MADISON All Souls Evening – Pontifical Requiem at the Throne

It is All Souls and we are getting ready for a Pontifical Requiem at the Throne, tonight at 7 pm at the Bishop O’Connor Center in Madison, WI.

His Excellency Most Rev. Robert C. Morlino will be the celebrant.

The music will be Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Requiem for 4 voices.

This morning already I was out with one of the guys buying purple fabric for the canopy and throne and, I hope, sedilia.

Eager beaver carpenters have made a new canopy for the bishop’s throne.

Alas, I couldn’t find a black rug.

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We have our black candle set for the altar and for the catafalque.

 

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Slowly but surely getting everything set up.  We also have a black set of pontifical vestments, except for the black gremial.

Catafalque by catafalque!

UPDATE

Meanwhile…

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Another arrived…

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Anything worth doing is worth over-doing.

UPDATE:

Last night His Excellency Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, celebrated a Pontifical Requiem at the Throne for All Souls with the intention of the deceased priests and bishops of the Diocese.

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The chapel was full and there were 10 priests in choir.  We made sure that they had the candles at the right moments.

 

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His Excellency decided to preach before the Absolution.  For those of you who do not know, for a Requiem Mass it is proper to preach after Mass rather than after the Gospel.

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All in all, it was a worthy endeavor.  We prayed for the dead.  The music was well performed.  The ceremonies went fairly smoothly.  The team of servers did a great job.  It was a fine Mass for a good intention.

In Madison there is a diocesan wide effort to build a fund to support the formation of future priests.  It is especially fitting to remember the priests of the past as we plan for priests for the future.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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44 Comments

  1. Josemaria says:

    What is a pontifical Mass at the throne? How is it different from a pontifical Mass at the faldstool?

  2. gloriainexcelsis says:

    That magnificent catafalque is in the FSSP parish in Rome, isn’t it – unless I don’t recognize that wonderful painting of the Trinity? That’s a real WOW!

  3. The painting is by Guido Reni. It is among my favorite altar pieces in Rome.

  4. mamajen says:

    Saw black vestments for the first time in person this past weekend. Very striking! My 1-year-old also noticed, and seemed fascinated.

  5. Netmilsmom says:

    How very Catholic! How beautiful. I pray for the day when this solemn beauty is allowed for all Catholics who seek it.

  6. Traductora says:

    Very nice! I’m old enough to remember the black vestments et al. Churches used to spend a lot of time and money making sure that things were right. I recently translated a 19th century order from my historic town in Florida, and the priest was requesting the black candles for funeral masses.

    The colors have changed over the years (probably as coloring capacities improved). At various points, the candles were supposed to be a deep yellow, and then they seem to have morphed into a sort of purple and finally into black. In any case, one thing they were supposed to be was different. After all, death is different, no matter how much silly deluded souls like the latest unfortunate public suicide want to make it sound like it’s just a generalized floating off into the ether, where you will be reunited with your pets…So yes, I hope it’s a wonderful mass, that the candles are black, and the Dies Irae is sung…

  7. momoften says:

    Thank You! Pictures are always worth thousands of words. LOVE to see how others do it. We are
    just a very small rural parish, but tonight we will have a Requiem. It is very beautiful, and the chant
    is ear *candy*

  8. Adam Welp says:

    What is the best way to ensure that when I die I can have a Requiem in the EF said instead of what normally passes as a Funeral Mass in these parts? I plan on stashing some money so a set of black vestments can be purchased, and will leave a generious stipend in my Will for any celebrant that will say the Requiem.

  9. Titus says:

    I would like to see, at some point, an “anatomy of a catafalque” post. (Anyone from NLM out there?) I get the general principle, but why does the FSSP parish have a bare coffin on top of a draped “coffin”? And why does the Madison setup just have the draped one?

  10. Grateful to be Catholic says:

    Fr. Z, as I suppose that you will be actively involved in the Mass, I hope you have designated someone to take some photos so the rest of us can have our eye candy.

