Goals

The Saint Gregory Society is committed to the belief that the venerable Rite of the Traditional Latin Liturgy according to the Tridentine Missal, in its reverence, its beauty, and its richly symbolic reflection of two millennia of Christian experience, continues to have much to offer to the Church and to the world today.

Accordingly, we hold to these objectives (excerpted from the Constitution of the Society):

1. To uphold the teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church as defined by the Council of Trent in matters pertaining to the Sacred Liturgy and to religious observances.

2. To promote the regular and frequent public celebration of Holy Mass, whether as Solemn Mass, Sung Mass, or Low Mass in accordance with the rite codified by the Council of Trent, and in the Latin language.

3. To encourage the study, appreciation, and use in Divine Worship of the traditional music of the Latin Church: Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony.

4. To provide a means whereby the laity may communicate to the Church Hierarchy their needs and desires in matters pertaining to the foregoing objectives.
Rejoicing in twenty years of the regular celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass at Sacred Heart Church in New Haven, Connecticut, the Society works steadily to expand its role of advocacy for what Pope John Paul II called “the rightful aspirations” of all those who long for the sacred rites of the Church in their age-old form. We strive to bring the availability of the Latin Mass in the New Haven area to the attention of the broadest possible public and to uphold and maintain the high liturgical, artistic, and musical standards which alone are appropriate to this most magnificent instrument of Divine Worship.

With regard to ceremonial and sacred music, priority is given to the proper celebration of the liturgy in accordance with the great tradition of Papal and conciliar directives as represented by the Motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini of Pope St. Pius X and the encyclical Musicae sacrae disciplina of Pope Pius XII. The cooperation of many dedicated clergy and altar servers has made possible the frequent celebration of Solemn Mass with the full ceremonial of the Roman Rite.

If you find yourself sympathetic to these goals, please see our Membership page for information about assisting the work of the Society.