Did Traditionis Custodes ban the Latin Mass?

What the document says

Pope Francis issued Traditionis Custodes on 16 July 2021. Its first article states that the liturgical books promulgated after the Second Vatican Council "are the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite." It then sets out how the older Missal may still be used:

• It is the diocesan bishop's "exclusive competence to authorize the use of the 1962 Roman Missal in his diocese" (art. 2).
• For groups already attending the older Mass, the bishop designates places to celebrate it, "not however in the parochial churches", and without creating new personal parishes (art. 3).
• Priests ordained after 2021 must ask their bishop, who "shall consult the Apostolic See" before granting permission (art. 4). Priests already celebrating must ask to continue (art. 5).
• Earlier norms that conflict with it, including Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum, are abrogated (art. 8).

Why people say it was a ban

In practice, the restrictions have meant fewer celebrations in many dioceses, the loss of parish-church locations and more permissions needed from Rome, and some bishops have ended the older Mass in particular places. That is why many traditionalist commentators speak of a ban. But the text itself regulates and limits the older Mass rather than forbidding it, and in his accompanying letter Pope Francis said he acted because the earlier permissions, meant to restore unity, had been "exploited to widen the gaps".

Under Pope Leo XIV

As of October 2026 the document has not been changed. In an interview published that month, Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, said of Pope Leo XIV: "He is not going to change Traditionis Custodes."