Roman Missal - Classic Edition - Bonded Leather - 8.5 Inch x 11 Inch - 7th Edition

The Classic Edition of the Roman Missal (Third Edition) has been designed to ensure that every element is durable and practical—yet dignified, beautiful, and suitable for divine worship. The instruction concerning an altar missal from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments states it “should be marked by such a dignity that the exterior appearance of the book itself will lead the faithful to a greater reverence for the word of God and for sacred realities” (Liturgiam Authenticam, 120). For this reason the quality of paper and binding as well as the visual impact of vibrant, full-color illustrations; musical notations; and fonts for texts have been considered to produce a dignified altar missal.

The pages of the Classic Edition are Smyth-sewn and bound with reinforced, cloth-joint endsheets inside a durable cover of soft and rich, faux leather. The cover is gold-stamped with an image of Christ Pantocrator on the front and Chi-Rho on the back. The 8.5” x 11” pages are an august cream color with gilded edges; the 60-gsm weight of the paper allows the book to be light while providing good opacity, and 100-gsm paper is used for sections of the missal that need to hold up to more frequent use. There are 49 full-color illustrations from the Church’s treasury of fine art which adorn the beginnings of seasons and principal feasts, adding visual beauty to the liturgical texts. The 24 tabs made of bonded leather make for secure and easy turning of pages, and the six ribbons mark places in the missal.

The Roman Missal is the liturgical book containing the prayers and rubrics used in the celebration of the Mass in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. The importance of the Roman Missal in the life of the Church was stressed by Pope Benedict XVI in a recent address to the Vox Clara Committee: "I welcome the news that the English translation of the Roman Missal will soon be ready for publication, so that the texts you have worked so hard to prepare may be proclaimed in the liturgy that is celebrated across the Anglophone world. Through these sacred texts and the actions that accompany them, Christ will be made present and active in the midst of his people."

Many of the prayers in the Roman Missal originate from the Latin texts of the early Roman Church that were used for celebrating the Mass after Emperor Constantine I ended the persecution of the Church AD 313. These manuscripts were handed down through the centuries and were collected and arranged to form the Roman Missal.

Since the third edition of the Roman Missal* was published in Latin in 2002, the bishops of the English-speaking countries around the world have been preparing a new English translation of the Roman Missal.** This highly anticipated new English translation is more faithful to the original Latin than previous editions. Prepared by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy working in conjunction with Vox Clara, it was approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2009 and granted recognitio*** by the Holy See in 2010.

The new English translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition will be introduced in parishes on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011.