Agatha Christie indult

Schools Relations with: The Agatha Christie indult is a nickname applied to the permission granted in 1971 by Pope Paul VI for the use of the Tridentine Mass in England and Wales.

Following the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI to replace the Tridentine Mass in 1969–1970, a petition was sent to the Pope asking that the Tridentine form of the Roman Rite be permitted to continue for those who wished in England and Wales.

Moreover, the petition noted the exceptional artistic and cultural heritage of the Tridentine Mass, and was signed by many prominent non-Catholic figures in British society, including Agatha Christie, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Kenneth Clark, Robert Graves, F. R. Leavis, Cecil Day-Lewis, Nancy Mitford, Iris Murdoch, Yehudi Menuhin, Joan Sutherland, as well as two Anglican bishops, those of Exeter and of Ripon.

Supposedly, Pope Paul had read the letter and exclaimed in excitement, “Ah!

[2] Between then and Pope John Paul II’s worldwide indult in 1984, the Bishops of England and Wales were allowed to grant permission for occasional celebrations of Mass in the Old Rite, with the modifications introduced in 1965 and 1967.