The Priesthood And Our Lady.

The Virgin of the Lilies (La Vierge au lys).

Date: 1899.

Source: PaintingHere.com

Author: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Priesthood

and Our Lady.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/JBlPxC1h2nQ.

Imperial Abbeys. Fürstenfeld Abbey (Reichskloster Fürstenfeld).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Kloster Fürstenfeld (Fürstenfeld Abbey),

Fürstenfeldbruck (formerly known simply as Bruck),

Bavaria, Germany.

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Photo: 15 August 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Martenas.h.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Fürstenfeld Abbey (German: Kloster Fürstenfeld) is a former Cistercian Monastery, in Fürstenfeldbruck (formerly known simply as Bruck), in Bavaria, Germany.

It is situated about 25 km North-West of Munich. The Abbey was one of the Household Monasteries of the Wittelsbachs. The Abbey Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is held to be a masterpiece of the Late-Baroque in Southern Germany.

Kloster Fürstenfeld (Fürstenfeld Abbey),

Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, Germany.

Photo: October 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Patrick Huebgen.

Pahu at the German language Wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1256, Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (Louis the Severe) killed his first wife, Marie of Brabant (1226–1256) on suspicion of adultery (which later turned out to be unfounded), the penance for which, as imposed by Pope Alexander IV, was the foundation of a Monastery.

The first foundation at Seldental, in 1258, was afterwards moved to the present site near the town of Bruck, in 1263. Papal permission for the new foundation to be settled by Cistercian Monks, from Aldersbach Abbey, had been obtained as early as 1256, but was not confirmed by the Bishop of Freising until 1265, in which year the new Abbey was at last settled.

Deutsch: Nordwestseite der Klosterkirche St. Mariä Himmelfahrt,

Kloster Fürstenfeld, Fürstenfeldbruck.

English: Exterior of Fürstenfeld Abbey (Reichskloster Fürstenfeld),

Bavaria, Germany.

Photo: 29 June 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Rufus46

(Wikimedia Commons)

The High Altar,

The Monastery Church,

Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria,

Germany.

Photo: 21 September 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tepold.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Louis II endowed and privileged the new Abbey very handsomely and, when he died, was buried here. His son, Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, was also a great benefactor to the Abbey, which supported him in his dynastic struggle against the Habsburger, Frederick the Handsome.

Emperor Louis IV died of a stroke, at Puch, nearby, on 11 October 1347, during a bear hunt, and his heart was buried here. Both men, named Louis, are commemorated by elaborate Baroque monuments.

In 1632-1633, during the Thirty Years' War, the Monastery was sacked by troops of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and the Monks fled to Munich. From 1640, however, the Abbey began to make an economic recovery. Under Abbot Martin Dallmayr, several Churches were built and the number of Monks doubled.

Deutsch: Klosterkirche Fürstenfeldbruck (Oberbayern).

Innenansicht nach Osten.

English: Fürstenfeld Abbey,

Fürstenfeldbruck,

Bavaria, Germany.

Photo: January 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Dark Avenger.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Panoramic view of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary,

Fürstenfeld Abbey, Bavaria, Germany.

Stitched with "Hugin" out of 7 photos.

Deutsch: Panoramainnenasicht der Klosterkirche Maria Himmelfahrt

des Klosters Fürstenfeld.

Zusammengesetzt mit "Hugin" aus 7 Fotos.

Photo: 10 September 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mummelgrummel.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1691, the Foundation Stone was laid of the Baroque Monastery buildings, responsibility for the construction of which lay with the Munich Court Architect and Master Builder, Giovanni Antonio Viscardi.

The supervision of the construction, which did not properly begin until after the War of the Spanish Succession, was the responsibility of Johann Georg Ettenhofer, who probably introduced some alterations to Viscardi's Plans. In 1723, the Quire (Choir) was completed, and, in 1741, the Church was Dedicated, but the remaining works lingered on until about 1780.

A number of first-class artists were employed in the fitting-out, including the brothers Jacopo and Francesco Appiani and the Asam brothers: Cosmas Damian Asam painted the ceiling frescoes, and Egid Quirin Asam created the Side Altars and possibly also the design of the High Altar.

