Celada’s identity is shrouded in mystery. The statements attributed to him online are so amazingly audacious that one might begin to worry that he (or his commentary) has been partly fabricated. He is not listed in any listing of the Italian hierarchy, so episcopal status is out of the question. Some reports say he was a professor. Some say he signed off on Sacrosanctum Concilium.
As it turns out, Msgr. Domenico Celada was indeed a real person, although there is no evidence to suggest he was a Council Father (and I have never been able to source any photograph of him). He was a cleric, organist, composer, author, and possibly a professor at the Lateran (an inquiry submitted to the Lateran about his possible tenure there received no response). Before 1969, he was better known as a composer and music reviewer/contributor. In 1958, for example, he authored a book on a Milanese basilica: Guida alla Basilica di S. Marco in Milano. A quick search of Google Books or HathiTrust will show an interesting array of reviews and articles about Celada as organist and composer. More examples will be given below.
In 1967, the Catholic News Service reported that Msgr. Celada had been robbed. They referred to him as the “secretary of the Sistine Chapel.” I am not sure what this title signifies. Celada was, however, director of a music journal called Cappella Sistina. It seems the thief knew a thing or two about how to escape with the goods:
On February 2, 1966, Celada was named in a National Catholic Reporter article on a controversial vernacular (Italian) Mass. The NCR noted that Celada “approved” of some anti-vernacular articles, but did not thoroughly condemn the vernacular “experiment.” The rules about what vernacular was officially allowed in the Mass were a point of confusion for many; a month after this dust-up, The Catholic Advocate wrote a small note about Pope Paul VI announcing that Latin was to be preserved in Rome’s seven patriarchal basilicas, while other churches “have the option of using the vernacular, provided musical adaptations into Italian are ‘well done and consonant with the dignity of the sacrifice’”—a desideratum that was summarily ignored, as anyone knows who has had to suffer the treacly sounds of Italian church music, which is arguably even worse than what you hear in English.
Celada is of particular interest to us because of his alleged virulent stance against vernacular in the liturgy. Curiously, our greatest help will come from Annibale Bugnini’s The Reform of the Liturgy 1948–1975, a great tome of nearly 1,000 pages that details the thought-processes of this mastermind—a book that is so damning, in fact, that the Liturgical Press of St. John’s in Collegeville has refused to bring it back into print after the original publication of 1990 was sold out, in spite of the fact that it is one of a half-dozen most important primary sources on the liturgical reform. (Copies on the used market go for over $200. Readers who are especially interested in the book should contact me.)
In any case, Celada’s articles are mentioned three times in Bugnini’s book:
- Chapter 20, page 282, footnote 12 (reference to Arcobaleno Beat)
- Chapter 20, page 289, footnote 23 (reference to Lo Specchio)
- Chapter 59, page 911, footnote 20 (reference to Cappella Sistina)
In chapter 15, Conferences, III: Relations with the Directors of Liturgical Periodicals, Bugnini comments (p. 229) on the last-named periodical:
These meetings were very useful for establishing bonds of fraternal collaboration with the liturgical journals. This is not to deny that there were at times different views on the two sides and that the Consilium had to take a sometimes strong position against certain periodicals, whether for proposals that were too advanced and debatable or for hostility to the reform. In particular, an attack launched by Roman composers led to an intervention of the Consilium not long after the second meeting with the editors of periodicals. The first shot was fired in an editorial of the Bolletino Ceciliano entitled “La colpa è tutta dei musicisti!” (It’s all the musicians’ fault). It was a defense of traditional music and an attack on the promoters of the reform. In support of this outlook, a new journal was started, Capella Sistina, which in its very first issue made a direct attack on the Constitution on the Liturgy. Reaction was not long in coming, and a sharp debate ensued that was made even more bitter by the eminence of the persons engaged in it.The footnote here mentions the other periodical with which Celada was associated: “Such Italian newspapers and periodicals as 1l Messagero, Il Tempo, Il Borghese, Lo specchio, and Candido took a hand, as did, in private, ecclesiastics and composers who bombarded higher authorities with ‘memoranda.’”
If one knows where to look, these journals come up repeatedly in this turbulent era. Bugnini’s memoirs elsewhere mentioned another important journal, Vigilia Romana.
