Which liturgical rites (forms of Mass) are presently used in the Roman Catholic Church?

Question

A liturgical rite is a way to celebrate the Mass. At least for the purpose of this question I will assume this meaning of the term.

The standard way Mass is celebrated by Roman Catholics is in the Roman Rite. This normally refers to celebration of the Mass originally based on the Missale Romanum from 1970 as commissioned by Pope Paul VI (there have been recent modifications); this happens (always?) in the local language. The so-called extraordinary form of the Roman Rite is the Tridentine Mass, celebrated in Latin, nowadays according to the Missale Romanum of 1962.

Aside from these two liturgical rites (which some will say are technically just two forms of a single rite), I have seen mention of others, such as the Ambrosian Rite, Anglican Use, and Zaire Use. Which forms of Mass (rites) are presently used within the Roman Catholic Church? How can one characterize them, and where are they used?

Answer 1

How can one characterize (a rite)?

A rite represents tradition about how sacraments (not just Mass) are celebrated. As the early Church grew and spread, it celebrated the sacraments as would be best understood and received in the context of individual cultures, without ever changing their essential form and matter.

Which forms of Mass (rites) are presently used within the Roman Catholic Church? and where are they used?

Counting novus ordo and tridentine as a single rite, there are totally 5 western rites and 22 eastern rites (with five eastern liturgical tradition). The complete list of functional rites and their jurisdiction can be found at gcatholic.org.

Please see Wikipedia article titled List of Catholic rites and churches for the list of defunct rites, But I really doubt that this is an exhaustive list of defunct rites.

Answer 2

At present there are a total number of 23 Eastern Rite Catholic Traditions in use at the present moment. On January 19, 2015 Pope Francis established the Eritrean Catholic Church.

On July 7, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI issued his Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum in which he permitted the Mass of Pope St Pius V to be used in the Roman Catholic Rite. The Sovereign Pontiff also declared that there would be two forms of celebrating the Mass in the Roman Rite: The Ordinary Form of the Mass of Pope Blessed Paul VI (April 3,1969) and the Extraordinary Form of the Mass of Pope St Pius V (July 14 1570). Pope Benedict XVI went on to declare that the Mass of Pope Pius V had never been abrogated and could thus be lawfully used in the Church.

The Ordinary Form of the Mass has one form in usage, with at least two usages permitted within the Ordinary Form of Pope Paul VI. The Tridentine Rite or the Extraordinary Form is a little more complex to explain. This Rite had many "Rites" and "Usages" that were permitted up to the time of the Second Vatican Council. The difference between a rite and/or usage is not always clear in terms of terminology.

In the following list of Rites and Uses I am employing are of the most common ones which can be found in liturgical books of the day such as the Catholic Encyclopedia. Some rites or usages of the Roman Rite were Diocese restricted, while others were restricted to particular religious Orders and as such were not bound to geographical regions. This is not a complete list of former rites and/or usages.

The Ordinary Form

• Mass of Pope Paul VI.............In use
• Anglican Use...........................In use
• Zaire Use..................................In use
• Carthusian Use.......................In use

The Extraordinary Form

• Mass of Pope Pius V...........................In use
• Ambrosian Rite (Milan, Italy)..........Used on occasion
• Mozarabic Rite (Spain)......................Used on occasion
• Lyonese Rite (Lyon, France).............Used on occasion
• Benevento Rite.....................................Defunct
• Greek Rite.............................................No info.
• Slavonic Rite.........................................No info.
• Rite of Braga.........................................Permitted to be used
• Usages of Paris (Rite of Versailles)..Suppressed
• Rouen Usage.........................................No info.
• Esztergom Use......................................Defunct
• Nidaros Use (Norway)........................Defunct
• Cologne Use..........................................No info.
• Marseille Use.........................................No info
• Slevig Use (Denmark).........................Defunct
• Rosslyn Use...........................................No info.
• Sarum Use..............................................Used on occasion
• York Use.................................................No info.
• Hereford Use.........................................No info
• Lincoln Use............................................No info.
• Durham Use...........................................Defunct
• Bangor Use..............................................No info.
• Carmelite Rite........................................No info.
• Cistercian Rite........................................In use
• Dominican Rite......................................In use
• Norbertine Rite......................................No info.
• Franciscan Rite.......................................No info (Same as the Tridentine mass)
• Friars Minor Capuchin Rite.................No info.
• Servite Rite...............................................No info.
• Benedictine Rite......................................In use
• Carthusian Rite.......................................Permitted to be used