The liturgical celebrations of the Easter Triduum – spanning Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday – according to the ancient (Traditional Latin) rite will not take place in the Diocese of Westminster this year.
The changes follows the decision of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of the diocese, and the head of Catholics in England and Wales, to discontinue the custom of featuring liturgy over the Easter weekend in the traditional form – something which had taken place annually since the 1990s.
Cardinal Nichols acknowledged in correspondence to Fr Michael Cullinan denying the latter’s request to host this year’s triduum at St Mary Moorfields – the only Catholic church in The Square Mile of the City of London – that he was aware the decision would cause disappointment.
“I realise that this will disappoint some people,” he revealed, “but I have to keep the wider picture in view”, in an email which has been shown to the <em>Herald</em>.
The cardinal explained that his verdict follows “the parameters laid down by the Holy See”, while the Latin Mass Society said in a <a href="http://www.lmschairman.org/2024/02/westminster-diocese-triduum-cancelled.html"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">statement</mark></a> on the matter: “His Eminence places this decision in the context of his ongoing dealings with the Dicastery for Divine Worship in Rome."
The “parameters” refer to Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio <em>Traditiones Custodes</em> and its subsequent rescripts by Cardinal Arthur Roche who heads the Dicastery for Divine Worship. Cardinal Roche has been a determined opponent of the traditional liturgy, and his office has directly written to numerous prelates around the world asking them to revoke extant permissions for the celebration of liturgy in the traditional forms.
Cardinal Nichols explained that his cooperation with the Holy See and his decision not to allow the celebration of the traditional triduum at St Mary Moorfield’s was made “for the sake of the wider provision” of enabling the traditional liturgy to be celebrated elsewhere in the archdiocese as currently established.
“I have to keep the wider picture in view," the cardinal said, citing the parish at St James’ Church, Spanish Place – the historical church of the Spanish ambassadors – which celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation.
In its statement the Latin Mass Society, which has been historically involved in the celebration of the traditional triduum in Westminster archdiocese, said it was "grieved" by the decision, and <a href="http://www.lmschairman.org/2024/02/westminster-diocese-triduum-cancelled.html"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">drew attention</mark></a> to the fact that after <em>Traditiones</em> was published in 2021, Cardinal Nichols stated: “In my judgement, these concerns do not reflect the overall liturgical life of this diocese.”
“[I]t seems," the Latin Mass Society adds, "that Catholics attached to the older liturgy are being punished for misdemeanours that Cardinal Nichols believes they have not committed."
The decision to deny permissions for the triduum comes amid a slew of decisions gradually revoking extant privileges and permissions for the celebration of traditional liturgy across the Westminster archdiocese.
In 2021, the 20-year-long tradition of featuring ordinations in the old rite was terminated; in November 2023, the Latin Mass Society’s annual requiem Mass in Westminster Cathedral was likewise discontinued. Similarly, a 50-year-old tradition of holding two annual old rite Masses in the cathedral ended.
The Archdiocese of Westminster has had a unique and intimate relationship with the old rite ever since the liturgical reform of 1970.
Cardinal John Heenan – an initial staunch critic of the new mass – was granted a concession, known colloquially as the “Agatha Christie Indult”, by Pope Paul VI after a petition signed by numerous prominent intellectuals and writers (including the famed writer of crime fiction) was filed to the Holy See, pleading the liberation of the ancient rites of the Church.
Hence on 5 November 1970, Pope Paul VI reportedly exclaimed “Ah, Agatha Christie!” as he read the file on his desk and subsequently granted permissions for the Archdiocese of Westminster to permit old rite liturgies at its own discretion.
It is understood, according to various Church sources, that Cardinal Nichols’ latest decision to reverse the request and desires of those signatories, and of many Catholics who have followed them, is in response to mounting pressure from the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Holy See as Pope Francis’ health worsens.
<em>(Photo: Eastertide liturgy at St Mary Moorfield's, 2023 – Joseph Shaw.)</em>