Key articles by Celada
D. Celada, “L’assurdo della messa ye-ye” : Cappella Sistina, n. 10 (April-June 1966) 61-68.
D. Celada, “Dissacrazione e sacralizzazione”: Cappella Sistina, n. 13 (January-March 1967) 159.
Celada was both a contributor to and director of this journal, which started in 1964. The library at Mundelein (which holds most, but not all, of the issues) confirmed that he wrote articles for 9 out of 11 issues they hold: 1-4, and 8-12. They do not hold issues 6-7 and 13-14, or any issues after 15. Other sources provide an article of his from issue 13, so it is reasonable to assume he wrote articles for every issue. Proof of his director role in the journal can be found on the final page of each journal: “Domenico Celada Direttore Responsabile.”
D. Celada, “La mini-messa contro il dogma,” Lo Specchio, June 29, 1969.
Celada wrote at least one article for Lo Specchio. The full text for this article has not yet been located. It is very likely that he wrote numerous articles for them, but they are difficult to trace because there are many journals with this name.
Mons. Domenico Celada, “Agli assassini della Liturgia,” Vigilia Romana, Anno III, N. 11, November 1971. Translation provided here.
This website and this one both allege to have the full text of this article. This journal is perhaps the most interesting one of all. Vigilia Romana was published from 1969-74. It is alleged that one of its sponsors was Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The journal ceased publication when one of its founders was arrested as part of the failed Borghese coup of December 7-8, 1970. The Borghese family was behind one of the other journals Bugnini mentioned above, Il Borghese.
There appears to have been noticeable overlap between Italian neo-fascist movements/parties and traditional Catholic organizations, especially among young people. This is not too surprising; lovers of tradition will likely be opposed to liberal and Communist ideas in their country. Franco Antico—traditional Catholic journal founder, intelligence informant, coup participant—presents an attractive rabbit hole, but further details are outside the scope of this article. For more history on Vigilia Romana, see Giuseppe Brienza, “Il Movimento Civiltà Cristiana e La Rivista Cattolica Vigilia Romana (1969-1974),” Fides Catholica, Anno V, no. 1, 2010. Vigilia Romana also has a page on the Italian Wikipedia.
In terms of text, there seems to be no single institution that holds the original issues of Vigilia Romana! If anyone who reads this article has copies sitting in a box in the attic, or knows where such a box might be found, please contact me.
Other works by Celada
An article published late in February 1969 in the periodical Il Tempo has been translated here.
Bartolucci, Domenico. 1967. The Sistine Choir in concert at the Vatican. Everest. Program notes by Domenica Celada, translated by Giveon Cornfield, on slipcase.
Celada, Domenico. 1958. “Le sette arche marmoree della Basilica di San Marco in Milano”. Arte Figurativa Antica e Moderna. 44-49.
Celada, Domenico. 1957. “Affreschi nel campanile della Basilica di S. Marco in Milano”. Arte Figurativa Antica e Moderna. 34-38.
Trabaci, Giovanni, and Domenico Celada. 1963. Composizioni per organo: (dal 1. libro ricercari e canzoni). Roma: Libreria Editrice S. Cecila.
Trabaci, Giovanni Maria, and Domenico Celada. 1963. Ricercate e canzone per organo. Roma: Libreria Editrice S. Cecilia.
Diruta, Girolamo, Floriano Arresti, Giovanni Maria Trabaci, and Domenico Celada. 1962. Sei composizioni per organo. Roma: Libreria editrice musicale AISC.
Celada, Domenico. 1958. Guida alla Basilica di S. Marco in Milano. Milano: Tip. Bertolotti.
Celada, Domenico. 1969. Arcobaleno beat. Roma: Marini.
See an Italian review here. This book appears to be a partial history of music, with a particular emphasis on new trends in liturgical music. I think it would offer a detailed look into the opponents of the reforms, and their arguments as professional musicians. Simply reading the captions of the various photos as well as the Table of Contents makes me seriously wonder if Joseph Ratzinger could have read this book, as the parallels between Ratzinger’s critique of rock music and Celada’s treatment of the characteristics of the 1960s counterculture have striking parallels.
My cordial thanks to Sharon Kabel for assisting me in the research that went into this article.
Visit Dr. Kwasniewski’s Substack “Tradition & Sanity”; personal site; composer site; publishing house Os Justi Press and YouTube, SoundCloud, and Spotify pages.