Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010

March 1, 2010

New missal expected in Canadian parishes in less than 2 years

OTTAWA - The new English translation of the Roman Missal will be ready for use in Canada by Advent 2011.

A team at the Congregation for Divine Worship is doing a final tweak on the translation that has been voted on in sections by the various English-speaking episcopal conferences around the world.

In late April, when Vox Clara, a group of senior bishops and specialists advising the congregation on the texts, holds its final meeting in Rome, its members hope to present the finished translation to Pope Benedict.

Recognitio, or official approval by the Holy See, is likely to follow shortly after the translation is presented, said Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, who is a member of Vox Clara.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops' in-house publishing service, CCCB Publications, will layout the missal, proofreading, publishing and distributing the new volumes in Canada.

The CCCB's national liturgy director Father Bill Burke said this could take about 12 to 14 months after the recognitio is granted.

All major language groups are going through the translation process to bring their liturgy more closely in line with the original Latin text. The English-speaking conferences are the first to complete the task that began in 2001.

The International Commission for English in the Liturgy (ICEL) oversaw the new translation that was vetted, commented upon and voted upon in stages by the various episcopal conferences in countries where English is used. Each vote required at least a two-thirds majority to pass.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has posted the text of the new missal with a side-by-side comparison of the present liturgy with the new translation, emphasizing the words and phrases that will change at www.usccb.org/romanmissal/examples.shtml.

The Canadian version will include local options, said Prendergast.

In the United States, for example, the assembly kneels through out the Eucharistic Prayer. In Canada, the bishops voted to make the norm kneeling at the Holy, Holy, Holy and rising at the Acclamation of Faith (Christ has died, etc.), except in those dioceses, such as London and Toronto, where it has been the tradition to kneel throughout the prayer.

The bishops' conferences also voted on what gesture of reverence will precede the reception of the host. Some places may want people to genuflect, others to bow, said Prendergast.

In Canada, the bishops voted for a slight bow prior to approaching the person giving the host, but the bow would not be repeated at the chalice, said Burke.

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