De Benedictione et Impositione primarii Lapidis
In the place where the altar is to be, a day earlier a wooden cross is placed. The bishop dons an amice, an alb, a cincture, a stole and a cope in the white colour on a rochet (or on a surplice if he is a Religious Prelate). Afterwards, in the mitre simplex and with the crosier in his hand, he blesses salt and water in the following way: after the calling Adjutorium nostrum he exorcises the salt; having taken the mitre off and without the crosier he starts the dialogue Domine, exaudi and Dominus vobiscum, after which, with his hands folded, he prays a prayer. In the mitre and with the crosier he exorcises the water, after which, in a similar way as above, he says a blessing over it.
The bishop pours the salt into the water, saying the words: Commixtio salis, et aquae pariter fiat. In nomine Pa+tris, et Fi+lii, et Spiritus + Sancti, he prays a prayer and subsequently, in the mitre, he sprinkles the place, where the aforementioned cross is set, with the water. In this time the choir sings an antiphon and the psalm 83. After the chant, the bishop, having taken the mitre off, prays a prayer, in which he asks the intercession of the saint who is to be the patron saint of the church.
The bishop stands in front of the foundation stone and begins the dialogue, in which appear expressions about “the stone rejected by the builders” and Tu es Petrus, after which he prays two prayers, the latter of which includes extraordinary and beautiful conclusion: Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, lapidem probatum, angularem, pretiosum, in fundamento fundatum, de quo dicit Apostolus: Petra autem erat Christus: Qui tecum et cum Spiritu Sancto vivit, et regnat Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. The bishop sprinkles the cornerstone with the blessed water; later on he carves the sign of the cross three times in the middle of its every side, saying the words: In nomine Pa+tris, et Fi+lii, et Spiritus + Sancti; subsequently he prays a prayer.
The Litany of the Saints begins. The bishop in the mitre kneels at the faldstool or on a kneeler with the face turned towards the cross. After the chant he rises to his feet and, having taken the mitre off, turns towards the cornerstone and prays a prayer. Afterwards in the mitre he intones an antiphon, after which the psalm 126 is sung; later on, praying a prayer with a blessing, the foundation stone is placed on its place (if the cornerstone is heavy and is lowered by a crane, the bishop holds his right hand on it). A bricklayer embeds the cornerstone.
The bishop without the mitre intones Veni Creator Spiritus, he kneels on a cushion in front of the faldstool (or on a kneeler) and, having sung the first stanza, he rises to his feet. After the hymn he asks God to send his Spirit on this “house that is being built” to “sanctify and purify the hearts” of the faithful in it. Later on, he prays a prayer, after which he sits on the faldstool in the mitre; a sermon preached by the bishop or a chosen priest dressed in a surplice, a white stole and a biretta takes place. In the end the bishop gives a solemn benediction and the deacon announces the form of the indulgence granted by the ordinary to all who took part in the ceremony. Afterwards Te Deum may be sung. After the consecration a Mass (a votive proper to the name of the nascent church) may be celebrated by the bishop or another priest. If the solemn mass is celebrated by a priest in the presence of the bishop, then the indulgence is announced after the blessing in the end of the mass.
[English translation by Marek]
