WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has announced that the full text of the English-language translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, has been issued for the dioceses of the United States of America.

The text was approved by the Vatican, and the approval was accompanied by a June 23 letter from Cardinal Llovera Antonio Cañizares, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The Congregation also provided guidelines for publication.

In addition, on July 24, the Vatican gave approval for several adaptations, including additional prayers for the Penitential Act at Mass and the Renewal of Baptismal Promises on Easter Sunday. Also approved are texts of prayers for feasts specific to the United States such as Thanksgiving, Independence Day and the observances of feasts for saints such as Damien of Molokai, Katharine Drexel, and Elizabeth Ann Seton. The Vatican also approved the Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life, which can be celebrated on January 22.

Cardinal George announced receipt of the documents in an August 20 letter to the U.S. Bishops and issued a decree of proclamation that states that “The use of the third edition of the Roman Missal enters into use in the dioceses of the United States of America as of the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011. From that date forward, no other edition of the Roman Missal may be used in the dioceses of the United States of America.”

The date of implementation was chosen to allow publishers time to prepare texts and parishes and dioceses to educate parishioners.

“Proper catechesis will answer questions people will have about the pending changes,” said Bishop Edward U. Kmiec. “The end result will be a richer, truer liturgical experience for all.”

Catechetical efforts are already underway in the Diocese of Buffalo.  In April, priests and diocesan liturgical leaders began to attend a series of workshops presented by the Committee of Divine Worship and the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. Some priests from the diocese have already attended the workshops and others will be attending training in the future.

Karen Podd, president of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission in Buffalo, is leading the education process in the Diocese of Buffalo.  Workshops for clergy in the Diocese of Buffalo will be held beginning in November, followed by training sessions at the vicariate level. Podd said those workshops will be used to provide background on the history and development of the Roman Missal as well as an explanation of the English language translation that has been approved by the Holy See.

She said the faithful will not see any dramatic changes in their spoken or sung parts of the liturgy. “There are no significant changes in the sense or meaning of the texts. The wording of the newer translation may feel a bit awkward at first but the meaning of the text, the sense of the prayers is not changed. In fact, people might better appreciate the texts as they are in better keeping with the scriptural sources of many of the texts.”

Priests and the people will also have to learn new words to the Penitential Act (Confiteor), the Gloria, the Nicene and Apostles creeds, the Sanctus and a number of other parts of the Mass.

In the coming weeks, staff of the bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship will prepare the text for publication and collaborate with the staff of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), which will assist Bishops’ Conferences in bringing the text to publication. In particular, ICEL has been preparing the chant settings of the texts of the Missal for use in the celebration of the Mass. Once all necessary elements have been incorporated into the text and the preliminary layout is complete, the final text will go to the publishers to produce the ritual text, catechetical resources and participation aids for use in the Liturgy.

Receipt of the text marks the start of proximate preparation for Roman Missal implementation. Before first use of the new text in Advent 2011, pastors are urged to use resources available to prepare parishioners. Some already have been in use; others are being released now. They include the Parish Guide for the Implementation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, and Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ, a multi-media DVD resource produced by ICEL in collaboration with English-language Conferences of Bishops. Both will be available from the USCCB. Information on resources can be found at www.usccb.org/romanmissal.