Latin for the Laity is the topic and title of a lecture Tolkien gave to his parish of St. Anthony of Padua in the late 1950s.[1]
According to Michäel Devaux, Tolkien aimed to help his fellow parishioners better understand the basic Latin elements of the Mass and gave various reasons why this would be helpful for their devotions. This lecture shows him as an active member of the parish, and also as having good reasons, which he could articulate, for valuing Latin, emphasizing that his love of the Mass in Latin was not merely nostalgic.[1]
At one point in this lecture, Tolkien quotes John Henry Newman (1801-1890), a catholic priest, theologian and cardinal, which is the only explicit evidence of Tolkien actually reading the works of Newman.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Holly Ordway, "The Christian Consonance of Middle-earth: A Landmark International Conference" 25 June 2025, World on Fire, accessed 20 September 2025