Bishop: No Vatican order on concelebration at ordinariate Masses
Bishop David Waller told The Pillar there has been 'no pressure, no bullying, and no change to rubrics.'
about 23 hours ago
A bishop has clarified that the Vatican has not issued any formal order concerning the concelebration of Masses within the Personal Ordinariate.
The bishop stated there is no Vatican directive mandating how concelebration should be handled in ordinariate liturgies1.
The comment addresses ongoing questions about liturgical practices in the ordinariate, emphasizing the absence of a universal rule from the Holy See.
Assess Vatican norms governing concelebration in Ordinariate Masses
Current Vatican discipline does not present concelebration norms as “different” for Personal Ordinariates in the sources I have been provided. What I can assess confidently is the general Vatican/Church law for concelebration in the Roman rite, as given in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), and then explain how that framework would ordinarily govern an “Ordinariate Mass” when the Holy See’s approved liturgical books place that celebration under the Roman liturgical law.
GIRM grounds concelebration in theology: it “appropriately expresses the unity of the priesthood, of the Sacrifice, and also of the whole People of God.”
It also makes clear that concelebration is not optional everywhere: the rite itself prescribes it for certain moments.
GIRM states that concelebration is prescribed by the rite itself for:
So, in any “Ordinariate Mass” that corresponds to these prescribed rites under the Church’s liturgical books, the default Vatican norm is that concelebration is required (subject to feasibility and legitimate practice under the rubrics of the particular rite/edition).
Unless the good of the faithful “requires or suggests otherwise,” concelebration is also recommended at several types of Mass, including:
This is important for assessing Ordinariate practice: GIRM’s default posture is that concelebration is a strong “normal” option when priests are gathered or when the liturgy is principal/conventual in the proper sense.
GIRM draws a boundary: an individual priest is permitted to celebrate individually, but not at the same time as a concelebration is occurring in the same church or oratory.
There is a further strictness on major liturgies:
GIRM gives additional specificity about what should be “held in high regard”: concelebration in which priests of a diocese concelebrate with their own bishop at various solemn occasions, including stational Masses (especially on the most solemn days), Chrism Mass, the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, and synod/pastoral visitation-related liturgies.
It also states that concelebration is recommended whenever priests gather with their bishop (e.g., retreats or other meetings), “for this same reason”—the unity sign of priesthood and Church becomes clearer.
From the above, the Vatican “baseline” is:
Your question is specifically about “Vatican norms … in Ordinariate Masses.” However, the sources provided to me include no direct text on:
So I cannot prove (from the supplied references) claims like “Ordinariates require/forbid X” beyond the general Roman norms already cited.
Given GIRM’s statement that concelebration is prescribed or recommended according to the rite itself and pastoral/faithful-good considerations, a reasonable Catholic assessment is:
When you assess a particular Ordinariate liturgy for whether concelebration is required/recommended and whether individual celebration is licit at the same time, use these GIRM checkpoints:
With the sources provided, the strongest, certifiable answer is that Vatican norms in GIRM establish a universal theology-and-discipline baseline for concelebration: prescribed in certain rites, strongly recommended in certain major communal settings, and coordinated with strict limits on simultaneous individual Masses in the same place—especially Holy Thursday and the Easter Vigil context.
However, I cannot state Ordinariate-specific modifications to this discipline without additional Ordinariate documents or the relevant Vatican/diocesan instructions for the Ordinariate liturgical books (none are included in the references you supplied).