Editor’s note: Quod a nobis, promulgated by Pope St. Pius V on July 9, 1568, revised and promulgated the Roman Breviary following the Council of Trent. Two years later, Pius V issued Quo primum, which performed a parallel role for the Roman Missal. Quod a nobis is much less familiar, but it is an important primary source for the history of the Roman liturgy and the Church’s liturgical reforms.

We are publishing the document here as a service to researchers, academics, and anyone else interested in the history of Catholic liturgy. To our knowledge, a complete English translation of the original Latin is not readily available online, nor have we been able to locate a complete, readily accessible transcription of the full Latin text on the web (apart from scans of historical breviaries). We hope that making the English and Latin texts available together will be useful to readers.

Quod a nobis (English)

Note on the English translation: The English translation below was generated with the assistance of AI (Claude) and subsequently reviewed against the Latin text. It is offered as a working translation, not as a critical edition. We welcome corrections, improvements, and comments from readers with expertise in ecclesiastical Latin or the history of the Roman liturgy. The complete Latin text is included below so that readers can consult the source directly and evaluate the translation.

PIUS, BISHOP, SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD, IN PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE OF THE MATTER

1. As the nature of Our pastoral office demands of Us, We apply Our care to this end: that all, so far as with God’s help it can be done, may carry out the decrees of the sacred Council of Trent; and We understand that this must be done all the more earnestly when the things to be put into practice concern above all the glory of God and the duty owed by ecclesiastical persons. Among matters of this kind We judge that the first place belongs to the sacred prayers, praises, and thanksgivings to be rendered to God which are contained in the Roman Breviary. This form of the Divine Office, piously and wisely established of old by the Supreme Pontiffs, especially Gelasius I and Gregory I,[1] and reformed by Gregory VII, had with the passage of time strayed from its ancient institution; and so it seemed necessary that it be recalled and made to conform to the original rule of prayer. For some had disfigured the excellent structure of the old Breviary, mutilating it in many places; others had altered it with matter uncertain and foreign to it; and very many, drawn by the appearance of a more convenient Office, had resorted to the brevity of the new Breviary composed by Francisco Quiñones, Cardinal Priest of the title of Holy Cross in Jerusalem. Moreover, that corrupt custom had gradually crept into the provinces whereby bishops, in churches which from the beginning had been accustomed to say and chant[2] the Canonical Hours in common with the rest according to the ancient Roman usage, each composed a private Breviary for himself, and so tore apart that communion of offering prayers and praises to the one God in one and the same form, with Offices utterly unlike one another and proper, as it were, to each individual bishopric. Hence that disturbance of divine worship in so many places; hence the utter ignorance among the clergy of the ceremonies and rites of the Church, such that countless ministers of the churches went about their duties unbecomingly, not without great scandal to the devout.

2. Pope Paul IV of happy memory, bearing this diversity in prayer most grievously, had resolved to correct it. Accordingly, having provided that no permission for the new Breviary should be granted in the future, he undertook to bring the whole manner of saying and chanting the Canonical Hours back to the original custom and institution. But when he afterwards departed this life before completing what he had so excellently begun, and when the Council of Trent, previously interrupted several times, had been reconvened by Pope Pius IV of pious memory, the Fathers, in that salutary reform established by the same Council, resolved to restore the Breviary according to the plan of Pope Paul himself. And so whatever had been collected and worked out by him in this sacred undertaking was sent by the aforesaid Pope Pius to the Fathers of the Council at Trent. There, when the Council had charged certain learned and pious men to add the care of the Breviary to their other deliberations, and as the close of the Council was already at hand, the whole matter was referred, by decree of the same Council, to the authority and judgment of the Roman Pontiff; who, having summoned to Rome those same Fathers who had been chosen for the task and having added to their number some suitable men in the City, saw to the completion of the work.

