Una Voce Fort Worth

Who We Are

Una Voce Fort Worth is a private association of Catholic faithful residing in the Diocese of Fort Worth dedicated to the preservation of the "ancient form of the Roman rite", also referred to as the Traditional Latin Mass, using the Roman Missal of 1962. It exists to serve the faithful interested in living and nurturing traditional Catholic culture and the traditional liturgy that is its glory and foundation. We are committed to supporting the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Liturgy in Fort Worth through the training of priests and servers, and supporting parishes that are interested in offering this liturgy. We are also committed to sponsoring talks and conferences that will educate the faithful in the beauty, theology and culture that flows from the Church's traditional liturgy.

We are a chapter of Una Voce America and the International Federation of Una Voce, which was founded in 1966 in Rome and has since expanded to every continent of the world. Una Voce includes chapters in Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, England and Wales, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, United States of America

What We Believe

We are committed to the preservation and restoration of the Roman Catholic liturgical rites of 1962.

On an individual level, we believe and affirm that every Catholic should have unobstructed access to the liturgical rites of 1962, as is their right:

If any one saith, that the received and approved rites of the Catholic Church, wont to be used in the solemn administration of the sacraments, may be contemned, or without sin be omitted at pleasure by the ministers, or be changed, by every pastor of the churches, into other new ones; let him be anathema.

Council of Trent, Seventh Session, Canon XIII, 1547 A.D.

Moreover, at a broader level, we consider the restoration of the Traditional Latin Mass as fundamental to the prosperity of the Catholic Faith: lex orandi, lex credendi...

The Church's faith precedes the faith of the believer who is invited to adhere to it. When the Church celebrates the sacraments, she confesses the faith received from the apostles – whence the ancient saying: lex orandi, lex credendi (or: legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi, according to Prosper of Aquitaine [5th cent.]). The law of prayer is the law of faith: the Church believes as she prays. Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living Tradition.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1124

We believe that the Traditional Latin Mass, which was the form of Catholic worship for over 1,500 years, will preserve the traditional emphasis on the Mass as Sacrifice, with its central teaching of transubstantiation.

We recognize and adore the Traditional Latin Mass as an especially serious and beautiful form of liturgical worship, with a manifest and exceptional extrinsic value.

We also contend that Latin should remain the language used in the Mass and other sacraments. As the official and universal language of the Church, Latin can serve as a unifying force, needed by the Church in these days of widespread controversy and division. Moreover, Latin enjoys the unique benefits of being both an immutable language and one which has already been perfected for ecclesiastical purposes and worship. For these reasons, Latin may spare the Church from the confusion and scandal rendered by poor translations and varying interpretations. The use of Latin connects the faithful with their rich and valuable tradition via the language itself, which is a special way to experience and apprehend the faith, unique to Catholicism.

Likewise, we regard the Church's traditional heritage of musical worship, comprised of Gregorian Chant and sacred polyphony, as the most appropriate and inspiring musical idiom for the liturgy.

Additionally, we hope that our mission will help reverse the decline in vocations as altar boys, charged with difficult and meaningful duties, will be imbued from an early age with a sense of the sacred.

Most profoundly, however, we adhere to the cultural practices of traditional Catholicism, for we remember the profound teaching of St. Paul:

Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle.

2 Thessalonians 2.14

And the prophetic lesson from Pope Saint Pius X:

Although evolution is urged on by needs or necessities, yet, if controlled by these alone, it would easily overstep the boundaries of tradition, and thus, separated from its primitive vital principle, would make for ruin instead of progress.

Pascendi Dominici Gregis, §27

And, finally, the centuries-old, emphatic dogma of the Church:

If anyone rejects any written or unwritten tradition of the church, let him be anathema.

Council of Nicaea, 787 A.D.

Our Mission

The mission of Una Voce Fort Worth is to:

  1. To work as a lay movement within the Church for an organic restoration of the liturgy in conformity with its nature and the Latin tradition;

  2. To ensure that the traditional Roman Mass as codified in the Missale Romanum edited by Pope John XXIII is maintained "both in practice and in law "as one of the forms of Eucharistic celebration which are recognized and honored in universal liturgical life;

  3. To obtain freedom of use for all other Roman liturgical books enshrining "previous liturgical and disciplinary forms of the Latin tradition" (cf. Ecclesia Dei, n. 5);

  4. To safeguard and promote the use of Latin, Gregorian chant, and sacred polyphony in the ancient liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church;

  5. To encourage, wherever it would benefit the faithful, the establishment of non-territorial parishes and/or chaplaincies in which only the liturgical books used in 1962 are employed;

  6. To serve the Church by helping the members of the movement and, through their apostolate, all the Christifideles better to understand, and more fruitfully to participate in, the Catholic liturgy as a sacred action; and

  7. To support other teachings, practices, and customs such as Catholic social doctrine, pilgrimages, pious devotions, and sacred art and architecture in accord with Catholic tradition.

