I was reading your interesting posts regarding people signing themselves when receiving the priest’s blessing at the end of Mass, and I was struck that there is no rubric anywhere that I’ve found — in either the post-Vatican II ritual books or the pre-conciliar texts — that indicates the people’s gesture upon receiving a blessing. Indeed, the liturgical rubrics consistently locate the efficacious gesture in the ordained minister’s hand and give the assembly a verbal, not gestural, part (“Amen.”). This is true when the priest blesses the people at the end of Mass, or even when the bishop chooses to bless the people with the Book of Gospels after the Gospel reading (GIRM 175). In short, that people make the Sign of the Cross themselves when receiving a blessing seems to be rooted in popular piety, not the liturgy.
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Thanks for the extra research on this topic.
There is one exception: When the deacon asks for a blessing before proclaiming the gospel, the missal has him sign himself with the cross.
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