Never, actually, the Mass is still in Latin. Latin is the official language of the Church and when a new Missal is issued, it is in Latin. Most countries have permission to say the Mass in their vernacular language, and that permission is discussed below. But the Mass, itself, is still in Latin. So the Catholic Church never authorized the Mass, itself, to be changed, they only authorized translations to be used in place of the Latin for different areas.
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That would be in 1970 when it became official in the Roman Missal. However, English was authorized to be used in the mid to late 1960's in direct translation from the Latin. For example in the late 60's we said "and with your spirit" from the Latin "et cum spiritu tuo". In 1970 it was changed to "and also with you" and in 2011 changed back to "and with your spirit".
The liturgy, as described by St. Justin Martyr (d. c. 165) was still in Greek, the Roman Mass is not an easy question (see article at the link below), we only know for sure that the surviving Roman Sacramentaries
from the sixth century are in Latin. The period in between is not well documented, so we don't know for sure, exactly when the Mass began to be celebrated in Latin. We do know that St. Jerome was tasked with making a new Latin translation of The Bible in the fourth century, so it is a fairly good guess that Latin was fairly widespread in its use by then.
In the first couple centuries of the Church, the language mostly used was Greek. As the Church was persecuted and underground during most of the first three centuries, there really wasn't an official language as such. After Constantine legalized the Church at the beginning of the fourth century, it had several official languages depending on the Rite. There are four parents Rites in the Church: Antiochene, Alexandrine, Roman (Latin), and Gallican. Each Rite has its own language.
You are probably thinking of Latin, which is the largest Rite in the Church, and since the reign of Pope Paul VI has allowed the Mass and other sacraments to be celebrated in the vernacular - for instance, in the English speaking world, we currently hear Mass in English. What you have to keep in mind is that the Latin Rite's official language is still Latin, and the Mass, as well as the sacraments, and all official documents are still in Latin. Here in the United States we have an English translation of the Mass and sacraments, as well as an English translation of the Catechism, and other things - but the official language of the Latin Rite remains Latin - and all of these things are still in Latin. We only celebrate Mass in English under an Indult.
The official language has not changed and is still Latin. However, most countries allowed the Mass to be said in the native tongue in 1964 after Vatican II
1970
1965
The current Code of Canon Law for the Catholic Church was published in Latin and English in 1983.
Mathias Faber has written: 'Concionum opus' -- subject(s): Catholic Church, Church year sermons, Latin Sermons, Sermons, Sermons, Latin 'Conciones in evangelia et festa totius anni' -- subject(s): Catholic Church, Church year sermons, Latin Sermons, Sermons, Sermons, Latin 'Sermons of Rev. M. Fabri, S.J' -- subject(s): Catholic Church, Church year sermons, English Sermons, Latin Sermons, Sermons, Sermons, English, Sermons, Latin, Translations into English 'Concionum opus tripartitum' -- subject(s): Bible, Catholic Church, Church year sermons, Early works to 1800, Festival-day sermons, Latin Sermons, Sermons, Sermons, Latin 'Avctarivm operis Concionvm Tripartiti' -- subject(s): Catholic Church, Church year sermons, Latin Sermons, Sermons, Sermons, Latin
English and LatinRoman Catholic AnswerThere is a "Church of England" which is the Anglican Church, an ecclesial community which left the Catholic Church by order of Henry VIII, and his daughter, Elizabeth I. They services are all in English. Then there is a Catholic Church IN England, which is the Catholic Church. Up until Vatican Council II, the priest prayed everything in Latin, and administered the Sacrmants in Latin. He used English, say in the confessional, to talk to his penitents and then switched to Latin for the absolution. The Mass was entirely in Latin, but the readings would be read again in English, and the homily would be in English. Since Vatican Council II, all Sacraments, Prayers, and the Breviary are now in English.
Guerric has written: 'Liturgical sermons' -- subject(s): Catholic Church, Church year sermons, English Sermons, Latin Sermons, Sermons, Sermons, English, Sermons, Latin, Translations from Latin, Translations into English
It was changed to match the original Latin better
The language of the Church is Latin. Vatican II changed the Mass to be in the language of the people of the country. Latin remains the universal language of the church.
Before the Norman Conquest, almost the only English words of Latin origin were Church-related words. These included "bishop" from Latin "episcopus".
If ordination as a priest in the Catholic Church, the Latin or English Douay Bible is very appropriate.
There is a 1994 copyright in both Latin and English held by Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
The Romans spoke Latin.
Vespers.Roman Catholic AnswerCurrently the Evening Prayer of the Church is called Evening prayeri by the Church and in the English translation of the Breviary. The old Latin name for it is Vespers.
Latin