3. But when he too had gone the way of all flesh, We, raised by the disposition of divine clemency, though unworthy, to the summit of the Apostleship, pressed the sacred work forward with the utmost urgency, calling in still other skilled men for the purpose; and by God’s great kindness toward Us (for so We take it), We have seen this Roman Breviary brought to completion. Having more than once examined the plan of its arrangement with those very men who had been placed in charge of the work, and understanding that in carrying it out they had not departed from the ancient Breviaries of the noble churches of the City and of Our Vatican Library, that they had moreover followed several weighty authors on the subject, and that, having removed what was foreign and uncertain, they had omitted nothing of the proper substance of the ancient Divine Office, We approved the work and commanded that it be printed at Rome, and once printed, published. Therefore, that this divine work may attain its effect in fact, by the authority of these presents We first of all remove and abolish the new Breviary published by the aforesaid Cardinal Francisco, in whatever church, monastery, convent, order, military order, and place of men or of women, even exempt, it may have been permitted by this See, whether from the original institution or otherwise.

4. We likewise abolish all other Breviaries whatsoever, whether older than the aforesaid, or protected by any privilege, or promulgated by bishops in their dioceses, together with all use of them, from all the churches of the world, monasteries, convents, military orders, orders, and places of men and of women, even exempt, in which the Divine Office is customarily or by obligation said according to the rite of the Roman Church; excepting, however, those which are shown to have used other specific Breviaries either from their very first institution, approved by the Apostolic See, or by custom, where that custom or that institution dates back more than two hundred years. As We do not take away from these their long-established right of saying and chanting their own Office, so We grant them, should this Breviary of Ours which has just been published be more agreeable to them, permission to say and chant it in choir, provided the bishop and the whole Chapter consent.

5. Moreover, We entirely revoke each and every Apostolic or other permission and custom, and statutes, even those protected by oath, Apostolic confirmation, or any other guarantee, as well as privileges, licenses, and indults for praying and chanting, whether in choir or outside it, according to the usage and rite of the Breviaries thus suppressed, granted, approved, and renewed for whatever reason to the aforesaid churches, monasteries, convents, military orders, orders, and places, and to cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, abbots, and other prelates of churches, and to each and every other ecclesiastical person, secular and regular, of either sex, however worded, and by whatever decrees and clauses confirmed; and it is Our will that all of these henceforth have no force or effect.

6. Every other usage, therefore, having been forbidden to all, as has been said, We command that this Our Breviary and form of praying and chanting be observed in all the churches of the whole world, monasteries, orders, and places, even exempt, in which the Office must or is accustomed to be said according to the usage and rite of the said Roman Church, saving the aforesaid institution or custom exceeding the aforesaid two hundred years. We ordain that this Breviary is never at any time to be changed, in whole or in part, and that nothing whatsoever is to be added to it or taken from it; and that all who by law or custom are obliged to say or chant the Canonical Hours according to the usage and rite of the Roman Church itself are, under the penalties laid down by canonical sanctions against those who do not say the Divine Office daily, absolutely bound henceforth and in perpetuity to say and chant the Hours themselves, both of day and of night, according to the prescription and order of this Roman Breviary; and that none of those upon whom this duty of saying and chanting is imposed of necessity can satisfy it except by this form alone.

7. We therefore command each and every patriarch, archbishop, bishop, abbot, and other prelate of churches to introduce this Breviary, each in his own churches, monasteries, convents, orders, military orders, dioceses, and places aforesaid, setting aside all the others which We have thus suppressed and abolished, even those established by their own private authority; and that they themselves, as well as all other priests and clerics, secular and regular, of either sex, together with members of military orders and exempt persons, upon whom the duty of saying and chanting the Office is in any manner enjoined, as stated above, take care to say and chant it according to the form of this Our Breviary, both in choir and outside it.

8. As for what is prescribed in the Rubrics of this Our Office concerning the days on which the Office of the Blessed Mary ever Virgin and of the Dead, and likewise the Seven Penitential Psalms and the Gradual Psalms, ought to be said and chanted: We, in consideration of the various affairs of this life and making allowance for the occupations of many, have judged that the danger of sin should be removed from that prescription; yet, mindful of the duty of pastoral providence, We earnestly exhort all in the Lord that, going beyond, insofar as they can, the relaxation We have granted, by their own devotion and diligence, they strive to provide for their own salvation and that of others by these prayers, suffrages, and praises as well. And that the will and zeal of the faithful may be still further stirred to this salutary practice, trusting in the mercy of Almighty God and the authority of His Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, We remit, of the penance enjoined upon them, one hundred days each time to all who on those very days specified in the Rubrics shall say the Office of the Blessed Mary or of the Dead, and fifty days to those who shall say the Seven Psalms or the Gradual Psalms. This We grant without prejudice to the holy custom of those churches in which the Little Office of the Blessed Mary ever Virgin was accustomed to be said in choir, so that in those churches the same praiseworthy and holy custom of celebrating the said Office in the usual manner is to be kept.

