The Roman Ritual
Rituale Romanum
- Known today as
- The book of rites for the priest, issued by Pope Paul V in 1614, the year of Canale’s treatise.
- Kind
- Sacramental, in 1 older authority
- Earliest authority here
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914)
Revised October 1, 2026: An authority added from a text read in full. Version 1, first published September 28, 2026.
The Roman Ritual: what was it used for?
It contains the sacraments, blessings, and processions, and, in its title on exorcism, the rules and rite for delivering the possessed, with warnings against credulity: the exorcist is to judge carefully whether a person is truly possessed or merely ill.
The Roman Ritual: what does modern science say?
Replaced by new rituals after the Second Vatican Council; the rite of exorcism was revised in 1999.
What Medicine Makes of It
- PossessionThe possessed of the manuals, and dissociative trance.
- Dancing Manias and the Convent OutbreaksStrasbourg 1518, Loudun 1634, and mass psychogenic illness.
- The Rite as TherapyWhy exorcism works when it works: persuasion, community, and the ending.
- Gassner and MesmerThe exorcist and the magnetiser, 1775: how exorcism became psychotherapy.
- Speaking in TonguesThe possessed who spoke strange languages, and what the tongues are.
The Roman Ritual: what lore surrounds it?
It brought order to the crowded field of manuals like Menghi’s, and its rite of exorcism held until 1999.
The Roman Ritual: what did the older authorities say?
- The Catholic Encyclopedia
- The Catholic Encyclopedia calls the Ritual “the latest and still the least uniform book of our rite.” Before it, “every local rite, almost every diocese, had such books,” called Manuale, Agenda or Sacramentale; Paul V published the first official edition in 1614 so that priests “should carry out their office according to a public and fixed standard, instead of following so great a multitude of Rituals,” yet “the Ritual has never been imposed as the only standard. Paul V did not abolish all other collections.” Its tenth title holds “Exorcism and forms for filling up parochial books,” and the appendix of blessings “is now nearly as long as the original book.”
Sources
- [21] Herbermann, C. G., et al. (eds.) (1907–1912). The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Online at newadvent.org. Articles: Agnus Dei (H. Thurston); Amulet (M. Hassett); Ash Wednesday (H. Thurston); Bells (H. Thurston); Holy Oils (H. Leclercq); Paschal Candle (H. Thurston); Scapular (J. Hilgers). Read in part · the text read
- [120] Weller, P. T. (trans.) (1964). The Roman Ritual, Part XI: Blessings and Other Sacramentals. EWTN Library, ewtn.com. Primary text
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914), “Ritual.” newadvent.org/cathen/13088b.htm Standard reference work
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full
- Sources
- 3 cited: 1 read in part, 1 primary text, 1 standard reference work.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 28, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026
- Chicago
“The Roman Ritual.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/rituale-romanum.
- MLA
“The Roman Ritual.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/rituale-romanum. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
The Roman Ritual. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/rituale-romanum
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See Also
Also in The Catholic Encyclopedia
Rosary in The Catholic Encyclopedia · The prologue of John in The Catholic Encyclopedia · The SATOR square in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Pilgrim badges and ampullae in The Catholic Encyclopedia · everything The Catholic Encyclopedia names →
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Historical description, not medical advice.