• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • Ordinary Form Feasts (Sainte-Marie)
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

JPII: “The Roman Church Has Special Obligations to Latin”

Fr. David Friel · July 9, 2017

HAT IS THE role of Latin in the contemporary Church? On the one hand, Latin remains the official language of the Church and of her liturgy, while, on the other hand, Latin is left largely unstudied and unused in most areas.

What should the role of the Latin language be in the 21st-century Church?

It would profit us to revisit some words composed by Pope St. John Paul II in his Holy Thursday letter of 1980 (available here). In the third section of the letter, the Holy Father addresses the topic of the “two tables of the Lord” (Word and Eucharist). He acknowledges the positive dimensions of the vernacular readings introduced after the Second Vatican Council: “The fact that these texts are read and sung in the vernacular enables everyone to participate with fuller understanding” (Dominicae cenae, 10).

In the very next breath, however, JPII notes that the introduction of the vernacular has also brought about certain negative effects. He writes:

Nevertheless, there are also those people who, having been educated on the basis of the old liturgy in Latin, experience the lack of this “one language,” which in all the world was an expression of the unity of the Church and through its dignified character elicited a profound sense of the Eucharistic Mystery. It is therefore necessary to show not only understanding but also full respect towards these sentiments and desires. As far as possible, these sentiments and desires are to be accommodated, as is moreover provided for in the new dispositions (Dominicae cenae, 10).

Then, in understated fashion, the Holy Father makes a mammoth declaration: “The Roman Church has special obligations towards Latin, the splendid language of ancient Rome, and she must manifest them whenever the occasion presents itself” (Dominicae cenae, 10).

This is an absolutely extraordinary pronouncement. It does not say merely that the Church has a fond relationship with Latin; it does not say only that there is a historical connection between the Church and the Latin language; it does not say just that Latin has been useful to the Church. The tenor of this claim is raised to the level of an “ought.” The Church, according to St. John Paul II, holds obligations toward the Latin language.

This vision of the Church’s relationship with Latin is quite different from the perspective held by many post-conciliar liturgists. Consider the following reflection from Martimort’s classic work, L’Église en prière:

There will always be a place, however limited, for the traditional repertory that bears witness to the prayer of many different generations of Christians. There will be a place in particular for Gregorian chant in Latin, for this alone makes it possible for an international assembly to participate comfortably. (Aimé Georges Martimort, The Church at Prayer: An Introduction to the Liturgy, vol. I, trans. Matthew J. O’Connell [Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1987], 171).

This perspective treats Latin as a curious but affectionate part of the Church’s historical past. Such an approach seems, to me, ironically short-sighted. Martimort begins by asserting that the place of traditional Latin repertory is “limited” and ends by praising the value of Latin repertory at international gatherings. This is essentially a self-defeating prophecy. If the use of Gregorian chant is generally curtailed so as to be “limited,” after a fairly short span, it will cease to be an effective source of unity among the faithful at international gatherings.

This seems like an obvious thing to observe. After all, is this not the way the situation has actually played out in the years since the council? The widespread abandonment of the Church’s musical heritage in the aftermath of the council has left whole generations of Catholics with no practical knowledge or lived experience of Gregorian chant, such that the use of Latin at international gatherings seldom succeeds in helping the faithful “to participate comfortably.”

The natural effect of “limiting” the traditional repertory seems so obvious that one wonders if widespread ignorance of Latin and chant has not been achieved by design.

Pope St. John Paul II did not spell out the Church’s “obligations towards Latin” when he referenced them in 1980. It might be worth our while to do so now.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Latin, Pope Saint John Paul II Last Updated: December 6, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Then, when the later great Germans arrived, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven—all secular composers—and tried their hands at sacred music, they set Roman Catholic words to music which in form and spirit is Protestant.”

— Sir Richard Runciman Terry (1912)

Recent Posts

  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)
  • August 2025 • “Colorado Sacred Music Conference”
  • New “Latin/English Missal” for the Novus Ordo
  • Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
  • Bishop François Charrière Vs. Hannibal Bugnini

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

The election of Pope Leo XIV has been exciting, and we’re filled with hope for our apostolate’s future!

But we’re under pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”

We don’t want to do that. We believe our website should remain free to all.

Our president has written the following letter:

President’s Message (dated 30 May 2025)

Are you able to support us?

clock.png

Time's up