CHIROGRAPHUM*
Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae canonice instituitur
PAULUS PP. VI
Nobile subsidium Liturgiae, disciplinam dicimus Musicae Sacrae, qua mentes ad pietatem singulariter solent excitari, praeteritis temporibus curae fuit, estque in praesenti, Apostolicae Sedi; quod documentis Romanorum Pontificum luculenter comprobatur. Etenim hac de re copiose egerunt S. Pius X Litteris, a verbis «Tra le sollecitudini dell’officio pastorale» incipientibus dieque XXII mensis Novembris anno MCMIII motu proprio datis; Pius XI Constitutione Apostolica, cui, die XX mensis Decembris anno MCMXXVIII editae, appellatio est «Divini cultus sanctitatem»; Pius XII Encyclicis Litteris, quae, a prioribus verbis «Musicae sacrae disciplina» nuncupatae, die XXV mensis Decembris anno MCMLV emissae sunt, atque praeceptionibus, quae, «Instructio de Musica sacra et sacra Liturgia» appellatae, die III mensis Septembris anno MCMLVIII sunt vulgatae. Ioannes demum XXIII acta Decessorum suorum in memoriam revocavit, ac studium et progressionem Musicae Sacrae fovit sollerter; qua ex parte iuvat memorare Epistulam, a verbis «Iucunda laudatio» incipientem, quam die VIII mensis Decembris anno MCMLXI ad dilectum filium Hyginum Anglés Pamies, Pontificii Instituti Musicae Sacrae docendae Praesidem, ob quinquagesimum expletum annum ab eodem Instituto condito, dedit; atque ipsum Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum Secundum multis argumentis, in quibus versaretur, hanc etiam rem adiecit.
His Summis Pontificibus propositum erat, ut quotquot egregiae arti Musicae Sacrae operam dant, inter se et cum Apostolica Sede arctius coniungerentur; ut eidem Apostolicae Sedi praesto esset institutum quoddam internationale, cuius ope de necessitatibus, Musicae Sacrae propriis, certior fieret, quoque consulta Supremae Auctoritatis Ecclesiae de ipsa Musica Sacra ad effectum deducerentur; praeterea ut praecipue Missionariis auxilium praeberetur ad solvendam gravem magnique momenti quaestionem Musicae Sacrae in regionibus, missionali labore excolendis, atque varia hac in re incepta congruenti ratione inter se conecterentur; denique ut opera de Musica Sacra, prelo edenda, et studia de huius artis hereditate a maioribus accepta proveherentur.
In iis autem, quae supra dictae sunt, praeceptionibus de Musica Sacra (Cf. Instructiο de Musica sacra et sacra Liturgia, n. 117), Pius XII, Decessor Noster rec. mem., suasit, ut societates ad Musicam Sacram fovendam institutae numero multiplicarentur earumque fieret consociatio, sive nationales sive internationales, eo consilio, ut haec disciplina et ars felicibus incrementis augeretur.
Hoc igitur explentes optatum conspiratisque votis libenter obsecundantes, ab Episcopis nonnullarum nationum Nobis significatis, ea, quae sequuntur, decrevimus atque huius Nostri Chirographi vi decernimus:
I. Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae canonice instituitur, cui propria est condicio «personae moralis», cuiusque sedes Romae exstabit.
II. Patronus vero eius est Eminentissimus Cardinalis Sacrae Rituum Congregationis pro tempore Praefectus.
III. Eidem Consociationi propositum est, ut cooperationem concordemque actionem inter quam plurimos, qui sunt per orbem terrarum et ad quamvis pertinent nationem, studiose promoveat ad Musicam Sacram excolendam eiusque assequendum progressum secundum praescripta Ecclesiae.
IV. Sodalitatis huius Internationalis socii habentur alii iure proprio, alii aggregati:
a) Socii iure proprio sunt Instituta Musicae Sacrae, a Sede Apostolica approbata, et Societates Musicae Sacrae a legitima potestate ecclesiastica rite agnita.
b) Socii vero aggregati sunt alia Instituta et Societates, prout Coetui Moderatorum visum fuerit.
c) Privati etiam homines possunt in Consociationem cooptare tamquam aggregati, condicionibus tamen ab eodem Coetu Moderatorum praestitutis.
V. Compages vero Consociationis constat e Consilio Generali, e Coetu Moderatorum, atque e Secretariatu:
a) Consilium Generale e cunctis consistit sociis simul adunatis.
b) Coetus Moderatorum, qui Consilio Generali et ipsi Consociationi moderatur, constituitur Praeside ac duobus eius vice fungentibus; qui omnes, proponente ipso Consilio, a Summo Pontefice nominantur munereque tres annos funguntur, scilicet usque ad subsequentem Conventum Internationalem Musicae Sacrae, ad normam statuti n. VI, b.
c) Secretariatus constat Secretario et Arcario, qui ambo a Coetu Moderatorum absque praefinito tempore nominantur, quique Romae commorentur necesse est.
