Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei in Spanish

[twf]

When travelling I often have to attend mass in Spanish. I have an English-Spanish missal and can see that the Spanish texts in my book are quite similar to the English / Latin. In real life at actual masses, however, I find that they are singing something completely different:… Especially with the Gloria and Sanctus. The first line might start off as per the written text but the rest is all over the place. Have divergent texts been approved for use in Spanish or is this just an example of congregations taking matters into their own hands?

 

[ProVobis]

I have noticed the same. Sometimes (in the Gloria) the first line is repeated several times so that may throw you off a little, sometimes the whole prayer is different.

 

[Corki]

One of the issues might be the translation. When last I checked, admittedly almost 10 years ago, there were two main Spanish translations - one approved by the Bishops in Spain and one by the Bishops in Mexico. Other Spanish speaking countries adopted one or the other. Since then, I believe there is also a translation for Spanish in the US.

 

[ProVobis]

Spanish missal, other liturgical texts approved by bishops

BALTIMORE (CNS) – The first U.S. edition of the Roman Missal in Spanish moved closer to being available, as the U.S. bishops Nov. 12 approved several steps toward adapting the Mexican Misal Romano for use in this country. The translation of the missal will have Mass propers for the U.S. calendar, and will be published possibly as soon as fall of 2015. In other liturgical matters, the bishops approved a translation of the Order of Confirmation and adaptations for the Order of Celebrating Marriage, after a short debate over whether the word “marriage” should be replaced throughout with the word “matrimony.” The Spanish version of the Roman Missal will become the only version authorized for use in the United States. Currently, priests or bishops choose a Spanish edition from among any version approved for use by any country’s bishops’ conference. Unlike the system for English liturgical texts, no multinational entity oversees the translations from Latin – it’s just between the individual nations’ bishops’ conferences and the Vatican. There was almost no discussion among the bishops about approving the Misal Romano from Mexico as the core text for use in the United States before they voted 193-11 with 4 abstentions to do so.

catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20131112.htm#head7

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

The issue is not a difference between Spanish and Mexican official translations, but rather of one particular hymnal used throughout the United States and increasingly in Canada: “Flor y Canto” by Oregon Catholic Press. They command most of the market on Spanish-language hymnals. Printed hymnals are almost unheard of in Latin America, since they generally sing hymns from memory, and there aren’t many other choices on the North American market. Flor y Canto is not a seasonal hymnal like most of OCP’s other publications, but a permanent hymnal, so it isn’t regularly updated. The overwhelming majority of Mass parts in that book deviate from the official Spanish texts, particularly the Glorias, most of which are paraphrases of the official text.