Questions about liturgy: Which Way the Celebrant Should Face

(ZENIT News / Rome, 10.25.2026).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum university.

Q: I know that with the references to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal [GIRM] and Order of Mass, it is a little longer than normal, but this is how far I got in my own research before I could not find any more answers.

Which way should the celebrant face when he is positioned at the chair that is on a side wall?

— Position of the chair: GIRM 310 seems to indicate that the preference is for the chair to be positioned so that the celebrant can face the people at the head of the sanctuary. However, it acknowledges that there are reasons that it might be positioned differently, including if the design of the sanctuary prevents it or if the tabernacle is in the center behind the altar.

Thus, if the celebrant’s chair is on the side wall, for whatever reason, which way should he turn for the Introductory Rites, Creed, Universal Prayer, and Prayer after Communion?

— Introductory Rites: Order of Mass (OM) 1 states, «When the Entrance Chant is concluded, the Priest and the faithful, standing, sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross, while the Priest, facing the people, says ….” This seems to differ from GIRM 124 which does not instruct the celebrant to face the people until the greeting, as it says, «Then, facing the people and extending his hands, the Priest greets the people ….” How should the difference between the GIRM and OM be reconciled? Additionally, after these instructions, there is no mention about which direction the celebrant should face. After the greeting, should he then turn back the same way the chair is facing for the Penitential Rite, Gloria, and Collect, or remain facing the people throughout until he sits for the Liturgy of the Word?

— Creed: For the Creed, GIRM 137 is silent on which direction the priest should face.

— Universal Prayer: For the Universal Prayer, GIRM 138 is silent on the celebrant’s position for the introduction and concluding prayer, but it does indicate that the one who announces the intentions should do so «from the ambo or from some other suitable place while facing the people.” Does this mean the celebrant should do the same and face the people?

— Prayer after Communion: GIRM 165 states «then, standing at the chair or at the altar, and facing the people with hands joined, the Priest says, Let us pray; then, with hands extended, he recites the Prayer after Communion.” OM 139 says the exact same thing almost verbatim. Would these instructions indicate that the priest is turning to face the people only for the “Let us pray,” especially if he prays the prayer from the altar ad orientem, or would this indicate that he would remain facing the people for the Prayer after Communion entirely? If it were the latter, would this inform the direction one should face for the other presidential prayers of the Mass?

— Deacons: What about deacons? Should they turn to face the people if they were leading the Tropes, Kyrie, or instructing the people? And should the deacon(s) who are flanking the celebrant turn along with and face the same direction as the priest when he turns to face the people? — K.F., Dallas, Texas

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A: With respect to the location of the chair, our reader refers to the GIRM 310. To wit:

«310. The chair of the Priest Celebrant must signify his function of presiding over the gathering and of directing the prayer. Thus the more suitable place for the chair is facing the people at the head of the sanctuary, unless the design of the building or other features prevent this: as, for example, if on account of too great a distance, communication between the Priest and the congregation would be difficult, or if the tabernacle were to be positioned in the center behind the altar. In any case, any appearance of a throne is to be avoided. It is appropriate that before being put into liturgical use, the chair be blessed according to the rite described in the Roman Ritual. Likewise, seats should be arranged in the sanctuary for concelebrating Priests as well as for Priests who are present at the celebration in choir dress but without concelebrating. The seat for the Deacon should be placed near that of the celebrant. For the other ministers seats should be arranged so that they are clearly distinguishable from seats for the clergy and so that the ministers are easily able to carry out the function entrusted to them.»

These indications are repeated, with some additional details, in the guidelines of the U.S. bishops’ conference on church buildings: «Built of Living Stones»:

«The Chair for the Priest Celebrant

«§ 63 § The chair of the priest celebrant stands ‘as a symbol of his office of presiding over the assembly and of directing prayer.’ An appropriate placement of the chair allows the priest celebrant to be visible to all in the congregation. The chair reflects the dignity of the one who leads the community in the person of Christ, but is never intended to be remote or grandiose. The priest celebrant’s chair is distinguished from the seating for other ministers by its design and placement. ‘The seat for the deacon should be placed near that of the celebrant.’ In the cathedral, in addition to the bishop’s chair or cathedra, which is permanent, an additional chair will be needed for use by the rector or priest celebrant.

