The Titular Feast is a festive Holy Mass, which takes the form of the solemn pontifical on the occasions in which a bishop or cardinal presides over the celebration. Until about the 1980s, the celebratory Mass was borrowed from that for the Assumption of Mary (15 August) but the post-conciliar reform imposed that the rite of the day, on Sunday or festive Mass, always prevails. on particular celebrations, or in any case not having relevance in the liturgical calendar of the universal Church.

This means that the Mass of the day is celebrated on the Feast, therefore the injuries to the Patroness are contained only in the homily, in the prayers of the faithful and in other precepts that the priest possibly recites during the function. Currently, the canonical date of the Titular Feast is set for the third Sunday in October, according to what was established in the meeting of the General Congregation (assembly of members) held on May 17 of the 1950 Jubilee Year. On that occasion, in fact, it was decided " for many opportunities " - however not specified therein - that the Feast was permanently placed on the " Sunday in October preceding the Feast of Christ the King " . In this regard, it should be remembered that, at that time, this solemnity was a movable feast that fell on the last Sunday of October, having been established by Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) at the close of the 1925 Jubilee.

Following the post-conciliar reform of the liturgical calendar, the feast of Christ the King today is celebrated on the last Sunday of November, at the end of the time per annum before Advent, but at that moment it was deemed appropriate not to further change the date of the Feast Owner, now settled in the habits of the faithful. It should therefore be emphasized that the Titular Feast was celebrated continuously on September 8 (Nativity of Mary) from 1492 - when it was established - to 1950 as already mentioned.

The blessing of apples

At the end of the Holy Mass, the ancient tradition of the blessing of apples proceeds - after explaining the rite to the people - then the distribution of one apple per family / family group or friend.

The apple must in fact be divided at the table by the head of the family - in his capacity as head of the "domestic church" - or by another designated diner, who hands a slice of it to each of those present to renew the Christian symbolism of unity in diversity and of every a part that at the same time contains the whole, according to the teaching of St. Paul. The apple is round - a symbol of perfection - and theoretically contains an infinite number of segments, unlike citrus fruits whose fruits have an already defined number of segments. Furthermore, the fruit must be eaten with all the peel as it serves the devotee to obtain "the health of soul and body" : as the rind protects the fruit from external agents, so the blessed apple peel is the shield that wants to prevent to the evil of contaminating the soul. The protective peel thus also becomes the emblem of that enclosed, protective garden, of that secret garden which is the typical attribute of our Madonna dell'Orto.

Finally, the apple is also a reminder of the garden of Eden and of original sin, and reminds us that Mary - who was born without it, precisely Immaculate - was placed by God triumphant in perpetuity over the tempting serpent, the very figure of Evil. In this way a symbolic symmetry is created: if an apple was the origin of sin, an apple can nevertheless be used to obtain grace and blessing. In addition to this, the apple also recalls the ancient guilds (the "Universities") which embellished the church with the wonderful gilded stucco fruits that surround, high up on the church vaults, precisely the glories of Mary: the Immaculate Conception, the 'Assumption and the Coronation in Heaven.

The rite of blessing - operated by the priest Primicerio dell'Arciconfraternita - takes place instead with these invocations:

V. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.

A. He made heaven and earth.

V. The Lord be with you.

A. And with your spirit.

LET'S PRAY

Lord, bless these apples and listen to our fervent prayer, so that those who feed on these fruits in Your Holy Name may obtain health of the soul and body. For Christ our Lord. Amen.

Finally, before the concluding rites, the traditional Prayer to Maria Ss. Dell'Orto is recited chorally.

“Our” sung Mass, unique in Rome

Our Archconfraternity, in the past centuries, has often had its own musical chapel - made up of organist, singers and, sometimes, other musicians - a sign of undisputed dignity and high prestige. However, it lacked its “own” sung Mass, composed especially for the more solemn celebrations in the church of S. Maria dell'Orto. In fact, on such occasions the classic Missa de Angelis was normally used . The Archconfraternity, however, mindful of its ancient glories, wanted to equip itself with a sung Mass that could be transmitted to posterity. For this reason, in 2012, he commissioned Maestro Aurelio Porfiri - a renowned organist and composer of sacred music of international fame, as well as an authentic “Trastevere” - the composition of a solemn Mass entitled Missa in Festo Beatae Virginis Mariae de Horto .

