Salvadoran Catholics worship with music but little movement

  • Mass at the opening of the Cristo Negro Feast, Juayúa, El Salvador. Other than the priest, all of the roles at Mass from collection, to acolytes, lectors and Eucharistic ministers were taken by women.

Most music in Salvadoran churches features guitars and stringed instruments. Organ music is rare.

Lay people take an active role in Sunday worship. Women are generally slightly more in attendance than men, and often take leading roles in the service. 

Salvadorans tend to move very little and not to gesticulate much at Mass, though they do move around to one another during the kiss of peace. Dance was an important part of pre-Columbian culture there, and sometimes plays a role in the cofradías’ feasts, but it does not play a role in church worship. Charismatic Catholic Masses and services have brought more vibrancy and movement into Masses in some places, and charismatic Catholicism is said to be increasingly influential in the country.

Audio
Listen to music from a Mass at San Francisco de Asis.
Audio file