Mass in Croatian

Since the Ninth century Croatians were given permission by the Popes to say Mass in Croatian.

Adam S. Eterovich

The Language in Which Mass is Celebrated Today Throughout Christendom

The Catholic Church of today, 1919, celebrates the holy sacrifice of the Mass in nine different languages, viz., in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Chaldaic, Slavonic, Wallachian, Armenian, Coptic and Ethiopic.

Latin - The Holy Mass is celebrated in the Latin language in the entire West and also in a few places in the East. It may, in fact, be called the vernacular language of the Western Church at one time.

Slavonic (Croatian) - Mass is said in this language by the Catholics of Istria, Liburnia, and the maritime parts of ancient Dalmatia. This is all in Croatia.

It is in fact the Liturgical language of all in union with Rome who belong to the Slavonic nations. This privilege the Slavonians first received from Pope Adrian II in the Ninth century, and it was confirmed by Pope John VIII., Adrian's immediate successor. This latter Pontiff, in renewing the grant, made it a condition that the Holy Gospel, on account of its superiority over the other parts of the Mass, should be first read in Latin, and after that in Slavonic. In A.D. 1248 Pope Innocent IV acquiesced in all these concessions of his predecessors, as also did Pope Benedict in A.D. 1740; so that at the present day Mass is said in Slavonic by quite a large body of Catholics. It is also the liturgical language of schismatical Russia and of thousands of Christians within the Turkish dominions (Bona, Rer. Liturg., 216; Kozma, Liurg. Sacr. Cathol., 112, note; Wouter's Historic Ecclesiast., 258; Brerewood, Languages and Religions, p.235; and Gavantus, Thes. Rit., p 25, XIX).

A Brief History of the Catholic Church of St. George in Milwaukee, Wis. And a Sketch of the Eastern Church, by Exarch Anthony J. Aneed, Milwaukee, 1919.