The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be celebrated regularly in Latin on Sundays and holy days of obligation at St. Joseph Cathedral, Sioux Falls, according to a decree by Bishop Samuel J. Aquila, the apostolic administrator of the diocese.
“The late Supreme Pontiff, Pope John Paul II, had great pastoral concern and compassion for all the faithful. Because of this concern, in October 1984, by his Apostolic authority, he granted permission for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to be offered in Latin according to the Missale Romanum of 1962, with the necessary approval of the local bishop,” said Bishop Aquila in the decree.
The Mass will be celebrated in the Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the Cathedral each Sunday at 12:45 p.m.
On holy days of obligation, the Latin Mass will be celebrated in the chapel at 7:30 p.m.
Both will begin on May 1.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass had been celebrated exclusively in the Latin language throughout the Roman Catholic Church until shortly after the Second Vatican Council, when the rites of the Mass were reformed and the possible use of the vernacular was introduced.
The liturgy in Latin will be is open to all of the faithful of the diocese and attendance at these Masses on Sundays and Holy days of obligation fulfills one’s obligation.
Those of the faithful who desire to be fully reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church must approach the Cathedral staff to fulfill the requirements for reconciliation.