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His Holiness Pope Pius XII at St Peter's Square in 1950.

Pope John XXIII (25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963)

On November 1, 1950, His Holiness Pope Pius XII declared the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which the Church celebrates every year on August 15. "We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin". The dogma of the Assumption states that at the end of her life, the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken, body and soul, into Heaven.

Pontifical Mass inside Saint Peter's Basilica sung by His Holiness Pope Pius XII

His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, celebrating the Tridentine Latin Mass for the FSSP (Priestly Fraternity of St Peter) in 1990. Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope on April 19, 2005.

BENEDICTVS PP. XVI (1927-2022)

The last traditional episcopal consecration inside Saint Peter's Basilica took place on 20 October 1963. Paul VI consecrated 14 new Bishops for the Holy Catholic Church using the ancient formula. Paul VI gave his homily in Latin and pronounced: "Praeterea evenit vobis, ut consecrationem hanc, qua Apostolorum successoribus inserimini, accipiatis per sacrum ministerium Nostrum, amplissimum et verissimum, licet ab humili successore Sancti Petri vobis conferatur, qui promissio evangelica Novi Testamenti facta est: «Super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam» (Matth. 16, 18). Ita sane fit, ut quasi sensibiliter percipere possitis manum vestram comprehendi non quidem a Nobis neque, si proprie loquamur, a Sancta Petro, sed ab ipso Christo, Deo Sanctissimo et Omnipotenti, auctore divino Ecclesiae, et veluti «lapides vivos» vos superaedificari super fundamentum Domus Dei quae est Ecclesia. Quanto autem solacio animi Vestri perfundentur, Praesules ad munus episcopale consecratione nunc asciti, si animadverteritis vobis obvenire potestates Regni Dei, Christo operante per humilem personam Nostram, heredem muneris Principis Apostolorum, cui claves Regni caelorum traditae sunt".

Pope Pius XI celebrating Mass at St Peter's Basilica main altar. Pius XI passed away on 10 February 1939 at the age of 81. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929. He assumed as his papal motto "Pax Christi in Regno Christi", translated "The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ".

An aerial photo of the main altar inside Saint Peter's Basilica taken during the Solemn Coronation Mass of Pope John XXIII on 4 November 1958. That was the last traditional coronation Mass and the last time the Bishop of Rome wore a Falda (Fimbria) as clearly seen in the photo. While maintaining the traditional papal ceremonial, John XXIII continued his predecessors' policy of a gradual reform to the traditional Roman liturgy, inserting the name of Saint Joseph into the Canon of the Mass, which had been considered untouchable, and promulgating a Code of Rubrics that made changes such as altering the classification of liturgical feasts. In 1960, he removed some celebrations from the General Roman Calendar, and in 1962 issued a new typical edition of the Roman Missal, which became the last edition containing the Tridentine Mass. By decision of Pope Benedict XVI, its use remains permitted to all priests of the Latin Church for celebrating Mass without the people, and under the conditions indicated in article 5 of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum of 7 July 2007.

Pope John XXIII during a procession in Rome for the Feast of Corpus Domini on June 16, 1960

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI during a Pontifical Mass for the occasion of the Epiphany inside St. Peter's Basilica on January 6, 2013. During the ceremony the Supreme Pontiff consecrated four new bishops including his personal secretary Georg Gaenswein

His Holiness Pope Pius XII