50 Fun Facts About The Catholic Mass

Which day passes with no Catholic Mass, only Communion from bread consecrated the evening before?

Good Friday passes without a Mass as the Church marks the death of Jesus. The altar is left bare, without cross, candlesticks or cloths.

Which event, painted by Leonardo da Vinci on a convent wall, does every Catholic Mass recall?

The Last Supper is where Jesus shared bread and wine and told his followers to do the same in his memory. Leonardo's mural captures the moment just after he announces a betrayal.

Which name for a Catholic Mass for the dead also titles famous choral works by Mozart and Verdi?

Requiem is the first word sung at the start of the Mass, the Latin for rest. Mozart left his setting unfinished when he died in 1791, and other composers completed it.

Which feast do Catholics greet with a Midnight Mass, followed by Masses at dawn and during the day?

Christmas has three Masses of its own: in the night, at dawn and in daytime. The pilgrim Egeria saw a similar night vigil at Bethlehem in the 380s, kept there on 6 January.

Which cup, often made of precious metal, does a Catholic priest raise after consecrating the wine?

The chalice holds the wine that Catholics believe becomes the blood of Christ. Church rules say its bowl must be made of a material that does not absorb liquid.

Which gathering of Catholic bishops, opened in 1962, cleared the way for Mass in local languages?

The Second Vatican Council let local languages into a liturgy celebrated almost entirely in Latin for centuries. It permitted the change without requiring it.

What do Catholic altars traditionally hold sealed inside, recalling Masses said over martyrs' tombs?

Relics of saints are sealed in or under the altar, a custom that looks back to the persecuted early Christians. Older rules required relics of at least two saints.

Church law says the unleavened bread for a Catholic Mass must be made from which grain?

Wheat is the only grain the Latin Church allows for the bread, which must also be recently baked. It is left unleavened, as bread is at the Jewish Passover.

The name Mass probably comes from 'Ite, missa est', Latin words spoken at which point in the service?

The dismissal probably gave the whole service its name, since 'missa' simply meant a sending away. Pope Benedict XVI wrote that the word had come to imply a mission.

Which colour do priests wear at Mass during Ordinary Time, the longest season of the Catholic year?

Green marks Ordinary Time, the 33 or 34 numbered weeks that fall outside the Church's great seasons of fasting and feasting.

Which words taught by Jesus himself do the people say together at Mass shortly before Communion?

The Lord's Prayer asks for daily bread, which the Church links to the bread of Communion that follows. Catholics often call it the Our Father, after its opening words.

Which posture do Catholics take when the Gospel is read at Mass, unlike for the earlier readings?

Standing marks the Gospel as the high point of the readings, while people sit for the ones before it. They also rise for the acclamation sung just beforehand.

Which locked box, whose name comes from the Latin for tent, holds the consecrated bread in a Catholic church?

The tabernacle keeps the Eucharist so it can be carried to the sick and given at later services. Church rules require it to be immovable, solid and not see-through.

Which colour do priests wear at Mass on Pentecost, Palm Sunday and the feasts of martyrs?

Red at Pentecost symbolises joy and the fire of the Holy Spirit. Roman rules assign the same colour to every celebration of Christ's Passion.

Which talk on the Scripture readings at Mass may be given by clergy but never by a layperson?

The homily is meant to open up the day's readings for the listeners. On Sundays and holy days of obligation it may not be left out without a serious reason.

What do Catholics exchange with those nearest them at Mass shortly before receiving Communion?

A sign of peace takes different forms around the world, because the bishops of each country choose a gesture that suits local custom.

Which short plea for mercy near the start of Mass is said in Greek even when the rest is in Latin?

The Kyrie echoes a Greek cry for help that people address to Jesus in the Gospels. The same phrase is among the most often repeated in Eastern Christian worship.

What is added in a small quantity to the wine when the cup is prepared at a Catholic Mass?

Water is mingled with the wine in a gesture read in several ways, one being Christ's human and divine natures joined together. Mixing the two was once ordinary practice around the ancient Mediterranean.

Sunday Mass marks which event, said to have happened on the first day of the week?

The Resurrection is why Christians made Sunday, not the Jewish Sabbath, their main day of worship. Each Sunday Mass is a weekly memorial of it.

Which unaccompanied Latin singing style, linked by legend to a pope, holds pride of place at Mass?

Gregorian chant takes its name from Pope Gregory I, though scholars believe most of its melodies took shape well after his day.

Who proclaims the Gospel at a Catholic Mass when present, a task otherwise left to a priest?

The deacon reads the Gospel whenever one is serving, and first bows to ask the priest's blessing. Lay readers may proclaim the other Scripture passages.

Which word for the Communion wafer comes from the Latin for a sacrificial victim?

Host comes from the Latin hostia, meaning a sacrificial victim. In the Western Church the wafers are typically thin, round and unleavened.

Which act of reverence, bending the right knee to the floor, do Catholics make before the Eucharist?

Genuflection signifies adoration, so it is reserved for the Blessed Sacrament. A priest makes three during Mass, the last just before Communion.

Which word of praise, sung to greet the Gospel at Mass, is dropped altogether during Lent?

Alleluia comes from a Hebrew phrase meaning praise the Lord, and is sung in every season except Lent. A different acclamation takes its place for those weeks.

On which day of the year does the evening Mass include the priest washing parishioners' feet?

