New Edition of Missal in Ge’ez

A new edition of the Missal in Ge’ez, an ancient South Semitic liturgical language used by Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic and Orthodox Churches, was officially presented at the Pontifical Ethiopian College in the Vatican Gardens on Tuesday afternoon, 27 May. Speaking at the presentation, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, described the Missal as a “source of hope and of the ability to survive and to dream that lies at the root of a people’s existence”. He expressed the hope that the new Missal will make the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia feel “the loving benevolence of God still vibrate, and the caress of the Virgin Mary”.

For the first time, the updated Ge’ez Missal includes annotations for liturgical chant, and calls for the Eucharist to be celebrated with freshly-baked, leavened bread, symbolizing the freshness of the Body of Christ.

Both the Eritrean and Ethiopian Catholic Churches had set up commissions to edit the Ge’ez Missal, which, a commission member said, was one of the only examples of collaboration between Ethiopia and Eritrea in recent years. Bishop Tesfasellassie Medhin of the Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat in Ethiopia, said the Missal will be a source of unity among the Churches in Ethiopia and Eritrea. “We have diversity in our Churches, and this Holy Mass to be celebrated according to the new Missal will serve as a sacred tool that we hope to faithfully implement in our respective eparchies”, he added.

At the end of the presentation, Cardinal Gugerotti officially presented the Missal to Bishops representing the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches. Among them was Bishop Kidane Yebio of Keren, Eritrea, who said the Missal would “become a source of union for the Catholic Church herself, because until now we have celebrated in different ways”. However, he continued, “from now on, we hope we will all follow this book”.

In a statement, Cardinal Berhaneyesus Souraphiel, Archbishop of Addis Ababa, thanked commission members for their work, the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches for “facilitating the printing and distribution of the New Missal” in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the benefactors who made it possible.

“May the Mother of God in this month of May intercede for peace in both countries and blessings on our newly elected Pope Leo XIV”, the Cardinal concluded.