This study offers a systematic and comparative account of three major medieval commentaries on
the rite of the Holy Mass: St.¿Thomas Aquinas's exposition in the "Summa theologiæ " Pope
Innocent¿III's "De sacro altaris mysterio " and "De mysterio missæ" attributed to St.¿Albert
the Great. At its centre stands the Roman Canon-the core of the Latin Mass tradition-whose
enduring liturgical use prompted centuries of theological reflection. Bridging perspectives of
doctrine sacraments and liturgical exegesis the dissertation addresses the long-standing
tension between the spiritual and philological schools of interpretation. By retrieving the
Thomistic doctrine of spiritual signification-grounded in sacred doctrine and operative in
Scripture sacraments and liturgy-it proposes a theological resolution. This Thomistic
ressourcement demonstrates that the spiritual sense is not a subjective imposition but an
objective content of the rites themselves-signifying the passion of Christ the sanctification
of the Church and the final consummation of the mystical body. In doing so it contributes to
the renewal of liturgical theology and highlights Aquinas's synthesis as a vital key for
understanding the Holy Mass in the Western tradition.