VI.
a) Consilium Generale, suprema praeditum auctoritate, de iis omnibus decernit, quae ad ipsam Consociationem pertinent. Excutit insuper et approbat relations de opere a Coetu Moderatorum patrato. Deliberat de futurorum sumptuum aestimatione et de rationibus accepti et expensi, ad Consociationem quod attinet.
b) Congregatur de more singulis trienniis, in Conventibus Internationalibus Musicae Sacrae, nisi aliter visum fuerit.
c) In Consilio Generali voto deliberativo gaudent socii iure proprio cooptati et Delegatus uniuscuiusque Nationis, ab Episcopis eligendus; voto consultivo et voce passiva gaudent socii universi.
VII. Muneris Coetus Moderatorum est ea, quae a Consilio Generali decreta sunt, ad effectum deducere.
VIII. Secretariatus ea universa agit, quae propria sunt muneris viri a secretis et ad rem nummariam pertinent, ductu Praesidis aut, si casus ferat, amborum simul vice eiusdem fungentium, qui omnes, pro casu, rei periculum et onus in se recipiunt.
IX. Personam eiusdem Consociationis gerunt Praeses, aut, eο impedito, ambo simul vice eiusdem fungentes.
X. Patrimonium Consociationis consistit e tributis sociorum, largitionibus inter vivos et mortis causa collatis a piis benefactoribus, et reditibus ex operibus Consociationis exorientibus.
XI. Coetus Moderatorum normas exsecutivas horum Statutorum debet exarare, quas Consilio Generali proponat ad discutiendum et approbandum. Haec ediximus et statuimus, contrariis quibusvis non obstantibus.
Datum Romae, apud Sanctum Petrum, die XXII mensis Novembris, in festo S. Caeciliae, anno MCMLXIII, Pontificatus Nostri primo.
PAULUS PP. VI
* AAS LVI (1964), pp. 231-234
Extract from the handwritten document Nobile subsidium Liturgiae by Pope Paul VI.
on the canonical establishment of the International Society for Musica Sacra
Of this noble aid to the Liturgy that is Sacred Music, by which souls are singularly excited to piety, the Apostolic See has been concerned in past times and is concerned in the present, as the documents of the Roman Pontiffs amply demonstrate. In fact, St. Pius X treated this subject abundantly in the Letter “Tra le sollicitududine dell’officio pastorale”, given in the form of a Motu Proprio on November 22, 1903; Pius XI also dealt with this subject in the Apostolic Constitution “Divini cultus sanctitatem” of December 20, 1928; Pius XII in the Encyclical Letter “Musicae sacrae Disciplina” of December 25, 1955, with the norms published on September 3, 1958, under the title “Instructio de Musica sacra et sacra liturgia”. Finally, John XXIII recalled the acts of his predecessors and vigorously supported the study and progress of Sacred Music; in this regard, mention should be made of the Letter “Iucunda laudatio”, which he addressed, on December 8, 1961, to his beloved son Igino Anglés Pamies, Dean of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of this Institute. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council also included this theme among the many topics it had to deal with.
It was the intention of these Supreme Pontiffs
- that all those concerned with the exalted art of Sacred Music should be more closely connected among themselves and with the Apostolic See;
- that the Apostolic See itself should have at its disposal an international institute, with the help of which it could become better acquainted with the needs proper to Sacred Music, and by means of which the deliberations of the Supreme Authority of the Church concerning Sacred Music could be made effective;
- furthermore, that assistance be offered especially to the Missionaries to resolve the serious and important question of Sacred Music in mission territories, and that the various initiatives in this sector be linked together with appropriate criteria;
- finally, that publications on Sacred Music and studies on the heritage of this art transmitted by previous centuries be promoted.
In the norms relating to Sacred Music, mentioned above (Cf. Instructio de Musica sacra et sacra Liturgia, n.117), our predecessor of recent memory, Pius XII, suggested that the societies created to promote Sacred Music should be more numerous, and that they should federate, either at the national or international level, with the aim of effectively developing this discipline and this art.
Therefore, in order to fulfill this desire and to satisfy the collective vows that have been signified to us by the bishops of certain nations, we have established the following norms and we disclose them by virtue of our chirograph:
I. Creation of the Consociatio Internationalis Musicæ Sacræ, whose status is that of a legal person, and whose headquarters will be located in Rome.
II. Its Head is the Eminence Cardinal Prefect pro tempore of the Sacred Congregation of Rites.
III. The Association aims to promote cooperation and coordination among the greatest possible number of people from all nations and cultures of the world in order to cultivate Sacred Music and to promote its progress according to the prescriptions of the Church.
(…)
All this we deliberate and establish, notwithstanding anything to the contrary.
Given in Rome, at St. Peter’s, on November 22, 1963, feast of St. Cecilia, first year of Our Pontificate.
Pope Paul VI
(Unofficial Translation from the French of P. Pierre Le Bourgeois OSB by the monks of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek)
