An Act of Christ and the Church: The Order of Mass with the Participation of Only One or No Minister

A minor innovation of the 1970 Missale Romanum was its inclusion of two distinct Orders of Mass: the Ordo Missae cum populo and the Ordo Missae sine populo. Both of these ordines remain in the current Missale Romanum, with a few alterations. This duplication of ordines Missae was a novelty in three respects. First, the Consilium for the reform of the liturgy interpreted Sacrosanctum Concilium to call for a division of forms of Mass based on the presence or absence of the participation of the people, rather than on the presence or absence of singing, as had been the case previously. Second, the Missale Romanum as revised by Pope Pius V had used the same rubrics regardless of the size of the congregation, focusing rather on the role of the server. Third, the new Institutio generalis Missalis Romani lays out specific rubrics for the priest celebrating alone, something which previously had not been provided for in any substance. These rubrics do, however, still require further elaboration to be made practical, and this article applies the principles discerned from the revision process leading to the Ordo Missae sine populo to arrive at an interpretation of the current rubrics for a priest who celebrates Mass alone.