Our activities include:

The Traditional Latin Mass at Your Parish or School

Many of our members already regularly attend a Traditional Latin Mass, yet they willingly make sacrifices so that others may also benefit from its sacredness, solemnity, and blessings.

Some of our members still long for the Traditional Latin Mass to be regularly offered at their territorial or home parish. In keeping with the pious dedication of traditional Catholicism, we remain committed to a restoration of the liturgy throughout our diocese. We are thus determined to ensure that all priests and laity have access to the traditional Roman liturgy of 1962 "the Traditional Latin Mass" as is their right.

If you are a priest or member of the laity who would like to see a Traditional Latin Mass at your home parish, we strongly encourage you to Contact Us. We are here to help!

We also facilitate Traditional Latin Masses for students of any age at Catholic schools in our diocese. Students, parents, or administrators who are interested may also Contact Us to make arrangements.

Please note that a High Mass (Sung Mass) must be scheduled about a month in advance. A Low Mass might be scheduled in less time (depending on the availability of a priest).

Other Sacraments

We can also help the faithful in our diocese who are interested in the traditional form of the other sacraments. Baptism, Confession, First Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction are all available at one of the Latin Mass Parishes. A priest may also be able to assist with these sacraments at another parish, if preferred. Please Contact Us to make arrangements.

For those who may be discerning a vocation, there are several traditional priestly societies that exclusively offer the Traditional Latin Mass, conduct traditional priestly formation, and ordain their priests according to the traditional rite. There are also traditional convents that remain devoted to the Tridentine Rite. We recommend contacting these organizations directly. For more information see the resources page.

Presentations and Workshops

We are also available to provide short presentations or longer workshops on the Traditional Latin Mass, traditional liturgical music, and traditional Catholicism generally.

These presentations are informative and educational in nature. They are also flexible and can be adapted for all ages and any group or setting, such as RCIA, PSR, other parish groups, and even school religion classes. We also give presentations in ecumenical or secular settings, such as other churches (even non-Catholic) and non-Catholic schools or colleges.

Priest Training

Within our diocese, we offer individual training for priests who are interested in learning to offer the Traditional Latin Mass. We occasionally conduct group training sessions as well. Una Voce also has funds set aside to sponsor priests in our diocese who wish to attend an extended training workshop with either the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter or the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius.

Scope of Our Activities

All of our activities are available anywhere in the Diocese of Fort Worth and can be made available elsewhere if necessary.

Our History

Our Una Voce chapter began on March 17, 2018, the Feast Day of St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of the Diocese of Fort Worth. Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce is an international federation of associations, founded in 1966 in Rome, that now includes national associations in 17 nations on every continent. Past presidents include Dr. Eric Vermehren and Michael Davies, and Una Voce America boasts Dr. Dietrich Von Hildebrand as a past president.

Traditional Communities in Our Diocese

Fort Worth is blessed with a parish in its Diocese named St. Benedict's staffed by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter that offers the Traditional Latin Mass seven days a week and the traditional form of all of the sacraments. In our neighboring Dallas Diocese, the Traditional Latin Mass is also offered at Mater Dei Parish in Irving, Texas which is also managed by the FSSP.

The Future

There is a small irony to the fact that, as traditional Catholics, we believe that the future of the Catholic Church and Her liturgy rests with the past.

The timelessness of the Traditional Latin Mass is undeniable. As more and more Catholics have discovered the splendor and beauty of the Tridentine Rite, traditional Catholic communities have continued to grow. These communities are typically made up of large families that will undoubtedly be the source for many future vocations. While the Church struggles through the relentless modern crisis, traditional Catholic communities are flourishing in our Diocese and around the world.

Prophetic words from our founder:

A renaissance will come: asceticism and adoration as the mainspring of direct total dedication to Christ will return. Confraternities of priests, vowed to celibacy and to an intense life of prayer and meditation will be formed. Religious will regroup themselves into houses of 'strict observance'. A new form of 'Liturgical Movement' will come into being, led by young priests and attracting mainly young people, in protest against the flat, prosaic, philistine or delirious liturgies which will soon overgrow and finally smother even the recently revised rites...

Dr Eric Vermehren de Saventhem, founding President of the International Una Voce Federation, New York 1970

We invite you to witness and contemplate the beauty and splendor of the Traditional Latin Mass and its promise for the future of Holy Mother Church.