Deutsch: Klosterkirche Fürstenfeldbruck (Oberbayern).

Der Chor, Nordseite.

English: Fürstenfeld Abbey Choir,

Fürstenfeldbruck,

Bavaria, Germany.

Photo: January 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Dark Avenger.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In layout, the Abbey Church of Fürstenfeld follows the typical pattern of South German and Austrian Churches, such as St. Michael's Church, Munich, Klagenfurt Cathedral and the Academy Church of the Assumption in Dillingen an der Donau. The Interior is of imposing height and width, and, in spite of the lengthy construction and fitting-out period, makes a very unified impression.

In 1803, as a result of the general secularisation in Bavaria, Fürstenfeld Abbey passed into private ownership. The new proprietor was Ignaz Leitenberger, a Bohemian cloth manufacturer. The inhabitants of the town of Bruck saved the Church from demolition, however. In 1816, it became the property of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and, from that time forward, has served as a Church of the Royal Family.

English: In 1816, Fürstenfeld Abbey became the property of

King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria.

Deutsch: Maximilian I. von Bayern im Krönungsornat.

Français: Maximilian Ier, roi de Bavière.

Polski: Maksymilian I Józef Wittelsbach.

日本語: バイエルン王マクシミリアン1世.

Italiano: Re Massimiliano I di Baviera. (Ritratto di Joseph Stieler, 1822).

Português: Maximiliano I da Baviera.

Español: Rey Maximiliano I de Baviera.

Svenska: MaxI.jpg.

Date: Probably 1820.

Source: See below.

Author: Joseph Karl Stieler (1781–1858).

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1817, the Bavarian Field Marshal, Prince Wrede, bought up the whole Monastery, in which, a year later, a hospital and home for invalid soldiers was opened. In 1828, a Prayer Room for Protestants was opened in the former Chapter Room. Between 1848 and 1921, the Monastery buildings were used for a variety of military purposes: For example, as a Base for a number of Infantry and Cavalry Units and as a Military Hospital. In 1866, part of the premises, in use at the time as a hospital, to the South of the Church, was destroyed in a fire.

After 1918, the former Service Range became the property of the Wittelsbach Compensation Fund, which rented it in 1923 to Ettal Abbey. From 1921, the remaining Monastic buildings were used as boarding accommodation for school children.

The Monastery Church,

Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria,

Germany.

Photo: 21 September 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tepold.

(Wikimedia Commons)

From 1924 to 1975, various Police-related institutions were accommodated here, such as the principal Police Training School and the Training Schools of the Schutzpolizei and the Landpolizei, and, from 1975, the Special Police Studies Department of the Bavarian Civil Service Technical College. In 1979, the town of Fürstenfeldbruck acquired the Service Buildings, which they re-modelled between 1987 and 2001 into a new cultural centre for the citizens of the District of Fürstenfeldbruck.

Also on the historic Abbey site is the Fürstenfeldbruck Event Forum (German: Veranstaltungsforum Fürstenfeldbruck), in a new Civic Hall, built next to the restored Service Range, where seminars, day conferences, theatre performances, and many other kinds of event are held.

Poulenc's "Dialogues Des Carmelites".

Roman Text and Illustration from BBC RADIO 3

unless otherwise stated.

Zephyrinus recommends this production to all Readers.

It can be listened to, next Saturday, 7 June 2014, 1845 hrs,

on BBC Radio 3, live from The Royal Opera House,

Covent Garden, London.

[Editor: Covent Garden is so called because it was originally the "Convent Garden" of nearby Westminster Abbey. Therefore, this location is most apt for Poulenc's "Dialogues Des Carmelites".]

Royal Opera House,

Covent Garden,

London.

Poulenc takes the harrowing story of the Martyrdom of the Nuns of Compiègne during the French Revolution, and creates a rich and moving work, which centres on Blanche, a young Novice, who deals with her own fears to face her destiny.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

In 1952, Poulenc started working on what was to become the opera Dialogues of the Carmelites, based on a story by Georges Bernanos. Poulenc soon became obsessed with this work. Poulenc adapted Bernanos' text for the libretto.

