Latin not 'dead' in some churches

May 2, 2005 / 22:00 pm

Latin is the language of choice for some churches in southwest Florida, and elsewhere across the country, when it comes to celebrating mass.

A recent report in The News-Press reveals that Ave Maria University, northeast of Naples, and St. Martha Parish in Sarasota regularly celebrate mass in Latin. St. Leo Parish in Bonita Springs has a Latin choir.

While these parishioners appreciate the “beauty and majesty” and mystery that the ancient and little-known language adds to the mass, it also heralds to a time before the Second Vatican Council.

Fr. Christian Beretta, principal of Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, told The News-Press that most priests ordained since the late 1970s have little experience with Latin.

"Personally, for me to have [Mass] in a language I have been speaking my entire life is the way I prefer to do it, both as a worshipper and a presider," he told the newspaper.

However, Fr. Michael Beers, a Latin professor at Ave Maria, said seminarians are increasingly required to learn Latin. He said he has always seen an interest in the Latin mass, even after Vatican II.