On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 07:21:12 EST, Agnes Armstrong wrote:

>
>Perhaps there are less daily mass-goers per capita than there were 100 years
>ago, but The Church in Europe is far from dead.
>
My observations are limited to Milan and Paris, but seem the opposite,
except when music was the main draw.

My first mass in Paris was a Saturday 5 PM at St-Gervais. It was a
thrilling experience to hear a classical organ mass used as I had
understood to be the intent, with the proper sung. In this case the
organ mass was ca 1700, and the proper was contemporary.

The choir comprised monks and nuns with faces from the entire French
colonial empire. The only French face in the church was the priest
(maybe th eorganist too, but I couldn't see).

There was no congregation.

In Milan, St. Jerome was similar. Italian priest talking (very clearly)
to a nearly empty basilica.

Midnight mass for Christmas at St-Sulpice was full, but that was
effectively a 2 and a half hour Daniel Roth recital.



Rodney Myrvaagnes   NYC                                                                            J36 Gjo/a


"Curse thee, thou quadrant. No longer will I guide my earthly way by thee."  Capt. Ahab

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