Over the last two thousand years, the liturgical worship of the Catholic Church has progressively grown and organically developed into various liturgical rites, coexisting harmoniously throughout the world.

At present, over 90% of Masses (or Divine Liturgies) celebrated in the Catholic Church worldwide are in the Roman Rite. Most Catholics in Canada are accustomed to Masses celebrated in the Roman Rite. In a 2007 apostolic letter (motu proprio) entitled Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI established that there are two Forms of the one Roman Rite. In other words, there are two authentic, valuable, and holy ways of celebrating the Mass and other sacraments within the Roman Rite.

These two Forms of the Mass are the Ordinary Form (Forma ordinaria), sometimes called the “Novus Ordo Mass”, and the Extraordinary Form (Forma extraordinaria), sometimes referred to as the “Tridentine Mass” or the “Traditional Latin Mass”. The Ordinary Form Mass is the Roman Missal (Missale Romanum) promulgated by Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1970 as revised by subsequent popes, especially by Pope St. John Paul II. Most Masses are celebrated according to the Ordinary Form. The Extraordinary Form of the Mass corresponds to the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope St. John XXIII in 1962.

The Grey-Bruce Latin Mass Community exists to support the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in the Grey-Bruce area.