Been there, done that Catholicism

[Brenda_V]

Question: Did they have many intercommunion services in the armed forces pre Vatican II?

I am a military brat and spent the years directly after V2 over seas. At our bases we had Catholic Mass and Protestant Services. We never were without Mass and were never required to have any “intercommunion services”, ever. I actually attended Mass on Base from 1967-1974 or so. Now we did share the Chapel but that was all that we did together.

While in Turkey there was a large NATO presence in the city near the base so there was a large, old Church downtown where we had an English speaking Priest say Masses for all the Catholics. I know there was even an Anglican Church downtown for the NATO people because my sister and I went with her friend once.

I am also barely old enough to remember the Mass before V2 but do remember the turmoil it caused right after. I was probably in third grade when it happened because we started having guitar masses and we would practice the songs as an entire school (yes, I was blessed with going to parochial schools when we lived in the States). Our principal would get on the loudspeaker at the end of the day and we would be given handouts with the words written on them and we would learn the songs so that at least we would know them when we got to Mass that Sunday.

Brenda V.

 

[brotherhrolf]

In reading everyone’s replies thusfar, I can’t help but notice a common theme of “disconnect”. I can tell you that the “years of transition” which we were promised were anything but. By 1968 the Mass was in English.

I wish we could hear from folks from other parts of the world about their experience.