Fr. William Rock FSSP recently sat down with the Catholic Drive Time YouTube channel to answer some questions on the history of All Hallows Eve and how modern-day Catholics should approach the holiday.

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

“It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” (2 Mac 12:46)

It is a dogma of the Catholic Church that the souls detained in Purgatory (the Church Suffering) can be assisted by the suffrages of the living faithful (the members of the Church Militant).  These suffrages (intercessory prayers, indulgences, alms and other pious works, and above all the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass) remit before God some degree of the temporal punishments due to their sins which the poor souls still have to render.¹ So important is the undertaking of these suffrages that the Church has listed it as part of one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy, namely, “to pray for the living and the dead.”

As the Roman Liturgy developed, certain Masses were produced whose sole purpose is to pray for the dead.  When the various forms of the Masses for the Dead were settled, only the readings and the three prayers (the Collect, Secret, and Postcommunion) of these Masses differed among them.  The chants and ceremonies for the different types of Masses for the Dead are the same.  Among these Masses are the Funeral Mass and the three Masses assigned to All Souls’ Day.  Each of these Masses for the Dead may be called a “Requiem Mass” based on the first word of the Introit (the entrance chant) which is common to all.

Sorrow is the natural response to the loss of a loved one.  The Church shares in this sorrow of her children.  This sorrow is deepened by the Church’s general uncertainty concerning the eternal fate of her children who have died (except, of course, those solemnly canonized).  For these reasons, during a Requiem Mass, she vests her ministers in the color black, a color symbolizing the deepest mourning and grief.  The yellow hue of the unbleached candles and the absence of flowers and organ add to the sorrowful atmosphere.  But the Church and her children, relying on the mercy and love of God, hope that a blessed, eternal reward will be granted to the faithful departed.  These two themes, of sorrow and of hope, are intermingled throughout the Requiem Mass both in the texts themselves and in the tones of the chants.  For example, the chants at the start of the Mass are in a sorrowful tone, but, at the end of the ceremonies, the chant is lighter.

The sole focus of the Church during a Requiem Mass is the soul or souls for whom the Mass is being offered.  This is clearly brought out in the liturgical ceremonies that are proper (although not necessarily unique) to this Mass.  Many of these proper ceremonies are omissions from what is normally performed, as they would be unfitting for such a Mass or would draw the Church’s attention away from the departed.  Other changes are made to direct the liturgical focus to the departed and away from those present.  The following are practices proper to the Requiem Mass:

• All of the ceremonial kisses during the Mass are omitted except during vesting and divesting and those that reverence the Altar (which represents Christ).
• The Prayers at the Foot of the Altar are shortened, as the joy expressed in the excluded portion is out of place in such a Mass.
• The Altar is not incensed at the beginning of the Mass.
• At the Introit, all present would normally cross themselves, but during a Requiem, they do not. Instead, the Priest makes a Sign of the Cross over the Missal, which, for this act, represents the deceased.
• The Gloria and Alleluia, as they are joyful, are omitted. The Alleluia is replaced by a Tract.
• The Sequence Dies Iræ is recited before the Gospel.
• Unless performing an action that would require otherwise, all but the Sacred Ministers kneel during the Collect (opening prayer) and Postcommunion (prayer after communion) in supplication for the departed.
• The Subdeacon is not blessed after chanting the Epistle.
• Prior to the reading of the Gospel, a preparatory prayer is omitted and the Deacon is not blessed.
• Candles and incense are not used during the proclamation of the Gospel.
• After the proclamation of the Gospel, the Gospel Book (Evangeliarium) is not kissed and the associated prayer is omitted.
• The water in the cruet at the Offertory, which represents the people, is not blessed.
• The Gloria Patri (the Glory be), as it is an expression of joy, is omitted.
• During the Offertory, only the Oblations (the offered bread and wine), Altar, and Priest are incensed. Usually, all present would be incensed as well.
• Unless performing an action that would require otherwise, all but the Sacred Ministers kneel from the Sanctus until the reception of Communion (not even standing for the Our Father).
• During the Canon (Eucharistic Prayer), the Subdeacon does not hold the paten as the Roman Rite does not have a black humeral veil. He does, however, incense the Host and the Chalice during the Elevations.
• The endings of the Angus Dei (the Lamb of God) are changed from “have mercy on us” and “grant us peace” to “grant them rest” and “grant them eternal rest.” The striking of the breast is omitted.
• The Pax (Sign of Peace) is omitted.
• The normal dismissal, Ite, missa est, is omitted. In its place is said Requiescant in pace (may they rest in peace).
• The blessing of the faithful at the end of Mass is omitted.
• If a Bishop celebrates a Requiem, he does not use the crosier, the ceremonial shoes and stockings (buskins), or gloves. He wears only the simple white mitre during the ceremonies and puts on the maniple before the Prayers at the Foot.  He does not bless any of the servers or ministers during the ceremonies.

