When Latin went out of the Mass, Vatican II restored old practices to the liturgy

Everybody knows that after Vatican II the Mass was translated into the local languages (the vernacular) of Catholics. Some may know that the document that made this happen, Sacrosanctum Concilium, was the first one promulgated by the bishops, on  December 4, 1963.

While the simplified form of the Roman Rite was the standard, some ancient rites—like those of Addo and Mari and of Hippolytus of Rome—were adapted into new Eucharistic Prayers, and new rites for special occasions (rites for Children, Reconciliation and Peace) were introduced. (Photo:CNS)

What many may not know is that far from overturning an ancient tradition (the Latin Mass), the Council by its actions restored to us a practice that was rooted in the early Church.

The Mass as Catholics knew it on the eve of the Council was in fact relatively new. Formulated at the Council of Trent in the 16th century, it replaced a number of different rites used in various parts of the Church—part of an attempt by the bishops to standardise and in some ways reform Catholicism in the face of the challenges of the Protestant Reformation.

While partly an attempt to assert the Church’s power against the Reformer, it was also a genuine attempt to reform the liturgy and to standardise the formation and practice of the clergy.

A thousand years before Trent, and about 500 years before the great split between the Western (Roman) and Eastern Orthodox churches, the liturgy was far more flexible and varied than we might imagine.

In the second century, the Didache—a guide book on worship and spirituality—had little to say about celebration of the Eucharist, except that a sign of a good bishop or priest was the ability to lead the assembly in the Eucharistic prayer.

A really good presider could do this, under the Spirit’s guidance, spontaneously.

There were, apparently, no fixed parts that had to be said, though clearly the rite would have been a memorial of the Last Supper that invoked the descent of the Holy Spirit to consecrate the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.

Gradually by the fifth century this had been transformed into a range of local rites (Ambrosian in Milan, Mozarabic in Spain, Celtic in Ireland, Sarum rite in England) in local languages. In the West the tendency towards local churches looking to Rome for guidance and leadership led to the translation of many of these rites into Latin. In the East, a number of common rites emerged—but always celebrated in the local language (Greek, Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic and later early Russian).

Even after the institution of the Latin rite of Trent, many of these local rites persisted, albeit in limited areas. To this day the Ambrosian rite is celebrated in Milan, Italy, and the Mozarabic rite can still be experienced in Toledo, Spain.

Leaping forward to 1963, Sacrosanctum Concilium took a cautious step towards restoring such liturgical diversity. It started by emphasising that the Mass was not something celebrated by the priest and observed by the congregation, but was the celebration of the whole Christian people. Communal celebration had faded away over the centuries as fewer people understood Latin.

For this reason the Council allowed for the translation of the liturgy (whether fully or in part) into the vernacular so that people could really “con-celebrate” (in its broadest sense) with the presider.

On this matter the Council left it up to local conferences of bishops to decide such matters as translation and how much of the liturgy they would translate. The local conferences responded to this quickly and thoroughly, choosing to translate the liturgy fully into the vernacular.

Uneasy however with too elaborate innovations, the Council insisted that such liturgical development should be marked by a “noble simplicity” of style and the elimination of excessive repetitions. Elaborate and unfamiliar language was to be eliminated in favour of language that all could understand. The language of worship should be the common spoken language of the people. Once again this was to emphasise full participation of the faithful.

In addition the Council re-opened the possibility for the Church to use new rites, subject to Roman approval. While the simplified form of the Roman Rite was the standard, some ancient rites—like those of Addo and Mari and of Hippolytus of Rome—were adapted into new Eucharistic Prayers, and new rites for special occasions (rites for Children, Reconciliation and Peace) were introduced.

Sacrosanctum Concilium has been called both progressive and conservative. While conservative in the sense of stressing the need for standard rites, with the Roman rite at the centre, it was progressive in that it opened up popular participation through the use of the vernacular in a manner understandable to ordinary people.

In this it can be seen as truly traditional—rooted in the past yet open to change over time.