Pope: Mass in vernacular helps people understand God, live the faith Pope Francis smiled as he met the faithful during his pastoral visit to All Saints Parish in Rome March 7. (CNS/Reuters) By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service | March 9, 2015 ROME — Allowing priests to celebrate Mass in the language of the local congregation rather than in Latin allowed the faithful to understand and be encouraged by the word of God, Pope Francis said. “You cannot turn back, we have to always go forward, always forward and who goes back is making a mistake,” he told parishioners after commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first time a pope celebrated Mass in the vernacular following the Second Vatican Council. “Let us give thanks to the Lord for what he has done in his Church in these 50 years of liturgical reform. It was really a courageous move by the Church to get closer to the people of God so that they could understand well what it does, and this is important for us: to follow Mass like this,” he said as he left Rome’s Church of All Saints March 7. On the same date in 1965, Blessed Paul VI publicly celebrated Mass in Italian for the first time in accordance with the norms established by the Second Vatican Council. In his homily at the parish, Pope Francis said people need to be able to connect the liturgy to their own lives. Click here for the rest of the story: http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/...r-helps-people-understand-god-live-the-faith/