Braga Use

In Brief

The Braga Use — locally, the Rito Bracarense — is the medieval use of the Roman Rite of the primatial archdiocese of Braga in Portugal.¹ Its last typical Missal, reformed by order of Pius XI and printed at the Vatican Polyglot Press in 1924, remains the book of the rite; and the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites of 9 December 1924 that declared it typical also subjected it to all later universal Roman changes, even when Braga was not expressly named.² Pius V's Quo primum did not abolish it: the bull excepted uses of more than two hundred years' standing, and Braga's books survived under that exception.³ Today it is kept archdiocese-wide on only two days a year — 2 February, the Presentation, and Palm Sunday — with occasional pontifical celebrations.^4,5 It is not a Mozarabic or Visigothic survival, and it was never an independent rite like Milan's: it is a Roman use, "merely the Roman Rite with local additions and modifications", in Fortescue's phrase.¹

Where to Experience It

By Pius XI's 1924 bull, the priests of the Archdiocese of Braga were ordered to use "this one Missal" — hoc uno utantur Missali.² That made the Braga Use, in law, the archdiocese's own use; in practice, since the clergy progressively adopted the reformed Roman books, it is kept archdiocese-wide only on 2 February and Palm Sunday.⁴ An occasional pontifical celebration — a full Mass in the Braga rite at the sanctuary of São Bento da Porta Aberta in 2014, for instance — shows it still lives in the archdiocese's memory.⁵

Your First Visit

If you want to see the Braga Use, come on 2 February or Palm Sunday: those are the two days the archdiocese keeps it.⁴ The book of the celebration is the 1924 Missale Bracarense, whose front matter — the bull Inter multiplices gravesque curas and the 9 December decree together — is the rite's modern charter.² Occasional pontifical celebrations are announced from time to time.⁵

The Shape of the Liturgy

Take the Roman Mass of the Tridentine era and add a thousand years of Braga: that is the Braga Use. Fortescue's verdict on such uses stands over it: "merely the Roman Rite with local additions and modifications".¹ The medieval layer shows in the twelfth-century Braga-area missal edited in 1975 as the Missal de Mateus, and in Pedro Romano Rocha's study of the medieval Braga Office, framed as "originalité et dépendances" — originality and dependencies, on Rome and on France.^7,8 The modern shape is the 1924 reformed Missal: Pius XI's bull ordered the archdiocese's priests to use "this one Missal", and the Sacred Congregation of Rites declared the Vatican edition typical — while ruling that later universal changes and new feasts apply to the Braga rite "even when that venerable rite is not expressly mentioned".² That last clause is the use's legal signature: a rite that keeps its identity by keeping up with Rome.

What makes it distinctive

• A medieval diocesan use of the Roman Rite — "merely the Roman Rite with local additions and modifications", in Fortescue's phrase.¹
• The 1924 Missale Bracarense, reformed by order of Pius XI and printed at the Vatican Polyglot Press: the last typical edition, and the book still used.^2,4
• Bound to Rome by law: the 9 December 1924 SRC decree subjects the Braga books to later universal changes and new feasts even when "that venerable rite is not expressly mentioned".²
• Two days a year: the use is now kept archdiocese-wide only on 2 February and Palm Sunday.⁴

History

The printed record begins in Lisbon: the first printed Braga missal in 1498 (Nicolaus de Saxonia), with others in 1512, 1538 and 1558, and a Breviary in 1494.⁹ The modern Braga Use is a twentieth-century reform. Pius XI's bull Inter multiplices gravesque curas of 8 December 1924 — note the real incipit, with "gravesque", easily confused with shorter forms — approved the reformed Missal printed at the Vatican Polyglot Press; the Sacred Congregation of Rites' decree of the next day declared the edition typical and bound it to Rome's future.²

After the Council the rite faded without ever being abolished. Archbishop Francisco Maria da Silva invoked Sacrosanctum Concilium 4 in 1970; the revision of the rite was never approved, and Carvalho reports that only an aid schema for the Paschal Triduum was approved.^4,9 No reformed Braga Missal exists: Joaquim Félix de Carvalho told the Vatican symposium for the Council's fiftieth anniversary in 2014 that the last Missal of the rite dates from 1924.⁴

Milestones

1. 1498The first printed Braga Missal (Lisbon: Nicolaus de Saxonia); others follow in 1512, 1538 and 1558, with a Breviary in 1494⁹
2. 1924-12-08Pius XI's bull Inter multiplices gravesque curas approves the reformed Missale Bracarense and orders the archdiocese's priests to use "this one Missal"²
3. 1924-12-09The Sacred Congregation of Rites declares the Vatican edition typical and subjects the Braga books to later universal Roman changes even when Braga is not expressly named²
4. 1970Archbishop Francisco Maria da Silva invokes Sacrosanctum Concilium 4; the revision of the rite is never approved, and only an aid schema for the Paschal Triduum is approved^4,9
5. 2014-02Joaquim Félix de Carvalho tells the Vatican symposium for SC's 50th anniversary that the rite is now used only on 2 February and Palm Sunday⁴
6. 2014-03-21An occasional pontifical Mass in the Braga rite at the Santuário de S. Bento da Porta Aberta⁵

