Protestant Songs Within Mass
Date: November 8, 2026
Author: Fr. Edward McNamara, LC
Question: What need do we have and what benefits does it bring to the Catholic Church, to sing Protestant songs within Mass? We are not Protestants! Some mention ecumenism, but I have not seen many Protestants attend Mass even if this were a good reason to sing such hymns. If we think about what the vast majority of Protestant composers think of our holy Church and of the Supreme Pontiff, we would not open our doors to say, as some people do, that if the text does not go against what the Catholic Church teaches, then there would be no problem in singing it at Mass. There are many singers in local churches who have very little or no formation in this field, and it is dangerous to open our doors to Protestant songs on the grounds that there are no documents explicitly banning them. There are many very vulnerable people who, when they hear a Protestant song, because there is no doubt that many of the songs are very beautiful, eventually might arrive at the point of joining the Protestants. I hope that the Holy Spirit will guide those who are in charge of this to make good decisions so that souls are not lost! — N.P., Nashville, Tennessee
Answer: Although this question hails from the United States, the original was written in Latin American Spanish. I believe that we must first broach the question within this context as it will help understand our reader’s strong position against the admission of all Protestant music within the Mass.
In Europe and most of the English-speaking world, Protestants communities of many varieties have lived alongside Catholics for many centuries. While the convivence has sometimes been quite difficult, there have been continuous mutual influences.
Until about a century ago, Latin America was almost totally Catholic, at least nominally, but with far fewer priests attending the faithful than in many other parts of the Christian world.
From the early years of the 20th century, Protestants began to establish centers in Latin America and made inroads among the Catholic population.
The vast majority of Protestants in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Americas have tended to be Evangelical and Pentecostal in style. They brought their lively musical traditions with them and used this music as a means to win new members for their communities.
Some of these groups also used an aggressive style of preaching in which they fiercely attacked Catholic doctrine such as devotion to Mary, the sacraments, the priesthood, and the figure of the Holy Father to persuade the faithful to abandon the Catholic Church.
Since many Catholics lacked the necessary formation to respond to these attacks, the result has been a large increase in numbers, albeit without much unity among the various groups and communities.
In this context it is easier to see why our correspondent is prone to reject the admission of all Protestant music into the liturgy; the music is so closely associated with the accusations of a doctrinal nature that it could appear to justify them and weaken the faith of some Catholics.
Another point that our reader makes, is the urgent necessity of forming those who participate in Catholic music ministry in sound criteria for choosing appropriate music for Catholic worship. This is an urgent task for many pastors so as to enhance the spiritual experience and depth of full and active participation of the faithful in the Eucharist.
While our correspondent's approach could well be acceptable in his particular pastoral context, I would be loath to elevate it to the level of a universal principle for the whole Church.
The Catholic Church has an ancient musical tradition, and some of the greatest music in history has been produced by composers with a clear Catholic identity.
However, much of this music was in the Latin language. Unfortunately, after the Second Vatican Council with the introduction of the vernacular at Mass, many considered the ancient Latin compositions as out of fashion, irrelevant or no longer usable.
Indeed, some languages, especially those that lacked any tradition of vernacular songs for the liturgy, suddenly found themselves with a dearth of good music adapted to the new liturgy. The repertoire of traditional vernacular songs was usually more suitable to expressions of popular piety than the liturgy.
Since the need for new music was pressing, many places took what they could get — and a lot it was dross.
Almost every country experienced a period of generally dreadful music, especially in the 1970s. In Spain, for example, many traditional American or English tunes were adapted with new words, raising tourists' eyebrows as they heard Spanish versions of "Nobody Knows the Troubles I've Seen," "Land of Hope and Glory" or "Blowing in the Wind" belted out at Mass, or even the "Lord, Have Mercy" and the "Sanctus" sung to the Beatles' “Hey Jude” and "Help!"
The situation has greatly improved over the years, and many fine Catholic composers of suitable liturgical music have emerged in almost every language. Italy, France and Spain have made great strides both in suitable hymns and Mass settings. Latin America is still a work in progress, albeit with some excellent contributions. German and English already had a certain patrimony of suitable hymns, but this has grown exponentially since the Council.
