Una Voce To Celebrate New Mass In Latin, Add Gregorian Chant

Una Voce, the Latin Mass society of Boston College, has recently announced that it is making the change from celebrating the Tridentine Latin Mass to celebrating the New Mass in the Latin language according to the instructions promulgated by Pope St. Paul VI. 

Una Voce, which has been offering the Mass in the Old Rite in line with Pope Benedict XVI’s document Summorum Pontificum for several years now, has made its decision to switch to the New Rite in Latin some time after Pope Francis issued the Motu Proprio Traditiones Custodes, which calls for certain regulations on the Old Rite of the Mass, as well as calling attention to the lack of reverence and humility with which the New Mass is currently celebrated “in many places.”

In the Motu Proprio’s accompanying letter, the Holy Father explains that “in common with Benedict XVI, I deplore the fact that ‘in many places the prescriptions of the new Missal are not observed in celebration, but indeed come to be interpreted as an authorization for or even a requirement of creativity, which leads to almost unbearable distortions.’”

Una Voce at Boston College, seeing the Holy Father’s call for reverence in the Roman Rite of the Mass, has begun the celebration of the Mass in line with “the prescriptions of the New Missal” in light of the traditions of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. 

As a part of this, many sung portions of the Mass such as the Graduals (which are presently very often replaced with responsorial Psalms) and Entrance Antiphons (often either not sung at all or replaced by the singing of other hymns) are being reintroduced to the Liturgy through the medium of Gregorian Chant—the unique and ancient method of prayer and of singing which has marked the spiritual lives of Roman Catholics for countless generations. In the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Gregorian chant is said to be given “pride of place because it is proper to the Roman Liturgy,” and Una Voce, in its efforts to answer Benedict’s and Francis’ calls for reverence in the liturgy, is attempting to give chant just that pride of place.

With this renewed emphasis on Gregorian chant, Una Voce is also beginning a choir, or schola, which will be singing the Mass beginning with the Ash Wednesday liturgy at noon, and continuing on every Wednesday at noon for the remainder of the semester. Una Voce will be offering sung Masses at St. Joseph’s chapel on Wednesdays, and spoken Masses on Mondays at noon and on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. Anyone wishing to join the new schola and to learn Gregorian Chant from a beginner level should contact Adam Sorrels (sorrelsa@bc.edu).

Staff Photo by Adam Sorrels