The opera was first performed at La Scala, in Italian, in January 1957, with Virginia Zeani singing the principal soprano role of Blanche. In June 1957, it was produced at the Paris Opera, with Denise Duval as Blanche and Régine Crespin as Madame Lidoine. In September of that year, it was produced in the USA, with Leontyne Price as Mme Lidoine; this was her first stage opera.

During the completion of his opera Dialogues des Carmelites, Poulenc suffered severe depression due to the copyright to Georges Bernanos' libretto. This eventually drove him to nervous breakdown. However, this is arguably the point at which his later style emerged; his descent into anxiety and depression and subsequent recovery can be seen as the source of the serenity and lyricism in much of his later work.

Poulenc died of heart failure in Paris on 30 January 1963 and is buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Imperial Abbeys. The Prince-Provostry Of Berchtesgaden. Fürst-Propstei Berchtesgaden.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Deutsch: 180°-Ansicht des Berchtesgadener Schlossplatzes

mit Stiftskirche und Königlichem Schloss.

English: Monastery Church (dedicated to Saint Peter

and Saint John the Baptist)

and Wittelsbach Palace,

Berchtesgaden, Bavaria,

Germany.

Photo: 18 August 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Rosephantom.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Berchtesgaden Provostry, or the Prince-Provostry of Berchtesgaden (German: Fürstpropstei Berchtesgaden) was an Immediate (Reichsunmittelbar) Principality of the Holy Roman Empire, held by a Canonry, i.e. a Collegiate Foundation, of Augustinians, led by a Prince-Provost.

The territory comprised the Alpine Berchtesgaden Hollow, that is, the modern communities of Berchtesgaden,Bischofswiesen, Marktschellenberg, Ramsau and Schönau am Königssee, located in the present-day German State of Bavaria, as well as a number of estates further afield.

The location of the Monastery was strategically important. Firstly, it is in an area possessing immensely valuable salt deposits, and was situated in such a way that it was able to act as a Buffer State between its much larger neighbours, the Duchy of Bavaria and the Archbishopric of Salzburg, and to make this situation work to its advantage. Secondly, the Berchtesgaden Valley is almost entirely enclosed by high mountains, except for a single point of access to the North, and is thus virtually impregnable.

Deutsch: Berchtesgaden mit Watzmann, Deutschland.

English: Berchtesgaden and Watzmann Massif.

Photo: 

Source: Own work.

Author: Mg-k- M. Klüber Fotografie.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Berchtesgaden Monastery, dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint John the Baptist, was founded in 1102, within the Bavarian Stem Duchy, as a community of Augustinian Canons, by Count Berengar of Sulzbach, under the directions of the Will of his mother, the Late Countess Irmgard.

In view of the favorable geo-political circumstances, the Provosts had little difficulty in establishing the territorial independence of the Monastery, which became an Imperial Abbey in 1194. In 1380, the Provosts achieved the status of an Ecclesistical Reichsfürst, and, from 1559, held a direct vote in the Reichstag Assembly as "Prince-Provosts", a rank almost equivalent to that of a Prince-Bishop. The title was nearly unique within the Empire, the only other Provost, who ever gained the Princely title, was the one at the Swabian Imperial Ellwangen Abbey.

Deutsch: Wappen von Fürstprobstei Berchtesgaden.

English: Coat-of-Arms of Berchtesgaden.

Source: original PNG page is/was here (first uploaded to de.wikipeda

by de:User:TomK32); SVG drawing: own work.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The position of Prince-Provost was frequently held in conjunction with other high Ecclesiastical positions, and the Provosts often lived elsewhere. From 1594 until 1723, the title and territories were held by the mighty House of Wittelsbach, from 1612 in personal union by the Prince-Archbishops of Cologne, whose cousins ruled over the neighbouring Bavarian Duchy. Constant avarices of the Salzburg Archbishops led to clashes of arms in 1611, when the troops of Wolf Dietrich Raitenau occupied Berchtesgaden, but were repulsed by the forces of Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria.

