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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

In Memoriam: Dr. Lucy E. Carroll, DMA

Fr. David Friel · June 28, 2015

UST A FEW short months ago, The Adoremus Bulletin lost its editor and leader, Helen Hull Hitchock. A little over a week ago, another woman associated with Adoremus, Dr. Lucy Carroll, died as a result of complications from back surgery. Over many years, Dr. Carroll contributed substantially to the reform of sacred music in the Catholic Church. (For details of her life, please see her obituary). Lucy was a friend and mentor to me, and I would like to share with you a little bit of her story.

Lucy was an accomplished choir director, clever cartoonist, and gifted writer. She was a beloved professor, published poet, and learned musicologist. She once worked as a high school music director, and eventually held a teaching position at Westminster Choir College in Princeton. She was also a woman of genuine personal holiness.

Lucy grew up in a Polish parish in the Bronx—Saint Adalbert’s—where her young faith was nurtured. It was at St. Adalbert’s that she first learned to appreciate the good, the true, and the beautiful. It was there that she had her first exposure to the language of the Church and the vast treasury of sacred music. She went on to earn music degrees from Temple University, Trenton State College, and Combs College of Music.

The most influential schooling she received, however, came from Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart in Purchase, NY, which operated the Pius X School of Liturgical Music during summers. Dr. Carroll studied there during the tumultuous summers of 1963 & 1964. She once reminisced:

I often think of the days at Pius X and wonder what state our Catholic church music would be in today if we had all followed the letter rather than “the spirit” of Vatican II; if we had truly used the best and most elevated compositions rather than the bubble-gum variety; if we had emphasized choirs and organ as the Council Fathers intended.

Do yourself a favor, and read the complete article from which this quote comes. When I read that article for the first time, I learned about a blissful period in recent Church history about which I was previously unaware. It is an eye-opening read for those of us born well after the Council.

Schools like the Pius X School of Liturgical Music are lacking in today’s Church. The closest equivalent is probably the all-too-brief Sacred Music Colloquium (which opens tomorrow in Pittsburgh and continues all week). It is so encouraging to see the growth of youth choir schools like the one at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City and the new Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum, led by fellow blogger Lucas Tappan. Where will the graduates of these schools be able to go for advanced studies?

Most of my interactions with Dr. Carroll stem from her longtime work as the organist and music director at our Carmelite Monastery in Philadelphia. In addition to her normal weekend duties, she worked year-round to provide beautiful sacred music for the annual Novena in honor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the Triduum celebrated in honor of St. Therese of Lisieux. Lucy even edited an excellent hymnal just for the use of the Carmel, entitled The Monastery Hymnal. She is deeply missed by the sisters, her Monastery Choir, and the wider family of Carmel.

Lucy_Carroll_Mice Readers of The Adoremus Bulletin will recall Lucy’s frequent contributions to that publication. In addition to her many articles over the years (e.g., HERE, HERE, and HERE), she was also the creator of the “Churchmouse Squeaks” cartoons that would appear in every edition.

Dr. Carroll had diverse interests. On the one hand, she was passionate about pipe organs, while on the other hand she was an expert on the a cappella singing tradition of the Ephrata Cloister. She was a devotee of Carmelite spirituality, as well as an unabashed cat lover. She wrote a book (which I immensely enjoyed) entitled The Hymn Writers of Early Pennsylvania—a remarkably specific topic that capitalized upon her niche scholarship.

Lucy played an instrumental role in my coming to grips with the true nature of sacred music. Like so many other millennials, I grew up with a wildly distorted sense of what church music is and should be. I will forever be grateful to Lucy for patiently introducing me to the treasury I now love.

We offered Lucy’s funeral Mass on Friday in the original chapel of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, PA (my hometown). The congregation was heavily populated with members of her various choirs, all of whom sang at various points throughout the Mass. At the end, the In Paradisum was sung, and her casket was carried out of the chapel and taken to the burial site nearby.

I share Lucy’s story only in part because some readers will know her and be interested to hear the sad news of her death. The main reason I am sharing her story, though, is because she represents a generation of sacred musicians I deeply admire. She received an excellent education & formation in Catholic liturgical music, only to find that her skills were not wanted in the post-conciliar period. It took decades of perseverance before the sound education she had received could actually be put into the service of the Church who had formed her.

Dr. Lucy was a woman of great faith, totally immersed in the life of the Church. In many ways, the Church was her family. In every way, her life was totally committed to the work of Catholic sacred music. She is a brilliant example of what the Catholic faith can do when it takes root in a person.

Today, were it not Sunday, would be celebrated as the feast of St. Irenaeus, who famously wrote that “the glory of God is man fully alive.” It was Lucy’s faith that enabled her to be so “fully alive.” Her life was indelibly shaped by her experience of the Church; this should be the earnest desire of every Catholic.

As her name implies, Lucy was a light to others. Please join me in praying that she will be welcomed quickly into the resplendent light of the heavenly kingdom.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Catholic Youth Choirs, Helen Hull Hitchcock Adoremus, Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, Passing on Tradition Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I vividly remember going to church with him in Bournemouth. He was a devout Roman Catholic and it was soon after the Church had changed the liturgy (from Latin to English). My grandfather obviously didn’t agree with this and made all the responses very loudly in Latin while the rest of the congregation answered in English. I found the whole experience quite excruciating, but my grandfather was oblivious. He simply had to do what he believed to be right.”

— Simon Tolkien (2003)

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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