Association for Latin Liturgy
Under the patronage of the Bishops' Conference of England
and Wales.
Founded in 1969 to encourage and extend the use of Latin in the liturgy of the
Catholic Church.
The Roman Church has special obligations towards Latin . . . and she must manifest them whenever the opportunity presents itself.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
II
Q. Is the Tridentine Mass another name for the Latin Mass?
A. No. The Tridentine Mass is so called because it is the form of Mass produced for the Western Church after the Council of Trent, a town in northern Italy, whose name in Latin is *Tridentum*. The Council lasted, on and off, from 1545 to 1563. In its 22nd session (September 1562) the doctrine of the Mass was defined, as were things to be observed or avoided in its celebration. By a decree of the Council, actual reform of the Mass rite was left to the Pope, then Pius IV, though it was actually his successor, Pius V who carried out, or at least supervised the work.
The 'Tridentine Missal' (1570) was the result, and it remained in force for exactly 400 years until, under Pope Paul VI, the present Missal came into use.
Latin had been the language in use throughout the Western Church almost since its foundation (in the very early days it was Greek). But other languages are used in the Eastern Catholic Churches, for example in the Coptic rite. So although the Tridentine Mass is always celebrated in Latin, the Latin is not an essential aspect of it, and it could in theory be celebrated in the vernacular (though it has to be said that the Council of Trent itself rejected the idea of Mass in the vernacular).
Nowadays, when we talk about the 'Latin Mass', we mean Mass in any approved rite celebrated in Latin. The Association for Latin Liturgy's priority is the promotion of the Mass of Paul VI (by far the most frequently used rite) in Latin, with the traditional music associated with the Roman Liturgy.
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