Welcome to the Unofficial Guide to Modern Ecclesiastical Latin Pronunciation! (I tried thinking of a better name, but couldn't.) The content on this site addresses the need that I have perceived for a freely available, complete guide to Latin pronunciation for use in Catholic liturgy.

Although there is a plethora of guides available for the pronunciation of Latin, there are significant discrepancies between most of them, particularly regarding vowels and certain consonants such as X. In addition, very few of these guides are designed with the pronunciation of liturgical Latin in mind. Although it is less common for the Mass to be prayed in Latin in modern times than before the Second Vatican Council, it is a rare parish whose choir does not sing a setting (in Latin) of a standard text like “Ave Maria”.

Unfortunately, the training of most choir directors, even at the advanced level, rarely includes a codified method for Latin pronunciation. One typically hears "Italianate Latin" equated with standard ecclesiastical Latin; for the most part this is accurate; however, there exist important exceptions to this idea.

It stands to reason, of course