Traditional Latin Mass is a jewel that must be treasured

There are few more poignant experiences than attending the traditional Latin Mass — a religious celebration whose mixture of solemnity and intimacy leaves a profound impression on non-Catholics as well as Catholics.

Its ancient chants have inspired sublime music by Josquin, Palestrina, Byrd, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Stravinsky. But it is also remarkable for its silences: the intricate actions of the priest, facing towards Jerusalem, are accompanied by whispered prayers — “the blessed mutter of the mass”, as Robert Browning described it.

After the Second Vatican Council, which gave Catholics the freedom to worship in their own language, a faction in the Church tried to ban the traditional Mass completely.

That is why, in 1971, writers and creative artists including Agatha Christie, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Iris Murdoch and Ralph Richardson published an appeal to Rome in The Times. It became known as the “Agatha Christie letter” because, apparently, Pope Paul VI was so startled to see the name of the “queen of crime” that he allowed the old Mass to survive.

In the decades that followed, a growing minority of Catholics embraced the transcendental symbolism of this unchanging liturgy. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI granted permission for its celebration wherever it met the needs of Catholics. It flourished. In 2021, however, Rome effectively banned the traditional Latin Mass from parish life.

This decision was a shattering blow to Generation Z Catholics who have found their spiritual home in the old liturgy. They are bewildered by the new hostility they face — but now it appears that worse is to come. Sources report that the Vatican is planning an almost total ban on the “Mass of the Ages”, as it’s known.

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