The Cornish People’s Mass, a Eucharistic service entirely in the Cornish language, has been recognised with a prestigious award for its cultural significance. This is the story …
Cornish language service
Cornish – called Kernewek by its speakers – is the ancient native language of Cornwall, a region in the far southwest of Britain. It is a Celtic language related to Welsh and more closely linked to the Breton language spoken in parts of Brittany.
In the pre-Reformation period, when Cornish was widely spoken across Cornwall, the Mass would have been said in church Latin. When the Church of England was created, services went from Latin to English, at a time when many people still only knew Cornish.
Unlike in Wales, where the Prayer Book and Bible were translated into Welsh, this never happened in Cornish, and many people feel that, had the Bible been available in Cornish, it would have helped to save the language, as it did in Wales.
The Cornish language never quite went extinct, but as the language was dying out in the Victorian era, people sought to save it before it was forgotten and a revival began. Today, the main language of Cornwall is English, but a growing army of enthusiasts maintain the revived Cornish language, and Cornish is now recognised as a British minority language.
A new sung liturgical Eucharist (sometimes called the Mass) setting has now been produced in Cornish for the first time. This was celebrated at the Anglican Truro Cathedral on 3 June 2026. Over a hundred people from all over Cornwall attended, including Cornish speakers and people who recognised the significance of the occasion for the Cornish language and culture.
It was an immensely moving event. One woman remarked that she came expecting it to be a bit of a performance, but that it was in fact deeply prayerful and spiritual. The service was also streamed live and can be watched on YouTube.
A People’s Mass
The idea for a Cornish People’s Mass came from the poet Tim Saunders, based on an Irish People’s Mass, ‘Ceol an Aifrinn’, which uses elements and styles of Irish folk music.
Saunders floated the idea with the Rev Canon Jane Kneebone, an Anglican vicar who leads services in English but also arranges and leads services in Cornish throughout the year. She was inspired by the idea and commissioned folk singer, writer, storyteller and researcher Mike O’Connor to compose the People’s Mass.
The idea of a People’s Mass is that it is something anyone can sing, and this one would be based on a folk-song style and sung in unison. O'Connor agreed and, as a Christian himself, immediately understood the vision.
Kneebone then worked with Rev Ross Crichton, a Latin specialist and Scots Gaelic and Cornish speaker, to produce a faithful Cornish translation of the text from the original Latin source. After extensive research into early liturgical music in Cornwall, O’Connor composed a setting based on Cornish folk and psalm tunes.
The result is beautiful, and the music and words fitted together perfectly, with little amendment needed. As Mike commented, in his experience, ‘composition by committee’ never works, but this time it did.
Once the Mass was drafted, extensive checking took place by Kneebone, Crichton and Wella Morris, another Cornish scholar, until all were satisfied that the text, both musical and liturgical, was correct.
The setting was named ‘Oferen an Dasserghyans’ (Cornish for ‘Mass of the Resurrection’). This refers to Christ’s Resurrection, but ‘dasserghyans’ is also the word used in Cornish for the revival of the language, so it seemed doubly appropriate.
Launched in Truro Cathedral
Jane Kneebone contacted Truro Cathedral, which is the cathedral for the Anglican Diocese of Truro and the seat of the Bishop of Truro. It has been the Cathedral’s custom for some time to hold two Eucharists a year in Cornish, one sung with the Cathedral choir and one spoken.
They were genuinely excited about the project, and preparations began for a launch on the Eve of St Petroc’s Day, 3 June 2026. St Petroc is one of the great Cornish saints who helped to spread Celtic Christianity in Devon and Cornwall in the sixth century and is highly honoured in both Cornwall and Devon.
O’Connor prepared the text of the Oferen (Eucharist) for publication through Amazon. It is copyright-free and available to any church that wants to use it.
A rehearsal was held in a parish church the night before, and a full public rehearsal was held with the Cathedral’s Director of Music, James Anderson-Bezant, and the choir. It sounded wonderful and was very emotional for those involved.
Truro Cathedral livestreamed the service through its feed. It was a genuinely great occasion – deeply joyous, spiritual and life-affirming.
The service will be held again at Truro Cathedral on St Piran’s Day (5 March). St Piran is the patron saint of Cornwall, but the service is available to any parish church in Cornwall that would like to worship God in Holy Communion in Cornish and with culturally appropriate music.
Grand Bard’s Award
Every year, a gathering of Cornish bards called Gorsedh Kernow meets and honours people who support Cornish culture. Gorsedh Kernow has been incredibly supportive, recognising that this occasion was a milestone not just for Cornish Christianity, but also for the culture and the language.
The Grand Bard and Deputy Grand Bard both attended the service, marking the importance of the writing of the Oferen for Cornwall.
As a result, the Grand Bard, Jenefer Lowe, awarded the group behind the service her Grand Bard’s Award for 2026. The award was presented at the Gorsedh Annual Awards Ceremony in Bodmin, ahead of the main Gorsedh Ceremony on 4 September, which formed part of the Esedhvos Festival.
