How to Learn Church Latin With Comprehensible Input

Church Latin you can mostly follow teaches you more than a page you have to decode word by word. Comprehensible input is Latin like that: you understand most of it, so the words you know show you what a new one means. Many learners already carry a few lines of Church Latin in their heads from Mass, and those lines are a good place to begin.

About one new word in each sentence, while you still follow the meaning.

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Here's a sentence we wrote for this guide: Sacerdos populum salutat. If you know sacerdos (priest) and populum (the people), salutat (greets) is the only new word. The ending -um on populum shows that the people are the ones being greeted. The next line in the Mass, Dominus vobiscum, is the greeting itself.

Pick the row that sounds like you. The books and recordings below don't use these levels, so treat each link as a place to start.

1. Level 1

   I know a few Latin words, like et cetera.

   The easiest way to start is Bubblegum, where Poppy, your AI tutor, writes short lessons at your level about your interests and goals, such as the prayers and responses of the Mass. The other way is a textbook. Get Familia Romana and read one chapter at a time while you play its Church pronunciation audio from the Hackett website, which you buy separately.

   Familia Romana →
2. Level 2

   I can read simple sentences.

   If you use Bubblegum, read its Level 2 lessons with the translation hidden. If you use the textbook, finish its later chapters. Read the Apostles' Creed on The Latin Library, then say it aloud until you can follow every line.

   Early Christian Creeds →
3. Level 3

   I can read short stories with a dictionary.

   At this level you need more words, so read and hear a lot. Bubblegum reuses the words you saved in new Level 3 lessons. Lingua Sacra shows a prayer with its grammar explained word by word, so pick one prayer and read it twice.

   Lingua Sacra →
4. Level 4

   I can read adapted texts, like simplified Caesar or Bible stories.

   Read Bubblegum lessons at Level 4 about things you're into. Read a short Gospel story with the Latin Vulgate beside the English, and cover the English until you've read the Latin through. Then read the words of a hymn like Adeste fideles on The Latin Library.

   Douay-Rheims Bible Online →
5. Level 5

   I can read real Latin prose slowly.

   Pick a chant from the Parish Book of Chant, play its free practice recording, and follow the Latin line by line. Then read the same text on the page without the music. Poppy can write your Level 5 lessons about anything you're into.

   Parish Book of Chant →
6. Level 6

   I can read the Missal, the Vulgate or Augustine as written.

   Read a page of Augustine on The Latin Library, or a question of Aquinas on Corpus Thomisticum, and note one sentence you want to say in your own words. Read Bubblegum lessons at Level 6 about the things you care about too.

   Christian Latin on The Latin Library →

When a row feels easy, try the next one. If almost every line sends you to the dictionary, go back a row.