This sacred musical composition, performed in world premiere on the occasion of the Titular Feast of Maria Ss. Dell'Orto celebrated on October 19, 2014, represents a primacy among the Roman Archconfraternities: ours is the only one, to date, to have access to a sung Mass composed especially for her.

The composition, for organ and mixed choir, consists of 15 parts: 1 - Toccata Avanti la Messa (organ only); 2 - Iubilate Deo; 3 - Kyrie Eleison; 4 - Glory; 5 - Alleluia Domine ad Quem ibimus; 6 - Ave Maria; 7 - Seeking canon for the Offertory (organ only); 8 - Sanctus; 9 - Mysterium Fidei; 10 - Amen; 11 - Agnus Dei; 12 - Beatam me dicent; 13 - Eucharistic meditation (organ only); 14 - Toccata after Mass (organ only); 15 - Hymn Look at me o Mother.

The text of the last piece “Look at me or Mother” is a beautiful, poignant hymn to the Madonna dell'Orto, composed by M ° Porfiri himself, freely inspired by the traditional prayer mentioned above. This is the text:

• Look at me or Mother, look at this world, look at the misery of those who hope. Look and give your maternal gaze, because we trust in you.

• Chorus: A closed garden, a sealed garden, chosen by the Lord you were, Mother. Here we are, Virgin of the Garden, in our every pain we invoke you, in our every pain we invoke you.

• Show me o Mother, show us children, show that love wins everything. Show and extend your maternal hand, because we trust in you. Delay

• Hold me o Mother, hold up these hearts, hold up the hope of those who suffer. Hold, understand, those who struggle with sin, because we trust in you. Delay

• Bring me O Mother, bring this trouble, bring this world to your Son. Carry the joys and pains in your heart, because we trust in You. Delay

• Guide me o Mother, guide my life; guide me with your maternal gaze. Give me the strength to overcome evil, because we trust in You. Delay

Before Maestro Porfiri wrote his Mass, other composers tried their hand at similar compositions, setting some parts of the celebration to music on the occasion of the Titular Feast. In 2016, for example, a manuscript score concerning an Introito for three voices and a Psalm for the Titular Feast emerged from the bottom of a drawer. The document is signed by this Virgilio Piccio - name remained unknown - and is dated November 19, 1926. However, this date appears somewhat mysterious, since at that time our Feast was still celebrated on September 8th. Moreover, the 19th was a Friday. We therefore do not know why the songs expressly composed "For the feast of the Madonna dell'Orto" are characterized by such an incongruent dating, unless contingent reasons have imposed, for example, to postpone the celebration of the Feast to Sunday 21 November . The text of the Introit is taken from Isaiah LXI, 11: Sicut hortus semen suum germinat, sic Dominus Deus germinabit justitiam, et laudem coram universis gentibus.

The Psalm instead consists of the first two lines of Psalm 84, followed by the “Gloria Patri”: Quam dilecta tabernacula tua, Domine virtutum! Concupiscit et deficit anima mea in atria Domini.

In the manuscript some verses of the traditional Christmas Canticle are also set to music, indicated however with the generic title of the moment of execution, that is "Midnight": Popol prostrate the hour rang with life Gloria! (2 times)

Even in more recent times, the precious contribution of valuable musicians has not been lacking, such as that of Maestro Temistocle Capone, who in 2007 composed a Psalm expressly for the Madonna dell'Orto (from Psalm 44, "Resplende the queen, Lord " ) and the Gradual to the Gospel ( " Hail o Queen of mercy; protect us from the enemy and welcome us at the hour of our death " ) taken from a hymn present in the Office of the Blessed Virgin.

The anthem can be heard on the YouTube video