[Question:]{.underline} What was the reasoning behind the suppressing of many Vigils and Octaves under Pope Pius XII?
[Answer:]{.underline} It is indeed true that Pius XII abolished several of the Church’s Vigils and Octaves that had been observed for many centuries before. The reason given by the Sacred Congregation of Rites in its decree of March 23, 1955, to be effective as of January 1, 1956, was the simplification of the rubrics of the Roman Breviary and Missal.
It is certainly true that the rubrics prior to that time were quite complicated, especially when it became a question of overlapping octaves, and that it was a legitimate aspiration of the liturgical movement to simplify these rubrics in such a way that the ordinary faithful could follow, understand and participate. Furthermore, periodic elimination of added feasts, octaves and other liturgical days are not unusual in the history of the Church. Consequently, it is certainly successive to call this elimination of Octaves and Vigils a “modernist innovation”
In fact the three most important Octaves are the ones that were retained in 1955, namely those of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Thus the Octaves regain their original meaning as a celebration of a major mystery of our Faith, that one day alone does not suffice to contemplate, namely the mysteries of the Incarnation (Christmas), Redemption (Easter) and Pentecost (Descent of the Holy Ghost). This corresponds to the observation of Octaves in the Old Law by the Jews for the feasts of the Paschal Lamb and the feast of Tabernacles. This it is understandable that such Octaves as those of the feasts of St. John the Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul, St. Stephen and St. John the Evangelist would have been abolished. However, we can personally regret that some of the other Octaves were not retained, especially the Octaves of the Ascension and Corpus Christi, and perhaps also those of the Epiphany and the Sacred Heart.
The celebration of Vigils dates back to the early Church, at which time the early Christians prayed all night, until the celebration of Mass at the dawn of the feast day. The remaining example of this is the Easter Vigil of Holy Week, restored in 1951 to its ancient time and form of celebration. These Vigils were very important then and should be important for us now. They were times of watching, as indicated by the Latin word Vigiliae, and also of praying and fasting, in expectation of the solemnity of the morrow. It is certainly true that the sacrifice of fast and abstinence, in the expectation of a great feast, and the preparation involved, greatly helps us to profit from the special graces of the feast.
It is true that some less important Vigils were abolished in 1955. Nevertheless, all the important Vigils were retained, such as those of Easter and Pentecost, the Ascension, the Assumption, St. John the Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul and St. Lawrence. However, we can still personally regret also that certain other vigils were not retained, which Vigils highlight the special importance of the corresponding feast days, in particular those of the Immaculate Conception, of All Saints and of the Epiphany. The Church has compassion on the weakness of this non-penitential age in which we live. This does not prevent us from making the effort to observe the spirit of the Church by preparing the major feast days by recollection, sacrifice, spiritual reading and fasting.
Answered by Father Peter Scott, SSPX.