The Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition: What We Know So Far
Please Note
This is the Liturgy of the Hours for August 25. Your local date is .
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
For many years now, we have shared updates with you about the long-awaited Second Edition of the Liturgy of the Hours — the first major revision of the Church’s official daily prayer in the United States in more than fifty years. This year, that long journey has reached a major milestone and is now approaching its end.
Where Things Stand
In October 2025, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments confirmed the new English translation for liturgical use in the United States. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, President of the USCCB, then signed a decree of promulgation establishing two important dates:
Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2027, will be the first-use date — the day the Second Edition becomes lawful for use. The First Sunday of Advent, December 3, 2028, will be the mandatory-use date — the day the current translation is retired.
Between these two dates lies a period of transition, sometimes called a vacatio legis, during which the faithful and clergy alike may continue praying with their current volumes while the new edition becomes available.
Can I Keep Praying With My Current Books?
This is a question we hear often, the answer is Yes, for most of you, nothing changes right away.
Between Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2027 (the first-use date) and the First Sunday of Advent, December 3, 2028 (the mandatory-use date), your current four-volume set remains entirely valid for prayer. You are not required to buy the new edition the moment it becomes available.
The distinction that matters is between obligation and devotion:
If you are a priest, deacon, or religious bound by canon law to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, the current translation continues to fulfill that obligation right up until the mandatory-use date. Starting December 3, 2028, the Second Edition will be required for you. If you are a layperson praying the Hours as an act of personal devotion, you are not bound by that same canonical obligation, so nothing forces you to purchase the new set on any particular date. You are free to continue praying with the volumes you already have.
That said, we do encourage everyone — clergy, religious, and laity alike — to plan on transitioning to the Second Edition by the mandatory-use date, the First Sunday of Advent, December 3, 2028. Praying the same texts as the rest of the Church, in the same words at the same hours, is part of what makes the Liturgy of the Hours a shared, public prayer of the whole Body of Christ rather than a private devotion. We are not in a position to encourage an earlier move: as of this writing, the USCCB has not yet established a licensing model for digital editions of the Second Edition, so we do not yet have the rights to publish the new text on DivineOffice.org. We are hopeful that a digital licensing path will be in place well before the 2028 deadline, at which point we intend to make the new text available and begin the work of recording new audio for the Second Edition.
Two Publishers, Four Volumes
The USCCB has selected Ascension Press and Word on Fire Publishing as the exclusive publishers of the new four-volume breviary. Both have opened pre-orders since July 1, 2026, beginning with Volume II, covering Lent and Easter — fittingly, the first volume needed for the Ash Wednesday first-use date. The remaining three volumes are expected to follow throughout the year, with the complete four-volume set anticipated by the end of 2027. Bundles for preordering the Full 4-Volume are also available.
Four additional publishers have also been selected to produce single-volume “major extracts” — editions containing Lauds, Vespers, and Compline — for those who do not need the full four-volume breviary for daily prayer.
What About Digital and Audio Formats?
This is a question many of you have asked us directly, since so much of what we do here at DivineOffice.org depends on digital text and recorded audio. The answer is that the USCCB has not yet announced a timeline for digital or alternative formats. The Bishops’ Conference has stated only that availability will be determined and shared at a later date. We hope and pray that these details will be resolved in a way that lets us continue the mission many of you have come to depend on and that we have carried for nearly twenty years now, bringing the Liturgy of the Hours to everyone in the United States and the world. Especially our visually, hearing impaired, homebound brothers and sisters who pray with us through our audio or the accessible versions.
A word about the Spanish version
Some of you have also asked whether this new translation affects our own Spanish Liturgy of the Hours project. It does not. The USCCB’s Second Edition is an English-language undertaking, and the USCCB has not confirmed a Spanish edition of its own. Existing Spanish translations approved by other bishops’ conferences remain entirely valid for prayer, and our work on recording the Liturgy of the Hours in Spanish continues on its own path, independent of this transition.
Continuing to Walk Together
We know many of you have waited a long time for this new edition, and we share your anticipation. As always, we will continue to follow the USCCB’s official announcements closely and share verified updates with you as they come. Many of you know the many obstacles this work has overcome in 20 years of existence. God willing, we will do so for many more. The current translation will be maintained and updated as until now through website, podcasts and apps and every effort will be made to sustain and expand our mission in the world.
Thank you for praying with us, today and always.
The Divine Office Team
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THANK YOU FOR THE DYSLEXIC FONT TYPE.
Hello, we did not get a chance to announce this new accessibility feature to the community, so we are very glad you found it on your own. God bless!
Monica
DivineOffice.org
Where is the best place to puchsase the complete set? Should we pre-purchase?
Will the one-volume Christian prayer be revised as well?
Will the Divine Office Team replace all the prayers? and if that time where that second edition comes, will this affect our prayer outside the US? Some people are not American and might be praying the USSCB LOH outside of the US instead of the normal English Translation. Correct me if I am wrong
Hello, we will keep the current translation as is, updated and maintained, available on the website and app for all those that can and will want to use it, God willing, for many years to come. Many people in the US and all from the world, which have been with us for many years and for which the new translation is not mandatory, will be able to access this work. God bless!
I am a priest, and have relied on Divine Office to pray my LOH for years. I can still use the books, but the constant turning to different sections – I find distracting and confusing. Is there someone that those who use your website may write, to encourage that the necessary permission and licensing be extended to you?
Hello Father, we appreciate your kind intention and willingness to help. Members of our community have written to the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship in the past, in support of this work which has become an integral part of their prayer life and a valuable aid in sustaining the habit of praying the liturgy of the hours every day. If expressed as testimony for its value, we are sure it will be received in the kindness it was given. That being said, we would like to make clear that we discourage any attempt at presure or harassment. We are grateful for the opportunities given and hope to carry this work forward, into the future. God bless this community with many more years, together in prayer!
Too expensive And Barron is controversial
This comment saddens me. Bishop Barron’s life mission is to bring The Word to the whole world. Please don’t confuse the obvious agendas of the political rhetoric and biased news that swirls around the US and beyond with the truthful message of Faith proclaimed by this holy servant of God. As Catholic Christians we are called to stand firm in this truth during turbulent times. This is the time for that discernment and steadfastness. May God bless you and the whole world.
How are we to dispose of the current books when we purchase a new set?
Our Vicar for Clergy has advised us that all old liturgical books and other sacred items that can no longer be used or salvaged can be handed over to the Catholic cemetery sexton. He can then bury them with the vault at funeral burials. So you can do that, or even a local funeral director can help.
So you will have a time gap, that is, when you will be offline? I surely hope not.
No, we will not, we will be online to make this work available to those that will be able to use it. For as long as we’ll be able to do this work. God bless!
No matter the changes and challenges forthcoming, God will not allow impedance if this work is truly after His heart. In all circumstances, then, let His will be done. Blessings for all the days ahead.
Thank you, Divine Office Team!