9. Furthermore, that these present letters may become more fully known to all, We direct that they be published at the doors of the Basilica of the Prince of the Apostles in the City, at the Apostolic Chancery, and at Campo de’ Fiori, and that a copy of them be posted there as usual. And it is Our will, and by Apostolic authority We decree, that after such publication those present in the Roman Curia, as soon as one month has elapsed; the rest who dwell south of the Alps, after three months; and those beyond the Alps, wherever they may live, after six months have passed, or as soon as they are able to obtain copies of this Breviary for sale, shall be bound to pray and chant according to its rite, both in choir and outside it. Copies of these same letters, signed by the hand of a notary public and sealed with the seal of some ecclesiastical prelate or of his court, or even printed at Rome in the volumes themselves without the aforesaid or any other attestation, are to carry everywhere the same validity as these presents themselves, were they exhibited and shown. But in order that the Breviary itself may be kept everywhere inviolate and incorrupt, We forbid that it be printed, offered for sale, or accepted anywhere else in the whole world without the express license of Ourselves or of the Apostolic Commissary specially appointed for this purpose in each kingdom and province of the Christian world. And whosoever shall otherwise print, offer for sale, or accept it, We bind by sentence of excommunication ipso facto.

10. Therefore, let no one whatsoever infringe this notice of Our removal, abolition, permission, revocation, command, precept, statute, indult, mandate, decree, remission, exhortation, prohibition, binding, and will, or rashly dare to act contrary to it. Should anyone presume to attempt this, let him know that he will incur the indignation of Almighty God and of His Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.

Dating

Given at Rome at St. Peter’s, in the year of the Lord’s Incarnation 1568, on the seventh day before the Ides of July [9 July], in the third year of Our Pontificate.

M. Dat.
Cæs. Glorierius
H. Cumyn.

Attestation of publication

In the year from the Nativity of the Lord 1568, eleventh indiction, on the fifteenth day of July, in the third year of the pontificate of the most holy Father in Christ and our Lord, Lord Pius V, Pope by divine providence, the foregoing Apostolic letters were read, posted, and published at the doors of the Basilica of the Prince of the Apostles in the City, of the Apostolic Chancery, and at Campo de’ Fiori, the present letters having been left posted there for some space of time, as is customary, and then taken down by us, Giulio Parini and Giovanni Bornoto, Cursors of the aforesaid Most Holy Lord our Pope. — Antonio Clerici, Master of Cursors.

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Quod a nobis (Latin)

Textual note: The Latin text was checked against two printed editions of the Breviarium Romanum: the Mame edition published at Tours in 1898, approved as conforming to the typical edition, and the Dessain edition published in 1906. Obvious typographical or transcription errors have been corrected, and paragraph numbering has been added editorially for ease of reference.

