Revised Konkani Roman Missal becomes mandatory in Mangalore

MANGALORE, Karnataka (Indian Catholic News) — The Diocese of Mangalore has mandated the revised Konkani translation of the Roman Missal abrogating earlier editions, and urged priests and laity to receive the latest version “in ecclesial communion and faithful obedience.”

The decree, issued by Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha of Mangalore, says the revised Romi-Misa Gronth is from Aug. 15 “promulgated for liturgical use in the Diocese of Mangalore.”

The revised translation of the Roman Missal, Third Typical Edition, obtained the required Confirmatio from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in 2019. The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India approved the revised translation and decreed its publication in September 2025.

The decree states that use of the revised Romi-Misa Gronth “shall be obligatory” wherever Mass is celebrated in Konkani, beginning Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“From that date all priests, deacons, and others entrusted with the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy shall use this revised edition exclusively whenever Holy Mass is celebrated in Konkani,” the decree says.

The requirement applies to “all churches, chapels, institutions, houses of religious and societies of apostolic life, and all other places where Holy Mass is celebrated in Konkani.”

The decree also requires parish priests, rectors, chaplains, religious superiors and those responsible for liturgical formation to ensure sufficient copies are available and that clergy, liturgical ministers, choirs, catechists and the faithful are “suitably prepared for its implementation.”

Earlier editions abrogated

The decree explicitly abrogates previous versions of the Konkani Roman Missal. “From the same date all previous editions and any unofficial adaptations of the Konkani translation of the Roman Missal are hereby abrogated for liturgical use and shall no longer be used in the celebration of Holy Mass,” it says.

The revised edition, the decree says, “more faithfully renders the Missale Romanum through improved theological, biblical, and liturgical terminology, greater linguistic precision and consistency.”

It says the revision is intended “to foster the full, conscious, and active participation of the clergy and faithful in the worthy celebration of the Sacred Mysteries.”

The decree grounds the mandate in the bishop’s office and the norms governing the Sacred Liturgy, citing canons 838 §§1 and 4 and 392 of the Code of Canon Law.

Bishop Saldanha concludes by exhorting priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful “to receive this revised translation in a spirit of ecclesial communion and faithful obedience.”

He adds that the worthy celebration of the Eucharist may “deepen our participation in the Paschal Mystery, strengthen our communion as the People of God, and draw us ever more closely to Christ.”

The decree was issued from the Bishop’s House in Kodialbail, Mangalore, on July 3, 2026, the Solemnity of St. Thomas the Apostle, and published in the August edition of INTERNOS, the diocesan newsletter.

Read the decree.