Agatha Christie indult

Following the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI to replace the Tridentine Mass in 1969–1970, a petition was sent to the Pope asking that the Tridentine form of the Roman Rite be permitted to continue for those who wished in England and Wales. Some English Catholics had an attachment to the Tridentine Mass, as it was the form celebrated by the English Martyrs of the Reformation, and by priests in periods when Catholicism was subjected to sometimes severe persecution. Moreover, the petition noted the exceptional artistic and cultural heritage of the Tridentine Mass, and was signed by many prominent non-Catholic figures in British society, including Agatha Christie, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Kenneth Clark, Robert Graves, F. R. Leavis, Cecil Day-Lewis, Nancy Mitford, Iris Murdoch, Yehudi Menuhin, Joan Sutherland, and two Anglican bishops, those of Exeter and of Ripon.^[1]

John Cardinal Heenan approached Pope Paul VI with the petition and asked that use of the Tridentine Mass be permitted, and the Pope approved the request on 5 November 1971. Supposedly, Pope Paul had read the letter and exclaimed in excitement, “Ah! Agatha Christie!”, and so decided to grant it, thus giving the indult its nickname.^[2] Between then and Pope John Paul II’s worldwide indult in 1984, the Bishops of England and Wales were allowed to grant permission for occasional celebrations of Mass in the Old Rite, with the modifications introduced in 1965 and 1967.^[3]

 

The following were signatories of the original petition to Pope Paul VI:

• Preconciliar rites after the Second Vatican Council
• Quattuor abhinc annos

• The "Heenan" Indult - The Latin Mass Society website
• Text of the original appeal - Institute of Christ the King website