What's NOT WRONG About Bowing to the Priest at Mass?

 

A friendly response to Catholic Apologist Patrick Madrid

It is entirely true that bowing to the priest during the entrance procession is not a prescribed gesture in the Roman Missal, and it is not an ancient universal custom of the Roman Rite.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) discusses bows to the altar, bows at certain prayers, bows to the Blessed Sacrament, and other liturgical gestures, but it does not direct the congregation to bow to the priest during the entrance procession, nor during the recessional. However, neither does it forbid members of the faithful from doing so, nor caution them against so doing.

So Where Did the Custom Come From?

In many parishes, before and after Vatican II, local customs developed in which:

- Altar servers bowed to the priest as a sign of respect for his office.

 

- Members of the congregation nodded or bowed when the priest passed.

 

- Servers or choir members stood and bowed when the celebrant entered the sanctuary.

These customs reflect respect for the ordained ministry rather than a formal liturgical requirement. They appear to have developed from broader Catholic and European traditions of showing honor to clergy, monks, bishops, and other ecclesiastical superiors. They are devotional or customary practices rather than part of the universal rubrics of the Mass. While neither prescribed nor required, they are not prohibited, nor is anything wrong with them.

Why Some People Might Choose to Bow to the Priest

(And, to be clear, we're not talking about a profound, "from the waist" bow, rather a slight and simple nodding forward of the head only.)

Catholic theology recognizes that the priest acts in persona Christi capitis ("in the person of Christ the Head") when celebrating the sacraments. Because of that sacred office, some people bow to the priest as a sign of respect for Christ's ministry exercised through him.

Appropriate or Inappropriate?

It is appropriate provided it is understood as a sign of respect and not as a required part of the Mass.

A brief nod or bow toward the celebrant (which, again, is what we are talking about) is not contrary to Catholic practice. But no one is obliged to do it, and no one should teach or imply that it is required by the Roman Rite nor by tradition. Neither should anyone teach or imply that it is wrong or prohibited.

Historical Note

If you're old enough to remember the pre-Vatican II liturgy, you may recall more frequent bows among servers and clergy. In the older ceremonial books there were many prescribed bows exchanged among ministers during the liturgy. Those bows were generally part of the ceremonial interactions among clergy and servers, not actions expected of the congregation. Some present-day customs of bowing to the priest likely descend from those older ceremonial practices.

So...

If you see people bowing to the priest during the entrance procession and/or the recessional, you're seeing a local (or perhaps personal) custom of respect, not a practice that is required by the Catholic Church. 

There's Nothing Wrong With It.