Doing It Rite: Specialized Catholic Action and Liturgical Renewal in Quebec, 1930s–1960s

Abstract

This investigation of the intersection of Specialized Catholic Action and liturgical renewal in Quebec from the 1930s to the early 1960s analyzes the theological foundations of liturgical renewal and explores the ways in which these ideas were communicated and received. What emerges is an important source for Catholic Action spirituality that complements influences such as personalist thought, yet it is too often overlooked in scholarship on Quebec. Liturgical renewal was shared with other segments of the Church in Quebec, was actively encouraged by the hierarchy, and embodied the connection between activities internal to the Church and the Church’s role in society.