High Mass
St. Josaphat Church in Detroit, Michigan is fortunate to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to both the 1962 and post-1970 editions of the Roman Missal. The former is popularly known as the Tridentine Mass, and the latter is the form of Mass celebrated in most Roman Catholic parishes today. The Tridentine Mass, which was promulgated in 1570 by Pope St. Pius V after the Council of Trent (Tridentine means pertaining to Trent), underwent a number of minor revisions through the years. As celebrated today, the Tridentine Mass follows the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962.
After the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), a much more thorough revision of the Roman Missal was completed in 1970. This revision implemented many changes in the way Mass was celebrated. While many Catholics embraced these changes enthusiastically, not all did. Those who were uncomfortable with the new rite of Mass longed for the beauty, reverence, formality, and profound expressions of holy truths of the old.
Out of pastoral concern for the faithful who preferred the older form of the Liturgy, our previous pope, Blessed John Paul II gave permission in 1984, and widened this permission in 1988, for it to be celebrated in those dioceses whose bishop permitted it. His Eminence Adam Cardinal Maida (Archbishop of Detroit at that time) was among the bishops who graciously gave permission for the 1962 Latin Mass to be celebrated in our diocese.