Here’s the latest I can provide based on the most recent publicly reported updates.
Answer
- A new edition of the Liturgy of the Hours was approved by the Vatican and is slated for release by Easter 2027, with the first volume focusing on Lent and Easter and publishing through a major Catholic publisher group.[1][2]
Key points
- Background: The revision process began more than a decade ago to retranslate translations to align with Latin originals, involving the US bishops' Committee on Divine Worship and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship.[1]
- Publication timeline: Decree of publication was signed recently, setting a target for the first volume to be usable for Ash Wednesday 2027, with subsequent volumes to follow; the overall program spans multiple volumes, reflecting a four-volume work.[2]
- Publishers: Ascension and Word on Fire Publishing were selected as publishers for the new edition, supporting distribution and outreach to lay faithful alongside traditional clergy use.[2]
Context and cautions
- Practical impact: The new English edition is intended to better reflect the original Latin texts and is expected to influence rites and prayers used in parishes and by lay communities that choose to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.[1][2]
- Availability: While the Vatican has approved the edition, actual print runs and availability will depend on publishers’ schedules and diocesan adoption; Ash Wednesday 2027 is the anticipated start for the first volume’s use.[2]
Illustration
- If helpful, imagine the Liturgy of the Hours as a four-volume “daily prayer anthology” whose contents are aligned to the Latin sources, with Volume Two (Lent and Easter) being released first for use in early 2027.[2]
Citations
- Vatican final approval and 2027 target for Easter release.[1]
- Decree of publication and publishing plan, including first volume focus and Ash Wednesday 2027 usability.[2]
- Publishers selected for the new edition and remarks from publishers about outreach to lay faithful.[2]
If you’d like, I can pull through more detail on the specific contents of Volume Two, or summarize how the new translation differs from the current edition.
Sources
"We wanted a prayer book that would reflect who we are." Some congregations of women religious in the U.S. have their own versions of the Liturgy of the Hours — the daily prayer of the church.
www.globalsistersreport.orgLiturgy of the Hours - Latest news
www.catholicnewsagency.comBALTIMORE (OSV News) — The faithful can expect a new edition of the Liturgy of the Hours by Easter 2027, according to Bishop Steven J. Lopes, chairman of the U.S. Conference…
www.osvnews.comSo when might people be able to actually buy new breviaries? I’m estimating that 2024 is the best-case scenario for a published edition. The current plan has the bishops’ final vote on translations in June of 2023. So I am optimistic that if we get an approval in six months or less from Rome, that perhaps by Advent of 2024, that new breviaries might actually be available. But that, again, is our best-case scenario, and any number of factors could delay the completion.
divineoffice.orgThe faithful can expect a new edition of the Liturgy of the Hours by Easter 2027, according to Bishop Steven J. Lopes, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Divine Worship who made the announcement Nov. 11, during the bishops' fall meeting.
catholicreview.orgIn November 2012, the U.S. Bishops voted to revise the translation of the Liturgy of the Hours in light of the Roman Missal, Third Edition and the 2001 Vatic...
www.usccb.org