In 1802 - 1803, the Provostry and its territories were secularised and mediatised, first to the short-lived Electorate of Salzburg, which, according to the 1805 Peace of Pressburg, fell to the Austrian Empire, and, finally, in 1810, to the newly-established Kingdom of Bavaria. The Monastic buildings were used for a while as a Barracks, but, in 1818, the Monastery was designated as a Royal Residence of the Wittelsbachs, who used it as a Summer Palace.

Following the end of the Bavarian Monarchy, the buildings, since 1923, are administrated by the Wittelsbach Compensation Fund (Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds). Some of the rooms are open to the public, while other parts of the building are still used by the Wittelsbachs. The Monastic Church now serves as the Parish Church of Berchtesgaden.

Nothing In Humanity Equals The Grandeur And The Beauty Of The Catholic Liturgy . . .

This Article is taken from VULTUS CHRISTI

As in the Cenacle, the Prayer of the Church is persevering and permanent Prayer, for the clock of time strikes not an hour when Prayer does not spring forth from the hearts of millions and millions of Christians. Literally, that voice of Prayer in the bosom of Christianity is not hushed day or night. As in the Cenacle, the Church’s universal and permanent Prayer is magnificently unanimous, and, it may be added, divinely harmonious.

THE SACRED LITURGY.

Nothing in humanity equals the grandeur and the beauty of the Catholic Liturgy, that is, of the immense concert of organised Prayer in the circle of Christianity, resounding everywhere: The voice of Christ the Head and of His Mystical Body, the Church. The Church prays, at one same time in all parts of the world, by those Members whom she has hierarchically and officially charged with her Prayer. From the rising of the Sun to its setting, ascends that permanent, universal and harmonious Prayer, that is like a continuous aspiration by which the great Mystical Body of Jesus Christ draws to itself, develops and increases incessantly, the Life of Divine Grace, the Life of God in us.

THE ECCLESIA ORANS.

Such is the Church, living like the Cenacle, by Divine Grace as by its own element, and inhaling Divine Grace by the power of Prayer. The more a Christian institution, under whatever form, would represent and express in a more perfect manner the Life of the Church and the Life of the Cenacle, the more it should, like Christianity in the universe and like the Apostles in the Cenacle, immerse itself in Divine Grace and drawing Divine Grace to itself, by the enactment of the Sacred Liturgy and by ceaseless Prayer.

Therefore, all the Religious Institutions that, from age to age, have sprung from the ever-fruitful womb of the Catholic Church, have in this respect been formed to the image of the Ecclesia Orans, the praying Church, as the praying Church herself was formed to the image of the Cenacle.

Imperial Abbeys. The Imperial Abbey of Zwiefalten.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: The former Imperial Abbey of Zwiefalten,

Baden-Württemberg, Germany,

Most Imperial Abbeys belonged to the Benedictine Order.

Deutsch: Zwiefalten, Ort und Kloster, 1890, Sammlung Schwäbischer Baudenkmale und Kunstarbeiten, 14, Die Klosterkirchen zu Zwiefalten und Obermarchtal, 164*222mm.

Date: 1890.

Source: eingescannt aus: Wolfgang Hesse: Ansichten aus Schwaben; Kunst, Land

und Leute in Aufnahmen der ersten Tübinger Lichtbildner und des Fotografen

Paul Sinner (1838 - 1925); Verlag Gebr. Metz, Tübingen, 1989.

Author: Paul Sinner (1838–1925).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The High Altar,

Zwiefalten Münster (Zwiefalten Abbey),

Baden-Württemberg, Germany,

combining a Gothic statue of Mary (1430)

with Baroque additions by Joseph Christian (circa 1750).

Photo: 3 June 1990.

Source: Own work.

Author: Rebecca Kennison.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Imperial Abbeys (German: Reichsabteien, also Reichsklöster and Reichsstifte) were Religious Houses within the Holy Roman Empire, which had been granted the status of Imperial Immediacy (Reichsunmittelbarkeit), and therefore were answerable directly to the Emperor.

