y the late 4th century CE, Ecclesiastical (Church) Latin had fully replaced Greek as the liturgical language of the Catholic Church, under the Pope in Rome. Developing from but ultimately distinct from forms of spoken Latin in the late Roman Empire, the language became an important lingua franca used across Europe in formal, mostly written contexts among educated and elite Europeans, in use as late as the 18th century. Throughout, and down to the present day, it has remained the official language of the Catholic Church, although more allowance was made for the use of verancular languages in the mass and other contexts following the Second Vatican Council on 1962. The Tridentine, or Traditional Latin Mass, nonetheless continues to be celebrated at some churches in the New York area, including Gowanus' Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church and Midtown's Shrine of the Holy Innocents.