PIUS EPISCOPUS SERVUS SERVORUM DEI AD PERPETUAM REI MEMORIAM

1. Quod a Nobis postulat ratio pastoralis officii, in eam curam incumbimus, ut omnes, quantum Deo adiutore fieri poterit, sacri Tridentini Concilii decreta exsequantur: ac multo id etiam impensius faciendum intelligimus, cum ea quæ in mores inducenda sunt, maxime Dei gloriam, ac debitum ecclesiasticarum personarum officium complectuntur. Quo in genere existimamus in primis numerandas esse sacras preces, laudes, et gratias Deo persolvendas, quæ Romano Breviario continentur. Quæ divini Officii formula pie olim ac sapienter a Summis Pontificibus, præsertim Gelasio ac Gregorio primis constituta, a Gregorio autem septimo reformata, cum diuturnitate temporis ab antiqua institutione deflexisset: necessaria visa res est, quæ ad pristinam orandi regulam conformata revocaretur. Alii enim præclaram veteris Breviarii constitutionem, multis locis mutilam, alii incertis et alienis quibusdam commutata, deformarunt: plurimi specie Officii commodioris allecti, ad brevitatem novi Breviarii, a Francisco Quignonio tituli sanctæ Crucis in Ierusalem Presbytero Cardinale compositi, confugerunt. Quin etiam in provincias paulatim irrepserat prava illa consuetudo, ut Episcopi in Ecclesiis, quæ ab initio communiter cum ceteris veteri Romano more Horas Canonicas dicere ac psallere consuevissent, privatum sibi quisque Breviarium conficerent, et illam communionem uni Deo, una et eadem formula preces et laudes adhibendi, dissimillimo inter se, ac pene cuiusque episcopatus proprio Officio discerperent. Hinc illa tam multis in locis divini cultus perturbatio; hinc summa in Clero ignoratio cæremoniarum ac rituum ecclesiasticorum, ut innumerabiles Ecclesiarum ministri, in suo munere indecore, non sine magna piorum offensione, versarentur.

2. Hanc nimirum orandi varietatem gravissime ferens felicis memoriæ Paulus Papa quartus, emendare constituerat. Itaque provisione adhibita, ne ulla in posterum novi Breviarii licentia permitteretur, totam rationem dicendi ac psallendi Horas Canonicas ad pristinum morem et institutum redigendam suscepit. Sed eo postea, nondum iis quæ egregie inchoaverat perfectis, de vita decedente, cum a piæ memoriæ Pio Papa quarto Tridentinum Concilium, antea varie intermissum, revocatum esset, Patres in illa salutari reformatione ab eodem Concilio constituta, Breviarium ex ipsius Pauli Papæ ratione restituere cogitarunt. Itaque quidquid ab eo in sacro opere collectum, elaboratumque fuerat, Concilii Patribus Tridentum a prædicto Pio Papa missum est. Ubi cum doctis quibusdam et piis viris a Concilio datum esset negotium, ut ad reliquam cogitationem, Breviarii quoque curam adiungerent, instante iam conclusione Concilii, tota res ad auctoritatem iudiciumque Romani Pontificis ex decreto eiusdem Concilii relata est: qui illis ipsis Patribus ad id munus delectis, Romam vocatis, nonnullisque in Urbe idoneis viris ad eum numerum adiunctis, rem perficiendam curavit.

3. Verum eo etiam viam universæ carnis ingresso, Nos, ita divina disponente clementia, licet immerito ad Apostolatus apicem assumpti, cum sacrum opus, adhibitis etiam ad id aliis peritis viris, maxime urgeremus, magna in Nos Dei benignitate (sic enim accipimus) Romanum hoc Breviarium vidimus absolutum. Cuius ratione dispositionis, ab illis ipsis, qui negotio præpositi fuerant, non semel cognita, cum intelligeremus eos in rei confectione ab antiquis Breviariis nobilium Urbis Ecclesiarum, ac Nostræ Vaticanæ bibliothecæ non discessisse, gravesque præterea aliquot eo in genere scriptores secutos esse, ac deinde remotis iis quæ aliena et incerta essent, de propria summa veteris divini Officii nihil omisisse: opus probavimus, et Romæ imprimi, impressumque divulgari iussimus. Itaque ut divini huius operis effectus re ipsa consequatur, auctoritate præsentium tollimus in primis et abolemus Breviarium novum a Francisco Cardinale prædicto editum, et in quacumque Ecclesia, Monasterio, Conventu, Ordine, Militia, et loco virorum et mulierum, etiam exempto, tam a primæva institutione, quam aliter ab hac Sede permissum.

4. Ac etiam abolemus quæcumque alia Breviaria, vel antiquiora, vel quovis privilegio munita, vel ab Episcopis in suis Diœcesibus pervulgata, omnemque illorum usum de omnibus orbis Ecclesiis, Monasteriis, Conventibus, Militiis, Ordinibus, et locis virorum et mulierum, etiam exemptis, in quibus alias Officium divinum Romanæ Ecclesiæ ritu dici consuevit aut debet: illis tamen exceptis, quæ ab ipsa prima institutione, a Sede Apostolica approbata, vel consuetudine, quæ, vel ipsa institutio, ducentos annos antecedat, aliis certis Breviariis usa fuisse constiterit: quibus ut inveteratum illud ius dicendi et psallendi suum Officium non adimimus, sic eisdem, si forte hoc Nostrum, quod modo pervulgatum est, magis placeat, dummodo Episcopus, et universum Capitulum in eo consentiant, ut id in Choro dicere et psallere possint, permittimus.