    I have missed All Souls’ this year because we had the Usus Antiquior celebration of Sunday yesterday and today, when I don’t have an EF I can attend, the NO Mass was for the feast of St. Martin de Porres. But that brings up a question I asked one of our priests yesterday: as the two calendars give two dates for the observance of All Souls’ Day, can I earn the plenary indulgence on both days? I fulfilled the requirements both days, so I hope it counts!

  11. Spade says:

    My wife and I also saw black vestments for the first time this Sunday. Evidently at least two priests wore them, with the one we saw looking similar to the covering on the catafalque there. It was really nice.
    Of course, at the mass earlier to ours, somebody had to complain about the black vestments because they (somehow) thought it was a mean statement about the state of dead peoples’ souls or some such garbage. No idea how they came up with that. So we made sure to make our compliments. Our priest lead off his homily with a disclaimer about black vestments because of it.

  12. Father, I don’t suppose you can lend towards a generous request or two:
    1) Is there anyway you can inform the readers of the source of these liturgical items? Sharing the weblink would allow us to purchase these items for EF Masses in our dioceses, particularly if none of the churches have their old items still.

    2) Would anyone of the parish or Bishop Morlino’s entourage be able to film the mass in its entirety and post it on YouTube? It would be helpful as a recording and a training piece for future altar servers like myself to learn to do Pontifical Masses. Having the books like the Episcopal Ceremonies is great, but seeing the words of the pages put into action is even better.

    Thank you, and Pax Tibi Christi.

    P.S. You might want to do another post of how you used the fabric and put it together to make the bishop’s throne with pictures.

  13. Sonshine135 says:

    Saturday, I went to a full Orchestral Mass for the Solemnity of All Saints, and utilized my Grandmother’s 1957 Missal. The Missal was all English, but fit the Mass beautifully. Mozart’s Missa Brevis in G Major was beautifully performed, and Father, Deacon and Sub-Deacon were dressed in beautiful Maroon and Gold vestments. Father was in Black vestments yesterday for the Ordinary Form. I asked if he would do a an EF Requiem for a funeral if requested to which he enthusiastically stated yes. It was a very nice weekend that put a huge smile on my face!
    Father, I so wish I could attend the Pontifical Requiem with you this evening. I went to last year’s here in my Diocese, and it was absolutely moving.

  14. Mike says:

    In the absence of a black rug, it appears you’ve improvised pretty well with fabric, at least for the dais.

    Convention service companies seem to have access to rolls of solid heavy-duty carpet in all colors. For future events you might see what you can get by that route in the way of a remnant.

  15. JARay says:

    I too saw for the first time in years, a black chasuble being worn. The priest is in fact a member of the Ordinariate and he told me that in the Ordinariate priests are not allowed to wear white vestments for a funeral and in his sermon at Mass on All Souls Day he stressed that the rubrics say that there is to be no eulogy! He stressed that a funeral Mass should be about praying for the soul of the deceased that he/she be released from sin and the punishment due to sin. It is not to be an assumption that the deceased is already in heaven.

  16. capchoirgirl says:

    Love Black Vestments! My parish has a beautiful set of them and I love seeing them on All Souls’ Day.

  17. Luvadoxi says:

    The black is striking. I do like seeing white on the casket though–it makes me think of the baptismal garment and the hope of resurrection.

  18. @Julian I am bringing my video camera but it is not charged – and the battery is poor. If I somehow find a way to rig it up I will post it.

  19. lsclerkin says:

    What a glorious time to be Roman Catholic.
    I’m finding my heritage. Glorious.

  20. frjim4321 says:

    “Anything worth doing is worth over-doing.”

    It’s great when Fr. Jim and our Gracious Host agree . . . especially on a post about the unreformed mass.

  21. John Grammaticus says:

    Wish I could be there….

    Still I went to a wonderful High Mass at my home Parish, served as torch bearer , 4 Priests in the sanctuary, (1 assisting in choir) and SEVEN !!! servers; acolytes, torch bearers, MC, Thrurifer and another guy Who WAS going to carry the processional Cross which no one could find so just ended up sitting, standing and kneeling and trying to look Holy :)

  22. That is a completely cool skull, by the way.

  23. Elizium23 says:

    I was honored to be present at a High Mass tonight at my not-quite-local FSSP parish. I was told over the phone it would be a Low Mass, well imagine my surprise when the six candles were lit!

