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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

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen On Gregorian Chant

Jeff Ostrowski · July 30, 2015

454 Young Fulton J. Sheen Here’s what Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen had to say about Gregorian chant:

AINT Viator’s College was also a seminary for the training of priests. When I graduated, Bishop Edmund Dunne of Peoria sent me to St. Paul’s Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, to finish my studies for the priesthood. These were the days of World War I; food was meager and I developed an ulcer which required an operation. The courses were extremely good, especially in Sacred Scripture, history, and moral theology.

The music teacher of Gregorian chant had to train all of us, whether we had singing voices or not. I was among those who could hardly carry a key on a ring. Grace Moore later on confirmed this. About twenty years later, however, when I returned to give a lecture in an auditorium in St. Paul, I was introduced by my music teacher, who praised me for my singing. I am sure the good man did not purposely lie; he just had a bad memory. They say singing is every man’s birthright but it certainly never was mine. I didn’t sound good even in a shower.

On Saturday, 20 September 1919, I was ordained a priest, by the grace of God, in the cathedral at Peoria. […]

In 1920, I was to offer Holy Week Eucharist in St. Patrick’s Church in Washington. The liturgy of that week is slightly different from that of other days of the year, and I was a bit concerned as to whether I could do it properly. One of the directions given in Latin during the course of the Holy Saturday liturgy was to sing Alleluia three times. There are about forty-nine notes in that Alleluia, which would test even the skills of a Caruso. I did my best to give utterance to all those black notes in the missal.

I gave a sigh of relief at the end of the Alleluia, but old Monsignor Thomas—the pastor, who wore purple socks—shouted out from the sacristy in the hearing range of the entire congregation: “Sing it again!” I sang it again, simply because he ordered me to do it. When I finished the second effort, again in still louder tones, he cried: “Sing it again!” which I did in reluctant obedience and feeling very stupid for having to do so. But then I noticed at the end of the Latin directive about singing Alleluia the little word ter, which means three times. That incident always reminded me of the story of the man who had a choice of marrying either a beautiful servant girl who was unknown or an ugly opera singer who was quite famous. He opted for the opera singer. The morning after the honeymoon, he took one look at her and said: “For heaven’s sake, sing.”

And here’s the “Alleluia” referred to by Archbishop Sheen:

457 Sheen Gregorian


Anyone who’s heard Fulton J. Sheen speak about the Mass realizes how much he loved the liturgy. The 1961 Fulton J. Sheen Sunday Missal is wonderful. Many wonder why Sheen never talked about the liturgical changes. I suspect, like his book editor, Fr. Caraman, Sheen felt the need to keep silence about these changes. I will have more to say about this subject—as well as Fr. Caraman’s need to keep silent about changes he didn’t like—at a later date.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Bishop Fulton J Sheen, Could Fulton J Sheen Sing Last Updated: October 11, 2025

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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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Corpus Christi Watershed

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

On October 14, 1968, our Holy Father, Pope Paul VI, in an address to the Roman liturgy Consilium, pointed out the abuse which wants to “remove the sacred from liturgical worship and replace the holy with the commonplace and the every-day.”

— Quoted by Roger Wagner in a 1970 article

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  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

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