Ge‘ez Missal Unveiled in Vatican, Marking New Chapter for Ethiopian and Eritrean Churches

Ethopia, 28 May, 2025 - The Pontifical Ethiopian College, nestled within the Vatican Gardens, hosted a historic event on 27 May evening with the presentation of the newly updated Ge‘ez-language Missal. The evening featured liturgical choral chants in Ge‘ez, an ancient South Semitic language still used in the liturgy of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Curated under the guidance of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, the Missal serves as a unified liturgical text for the Eastern Catholic Churches of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It marks the culmination of decades of work by the Dicastery’s Liturgical Office, which has long supported Eastern Catholic traditions.

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery, called the Missal an “instrument for prayer” and a “source of that ability to survive and to dream that lies at the root of a people’s existence.” He warned of the consequences when faith, song, and dance are stripped from a people, and expressed hope that the Missal would help the faithful of the Horn of Africa experience “the loving benevolence of God” and “the caress of the Virgin Mary.”

For the first time, the Missal includes annotations for liturgical chant and instructs that the Eucharist be celebrated with freshly-baked, leavened bread, symbolising the freshness of the Body of Christ.

The Eritrean and Ethiopian Catholic Churches established commissions to edit the Missal, a rare example of cooperation between the two nations. One commission member noted its significance as a bridge in a politically divided region.

Bishop Tesfasellassie Medhin of the Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat said the Missal would foster unity among the Churches. “In the most difficult moments, when the Mass is celebrated in the union of spirit, it gives inner joy, strength, and hope,” he said, adding that the Missal reflects the Churches' diversity and will be “faithfully implemented.”

Despite political obstacles, Bishop Tesfasellassie emphasised the Churches’ unity: “Our liturgy, our patrimony, and liturgical history have never had division.”

Cardinal Gugerotti officially presented the Missal to bishops from both Churches. Bishop Kindane Yebio of Keren in Eritrea highlighted the Missal’s 25-year development process, drawing on ancient sources. “From now on, we hope we will all follow this book,” he said.

Courtesy: Vatican News