I went to a Latin mass yesterday (St William of York, Reading, UK). It was the first time I have been to a Roman Catholic service in about forty years, since my Irish granny took me to hers. It was slightly awkward, because I did not know all the gestures, for instance, kneeling before the altar when you come in, crossing yourself, etc. There was a lot of standing up and kneeling down. The priests were definitely speaking Latin, except for some English towards the end. They were speaking it quite quickly, and facing the altar, so apart from the odd 'agnus dei' and 'Domine', I could not catch much of it.
A couple of weeks ago I went to what I thought was an Anglican church, St Mark's, in another part of Reading. I saw a statue of a woman wearing blue, so I thought this must be a Catholic church. The priest went to the altar and went through the ritual, and I hardly understood any of it. It was in a foreign language, but not one I understood. It did not sound much like Latin, although I thought I caught the word 'Dominus'. I wondered whether I had wandered into a Polish church. I am pretty sure now it was a Greek Orthodox service, although it was taking place in an Anglican church.
A couple of weeks ago I went to what I thought was an Anglican church, St Mark's, in another part of Reading. I saw a statue of a woman wearing blue, so I thought this must be a Catholic church. The priest went to the altar and went through the ritual, and I hardly understood any of it. It was in a foreign language, but not one I understood. It did not sound much like Latin, although I thought I caught the word 'Dominus'. I wondered whether I had wandered into a Polish church. I am pretty sure now it was a Greek Orthodox service, although it was taking place in an Anglican church.