«§ 64 § ‘The [most appropriate] place for the chair is at the head of the sanctuary and turned toward the people unless the design of the building or other circumstances [such as distance or the placement of the tabernacle] are an obstacle.’ This chair is not used by a lay person who presides at a service of the word with Communion or a Sunday celebration in the absence of a priest. (Cf. Congregation for Divine Worship, Directory for Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest [1988], no. 40.)

«§ 65 § Other chairs may be placed in the sanctuary for the priest concelebrants and other priests present for the celebration in choir dress.»

The above indication from the third typical edition of 2000 is slightly different from the original version of the General Instruction of the missal. For example, the mention of the central placement of the tabernacle as an impediment to placing the priest’s chair at the center of the apse is a novelty. It was no secret that, in general terms, the Holy See favored this whenever reasonably possible but without imposing it.

Indeed, the importance given to the location of the priest’s chair is a relative novelty that grew out of the theology behind the reformed rite, which promoted an enhanced external interaction between priest and faithful so as to manifest more fully the faithful’s internal and spiritual active participation in the celebration of the sacred mysteries.

Before the reform, almost the entire celebration took place at the steps of the altar or at the altar itself, and the seating arrangement of the priest and ministers during the readings at some solemn celebrations was entirely functional and with little symbolism attached.

The conciliar reform changed this, and while the altar of sacrifice remains the heart of the sanctuary as the primary symbol of Christ, the priest’s chair, along with the ambo, were established as genuine liturgical places within the sanctuary and not mobile accessories.

The invitation to prefer locating the chair at the head of the sanctuary was probably inspired by the fact that it was the practice in Rome’s most important basilicas and churches, and this was considered as good practice.

Not all historians agree with this version. According to one eminent liturgical scholar, the original place of the chair was at the head of the assembly facing the altar.

The practice of placing the cathedra or chair behind the altar began with a somewhat dour Pontiff who was upset at hearing whispered negative comments from the assembly regarding his person and had the chair transferred to a safe distance behind the altar.

While this story may be apocryphal, it is true that the Roman practice never quite caught on in the rest of Europe, and the cathedra in most cathedrals was generally located at an elevated point near the entrance to the sanctuary. It was mostly placed toward the left side as one entered the building and faced the altar. The Ceremonial of Bishops says the following about the cathedra.

«47. The bishop’s cathedra or chair mentioned in no. 42, should be a chair that stands alone and is permanently installed. Its placement should make it clear that the bishop is presiding over the whole community of the Faithful. Depending on the design of each church, the chair should have enough steps leading up to it for the bishop to be clearly visible to the faithful. There is to be no baldachin over the bishop’s chair; but valuable works of art from the past are to be preserved with utmost care …. The chair for a priest celebrant should be set up in a place separate from the site of the bishop’s chair.»

It is noteworthy that the Ceremonial of Bishops does not repeat the norm regarding placing the cathedra at the head of the sanctuary, perhaps owing to the fact that it is often very difficult to change historical buildings and to the reality to the lateral location of many such chairs.

Taking into account this reality, it is interesting that the bishop is instructed to act in the following way on reaching the chair:

«132. Then the bishop, the concelebrants, and the congregation, all standing, sign themselves with the sign of the cross as the bishop, facing the people, says, In the name of the Father.

«With hands outstretched, the bishop greets the people, saying, Peace be With you, or one of the other greeting formularies given in The Roman Missal (Sacramentary). The bishop himself, a deacon, or one of the concelebrants may very briefly introduce the faithful to the Mass of the day. The bishop pronounces the invitation to the penitential rite, which he concludes with the words, May almighty God have mercy on us. If necessary, a minister may hold the book in front of the bishop. When the third form of the penitential rite is used, the invocations are said by the bishop, by a deacon, or by another suitable minister.»

