In a decree dated October 18, 2025 (Prot. n. 58/24), the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has confirmed the English translation of the Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition for liturgical use in the United States. The final text was received by the USCCB in late November. The Holy See’s confirmation now begins the publication and implementation stage of this long-awaited revision of the Divine Office.
After consulting with the Committee on Divine Worship, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, USCCB President, signed a decree of promulgation on November 10, 2025, establishing the first-use date of the new breviary as Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2027, and the mandatory-use date as the First Sunday of Advent, December 3, 2028. All four volumes are expected to be published before the end of 2027, but a longer vacatio legis was established to allow for the publication of extracted editions—especially the one-volume edition that includes Lauds and Vespers—for the benefit of permanent deacons and the lay faithful.
The first volume to be released for sale will be Volume II (Lent and Easter Time) in January 2027, in time for the first-use date, with subsequent volumes following over the course of 2027. The one-volume edition will not be published earlier than 2028. It is possible, however, that some minor extracts of the Divine Office (such as the General Instruction, Daytime Hours, or Compline) could be released in late 2027 or early 2028.
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July 1, 2026
| Publishers may accept pre-orders. They will take orders for all four volumes, even though they will ship in increments. |
January 2027 | Volume II (Lent and Easter) ships |
Feb 10, 2027 | Volume II may be used (Ash Wednesday) |
April 2027 | Volume III (Ordinary Time Weeks 1-17) may be shipped |
May 17, 2027 | Volume III may be used (Monday after Pentecost) |
July 2027 | Volume IV (Ordinary Time Weeks 18-34) may be shipped |
August 1, 2027 | Volume IV may be used |
October 2027 | Volume I (Advent-Christmas) may be shipped |
November 28, 2027 | First Sunday of Advent — Volume I may be used |
2028 | Digital editions, one volume major extracts, and minor extracts |
December 3, 2028 | FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT – MANDATORY USE |
Purchasing Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition
The USCCB Committee on Divine Worship selected Ascension Press and Word on Fire Publishing to be the exclusive publishers of the Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition in the United States. They will be responsible only for producing the four-volume editions of the breviary, while the publication of other extracted editions, both major and minor, will be entrusted to other publishers.
Editions of the four-volume set will be available for sale beginning in January 2027, with each volume being released throughout the year. (Pre-orders available July 1, 2026.) Both publishers also announced the versions to be produced, though pricing, page counts per volume, and starting date for preorders will be announced in the future.
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