Given an estimated number of 225,406 diocesan parishes worldwide, the approval of 56 parishes amounts to a scant 0.025% of parishes that have been approved to say the Traditional Latin Mass.
The Vatican Dicastery for Divine Worship has authorised the celebration of the pre-conciliar liturgy in parish churches in 56 parish churches in ten countries in 2022. With 34 parish churches, the most dispensations were granted for a total of 20 US dioceses, according to the Official Gazette of the Dicastery for Divine Worship (“Notitiae”) for the year 2022, published on Friday. In Germany, dispensations were granted for five parish churches, all of which are located in the diocese of Regensburg. Figures for the years from 2023 onwards are not yet available, so it can be assumed that further dispensations have been granted since then.
In the summer of 2021, Pope Francis issued the motu proprio “Traditionis custodes”, which celebration of the liturgy according to the missals of 1962 was severely restricted. Among other things, such masses should no longer be celebrated in parish churches. In December 2021, the liturgical dicastery announcedthat a deviation from this rule may not be made by diocesan bishops on their own initiative, but requires authorisation from the Vatican authority. This is only granted in cases “where it is clear that it is impossible to use another church, an oratory or a chapel”. The assessment of this impossibility must be carried out with the utmost care. In February 2023 the Pope confirmed the sole power of dispensation of the Liturgical Dicastery with a decree.
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