My grandfather emigrated from Vilnius (was polish at the time) to the USA as a teenager and managed to find a church that did their mass in Latin, and still does to this day. I assume he understood it but I'm not sure - he was well-educated and spoke a few languages.

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tecleandor an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Giving the mass in Latin wasn't (generally) done because people understood Latin, but because of a traditionalist sense. The Second Vatican Council stated (among other things) that the mass could be done in other languages apart from Latin, and that it was a good thing to use local languages, so people could understand it better.

After that Council some excisions appeared, like the Society of Saint Pius X, that reclaimed the old ways of giving mass, in Latin, (and, IIRC, with the deacon giving his back to the people, not looking at them), and said there was "a moral and theological crisis in the Catholic Church".

Or people like the Palmarian Catholic Church in Spain, saying they have the authentic Pope, and the one in Rome is an Antipope. They were a scam for pulling money from their believers, and their "Pope" kept spending money on booze and expensive cars. They still exist.

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alexdbird an hour ago | parent | next [-]

You can't deny it, mass is much more stylish in Latin ;)

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graemep 44 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

Historically Latin was also a common international language. Educated people could understand Latin across much of Europe. Not so great for the majority of people, of course. The article seems to indicate that in some places it was pretty widely understood.

I think some rites of the church did use other languages such as Syriac.

I knew about SSPX but not the Palmarians. They seem to be even odder and a cult. Interesting in the same way I find conspiracy theories interesting, so thanks.

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somenameforme 33 minutes ago | parent [-]

Not just Europe. Well into relatively modern history educated individuals in America were expected to have fluency in Latin and frequently Greek as well. This [1] Harvard admission exam from 1869 immediately comes to mind. Applicants were expected to be able to pass that test, and the overwhelming majority did.

[1] - https://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/education/harvard...

	▲	mostertoaster 27 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		The classical school movement in America is growing quite rapidly, and so maybe we start to see it again? My kids at least are all learning Latin, and later, Greek.
	▲	graemep 9 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I was thinking of rather earlier in history, but you are right. My grandfather was studied Latin (and Greek) in school in Sri Lanka.

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bombcar 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The church Latin used in “the Latin Mass” is relatively simple and pretty easy to learn; and it’s very rare to find one that does the readings and homily in Latin; most of those are in English (or the local language) even at an FSSP parish.

Of course if it’s “really” done in the ancient way then it’s done at such a high speed that you need five or six Jesuits and advanced recording equipment to even figure out what is being said. ;)

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kjs3 37 minutes ago | parent [-]

I recall some of the Orthodox denominations still do mass in Latin. I visited an Antiochian Orthodox Church for a class where this was the case. I think (it has been a long while) the key phrase you'd look for is 'Western Rite'.

	▲	somenameforme 28 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Some Eastern Orthodox use (for all dialogue, they do celebrate mass) a language that's now only referred to as Church Slavonic. [1] Though going down this tangent I can't help but think of that Emo Phillips skit on religion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANNX_XiuA78 [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Slavonic
	▲	bombcar 33 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Latin (and other "old" languages) can still be found in various ways and places, though that starts to get deep into it, as the "New Catholic Mass" can be said in any language, one of which is Latin.

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elch an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Latin was the standard language of the Roman-Catholic Mass until the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. The current form of the Mass in national languages was formalized in 1970.

	▲	an hour ago \| parent [-]
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