An Absolution ceremony may be performed following the Mass.  This ceremony takes place at the coffin or, if the body (or bodies) is (are) not present, at a catafalque (a coffin-like structure) or at a black pall spread on the floor.  The catafalque or pall represent the body (bodies) of the deceased.  During the ceremony, the coffin, catafalque or pall is incensed and sprinkled with Holy Water and prayers are said on behalf of the departed.

The previously mentioned uncertainty concerning the final state of the souls of the Church’s children who have died is, in a sense, a blessing for those who survive the departed.  This is because our Faith teaches us that one can always pray for good outcomes of past events whose conclusions are hidden from mortal eyes.  As God is outside of time, past, present and future have no real meaning for Him.  As strange as it might seem, God can act in the past due to things which happen in the future.  Therefore, prayers offered on behalf of the dead not only effect their state in Purgatory but can also have an influence at a moment of death that occurred in the past of those praying.

The Liturgy for the dead, based on this truth, places the Church and the faithful as pleading figures accompanying the departed soul into the presence of the Judge at the moment of death – pleading figures praying, imploring, on behalf of the soul before the unchangeable eternal sentence is pronounced.  This also explains why this Liturgy asks for things that would have chronologically already been decided irrevocably (such as the welcome to heaven or condemnation to hell).  While treating of the ceremonies of All Souls’ Day, Dom Guéranger explains this as follows: “to God, Who sees all times at one glance, this day’s supplication was present at the moment of the dread passage, and obtained assistance for the straitened souls.”² It should always be remembered that death does not end relationships, but only changes them.

But the Church in her Liturgy is not content with simply being a pleading figure.  So great is her love for her children, that the Church, and the faithful united with her, takes on, as it were, the identity of the departing soul and speaks as the soul should have spoken at the moment of passing.  This explains why the first person (“I” or “me”) is used in many of the chants of the Mass and surrounding ceremonies.  In these places it should be understood that the reciters are speaking on behalf of the deceased at the moment of death.³

As the faithful prepare to celebrate the Masses of the upcoming All Souls Day and to keep November as the Month Dedicated to the Poor Souls, may these reflections aid them in understanding the great work of mercy they are undertaking.

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to Regina Caeli Parish in Houston, TX.

1. See the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. “Prayers for the Dead.”
2. Guéranger, Prosper. The Liturgical Year, 15 (Time After Pentecost Book VI). Trans. Shepherd, Laurence. (Fitzwilliam: Loreto Publications, 2000), 142 (All Souls’ Day).
3. See the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. “Libera Me.”

Today the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter celebrates its 34th anniversary. For the benefit of the many new souls in our parishes who are just learning about us, it is a good time to take stock and reflect on the FSSP’s founding and growth.

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter was founded by eleven priests, one deacon, and a handful of seminarians at the Abbey of Hauterive in the French Alps on July 18, 1988. Only three months later, on October 18, the Fraternity was established as a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right by Pope John Paul II.

The first priestly ordination for the new community took place in Rome in December, 1988. In the fall of 1989, the first Fraternity seminary, the Seminary of St. Peter, opened its doors in the small Bavarian town of Wigratzbad. The seminary offers priestly formation to students from more than a dozen countries. In Europe, priests of the Fraternity work in, among other venues, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy.

The Fraternity’s work in the New World began in 1991 in Dallas, Texas. The months that followed saw the establishment of two additional apostolates: Rapid City, South Dakota and Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was the invitation to Scranton by Bishop James C. Timlin that would prove most significant for the Fraternity’s future growth.

