OCP Selects Misa Santa Cecilia for Use in Bilingual Worship Communities

PORTLAND, Ore., April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- In anticipation of the new translation of the Roman Missal, OCP has chosen five new and four revised Mass settings for initial publication. Misa Santa Cecilia/Mass of St. Cecilia, a new bilingual setting by Estela Garcia-Lopez and Rodolfo Lopez, is among those selected. While Masses in Spanish only are not affected by the new translation of the Roman Missal, bilingual settings must be prepared for communities worshiping in both languages.

"When you write bilingual music it's always a challenge to make both languages feel natural and flow with the music," said Garcia-Lopez. "We tried to find a good balance between the two languages. The other challenge was presenting the music in a user-friendly way, giving musicians the versatility to switch languages as necessary given the parish's needs. We wanted it to be fully bilingual, meaning one could learn it all in Spanish or English or bilingually."

This parish-tested setting will be included in an Order of Mass supplement, which will be made available to OCP customers using resources affected by the new translation.

"Music is a great way to unite communities, especially when songs are bilingual," said Garcia-Lopez. "For example, we use Amor de Dios/O Love of God by Bob Hurd at our Spanish and English services throughout the year. We may do all the verses in Spanish at the Spanish services and all the verses in English at the English services, but when we gather for a bilingual celebration, we alternate languages. Using songs that both communities have in common is a great way to come together in worship as one group. Our hope is that Misa Santa Cecilia helps accomplish the same goal."

More information on Misa Santa Cecilia and the other new and revised settings is available on OCP's new Roman Missal online resource page: OCP.org/NewMassSettings. This web page was developed to answer concerns church leaders may have regarding the implementation of the new Roman Missal. Visitors to the page will find what they need conveniently located in one place: practical resources, catechetical articles related to the new translation, links to useful websites, frequently asked questions and more.

Because the page will be updated as new information and resources become available, visitors are encouraged to bookmark the address—OCP.org/NewMassSettings—and check back regularly.

About OCP

OCP, a not-for-profit publisher of liturgical music and worship resources based in Portland, Oregon, has been in operation for more than 80 years. Worship programs produced by OCP are used in two-thirds of Catholic churches in the United States and are distributed worldwide. More information is available at 1-800-LITURGY (548-8749) and ocp.org.

Media Contacts:

Zach Laney, 503.460.5311, [email protected]

Kelcee Marcum, 503.460.5358, [email protected]

SOURCE OCP