More and more it's recognized in the mainstream that the Catholic Church across the world is experiencing a renaissance, with young adults driving the resurgence.

Evidently, authenticity, stillness and sanctity are craved by the young followers of Christ in a world increasingly offering polarity and superficiality.

So, is it any wonder the Traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass (TLM) is also enjoying a revival?

Advertisement

The Toronto Oratory and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) Canada each say that weekend TLM liturgies at member parishes throughout Canada are drawing hundreds of people to the pews every weekend.

Most recently, in Calgary, FSSP’s apostolate at St. Anthony’s Parish was granted a canonical house by Bishop William McGrattan in the early days of 2026. A canonical house is not a literal physical building. It is rather the apostolate being granted stability, a fully fledged establishment and formal recognition from the diocese.

“I think this is a real show of how pastoral Bishop McGrattan is, and how he cares for the faithful in his diocese who have a very strong love for the traditional liturgy,” said Fr. Massimo Botta, administrator of the FSSP Calgary apostolate. “He’s trying to make provision and to take care of them by allowing us to establish ourselves in his diocese in a canonical way.”

Botta works alongside Fr. Ralph Oballo in shepherding the Tridentine Mass community at St. Anthony’s. He expressed gratitude to McGrattan for “welcoming us to help him in his mission for the sanctification and salvation of souls.”

When asked what it is about the TLM that makes it manifestly popular among the young, especially, Botta provided a more in-depth explanation about why youth seek refuge in this polarized world through an Old Rite liturgy built upon truth.

“Things are just so kind of extreme, especially with the political narratives and things that are happening right now,” said Botta. “A lot of Gen Z are starting to see it as a bit crazy and over the top. That's kind nudged them in the direction of, ‘okay, if this is completely bonkers, what is true?’ ”

Intuitively, an institution like the Catholic Church, which has always professed itself to be the one true Church established by Christ and has over 2,000 years of staying power, is attractive in a world where any sort of permanence is a rarity.

Botta said once the person begins to comprehend the full truth preached by the Catholic Church, they begin to realize the TLM is “the truth that we learned about in our catechism expressed in physical form.” And it signifies “an unbroken continuation in terms of the liturgical expression.”

Advertisement

Fr. Paul Pearson, the superior of the Oratory, suggested that the Old Rite Masses offered at Holy Family and St. Vincent de Paul Parishes in Toronto's west end offer a transcendental and social experience that engender a robust level of participation.

“They are looking for something with a more supernatural feeling that makes them feel in touch with something beyond themselves,” said Pearson, also rector and dean of St. Philip’s Seminary. “They've (also) developed a very strong social network with a coffee house afterwards. After Mass, they then spend an hour two downstairs in the parish hall talking to one another.”

Pearson said it is important to note that the Toronto Oratory also delivers the reverent experience churchgoers desire through the Novus Ordo Mass, the revised, modern liturgy advanced by Pope Paul VI in 1969 following the Second Vatican Council. He added that the Oratory does approach the Tridentine Mass with “any sort of doctrinal stance.”

Contrastingly, FSSP Canada, with apostolates in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec, views celebrating and cherishing this ancient liturgy — also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Mass — as the heart of its charism.

On fssp.ca, the fraternity articulated the mystical allure of the Catholic Liturgy of 1962: “Let us note too that the Tridentine rite, after the fashion of incense rising towards Heaven, elevates our souls to God, and, as it draws us from the realities of the senses to the eternal mysteries, permits us, already on Earth, to unite our voices to those of the Blessed. This is the goal of all the gestures and of all the ceremonies.”

In a notable move last October, Pope Leo XIV approved the return of the TLM to the Vatican following a request made by 70 traditional groups. Supporters of this liturgy expressed hope that this represented a new era of inclusion and dialogue rather than restriction.

Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis had authored Traditionis Custodes, an apostolic letter curtailing the Tridentine Mass of the Roman Rite.

This decree received renewed attention during the first extraordinary consistory hosted by Pope Leo from Jan. 7-8. Cardinals were reportedly distributed a document from Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, that presented a defence of Traditionis Custodes.

Contents of the document were leaked and published by Rome-based Catholic journalists Diane Montagna and Nico Spuntoni.

Advertisement

Roche quoted Pope Pius V’s 1970 papal bull Quo primum that declared “there ought to be only one right for celebrating the Mass.” The British prelate also suggested Francis “pointed the way to unity” by curbing the Tridentine Mass to establish Novus Ordo as “the sole expression of the lex orandi ('rule of prayer') of the Roman Rite."

The Traditional Latin Mass was not formally scrutinized during the consistory. The Church’s mission and the synodal pathway were the two topics of examination.