5. Omnes vero, et quascumque Apostolicas et alias permissiones ac consuetudines, et statuta etiam iuramento, confirmatione Apostolica, vel alia firmitate munita, necnon privilegia, licentias et indulta precandi et psallendi, tam in Choro, quam extra illum, more et ritu Breviariorum sic suppressorum, prædictis Ecclesiis, Monasteriis, Conventibus, Militiis, Ordinibus, et locis, necnon S. R. E. Cardinalibus, Patriarchis, Archiepiscopis, Episcopis, Abbatibus, et aliis Ecclesiarum Prælatis, cæterisque omnibus et singulis personis ecclesiasticis, sæcularibus et regularibus utriusque sexus, quacumque causa concessa, approbata, et innovata, quibuscumque concepta formulis, ac decretis, et clausulis roborata, omnino revocamus: volumusque, illa omnia vim et effectum de cetero non habere.

6. Omni itaque alio usu quibuslibet, ut dictum est, interdicto, hoc Nostrum Breviarium ac precandi psallendique formulam in omnibus universi orbis Ecclesiis, Monasteriis, Ordinibus, et locis etiam exemptis, in quibus Officium ex more et ritu dictæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ dici debet, aut consuevit, salva prædicta institutione, vel consuetudine prædictos ducentos annos superante, præcipimus observari. Statuentes Breviarium ipsum nullo unquam tempore vel totum vel ex parte mutandum, vel ei aliquid addendum, vel omnino detrahendum esse; ac quoscumque, qui Horas Canonicas ex more et ritu ipsius Romanæ Ecclesiæ, iure vel consuetudine dicere vel psallere debent, propositis pœnis per Canonicas sanctiones constitutis in eos, qui divinum Officium quotidie non dixerint, ad dicendum et psallendum posthac in perpetuum Horas ipsas diurnas et nocturnas, ex huius Romani Breviarii præscripto et ratione omnino teneri: neminemque ex iis, quibus hoc dicendi psallendique munus necessario impositum est, nisi hac sola formula satisfacere posse.

7. Iubemus igitur, omnes et singulos Patriarchas, Archiepiscopos, Episcopos, Abbates, et ceteros Ecclesiarum Prælatos, ut omissis, quæ sic suppressimus et abolevimus, ceteris omnibus etiam privatim per eos constitutis, Breviarium hoc in suis quisque Ecclesiis, Monasteriis, Conventibus, Ordinibus, Militiis, Diœcesibus, et locis prædictis, introducant: et tam ipsi, quam ceteri omnes presbyteri, et clerici, sæculares et regulares, utriusque sexus, necnon milites et exempti, quibus Officium dicendi et psallendi quomodocumque, sicut prædicitur, iniunctum est, ut ex huius Nostri Breviarii formula, tam in Choro, quam extra illum, dicere et psallere procurent.

8. Quod vero in Rubricis Nostri huius Officii præscribitur, quibus diebus Officium beatæ Mariæ semper Virginis, et Defunctorum, item Septem Psalmos Pœnitentiales et Graduales dici ac psalli oporteat: Nos propter varia huius vitæ negotia, multorum occupationibus indulgentes, peccati quidem periculum ab ea præscriptione, removendum duximus; verum debito providentiæ pastoralis admoniti, omnes vehementer in Domino cohortamur, ut remissionem Nostram quantum fieri poterit, sua devotione ac diligentia præcurrentes, illis etiam precibus, suffragiis, et laudibus, suæ et aliorum saluti consulere studeant. Atque ut fidelium voluntas ac studium magis etiam ad salutarem hanc consuetudinem incitetur, de omnipotentis Dei misericordia, beatorumque Petri et Pauli Apostolorum eius auctoritate confisi, omnibus, qui illis ipsis diebus, in Rubricis præfinitis, beatæ Mariæ, vel Defunctorum Officium dixerint, toties centum dies; qui vero Septem Psalmos, vel Graduales, quinquaginta, de iniuncta ipsis pœnitentia relaxamus. Hoc autem concedimus sine præiudicio sanctæ consuetudinis illarum Ecclesiarum, in quibus Officium parvum beatæ Mariæ semper Virginis in Choro dici consueverat, ita ut in prædictis Ecclesiis servetur ipsa laudabilis et sancta consuetudo celebrandi more solito prædictum Officium.

