St. Peter’s Basilica has 11 chapels and 45 altars, of which many have been used every morning by priests to celebrate their daily Mass. The Code of Canon Law state that “priests are earnestly invited to offer the sacrifice of the Eucharist daily…” Priests generally meet this invitation by celebrating the Mass individually or concelebrating with other priests and with the faithful present. Many of the priests celebrating in the Basilica are Vatican officials who begin each day saying Mass. Frequently priests celebrate Mass alone and without any faithful participating. In the past there had been discussion of whether to end the practice of individual Masses in the Basilica. According to Fr. John Baldovin, professor of historical and liturgical theology, he says “in addition to the General Instructions of the Roman Missal, Scripture also makes it clear that “the Eucharist is essentially communal.” “Many Masses being celebrated simultaneously in the same church is a contradictory and confusing sign.” Fr. Mark Francis, retired president of Catholic Theological Union said “the Eucharist is a communal celebration; to have a private Mass is a sort of an oxymoron.” He recalled how the sacristy of the Basilica often resembled Grand Central Station with priests constantly coming and going. He said that priests who have chosen to celebrate in the Basilica alone “claim it is out of piety and devotion, but ultimately celebrating the pre-Vatican II Mass is a rejection of the council and everything it stands for. What it stands for is basically the adapting the liturgy more suitably to the needs of our own times. Following the retirement of Cardinal Angelo Comastri and the appointment of the new Archpriest of the Basilica, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the restriction of holding private Masses in the upper part of the Basilica was issued on March 22, 2021. Holding private Mass is now forbidden. The restriction shocked traditionalist Catholic who described it as “forced uniformity.” Reformists were delighted saying it is a long overdue prioritization of the communal nature of the Mass. Under the new measures, all priests will be able to participate in concelebrations at 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. in the Chapel of the Choir, and at 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. at the Altar of the Chair. The Masses are to have lectors and cantors. All other scheduled Masses remain the same. Masses are still permitted in the chapels of the grotto of the Basilica for pilgrim groups accompanied by a priest or bishop. Another new restriction is that the use of Latin rite is limited to certain times in the Clementine Chapel in the Vatican grottos. The new restrictions do not prevent private Masses from taking place in other locations. Rita Ferrone, the author of several books about liturgy says the directives provides an opportunity for St. Peter’s to “run things in such a way that its liturgical life reflects the best, most normative vision of the liturgy that came out of the [Second Vatican] Council.” While traditionalists like Fr. John Zuhlsdorf argues that concelebration will bring lectors and cantors that incorporate laypeople and women, and bring reforms of the liturgy that he continues to oppose.