After the Glory to God:

«136. Next, with hands joined, the bishop invites the people to pray by singing or saying, Let us pray. After a brief pause for silent prayer, he says the opening prayer with hands outstretched, reading from the book held before him by a minister. For the conclusion of the prayer the bishop joining his hands, saying, We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ or other relevant words. At the end the people reply with the acclamation Amen.»

As our correspondent points out, GIRM 123-124, while inspired by the above text, is more precise:

«123. The Priest goes up to the altar and venerates it with a kiss. Then, if appropriate, he incenses the cross and the altar, walking around the latter.

«124. Once all this has been done, the Priest goes to the chair. When the Entrance Chant is concluded, with everybody standing, the Priest and faithful sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross. The Priest says: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The people reply, Amen. Then, facing the people and extending his hands, the Priest greets the people, using one of the formulas indicated. The Priest himself or some other minister may also very briefly introduce the faithful to the Mass of the day.»

Since the legislator of the Ceremonial of Bishops was probably aware of the possible practical difficulties tied to many cathedrals where the lateral and elevated location of the chair would not easily allow the prelate to face the people for the presidential prayers, he might have preferred to have left the norms somewhat vague and leave the practical solutions to the masters of ceremonies.

Hence, the bishop is only told to face the people for the initial sign of the cross. The instruction to face the people is not repeated for other moments when it would appear to be logical to do so. Therefore, in many situations where the bishop’s cathedra faces the altar the celebrant says the prayers remaining in the same direction as the chair itself, without turning toward the people.

The legislator of the GIRM, however, is able to presume that in most churches the priest’s chair already faces the people even though alternative possibilities are contemplated in GIRM 310.

The more precise indications found in GIRM would mean that, in general, the priest should turn to face the people at all those moments that the rubrics indicate it, even in those cases where structural constraints place the chair to one side of the sanctuary.

Like most ceremonial rules, however, such norms are applied with a healthy sense of liturgical decorum. If the arrangement of the sanctuary is such that turning toward the people is highly impractical, for example, there is no space for ministers holding the missal and microphone, the priest could proclaim the prayers from the lateral position in a manner analogous to that of some bishops in the example above.

It must be admitted that there are occasionally apparent discrepancies between the Ordo of Mass and the GIRM. However, I think that the discrepancy described by our reader between the ordo and the GIRM is not precisely one of those cases. The GIRM attempts to cover several possible situations; the Ordo is describing a particular kind of Mass with the people.

To illustrate this, we can take the description in GIRM 256 of the beginning of the Mass at which only one minister participates:

«256. The Priest approaches the altar and, after making a profound bow along with the minister, venerates the altar with a kiss and goes to the chair. If he wishes, the Priest may remain at the altar; in which case, the Missal is also prepared there. Then the minister or the Priest says the Entrance Antiphon.

«257. Then the Priest, standing, makes with the minister the Sign of the Cross as the Priest says, In the name of the Father, etc. Facing the minister, he greets him, choosing one of the formulas provided.»

Therefore, the norm in the GIRM embraces many situations. The priest could be facing the people already for the Sign of the Cross due to the position of the chair. But if he happens to be celebrating facing the altar, he makes the sign of the cross with the minister or the faithful and then turns to face the people for the greeting. The Ordo of the Mass, on the other hand, describes the procedure for a normal Mass with the people.

Finally, as a general rule of thumb, there would be no differences between the rites at which a deacon presides in the absence of a priest. For other rites, this would depend on the concrete practical situation and decorum. The deacon does not need to turn toward the people when the priest does, especially if this could create complicated situations. There is no need to face the people while singing the Kyrie and other non-presidential actions, but it can be done if this is preferable for a good reason.

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Readers may send questions to zenit.liturgy@gmail.com. Please put the word «Liturgy» in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.

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