1962MISSAL.COM

WHAT IS THE 1962 MISSAL?

The 1962 Roman Missal (Missale Romanum) is the last edition of the Roman Missal published before the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. It represents the culmination of the Roman Rite as it developed from the Council of Trent (1545-1563) through the early twentieth century.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Pope John XXIII promulgated this edition of the Missal in 1962, incorporating the reforms of Pope Pius XII (particularly to the Holy Week ceremonies) and the updated Code of Rubrics from 1960. It was the standard liturgical book for the Roman Catholic Church until the introduction of the Novus Ordo Missae in 1969/1970.

TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS

The Mass celebrated according to the 1962 Missal is commonly known as the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), the Tridentine Mass, or the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. It is characterized by:

• Celebration in Latin (the sacred language of the Western Church)
• Ad orientem posture (priest and people facing liturgical east)
• The Roman Canon as the sole Eucharistic Prayer
• Rich ceremonial, including the use of incense and elaborate vestments
• Gregorian chant as the normative music
• Reception of Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue

LEGAL STATUS

The 1962 Missal was never abrogated. Pope Benedict XVI clarified this in Summorum Pontificum (2007), permitting its use by any priest of the Latin Rite. Pope Francis subsequently issued Traditionis Custodes (2021), which placed restrictions on its celebration while maintaining its validity.

THIS WEBSITE

1962missal.com provides the daily Mass propers (the variable prayers and readings) according to the 1962 Roman Missal. The site dynamically calculates the liturgical calendar, including moveable feasts based on Easter, fixed saints' days, and the complete temporal cycle.

All texts are sourced from authoritative pre-Vatican II documents, including the Missale Romanum (1962), the Breviarium Romanum, and the Rituale Romanum. English translations follow the Douay-Rheims Bible (1609) and maintain the formal, sacral register of traditional Catholic prayer.