Quo Primum

Quo Primum is a papal bull issued by Pope St. Pius V on July 14, 1570. The title translates to “From the first”. The bull made the Roman Missal mandatory for the Catholic Church’s Western Rite, with some exceptions. The bull’s main goals were to: 

• End the variety of liturgies in the Church
• Ensure that priests knew which prayers and ceremonies to use
• Prohibit printers from printing the missal without permission

The bull’s main decrees included:

• Priests must use the missal to determine which prayers, rites, and ceremonies to use. 
• Printers who print the missal without permission may be fined or have their copies confiscated. 
• The Roman Missal must be used, except in areas or by religious orders that have had a Latin liturgical rite for at least 200 years. 

The bull was intended to bind the Church to the Pope’s liturgical policy until it was changed by a competent authority. However, some say that the document was concerned with a disciplinary matter, not an infallible teaching on faith or morals. This means that future authorities could change the policy.