Benedicamus Domino (Latin for "Let us bless the Lord") is a closing salutation used in the Roman Mass instead of the Ite missa est in Masses which lack the Gloria (such as those during Lent). The response, said afterwards, is "Deo gratias" ("Thanks be to God"). It is also sung as a versicle at the end of all Offices. Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... This article discusses the Mass as part of Christian liturgy, in particular the form it has taken in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church. ... The Ite missa est is the concluding salutation of the Mass (liturgy) of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Latin for Glory to God in the highest) is the title and beginning of the Great Doxology used in the Roman Catholic Mass, Divine Service of the Lutheran Church and in the services of many other [1] Christian churches. ... It has been suggested that Cuaresma be merged into this article or section. ... A response is the second half of one of a set of preces, the said or sung answer by the congregation or choir to a versicle said or sung by an officiant or cantor. ... A versicle is the first half of one of a set of preces, said or sung by an officiant or cantor and answered with a said or sung response by the congregation or choir. ... Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. ...

Apparently the chant was unknown in Rome before about AD 1000, and may have originated in the Gallican liturgy. In modern chantbooks, the music given for the chant is exactly the same as for the Ite missa est, but it is not known how much that was true in the medieval period as well.^[1] Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... The Gallican Rite is a historical sub-grouping of Christianity in western Europe; it is not a single rite but actually a family of rites within the Western Rite which comprised the majority use of most of Christianity in western Europe for the greater part of the 1st millennium AD... The Ite missa est is the concluding salutation of the Mass (liturgy) of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

The text was frequently troped, especially by adding text between the two words, or using the melody as the cantus firmus for an organum. The use of this chant as a tenor was common in the St. Martial and Notre Dame schools of polyphony, including a dozen settings in the Magnus Liber Organi. In music, a cantus firmus (fixed song) is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition, often set apart by being played in long notes. ... Organum (pronounced , though the stress is now sometimes incorrectly put on the second syllable) is a technique of singing developed in the Middle Ages, and is an early form of polyphonic music. ... The St. ... The group of composers working at or near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from about 1170 to 1250, along with the music they produced, is referred to as the Notre Dame school, or the Notre Dame School of Polyphony. ... The Magnus Liber or Magnus Liber Organi (Latin for Great Book of Organum) is a compilation of the medieval music known as organum. ...

During the liturgical reforms of Pope Pius XII (1938-1958) and John XXIII (1958-1963) the use of the Benedicamus Domino was much restricted. By 1963 it was only recited or chanted when a procession immediately followed the Mass. It is rarely heard in Anglo-Saxon countries, processions being rarities there. It is still however, used in the Divine Office. The Venerable Pius XII, born Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Eugenio Pacelli (Rome, March 2, 1876 - October 9, 1958) served as the Pope from March 2, 1939 to 1958. ... The Blessed John XXIII wearing a Papal Tiara Angelo Roncalli was born in Sotto il Monte (province of Bergamo), Italy on November 25, 1881. ... A procession (via Middle English processioun, French procession, derived from Latin, processio, itself from procedere, to go forth, advance, proceed) is, in general, an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner. ... Canonical hours are ancient divisions of time (also called offices), developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between prayers. ...

Lutherans in America continue to use it in the Divine Office and at the end of their traditional Divine Service. The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... The Divine Service (German: Gottesdienst) is the liturgy of the Lutheran Church which is used during the celebration of the Eucharist. ...

Notes

1. ^ Hoppin, Richard. Medieval Music. New York: Norton, 1977. Page 142.