The General Secretariat and the English Sector National Liturgy Office of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) have recently received queries regarding the English-language text of the third revised edition of the Roman Missal for use in Canada.

These questions follow an earlier announcement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that it has received recognitio from the Holy See for the English-language text for use in the USA. In addition, the USCCB has released the text of the Missal as approved for the American dioceses, while also announcing that this new translation comes into force in the USA on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011. This implementation date was chosen to allow US publishers time to print and publish the text, while also enabling American dioceses and parishes to prepare Catholics for the changes in the new edition of the Missal.

The CCCB wishes to remind Catholics in our country that the United States is one of eleven English-speaking Episcopal Conferences in the world. Each Conference of Bishops is involved in preparing its own text of the Missal. Once the proposed text has been duly approved by the Bishops of that Conference in a canonical vote, it is sent to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, along with any adaptations requested by the Bishops of that Conference. Each Conference must then wait until it receives recognitio by the Congregation before proceeding with the publication of the Missal and selecting a date for its implementation within its respective country.

The CCCB has now received recognitio for the standard texts of the Roman Missal that will be used by all the other English-speaking countries, but has not yet received recognitio for any adaptations for Canada, nor for the proposed Proper Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of Canada. The recognitio received by the United States, however, did include the decisions of the Congregation on the requested adaptations and the liturgical calendar for the USA. The Bishops of Canada cannot select a date for the implementation of the Missal in Canada until all the approved texts, including the adaptations, have been received and the necessary amount of time ascertained for the Canadian Missal to be printed and published. In addition, it is not CCCB practice to release liturgical translations in advance before the official liturgical books have been published.

As part of the preparation for the implementation of the Missal, the Bishops of Canada will also be issuing catechetical resources to assist Canadian Catholics in preparing for the new translation. These resources will be prepared by the CCCB English Sector Commission for Liturgy and the Sacraments, with the assistance of the Sector’s National Liturgy Office. However, these materials can only be finalized once the approved text of the Missal, as well as the adaptations and the liturgical calendar, have been received for use in Canada.

(Rev.) Msgr. Patrick Powers, P.H.
General Secretary