What has OCP been doing to prepare for the new translation of the Roman Missal?

March 12, 2010

In November 2009, the United States bishops completed their approval process for the new English translation of the Roman Missal. The status of the English translation and final work is now in the hands of Vox Clara, a supervisory agency that will advance the final version to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for recognitio.

We now anticipate that final approval to come sometime this calendar year with a likely “first use” of the missal to occur on Sunday, November 27, 2011 (First Sunday of Advent, Liturgical Year 2012). For more information and updates on this timeline and progress, please refer directly to www.usccb.org/romanmissal.

How has OCP been preparing for the new translation of the Order of Mass?
This is a project that affects all of OCP’s major publications--the missals and hymnals that many Catholic parishes use for worship. So, as you would expect, we have given it a serious amount of time and attention. In fact, we have been working on this project for over three years in anticipation of the final approval of the new Roman Missal that will come later this year. This is an important time in the life of the Church, as we renew the liturgy in accord with the directives of the Holy See.

Changes to musical settings required
One of the major impacts of having a new translation of the Roman Missal is that the musical settings for the people’s acclamations and responses at Mass will need to change. Many of these melodies have been with us for years, and the people know them by heart. If you change the words in any way, the music needs to adapt to the number of syllables and word order. That’s not an easy thing to do!

Collaboration with top composers
So, our response involved several important steps. First, we asked our top composers to create new musical settings of the peoples’ acclamations and responses with careful consideration of these newly translated texts. The new Masses we reviewed were fresh, inspiring and represented a variety of musical styles and genres.

Extensive research and testing process
Next, we asked parish music directors, priests and pastoral ministers how we could best help them implement these important changes in their parishes. We wanted to know whether they would prefer to have revisions of the musical settings they currently use, or if new settings would help the faithful learn the revised responses more smoothly. Read more » They advised us to include both in our materials, which we are planning to do. They didn’t want to lose their favorites, but at the same time, their choirs and musicians are eager to learn and lead new settings.

This fall we invited pastoral musicians from all over the country to give their direct feedback on the new and revised Mass settings. Their input and pastoral insights were invaluable in shaping the final versions of our top selections. We continue to work with the composers to incorporate these recommendations.

Ready-to-use Masses; supplement containing settings
Because none of these Mass settings may be used with a congregation until the final approval is given, we want to be sure that the Masses we publish anticipate the actual singing of people hearing the settings for the first time. We are quite confident that the research and testing we completed has yielded ready-to-use Masses for the time of implementation. Parish musicians and pastors can choose with confidence.

Our plan is to publish these parish-tested settings in a convenient missal and hymnal supplement. We will be sharing more information on this supplement in the coming months.

Interactive online resource center
We know from our research, however, that during this period of liturgical catechesis as the new Roman Missal is implemented, parishes will test and adopt new settings on a regular basis. To serve this ongoing customer need, we have developed an interactive website where we post and make available for review new and revised Mass settings. We hope this site will continue to be a place where pastoral musicians can preview, download and test new settings which correspond to their local parish needs.

New and Revised Mass settings selected for initial publication
Based on our research and review, we are pleased to announce selection of the following new Mass settings for publication in our missal and hymnal products:

• Mass of Christ the Savior by Dan Schutte
• Mass of Renewal by Curtis Stephan
• Mass of St. Paul the Apostle by Christopher Walker
• Mass of the Resurrection by Randall DeBruyn
• Misa Santa Cecilia/Mass of St. Cecilia by Estela García-López and Rodolfo López

Collectively, these Mass settings represent a variety of musical styles and options for parishes using OCP’s music program. In addition, we have selected the following revisions of previously published Mass settings for inclusion in our hymnal supplement and certain missal products:

• Celtic Mass by Christopher Walker
• Heritage Mass by Owen Alstott
• Mass of Glory by Ken Canedo and Bob Hurd
• Misa del Pueblo Inmigrante/Mass of the Immigrants by Bob Hurd

We continue to work with a number of our composers to revise previously published and new Mass settings using the new translation. This is ongoing work that involves our internal music review committee and outside musicians.

Stay informed
Be sure to regularly check our online resource center—OCP.org/NewMassSettings—for news and practical solutions related to the new Roman Missal. You can also sign up for email notifications, so you're the first to know when new information is available. We are committed to helping you enjoy a smooth transition in your community. « Hide

NOTE: Sound samples and accompaniments now available for order for new and revised Mass settings. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has established the first Sunday of Advent 2012 (Nov. 27, 2011) as the implementation date for the new Order of Mass. More Mass settings will be coming soon.