Liturgical Conference, inc.

The Liturgical Conference grew out of a transatlantic Catholic liturgical movement that began in Europe, especially Austria, Germany, Italy, France, and Belgium. Parallel discussions began in the United States among Virgil Michel, Gerald Ellard, Martin B. Hellriegel, and others. The movement took organizational shape with the founding of the Liturgical Conference in 1940 as the Benedictine Liturgical Conference. Originally sponsored and organized by Benedictine monks, the Conference sought to renew monastic life. Through the inclusion of diocesan priests and laity, and the Conference expanded their scope to focus on the renewal of interest in and understanding of the liturgy among all Catholics. The preamble to the Conference Constitution stated: “We desire to lend out aid to the efforts of our Hierarchy in arousing the Christian people to a deeper consciousness of their dignity as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, and of their privilege in uniting themselves with His redeeming Sacrifice by a more active and fruitful participation in the Sacred Mysteries, the primary and indispensable source of the true Christian spirit.” Members of the Liturgical Conference also participated in other organizations advocating for liturgical reform within the Catholic Church, including the International Liturgical Congress, the Vernacular Society, and regional Liturgical Conferences.

Annual Liturgical Week meetings served as the primary means for the Conference to promote the liturgy and lay participation in it. These meetings began in 1940, and increased in attendance and influence through 1968. They included instructional talks and pioneering liturgical practices such as the revived Easter Vigil and commentated Masses. The peak of attendance came around 1964, when the Liturgical Week program included the first High Mass offered in English in the Roman Rite, celebrated by Martin B. Hellriegel, a founding member of the Conference.

The themes addressed at Liturgical Week meetings included the organic nature of the Christian community as the Mystical Body of Christ, Christ as the sole mediator between God and man, the Christian life in Christ as strengthened through the sacraments and the Mass, the Bible as the formative word of God, the artistic expression of life in Christ – particularly through Gregorian chant, graphic arts, and architecture – the promotion of the vernacular, and the reform of liturgical rites.

The Liturgical Conference became primarily a publishing house after 1968, publishing books and two journals, Homily Service (discontinued in 2010) and Liturgy. They merged with the inter-Lutheran Society for Worship, Music and the Arts in 1979, and have continued to broaden ecumenical relationships since.