At last, a requiem fit for a Catholic King: solemn Latin Mass

 

The church of Saint Catherine Labouré in Leyland hosted a solemn Requiem Mass on the same day as his reinterment in Leicester. It was according to the Missal of 1962. Here are some images from the blog of Father Simon Henry, whose original post may be found here. The good priest says that after the Mass, the congregation enjoyed "a themed buffet with such tasty morsels as Yorkshire pudding with venison sausage or duck in port sauce, Pye of pork meat made with paest royall, Ribbes of beef, Quail eggs and roasted chicken calf." I'm jelly now.

Also, an interesting observation: a commenter on Father Simon's blog notes that the Greyfriars; that is, Franciscans; who originally buried King Richard would have probably used the Roman Missal, rather than the Sarum Missal or any other local use. So, the Requiem Mass as celebrated in the 1962 books would be almost identical to any Mass the friars may have celebrated when they received Richard's body.



Chanting the Gospel



 

Just look at that wonderful, wooden Gothic reredos



Communion of the servers; note the banner with Richard's personal sigil, the white boar, at left

 

A catafalque for the king

Other entries during "Richard III Week":

-Today in history: Henry IV: the man whose claim to the crown started the troubles that led to the Wars of the Roses

-The first day: Richard on tour: select photos from the procession on Sunday, and the cardinal-archbishop of Westminster's Compline homily

-The Bible in Richard's day, and, was Richard a proto-Protestant?: on the king's reading habits and what to make of his Wycliffe New Testament

-A requiem for Richard: on the Requiem Mass, the king's faith, his book of hours, the cult of purgatory, and the chantry chapels of Richard's age

-Of hearses and hearse cloths: looking at Richard III's funeral pall and dressing the dead in medieval times

-Richard III's claim to the throne: sanguinity, statue, or sacrament?: Examining Richard's dynastic claims and what makes a king the king

-O God of Earth and Altar: a hymn by G.K. Chesterton, used at the reinterment on Thursday

-The poet laureate on Richard III: the poem at the reinterment. Also, Benedict Cumberbatch.