Latin Votive Masses in England after 1549


The Act of Uniformity, 1549, required that the new English-language Book of Common Prayer be used exclusively from June 9, 1549. Even after this date certain priests continued to say votive masses. These were said privately in Latin in side-chapels as opposed to the public celebration of the new Communion service in English at the main altar of the church. Instead of using their former names, e.g. a Mass of Our Lady, the priests tried to disguise what they were doing by using a name such as “Our Lady’s Communion”.

This practice was maintained at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, where the bishop Edmund Bonner was not in sympathy with the liturgical reforms.

Comments Policy: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic. If your comment contains a hyperlink to another site, your comment automatically goes into "Comments Purgatory" where it waits for release by way of moderation.