Tridentine

Tridentine is an adjective referring to the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and to the reforms and legacy associated with that council. The term derives from Concilium Tridentinum, the Latin name of the council, which met during the Catholic Church’s Counter-Reformation to address doctrinal issues, discipline, and liturgy.

One of the Council’s enduring legacies is the standardization of the Roman Rite in the form that followed Trent. The Missal promulgated by Pope Pius V in 1570 codified a uniform Latin liturgy for the Mass, and this form is often called the Tridentine Mass. It is characterized by Latin liturgy, fixed rubrics, and a traditional repertory of chant and prayers. For centuries it remained the norm in the Latin Church, until the liturgical reforms ushered in after the Second Vatican Council.

After Vatican II, the Roman Rite was revised and the Mass was commonly celebrated in the vernacular as the Novus Ordo Missae, introduced in 1970. In modern times, the term Tridentine Mass is frequently used to describe the pre‑conciliar form of the Latin Mass, including various editions of the Missal up to 1962. Access to the Tridentine Mass has been shaped by pontifical and episcopal directives, notably the arrangements enacted in the 2000s and the policies put forward in 2021. Beyond liturgy, “Tridentine” is sometimes applied to broader aspects of Trent’s decrees on doctrine, sacraments, and church discipline that influenced Catholic theology and practice in the post‑Reformation era.