The North American Headquarters was moved there in 1993 and both a year-long program for prospective seminarians and a boarding school for boys opened in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania, a few miles outside of Scranton. In 1994, Bishop Timlin approved the establishment of a full-fledged seminary, with one year to be added to the academic program each year. In 2000, the first men to complete the full seven-year course at the new Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary were ordained to the priesthood.

By 1997, growing enrollment had forced the seminary to relocate to a closed hotel in Paupack, Pennsylvania. A few months later, the decision was made to build a new seminary in the Diocese of Lincoln, with the kind permission of Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz. Ground was broken for this exciting project—the first seminary to be built “from the ground up” in the United States in decades—on October 3, 1998. Classes began there in September of 2000.

Today, the over 300 priests of the Fraternity work in many dioceses throughout the world, including in Europe, the United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, South and Central America, and Africa.

by Fr. John Rickert, FSSP

Taking part in a Fraternity apostolate means having the Traditional Mass, yes, but it means much more than that; it means absorbing, internalizing, living, and transmitting Tradition in its fullness.

We receive Tradition as a holy gift, treasure it, and pass it on to those who come after us. We realize, in humility, that in the long run, Tradition will judge us and that it is really not for us to pass judgement on Tradition.  Traditio sacra sacrorum tuitio. Sacred tradition is a safeguarding of sacred things, and more importantly, of being safeguarded by them.

For those who are still being formed by Tradition – a formation that can indeed fill a lifetime – it may be hard to understand why it is so important for women to wear veils in church.

Let me begin with an experience that occurred to me some years ago now. Once, when I stopped for gas at a roadside convenience store, the attendant at the cash register saw me in my cassock and asked, completely at a loss, “What’s with…???” and motioned up and down with her hands to indicate that she was referring to my garb.  She didn’t even know what to call it.  At that time I was still a seminarian, and I explained to her that I was hoping to become a priest.

When we see a policeman or a soldier or a nurse, for example, we know who they are by the way they are dressed.  And I hope that when you get ready to come to church, you dress with church in mind: you realize a distinctiveness in being in church. It is not like going anywhere else.

Proper attire for a woman, according to the Tradition given to us clearly by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 and confirmed by Pope St. Linus, who was the second pope, right after St. Peter, is to wear a veil or head covering while in church.  I have noticed that men tend to be good in observing the rule that applies to them, namely, that they should not wear a hat in church.  I hope that if you saw someone wearing a baseball cap or a fishing hat in church, you would realize that this is not appropriate and indicate in some way to him that he needs to take it off.

Now, you might be wondering why a priest wears a biretta in church and could wear one even during the sermon. Some Fraternity priests do.  The answer is that the biretta is a sign of office; a much more striking sign of a higher office is the bishop’s mitre, which he does wear when he preaches.

Dear faithful who are ladies, what I hope you will find in wearing the veil is that you have a particularly strong awareness of where you are, that you are focused completely on Our Lord and not worried about external appearance.

The glory cloud of the Lord covered Mount Sinai in the Old Testament and Mount Tabor at the Transfiguration. We cover the altar with three layers of linen cloths; we veil the tabernacle; we even, in a sense, veil the cassock by the surplice or the alb; we veil a ciborium that contains consecrated Hosts; and the priest uses a humeral veil to hold the monstrance. And Our Lady is veiled in her apparitions.

A veil indicates sacredness and dedication to God.

On Saturday, October 1st, after a 7 AM Holy Mass, Father José Zepeda, Chaplain for Holy Cross Chaplaincy in Fresno California, held the bimonthly Blessing of Items. The faithful have been coming from all over the Central Valley, some farther than 2 hours, to have their items blessed. Father also enrolls the faithful in the brown scapular and the miraculous medal. Father has been promoting the use of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and on this Saturday he held a class to explain the Office and how to use it to enrich our spiritual lives.

This October 2022,  Michigan native Philip Webb will begin the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage from the Via de la Plata in western Spain. The pilgrimage dates to the ninth century and is dedicated to the veneration of St. James the Apostle’s tomb.

