, rather than start jumping out of windows in fear of what he could do?

2) How about we take a look at what is planned for his installation Mass?

My friend Jeffrey Tucker, who has been a champion for chant and polyphony for many years, describes the holy father's plans this way:

Have you made your plans yet? You need to go to bed early on Monday night so that you can rise at 4:30am Eastern Time to watch the epic inauguration of Pope Francis. The music alone will be monumental, probably the best that has ever been present on such an occasion. This is a big big moment for sacred music. The whole world will hear Gregorian propers and polyphony for the first time. This is the music of Vatican II, brought to us because of the glorious papacy of Benedict XVI and given as a gift to Pope Francis. Also, please let all your friends know too. This is absolutely not to be missed.

And here, Jeff provides the actual program in a post titled, Presenting the Most Gregorian Inauguration in Centuries.

If I can manage it, I'll be up at 4:30 am! Not much gets me up that early!

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