Instituted Acolyte, Part-time liturgy nerd, and full time autist.
Joined March 2021
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The subdeacon only makes sense if you stop thinking in terms of “ministries.”
In the Roman tradition, order came first. Functions followed.
In my latest blog post I explain what was, and still is, the Subdeacon in the Catholic Church. See more👇
LifeSiteNews is being purposefully misleading by posting this today. He said this before the July consecrations in an interview with the Remnant in MARCH 2026.
Ye Ol' Acolyte retweeted
SSPX Consecrations: Asked if the four bishops have the apostolic mandate, the notary replies --
“It is the Catholic & Roman church, always faithful to the traditions received from the apostles, who in entirely exceptional circumstances demands that we provide for the upholding of these traditions, that is the deposit of faith & that we take the means necessary to transmit them faithfully to all men for the salvation of their souls.
Since the Second Vatican Council up to the present day the authorities in the church have been animated by a spirit that is contrary to the faith & have been acting against holy tradition. They will no longer endure sound doctrine”
Schreiber then makes the episcopal oath.
A humorous note from Paul VI on Germans and veiling!
"You can see that they are Germans! Look, the women are going to Communion without a veil on their heads!" Pope Paul VI
(28 April 1974)
I wonder what Cardinal McElory thinks of this appointment?
Pope Leo XIV has appointed @EWTN's head of news, Maria Montserrat Alvarado, as prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, replacing Paolo Ruffini who has served as prefect since 2018. Alvarado will become the first laywoman to head a dicastery of the Roman Curia. She will take up her new position on November 1.
This may be one of the clearest public acknowledgements from a cardinal that the postconciliar implementation crisis had devastating institutional consequences in the United States, particularly for women religious. From Cardinal O'Malley's interview with Aleteia today.
Selective antiquarianism is such a silly game to play with the NO. Because it goes both ways:
Subdeacon assisting at Mass 3rd Century - suppressed
Deacon offering chalice independently or with the priest 3rd century - suppressed
Elevation of the host and chalice - 12th century innovation – retained
An acolyte or subdeacon holding the paten at the offertory - 6th century - suppressed
Subdeacon reading the epistle - 6th century - suppressed
Aufer a nobis prayer - at least 9th century but likely earlier (making it older than the Ave Maria) – suppressed
Mysterium fidei in the words of consecration over the chalice – 5th century – removed from consecration prayer.
I could go on and on.
The "novus ordo" is literally the following:
- Entrance procession and chant or hymn; priest venerates the altar and may incense it [4th century]
- Sign of the Cross and liturgical greeting [2nd century]
- Penitential Act/Kyrie Elison [4th century]
- Sing the Gloria [4th century]
- Old Testament Reading [1st century]
- Singing of a Psalm [1st century]
- Epistle Reading [1st century]
- Gospel Reading [1st century]
- Homily [1st century]
- Nicene Creed [6th century]
- Prayer of the Faithful [2nd century]
- Offering [4th century]
- Preparation of the Gifts: bread and wine are brought to the altar, with accompanying prayers and possibly incense [2nd century]
- Singing of Sanctus [4th century]
- Eucharistic prayer (several options including the ancient Roman Canon [7th century])
- Consecration [1st century]
- Our Father [1st century] - Singing of Agnus Dei [7th century]
- Dismissal formula such as “Go forth, the Mass is ended” [8th century]
- Closing Hymn
People acting like this is some revolutionary new thing simply do not know what they are talking about. It is a shorter version of the TLM. Same basic outline. Most of the same elements
I hope this is the beginning of a deescalation of the Liturgy Wars.
Read the latest News analysis @RealAdVaticanum:
Vatican reported rebuke of Argentine bishops and the limits of bishops’ conferences regarding Communion kneeling on the tongue
Analysis:
- The Vatican has repeatedly upheld Catholics' right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue and while kneeling. Redemptionis Sacramentum (2004) is crystal clear: “each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue.”
- Reports from Argentina show the Dicastery for Divine Worship rebuking two bishops who effectively discouraged or penalised kneeling and Communion on the tongue, exposing a direct clash between local rules and Rome’s explicit safeguards.
- Across the West, many bishops and clergy treat standing Communion in the hand as mandatory, ignoring Vatican instructions. Traditional reverence is too often dismissed as divisive or immature, with “pastoral unity” used as code for conformity.
- Redemptionis Sacramentum forbids denying Communion solely because someone wishes to kneel or receive on the tongue. The faithful retain this right no matter what local preferences say.
- This reflects a long post-conciliar pattern, traditional practices are officially tolerated but practically marginalised by liturgical bureaucracies that turn permissions into prohibitions.
- The irony of synodality and decentralisation is glaring: while bishops’ conferences act like mini-magisteriums, they cannot override universal rights. Local ideologies quickly turn permitted practices into paper-only freedoms..
Recently, Card. Hollerich suggested restoring the subdeaconate for women as a non-ordained role. Which is...a thought.
Restoring the subdeaconate may sound like a good idea until you ask a basic question: what would he actually do? 👇
yeoldacolyte.substack.com/p/…
Restoring the subdeaconate sounds appealing until you ask a basic question: what would he actually do? In the modern Roman rite, those functions are already assigned. See more 👇
See the post here. orderedworship.com/2026/04/1…
