How many intentions may there be for any particular Mass?

Canon 948 states that ordinarily there may be no more than one offering (intention) for one Mass. However, in 1991 the Congregation for the Clergy issued a decree …Collective Intentions…which permitted the practice of taking more than one offering for a single Mass.

The principle rules governing this practice are:

• The donors must be informed and agree to combine their offerings with others in a single Mass
• The time and place for the celebration of the Mass are to be made public
• Masses for collective intentions may not be celebrated by a priest more than twice a week
• If the total amount of the offerings given for a collective intention exceeds the amount of the usual offering the excess is to be given to the Ordinary for the purposes he has specified.