“The Reverent Liturgy Project takes the practical wisdom of priests who have successfully moved to reverent liturgy and offers it to priests who want to embark on the same journey but need a roadmap to get started. I can think of no more important work.”
Archbishop
Our Vision: Inspiring and equipping priests to set souls on fire for Christ in the Eucharist by offering them practical resources to introduce more beautiful and reverent liturgy in typical Catholic parishes.
Our Strategy: Gather the wisdom of parish priests who have successfully adopted classically Catholic worship practices and offer it to priests who want to do so, but need a roadmap to do so in ways that build parishes up, rather
than tear them apart.
Our Goal: Introduce one or more classically Catholic worship practices to 2,500 U.S. Catholics parishes by 2030, deepening the experience of Christ in
the Eucharist for 7.5 million souls.
More than 260 priests from 41 states have joined this community in the first 9 months, en route to more than 1,000 priests by the end of 2027 inspiring and equipping the next generation of priests to make disciples out of the next
generation
The most urgent task of every Catholic parish is making Catholics out of the next generation in our pews. Half of Americans raised Catholic no longer identify as Catholics. Of those who remain, barely a quarter attend Mass weekly. And at least a quarter of regular Mass-goers say they don’t believe the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ.
The recent wave of converts is encouraging, showing that for young adults what is classically Catholic works. But today for every 1 new soul coming in, 8 cradle Catholics are leaving the Church.
The Reverent Liturgy Project addresses this urgent need.
Transcendent. Otherworldly. Worshipful. Centered in the sacrifice of Christ to the Father and the Communion He alone makes possible. Making souls aware they have an eternal soul and that they hunger for God.
Classically Catholic worship practices include celebrating ad Orientem, kneeling and receiving Jesus on the tongue, altar rails, sacred silence and sacred music (including Gregorian chant), all male-altar servers, sacred images and vestments, frequent confession, eucharistic adoration and fasting. These are all norms permitted by the Church in Rome and in the U.S. and in many cases are even preferred by Vatican II.
Not every priest can or should introduce all these practices in every parish Mass. But every priest can do something to celebrate the Mass with greater reverence. The Reverent Liturgy Project shows them the pathway. As Archbishop Cordileone puts it, “”Reverent liturgy is not about aesthetics or preferences. It is about offering the Mass in ways that make it clear to all present what is truly happening at the Mass.”
The first of many new products of the Reverent Liturgy Project serving priests is a 2027 Ignatius Press book authored by Archbishop Cordileone: Moving to Reverent Liturgy: A Strategic Guide for Priests. Each chapter features the Archbishop’s reflections on the spiritual meaning of the practice, a success story from a priest who has implemented it, and a “best practices” implementation guide drawn from interviews with hundreds of parish priests. Moving to Reverent Liturgy offers priests what they do not teach in seminaries: practical strategies for implementing reverent liturgy in ways that build up parishes.
We reach priests through digital marketing, direct marketing, attending conferences priests attend, using articles and Catholic television and podcast appearances by Archbishop Cordileone, Bishop Conley, Bishop Barber and other bishops encouraging this project.
Other ongoing products equipping and inspiring priests include: priest-only Zoom rooms with experts, assembling a team of priests willing to mentor their brother priests, creating and/or curating useful materials requested by priests such as, parish pamphlets, bulletin inserts, explanatory videos.
The vast majority of younger priests want to bring classically Catholic practices to ordinary Novus Ordo parishes. The Reverent Liturgy Project offers them a fellowship of likeminded priests and a roadmap and resources for success.
Priests who need help, or want to offer their help can complete the form below.
The Benedict XVI Institute continues to sponsor or cosponsor liturgy conferences, artists retreats, chant camps. We also commission new works for the liturgy including Very Marian Advent hymns, hymns for the Martyrs of Communism, a new Litany for Our Lady of Guadalupe by our poet-in-residence James Matthew Wilson and magnificent new sacred music for the Mass in the high sacred music tradition of the Church.
Frank La Rocca’s Mass of the Americas (honoring our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception) has traveled to 18 Cathedrals or churches across America, Mexico, and Europe as part of ProjectGuadalupe2031, preparing for the 500th anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s appearance, the birthday of Christianity in the Americas.
Frank’s La Rocca’s latest work, Requiem for Pope Benedict XVI, is a Solemn Pontifical Requiem Mass in the Extraordinary Form honoring Pope Benedict on the 100th anniversary of his birth and the 5th anniversary of his death. And in June of 2027 Cardinal Robert Sarah accepts the first biannual Pope Benedict XVI “Spirit of the Liturgy” Medal of Honor, which includes a bronze portrait commissioned from sculptor Michael Curtis.
The album is for purchase through Capella Records or may be streamed on popular streaming services including Spotify and Amazon Music.
Kindly use the form below to contact Frank La Rocca for the purchase and licensing of scores or to request a perusal copy.
The Benedict XVI Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization recognized by the IRS, and contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. It is also listed in The Official Catholic Directory as a Catholic organization. Our work is funded entirely through charitable donations.
