Christmas Masses in many languages

Most Masses on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the Worcester Diocese will be celebrated in English. But in some parishes Masses also will be celebrated in other languages, reflecting the diversity of the population in Central Massachusetts and the universality of the Catholic Church.
Some of the languages that were heard at Mass in area churches years ago, like Italian and French, have disappeared. But another, Polish, has been used for many years and still is heard in Masses in at least three parishes. They include Our Lady of Czestochowa in Worcester, St. Anthony Bobola in Dudley and St. Joseph Basilica in Webster, the first church built in New England for Polish Catholics.
Spanish is used in Masses in many diocesan churches. In some, Masses are celebrated in Brazilian and Portuguese. And some are celebrated in Swahili and Twi for those immigrants from Africa who have brought their Catholic faith with them.
At St. Andrew’s Mission, part of St. Peter’s Parish, and at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Fitchburg,  part of the Mass will be in Swahili, a language of Africa. A Mass in Brazilian will be celebrated at St. Stephen’s Parish, Worcester, and at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Worcester a Mass will be celebrated in Twi, an African language spoken in Ghana.
Bishop McManus will celebrate the midnight Mass at St. Paul Cathedral, which will be preceded by the traditional concert by the cathedral choir beginning at 11:30 p.m.
Masses at the cathedral on Dec. 24 also will be celebrated at 4 p.m. in English, and at 7 p.m. in Spanish. Masses on Christmas Day will be at 10:30 a.m., celebrated by Bishop McManus in English, and at noon in Spanish.
At Our Lady of Vilna Mass will be celebrated in English at 4 p.m. Dec. 24. At 6:30 p.m. there will be a procession, a play and music by the parish’s Vietnamese choir, followed at 7:30 p.m by Mass in Vietnamese. The choir also will sing at the 4 p.m. Mass in English. On Christmas Day there will be a children’s Mass at 10 a.m. in English and Vietnamese.
At Our Lady of Providence Parish Mass will be celebrated in English at 4 p.m. Dec. 24 and in Spanish at 7 p.m. On Christmas Day the 9 a.m. Mass will be in English and the 11 a.m. Mass will be in Spanish.
At Our Lady of Czestochowa there will be a Mass at 5 p.m. on Dec. 24. At midnight the Mass will be celebrated in Polish. The St. Cecilia Choir will sing. On Christmas Day there will be Masses in English at 6:30, 8:30 and 9 a.m., and in Polish at 7 and 11:30 a.m. The St. Cecilia Choir will sing at 11:30 a.m.
At. St. Joseph Basilica in Webster, there will be a Mass in English Dec. 24 at 4 p.m. The English Basilica Choir will sing. The Shepherd’s Mass at midnight will include a candlelight children’s procession and a concert of carols before Mass. On Christmas Day, there will be a Mass in English at 8:30 a.m., a family Mass with the children’s choir in English at 9:30 a.m. and a Mass in Polish at 11 a.m. with the Polish children’s choir.
In Dudley, St. Andrew Bobola Parish will have Masses in English at 4 p.m. Dec. 24 and at midnight - a Shepherd’s Mass. On Christmas Day Masses in English will be celebrated at 8 and 10:15 a.m., and in Polish at 9:15 a.m.
Several parishes will celebrate Masses in Spanish as well.
At Blessed John Paul II Parish in Southbridge, which includes Notre Dame, St. Mary and St. Hedwig churches, there will be a children’s Mass at 4 p.m., a Mass in English at 6 p.m., a Mass in Spanish at 8 p.m., and a midnight Mass with the parish choir. On Christmas Day there will be a Mass in English at 10  a.m.
At St. Louis in Webster, there will be a 5 p.m. Mass in English on Dec. 24, followed at 7 p.m. by Spanish Mass. On Christmas Day there will be Masses in English at 7, 9 and 11 a.m.
At St. Peter’s on Dec. 24 the 5 p.m. Mass in English will include a children’s pageant. There will be an 8 p.m. Mass in Spanish and 10 p.m. Mass in English, preceded at 9:30 by a concert of carols.
At St. Andrew the Apostle Mission Church of St. Peter’s Parish there will be a 4 p.m. Mass in English on Dec. 24 and an 11 p.m. African Mass in English and Swahili.
On Christmas Day there will be a Mass in English at St. Peter’s at 10 a.m. and an African Mass in English at St. Andrew’s at 11: 30 a.m.
At St. Francis of Assisi in Fitchburg, 4 p.m. Mass on Dec. 24 will be in English, and the 7 p.m. Mass will be in Spanish. Children of the religious education classes will perform pageants at each Mass. On Christmas Day the 9 a.m. Mass will be in English.
At St. Joan of Arc, Masses on Dec. 24 at 4:30 and 10 p.m. will be in English, and a Mass at 7 p.m. will be in Spanish. On Christmas Day Masses at 8 and 10 a.m. will be in English. At 2 p.m. there will be a Mass in Twi for Ghanaian parishioners.
At Holy Family of Nazareth in Leominster there will be a 4 p.m. Mass in English and a 7 p.m. Mass in Spanish on Dec. 24. On Christmas Day the Mass at 9 a.m. will be in English.
At St. Leo’s Parish in Leominster all six Masses will be in English. On Dec. 24 there will be Masses at 4 and 6 p.m. On Christmas Day the Masses will be at 7:30, 9, 10:30 and noon.
On Dec. 24 at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Fitchburg there will be Masses at 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and midnight. The 4 p.m. Mass is for children and the 6 p.m. Mass will have organ and cantor, as will the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Christmas Day. There will be a concert by the choir, singing carols in Italian and English, before the midnight Mass. All the Masses will be in English. At 1 p.m. on Christmas Day there will be an African Mass in Swahili, with cantor and organ.
St. Mary of the Assumption, Milford, will have Masses at 4 p.m. Dec. 24 in English in the upper church, in the chapel and in the upper church at 5:30 p.m. At 7:30 p.m. there will be a bi-lingual Mass in the upper church in Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish. The midnight Mass in English will be preceded at 11:30 p.m. by a concert by the adult choir.
On Christmas Day there will be Masses in English at 8 and 11 a.m. a Mass in Portuguese at 9:15 a.m. and a Mass in Spanish at 12:30 p.m., all in the upper church.