Traditionalist liturgies attract record numbers during Easter

The number of people attending Extra­ordinary Form Masses over Easter has increased by a fifth, says the Latin Mass Society.

“The growing numbers present at Extraordinary Form celebrations of the Easter vigil this year underline the continual growth we are experiencing all over the country in attendance at the traditional Mass,” said Joseph Shaw, president of the society.

Across Britain 122 Extra­ordinary Form Masses were celebrated over Holy Week, a 60 per cent increase from 2014 when just 76 services were celebrated.

The Shrine of St Augustine, in Ramsgate, was one of six places in England and Wales to celebrate Easter with a full set of services in the Extraordinary Form. Traditionalist Easter Sunday Masses were celebrated at both Norwich and Portsmouth cathedrals. Attendance at Extra­ordinary Form masses in key parishes, including Preston and Warrington also increased by 20 per cent.

Mr Shaw, who attended traditional Mass over Easter at a “completely full” St Mary Moorfields in London, said that the rise in numbers attending Extraordinary Form Masses corresponded with the services becoming more widely available.

“Twenty years ago a lot of people knew about it [traditional Mass], now we find most Catholics don’t know what it is. What we’re seeing is that if people experience it – which is becoming more frequent – then they tend to want it,” he said.

Contrary to popular assumption, it is often the younger generation filling the pews, explained Mr Shaw. “If you want to lower the average age of the congregation, put on a traditional Mass,” he said. “It does seem to attract younger people. Sometimes they’ve read about it, or seen videos on the internet. They tend to be more open-minded about trying something different.”

“Traditional Mass has a particularly important place in a world where there is little ritual and vey little sense of the supernatural. Awe doesn’t have a place in everyday life,” he added.

The number of Christmas Extraordinary Form Masses has also increased. In 2014 there were 44 traditional Mass services, by 2015 the number had risen to 64.

Extraordinary Form, or Tridentine, masses are celebrated according to the 1962 Missal and are almost entirely in liturgical Latin. The Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite Mass was formulated in the 1970s, and is now the standard form of Mass. The older, or Extraordinary, form has never been abrogated (cancelled).