Made Holy by the Praises of God:
The Liturgy of the Hours in the Life of the Church
Join the Society for Catholic Liturgy’s 2026 conference, “Made Holy by the Praises of God: The Liturgy of the Hours in the Life of the Church,” from September 23-25 at the Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. If you wish to present a paper, proposals are due April 13, 2026.
The forthcoming and greatly anticipated publication of a revised English translation of the Liturgia Horarum presents a generational opportunity to meet the hopes of the Liturgical Movement and the Second Vatican Council with a renewed appreciation for the place of the Divine Office today. As such, the 2026 Annual Conference of the Society for Catholic Liturgy will address the topic, Made Holy by the Praises of God: The Liturgy of the Hours in the Life of the Church.
In his 1947 encyclical letter Mediator Dei, Pope Pius XII taught that “the Divine Office is the prayer of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, offered to God in the name and on behalf of all Christians.” On the eve of the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII wrote that “nothing is more precious for a priest than the recitation of the praise of God, that is the Divine Office.” Sacrosanctum Concilium addressed this same topic, describing the canonical hours as the means by which “the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praises of God.” The same Constitution addressed the theological basis for the Liturgy of the Hours, promoting its celebration not only amongst those bound by canonical duty, but in a common, ecclesial, and liturgical way by all the Christian faithful.
Despite its decades-long promotion by the highest authorities in the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours is still often remote from many people, and all-but-absent from the liturgical life of most parishes. The public celebration of Sunday Vespers, to the extent that it existed in the past, has almost entirely ceased, replaced (if at all) by an evening Mass or popular devotions. While the last decades have seen an increase in Eucharistic adoration, this is often accompanied by acts of personal piety, rather than by the public liturgical forms given by the Church for sanctifying the hours of the day.
Proposals from across the disciplines are therefore invited on this subject for our 2026 Annual Conference. Successful submissions will address some aspect of the Divine Office. Topics might include the sanctification of time, the history of the Liturgy of the Hours, its liturgical celebration, or its theology. The role of sacred music (especially the psalms, canticles, and hymns), architecture and liturgical space in relation to public celebration, and the canonical hours in literature and culture, could also be studied. Heortological issues, liturgical translation, and various reforms of the breviary are also themes to which consideration might be given. Papers will be in two categories: full papers (30 minutes) and student papers (20 minutes). All presenters will deliver a written, scholarly paper, and are encouraged to submit their work for peer review and potential publication in the Society’s journal, Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal. Abstracts of no more than 150 words are to be submitted using the online form available at liturgysociety. org/conference by April 13, 2026.
Notes for Student Proposals:
The Society welcomes contributions from graduate students across the disciplines who wish to address the conference theme. Students are invited to propose papers based on both: 1) the theme outlined above, and 2) some relevant aspect of their present academic research. Proposals from students are to be submitted together with a letter of recommendation from the student’s academic advisor or director, indicating suitability and relevance to the conference topic. Priority will be given to student members of the Society for Catholic Liturgy. Membership criteria may be found at our website.
Find more information about the conference and paper proposals at https://liturgysociety.org/page/2026Conference
Keynote Speakers
