Data that young people are attracted to the Latin Mass?

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snarflemike

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I’m guessing that this the correct forum for this question, but if not…

I read that young people are attracted to the Latin Mass (I won’t differentiate EF and OF in that term), but I wonder if there is any data to support this? Data would be nice to refute comments such as “bringing back Latin Masses will just drive more young people out of the Church” - a comment I read online very recently.
 
Anecdotally, I am young (31) and very much attracted to the Latin mass. The closest parish that is exclusively TLM, is about an hour away. It was over flowing and full of young families around my age mostly, when I attended mass there.
 
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Thanks for the feedback. Would you estimate that the average age at the TLM is younger, older or the same as at a typical OF done in the vernacular?
 
Well, I am also young (15) and one at least of my friends as well as myself are very interested in the Latin Mass, but I am also pretty sure I’m not a typical teen.
 
snarflemike said:
I read that young people are attracted to the Latin Mass (I won’t differentiate EF and OF in that term), but I wonder if there is any data to support this? Data would be nice to refute comments such as “bringing back Latin Masses will just drive more young people out of the Church” - a comment I read online very recently.
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Unfortunately, at the moment all such evidence is only anecdotal. As the Latin Mass continues to grow, it might be beneficial to take a poll on this, and see what turns up. Incidentally, the Novus Ordo Latin Mass (OF) is a fairly rare phenomenon; it’s the 1962 Missale Romanum that is growing in popularity.

One thing I have noticed is that in diocesan TLM locations, there are growing number of people who are clearly newcomers — the women do not wear head coverings and some modes of dress are, charitably putting it, questionable. It’s more of a cross-section of society in general. This is a welcome trend. On the other hand, some non-diocesan independent TLM chapels are virtual fever swamps of far-right-wing extremism in all matters, not just religious ones. I avoid these.
 
Younger. Mostly millennial aged families with young kids. A few older baby boomers probably 70s but not many people from 45-65.
 
I’m 20 and I am attracted to more Traditional stuff that actually does not put focus on people, but on God. It is not Latin language that I find most appealing (it certainly does have it’s appeal but I wouldn’t differentiate over that) but how in Latin Masses abuses are prevented. When I’m at uni, in different city, I live near small Church that is very well-attended and seems to be thriving (granted, there is school near it) and while Mass there is not in Latin, it is beautifully celebrated OF according to all rubrics I know, using not only Incense but also bringing Evangelium in procession at start of some Masses, and Mass is not simply rushed- Homilies are often taken from Papal exhortations (by the way, so are at EF I attend). It is mostly that those Masses are almost never subject to liturgical abuses. Don’t get me wrong, I do not want to diminish other OF Masses or Priests that serve them, they all have their own good reasons and do so in good faith (from my point of view) but this is much more appealing to me.

But Mass itself is not about appeal, but about Sacrifice and receiving Eucharist, isn’t it?
 
edwest211 noted the article from National Catholic Register. Over 500 sounds like a lot until it is put in perspective; there are about 17,200 parishes in the US; so that puts the EF at about 2.9%.

What other information is known? A good bit of information can be culled from Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei. They list the days and times of the EF by diocese, with each parish listed. For example, in the Birmingham diocese, OUr Lady Help of Christians in Huntsville has 2 EF Masses on Sunday, daily Mass at different times, and 2 listed on Holy Days.

In the Mobile Archdiocese, St Bartholomew has the EF on the 1st Sunday of the month at 12:30 p.m.

The list stretches from parishes which appear to be EF parishes, to one example of the EF being offered 6 times a year.

There have been a number of posts in the past indicating full churches, but without any information as to the size of the church (and having attended an EF at a small church which holds perhaps 150 people, it clearly makes a difference in how many are attending). Additionally, without any actual head count broken down by age, it is not much more than speculation as to how many “young people” are attending.
 
I would say it is very true. I am 16 and very attracted to the Latin Mass and many of my friends are as well!
 
I think more young people are attracted to authentic reverent liturgies, and often those include some Latin which is more traditional. I am young and I personally prefer the Eastern liturgies, which are older than the Latin TLM liturgy
 
According to CARA, the lowest attendance rate by age group (counting adults) was in the range of 18 to about 28; and that was at 18% attending weekly. The highest rate was for those over 50 years old, and it was better than 50%. So it is highly unlikely, given both the very low percentage of all parishes which have any EF Mass (as they range from all EF parishes to those which have one EF Mass per month) and the fact that many parishes which have an EF do so either at an inconvenient time )Sunday afternoon) or have it less than weekly, that there is going to be any significant expansion of the EF driving any young people out.