Texts & Books

Two books define the rite's modern form: the Missale Bracarense (Rome: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1924), reformed by order of Pius XI, with the bull and the 9 December 1924 decree in its front matter; and the Liturgia bracarensis (Braga, 1936), an annotated extract of the 1924 rite.^2,10 Behind them stand the early printed missals — 1498, 1512, 1538, 1558 — and the medieval Missal de Mateus, the twelfth-century Braga-area missal edited in 1975.^7,9

Family & Relations

The Braga Use descends from the Roman Rite: it is a medieval diocesan use, of the same family as the other medieval diocesan uses of the Roman Rite — Fortescue names Lyons among the dioceses that "keep their special uses".¹ The 1924 title page styles its archbishop "Hispaniarum Primatis" — Primate of the Spains, a title shared with Toledo; but unlike Toledo's, Braga's liturgy is a use of the Roman Rite, not a rite of its own.²

Compare with

• Lyon Use: another medieval diocesan use of the Roman Rite with its own ceremonies, surviving on limited days¹¹
• Sarum Use: the English medieval use of the Roman Rite: Braga is its Portuguese cousin, still living where Sarum ended by statute in 1549^1,12

The Rite Today

Today the Braga Use is a limited use: archdiocese-wide on 2 February and Palm Sunday, with occasional pontifical Masses — that is Carvalho's 2014 account.^4,5 Carvalho, addressing the Vatican symposium for the fiftieth anniversary of Sacrosanctum Concilium, argued not for restoring the full rite but for keeping particular Braga prayers, blessings and hymns within the Roman liturgy.⁴ The clergy progressively adopted the reformed Roman books, and the 1924 Missal stands alone as the rite's last typical edition.⁴

As of 20 September 2026.

Disputed Questions

Go Deeper

The Braga Use poses the question every old use must answer: what is a local liturgy for? Rome's answer, in the 1924 decree, was a legal bond: the Braga books automatically follow universal changes, "even when that venerable rite is not expressly mentioned" — a use that keeps its identity by keeping up with Rome.² The Council's answer, invoked by Archbishop da Silva in 1970, was Sacrosanctum Concilium 4: the Church "wishes to preserve" the lawfully recognized rites and "to foster them in every way".¹³ Between the two answers lies the use's actual life: two days a year, and a 1924 missal that remains, by Rome's own decree, typical.^2,4

On Domus Dei

• The Roman RiteThe rite whose diocesan use Braga is
• The Lyon UseAnother medieval diocesan use of the Roman Rite, kept on limited days
• The Sarum UseThe English medieval use of the Roman Rite

Official resources

• Archdiocese of Braga: the 2014 pontifical Mass in the Braga rite
• "A Liturgia em Braga" — the author's university repository PDF

Recommended reading

• Carvalho, Joaquim Félix de, “A Liturgia em Braga”, Didaskalia 37 (2007), pp. 176ff.The modern scholarly account of the rite's books and its post-conciliar fate Read online
• Missale Bracarense, Rome: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1924.The 1924 Missal with the bull and the decree: the rite's modern charter Read online
• Rocha, Pedro Romano, L'office divin au Moyen Âge dans l'Église de Braga: originalité et dépendances d'une liturgie particulière au Moyen Âge, Paris: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Centro Cultural Português, 1980.The medieval Braga Office, its originality and its Roman and French dependencies
• “Vaticano: Especialista português abordou mudanças no «Rito Bracarense» no pós-Concílio”, Agência Ecclesia, 2014.The 2014 report on the rite's current limited use Read online

