- The Old Latin Mass was supposed to be phased out by Vatican reforms of the 1960s, but it's making a comeback among tradition-minded Catholics.
- Congregants are coming from as far away as Hillsdale to Jackson's St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church, where the Old Latin Mass is celebrated.
- Pastor Timothy Nelson says what draws congregants is the awe and reverence of the Old Latin Mass, which he says is sometimes lacking in other forms of worship.
- WATCH THE VIDEO to hear from congregants and experience what the Old Latin Mass revival is like.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
At St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church in Jackson, a small but growing community of Catholics is bringing back old-time religion — specifically, the Old Latin Mass.
"What really interests me is the beauty and majesty of what is presented at the Latin Mass," says congregant Jason Monarch.
I attended our local Latin Mass this holiday season, with all its traditional "smells and bells" — and other retro elements that are attracting tradition-minded believers from miles away.
"A friend of mine and his wife invited me to come to the Latin Mass, and I came to the Latin Mass and it just blew me away," says Monarch. "It was like going to see Star Wars for the first time in 1977."
With roots said to reach back to the Roman Empire, it was supposed be phased out by Vatican reforms in the 1960s — to be replaced with a more contemporary liturgy in a local language everyone could understand.
But the Old Latin Mass is making a comeback…right here in Jackson.
According to Monarch, "it's been growing and it always seems like it's always almost a full church the whole time."
Even if you understand Latin, don't expect to hear much of it spoken. Most of the liturgy is said by the priest inaudibly.
"The silence is a reminder that this prayer is to God," says Timothy Nelson, Pastor of St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church.
And don't expect the priest to address you much, either. He mostly stands with his back to the congregation.
This, says Pastor Tim Nelson, is also symbolic:
"It's not a prayer to the people. It's a prayer to God."
"All the beauty, the majesty, the music was just incredible," says Monarch, "and I fell in love with the Catholic Church all over again. And I haven't missed a mass since."
There is the music: musical renditions of the priest's prayers — overlayed.
And, apparently, it's not just nostalgia that's bringing people in. Nelson says interest is growing among the young…some coming from as far away as Hillsdale.
"What they're drawn into is the awe, the reverence, the solemnity of it, which can sometimes be lacking," he notes of other forms of worship.
While there have been moves by the Vatican to limit its spread, Nelson says he hasn't felt any pushback from the Diocese of Lansing, which oversees Catholic Churches in our neighborhood.
I reached out to the Diocese for comment, but did not hear back in time for this broadcast.
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