The Traditional Latin Mass is growing, while the Novus Ordo Mass is shrinking…
…a deeper look into the people attending each Mass.
For those that saw my first article titled “The Latin Mass WILL Overtake the Novus Ordo before 2066” this article will further break down the current stats between the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass. If you haven’t seen the first article, you should give it a read, here’s a link:
As you’ll recall, over the 30 months between January 2019 and June 2021, it was reported by Crisis Magazine that an increase of 30% (from an average of 145 to an average of 196) attendance in the Traditional Latin Mass occurred, which is even more surprising given the total shutdown of most churches over this same period of time.
Ref. https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/the-growth-of-the-latin-mass-a-survey
In that same period of time attendance in the Catholic Church in general in the United States dropped around 5% in that same time period. And 5% of the total population of Catholics attending Mass is a huge number, somewhere in the ball park of 650,000 people who stopped going to Mass every week. It’s not completely dire for the Novus Ordo Mass, as the numbers did recover slightly, but not completely.
As we discussed in the previous article, Mass attendance on any given weekend in general is around 13 Million Catholics in the United States, which is approximately a quarter of the adult Catholics in the United States.
According to an article published in 2018, Weekly Mass attendance amongst 21-29 year olds in the United States in 1955 was 73%. In 2018 that number was 25%. Amongst those 60 and older, back in 1955 Weekly Mass attendance was also 73% with 2018 showing Weekly Mass attendance of those 60 and older at 49%.
Ref. https://www.catholicleague.org/catholic-church-attendance-drops/
THAT IS SHOCKING. There’s a phrase I hear often that says “if your Church isn’t crying, then it’s dying” and it’s true. If there aren’t people (getting married and then) having kids and bringing them to Church, then the population will continue to decline. Since 1955, the percentage of 21-29 year olds attending Mass Weekly has dropped almost 50% in 63 years.
Is there anything that changed in the Church between 1955 and 2018? Hmm…
Anyway, so what are the current statistics heading toward for the Novus Ordo? The average rate of attendance from 2016 through 2019 was 34% and the average rate of attendance from 2020 through 2023 was 30%. According to the same article, attendance between 2009 and 2012 was around 40%.
With a steady decline trend like that, and an aging population attending the Novus Ordo, what about children being born into the faith?
On average, Novus Ordo Mass attending Parents are having 2.1 kids. That is barely replacement rate for the parents having the children.
Let’s compare the Traditional Latin Mass to the statistics above and see what we get. According to a study, 98% of those who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass between the ages of 18-39 attend Mass Weekly.
Ref. https://fssp.com/latin-mass-among-millennials-study/
Now, one study doesn’t prove everything, but it does prove a very specific point. Due to the fact that those who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass have to seek it out and “go the extra mile” to attend, they are far more loyal to their parish and attendance is part of that.
A second study reaffirms most of the numbers from the first study.
Ref. https://onepeterfive.com/2019-20-tlm-survey-what-we-learned-about-latin-mass-attending-young-adults/
Additionally, the average number of kids per family in the Traditional Latin Mass is 3.6 or 70% more kids per family than in the Novus Ordo.
Ref. https://liturgyguy.com/tag/mass-attendance/
So as we’ve seen, the Traditional Latin Mass has a higher weekly attendance percentage, it’s growing in attendance numbers, Its families are having more children on average, and the young people are attending at a much higher rate.
The Novus Ordo has a lower weekly attendance percentage, it’s declining in attendance numbers, its families are having less children on average, and the young people are leaving the church at a much higher rate.
All of these factors strengthen the potential outcome predicted in my last article.
The Traditional Latin Mass, with no further impedance, will eventually overtake the Novus Ordo Mass in sheer attendance within the next 50 years.
Stay tuned, the next article will dig into the disparity of beliefs between the Novus Ordo Mass Attendees and the Traditional Latin Mass Attendees.
Sincerely,
Your Brother in Spirit, Frater Spiritus
Follow me on Twitter / X: @FraterSpiritus