The ecclesiastical discipline of the celebration of marriage according to the books of the Roman Rite of 1962 after the Second Vatican Council in 1965-2007

Abstract

The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, via the constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, postulated a reform of the marriage ceremony. As a result, the marriage rites contained in the Rituale Romanum of 1952 were abolished by the promulgation of the Ordo celebrandi matrimonium in 1969. Until 1988, apart from the Society of Saint Pius X, marriage was generally not celebrated according to the earlier Ritual. After the institution of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei in 1988, permissions were issued for the celebration of marriage according to the Roman Ritual. Individual permissions were granted by the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, and especially by the aforementioned Commission. Some communities were also established which were equipped with the special right to celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage according to the Rituale Romanum of 1952. Diocesan bishops also issued ad casum permissions and erected personal pa- rishes and other communities. This legal status lasted until Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio Summorum Pontificum entered into force in 2007. Then, a universal law was introduced which permitted the celebration of marriages according to the earlier Ritual under specified conditions.