Thursday, March 28, 2013

Pope Francis Has Not Been Enthroned in His Basilica

Edit: While Pope Francis seems to be on the brink of committing a liturgical abuse in his Holy Thursday Liturgy at a juvenile detention center, and has congratulated the Archbishop of Canterbury  on his own enthronement, the Argentine pope has some unfinished business in addition to that, and perhaps it will be left that way too. Pope Francis has not yet taken possession of his Cathedral, St. John Lateran.  Usually, the seat is occupied in a solemn enthronement Mass not too many days after the inauguration.

Could this be part of Francis attempt to unthrone the Papacy and present himself only as a primus inter pares to the world than Christ’s Vicar on Earth?  Certainly it is the case that his election has been met with almost delirious approval on the part of many undesirable personalities in the modern Church.

A faithful commenter reports:

The Ordo Rituum pro Ministerii Petrini Initio Romae Episcopi thus approved in 2005 contains not only the rite of the Mass of the Inauguration, but also that of the Mass of the Enthronement of the new Pope on the Cathedra Romana, the chair of the Bishop of Rome, in the Lateran Basilica, Rome's cathedral and the Roman Catholic Church's primary Basilica, outranking even the Vatican Basilica. Popes usually take possession of the Lateran Basilica within a few days of the inauguration of the pontificate. Pope Benedict XVI did so on 7 May 2005. This rite, known in Latin as the incathedratio, is the last ceremony marking the accession of a new Supreme Pontiff.

8 comments:

Mark said...

It'll be interesting to see if an enthronement is planned sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Of course, it may be understandable to delay this liturgy until the Easter Season, but there is also something to be said for celebrating at least one of the major liturgies in one's cathedral church (even if St Peter's Basilica is, in the popular imagination, the "more important" place) - and before Pope Francis can celebrate in his cathedral, he needs to be enthroned.

So yes, let's see if something is announced over the next couple of weeks.

Anonymous said...

"Liturgical abuse" - Jesus too!

Anonymous said...

So he washed the feet of two females. One of them a muslim. And another muslim male.

What? No Buddhists? What will Wuerl say?!

Anonymous said...

Couldn't he round up a pair of Atheist feet? And there was no representation for the transgendered either.

Anonymous said...

Please everyone go to A shepherd's Voice and leave a prayer for Fr. John Malloy who departed this world yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Prayers for +Father Malloy. Requiescant in pace.

Anonymous said...

"Let us not betray Fr. Malloy" the Eponymous Flower . A good, faithful, tireless shepherd + .

Anonymous said...

Pope Francis will 'take possession' of Lateran basilica on April 7

CWN - March 27, 2013
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=17449

Pope Francis will formally "take possession" of the basilica of St. John Lateran on April 7, the 2nd Sunday of Easter and the feast of Divine Mercy, the Vatican has announced.

The Lateran basilica is the official church of the Bishop of Rome. The new Pope has delayed taking possession of the church so that the celebration would not take place during the penitential season of Lent.