Why is this Mass sometimes called the “Tridentine” Mass?
A distinction must be made between the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass itself and the rite of the Mass in which it is offered. There are many different rites of Mass, but the sacrifice itself, the making present of Calvary , is identical in every case. A rite of Mass consists of the words and ceremonies surrounding the essential elements instituted by Our Lord. The different rites of Mass evolved in a gradual and natural manner over the centuries. Rev. Father Adrian Fortescue, England s greatest liturgical historians, has remarked that the Mass of the Roman Rite (as we knew it up to 1969) is the most venerable rite in Christendom. It is unfortunate in one way that the traditional Mass of the Roman Rite is now generally referred to as the Tridentine Mass. This practice has led to the widespread impression that it was composed following the Council of Trent. The word Tridentine means pertaining to this Council the Concilium Tridentinumwhich took place at various periods between the years 1545