Philip is dedicating his trek to the rural children who are assisted by the missions of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) especially in Anolaima, Colombia, and Umuaka, Nigeria.

“My family loves attending the traditional Latin Mass in Jerez, Spain — especially my daughter, who has expressed a desire to help poor children since she was four. I value the focus on agriculture that the FSSP provides to rural families outside of Bogota. My upbringing in a rural school integrated agriculture into education. So, I understand agricultural knowledge’s value to poor communities. As a Marine deployed in Central America during the Panama invasion and subsequent counter-narcotics missions in the early 1990s, I recognized the need for moral development in children to combat narco-culture. I’ve found the Our Lady of Fatima FSSP mission in Colombia a worthy cause to support.”

With God’s help, he aims to complete the walk on November 10th, the U.S. Marine Corps’ 247th birthday. The forty-day pilgrimage will begin in Seville, Spain, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the See and end in Galicia, Spain, at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. He will travel 621 miles carrying only the bare necessities in his old military backpack, and he will stay in Albergues (pilgrim hostels) along the way.

We are grateful to Philip for remembering our missions and ask God to reward his work of mercy.

To learn more about Phil’s pilgrimage, send prayers, and follow his progress, visit PhilsCaminoCharity.

Like and follow his Facebook page, Phil’s Camino, as he posts daily updates on his journey.

Innovative giving platform CardFunder has partnered with Mission Tradition to help provide funds to the FSSP missions for critical needs in healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, and education.

“We are proud to partner with Mission Tradition in their efforts to achieve with the gift of hope for those in need around the world,” said founder and CEO Russ Howard.

CardFunder is a free tool that allows donors to contribute potentially billions of unwanted gift card credits from their cell phones to fundraisers. Almost half of US adults have at least one unused gift card hidden in a drawer or wallet
(averaging $175 per person).

Said Fr. Anthony Dorsa, the Director of Mission Tradition:

“In this current difficult economic climate, it is so important to be flexible and search for new and intuitive ways to support the charitable works that we engage in. CardFunder is an incredible opportunity to stay relevant and continue to fund our missionary work. As the Director of Mission Tradition, I receive so many letters and notes from our supporters regretting that they cannot do more or that they currently cannot afford to give anything more than their encouragement. CardFunder can be a game changer for these people. It is a possibility to give new support to others in need and to give in a way that will not hurt the bottom line of many who may feel they are not able to budget for charitable giving at the moment.”

You can learn more about this exciting partnership at the Mission Tradition website.

Historically it is very clear–contrary to the opinion of some implacable skeptics–that St. Peter governed the Church of Rome and was martyred there, after having appointed men to succeed him in that role.

It’s well worth thinking about those men whom Peter chose to succeed him in that very first century of Christianity, as these men set the standard for that post-Apostolic Petrine office that would endure to the present day. We don’t know very much about them, but it’s important for us to know that their authority derives from that of Peter and the other Apostles.

Fortunately, the liturgy is there to help us in that regard.

As it happens, early Papal feasts form something of a repeating pattern toward the end of the Fall months: St. Linus (Sept. 23), St. Evaristus (Oct. 26), and finally St. Clement (Nov. 23). One other first-century Pope, St. Cletus, is honored on April 26th–in Spring, but still around the same time of the month.

These dates come down to us from antiquity: they first appear in the Liber Pontificalis, a chronicle of the Popes that was likely written in the 5th or 6th century but was compiled from older documents. Because not all of those older  documents are extant any longer, it is debatable to what degree the dates preserved in the Liber Pontificalis go all the way back to the 1st century and reflect historical dates of martyrdom. They are, however, certainly ancient.

While the liturgical connections between the early Popes and Peter are obvious–most notably in the Mass Si diligis me–their feast days also echo a larger pattern seen in the other Apostles, which tend to cluster likewise in the 20s of each month. The Pontiffs’ feasts are very close to St. Matthew (Sept. 21), Ss. Simon and Jude (Oct. 28), St. Andrew (Nov. 30), and St. Mark (Apr. 25).

Thus, for 1500 years, the calendar has made a subtle connection between the early Popes and the whole Apostolic College.

