Vatican authorized traditional Latin Mass in 34 dioceses in 2025, 24 in the US
The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has published its annual index of decrees for 2025, showing the Holy See authorized the traditional Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal in parish churches in 34 dioceses
The Vatican granted permission in 2025 to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass in 34 dioceses around the world, according to the Summarium Decretorum for that year. The annual compendium of Holy See decrees has just been released by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, headed by Cardinal Arthur Roche. The document lists authorizations to celebrate according to the 1962 Roman Missal in parish churches.
The traditional Latin Mass, also known as the Tridentine Mass, was codified by Pope St. Pius V after the Council of Trent to unify the various liturgical usages then in existence. The reform took shape in the Missal of 1570, issued in response to the doctrinal challenges raised by the Protestant Reformation. The current version of the missal was revised by Pope St. John XXIII in 1962.
In the Tridentine Mass the priest celebrates ad orientem, facing liturgical east, leading the faithful in common prayer. The authorizations granted in 2025 fall under the motu proprio Traditionis custodes, issued by Pope Francis in 2021, under which the Holy See reviews each request to celebrate in this form in parish churches.
Two pontificates in one year
Seven of the decrees date from the pontificate of Francis, who died on April 21, 2025, while the remaining 27 were signed after the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8 of that year. Of the 34 permissions published, 29 are renewals for a further two years for communities already celebrating according to the 1962 Missal. In some cases a single authorization covered more than one parish in the same diocese. By the count of the British weekly The Catholic Herald, the decrees cover 55 parish churches in 33 dioceses and are dated between January 16 and December 12, 2025.
Most decrees went to the United States
The United States received the largest share, with 24 decrees for the celebration of the traditional Mass in dioceses including Sacramento, California; Seattle, Washington; Nashville, Tennessee; Lincoln, Nebraska; Davenport, Iowa; and Cleveland, Ohio. The Summarium Decretorum for 2022 had granted permissions to 35 dioceses, 20 of them in the United States.
The number rose to 55 in 2023, fell to 34 in 2024 and stayed at that level in 2025. The 34 dioceses account for slightly more than 1 percent of the Church's more than 3,000 ecclesiastical jurisdictions. The Summarium Decretorum is one of the few official sources that show how the rules set out in Traditionis custodes are being applied. That document restricted the use of the 1962 Missal and required diocesan bishops to obtain the authorization of the Holy See before permitting celebrations in parish churches.
The index records Rome's replies to bishops who request an exception to article 3 §2 of Traditionis custodes, not every celebration of the older rite taking place worldwide. The absence of a parish from the list does not by itself show that its traditional Mass lacks authorization.
The decree indexes published between 2022 and 2025 also cover other liturgical work by the Holy See. That includes the approval of translations of liturgical books into various languages, the confirmation of particular calendars for dioceses and religious congregations, the granting of the title of minor basilica to shrines, the canonical coronation of Marian images and the recognition of new patron saints.
