The conclave of cardinals who will determine the Roman Catholic Church's next pope got started on Tuesday the way all good parties get started; with a song.
Okay, so maybe it's not a party, per se. And, the more appropriate term for the song that gets it all started might be "sung prayer" or "hymn", but, nevertheless, its words... it's music... it's a song.
Picture the Sistine Chapel. One of the most beautiful indoor spaces on the planet. Just 65 feet above your head hovers 12,000 square feet of ceiling masterfully painted by Michelangelo. One hundred fifteen cardinals cloaked in scarlet slowly begin filing in as you hear this:
The Litaniae Sanctorum, or Litany of the Saints, is one of the Catholic Church's oldest and most venerable hymns. It tends to be reserved for really big moments: the ordination of a priest, the consecration of a new church, the start of the papal conclave.
Reverend William Fitzgerald, at St. Michael's Abbey of the Norbertine Fathers in Silverado, Calif., knows this particular sung prayer as well as anyone. Rev. Fitzgerald is a musician and an expert on liturgy and spiritual theology. He has written quite a bit about the Litany of the Saints in the liturgy. He gave The Curiosity Desk the lowdown on the song that started the conclave:
What are the origins of this hymn?
The Litany of Saints goes back a very long way. Well, over a millennium. It was originally a processional chant.
Why is it used to start the papal conclave?
It's actually a functional song. It takes the cardinals from one venue — the Pauline Chapel — to another venue — the Sistine Chapel. This is the music that accompanies the procession. In a more secular, courtly environment, you might have trumpets blaring or a string quartet or who knows what. But, in an ecclesiastical procession, the singing of the litany would be a more sober and also a more solemn thing because it actually invokes the saints, who are the living history of the church community.
There are other processional hymns. Why the Litany of the Saints?
In the Catholic Church, if the occasion is important enough, then you would use the Litany of the Saints. It starts off first invoking God, the trinity, and Mary, the mother of God. And then the angelic saints, the apostles, martyrs, other saints who didn't lose their lives but lived their lives, who are all invoked for their prayers on particular, urgent occasions.
Is every saint included?
No. It's not every saint that's been recognized. It's the principle ones in history, men and women. The most well known on a universal level.
Are there any controversial saints included?
Saints are people who were of heroic virtue, so there is not a lot of controversy over heroic virtue [laughs]. Although Joan of Arc might have been controversial if you were French, you know. Some might have thought Thomas Moore was disloyal to the King [of England] and other might have thought he was loyal to God. So, it depends on your political and historical stance on particular individuals.
Are any saints added for this particular occasion?
Given the circumstances you would typically add the names of sainted popes because its a papal occasion. And they probably would emphasize a few more of the Roman saints in particular because the pope is the Bishop of Rome. So you would invoke those local saints to ask them to have a word to God about seeing that someone very suitable get selected to lead the church that they were part of when they were on earth, you know. It's a very homely kind of thing in that sense.
The hymn is a call and response. Which cardinal or cardinals gets to lead it?
It may not even be cardinals who lead it but probably good cantors, singers from the Sistine Chapel Choir, seminarians who've got particularly good voices or someone like that. Probably not a croaky cardinal. [laughs]
Beyond the purely functional, is there a reason to begin such a momentous occasion in song?
Song and music has a way of not only uniting voices but also uniting hearts. It tends to be a very powerful and evocative way of praying. Plus, without the musical element it would be rather flat, like Congress or Parliament.
