Pontifical Mass

American

noun

(sometimes lowercase) a High Mass celebrated by a bishop or other prelate.

Pontifical Mass British

noun

RC Church Church of England a solemn celebration of Mass by a bishop

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I attended what might be called pontifical mass.

From Project Gutenberg

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos is scheduled to lead a first-of its-kind "solemn Pontifical Mass" on Saturday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Northeast Washington.

From Washington Post

The glittering assemblage of 235 Roman Catholic bishops, gathered at a solemn pontifical Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, hardly resembled a convention of gamblers.

From Time Magazine Archive

These days it is still an arduous one, but less "miraculous" In the solemn splendor of St. Peter's in Rome, 500 North American Indians last week knelt and prayed during a pontifical Mass, along with 25,000 worshipers from around the world.

From Time Magazine Archive

Last week he celebrated pontifical mass for his silver milestone as archbishop.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023