Processions at the end of Mass
Date: December 4, 2022
Author: Fr. Edward McNamara
Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology and director of the Sacerdos Institute at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum university.
Question: I watched a live stream of Christmas Mass officiated by the Holy Father. I noticed that he concluded with the final blessing of the Mass and then started the Infant procession to the crèche inside the basilica. According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal [GIRM] No. 384, it should be without the Benediction. What is your opinion? — D.Z., Beijing
Answer: I am not quite sure why our correspondent cites GIRM 384 as this does not generally refer to processions but to specific cases of funeral Masses with the body present. To wit:
“384. If the Funeral Mass is directly joined to the rite of burial, once the Prayer after Communion has been said and omitting the Concluding Rites, there takes place the Rite of Final Commendation or Farewell. This rite is celebrated only if the body is present.”
Perhaps he believes a general principle is in play to omit the final blessing if another rite follows. However, such a principle does not exist, although it applies in the concrete case mentioned in GIRM 384.
It also applies in the case of a procession of the Blessed Sacrament, albeit for a somewhat different reason insofar as all blessings are omitted in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed.
Apart from the case of funeral Masses, Eucharistic processions, and a couple of other liturgical processions such as Holy Thursday, most other processions following immediately after Mass would fall under the concept of popular devotions and would not be considered strictly liturgical acts.
For this reason, it is logical in such cases to conclude the Mass as normal and then initiate the act of popular devotion.
This would be the case of the Holy Father’s procession to the crèche after the nocturnal Mass of Christmas.
The Directory for Popular Piety gives some indications regarding such votive processions:
“246. From the middle ages, votive processions acquired a particular importance in popular piety, and reached their apogee during the age of the Baroque. The Patron Saints of a city, or streets, or guild were honored by carrying their relics, or image, or effigy in procession.
“In their true form, processions are a manifestation of the faith of the people. They often have cultural connotations and are capable of re-awakening the religious sense of the people. From the perspective of the Christian’s faith, votive processions, like other pious exercises, are exposed to certain risks: the precedence of devotions over the sacraments, which are relegated to second place, of external displays over interior disposition; regarding the procession as the apogee of a feast; the impression given to some of the less competently instructed of the faithful that Christianity is merely a ‘religion of Saints’; the degeneration of the procession itself from a manifestation of faith to a mere spectacle or a purely secular parade.
“247. To preserve the character of processions as manifestations of faith, it is necessary for the faithful to be carefully instructed on their theological, liturgical and anthropological aspects.
“From a theological perspective, it is important to emphasize that a procession is a sign of the Church's condition, the pilgrimage of the People of God, with Christ and after Christ, aware that in this world it has no lasting dwelling. Through the streets of this earth it moves towards the heavenly Jerusalem. It is also a sign of the witness to the faith that every Christian community is obliged to give to the Lord in the structures of civil society. It is also a sign of the Church's missionary task which reaches back to her origins and the Lord's command (cf. Mt 28, 19-20), which sent her to proclaim the Gospel message of salvation.
“From a liturgical point of view, processions, even those of a popular tenor, should be oriented towards the Liturgy. The journey from church to church should be presented as the journey of the community living in this world towards the community living in Heaven. Such processions should be conducted under ecclesiastical supervision so as to avoid anything unsuitable or degenerative. They should begin with a moment of prayer during which the Word of God should be proclaimed. Hymns and canticles should be sung and instrumental music can also be used. Lighted candles or lamps should be carried by the faithful during the procession. Pauses should be arranged along the way so as to provide for alternative paces, bearing in mind that such also reflects the journey of life. The procession should conclude with a doxology to God, source of all sanctity, and with a blessing given by a Bishop, Priest or Deacon.
“From an anthropological perspective, the procession should make it evident that it is ‘a commonly undertaken journey.’ The participants join in the same atmosphere of prayer and are united in singing, and concentrated on arriving at the same goal. Thus the faithful feel united with each other, and intent in giving concrete expression to their Christian commitment throughout the journey of life.”
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