Proximity to Peter and the Apostles is a very old theme. The Liber Pontificalis states that Popes Linus, Cletus, and Evaristus were buried “near the body of the Blessed Peter”. St. Clement is a notable exception here, as he was martyred along the Black Sea.

And indeed, when the necropolis under the Vatican Basilica’s high altar was excavated in the mid-20th century, archaeologists found numerous early graves clustered around the central grave of St. Peter.  These unmarked ancillary graves appear to be of poor Christians, and are likely of the second century rather than the first. Nonetheless, these burials, and the burials of subsequent Popes down the ages all the way up to John Paul II, show how proximity to an Apostle remained an important principle.

The pious Catholic is intrigued to find corroborating evidence from history or archaeology.

Yet it’s perhaps even more comforting to know that even if we did not have documents and ancient ruins to point the way, the sacred deposit of the faith preserved in the liturgy already helps us see the continuation between the Apostles and the men they appointed.

Ss. Linus, Cletus, Clement, and Evaristus, pray for us!

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

Touching on the participation of the faithful in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical on the liturgy, Mediator Dei, wrote

Now it is clear that the faithful offer the sacrifice by the hands of the priest from the fact that the minister at the altar, in offering a sacrifice in the name of all His members, represents Christ, the Head of the Mystical Body.  Hence the whole Church can rightly be said to offer up the victim through Christ.  But the conclusion that the people offer the sacrifice with the priest himself is not based on the fact that, being members of the Church  no less than the priest himself, they perform a visible liturgical rite; for this is the privilege only of the minister who has been divinely appointed to this office: rather it is based on the fact that the people unite their hearts in praise, impetration, expiation and thanksgiving with the prayers or intention of the priest, even of the High Priest himself, so that in the one and same offering of the victim and according to a visible sacerdotal rite, they may be presented to God the Father.  It is obviously necessary that the external sacrificial rite should, of its very nature, signify the internal worship of the heart.  Now the sacrifice of the New Law signifies that supreme worship by which the principal Offerer himself, who is Christ, and, in union with Him and through Him, all the members of the Mystical Body pay God the honor and reverence that are due to Him. (§ 93)

In the passage just quoted, Pius XII explains that to pray the Mass well, the faithful should have the same intentions and dispositions as Christ Himself, namely, “praise, impetration, expiation and thanksgiving.”  These indicate what are commonly called the four ends of prayer: adoration (“praise”), thanksgiving, contrition (“expiation”), and petition (“impetration”).  The acronym of ACTS is used as a way to remember these ends (Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication [petition]).  While this is helpful, it should be noted that the four ends are not listed in this acronym according to their order of importance.

The first reason one should go to prayer is to give God the honor which is due to Him as the Supreme and Perfect Being for everything outside of God was created for this end.  The giving of this honor belongs to adoration.  Next, one should express thanksgiving for all things which God has granted.  God has created and maintains in existence, from moment to moment, each individual and all of the goods which each possesses.  This gives rise to a seemingly infinite debt which each creature owes to God – a debt which is repaid by acts of thanksgiving.  Sin is an offense against God, which the sinner appeases by acts of penance (expiation) which flow from internal sorrow (contrition).  In the last place, one can petition God for necessities and desires, both spiritual and material.  When one goes to prayer, this hierarchy of the ends of prayer should be kept in mind and the time given to each should be proportional to where that type of prayer falls in the hierarchy.  It would be improper, therefore, for one to spend the majority of one’s time asking God for things (petition) while only spending a small amount of time, if any, adoring God for His perfections.

As the Mass is a prayer – indeed the greatest of prayers – these four ends can be applied to the Mass as well, as Pius XII indicated.  It is recommended, then, that before the start of Mass, one prepare by going over the four ends of prayer and indicating the various reasons one is praying and participating in this particular Mass.

Pope Pius XII continues and adds:

In order that the oblation by which the faithful offer the divine Victim in this sacrifice to the heavenly Father may have its full effect, it is necessary that the people add something else, namely, the offering of themselves as a victim. (§98)

One way to accomplish this is by “placing oneself” on the paten and in the chalice at the Offertory, and offer oneself up with the oblations of the Mass.  This can be anticipated at the start of Mass as one is preparing and/or at the Offertory itself.