The possession of Imperial Immediacy came with a unique form of territorial authority known as Landeshoheit, which carried with it nearly all the attributes of Sovereignty. Particularly after the Peace of Westphalia (1648), all entities of the Empire, possessing Immediacy, enjoyed and exercised de facto Sovereign Power.

Any Abbot or Abbess, no matter how Lilliputian his or her domain, governed with basically the same political powers as those of any Secular Prince, such as levying taxes, rendering low- and high-justice, maintaining a Standing Army, and, if they were so inclined, despatching Embassies, declaring war, signing Treaties, etc. About forty-five Imperial Abbeys (including Priories) survived up to the mass secularisation of 1802 - 1803.

Deutsch: Zwiefalten, Germany: Abtei.

English: Zwiefalten Münster (Zwiefalten Abbey),

Baden-Württemberg, Germany,

Photo: March 2003.

Source: Own work.

Author: Andreas Praefcke.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Head of an Imperial Abbey was generally an Imperial Abbot (Reichsabt) or Imperial Abbess (Reichsäbtissin). (The Head of a Reichspropstei — an Imperial Provostry or Priory — was generally a Reichspropst). Collectively, Imperial Abbots, Provosts and Priors were formally known as Reichsprälaten (Imperial Prelates).

A small number of the larger and most prestigious establishments had the rank of Princely Abbeys (Fürstsabtei), and were Headed by a Prince-Abbot or a Prince-Provost (Fürstabt, Fürstpropst), with status comparable to that of Prince-Bishops. Most, however, were Imperial Prelates and, as such, participated in a single collective vote in the Imperial Diet as Members of the Bench of Prelates, later (1575) divided into the Swabian College of Imperial Prelates and the Rhenish College of Imperial Prelates. Despite their difference of status within the Imperial Diet, both the Imperial Prelates and the Prince-Abbots exercised the same degree of authority over their Principality.

Deutsch: Zwiefalten: Ehemalige Benedektinerabtei, Das Innere des Münsters

Fresken von Franz Joseph Spiegler, Stuck von Johann Michael Feuchtmayer d. J.

English: Interior of Zwiefalten Abbey, Germany.

Photo: March 2003.

Source: Own work.

Author: AndreasPraefcke.

(Wikimedia Commons)

It was not uncommon for Heads of Religious Houses, other than the Imperial Abbeys, to have similar titles, even though their establishments did not have Imperial Immediacy. To take three examples: The Prince-Bishop of St. Gall retained his title until the Abbey was secularised in 1798, even though it had ceased to be an Imperial Abbey in 1648; the Abbot of Muri (which had a strong Habsburg connection) was created an Imperial Prince in 1710, although, by that time, Muri was in Switzerland; and the Prince-Abbot of St. Blaise's Abbey, in Baden-Württemberg, held that title, not on account of the status of the Abbey, which was not Immediate, but because it was conferred on him by the Abbey's ownership of the County of Bonndorf.

Many of the Religious Houses, listed on Wikipedia, under Imperial Abbeys, are those named in the Matrikel, or lists of those eligible to vote in the Imperial Diet, including those whose votes were collective rather than individual. Three of these lists survive and are accessible, from 1521, 1755 (or thereabouts) and 1792.

English: The South Nave of the Monastery Church of Zwiefalten, Germany.

Deutsch: Klosterkirche Zwiefalten: Südliches Langhaus.

Photo: 23 June 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Effi Schweizer.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The list mentioned in Wikipedia (List "A") includes the Principalities, Imperial Abbeys (Reichsabteien and Reichsklöster), Imperial Colleges (Reichsstifte), Imperial Provostries or Priories (Reichspropsteien) and the single Imperial Charterhouse (Reichskartause).

The word "Stift", meaning a Collegiate Foundation or Canonry, possibly belonging to a variety of different Orders, or to none at all, and either with or without Rules and Vows, for either men ("Herrenstift") or for women ("Frauenstift"), has been left untranslated, except when it specifically refers to the Chapter of a Church.

