Finding Masses overseas

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Melo

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I travel a lot and have trouble finding Masses overseas. For instance, I will be in Geneva this weekend and haven’t been able to find a Mass to attend. Is there a website for locating overseas Masses? Also, should I attend a Mass in another language that I cannot understand? Thanks for the help!
 
Easiest way would probably be to ask the concierge in the hotel… especially in Geneva he or she should be quite knowledgeable 😉

But even in Berlin, which is very secular, my hotel was able to point me to a catholic church.

And yes, I think you should attend even if you’re not familiar with the local vernacular.
 
You can also prepare beforehand by checking out the internet. Just google: Catholic Church in Suchandsuchcountry, and I’m sure you’ll find some information. These days there are quite a few websites for churches. And even though you might not understand the homepage, many sites have an option to switch to English. That’s what I did when traveled to some countries whose language I didn’t know.
And most certainly, you should go to a mass even if you don’t understand the language. It’s not about understanding, as being in God’s presence, receiving Christ, and honoring God with your presence. In fact, you’ll probably find that Masses in Europe are very similar to those in the US, and you won’t have much trouble following the liturgy (except for the homily, of course).
 
Almost all major European cities have an English speaking Catholic community.

It took me about a minute to find the resource for Switzerland. I typed “English speaking Catholic Church Geneva Switzerland” into Google:

esrccb.org/links.html
 
Our obligation to attend Mass is fulfilled even though it’s said in a language we don’t understand. Our Lord understands, and at the end of the day, that’s all that counts.
 
I used to travel internationally for business a LOT.

What I would do prior to going to a city is to send an email to the Chancellory Office of the Diocese I was going to.

If a different language was involved, I would also request information about what Masses were said in Latin. That made for a more consistent experience.

In countries antagonistic to Catholicism, like a lot of the Middle Eastern Countries, contact an Embassy from a traditionally Catholic Country ( like Ireland, Poland or Malta), they will usually have a Mass on Sundays on the Embassy grounds.
 
Thank you all for your help and ideas. I will definitely use the website provided in the future.

As for my trip to Geneva, I found a wonderful Cathedral that was just over 150 years old. It was a beautiful mass and it was in english!
 
Brendan said:
In countries antagonistic to Catholicism, like a lot of the Middle Eastern Countries, contact an Embassy from a traditionally Catholic Country ( like Ireland, Poland or Malta), they will usually have a Mass on Sundays on the Embassy grounds.
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I’ve heard that the Italian embassies usually have Mass there. American embassies don’t, at least none that I’ve been to. But you’d be surprised about the Middle East–most of the countries out here are so rich, they have foreigners come in to do all the manual labor because the natives don’t want those kinds of jobs. So there are tons of Indians, Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans etc. here in Bahrain and some of the other countries around here, with a decent Catholic population. So there is also one really big Catholic church here in Bahrain. It overflows every Sunday. I usually go to Mass at the Navy base, but once in awhile I’ll go to Sacred Heart. It’s all in English too, and I imagine it would be for the other Middle Eastern countries as well.
 
Soldier4Christ said:
I’ve heard that the Italian embassies usually have Mass there. American embassies don’t, at least none that I’ve been to. But you’d be surprised about the Middle East–most of the countries out here are so rich, they have foreigners come in to do all the manual labor because the natives don’t want those kinds of jobs. So there are tons of Indians, Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans etc. here in Bahrain and some of the other countries around here, with a decent Catholic population. So there is also one really big Catholic church here in Bahrain. It overflows every Sunday. I usually go to Mass at the Navy base, but once in awhile I’ll go to Sacred Heart. It’s all in English too, and I imagine it would be for the other Middle Eastern countries as well.
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Good to know that there are two options for Churches in Bahrain. It’s one of the locations that my hubbie and I are considering sometime in the future.

Take care and stay safe.
 
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