The biggest problem on both sides of the coin (that is, those who prefer one or the other forms of the Mass) is that they both tend to a serious case of myopia - meaning they have little or no perspective. People have a tendency to see, for example, what we all likely would concede as a “liberal” parish and start to project out from that as to the other 17,200 +/- parishes; the same occurs for those attending EF Masses; they project out to the other 500+/- parishes as if one can have any statistical significance in the minimal observations.

The short of it is that the EF pretty much has reached stasis, and the likelihood of the EF driving any young people out of the Church is in the negative numbers.

As a note, I started with how CARA counts; they don’t count teenagers in their survey as most teenagers are under parental control; it is when they leave home that they begin to exercise their own decision making. And the results have not been good, due to a multiple of issues.
 
While I am sure that there are studies out there, I can only offer anecdotal evidence from my own experience. I’m 36, and have been interested in the TLM since I first had the opportunity to attend in my early twenties. My parish has a plurality of young parents, many my age and younger, and is filled to the brim with young children. There are of course older people present, but my experience is that the OF Mass that I often attend when my parish is not practical is much, much “grayer” than any of the TLM parishes in my diocese.
 
I don’t know if it has reached stasis. The initial growth explosion has certainly slowed, but more and more TLMs are being added all the time. latinmassdir.org is updated almost daily, and while the numbers are slow, they’re still moving upward.
 
Fuerza said:
I don’t know if it has reached stasis. The initial growth explosion has certainly slowed, but more and more TLMs are being added all the time. latinmassdir.org is updated almost daily, and while the numbers are slow, they’re still moving upward.
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Yeah, I don’t think it’s reached stasis.

I think the dioceses have run out of diocesan priests to staff EF Masses. They now are starting to need the FSSP and other groups to run EF personal Parishes.

The FSSP, Institute of Christ the King, and other orders dedicated to the Extraordinary Form are not growing fast enough to accommodate every request.

Also, some Bishops don’t want EF personal parishes. They might be ok with a regular parish offering the EF mass, but some don’t want Personal Parishes or religious orders
 
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I’m 35 and I go to both forms.
I think they both are spiritually enriching and moving.
There are younger people at the EF but it is still far more older people. But yah theres a good amount of younger people that attend. I don’t think it is a thing to say people prefer it. I think it’s more of just what Pope Benedict XVl said that it’s two forms of the same Rite and the traditional form should be respected for its history and ancient usage.
There are some rigid people that attend but you know what I experience them in the OF too. Some sort of OCD or scruples or idk what that is about where people always complain about the liturgy.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
Incidentally, the Novus Ordo Latin Mass (OF) is a fairly rare phenomenon;
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Indeed, any Novus Ordo Mass is of necessity a rare phenomenon. In fact, to celebrate the Norvus Ordo rather than the current OF would be downright disobedient, as it was suppressed a few promulgations ago, as with every other prior missal save the EF . . .
 
When I decided to become Catholic I thought Mass was the TLM. That’s what you see in the movies even now. Even before learning the dogmas and doctrines of the Church and deciding they were true I was drawn to the liturgy and tradition of Catholic Mass. I was honestly very surprised when I attended my first Mass in the OF. I am lucky enough to have a TLM 20 minutes away. It is the only one in my diocese that I know of but thankfully it’s close. Sorry OP but I can only offer anecdotal evidence like everyone else. I do know there are stats about attendance, birth control and belief in the real presence differences between the forms if you want to search for that.
 
dochawk said:
Incidentally, the Novus Ordo Latin Mass (OF) is a fairly rare phenomenon;
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The Novus Ordo and the Ordinary Form are one and the same. It can be celebrated either in Latin or in the vernacular. Admittedly the vernacular is far more common in actual practice.

The Traditional Latin Mass and the Extraordinary Form, likewise, are one and the same; these are just two terms for the same thing. There are other Roman Rite missals that have never been suppressed, such as the Ambrosian rite of Milan and the Mozarabic rite of Spain. Any Roman Rite priest has the prerogative of celebrating the TLM/EF, at least privately.
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The person you are replying too is claiming that the novus ordo is the original 1970 Missal and the second and third editions are not. But it is the same missal in general, just different editions. The EF missal authorized for use is the last typical edition released of it which was in 1962. If they ever like released a new edition of it which probably won’t happen but I’ve heard of stranger things, it will still be the Traditional Mass.
Also all documents of liturgy are in Latin first including the Third Edition. That is why it is released and doesn’t usually make it’s way into the vernacular for another 3-5 years. Or when you talk about the Liturgy of the Hours, maybe up to 20 years.
 
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