The Council of Trent codified the votive Mass Missa pro sponso for weddings, beginning with the Introit Deus Israel conjungat.
Although some regions used the Mass of the Holy Spirit or the Mass for the Feast of Pentecost, before Trent there was no one single, universal set of readings for the wedding Mass in the Roman Rite.
Parameters
Using Usuarium and its conspectuses (a page-by-page index), I collated 31 wedding Masses from Spanish liturgical texts/manuscripts. I pulled out the wedding Mass texts for the Introit, Gradual, reading, Alleluia, Gospel, Offertory, and Communion. When possible, I added the Bible verse.
The cells in green are Mass texts that would become part of the Tridentine Missa pro sponso, today’s ‘traditional Latin Mass wedding.’
Wedding Mass texts
Introit
- Spiritus Domini replevit (Wisdom 1:7)
- Benedicta sit sancta Trinitas (Tobit 12:6*)
- Deus Israel coniungat (Tobit 7:15)
Reading
- Nescitis quoniam corpora vestra (1 Corinth 6:15)
- Cum audissent apostoli (Act 8:15)
Gradual
- Beata gens cuius est Dominus (Psalm 32:12)
- Venite filii audite me (Psalm 33:12)
- Uxor tua (Psalm 127:3)
- Benedictus es Domine qui intueris (Daniel 3:55-56)
- Dirigatur oratio (Psalm 140)
Alleluia
- Veni sancte Spiritus
- Mittat vobis (Psalm 19:3)
- Qualis Pater talis Filius (Athanasian Creed)
Gospel
- Exsurgens Iesus venit in fines Iudaeae (Mark 10:1–9)
- Si quis diligit me (John 14:23)
- Si licet hominum dimittere (Matthew 19)
Offertory
- Confirma hoc Deus (Psalm 67)
- In te speravi (Psalm 30:15-16)
- Benedictus sit Deus (Tobit 12:6)
Communion
- Factus est repente (Acts 2:2)
- Spiritus Sanctus docebit (Luke 12:12)
- Ecce sic benedicetur (Psalm 127:4, 6)
- Benedicimus Deum caeli (Tobit 12:6)
Notes
- Of the 31 pre-Tridentine wedding Masses, not a single one used Ephesians 5 (‘Wives, be submissive’) as a reading. I think it’s particularly notable that 7 manuscripts were nearly identical to the future Tridentine Missa pro sponso, except for the reading. The more common preference for the reading was 1 Corinthians 6:15, Nescitis quoniam corpora (‘your bodies are members of Christ’).
- For the Alleluia, 9 manuscripts used the text Qualis Pater talis Filius, from the Athanasian Creed.
Header image: Excerpt of the wedding Mass texts from a Valencia Missal in 1492. Liber missalis secundum consuetudinem sedis Valentiae. BU Valencia, BH Inc. 015