Bring Back the Betrothal

The Catholic Thing · Oct 24, 2026 · 6m

By K.E. Colombini

Thanks to the wisdom of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, Catholics who came of age after the Second Vatican Council have gotten a taste of Catholic liturgical tradition previously unavailable, and many have decided that they like it.

First and foremost, this has come about via the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) of the 1962 Roman Missal, the last one produced before the significant liturgical changes of Vatican II and the subsequent 1970 Missal. Up until the sharp U-turn of Pope Francis' 2021 apostolic letter Traditionis custodes and its follow-up documents, the Traditional…