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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Twelve (12) PDF Guides To Pronouncing Latin

Jeff Ostrowski · May 1, 2015

ULTON J. SHEEN read every word St. Thomas Aquinas ever wrote, at least once. He often repeated the Latin phrase «TIMEO VIRUM UNIUS LIBRI» (a phrase attributed to the Angelic Doctor) and I encourage you to look it up when you get a chance—it will become obvious why I mention it here.

Most Catholic priests pronounce Latin as follows:

(PDF) Guide No. 1   * * Very Good
Proper of the Mass (Carlo Rossini, 1933)

(PDF) Guide No. 2
Parish Book of Chant (CMAA, 2008)

(PDF) Guide No. 3
Mass & Vespers (Solesmes, 1957)

(PDF) Guide No. 4
Complete Proper of the Mass (Green & Koch, 1946)

(PDF) Guide No. 5
the Liber Usualis (Solesmes, 1961)

(PDF) Guide No. 6
A Textbook of Gregorian Chant (Dom Gregory Suñol, 1929)

(PDF) Guide No. 7
Basic Gregorian Chant (Sister Demetria, 1960)

(PDF) Guide No. 8
Chants of the Church (Solesmes, 1953)

(PDF) Guide No. 9
Gregorian Chants for Church and School (Goodchild, 1944)

(PDF) Guide No. 10
A New School of Gregorian Chant (Johner, 1925)

(PDF) Guide No. 11
Fundamentals of Gregorian chant (Heckenlively, 1950)

(PDF) Guide No. 12 • 47-Page Book
Correct Latin Pronunciation acc. to Roman Usage (De Angelis, 1937)

Fr. Carlo Rossini’s version is probably the best.

PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION to the “common pitfalls” Americans fall into, like saying “ihn” instead of “een” for the Latin word in. Or saying, “ih-mack-yoo-lah-tuh” instead of “ee-mah-coo-lah-tah” for the Latin word immaculáta. Or saying “Doe-mee-nay” instead of “Doh-mee-neh” for the Latin word Dómine. That being said, these rules can be taken too far. I’ve served the Latin Mass for priests from all over the world: Australia, Austria, Germany, France, England, America, Mexico, China, Puerto Rico, and so on. It is rare to hear a priest say “CHEH-lee” for the Latin word cæli. Most say “chay-lee,” and there’s no use losing sleep over this!



Keywords: “Latin Pronunciation Guide”

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: PDF Guide to pronouncing Latin, Proper Pronunciation of Lingua Latina Last Updated: December 5, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    Music List • (4th Sunday of Lent)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 4th Sunday of Lent (15 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. This feast has sublime propers. It is most often referred to as “Lætare Sunday” owing to its INTROIT. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Communion (4th Snd. Lent)
    The COMMUNION ANTIPHON for this coming Sunday, which is the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year A), is particularly beautiful. There’s something irresistible about this tone; it’s neither happy nor sad. As always, I encourage readers to visit the flourishing feasts website, where the complete Propria Missae may be downloaded free of charge.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Good Friday Flowers
    Good Friday has a series of prayers for various parties: the pope, catechumens, pagans, heretics, schismatics, and so forth. In the old liturgical books, there was no official ‘name’ for these prayers. (This wasn’t unusual as ‘headers’ and ‘titles’ for each section is a rather modern idea.) The Missal simply instructed the priest to go to the Epistle side and begin. In the SHERBORNE MISSAL, each prayer begins with a different—utterly spectacular—flower. This PDF file shows the first few prayers. Has anyone counted the ‘initial’ drop-cap flowers in the SHERBORNE MISSAL? Surely there are more than 1,000.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Stumped by “Episcopalian Hymnal” (1910)
    Some consider Songs of Syon (1910) the greatest Episcopalian hymnal ever printed. As a Roman Catholic, I have no right to weigh in one way or the other. However, this particular page has me stumped. I just know I’ve heard that tune somewhere! If you can help, please email me. I’m talking about the text which begins: “This is the day the Lord hath made; In unbeclouded light array’d.” The book is by George Ratcliffe Woodward, and its complete title is: Songs of Syon: A Collection of Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. Back in 2016, Corpus Christi Watershed scanned and uploaded this insanely rare book. For years our website was the sole place one could download it as a PDF file.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Dies Irae” • A Monstrous Translation
    It isn’t easy to determine what Alice King MacGilton hoped to accomplish with her very popular book—A Study of Latin Hymns (1918)—which continued to be reprinted in new editions for at least 34 years. This PDF file shows her attempt to translate the DIES IRAE “in the fewest words possible.” There’s a place for dynamic equivalency, but this is repugnant. In particular, look what she does to “Quærens me sedísti lassus.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”
    For vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses) we use this simpler setting of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989), a Belgian priest, organist, composer, and music educator who ultimately succeeded another ‘Jules’ (CANON JULES VAN NUFFEL) as director of the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium. Although I could be wrong, my understanding is that the LEMMENSINSTITUUT eventually merged with “Catholic University of Leuven” (originally founded in 1425). That’s the university Fulton J. Sheen attended.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Dom Vitry never claimed chant could not be used successfully with English words. No one need take my word for it. He was a pioneer on the matter of vernacular adaptation, and I need only refer you to the many publications of his own “Fides Jubilans” press. What he said was that adaptation involved some mutilation, and that we were faced with one or the other.

— Monsignor Francis P. Schmitt (1963)

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