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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

Finding the Choir in FSSP-Lyon

Veronica Moreno · January 29, 2025

(This is part of a series of posts about a pilgrimage.)

EING A CANTRIX AFFECTS how you look at things. I was confused when Holy Mass started in the Collégiale Saint-Just where the local FSSP parish celebrates weekly Masses and I couldn’t figure out where the sound was coming from. For twenty years I sang in the front of a Novus Ordo parish despite wanting to sing in the back. I couldn’t quite explain it back then, because I didn’t have the vocabulary or formation to explain it to the pastor at the time. So the choir loft remained empty. But this Collegiate Church where the Fraternity in Lyon, France has the Traditional Latin Mass didn’t seem to have a choir loft above us. And for a few moments, my ears couldn’t find the source of the sound.

Then I found it.

They were in the front of the Church!

And just like I had been: on the right side!

So it was the same, but it was also completely different. The way the Church in Lyon was set up meant that while the sound and the choir and the conductor were all in front, they were hidden away from the people.

I have a very useful image to show you. The singers sing in the right aisle (in blue) and they are not visible to most of the people sitting in the Nave (in violet).

The very useful key to the floor plan lists the nave as a 16th century construction and the chancel where the choir sang as a 17th century structure. So maybe their choir had an entire century of not being where they’d eventually end up.

Maybe like us in a tent back home, they too had to work with what they got. This stood out to me when I finally found the place where they were singing from, because maybe we’re all works in progress. We all work with what we’re given.

Their location made them visually invisible, but they were audible. The sound could travel around the columns to fill the entire Church! And what a sound they had! Lest you grow tired of me saying it, the acoustics in stone Churches are amazing!

Here is something they sang, a French hymn. Latin chants with vernacular hymns and vernacular readings. Even across the world in a vernacular we didn’t understand, the Latin and the Mass made us feel at home.

There was another “choir” that caught my attention in Lyon. The space marked in red is their architectural Choir area, and it haschoir-stalls! My son is an altar server and he sometimes sits “in choir.” We understood that this mean “in the sanctuary”, but the layout of this Church makes it clear that “in choir” is really its own unique Church architecture.

Here, it was the choir area for what was once the “collegiate” . But today, the many altar servers sat in the choir-stalls!

An entire army of little men dressed in red and black and white!

“Sitting in choir” and altar serving is a gift for my son. He has the experience of watching the action of the priests up close as they offer Mass. But here in Lyon, the boys sit in delicately carved wooden seats, with a craftsmanship that has lasted centuries.

He didn’t say anything, but I know my little boy was itching to go give it a try.

This is another example of how the liturgy builds a building, and the building builds the Church. Is anyone surprised that vocations may come out of a parish like this?

Once again, I will continue to share with the hope that you visit these wonderful Parishes of the Fraternity while you’re visiting these cities. If you’d like to know more about Lyon, the Roman ruins, the parking (!), the bookstore in the plaza across the river, or what hills will destroy your calves for the rest of the week, please send me a message. I will update this blog post if any answers are useful.

A visit to FSSP-Lyon will enrich your spiritual life.

P.S. I forgot to mention that they celebrate the ritus Lugdunensis, the Rite of Lyon!

This site has everything about it! I wish I had read it before visiting:
– L’Eglise Saint-Just de Lyon Where Popes and Kings Worshipped

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 30, 2025

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About Veronica Moreno

Veronica Moreno is married to a teacher and homeschools five children. She has been cantor at her local Catholic parish for over a decade.—(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“There’s a world of difference between a thoughtful, wise Catholic and a bitter contrarian. In spite of what is claimed on certain blogs, being addicted to cable news and twitter does not make one an intellectual.”

— Jeff Ostrowski

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