Litany of the Saints

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A question came in to Jonette’s call in show wheather the parish priest could insert the names of parishioners who had died the previous year into the Litany of the Saints during the Easter Vigil. Jonette said it sounded irregular and wouldn’t think it was okay byut Fr. Ed isn’t with her so the question was left unanswered. I do not believe the Litany can be changed on the local level.:confused:
 
mford said:
A question came in to Jonette’s call in show wheather the parish priest could insert the names of parishioners who had died the previous year into the Litany of the Saints during the Easter Vigil. Jonette said it sounded irregular and wouldn’t think it was okay byut Fr. Ed isn’t with her so the question was left unanswered. I do not believe the Litany can be changed on the local level.:confused:
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Have the parishioners that died last year being canonized? If not, then the answer should be clear!
 
I don’t know the official answer, but I have heard parishes include the saints of the people being baptized at the Easter Vigil. Seems like a good reminder that you have a patron in heaven praying for you.

The concern I would have about naming parishioners who have died is that there’s a difference between a saint that we know is in heaven and some guy who died. Asking St. Joseph to pray for us is different from asking Joe Smith who lived down the street.
 
Cristiano said:
Have the parishioners that died last year being canonized? If not, then the answer should be clear!
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Maybe the OP meant that they are proclaiming the person’s saint name, not them as a saint with first and last name?

My parish makes certain that every saint who is chosen for a confirmation name for the group at Easter Vigil is proclaimed during the litany (and it is a lot). We usually have close to 100 candidates/catechumens so even with repeats, the litany is lengthy. I don’t know if it is proper, but they are only adding real saints who were not in the original litany. For instance, I chose St. Katharine Drexel as my confirmation name at Easter 2001 and she was only canonized in 2000. Clearly her name was not in the old litany we had for the liturgy.
 
jc-servant said:
Maybe the OP meant that they are proclaiming the person’s saint name, not them as a saint with first and last name?

My parish makes certain that every saint who is chosen for a confirmation name for the group at Easter Vigil is proclaimed during the litany (and it is a lot). We usually have close to 100 candidates/catechumens so even with repeats, the litany is lengthy. I don’t know if it is proper, but they are only adding real saints who were not in the original litany. For instance, I chose St. Katharine Drexel as my confirmation name at Easter 2001 and she was only canonized in 2000. Clearly her name was not in the old litany we had for the liturgy.
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Don’t kid yourself, I had a guy being ordained who inserted his relatives names in the Becker’s Litany, some weren’t even dead. Bishop put a quick halt to that when he got wind of it.
 
mford said:
A question came in to Jonette’s call in show wheather the parish priest could insert the names of parishioners who had died the previous year into the Litany of the Saints during the Easter Vigil. Jonette said it sounded irregular and wouldn’t think it was okay byut Fr. Ed isn’t with her so the question was left unanswered. I do not believe the Litany can be changed on the local level.:confused:
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Gee, I (am too young to) remember a time when a parish would pray for their deceased parishioners, especially for them to be freed from purgatory.
 
Phemie said:
Don’t kid yourself, I had a guy being ordained who inserted his relatives names in the Becker’s Litany, some weren’t even dead. Bishop put a quick halt to that when he got wind of it.
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😃

He should have put a quick halt to the ordination too …
 
The rubric in the Roman Missal, for the Easter Vigil:
“41. In the litany some names of saints may be added, especially the titular of the church, the local patrons, or the saints of those to be baptized.”
[Roman Missal, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1985, page 193].

The 2002 Roman Missal seems to have the same rubric:
“43. In litaniis addi possunt aliqua nomina Sanctorum, praesertim vero Titularis ecclesiae vel Patronorum loci et eorum qui sunt baptizandi.”
[Missale Romanum, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2002, ISBN: 8820972719, page 362].

I compared the lists in the two books. St Ignatius surprised me. The Latin is “Sancte Ignati Antiochene”. This refers to Ignatius of Antioch, who died about 107.
 
John_Lilburne said:
The rubric in the Roman Missal, for the Easter Vigil:
“41. In the litany some names of saints may be added, especially the titular of the church, the local patrons, or the saints of those to be baptized.”
[Roman Missal, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1985, page 193].

The 2002 Roman Missal seems to have the same rubric:
“43. In litaniis addi possunt aliqua nomina Sanctorum, praesertim vero Titularis ecclesiae vel Patronorum loci et eorum qui sunt baptizandi.”
[Missale Romanum, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2002, ISBN: 8820972719, page 362].

I compared the lists in the two books. St Ignatius surprised me. The Latin is “Sancte Ignati Antiochene”. This refers to Ignatius of Antioch, who died about 107.
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But, the key word here is “saints”, and the Church defines these to mean those who have been canonized. This would mean that mentioning Pope John Paul II is out of the question since he’s not even been declared “blessed” yet. This would also rule out having our deceased relatives and friends added to the litany, since they aren’t on the official rolls of the canonized.
 
I don’t believe that we ever got a clear answer on whether the priest inserted the actual name of a deceased parishioner (first and last) or merely the name of their “name saint” such as Saint Katharine for a parishioner with that name.
 
It is also permitted to add the names of the Blessed provided it is in an area where their cultus exists. Thus, for example, in Mexico and parts of the Southwestern United States it is permitted to add the name of Blessed Miguel Pro (a Jesuit priest from Mexico who was martyred).

Deacon Ed
 
Deacon_Ed said:
It is also permitted to add the names of the Blessed provided it is in an area where their cultus exists. Thus, for example, in Mexico and parts of the Southwestern United States it is permitted to add the name of Blessed Miguel Pro (a Jesuit priest from Mexico who was martyred).

Deacon Ed
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He happens to be my hero!!!😃 I suppose that in India, adding Blessed Teresa of Calcutta would also fall under the same category.
 
And it certainly applies when the parish is named for a Blessed such as Kateri Tekakwitha or Junipero Serra as is the case in my diocese.
 
I don’t believe that we ever got a clear answer on whether the priest inserted the actual name of a deceased parishioner (first and last) or merely the name of their “name saint” such as Saint Katharine for a parishioner with that name.
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I think that when the chant “St. Katharine, pray for us” is heard. one may reasonably infer that St. Katharine Drexel or another saint with the same surname is being invoked. However, when something such as “St. Ashley, pray for us” is heard, then it is difficult to justify that, since no canonized saint exists with that name.
 
**I think that when the chant “St. Katharine, pray for us” is heard. one may reasonably infer that St. Katharine Drexel **

It’s St. C/Katherine, the great virgin martyr of Alexandria.
 
bpbasilphx said:
**I think that when the chant “St. Katharine, pray for us” is heard. one may reasonably infer that St. Katharine Drexel **

It’s St. C/Katherine, the great virgin martyr of Alexandria.
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Not sure what this means. I used the example of St. Katherine Drexel because a previous post used that spelling and, I presumed, the saint of the same name/spelling.

There are many saints named Catherine/Katherine, the best known of whom is St. Catherine of Siena, doctor of the Church. St. Catherine of Alexandria is another well known saint, but she is not invoked in the litany of the saints.
 
De mortuis nil nisi bonum. Assume that they are at home with the Father.

Matthew
 
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