The traditional Latin Mass has become a point of both devotion and controversy in recent years, drawing growing numbers of young faithful even in the face of restrictions from Rome.

But for some, their first encounter with the ancient rite is marked by confusion before becoming a doorway into a deeper life of prayer and a renewed sense of the sacred. Helping to bridge that gap in understanding is one of the aims of a new booklet, Discovering the Latin Mass: A Travel Guide for the Curious, written as a simple, practical guide for those new to the liturgy.

Its author is Archduke Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, a descendant of the Habsburg dynasty, who served as Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See from 2015 to 2025. In the following May 27 interview with the Register, he explains more about his motives behind the book, how the Vetus Ordo (“Old Order”) has had a significant and positive impact on his and his family’s life and faith, and why he thinks it is growing in popularity among the young. He also shares his opinion on why the traditional liturgy generates so much impassioned support and opposition.

Ambassador Habsburg, what do you hope Discovering the Latin Mass will achieve, and what gave you the impetus to write it?

I wrote this little book because I did not have a small, handy explanatory brochure when I stumbled into my first traditional Latin Mass and was completely confused — indeed, even irritated. Nobody had prepared me for the differences in almost every aspect of the liturgy, so I was unable at first to appreciate it. I therefore hope that, with this little booklet in hand, people will approach their first Latin Masses better prepared and not immediately put up walls.

Who is it chiefly aimed at, and could one bring the booklet to Mass in order better to follow and participate in it?

This is not, in the first instance, a book for people who already attend the traditional Latin Mass. It is really for those who would like to try it because they have heard about it, or who are simply curious about this form of the Roman Rite. It is also directed at people who are highly irritated by the Latin Mass and would like to have some of their prejudices perhaps dispelled.

Yes, you can take this book to your first two or three Latin Masses. It has a section in the middle where I explain the different parts of the liturgy, with a few drawings showing, for example, that when the altar server is standing on the right and the priest is in the middle, you can tell which part of the Mass we are in. So, yes, it is absolutely ideal for that.

What impact has the TLM had on your own life, and how important has it been to you as a parent, especially in helping to form your children in the Catholic faith?

Thank you very much for this question. The strongest impression the Latin Mass has made on me is what it has done for my children. We were all cradle Catholics, regularly went to Mass, said our prayers, made pilgrimages and so on. But when we discovered the Latin Mass about five or six years ago, the entire family — even those who only sporadically visited us in Rome — began a completely new journey of deepening our faith, deepening our relationship with Christ, and gaining a deeper appreciation of the liturgy.

Above all, I could see that the life of the liturgy spilled over into our daily life. For instance, I now see much greater fidelity in daily prayer, in praying the Rosary, in making novenas and in all these practices, and that transforms your life. I have found something that truly gave our entire family a fresh start in the faith.

For centuries the Habsburg family played a key role in preserving the ancient liturgy, which in turn had a major impact on culture and politics within its realms. Do you see your role as similar — helping the faithful to know and love the TLM and thereby assisting in preserving European Catholic civilization, especially as it is now very much under attack from secularism, Islam and other forces?

I think it is far too early to predict what role the rediscovery of the traditional Latin Mass will play in Europe. The numbers are still very small, and the overwhelming majority of Catholics are still attending what we call the Novus Ordo — today’s Mass. But I do see my role, perhaps, as that of an ambassador of the traditional Latin Mass to people who have not heard of it, who would like to discover it, or who might wish to overcome their prejudices against this form of the rite.

I began writing this booklet almost immediately after I finished my time as a diplomat to the Holy See. As a diplomat, you have to be rather discreet about your own preferences, especially in liturgical matters. Now, I am far freer to speak about what is on my heart.

There has been much renewed interest in the TLM, especially among young people. How do you explain this growing popularity, particularly as it comes in the face of recent Vatican efforts to restrict it?

You are absolutely right: Young people are very much attracted to the traditional Latin Mass. It is a phenomenon we see all over Europe and the world, especially in the United States, in England, in France, and also in Austria, Germany and Hungary — everywhere. You ask why this is so. Of course, I do not know for certain, but my personal guess is that it is the absolute antithesis of today’s world.

It is very reverent and very quiet — very quiet. The silence is what most attracted me to it and also my family. It is very devout. I think that if young people today want to be Catholic at all, they want to be Catholic in a very meaningful way. The traditional Latin Mass gives you both the impression and the reality of very deep roots. The “alienness” of the Latin language, the reverence of the gestures — all of this tells you that what is happening is very serious and very sacred. I think that is what young people are looking for, if they want to build their lives on something solid today.

Why do you think the TLM generates such strong passions — both among those who wish to preserve it and among those who oppose it?

Beginning with the opposition, I believe that the aggressive resistance to the traditional Latin Mass is largely due to two factors, the first of which is probably prejudice dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. Several generations of priests — some of whom are now bishops — grew up with the idea that this is something “of yesterday,” something that we have left behind in order to open ourselves to today’s liturgy. They were taught that we should not delve into it or indulge in it too much, that it is somewhat mechanical, something black and white, something from the old days. All this may have led some people to grow up with the strong conviction that it is something to be overcome, dusty and obsolete. So when others now try to rediscover it, they react aggressively. I think that is one possible explanation.

The other factor, of course — and this I find very unfortunate — is the way some newly converted Catholics, often speaking on their webcams, present themselves as speaking in the name of tradition and the traditional Latin Mass. Sometimes they may feel obliged to speak in a very aggressive and loud way to show that they are “really” Catholic. This creates an image of traditionalists as a harsh, judgmental and unwelcoming group of people.

I am fairly sure that many of the measures taken against the Latin Mass in recent years are a result of this impression. The internet can be a great place to speak about your faith, but doing so with respect, charity and an understanding of other forms of Catholic life is probably far more helpful.

Despite the resurgent interest, numbers are still relatively small compared to the wider Catholic population. Do you see those who attend the TLM as the “remnant,” the creative minority Cardinal Ratzinger once referred to, who will preserve the Catholic order and apostolic tradition when all around appears to be in a state of decline and collapse?

It is true that the Latin Mass is attended by relatively small numbers of Catholics worldwide. I say “relatively” because if we compare the numbers of those who frequent the Latin Mass with the numbers of those who regularly go to Mass — and perhaps even during the week — in many Western European countries, then suddenly the numbers of the “TLMers” look much larger than one might think. However, compared with the overall number of people baptized in the Catholic Church, they are still very small.

Do I believe that this is going to be the bulwark, the small remnant? I do not think so. I believe that what Benedict XVI spoke about applies both to those who go to the traditional Latin Mass and to those who attend parishes where today’s Mass is celebrated in a devout and reverent way and where Catholic life is alive and flourishing. Together, these form the small remnant — and both groups are growing exponentially.

If we look at the numbers of people who have been baptized, confirmed or who have returned to the Catholic Church in the last four or five years, we can see that something is happening in the Church, something is happening throughout the Western world, as far as I can tell. I am full of hope for the Church that we may not become the very, very small remnant that Benedict XVI once spoke of.