Mass in honor of saints

[Epistemes]

Hello,

What if we want to celebrate a Mass in honor of a particular saint on his/her feast day which is not listed in the Missal, who may not be familiar to all the parish? Do you have to specially request it? Pay money to the priest? What?

For instance, if I wanted to celebrate the Mass in honor of St. Gemma on May 16th, how could this be arranged?

 

[LilyM]

Hello,

What if we want to celebrate a Mass in honor of a particular saint on his/her feast day which is not listed in the Missal, who may not be familiar to all the parish? Do you have to specially request it? Pay money to the priest? What?

For instance, if I wanted to celebrate the Mass in honor of St. Gemma on May 16th, how could this be arranged?

Well naturally you’d need to ask the priest - it ain’t gonna happen if he doesn’t know you want it! I don’t know whether a payment would be required, I’m sure he’d let you know if he wants one.

Remember that, like offering Masses for other intentions, your saint of choice need not be specifically mentioned in the prayers of the Mass for you to offer any Mass you attend in their honour.

 

[FrDavid96]

Hello,

What if we want to celebrate a Mass in honor of a particular saint on his/her feast day which is not listed in the Missal, who may not be familiar to all the parish? Do you have to specially request it? Pay money to the priest? What?

For instance, if I wanted to celebrate the Mass in honor of St. Gemma on May 16th, how could this be arranged?

Epistemes,

To a certain degree, it’s up to the priest. It all depends upon the exact date. On certain days, such as weekdays in Ordinal time, “any Mass” can be said, including a the Mass of a particular saint. On other days (say Easter Sunday to take an extreme) such options are not permitted. There are also days that are “in between” when the priest may choose the Mass if he has a good reason (even though it’s not specifically allowed), or the pastor can allow it for a very good reason. That’s where a reliable “Ordo” comes in handy.

If you have a request, feel free to make it, but remember that it’s up to the priest. At the very least, on almost any day, the priest can use the opening prayer of the saint as the closing prayer for the petitions, so there’s a lot of room here for legitimate options.

And, the priest doesn’t have to use the propers of the saint, he can still mention that saint in the Eucharistic Prayer (in the proper place) on any day.

It never hurts to simply ask the priest.