score:8
How can one characterize (a rite)?
A rite represents tradition about how sacraments (not just Mass) are celebrated. As the early Church grew and spread, it celebrated the sacraments as would be best understood and received in the context of individual cultures, without ever changing their essential form and matter.
Which forms of Mass (rites) are presently used within the Roman Catholic Church? and where are they used?
Counting novus ordo and tridentine as a single rite, there are totally 5 western rites and 22 eastern rites (with five eastern liturgical tradition). The complete list of functional rites and their jurisdiction can be found at gcatholic.org.
Please see Wikipedia article titled List of Catholic rites and churches for the list of defunct rites, But I really doubt that this is an exhaustive list of defunct rites.
Upvote:3
At present there are a total number of 23 Eastern Rite Catholic Traditions in use at the present moment. On January 19, 2015 Pope Francis established the Eritrean Catholic Church.
On July 7, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI issued his Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum in which he permitted the Mass of Pope St Pius V to be used in the Roman Catholic Rite. The Sovereign Pontiff also declared that there would be two forms of celebrating the Mass in the Roman Rite: The Ordinary Form of the Mass of Pope Blessed Paul VI (April 3,1969) and the Extraordinary Form of the Mass of Pope St Pius V (July 14 1570). Pope Benedict XVI went on to declare that the Mass of Pope Pius V had never been abrogated and could thus be lawfully used in the Church.
The Ordinary Form of the Mass has one form in usage, with at least two usages permitted within the Ordinary Form of Pope Paul VI. The Tridentine Rite or the Extraordinary Form is a little more complex to explain. This Rite had many "Rites" and "Usages" that were permitted up to the time of the Second Vatican Council. The difference between a rite and/or usage is not always clear in terms of terminology.
In the following list of Rites and Uses I am employing are of the most common ones which can be found in liturgical books of the day such as the Catholic Encyclopedia. Some rites or usages of the Roman Rite were Diocese restricted, while others were restricted to particular religious Orders and as such were not bound to geographical regions. This is not a complete list of former rites and/or usages.
The Ordinary Form
The Extraordinary Form