    I was a little disappointed to be unable to sing along to anything, but the schola was wonderful. The chanting, incense and overall solemnity served to take me somewhere close to Heaven for the hour.

    This was only my second Mass in the EF, and unfortunately may be my last for a while, as my beaten path will not take me anywhere near that parish for the foreseeable future. But between this Mass and Vespers on Saturday at the local Serbian Orthodox parish, I enjoyed a taste of Heaven that will last me for a good while.

  24. MouseTemplar says:

    Wait. Is that one person’s remains stacked on top of another ? My husband the funeral director wants to know how they did that. Looks a bit rickety.

  25. MouseTemplar says:

    Wait. Is that one person’s remains stacked on top of another ? My husband the funeral director wants to know how they did that. Looks a bit rickety.

  26. Robert_H says:

    “Anything worth doing is worth over-doing.”

    In our house that’s rendered as, “Too much is always enough.”

  27. Imrahil says:

    As to the attitude the dear Spade mentioned,

    they (somehow) thought it was a mean statement about the state of dead peoples’ souls or some such garbage.

    Ah yes, and of course the color of penitence, violet, is so much better in this respect.

  28. NoraLee9 says:

    All Souls was observed on Monday here in FSSP land. Each of our three priests were going to do three Masses. I sat through 4 Masses yesterday, and got to hear all three of the Masses printed in the Missal. Considering that I have 40+ souls on my roster of friends and relatives, it was more than a worthwhile endeavor. I also went to confession. What a glorious day. I hope to visit a cemetery today. I am headed to Westchester County to see my mechanic. Maybe I’ll finally get to visit Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
    I love the Black Vestments and all the trappings. In this day and age when everyone is going to heaven, I hope someone makes sure I get a Requiem Mass and says many, many prayers for me. I was born in 1959 and came of age in the 1970’s…. I need all the help I can get.
    Spade: In reference to your experience, all I can say is Wow, just Wow. Because if I wrote what I was really thinking Father would rightly delete my uncharitable post! I mean…. Wow.

  29. Sid Cundiff in NC says:

    We in Greensboro, NC, at Our Lady of Grace, also had on wonderful and holy All Souls in the EF, complete with catafalque, black vestments, an organist (including a piece by Langlais and the organist’s own variations on the Dies Irae), and a schola singing all the propers for this Mass – all in a Solemn High Mass. We are so grateful that after 16 months absence the EF is returning to Our Lady of Grace, now that the pastor has a parochial vicar. The Traditional Latin Mass/The Mass in the Extraordinary Form (MEF) will be offfered there every Sunday, 1pm, starting 09. November. If y’all would check my blog, nctlmmef[dot]com, y’all would see that we in North Carolina have a large number of MEFs. Not bad for a part of the US of A where 60 years ago Catholics were listed under “others”.

  30. gloriainexcelsis says:

    At our small FSSP parish, St. Joseph the Worker, in Tyler, Texas, Father celebrated three Masses. Two were early morning. The third was a Missa Cantata, as First Mass, Requiem, with absolution at the catafalque after the Mass. I sing in our little choir, and being able to sing the beautiful Gregorian Chant Mass is always a privilege. It is so beautiful. Black vestments and black-draped catafalque, of course.

  31. Andkaras says:

    This has been great. We are getting spoiled with all the great pictures lately .Keep them comming.

  32. mysticalrose says:

    Beautiful. Oh how I wish I could raise my sons in the Mass of the ages. *Sigh*

  33. acardnal says:

    I bet that skull at the foot of the catafalque was once a Zed-Head!

    Fr. Z's Gold Star Award

  34. Uxixu says:

    All bishops needs canopies over their Cathedra. I dream of a baldachin being installed over the altar at Our Lady of the Angels with the Cathedra being turned 90 degrees with a canopy installed over it.