Lastly, as was stated in a previous article, while at worship, man represents creation before God.  It would be proper to form an intention for this purpose also.

To aid the readers in putting into practice the suggestions here raised, the following are provided as a structure and guide:

Heavenly Father, I desire to offer up to you this [day/morning/afternoon/etc.], in an unbloody manner, the sacrifice of Your Son on the Cross through the hands of the Priest, in union with the entire Church, especially with Christ her head.

I desire to offer up this Sacrifice of Praise in acknowledgement of Your excellence for You are worthy of all honor, glory and worship together with the Son and the Holy Spirit…[here list other reasons why God is deserving of adoration]…

I also desire to offer it up in thanksgiving for the many benefits You have bestowed upon me: for creating me and sustaining me in being; for bringing me to Your Church and preserving me in a state of grace, so far as I can tell, even to this moment; for bringing me to this [church/chapel] today; [here list other things for which you are thankful]…, and for all other blessings, gifts, and benefits, both known and unknown.

I also desire to offer it up in reparation for my many sins, especially those against [here list sins for which you have a particular sorrow]…

Lastly, I desire to offer it up in petition for my many needs and wants, wishes and desires; for my family, friends, and benefactors; for those who have asked for my prayers and for those for whom I ought to pray; especially [names]; and for myself that I may grow in holiness…[here list other intentions including those for yourself]…

And, Heavenly Father, as this bread is offered up, so too may my body be offered up and consumed in sacrifice before You.  And as this wine is offered up, so too may my blood be offered up and consumed in sacrifice before You.  Therefore, may my entire being – my body, blood, soul, and especially my will – be offered up and consumed in sacrifice before You; may this serve for an increase of the Virtues and the Gifts, especially that of Charity, so that I may be made like unto Your Son, holy and pleasing in Your sight.

And lastly, may I represent before You, in so far as I am able in this act of worship, all of creation.

Amen.

William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to Regina Caeli Parish in Houston, TX.

While it is certainly true that the immemorial Roman Canon has remained substantially unchanged for millennia, one small portion of it has been more tolerant of variation than others: the Communicantes.

The Communicantes, as Father Lasance describes it in his Missal,

“…is the beginning of the Action or most solemn part of the Sacrifice. In the following prayer the memory of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints is venerated and their help implored.”

The list of saints in the Communicantes, as we now have it in our modern Roman Missals, proceeds hierarchically through the Apostles and a number of Popes and bishops, finally concluding with martyrs, almost all of whom are Roman and date from the mid-300s or before. The last ones named are Cosmas and Damian.

However, in a number of older rites and liturgical manuscripts, particularly those from France and Milan, additional local and later saints appeared in this list as well.

In the Bobbio Missal, for example, which is thought to represent a Celtic or Gallican Rite of the 600s, we find listed after Cosmas and Damian: Ss. Hilary, Martin, Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory, Jerome, and Benedict.

In the Gelasian Sacramentary of the mid-700s are added Ss. Dionysius, Rusticus, Eleutherius, Hilary, Martin, Augustine, Gregory, Jerome, and Benedict–most of these extra names were partially erased in some manuscripts but remain still visible; other derivative copies have variations of this list.

The Milanese variation of the Roman Canon, seen in the Ambrosian Rite, has its own rather lengthy list of extra saints that formerly also included a number of Milanese confessors. St. Charles Borromeo removed these confessors as part of his reform of the Ambrosian Rite in the late 1500s, but even so that liturgy still retains a unique list, as seen at left.

Other local peculiarities have appeared in the Communicantes over the years, and these continued up to Pius V’s standardization of the Missal in the 16th century; most of them were subsequently discarded. Today, although there are five seasonal variations of the prayer preserved in special Communicantes for the Nativity, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost, the list of saints has remained fixed across the seasons and generally throughout the Roman rite as well.

However, in his 1889 study of liturgical history before Charlemagne, Louis Duchesne notes that French churches in his day were long accustomed to say the names of St. Hilary and St. Martin at the end of the Communicantes, continuing a long tradition that goes back to the very earliest liturgical sources that have come down to us.