I. Liturgy

Until the liturgical reform that followed upon Vatican II, every celebration of mass for the deceased began with the Latin antiphon to the introit, Requiem aeternam, borrowed from 4 Ezra. This is why the term “requiem” came to designate any mass for the dead (also: mass for souls) that is celebrated with chant. The other special chants of the masses celebrated for the deceased were also fixed. Especially the sequence Dies irae and the offertory Domine Iesu Christe, along with other particularities (omission of Ps 43…