Sources

1. ReferenceFortescue, Adrian, “Rites”, Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 13, 1912. LinkVerified 2026-09-14 · read in the New Advent text: the general part, signed ADRIAN FORTESCUE (New Advent's citation line names P. Griffin, wrongly): 'merely the Roman Rite with local additions and modifications, most of which are to its disadvantage'; dioceses (e.g. Lyons) and orders 'keep their special uses'. It misdates Quo primum to 19 July 1570 (the bull: pridie Idus Julii, 14 July), so that date is not repeated
2. Primary textMissale Bracarense, Rome: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1924. LinkVerified 2026-09-14 · archive.org OCR read locally: the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites of 9 Dec 1924 in the front matter, declaring the Vatican edition typical ('pro typica habenda est') and ruling that later changes are applied in the Braga rite 'etsi venerandus ille Ritus non expressis verbis memoretur' (the OCR reads 'aon' for 'non')
3. Magisterial / canonicalPius V, Quo primum (bull promulgating the Roman Missal), 1570. LinkVerified 2026-09-15 · Latin read in the front matter of the 1962 editio typica (archive.org sp07mr62-editio-typica, page images pp. [V]-VI) and of an 1862 Missal: 'nisi ab ipsa prima institutione a Sede Apostolica approbata, vel consuetudine, quae, vel ipsa institutio super ducentos annos … assidue observata sit'; dated 'pridie idus iulii' 1570; the Council of Trent's decrees had left the Missal to the pope: 'inter alia Sacri Tridentini Concilii decreta, nobis statuendum esset de sacris libris, Catechismo, Missali, et Breviario edendis, atque emendandis' (1862 front matter)
4. Reference“Vaticano: Especialista português abordou mudanças no «Rito Bracarense» no pós-Concílio”, Agência Ecclesia, 2014. LinkVerified 2026-09-14 · read: Fr Joaquim Félix Carvalho at the Vatican symposium on SC's 50th anniversary (report of 20 Feb 2014): the last Missal of the rite dates from 1924; the rite is still used on 2 February and Palm Sunday
5. Primary textArchdiocese of Braga, Missa em Rito Bracarense (Santuário de S. Bento da Porta Aberta, 21 March 2014), 2014. LinkVerified 2026-09-14 · Seen: an occasional full celebration, a pontifical Mass in the Braga rite at the Santuário de S. Bento da Porta Aberta
6. Magisterial / canonicalCatholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed., Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997, §1203. LinkVerified 2026-09-12 · §§460, 1105–1106, 1353, 1375, 1377 read on vatican.va; §1125 read on vatican.va; §1203 (ENG0015 __P3C) and §1367 (__P41) read on vatican.va 2026-09-15
7. Primary textBragança, Joaquim O. (ed.), Missal de Mateus, Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1975.Verified 2026-09-14 · Catalogued (citation): Open Library OL37436327W (762 pp.). The edition of a twelfth-century missal of the Braga region (Braga, Biblioteca Pública ms. 1000). Not opened
8. ScholarshipRocha, Pedro Romano, L'office divin au Moyen Âge dans l'Église de Braga: originalité et dépendances d'une liturgie particulière au Moyen Âge, Paris: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Centro Cultural Português, 1980.Verified 2026-09-14 · Catalogued (citation): Open Library OL5315538W (623 pp.; preface by Pierre-Marie Gy). The study of the medieval Braga Office. Not opened
9. ScholarshipCarvalho, Joaquim Félix de, “A Liturgia em Braga”, Didaskalia 37 (2007), pp. 176ff. LinkVerified 2026-09-14 · excerpt seen (yumpu): the printed-book chronology (1494 Breviary; Missals 1498, 1512, 1538, 1558), the 1924 bull and the 9 Dec 1924 SRC decree, and the post-conciliar trajectory of the rite
10. Primary textAlmeida, Emmanuel Gomes de (ed.), Liturgia bracarensis ex Missali bracarensi … Pii XI recognito et reformato desumpta, Braga: Typ. Officinae S. Joseph, 1936, 465.Verified 2026-09-14 · Catalogued (citation): Open Library OL349833W. An annotated extract of the 1924 Braga rite. Not opened
11. ReferenceGoyau, Georges, “Lyons”, Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 9, 1910. LinkVerified 2026-09-14 · read in the New Advent text: Pius IX's assurance of 4 Feb 1864, the Brief of 17 March 1864, the primatial church's adoption of the Roman books on 8 December 1869
12. Primary textGee, Henry, and W. J. Hardy (eds.), Documents Illustrative of English Church History, London: Macmillan, 1896. LinkVerified 2026-09-14 · archive.org OCR read locally: no. LXIX, the Act of Uniformity of 1549, p. 358: 'of Sarum, of York, of Bangor, and of Lincoln' (the OCR reads 'Qf Sarum'; the words before it are illegible in the OCR and are not quoted; the 1549 preface's 'Salsbury use' confirms the reading)
13. Magisterial / canonicalSecond Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 1963, §4. LinkVerified 2026-09-14 · §4 read on vatican.va 17 Sep 2026, verbatim: the Council 'declares that holy Mother Church holds all lawfully acknowledged rites to be of equal right and dignity; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way', and desires that 'where necessary, the rites be revised carefully in the light of sound tradition'. §47 read on vatican.va 15 Sep 2026, verbatim: 'At the Last Supper, on the night when He was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood'; §23 read on vatican.va; §50 read, and re-read in Latin and English on vatican.va 14 Sep 2026: 'ritus, probe servata eorum substantia, simpliciores fiant' (the substance clause governs the simplifying); 'restituantur vero ad pristinam sanctorum Patrum normam' / 'restored to the vigor which they had in the days of the holy Fathers'; §54 and §116 read on vatican.va 16 Sep 2026: 'a suitable place may be allotted to their mother tongue'; 'The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services'