Hence, while it will still likely take several decades, it is probable that a new corpus of good liturgical music will be formed in accordance with the principles of Vatican II and authentic Catholic tradition, along with a recovery in the legitimate use of the best music from the Catholic Latin and vernacular heritage.
Although some bishops' conferences have produced lists of songs to form a minimal national repertoire, in most cases it is left to the judgment of local bishops as to the suitability of a particular song. Mass settings, on the other hand, generally require approval at the level of the bishops' conference liturgy office.
Gleaning from several sources, I think we can say that there is a general consensus as to what makes suitable liturgical music. With no pretension of being exhaustive, I suggest some general criteria:
-- The text of compositions of a hymn or song should be inspired by Scripture, the liturgy, and the writings of the saints although vested in a poetic form.
-- They should contain sound doctrine and spiritual teaching.
-- The text should be, in some way, a community confession of faith, expressing perennial and orthodox truths rather than current issues.
-- As a corollary to the above point, liturgical hymns should prefer the "we" to the "I." This is not an absolute rule; the "I" may be used if the I is found in Scripture or can be interpreted in a community way. In other words, the songs used in the liturgy should not be an expression of a personal individualistic devotion even though they may be used in other contexts.
-- Liturgical melodies are there to assist in prayer and should be distinctive in style and tone from worldly music. Their function is to elevate the spirit — not set the foot tapping or the imagination rolling. Therefore, they should never be baptized versions of current hits (or, as is more common, hits from the previous generation) but should seek to express the religious value of the text. For the text in Catholic tradition always has priority over the music and in a sense is its soul.
-- Insofar as possible, liturgical music should be able to be sung by an assembly with or without the support of a choir without excluding the occasional use of more complex polyphonic melodies.
All this should be taken into account in the case of Protestant hymns, especially in the English language, given the great number and variety of such compositions.
Many Protestant songs would not fulfill the above criteria, even though they might contain no doctrine contrary to the Catholic faith or any ambiguity. They were written for a different spiritual and a distinct style of worship than that of Catholic liturgy.
Quite a few songs are excessively personal and devotional in sentiment and often require trained vocalists rather than the whole assembly to execute them. If they have nothing against the faith, they may occasionally be used in other spiritual contexts such as retreats.
Some can never be used because the text contains doctrine that is explicitly contrary to Catholic teachings or is at least ambiguous.
Given the vast quantity of such music, we must also recognize some elements that could permit their use. For example, there are some nominally Protestant hymns, particularly of the Anglican tradition, that are actually English translations of Catholic Greek, Latin or Celtic texts.
Indeed, some were deliberately composed by certain High Church Anglicans to secretly introduce Catholic-leaning ideas into Anglican worship. Among these is a popular version of “St. Patrick's Breastplate,” composed by Cecil Frances Alexander, wife of an Anglican archbishop, in 1889 and quickly adopted by Catholics as well. She is also the author of the popular Christmas hymn "Once in David's Royal City."
Another example is the hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," based on the Catholic Divine Office antiphons for the final days of Advent and composed by Anglican clergyman Thomas Helmore (1811-1890).
Among examples of hymns that were composed by Protestants yet have been widely adopted into Catholic worship in English we could count "O Sacred Head Sore Wounded" composed by J.S. Bach; "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today" first appearing in 1749; "Now Thank we all Our God" by Lutheran clergyman Martin Rinkart (1586-1649); "Praise to the Lord" by J. Neander (1650-1680); and "Abide with Me" by Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847). The latter was reputedly St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta's favorite hymn and was used at her funeral.
Finally, while maybe a stretch, St. John Henry Newman's "Lead Kindly Light" was composed while he still firmly defended the Anglican Communion.
Given this history, and with due precaution and pastoral prudence, it is possible to use Protestant compositions provided they fit the criteria for Catholic liturgical worship and have no doctrinal difficulties.
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