Is the Tridentine Mass another name for the Latin Mass?
A. No. The Tridentine Mass is so called because it is the form of Mass produced for the Western church after the Council of Trent, a town in northern Italy, whose name in Latin is “Tridentum”. The Council lasted, on and off, from 1545 to 1563. In its 22nd session (September 1562) the doctrine of the Mass was defined, as were things to be observed or avoided in its celebration. By a decree of the Council, the actual reform of the Mass rite was left to the Pope, then Pius IV, though it was actually his successor, Pius V who carried out, or at least supervised, the work.
