Abstract
abstract: In many large gatherings of priests, seminaries, and formation houses, daily concelebration among priests has become the default option in recent decades. A canonical question arises. Can a priest who has daily access to a concelebrated Mass legitimately choose to celebrate alone due to his devotion to the Eucharist? Contrary to the prevalent misconception that Vatican II aimed at eliminating private Mass through the promotion of concelebration, canon 904 encourages priests to offer daily Masses even when the faithful cannot be present. Canon 906 allows priests to celebrate Mass alone for a just and reasonable cause. Canon 902 stipulates that a priest has the complete freedom to offer Mass individually. This article shows that it is licit for a priest to celebrate alone even if there is a concelebration available, as long as the concelebration does not take place simultaneously in the same church or oratory. A Mass celebrated even without the participation of the faithful remains the center of the entire Church and the heart of priestly existence. The canonical right of a priest to celebrate alone, based on Vatican II's teachings on daily Mass in the life of a priest, must be safeguarded.
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