“We’re celebrating our first year offering a service most Catholics thought impossible,” said St. Martin’s pastor, Father Hermanagild Jayachandra. “Catholics from all over Boulder County and beyond have been attracted to the Mass.”

The liturgy, offered the last Sunday of each month at 10:30 a.m., is a Latin version of the Novus Ordo Mass, a format adopted in the 1970s by the Second Vatican Council and used daily in Catholic parishes worldwide. However, said Father Jayachandra, the language of each country is used instead of Latin, “causing most Catholics to believe that Latin was outlawed by the council.”

Why Latin, why now?
“But Latin was never forbidden,” said Father Jayachandra. He noted that the funeral Masses for Pope John Paul II, and the installation liturgies for newly elected Benedict XVI, viewed by millions around the world, were conducted in Latin.
“It’s still the official language of the Catholic Church,” he said. “And as the world recently witnessed, Latin liturgies are both spiritually and esthetically pleasing.”

Latin Mass at St. Martins was the suggestion of lay members of the parish liturgy committee.

“The request surprised me, but I was even more surprised by the positive reaction of our parishioners,” said Father Jayachandra. “We’re a small and intimate community, and we knew right away that the people liked the Mass.
“Older parishioners are reminded of the Mass of their childhoods,” he said, “and younger parishioners, including college students, say the service is a special experience.”

A major project
According to St. Martin’s music director, Aimee Milburn, deciding to offer the Mass was the easy part. Milburn coordinated a group of volunteers to plan the liturgy.

“Since most Catholics have little or no recollection of Latin, we wanted a handout to help people participate,” she said. But the group soon discovered that no “off-the-shelf” resources exist for Latin liturgies.

Embarking upon a major research project, Milburn searched the Internet as well as published materials to find the Latin for the Novus Ordo Mass. She constructed a 16-page booklet containing the Order of the Mass in Latin and English that includes a pronunciation guide for Latin.

But Milburn realized a booklet was not enough.

“It was too much to expect parishioners to suddenly pronounce Latin words and sing Gregorian chant,” she said.

Her solution was to form a Gregorian schola, a small choir, to chant the Latin and gently lead the people in the prayer responses and songs. Four men from St. Martin’s agreed to take on the challenge. “They love music, and practiced for several weeks,” said Milburn. Within a few months Milburn expanded the schola to include several female voices.

Not all of the Mass is in Latin, said Father Jayachandra. Scripture readings, the Gospel and homily, and some of the hymns are in English.

“It’s a wonderful balance, and we’re pleased by our year’s experience,” he said. “We’ll continue to offer this beautiful service that authentically blends Latin into the contemporary liturgical setting.”

St. Martin de Porres is located at 3300 Table Mesa Drive. For more information on its Latin Mass, call 303-499-7744, or visit the parish Web site: stmartindeporreschurch.org.