Use of Latin

What does the Church say about the use of Latin vs. the vernacular at Mass? The Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium states that the use of the vernacular is allowed and may be advantageous to the people. What is less well known is that the Second Vatican Council also stated that “the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium #36) We Catholics in the United States are part of the Latin or Roman rite.

Why is the preservation of Latin in the Church important?

1. Latin is the official language of the Roman rite. For centuries, official Church texts have been written in Latin, and our use of Latin now connects us to the Church throughout time.

2. A vast quantity of sacred music handed on to us by the Church is in Latin. We access this treasury through the use of Latin at Mass.

3. Latin has not changed nearly to the extent that other languages have changed over the centuries. Thus, the meaning of these texts in Latin continues to be handed down to us almost unaltered.

For more information on why we use Latin in the Catholic Church, click HERE or HERE.