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General Instruction of the Roman Missal

 

 
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The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM)—in the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 original, Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani (IGMR)—is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass
Mass (liturgy)

The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, and in some largely High Church Lutheranism Lutheranism regions, including the Scandinavian and Baltic states countries....
 of the ordinary form
Mass of Paul VI

The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church Mass of the Roman Rite Promulgation by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council ....
 of the Roman Rite
Roman Rite

The liturgy of the Catholic Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. The quite distinct term Latin Rite usually refers not to a liturgical rite but to the particular Church within the Roman Catholic Church that was sometimes referred to also as the Patriarchate of the West....
 of the Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
 since 1969. It is printed at the start of recent editions of the Roman Missal
Roman Missal

The Roman Missal is the Liturgical books of the Roman rite that contains the texts and rubric s for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church....
.

This document unified and replaced a number of documents that were printed in earlier editions:

General Instruction is arranged in nine chapters, preceded by a preamble.






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The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM)—in the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 original, Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani (IGMR)—is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass
Mass (liturgy)

The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, and in some largely High Church Lutheranism Lutheranism regions, including the Scandinavian and Baltic states countries....
 of the ordinary form
Mass of Paul VI

The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church Mass of the Roman Rite Promulgation by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council ....
 of the Roman Rite
Roman Rite

The liturgy of the Catholic Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. The quite distinct term Latin Rite usually refers not to a liturgical rite but to the particular Church within the Roman Catholic Church that was sometimes referred to also as the Patriarchate of the West....
 of the Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
 since 1969. It is printed at the start of recent editions of the Roman Missal
Roman Missal

The Roman Missal is the Liturgical books of the Roman rite that contains the texts and rubric s for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church....
.

This document unified and replaced a number of documents that were printed in earlier editions:
  • Rubricae Generales Missalis (General Rubrics of the Missal), amplified and revised by Pope Clement VIII
    Pope Clement VIII

    Pope Clement VIII , born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was Pope from January 30, 1592 to March 3, 1605....
     in 1604 and completely rewritten by Pope John XXIII
    Pope John XXIII

    Blessed Pope John XXIII , born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli , known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and monarch of Vatican City on 28 October 1958....
     in 1960
  • Additiones et Variationes in Rubricis Missalis ad normam Bullae "Divino afflatu" et subsequentium S. R. C. decretorum (Additions and Variations to the Rubrics of the Missal in accordance with the Bull Divino afflatu and subsequent decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites), which existed in Missals printed only between 1920 and 1962
  • Ritus servandus in celebratione Missae (Rite to be observed in celebrating Mass), revised by Pope Clement VIII in 1604 and Pope John XXIII in 1962.


Structure

The General Instruction is arranged in nine chapters, preceded by a preamble. The chapter headings are:
  1. The Importance and Dignity of the Eucharistic Celebration
  2. The Structure of the Mass, Its Elements and Its Parts
  3. The Duties and Ministries in the Mass
  4. The Different Forms of Celebrating Mass
  5. The Arrangement and Furnishing of Churches for the Celebration of the Eucharist
  6. The Requisites for the Celebration of Mass
  7. The Choice of the Mass and Its Parts
  8. Masses and Prayers for Various Circumstances and Masses for the Dead
  9. Adaptations within the Competence of Bishops and Bishops' Conferences


Importance

In his apostolic exhortation Sacramentum caritatis, Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI is the List of popes and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, monarch of the Vatican City....
 stressed the importance of proper knowledge of the General Instruction not only for priests but also for the laity:

Text

The Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 original may be consulted at a number of sites. The most easily legible on a computer screen is perhaps that of the Salesians of Don Bosco
Salesians of Don Bosco

The Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution....
 (German Salesians).

An English translation, but with adaptations for the United States of America, can be consulted at the appropriate web page of the United States Catholic Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy. The same translation, but with adaptations instead for England
England

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 and Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
, may be found at the web site of the England & Wales Liturgy Office. The Australian edition is given on the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference's web site.

See also

  • Mass
    Mass (liturgy)

    The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, and in some largely High Church Lutheranism Lutheranism regions, including the Scandinavian and Baltic states countries....
  • Roman Missal
    Roman Missal

    The Roman Missal is the Liturgical books of the Roman rite that contains the texts and rubric s for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church....
  • Mass of Paul VI
    Mass of Paul VI

    The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church Mass of the Roman Rite Promulgation by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council ....