Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Pontifical Nuptial Mass in Germany

On September 3rd, 2011, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos celebrated the marriage of Princess Benigna Reuss to the Spanish nobleman Oscar de Ascoz y Planes in Schleiz in Germany in the usus antiquior. The Mass was sung in the Bergkirche (mountain church) of Schleiz, where many of the bride's ancestors are buried who ruled this part of Thuringia until the end of the monarchy in 1918. The groom wore the uniform of a knight of honour and devotion of the Order of Malta, and both bride and groom are members of the Constantinian Order of St. George, of which Cardinal Castrillón is Grand Prior. Assistant priest was Rev. Gerald Goesche, provost of the Institute of St. Philipp Neri, and deacon Fr Lang CO. After Mass, there was a reception at the summer palace of Greiz, the former residential city of the Princes Reuss.

Here is a link to an article in the local newspaper; at the bottom you can find a picture gallery.

And here is a video:


At about 2:00 of the video, you can observe a Spanish particularity in the rite of the nuptial Mass, the veiling, at which the head of the bride and the shoulders of the groom are covered with the same veil. In fact, the traditional Spanish term for this Mass - Misa de velaciones, Mass of veilings - takes its name from this rite, contained in the ritual of Toledo.

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