APOLOGIA in the Mass. — By this name were designated in ancient liturgy certain prayers which the priest recited to implore forgiveness for his own faults. They were also called: Confessio, Accusatio, Indulgentia; often: Excusatio ante altare, Confessio sancta peccatorum, Oratio de conscientiae reatu ante altare; more frequently: A. sacerdotis. Excellent examples of these are found in various ancient sacramentaries and missals. They had no fixed place, but were mainly at the Introit during the singing of the psalm, and at the Offertory, while the priest awaited the end of the chant. Their composition dates chiefly from the 9th and 11th centuries. In the present-day liturgy, the Confiteor at the beginning of the Mass remains as a vestige of these apologies.
APOLOGIA NELLA MESSA
BIBL.: E. Martène, De antiquis Ecclesiae ritibus, I, cap. 4, art. 11, Antwerp 1773; F. E. Warren, The Liturgy and Ritual of the Celtic Church, Oxford 1881, p. 230; F. Cabrol, s. V. in DACL, I, cols. 2591-2601.