Pius Parsch, born John Bruno Parsch (May 18, 1884 – March 11, 1954) was a priest of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Parsch was born in Neustift near Olmutz,

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

, in what is now the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. He was given the name ''Pius'' when he entered the community of

Canons Regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...

in Klosterneuburg Abbey. He was a leading figure in the

Liturgical Movement The Liturgical Movement was a 19th-century and 20th-century movement of scholarship for the reform of worship. It began in the Catholic Church and spread to many other Christian churches including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran and some other Pro ...

, publishing the results of recent liturgical scholarship in popularly accessible books in German. Some of these were translated into English, including ''The Liturgy of the Mass'' (Herder, 1940), ''The Breviary Explained'' (id., 1952), and ''The Church's Year of Grace'' (Liturgical Press, 1953). Parsch promoted the "volksliturgischen" or "People's Mass". This early practice of the liturgical renewal was notable for celebration at a free standing altar with the priest facing the people (which he instituted at St. Gertrud Kirche), gothic vestments and an emphasis on the liturgical seasons rather than the

calendar of the saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

. These features were all permitted but uncommon prior to Vatican Council II. Parsch died on in

Klosterneuburg Klosterneuburg () is a town in the Tulln District of the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Frequently abbreviated to Kloburg by locals, it has a population of about 27,500. The Stift Klosterneuburg ( Klosterneuburg Monastery), which was establish ...

, aged 69.

References

Sources

Autobiographical chapter
in The Book of Catholic Authors. {{DEFAULTSORT:Parsch, Pius Czech Roman Catholic writers 1884 births 1954 deaths