T-minus 3 months to the new Mass: Who’s heard about it?

Our Sunday Visitor’s cover story this week focuses on a new report from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which found that only 23 percent of Catholics are aware of the changes to the English translation of the Mass, which will debut on November 27–in just about three months. Even among weekly Massgoers, less than 60 percent are aware of the changes. Our own story on how parishes are preparing for the change, “Learn your lines,” suggested that many parishes wouldn’t be making preparations until the new Mass was closer to its debut, and that seems to be the case..


Another question worth asking is: Of those who know changes are coming, how many know what the changes actually are? Even priests, who will be doing most of the mouth-work on this one, won’t see the full translation of the Roman Missal until October, when the books are finally released from the publishers.


So, USCatholic.org readers, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find out this weekend how many of your fellow parishioners know what they are in for on the First Sunday of Advent. Ask them: Do they know that Mass is changing? And do they know what in the Mass is changing? Do you think your parish will be ready?


Journalistic minds want to know.


Related: Learn your lines


Incoming Missal: Get ready for changes to your Sunday Mass