| The Catholic Mass was conducted in Chinook throughout BC, long before Vatican
II made the use of vernaculars instead of Latin the norm in Catholic ritual.
The reason for this is that the Oblates, who were the main missionary arm
of the Catholic Church in BC, felt that the use of Latin in the Mass would
have been counterproductive to the understanding by the natives of the
Christian religion. In some cases, Mass was conducted in Chinook,
English, Latin, and the local native language in order that all
might understand - making for a very lengthy service indeed. The
pages of Kamloops Wawa, a publication of Kamloops diocese of the Catholic
Church, contain full versions of the Mass and other services in Chinook,
with Gregorian plainsong notation provided. The text of the Mass
will be reproduced here very shortly, and I hope to find a suitable choir
or ensemble to perform the Chinook version of the sung Gregorian melodies
which will be posted here as audio files for your enjoyment.
There was also an annual gathering of natives at Mission City every year, on the lands of the St. Mary's residential school, run by the Oblate Fathers. During this gathering, the Passion Play was performed in gory detail, and supposedly this was performed in Chinook. I am trying to find a copy of the script of this event, and will reproduce it here once it is found. The only liturgical item in Chinook currently on this site is the Chinook version of the Lord's Prayer.
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