Holy Thursday recalls Jesus washing his disciples' feet on the night before he died. Since 2016 the rite has been open to women as well as men.

Which night-time Mass begins outdoors with a new fire, from which a tall candle is lit?

The Easter Vigil is held in darkness after sunset and should end before dawn. The lit candle is carried into the unlit church, stopping three times on the way.

What does an altar server sound at Mass as the priest shows the consecrated bread and wine?

A bell signals the moment to the congregation, though the custom is left to local choice. A server may also ring one shortly before the consecration.

Which of the two main parts of the Mass comes first and centres on readings from Scripture?

The Liturgy of the Word is so closely tied to the half that follows that the Church calls the two one single act of worship.

From which Old Testament book does the sung response after the first reading at Mass usually come?

Psalms supplies the responsorial song, in which a cantor sings the verses and the people repeat a refrain. The Church prefers it sung rather than read.

Which statement of faith, named for a council held in 325, do Catholics recite at Sunday Mass?

The Nicene Creed was first adopted at Nicaea and enlarged at a second council in 381. Catholics say or sing it on Sundays and major feasts.

Which term, used by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, names the change of bread and wine at Mass?

Transubstantiation means the substance of the bread and wine changes into Christ's body and blood while the outward appearances remain. The Church declared it a dogma of faith in 1551.

The name Eucharist, in use for the rite by the early second century, comes from a Greek word meaning what?

Thanksgiving is the sense of the Greek eucharistia, a term already used for the rite in the Didache, a Christian text from around the year 100.

Which outermost vestment of a priest at Mass takes its name from the Latin for little house?

The chasuble began as a conical poncho, the common travelling cloak of the late Roman Empire. Its colour changes with the season or feast.

Which cloth band, worn around a priest's neck at Mass, marks those who have received Holy Orders?

The stole is thought to descend from a scarf of office worn by officials of the Roman Empire. A priest wears it hanging straight down in front.

Which hymn, opening with the angels' song to the shepherds, is omitted on the Sundays of Advent and Lent?

The Gloria is also called the Angelic Hymn, and church rules say its text may not be replaced by any other.

Which light, fuelled by oil or wax, burns in a Catholic church wherever the Eucharist is reserved?

The sanctuary lamp is kept alight to honour the presence of Christ. Synagogues keep a similar ever-burning light, the ner tamid, before the ark.

What gesture do Catholics make at the words 'mea culpa' while reciting the Confiteor at Mass?

Striking the breast is an ancient sign of sorrow for sin that Saint Augustine mentions in a sermon. Older missals told worshippers to do it three times.

How long must Catholics fast before Communion under canon law, a rule that once ran from midnight?

One hour without food or drink, apart from water and medicine, is all that canon law now asks. The 1917 code had required a fast from the previous midnight.

At which yearly celebration does a Catholic bishop bless the oils used for baptisms and anointings?

The Chrism Mass usually takes place in the cathedral during Holy Week. The clergy of the diocese also renew the vows of their ordination at it.

Which pope, in a 1910 decree, opened First Communion to children from about the age of seven?

Pius X set the age at the point a child begins to reason, around the seventh year. His decree added that a full knowledge of Christian doctrine was not needed first.

Which metal vessel, swung on chains by an altar server, is used to burn incense at Mass?

The thurible holds burning charcoal on which grains of incense melt into sweet-smelling smoke. The server who carries it is called the thurifer.

Which small plate, usually gilded, holds the bread a priest consecrates at Mass?

The paten is typically a simple saucer-like plate or a low bowl. If it is not made of gold, it should generally be gilded on the inside.

Which name, taken from a sixteenth-century council, describes the older Latin form of the Mass?

Tridentine means relating to Trent, the city whose council led to a single Roman Missal being issued in 1570. Its use became obligatory across most of the Latin Church.

Which Mass acclamation opens with the cry of the seraphim in the prophet Isaiah's vision?

The Sanctus pairs that verse from Isaiah with the crowd's greeting of Jesus as he entered Jerusalem. Jewish worshippers recite the same verse in the Kedusha.

Which early Roman martyr, killed while carrying the Eucharist, is the patron of altar servers?

Tarcisius is known only from a poem by Pope Damasus, which says he chose to be beaten to death rather than hand over the Blessed Sacrament.

Which part of the Eucharistic Prayer, named from Greek for invocation, calls down the Holy Spirit?

The epiclesis asks that the bread and wine be made holy by the Spirit's power. In ancient Greece the word meant an extra name given to a god.

Which priest-king of Genesis, who brought Abraham bread and wine, is named in the Roman Canon?

Melchizedek was king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, who blessed Abraham after a battle. The Roman Canon is also known as the First Eucharistic Prayer.

Which square linen cloth is unfolded on the altar to lie under the sacred vessels at Mass?

The corporal takes its name from corpus, the Latin for body. An early papal chronicle tied its plain linen to the shroud in which Christ was buried.

What is the name for partly dipping the consecrated bread in the wine before giving Communion?

Intinction is one of the approved ways to receive both bread and wine. Roman rules say the bread should then be a little thicker than usual, so that it survives the dip.

Which Italian city has its own form of the Mass, the Ambrosian Rite, named for an early bishop?

Milan and its surrounding area hold around five million Catholics who follow the rite of Saint Ambrose. Pope Paul VI belonged to it as the city's archbishop.