The Traditional Latin Mass (TLM for short) is the rite of Mass celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church in all its essentials since Apostolic times, developed slowly and organically over many centuries, and codified in its perfected form after the Council of Trent in 1570 (also why it's called the Tridentine Mass). This remained the usual form of Mass celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church up through 1969 before the New Mass was introduced late that same year. The TLM, however, is still celebrated in many places through the present day. The Mass itself is a beautiful ceremony, rich in its "other worldly" beauty using sight and sound to uplift the congregant towards the glory of heaven, and this rite, perfected over all of Christian history, embodies unambiguously the Catholic doctrine of the Mass as the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ on the Cross re-presented continually until the end of time. The TLM is celebrated entirely in the Roman Church's official, sacred language of Latin, while the Nuptial vows and the readings are customarily repeated in English (or other vernacular). Latin/English booklets will be available to follow the entire ceremony.

A Solemn High Mass is the normative, complete form of the TLM, in which the priest (the Celebrant) is assisted by a deacon and subdeacon. The two additional sacred ministers perform specified roles, notably the deacon chanting the Gospel and the subdeacon the Epistle. The Solemn Mass also requires the use of incense and the singing of the Propers and Ordinary texts of the Mass, mainly in Gregorian chant and sometimes in Sacred Polyphony. Any other music and instrumentation beyond the required sung texts of the Mass itself is an additional beautifying extra the Liturgy, but is not essential to what constitutes a Solemn Mass.

This is not the right kind of question to ask, because time spent worshipping God through the Sacred Liturgy is never enough, but to answer the question on a practical level, the Mass should last approximately two hours (or a bit less). The Traditional Nuptials begin with a brief sermon followed by the exchange of vows. The Mass itself then follows at which is the first Mass the then newly married couple attends together as such.

The Propers of the Mass (i.e. the Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory, and Communion) will be sung in their Gregorian chant melodies. These texts are required to be sung at a Solemn Mass (as noted previously), and chant is the normative music for these. The Ordinary of the Mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus-Benedictus, and Agnus Dei) are also normatively sung in Gregorian chant, but may instead be sung in Sacred Polyphony at the discretion of the couple and the choir. For our Nuptial Mass, we have chosen a polyphonic Mass setting - Lorenzo Perosi's Missa Secunda Pontificalis. Perosi was master of the Sistene Chapel Choir during the reign of St. Pius X in the early 20th. Century, so this particular setting is a relatively new composition in the repertoire of Sacred Polyphony. The Perosi Mass holds a particular fondness for the groom as this setting was also sung frequently at his Alma Mater (high school) including at his own baccalaureate Mass upon graduation many years ago. In addition to the sung Mass texts, the rest of the music will be as follows: Prelude - "Tollite Hostias" - Saint-Saens Bridal Party Procession - "Canon in D" - Pachabel Bride's Entrance - "Trumpet Voluntary" - Clarke Offertory - "Laudate Dominum" - Mozart Communion - "Ubi caritas - Durufle "Anima Christi" - Frisina Procession to the Blessed Mother - "Magnificat" - Ciro Grassi Recessional - "Te Deum" - organ, Charpentier

By formal, we mean "business" attire or "Sunday best" (e.g. jacket and tie for men). No jeans, sneakers, shorts, or other casual wear.

There will be a formal receiving line outside of the Church immediately after the conclusion of Mass. We ask everyone to go to the reception hall after greeting the newly married couple. The reception venue is approximately a 15 minute drive from the Church. We have blocked off rooms at the Comfort Inn in Bordentown (see travel page for details) for out-of-town guests.