Compendium of the 1961 Revision of the Pontificale Romanum - Part 3: The Blessing of Altar Cloths and Ornaments

The blessing of the altar cloths, vessels and other ornaments for the altar of a church may be done either as part of the church’s dedication ceremony, or as part of the consecration of an altar when the latter is done separately. (It was in fact a common custom to consecrate only the principal altar of a church during its dedication, and the other altars later.) In either case, the blessing may also be done before the actual dedication or consecration, in which case, the blessed objects are simply put in their place towards the end of the dedication or consecration, while the chants noted below are sung. There are two versions of the main prayer of the blessing, one to be said when it is done as part of the dedication of a church, another to be said with the consecration of an altar alone. The bishop says “Adjutorium nostrum” and “Dominus vobiscum”, followed by this prayer:

Almighty and merciful God, who from the beginning created all things useful and necessary for man, and willed that temples made by the hand of man be dedicated to Thy holy name, and be called the places of Thy habitation, and Who through Thy servant Moses decreed that pontifical, priestly and levitical vestments and all other ornaments of divers kinds be made for the splendor and beauty of Thy tabernacle and altar; mercifully hear our prayer, and through our humble service, deign Thou to purify, bless +, sancti + fy and conse + crate all these ornaments of various kinds, prepared for the use of this Thy church, to Thy honor and glory; that they may be suitable for divine worship and the sacred mysteries, and serve these Thy worthy servants for the confection of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, who with Thee etc.

If the blessing is given as part of the consecration of an altar, apart from the dedication of a church, the following version of the prayer is used instead:

Almighty and merciful God, Who from the beginning created all things useful and necessary for man, and Who for forty days [through Thy servant Moses] taught Thy servant Moses to make pontifical, priestly and Levitical vestments for priests and levites, and ornaments and linen cloths, and likewise appointed things which Mary (i.e. Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron) wove and made to be used in service to the tabernacle of the covenant; mercifully hear our prayer, and through our humble service, deign Thou to purify, bless +, sancti + fy and conse + crate all these ornaments and linen cloths for the use of Thy altar; that they may be suitable for divine worship and the sacred mysteries, and serve these Thy worthy servants for the confection of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, who with Thee etc.

The words given above in brackets, “through Thy servant Moses”, are carried over into this version of the prayer from the other, even though they make no sense at all in the context. They are not removed in the 1961 revision, although a similar mistake in the blessing of the Gregorian water was corrected. At the words “bless, sanctify and consecrate”, the bishop makes the sign of the Cross with his hand over the altar cloths etc.; he then sprinkles all the blessed objects with holy water.

Whether the blessing be done as part of the dedication of a church or as part of the separate consecration of an altar, the ministers then spread over the altar the “chrismale”, a linen cloth the same size as the altar, and waxed on one side. The chrismale is placed with the wax side down, followed by the altar cloths and other decorations. As they begin, the bishop intones the first of the following antiphons, which is completed by the schola, who then continue with the second antiphon, a responsory, and the third antiphon with its psalm.

Ant. Surround ye, o Levites, * the altar of the Lord God, cloth it in white garments, and sing ye also a new hymn, saying ‘Alleluia’. V. God is wonderful in His Saints, and holy in all His works. Glory be. As it was. (The antiphon is not repeated.)

Ant. Surround Sion, * and encompass her: tell ye in her towers. (psalm 47, 13) V. Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy mountain. (The antiphon is not repeated.)

Resp. The Lord hath clothed thee in the tunic of rejoicing, and placed a crown upon thee, * and adorned thee with holy ornaments.
V. Thou shalt shine with splendid light, and all the ends of the earth with worship before thee. And He hath adorned thee with holy ornaments.
V. Nations shall come to thee from afar, and bearing gifts they shall worship the Lord; and shall esteem thy land as holy, and shall call upon Thy great name. And He hath adorned thee with holy ornaments.
V. Blessed shall they be that shall build thee up. But thou shalt rejoice in thy children, because they shall all be blessed, and shall be gathered together to the Lord. And He hath adorned thee with holy ornaments. (verses from Tobias 13, 13-17)

Ant. In the shadow of Thy wings protect us, o Lord, and let us glory in Thy praise. (Psalm 62 Deus, Deus meus, from which this antiphon is taken, is said after it, with Gloria Patri at the end, but the antiphon is not repeated at the end.)

The dedication or consecration then resumes with a the triple incensation of the altar, noted at the end of part 2.14 in this series.

The blessing of altar cloths and ornaments, in an illustration from a 1595 edition of the Pontificale Romanum. (Permission to use this image has been very kindly given by the Pitts Theological Library, Candler School of Theology at Emory University.)

In the 1961 revision, the prayers are altered by the removal of the words “purify”, and “sanctify and consecrate”, and end with the short conclusion, rather than the long one. The altar is then decorated, while the bishop retires to the sacristy to vest for Mass; no mention is made in the rubrics of the chrismale. The choir sings an antiphon, Confirm, o God, and repeats it after every two or three verses of Psalm 95, although the antiphon itself is taken from psalm 67. (This antiphon from Matins of Pentecost is sung in the 1595 version while the bishop anoints the front of the altar.) As in the 1595 Pontifical, the blessing may also be done before the dedication of the church or consecration of the altar. All of the proper chants for the dressing of the altar noted here are suppressed.