Maryvale Institute - Latin Language Course - Ecclesial Latin for beginners

Latin Language Course — Ecclesial Latin for Beginners

The language the Church has prayed in for nearly two thousand years

Latin is not a dead language. It is the living tongue of the Western Church — the language of the Mass, of the Roman Breviary, of the Vulgate Scriptures, of two millennia of theological and spiritual writing. From the moment the Gospel reached the Latin world, Latin became the Church's voice in the West, and it has never stopped being so.

To learn Latin is to be welcomed into a vast inheritance: the writings of Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome; the prayers and hymns of Aquinas; the encyclicals of every Pope from St Peter's chair; the antiphons of the Liturgy of the Hours; the treasury of sacred music. To follow the Latin Mass — whether the Novus Ordo or the Traditional Latin Mass — is to find that what once felt foreign begins to come home.

This course teaches Ecclesial Latin from the very beginning, no prior knowledge assumed. Across thirty-five weeks, students will move from the alphabet through the structure of Latin grammar to short Latin texts: prayers, Psalm verses, snippets of the Mass, and pages of the Vulgate. By the end, they will be reading and praying with the Church in her own tongue.

The conviction behind the course

Magnus es, Domine, et laudabilis valde.

"Great are you, O Lord, and exceedingly worthy of praise." — St Augustine, Confessions I.1 (opening words)

For sixteen centuries, those who have read these words in Latin have been carried by the cadence Augustine heard in his own ear when he wrote them. To know Ecclesial Latin, even at a beginner's level, is to be able — at last — to read with that ear.

The course teaches Latin as a tool for prayer, reading, and entry into tradition. The aim is not virtuoso scholarship but literacy: the steady, unhurried capacity to open the Missal, the Vulgate, or a page of the Fathers and read with understanding.

It is designed for those who follow the Traditional Latin Mass and want to understand it from within; for those who attend the Novus Ordo and wish to engage its Latin chants and prayers; for catechists and lay theologians; and for any reader who wants direct access to the Western Catholic tradition in its own voice.

Requirements

This course has no academic prerequisites, but it relies heavily on basic computer skills and a working knowledge of English. To take part, you will need:

A reliable internet connection and access to a computer or tablet (a smartphone alone is not sufficient for written assignments

Basic computer skills — comfortable using email, navigating a virtual learning environment (such as Canvas), joining live online sessions, and uploading written work as a Word or PDF document.

A working knowledge of English. Materials, lectures, and assessments are in English throughout. As a guide, we recommend at least CEFR level B2 (upper intermediate) — sufficient to follow the live lectures and to absorb instruction in English grammar terms.

If you are unsure whether your English or computer skills are at the right level, please get in touch before applying — we are happy to talk it through.

Course structure

Thirty-five weeks of teaching, with a 75-minute weekly live lecture on Canvas (instruction plus Q&A, discussion, and translation practice). The course follows a graded progression: alphabet and pronunciation, the five declensions, the four conjugations, syntax, and the steady building of vocabulary drawn from the Mass, the Vulgate, and the Roman Breviary. By the closing weeks, students are reading short selections of liturgical and patristic Latin directly.

Assessment is by a final written exam — a passage of Ecclesial Latin to translate. The exam is optional: students who wish to receive a certificate sit it; students who do not, take the full course without it.

Schedule

Course start: 22 September 2026.
Duration: 35 weeks
Live lectures: Tuesday, 17.45–19.00 UK time (75 minutes).

*Dates are subject to change; students will be informed in due course.

Practicalities

Format: online via Canvas; asynchronous weekly sessions and live tutorials every 6 weeks.
Duration: 35 weeks (approximately 90 to 100 hours total workload).
Validation: Maryvale Higher Institute of Religious Sciences (HIRS) — Level 3, 3 ECTS.
Fee: £300 — includes the final translation exam, for students who wish to receive a certificate
Academic requirements: none.
Cohort: maximum 20 students.
Textbook: A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin by John F. Collins (Catholic University of America Press) — students purchase their own copy.
Course lead: Dr Jack Bull.

Apply

Application deadline: 30 August 2026. Course start: 22 September 2026.

APPLY

If you have any questions before applying, please make an online enquiry below or call 0121 3608118.

Study With Us - Latin Language Course - Ecclesial Latin for beginners

Latin Language Course — Ecclesial Latin for Beginners

The language the Church has prayed in for nearly two thousand years

Apply

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