EF baptism in English (in the UK)

[Gwaihir]

Dear all

I’m from England and I will be ordained a priest very soon, God willing. I would like to learn to celebrate the extraordinary form.

I know that when it comes to blessings and some of the sacraments (such as baptisms) there is an option to celebrate the rites in English. One resource that covers this is Weller’s Roman Ritual.

My question is this, is the English text in this edition approved for the UK? Or is it specific only to the US?

Thank you!

 

[FrDavid96]

Here is a link to an online version of the Roman Ritual translated by Fr Weller.

sanctamissa.org/en/resources/books-1962/rituale-romanum/

It has the Imprimatur from the bishop of LaCrosse. There is nothing in the book itself that limits the use of the text to the United States. In fact, quite the opposite, there is nothing that directly expands the use of the text for outside that Diocese. Yet, we know that it was indeed widely used in the United States. At the time, the fact that a bishop (any bishop) had approved the translation was itself sufficient for a priest to make use of it.

If one were a priest in the U.K. in 1964, I don’t see any reason why he could not use that book; which leads me to conclude that no such restriction would exist today either.

If you need links for purchasing re-prints I can post them. There are 2 versions available. One is a single volume that includes most blessings and rituals needed on a day by day basis, the other comes in 3 volumes and (obviously) includes more.

 

[Gwaihir]

Father, this is very helpful and I’m glad what I suspected is indeed the case.

I know where to get the 3 volume set, but I’ve never come across the single volume book. If you would post a link to that one that would be very much appreciated.

Thank you and God bless.

 

[Mark1970]

There was also a book, I think it’s name was something like Excerptae a Rituali Romani, published in the UK in 1961. I have a copy, but not immediately to hand as I write this reply, so I may have not got the title exactly right. It was published by the authority of the bishops of England and Wales and contained the various rites that would most commonly be celebrated in a parish.

Significantly for your question, it was part English, part Latin. The UK bishops had obtained permission to have parts of some of the rituals in English, but Rome stipulated some parts of each of the rites still had to be in Latin.

I’m nut sure to what extent this volume would still be accepted for those wanting to observe the Sacraments “according to 1962 usage” in the UK, but it may be worth looking into. There was also a similar volume again published by authority of the UK bishops in the UK in 1964.

If you live in the UK, then you could try John Bevan Catholic Bookseller, or St Philips Books in Oxford, if you search for both of these on the Interne you may be able to find something.

 

[ProVobis]

If one were a priest in the U.K. in 1964, I don’t see any reason why he could not use that book; which leads me to conclude that no such restriction would exist today either.

The English part of it might not have worked very well for my Polish parents and godparents who were stationed there after the war in 1947.

 

[Chatter163]

Permission for the Extraordinary Form requires that the liturgical books of 1962 be used. At that time, parts of the baptismal rite could be in the vernacular, but other parts were required to be in Latin. The ritual books generally had the mandated parts only in Latin, whereas the other parts were printed side-by-side, Latin-vernacular,

BTW, the Weller edition (which was not published until 1964) was a study edition, and was never approved for liturgical use. Thankfully it was only for study, since Weller included some questionable translations, such as “May He be with you also” for Et cum spirito tuo. This was modified and adapted in 1969 by ICEL, but was quite the novelty prior to that.

In the USA, the Collectio Rituum (1961 ed,) or the Rituale Romanum itself were the authorized books for baptism in 1962.

 

[FrDavid96]

Father, this is very helpful and I’m glad what I suspected is indeed the case.

I know where to get the 3 volume set, but I’ve never come across the single volume book. If you would post a link to that one that would be very much appreciated.

Thank you and God bless.

Here’s a link
leafletonline.com/The-Roman-Ritual/productinfo/17387/

This is the only source that I know currently sells that book. A few years ago it was available from different sellers.

I’ll look around a bit more.