The Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship

In the sixth year of his pontificate, Pope St. Paul VI (1963-1978), with the Apostolic Constitution Sacra Rituum Congregatio (8 May 1969), suppressed the Sacred Congregation of Rites and in its place established two new Dicasteries, the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship had jurisdiction over everything related to liturgical worship, both under ritual and pastoral aspects. It attended to the revision and/or compilation of Liturgical Texts; reviewed Particular Calendars and the Proper of Masses and Offices, both diocesan and of Religious Families; granted appropriate dispensations in this matter; pronounced on the authentic interpretation of both norms and rubrics contained in liturgical books; provided for the cultus attached to sacred relics, the assignment of Patrons and the granting of the title of Minor Basilica.

It was also the task of the Sacred Congregation to examine and confirm all the Liturgical Acts of the Bishops’ Conferences, in accordance with Article 36 §3, of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (cf. Apostolic Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium: AAS 56 (1964), p. 109f. ), taking careful account of the adaptations proposed by the Bishops’ Conferences, general liturgical laws and the needs, traditions and temperament of individual peoples; it was responsible for Para-liturgical worship, without prejudice to the competence of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It also maintained relations with the Liturgical Commissions and mixed multinational commissions and with the Institutes of Liturgy, Music, Chant and Sacred Art. The Sacred Congregation also studied liturgical life within the Church and the capabilities of the media, always paying special attention to supporting pastoral initiatives, international associations and projects for conferences promoting the liturgical apostolate.