English: North Transept of the Monastery Church of Zwiefalten, Germany.

Deutsch: Klosterkirche Zwiefalten: Nördlicher Querarm.

Photo: 23 June 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Effi Schweizer.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Some of the Imperial Abbeys were dissolved during the Reformation; others were absorbed into other territories at various times in the general course of political life. Those in Alsace and Switzerland passed out of the Empire in 1648, when Alsace was ceded to France and Switzerland became independent. The great majority of these Religious Bodies, however, were secularised during the brief period that included the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and their aftermath, especially as a result of the German Mediatisation (Reichsdeputationshauptschluss) of February 1803. Any that survived, lost their Imperial Status when the Holy Roman Empire was wound up in 1806.

Deutsch: Innenansicht des Zwiefalter Münsters.

English: Interior of Zwiefalten Münster (Zwiefalten Abbey),

Baden-Württemberg, Germany,

Photo: 2 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Enzyklofant.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Saint Felix I. Martyr. Feast Day 30 May.

Italic Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Roman Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Saint Felix.

Pope and Martyr.

Feast Day 30 May.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

Pope Saint Felix I.

Fresco in Sistine Chapel, Vatican.

Papacy 269 A,D, - 274 A.D.

Image: Wikipedia.

In 269 A.D., Saint Felix ascended the Throne of Peter, to whom Jesus, before His Ascension, had committed His Church.

Saint Felix commanded that Masses be celebrated over the tombs of Martyrs, and it is in remembrance of this prescription that the Relics of Martyrs are placed in a small cavity of the Altar Stone, called "Tomb".

The Altar, nowadays, has indeed often the shape of a tomb, this being a relic of the "Confession", or underground tomb, which is found under the High Altar in Roman Basilicas, and is reached by stairs.

The custom of uniting the remembrance of Martyrs to the Sacrifice of the Mass or of Calvary shows that these Martyrs, having entered into the bosom of Jesus (Gospel), have found there the strength to confess their Faith before their enemies and the Grace of being Children of the Father (Epistle).

Saint Felix bore witness to Christ in 274 A.D., under the persecution of Emperor Aurelian.

Mass: In Paschaltide, Protexisti, with Collects of Mass: Statuit.

Mass: Out of Paschaltide, Statuit.

A Roman by birth, Felix was chosen as Pope on 5 January 269 A.D., in succession to Pope Dionysius, who had died on 26 December 268 A.D.

Felix was the author of an important Dogmatic Letter on the Unity of Christ's Person. He received the Emperor Aurelian's aid in settling a theological dispute between the anti-Trinitarian, Paul of Samosata, who had been deprived of the Bishopric of Antioch, by a Council of Bishops, for heresy, and the Orthodox, Domnus, Paul's successor. Paul refused to give way, and in 272 A.D., the Emperor Aurelian was asked to decide between the rivals. He ordered the Church building to be given to the Bishop, who was "recognised by the Bishops of Italy and of the City of Rome" (Felix). See Eusebius, Hist. Ecc. vii. 30.

The Text of that Letter was later interpolated by a follower of Apollinaris in the interests of his Sect.

The notice about Felix, in the Liber Pontificalis, ascribes to him a Decree that Masses should be celebrated on the tombs of Martyrs ("Hic constituit supra memorias martyrum missas celebrare"). The author of this entry was evidently alluding to the custom of celebrating Mass privately at the Altars near, or over, the tombs of the Martyrs in the Crypts of the Catacombs (missa ad corpus), while the Solemn Celebration always took place in the Basilicas built over the Catacombs.

This practice, still in force at the end of the 4th-Century, dates apparently from the period when the great Cemeterial Basilicas were built in Rome, and owes its origin to the Solemn Commemoration Services of Martyrs, held at their tombs on the anniversary of their burial, as early as the 3rd-Century. Felix probably issued no such decree, but the compiler of the Liber Pontificalis attributed it to him, because he made no departure from the custom in force in his time.