The Theology and Ministry Program of the School of Humanities invites you to the oral defense of the M.A. Thesis entitled “A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF POPE FRANCIS’S LITURGICAL VISION IN LIGHT OF VATICAN II’S COMMUNION ECCLESIOLOGY” by BIEN EMMANUEL C. CRUZ, S.J. on 14 October 2025, Tuesday, 2:00-3:30 p.m. at the Tipanan ni San Ignacio, DLC 201, 2/F Dela Costa Bldg., Loyola School of Theology. The Board of Examiners is composed of Br. Joaquin Yap, Jr., S.W., D.Phil. (Adviser), Josefina Manabat, S.L.D. (Second Reader/Principal Examiner), Fr. Salvador Agualada, Jr., C.M.F., S.T.D., and Fr. Genaro Diwa, S.L.L. The defense is being held in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Theological Studies with a field of specialization in Systematic Theology. It is open to the public.
Abstract: This thesis explores the communion ecclesiology underlying Pope Francis’s liturgical celebrations and pronouncements. It argues that, despite what appears to be deviations from traditional practice, his liturgical innovations remain faithful to Vatican II’s vision of ecclesial communion. Through symbolic gestures and key pronouncements, most notably Magnum Principium, Traditionis Custodes and Desiderio Desideravi, Pope Francis consistently presented the liturgy as both the fullest manifestation and the deepest source of ecclesial communion envisioned by Vatican II and the Liturgical Movement.
Moreover, this study identifies three levels of communion in Pope Francis’s liturgical practice and teaching. First, communion with the Trinity: the liturgy is the privileged moment when Christians encounter Christ’s paschal mystery, made present in the breaking of the bread and in the assembly it gathers. Second, communion among the faithful: baptismal identity grounds full, conscious, and active participation in the Church’s life and worship, while unity is safeguarded through Traditionis Custodes and enriched by liturgical education promoted in Desiderio Desideravi. Third, communion with and among the hierarchy: diocesan liturgies in cathedrals embody the communion of local and universal Church, while Magnum Principium reflects episcopal collegiality and collaboration with the Apostolic See.
These dimensions converge in the pope’s vision of a synodal Church: the hierarchy journeying with the laity, the faithful walking together, and the whole People of God accompanied by the Trinity through history—a vision in which communion is not only celebrated in the liturgy but becomes the very rhythm of the Church’s life in the world.
