The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass (abbr. TLM) or the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Extraordinary Form for short; Latin: forma extraordinaria), is the Roman Rite Mass which appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. The most widely used Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in 1969, it is celebrated in ecclesiastical Latin.
"Tridentine" is derived from the Latin Tridentinus, "related to the city of Tridentum" (modern-day Trent, Italy). In response to a decision of the Council of Trent,Pope Pius V promulgated the 1570 Roman Missal, making it mandatory throughout the Latin Church, except in places and religious orders with missals from before 1370. Despite being often described as "the (Traditional) Latin Mass", the Mass of Paul VI (the Novus Ordo Missae) that replaced it as the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite has its official text in Latin and is sometimes celebrated in that language.
In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, accompanied by a letter to the world's bishops authorizing use of the Tridentine Mass and Ritual for competent priests. The Pope stated that the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal is to be considered an "extraordinary form" (forma extraordinaria) of the Roman Rite, of which the 1970 Mass of Paul VI is the ordinary, normal or standard form. Since that is the only authorized extraordinary form, some refer to the 1962 Tridentine Mass as "the extraordinary form" of the Mass. The 1962 Tridentine Mass is sometimes referred to as the "usus antiquior" (older use) or "forma antiquior" (older form), to differentiate it from the Mass of Paul VI, again in the sense of being the only one of the older forms for which authorization has been granted.