The introit is the entrance song to the eucharistic celebration of the Catholic Church, sung to a prescribed text that is thematically linked to the season or the particular celebration and belongs to the category of antiphonal Mass chants. The introit chant is the last of the Mass propers to be researched in detail. In this groundbreaking study, Christoph Tietze presents the history and development of the introit through the ages. He has also composed congregational settings of the proper parts of the Mass for the liturgical year. This book shows how to make these texts practical for parish use. It will help pastors, music directors, and seminarians better understand the texts for use in today's liturgies. Book jacket.