Francis marks 50th anniversary of first Papal vernacular Mass

Mar 12, 2015

VATICAN: Pope Francis has appealed for Catholics to increase their “love for the house of God” as he marked the 50th anniversary of the first Papal Mass in the vernacular.

Celebrating Mass in Ognissanti (All Saints) church in Rome, where Blessed Pope Paul VI celebrated his first public Mass in Italian, rather than Latin, he said: “The Church is calling us to have and to promote an authentic liturgical life, so that there may be harmony between what the liturgy celebrates, and what we live in our daily existence.”

He described the liturgy as “the privileged place to hear the voice of the Lord, who guides us on the path of righteousness and Christian perfection.”

He urged the congregation to rediscover the sacrament of Confession, which “makes us go from the darkness of sin to the light of grace and friendship with Jesus.”

We must never forget, he said, “the great strength that this sacrament has for the Christian life: It makes us grow in union with God, makes us regain lost joy and experience the consolation of knowing we are personally welcomed by the merciful embrace of the Father.”

Pope Francis said that, “in a certain sense,” Blessed Paul VI had “inaugurated the liturgical reform” with the celebration of Mass “in the language of the people.”

Pope Francis said he hoped that the anniversary would revive in everyone a great “love for the house of God” – a reference to the Gospel reading of the cleansing of the Temple (Jn 2:13-25). --Catholic Resources