MEMORIALE RITUUM (Parvum caeremoniale, Parvum rituale). — Modern book of the Roman rite, composed for use in the smaller parishes of Rome, containing the ceremonies for the blessing of candles on 2 February, of ashes at the beginning of Lent, of palms on Palm Sunday, and of the last three days of Holy Week, arranged so that they may be performed by a single priest with the assistance of a small number of acolytes, instead of according to the prescriptions of the Missal.
This little book was composed by Benedict XIII when he was Archbishop of Benevento, on account of the difficulties encountered by small parishes in carrying out ecclesiastical functions with the solemnity prescribed. Upon his election as pope, he extended its use to the smaller parishes of the City of Rome by decree of 4 December 1724. Later, by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites dated 31 July 1821, Pius VII permitted its use in any parish church throughout the Catholic world. Sometimes, for convenience, the M. r. was added as an appendix to the Roman Ritual, e.g., in the editions of Rome and Mechlin of 1870, but it was also issued separately in 1862 at Ratisbon and in 1885 at Tournai. Benedict XV ordered a typical edition with modifications and additions (Sacred Congregation of Rites, 14 January 1920; AAS, 12 (1920), p. 448); the latest edition is that of 1950 (first post-typical edition).
Although not prescribed for parish churches outside Rome, its use is nevertheless recommended; in its replies the Sacred Congregation of Rites always refers to this booklet (cf. Decr. auth., no. 2015 ad 1; no. 2970 ad 5; no. 4049 ad 1). In smaller non-parochial churches and oratories, its use is permitted only by special indult of the Apostolic See (Decr. auth., no. 3390).