Receiving liturgical leaders in an audience on November 17, 2025, Pope Leo XIV called for a liturgy that is “an expression of a community that cares for its celebrations, prepares them, and lives them to the full.” He called for better liturgical training, especially for readers, and encouraged the spread of the Liturgy of the Hours and care for “popular piety.”
The Pontiff received at the Apostolic Palace participants in a course organized by the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm in Rome for diocesan leaders in liturgical ministry. He emphasized the importance of biblical and liturgical formation for the priests or laity responsible for liturgy in dioceses and parishes. Among other sources, he cited the liturgical reform initiated by the Second Vatican Council, as well as Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis' apostolic letter Desiderio desideravi (2022).
“Liturgical formation is one of the main themes of the entire conciliar and post-conciliar journey,” the pontiff emphasized, noting that “there is still a long way to go.”
He called for the continuation of the “good initiatives” of the Council's liturgical reform, while seeking “new ways and new methods.”
A “dignified” and “sober” liturgy
The Pope called for “particular attention” to the proclamation of the Word of God during liturgical ceremonies and advocated for “thorough preparation” of readers, especially lay people who have been instituted as such. In 2021, Pope Francis opened the official ministry of lector to lay women. Not widespread in many countries, this ministry often remains a simple step in the journey of seminarians toward the priesthood.
Leo XIV emphasized the importance of lectors possessing “basic biblical knowledge” as well as “clear diction.” They should also be able to sing the psalms and to compose the prayers of the faithful. He also encouraged “fruitful participation by the People of God” and a “dignified liturgy that is attentive to different sensibilities and sober in its solemnity.”
The pontiff also asked educators to promote the Liturgy of the Hours, a set of daily prayers based on the psalms dating back to the early days of the Catholic Church. Priests and most religious are obligated to pray this Liturgy, but many laypeople do as well.
The Holy Father also advocated “care for popular piety,” that is the piety of the people, such as local devotions, shrines, particular processions, and the like; this theme was particularly dear to his predecessor.
And Leo insisted on the importance of paying special attention to the “celebratory dimension” in the construction or renovation of churches.
Making the liturgy more “attractive” in parishes
The Pope lamented the disappearance of many parish groups responsible for the liturgy. He invited those that still exist to work “in synergy” with the diocesan liturgical commission and always “in agreement with the parish priest.” Their goal is to avoid “delegating everything” to the pastor or “leaving only a few” responsible for singing, proclaiming the Word, and decorating the church.
“The experience of a group, even small but well-motivated, that is concerned with the preparation of the liturgy is an expression of a community that cares for its celebrations, prepares them, and lives them to the full,” he insisted.
He asked his hearers to work to make the liturgy more “attractive again, capable of involving people who are competent or at least inclined to this type of service.”
No mention of the Tridentine Mass
The Pontiff did not address the issue of pre-conciliar liturgy. This is a topic which has caused tensions with traditionalist communities within the Catholic Church and especially in some countries, particularly since the publication of Pope Francis' Motu proprio Traditionis custodes in 2021.
In this decree, Francis put an end to an increased use of the so-called “Tridentine” Mass made possible by his predecessor Benedict XVI. He encouraged bishops to restrict this type of celebration, saying that it promoted a “rejection” of the Second Vatican Council and thus endangered the unity of the Church.
In a book published in 2023, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, former prefect of the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, lamented the “negative effects” of Traditionis custodes. For him, behind this decision were members of the Institute of St. Anselm in Rome, “more ideologues than theologians,” who “manipulated” the pope.
In an interview published last September, Pope Leo XIV explained that he had been asked many questions about this liturgical issue since the beginning of his pontificate. He announced his desire to discuss the matter with those advocating for the Tridentine rite, while lamenting the politicization of this liturgical form in certain cases.
More recently, several English-language Catholic media outlets reported that during a closed-door meeting with British bishops, the nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, had stated that the pope did not wish to repeal Traditionis custodes but that he was ready to give the permissions to celebrate it, as foreseen in Francis' document.
