Pope John XXIII on use of the Latin language in the Church

In a little-known document issued in 1962 Pope John XXIII called for “promotion of the study of Latin” for the sake o the continued wide use of Latin in the Church, particularly for the Roman liturgy. The pope of Vatican II who is widely referenced as wanting “change” has often been misrepresented and this is just one example.

In Veterum Sapientia the pope urged the continued study and use of the Church’s sacred language of Latin, especially in seminaries and by priests. The use of Latin in the liturgy was specifically directed by Vatican II.

From Veterum Sapientia:

“Of its very nature Latin is most suitable for promoting every form of culture among peoples. It gives rise to no jealousies,” he taught.

“The Catholic Church has a dignity far surpassing that of every merely human society… It is altogether fitting, therefore, that the language it uses should be noble, majestic, and non-vernacular.”

“The Apostolic See has always been at pains to preserve Latin, deeming it worthy of being used in the exercise of her teaching authority.”

The figure of John XXIII needs to be rehabilitated along with the traditional Latin liturgy which requires the use of Latin for the Church’s unifying and universal prayer of the holy Mass.

He invoked his power as pope to require the study of Latin in the seminaries:

“We further commission the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities to prepare a syllabus for the teaching of Latin which all shall faithfully observe.”

Sadly, this was disobeyed.

Read the entire text of Veterum Sapientia here: https://www.papalencyclicals.net/john23/j23veterum.htm