The New Cathedral of Salamanca will celebrate the solemnity of Saint James the Apostle, Patron of Spain, next Saturday, July 25, at 12:00 p.m., with a Mass according to the Hispano-Mozarabic rite, one of the oldest liturgical forms preserved in the Church.
The Cathedral Chapter revived this celebration in 2021, linking it to an ancient tradition of the Talavera chapel, where a Mass dedicated to the Apostle was celebrated on December 30, a date associated with the transfer of his remains to Compostela.
The celebration on July 25 commemorates the martyrdom of James the Greater, son of Zebedee and brother of Saint John the Evangelist. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was beheaded by order of Herod Agrippa around the year 43 and was the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom.
For this reason, the liturgical color will be red, proper to the feasts of Apostles and martyrs.
A liturgy of Hispanic origin
The Hispano-Mozarabic rite developed during the early centuries of Christianity in the Iberian Peninsula and gained special importance during the Visigothic period.
After the general adoption of the Roman rite in the 11th century, it ceased to be celebrated regularly in much of the Peninsula, although it was preserved in some places, especially in Toledo.
Its texts and prayers are characterized by their biblical and theological richness, as well as by a distinct liturgical order that sets it apart from the Roman rite.
The Mozarabic tradition of Salamanca
The Cathedral of Salamanca joined the preservation of this ancient liturgy in the 16th century.
Doctor Rodrigo Arias Maldonado de Talavera acquired the chapel of El Salvador, located in the cloister of the Old Cathedral and known since then as the Talavera chapel, and requested that the Chapter celebrate the Mass there according to the Hispanic rite.
The foundation initially established a calendar of 52 annual celebrations and had twelve chaplains responsible for maintaining the cult. The chapel retained this number of ministers until approximately 1773, although over time the practice gradually lost continuity.
During the 20th century, several priests and scholars contributed to recovering knowledge of this liturgy. During the episcopate of Braulio Rodríguez, the Paschal Triduum was celebrated for several years according to the Hispano-Mozarabic rite in the Old Cathedral.
Currently, the Chapter celebrates this rite in the Old Cathedral on the first Sunday of Advent and the first Sunday of Lent. Since 2021, a third annual celebration has been added on the solemnity of Saint James the Apostle.