FORT WORTH, TEXAS - Each Sunday afternoon, Michael and Cynthia Price travel from their North Richland Hills, Texas, home to attend a Latin Mass south of downtown Fort Worth. Several Catholic churches are closer, but their love of the rite known as the Tridentine Mass makes the 30-mile round trip worthwhile.

The couple, who were baptized into the Roman Catholic Church in 2001, sought the most traditional form of Christian worship, and "this is the one that stood out," said Michael Price, 39, a police officer. "We feel it's much more reverent."

Vatican officials in May confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI plans to loosen restrictions on the Tridentine Mass and revive the ancient rite because of renewed interest in it. Currently, local bishops must grant permission for priests to celebrate it, and a local ecclesiastical society assigns a priest proficient in Latin.

"I'm grateful we have it here," said Bishop Kevin Vann of the Fort Worth diocese. "If the Holy See expands its use, it's a big decision that would impact a lot of dioceses.

"There are not a lot of us who would know how to celebrate it," he said. "It's more detailed and complex with more use of the hands, and the whole construction of the rite is very different. You really have to study it."

While early Christians worshiped in Hebrew or Aramaic, Latin -- the language of ancient Rome -- eventually became a universal language and that of the Roman Catholic Church.

The ritual of the Latin Mass was standard for centuries until the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s. Masses in the local vernacular, with more participation by worshippers, were ushered in with the aim to relate the church to contemporary culture, Catholic leaders say.

In contemporary Mass, some Latin can be used -- usually at the beginning or ending -- in song, and worshippers are encouraged to sing along, Vann said.

In the Tridentine Mass, however, Latin is spoken throughout by the priest and servers.

Pope John Paul II gave permission in 1984 for its use with approval of the local bishop.

The Tridentine Mass is printed in prayer books with the Latin on one side and the English translation on the opposite page. Prayer books are also available with translations in other languages.

Many longtime Catholics prefer the Latin ritual of their youth, but "there's quite a bit of interest among young people, too," said the Rev. Joseph Terra, 49, who celebrates Latin Mass at St. Mary of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church in Fort Worth. He also conducts Latin Mass at two Dallas locations.

"The Latin Mass is more contemplative. It's orderly; it doesn't constantly change. It was used for centuries and meets a need. It didn't endure all that time for nothing."

Across the country, Latin Mass is celebrated at 259 churches, hospital chapels, military bases and universities, according to a directory of the Mater Dei Latin Mass Community.

About 200 people worship regularly at the Fort Worth church's weekly Latin Mass. About 400 do so during the week at the Dallas locations, with about 300 on Sundays, Terra said. "Most of our people are quite young," he said.

Some people remain skeptical about Latin Mass. Although it is translated in prayer books, "a common accusation is that it's in a language nobody understands," Terra said.

Michael Price said he and his wife have a sense of unity in speaking and hearing Latin with other worshippers, including those of other ethnic and cultural groups.

Cynthia Price, 30, a birth registrar, dons a veil for worship, as do many women who attend Latin Mass. That is not a requirement but an ancient custom, Terra said.

Unlike in most contemporary Masses, the priest does not face the congregation.

Terra said the practice is "not so much that you are not facing the people as that you are facing the altar, facing God. It's like in an airplane," he said. "The pilot is not facing you -- he's facing where you're going."

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