The Holy Father, Pope Francis, will have his Inaugural Mass tomorrow morning. Coverage on many stations, and online streams begins as early as 3:45 or 3:50 AM ET.
It's going to kill me, but I'm getting up early to watch! So, join me!
Here is something from Vatican Information Service detailing what will happen tomorrow.
The Press Office Director also explained where those participating in and attending the Mass will be located. “On the left-hand side of the 'Sagrato' (porch of the Basilica) will be seated bishops and archbishops (around 250 are expected), ecclesiastics, and delegations from other Churches and Christian confessions. On the right-hand side of the 'Sagrato' will be delegations from various countries lead by heads of state, ministers, etc. On the St. Peter’s statue side of the piazza will be seated Jews, Muslims, and members of other religions, then around 1200 priests and seminarians. On the St. Paul’s statue side of the piazza will be seated the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See and other civil authorities. The rest of the piazza will be standing-room for all those without tickets. A large number is expected to attend.”Between 8:45 and 8:50am [3:45 / 3:50 am ET] the Pope will depart the Domus Sanctae Marthae and start to move through the crowd [give Vatican security a raise] in the various sections of the piazza—either in the Jeep or the Popemobile—and greet those gathered. He will return to the Sacristy, via the Pietà side, around 9:15am. Mass is planned to begin at 9:30am [4:30 am ET]Regarding the beginning of the ceremony, the Pope, once having entered the Basilica, will head to the Confession (St. Peter’s tomb under the high altar) while trumpets will announce the “Tu es Petrus”. The Pope will venerate the tomb of St. Peter, together with the Patriarchs and Major Archbishops of the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches (ten in number, four of whom are cardinals). He will then be presented with the Pallium, Ring, and Book of the Gospels that were placed at St. Peter’s tomb the night before.The Holy Father will then come back up from the Confession to the main floor of the Basilica, from which the procession continues. The “Laudes Regiae” (Christ is King) will be chanted, with some invocations taken from the Vatican II document on the Church, “Lumen Gentium”. In the Litany of Saints are particularly to be noted, after the Apostles, the Holy Roman Pontiffs who have been canonized up to the most recent: St. Pius X. Fr. Lombardi clarified that these are only the pontiffs who have been named as saints, not those who have been beatified. The procession will then make its entrance into the square.Fr. Lombardi listed who will be concelebrating the Mass with Francis: all the cardinals present in Rome, joined by the Patriarchs and Major Eastern Rite Archbishops (6); the Secretary of the College of Cardinals; and two Superior Generals (that of the Order of Friars Minor, Jose Rodriguez Carballo and that of the Jesuits, Adolfo Nicolas Pachon, respectively President and Vice-President of the Union of Superior Generals). In total about 180 are expected to concelebrate and they will be seated at the left (that is, in front of the ecclesiastics, not the national delegations).Before the Mass begins there are the rites specific to the beginning of the Bishop of Rome's Petrine Ministry. These include: [click here to read these interesting details at VIS]
I'm going to quote another part of the long post at VIS (emphasis mine in bold; comments in red).
The Mass will be that of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, which has its own readings (therefore they are not directly related to the rite of the Inauguration of the Pontificate). The Gospel will be proclaimed in Greek, as at the highest solemnities, to show that the universal Church is made up of the great traditions of the East and the West. “Latin,” Fr. Lombardi said, “is already abundantly present in the other prayers and Mass parts.” [And, I'll bet some thought it would get ditched altogether!]The Pope will give his homily in Italian and, as is his style, it probably will not follow the written text strictly, but will contain improvisations. [LOL!]Fr. Lombardi said that the Master of Celebrations expects that the ceremony will not last much more than two hours and, always with the intention of simplification and not making the rite overly long, there will not be an Offertory procession. The Eucharistic gifts will be brought to the altar by the ministers who prepare the altar. Also, the Pope will not distribute Communion, which will be done by the deacons on the “Sagrato” and, in the various areas of the piazza, by priests. [Not sure why this is, but perhaps in some situations this is common. I'm not up early enough to watch most papal Masses.]Regarding the music for the ceremony, several moments are notable [Booyah!]. When the Pope enters the Basilica silver trumpets will ring out the “Tu es Petrus”. The Laudes Regiae will be chanted during the procession from St. Peter’s tomb to the “Sagrato”. A 14 piece brass ensemble will play at various moments of the celebration. During the Offertory the “Tu es pastor ovium” (You Are the Shepherd of the Sheep) motet composed by Pierluigi da Palestrina [Oooo - Palestrina is among my favorites] precisely for the Inauguration of the Pontificate will be sung. At the conclusion, the “Te Deum” will be sung with verses alternating between Gregorian chant and a melody by Tomas Luis de Victoria. As it will not be held on a Sunday, there will be no Angelus after the Mass.
Sounds like it is going to be beautiful. I'm actually glad it starts at 4:30. Plenty of time before I start work.
HOW TO WATCH
Now, if you want to watch it, I believe the networks will be carrying it. I heard ABC advertising that they would be live from Rome at 3:50 AM. I'm sure EWTN will be on, as well.
If you don't have cable, but have high speed internet, you can watch it live at EWTN, Salt & Light TV. You can also go right to the Vatican homepage (click your language) and the player will probably pop right up in your window. It might be slow, so give it a chance. Also, when viewing at the Vatican website, you might find in the lower window frame of the player, a toggle for various languages. They have translators working on the fly and you can often pick a language.
I've used EWTN's mobile options. I'm sure you can watch it through the EWTN App and Pope Apps, as well (look for those on your Apple or Android device).
I give you all of these because if one doesn't work, try another.
As always, I'm sure Father Z will be trying to live-blog if his site doesn't crash from the traffic again.
For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog
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it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski
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