This article examines six pontifical rescripts dating to the first half of the 19th century, all of which concern the ordering of Masses in a private oratory of the nobility. Beyond developing an analysis of the formal, procedural and documentary elements of the material presented, this article seeks to analyze the legislation of the period concerning the faculty of ordering Masses, as well as the schedule and characteristics of celebrations, with specific reference to the provisions in question. Appreciation for the greater freedom and openness of present day (especially in comparison to the centralization, restriction and meticulousness of the past) must not, however, lead to a loss of juridical sensibility or respect for authority, nor of that material care for the sacredness and dignity of worship that clearly emerges in past praxis.