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It is just on year since Francis offered an inculturated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for Congolese immigrants. The Mass marked the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the Congolese Catholic Chaplaincy of Rome.
The Mass included traditional Congolese music and the Zaire Use of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Zaire Use).
An inculturated liturgy can teach Catholics to better appreciate the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit, Francis said on Tuesday.
In the preface to a new book (“Pope Francis and the ‘Roman Missal for the Dioceses of Zaire’”, he explained:
“This process … is an invitation to value the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are a treasure for all humanity.”
The Zaire Use – which Francis celebrated last year – was formally approved in 1988 for the dioceses of what was then known as the Republic of Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
It was the only inculturated Eucharistic celebration approved after the Second Vatican Council.
The Zaire Use was developed after a call to adapt the liturgy in “Sacrosanctum concilium,” Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.
“One of the main contributions of the Second Vatican Council was precisely that of proposing norms for adapting to the disposition and traditions of various peoples,” Francis said on Tuesday.
“The experience of the Congolese rite of the celebration of Mass can serve as an example and model for other cultures.”
Francis added his voice to that of Pope St John Paul II, who in 1988 urged the bishops of Congo to complete the Congolese rite by adapting the other sacraments and sacramentals.
Speaking of his new book, Francis said the subtitle, “A Promising Rite for Other Cultures,” “indicates the fundamental reason behind this publication: a book that is the testimony of a celebration lived with faith and joy.”
Referring to his post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Querida Amazonia,” Francis said:
“We can take up into the liturgy many elements proper to the experience of indigenous peoples in their contact with nature, and respect native forms of expression in song, dance, rituals, gestures and symbols.
“The Second Vatican Council called for this effort to inculturate the liturgy among indigenous peoples; over 50 years have passed and we still have far to go along these lines.”
The authors’ basis for drafting the new book involved “The spiritual and ecclesial significance and the pastoral purpose of the Eucharistic celebration in the Congolese Rite,” said Francis.
“The principles of the need for scientific study, adaptation and active participation in the Liturgy, strongly desired by the Council, have guided the authors of this volume.
“This publication, dear brothers and sisters, reminds us that the true protagonist of the Congolese Rite is the People of God who sing and praise God, the God of Jesus Christ who saved us.”
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