Breviarium Romanum

...to bishops, bishops, abbots, and other prelates of the churches, and all other individual ecclesiastical persons, both secular and regular, of either sex. We completely revoke all permissions granted, approved, or renewed for any reason, regardless of the wording, decrees, or clauses used to strengthen them. We will that all such permissions shall have no force or effect from this point forward. Therefore, since all other uses are forbidden, We command that this Our Breviary, and this formula for praying and singing the psalms, be observed in all churches of the whole world, in monasteries, orders, and even in exempt places where the Office is owed or accustomed to be said according to the rite of the Roman Church. The only exception is the previously mentioned institution or custom that has existed for more than two hundred years. We decree that this Breviary shall never be changed, in whole or in part, nor shall anything be added to it or taken away from it at any time. All those who are bound by law or custom to say or sing the Canonical Hours the scheduled daily prayers of the Church according to the rite of the Roman Church are now bound forever to say and sing these day and night hours according to the rules and method of this Roman Breviary. We apply the penalties established by the sacred canons against those who do not say the Divine Office daily. No one can satisfy this obligation of prayer except through this single formula. We therefore command all Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, and other church prelates to introduce this Breviary into their churches, monasteries, convents, orders, military orders, and dioceses. They must set aside the texts We have suppressed and abolished, even those they established privately. All priests and clergy, secular and regular, of either sex, as well as knights and those in exempt places who are required to say the Office, must ensure they pray and sing from the formula of this our Breviary, both in the choir and outside of it. Regarding what is prescribed in the Rubrics the red-ink instructions for performing the liturgy of this Office—specifically on which days the Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Office of the Dead, and the Seven Penitential and Gradual Psalms should be said—We wish to be merciful. Because of the various business of this life and the many occupations of men, We have decided to remove the danger of sin from these specific requirements. However, guided by our duty of pastoral care, We strongly encourage everyone in the Lord to let their own devotion and diligence lead them. They should seek their own salvation and the salvation of others through these prayers and praises. To further encourage the faithful, We trust in the mercy of Almighty God and the authority of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul. To all who say the Office of the Blessed Virgin or the Office of the Dead on the days specified in the Rubrics, We grant a relaxation of one hundred days of their enjoined penance. To those who say the Seven Psalms or the Gradual Psalms, We grant fifty days. We grant this without pre-

judice to the holy custom of those churches where the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin a shorter cycle of prayers dedicated to Mary was traditionally said in the choir. In those churches, that praiseworthy and holy custom of celebrating the said Office in the usual way shall be preserved. Furthermore, so that these present letters may be fully known to all, We command that they be published at the doors of the Basilica of the Prince of the Apostles in Rome, at the Apostolic Chancery, and in the Campo de' Fiori a prominent public square in Rome used for proclamations. A copy shall be posted there according to custom. We will and decree by Apostolic authority that after this publication, those present in the Roman Curia the administrative apparatus of the Holy See are bound to this rite after one month. Those within the mountains original: "intra montes," referring to the regions of Italy have three months. Those living everywhere else have six months, or as soon as they have the opportunity to buy copies of this Breviary. From that time, they are obligated to pray and sing according to its rite both in the choir and outside of it. Printed copies of these letters, signed by a public notary and sealed by an ecclesiastical prelate, or even those printed in the volumes themselves in Rome, shall have the same legal authority everywhere as these present letters would if they were shown in person. To ensure the Breviary remains pure and uncorrupted everywhere, We forbid it to be printed, offered, or accepted anywhere in the world without Our express license or the license of a special Apostolic Commissioner. We will appoint these commissioners in each kingdom and province of the Christian world. Anyone who prints, offers, or receives it otherwise is automatically punished by excommunication the most severe penalty in the Church, involving exclusion from the sacraments. Therefore, no person is permitted to break or rashly oppose this page of Our removal, abolition, permission, revocation, command, precept, statute, grant, mandate, decree, relaxation, encouragement, prohibition, punishment, and will. If anyone presumes to attempt this, let him know that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.

In the year of the Nativity of the Lord 1568, in the eleventh Indiction, on the fifteenth day of the month of July, in the third year of the pontificate of the Most Holy Father in Christ and Our Lord, Pius V, Pope by divine providence, the written Apostolic letters were read, posted, and published at the doors of the Basilica of the Prince of the Apostles in Rome, the Apostolic Chancery, and in the Campo de' Fiori. The letters remained posted for a period of time, as is the custom, and were then removed by us, Julius Parinus and Joannes Bornotus, messengers of our said Holy Lord the Pope.

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