The Use of the 1962 'Typical' Latin Mass (NAOCC)

Statement by the bishops of the North American Old Catholic Church

Our canons of the North American Old Catholic Church (NAOCC), like those of most other Old Catholic Church national churches, say that the local language can not be outlawed. That does not mean that languages such as Latin are forbidden. It just means that no member of the clergy can be required to use anything other than the local language (usually English for us).

The Old Catholic Church is separate and distinct from the Roman Catholic Church. We cannot and should not adopt any liturgy of that denomination unless it meets our own requirements. In fact, the Latin liturgy of the NAOCC pre-dates the changes that began to be made to the Roman liturgy in the 1960s.

That said, the Roman liturgy of 1962 is more readily available than our older liturgy. Rome's 1962 liturgy is still printed as Sacramentaries, Lectionaries and pew-sized missals. Those who want to celebrate Mass in Latin would be forced to pay large amounts of money for printed material or accept a torn or tattered used book.

It is possible to make this 1962 liturgy a legitimate worship expression of the Old Catholic Church. The following mandatorry and optional changes to the 1962 Missal were approved by the bishops of the North American Old Catholic Church in April, 2010. These items may be used as a guideline for use of the 1962 "typical" Latin version of the Holy Eucharist.

To make the 1962 legitimately Old Catholic...

• Filioque must be expunged from the Credo. (It was not in the original. It was added unilaterally by the Vatican and is not part of the Nicene Creed in the rest of Christianity. In fact, filioque was one of the issues that caused the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western church.)

• References to papa and pontifex should be changed to praesul. (We have a Presiding Bishop, not a pope.)

• Rubrics that call for the priest to read silently should be changed to recite in a soft voice. (Old Catholics have always discouraged silent recitation.)

• If there is Communion for the Faithful, there should be a Confiteor just before that Communion. (This was suppressed by John PP XXIII in 1960.)

• One of the following should be dropped from the Credo: Deum de Deo or Deum verum de Deo vero. The best would be to drop Deum de Deo because it was not original, but it is okay to drop either phrase.

• Perfidis ("unbelieving") may be removed from the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews. (It was suppressed by John PP XXIII in 1960.)

• The celebration of the Immaculate Conception appears as a mandatory feast in the 1962 versions. Although it is a celebration with a long history, the Immaculate Conception must be changed to its historical ranking. It is a simple and optional memorial, not a "holy day of obligation." It has no octave in the Old Catholic Church.

At the discretion of the celebrant...

• St. Joseph may be removed from the Canon. (It was added by John PP XXIII in 1962.)

• Portions of the liturgy (especially the readings) may be in the local language. (Our canons do not require the vernacular, but they say the local language may never be outlawed.)

• Rubrics from the 1920 typical edition and older versions of the Missale Romanum are just as valid as those in the 1962 version.

• Bishops may use Tabella Secretarum (altar card) instead of a Pontifical Canon. The reason is that bishops should already know the required differences, and the Pontifical Canon is almost impossible to find. To be clear, a bishop saying or chanting the Pontifical Masses, the phrase et Antístite nostro N. (“and for our Bishop N.”) goes away and is replaced by et me, indigno famulo tuo (“and me, your unworthy servant”) if the bishop celebrates Mass in his/her own diocese. If it is outside his own diocese, he/she would say or chant et me, indigno famulo tuo, et fratre meo N., (Archi)Episcopo huius Ecclesiae N. (and my brother N., (Arch)Bishop of this Church of N.).