Who would have thought of Cannes as the logical place to hear Latin Mass?

Yet, that’s what my better half discovered when we were there a couple of weeks ago whilst we were looking for the Marché Forville.  I was a few steps behind him when he spotted the notice on the Chapelle de la Misericorde which stated that the Tridentine Rite, which dates from 1570 under Pius V, was said every Sunday at 6 p.m. 

We poled up about five minutes beforehand on Sunday, June 21.  Only one lady wore a mantilla and one other had her head covered.  Most people had their own missals, but, happily, there were booklets with Latin-French translations of the whole Mass in every pew.  These were provided courtesy of the Chapelle du Saint-Suaire in Nice, where you can hear the sung Tridentine Rite every Sunday at 10 a.m.  

There were about 15 people when we arrived.  By the time Mass started a few minutes later, there were probably 30.  The chapel is small and old, with a proper raised pulpit.  It dates from the 16th century, and whilst elegant, it is a humble structure, primarily for the market traders at Forville.  Mass in French is held every Monday at 8:30 a.m. and the chapel is open every weekday morning.  The bells ring on the hour, by the way.

Anyway, back to Mass.  The priest — possibly from Saint-Suaire in Nice — wore the traditional vestments that you would associate with the Extraordinary Rite: a bass-viol chasuble over an alb which had a beautiful eight inches of delicate eyelet lace embroidery, which must have been done by hand.  He was assisted by a layman in his thirties and two little altar boys, dressed traditionally except for their trainers (tennis shoes)!  We thought that maybe they were his sons.  It was reassuring to see three generations represented at the altar.  The boys weren’t old enough yet to grasp the importance of the Tridentine Rite and how easily we lost it, long before they were born.  The man helped them out, though, silently, yet quite intently, to make sure they did the right things at the right time.

The congregation was silent and reverent.  All ages were there, including young children, which puts paid to the notion that only old people and reactionaries are interested in the Tridentine Rite.  It seemed that half attended the Mass regularly and others, like us, were visitors. 

The priest went through the prayers quite quickly, so it was difficult keeping up, which surprised both my husband and me.  We thought that we’d know where we were.  The Epistle and Gospel readings were in French as was the homily.  These were all said slowly enough for all of us to understand.  It was the Feast of the Sacred Heart that Sunday, so the priest described how Christ appeared to St Margaret Mary Alacoque mandating a devotion to the Sacred Heart.  It was the first time I had ever heard the story from the pulpit, which added to the significance of the occasion.

Communion was taken kneeling at the altar rail and distributed traditionally by the priest with the layman holding the paten. 

Did we have the impression that we had been to Mass?  Most definitely.  There is no comparison between Mass in the vernacular and the Tridentine Rite, especially with the Last Gospel from the Book of St John read at the end.  It was an experience we won’t soon forget.  I’m so grateful and happy that we went, and I would certainly go again on my next visit to Cannes.