    I did get to witness Father Fryar, FSSP do the three Masses in a row for All Souls last night, as well. Very moving. Love that sequence, as well.

  35. robtbrown says:

    frjim4321 says:

    “Anything worth doing is worth over-doing.”

    It’s great when Fr. Jim and our Gracious Host agree . . . especially on a post about the unreformed mass.

    IMHO, a GK Chesterton quote is more appropriate for the Novus Ordo: Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.

  36. The Masked Chicken says:

    The Chesterton quote is from part 4, chapter 14 in his book, What’s Wrong with the World, the chapter entitled, Education: Or the Mistake about the Child. The section is entitled, Folly and Female Education. The whole quote is (last paragraph):

  37. The Masked Chicken says:

    The Chesterton quote is from part 4, chapter 14 in his book, What’s Wrong with the World, the chapter entitled, Education: Or the Mistake about the Child. The section is entitled, Folly and Female Education. The whole quote is (last paragraph):

    “There was a time when you and I and all of us were all very close to God; so that even now the color of a pebble (or a paint), the smell of a flower (or a firework), comes to our hearts with a kind of authority and certainty; as if they were fragments of a muddled message, or features of a forgotten face. To pour that fiery simplicity upon the whole of life is the only real aim of education; and closest to the child comes the woman—she understands. To say what she understands is beyond me; save only this, that it is not a solemnity. Rather it is a towering levity, an uproarious amateurishness of the universe, such as we felt when we were little, and would as soon sing as garden, as soon paint as run. To smatter the tongues of men and angels, to dabble in the dreadful sciences, to juggle with pillars and pyramids and toss up the planets like balls, this is that inner audacity and indifference which the human soul, like a conjurer catching oranges, must keep up forever. This is that insanely frivolous thing we call sanity. And the elegant female, drooping her ringlets over her water-colors, knew it and acted on it. She was juggling with frantic and flaming suns. She was maintaining the bold equilibrium of inferiorities which is the most mysterious of superiorities and perhaps the most unattainable. She was maintaining the prime truth of woman, the universal mother: that if a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”

    The Chicken

  38. FranzJosf says:

    Fundraising idea for support of seminarians:

    The Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women, in the Archdiocese of Mobile, started what they call “The Burse Club” sometime in the ’50’s. Over the years they’ve raised a lot of money, which is invested. Dues are $12.00 per year (one dollar per month). On a given weekend the ladies are outside the church doors of every Mass in the Archdiocese! Many, many people are willing to give only twelve dollars when asked personally, in a friendly way, for a good cause. There are several meetings a year, but many members merely pay their dues. The ladies present a check to the Archbishop at the annual ACCW convention. Good idea, good ladies.

  39. Imrahil says:

    Dear robtbrown,

    er…

    l.o.l.,

    as they say in Internetland.

  40. CrimsonCatholic says:

    I also saw black vestments for the first time.

    The pictures look great.

  41. Ben Yanke says:

    I would like to see, at some point, an “anatomy of a catafalque” post. (Anyone from NLM out there?) I get the general principle, but why does the FSSP parish have a bare coffin on top of a draped “coffin”? And why does the Madison setup just have the draped one?

    What do you mean specially? How to build one? or the history of it?

  42. Ben Yanke says:

    And yes, I’m at NLM.

  43. Sort of the same as before, but repeating some of Yanke’s questions, or more, what I am asking about. Yes, where do you get these items for purchase, or how to build these items such as: The black altar candle, the catafalque candles, the catafalque itself, the draping for it, the draping for the throne, the backdrop of the throne …..???

  44. Matt R says:

    Julian, it’s most properly built with an empty coffin set up as at a funeral on a bier, and then covered with the black pall surrounded by six candles, preferably unbleached. One can also, erm, get creative. One could build a box using plywood and place it on some kind of stand. At the CMAA Colloquium this year in Indianapolis, we had some kind of cart, on top of which we placed a table and then folding chairs, which were alternated so as to resemble the shape of a coffin. The black cloth went on top of all of that.

    I am most curious as to how the throne was built, and I need to make friends with the carpenters and seamstresses in my parish, it looks like!

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