General Instruction of the Roman Missal

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM)—in the Latin original, Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani (IGMR)—is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church since 1969. It is printed at the start of recent editions of the Roman Missal.

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 in 1604 and completely rewritten by Pope John XXIII in 1960 [Compare the text in the [http://www.musicasacra.com/pdf/missale62.pdf 1962 Missal] ] with that in the [http://www.sanctamissa.org/EN/resources/missale-romanum-pdf.html 1920 typical edition of the Missal] ]
* "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.

tructure

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

Importance

In his apostolic exhortation "Sacramentum caritatis", [cite journal
url = http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20070222_sacramentum-caritatis_en.html
title = §40 Respect for the liturgical books and the richness of signs | work= Sacramentum caritatis
author = Pope Benedict XVI | publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana | year = 2007] Pope Benedict XVI stressed the importance of proper knowledge of the "General Instruction" not only for priests but also for the laity:

Text

The Latin 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 (German Salesians). [cite web
title = Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani
url = http://www.salesianer.de/liturgie/igmr2002.htm | year = 2002]

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. [cite web
url = http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/current/revmissalisromanien.shtml
title = General Instruction of the Roman Missal
publisher = United States Catholic Conference, Inc., | location = Washington, DC | year = 2003] The same translation, but with adaptations instead for England and Wales, may be found at the web site of the England & Wales Liturgy Office. [cite book | url = http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/GIRM/Documents/GIRM.pdf
title = General Instruction of the Roman Missal
publisher = Catholic Truth Society and Colloquium | year = 2005 | isbn = 1 86082 288 6] The Australian edition is given on the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference's web site. [cite web
url = http://www.acbc.catholic.org.au/documents/200707031933.pdf
year = 2007 | month = May
title = General Instruction of the Roman Missal ]

References

ee also

*Mass
*Roman Missal
*Mass of Paul VI