9. Ceterum, ut præsentes litteræ omnibus plenius innotescant, mandamus illas ad valvas Basilicæ Principis Apostolorum de Urbe, et Cancellariæ Apostolicæ, et in acie Campi Floræ publicari, earumque exemplar de more affigi. Volumusque, et Apostolica auctoritate decernimus, quod post huiusmodi publicationem, qui in Romana Curia sunt præsentes, statim lapso mense: reliqui vero, qui intra montes, tribus; et qui ultra ubique locorum degunt, sex mensibus excursis, vel cum primum venalium huius Breviarii voluminum facultatem habuerint, ad precandum et psallendum iuxta illius ritum, tam in Choro quam extra illum, maneant obligati. Ipsarum autem litterarum exempla manu Notarii publici, et sigillo alicuius Prælati ecclesiastici, aut illius curiæ obsignata, vel etiam ipsis voluminibus absque prædicto, vel alio quopiam adminiculo Romæ impressa, eandem ubique locorum fidem faciant, quam ipsæ præsentes, si essent exhibitæ et ostensæ. Sed ut Breviarium ipsum ubique inviolatum et incorruptum habeatur, prohibemus, ne alibi usquam in toto orbe, sine Nostra, vel specialis ad id Commissarii Apostolici, in singulis Christiani orbis regnis et provinciis deputandi, expressa licentia imprimatur, proponatur, vel recipiatur. Quoscumque vero, qui illud secus impresserint, proposuerint vel receperint, excommunicationis sententia eo ipso innodamus.

10. Nulli ergo omnino hominum liceat hanc paginam Nostræ ablationis, abolitionis, permissionis, revocationis, iussionis, præcepti, statuti, indulti, mandati, decreti, relaxationis, cohortationis, prohibitionis, innodationis, et voluntatis infringere, vel ei ausu temerario contraire. Si quis autem hoc attentare præsumpserit, indignationem omnipotentis Dei, ac beatorum Petri et Pauli Apostolorum eius se noverit incursurum.

Dating

Datum Romæ, apud S. Petrum, anno Incarnationis Domini MDLXVIII septimo idus iulii, Pontificatus Nostri tertio.

M. Dat.
Cæs. Glorierius
H. Cumyn.

Attestation of publication

Anno a Nativitate Domini millesimo quingentesimo sexagesimo octavo, indictione undecima, die vero decima quinta mensis iulii, Pontificatus sanctissimi in Christo Patris, et D. N. D. Pii divina providentia Papæ quinti anno tertio, retroscriptæ litteræ Apostolicæ lectæ, affixæ et publicatæ fuerunt ad valvas Basilicæ Principis Apostolorum de Urbe, Cancellariæ Apostolicæ, et in acie Campi Floræ, dimissis ibidem præsentibus litteris per aliquantulum temporis spatium, ut moris est, affixis, et deinde amotis per nos Iulium Parinum et Ioannem Bornotum, prælibati Ss. D. N. Papæ Cursores. — Antonius Clerici, Magister Cursorum.

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Translation notes

[1] Gelasio ac Gregorio primis (§1). Primis is read here as the regnal numeral—Gelasius I and Gregory I—following Prosper Guéranger. Reading it adverbially (“first established”) is grammatically possible, but sits awkwardly beside the immediately following a Gregorio autem septimo, which plainly refers to Gregory VII. ↩

[2] dicere ac psallere. Rendered “say and chant” throughout. The familiar English translation of Quo primum uses “chant or read,” but that translates a different Latin pair, cantare vel legere, referring to the Mass. ↩

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Image: Based on Portrait of Pope Pius V by Bartolomeo Passarotti and workshop, ca. 1566, Walters Art Museum (CC0). Background expanded with generative AI.