Live translation for Mass, on the screen and on the phone
Livefy lets each parishioner follow the Mass in their own language as it is said: the homily, the readings and the announcements, on the parish screen and on their own phone, almost instantly. It serves the bilingual Mass, the English Mass with Spanish speakers in the pews, and the Spanish Mass with young people and visitors who follow better in English, translated into any of 109 languages.
When parishes use live translation for Mass
- The bilingual Mass. Holy Week, Christmas, Confirmation, First Communion and the parish feast day bring the communities together. Instead of saying everything twice, the priest can celebrate in one language while the rest of the parish reads along in theirs.
- The Spanish Mass, for the young people who follow the homily better in English, and for a husband or wife or a visitor who does not speak Spanish.
- The English Mass, for parishioners who pray in Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean, Polish or Portuguese.
- Weddings, funerals and quinceañeras where the families speak two languages: see weddings and funerals.
The missalette and the live translation
The prayers of the Mass and the readings have approved translations, printed in the English and Spanish missalettes. Livefy is a live machine translation of what is said, not the approved liturgical text. That is why it helps most with what no missalette holds: the homily, the parish's own prayers of the faithful, the announcements and anything said in the priest's own words.
The readings and prayers are translated live too, for anyone following on the screen or a phone. A parish that prefers the missalette for them can translate the homily and the announcements alone, with Pause and Resume.
How it runs at Mass
- The sound. A laptop or desktop computer with a web browser, near the sound desk, takes the sound from the mixer or from a microphone. In the Livefy console, set Speaker language to the language of the homily. If the priest moves between English and Spanish, choose the one he uses most; Livefy still hears the other.
- The screen. The translation appears on the projector or TV a word at a time, as see-through captions over the slides in ProPresenter, or over the livestream in OBS Studio or vMix.
- The phones. Parishioners scan the QR code in the bulletin, at the door or on the screen, and read along, or listen with earphones to a translated voice. No app, no account, no parish Wi-Fi.
- The music. Press Pause during the hymns, and Resume when the speaking starts again. Pause stops translation.
The guide to translating a sermon live goes through a Sunday step by step, and the setup guide shows the sound connections.
What to expect
Like any live translation, it makes mistakes, most often with names, uncommon words and unclear sound. Sound taken straight from the mixer helps most, and so does saying Scripture references plainly. The fairest test is a whole Mass with your own priest.
What it costs a parish
The Church plan is $45 a month for 10 hours of translation a month: enough for 13 Masses a month in one language, counting 45 minutes of translation each. Paid yearly, it is $39 a month. Each further language uses its own hours.
The first 4 hours are free, with no card, to use in the first 14 days: enough to try it at a real Mass. The hours estimator works out the plan for your own Masses, and every plan is on the pricing page.
Questions
Is it the approved translation of the Mass?
No. Livefy translates what is said, live, by machine. The approved texts of the prayers and readings are the ones in the missalette; Livefy is most useful for translating the homily and the announcements, which no missalette has.
Can the priest celebrate in one language while the parish reads in another?
Yes. The priest celebrates in one language, and each parishioner reads or hears the translation in theirs, on the screen or on a phone. Several languages can run at once, each using its own hours.
Do parishioners need an app?
No. They scan a QR code with the phone’s camera, and the translation opens in the browser, with no app and no account.
What about parishioners without a phone?
Where the church has a screen or TV, the translation on it is for everyone. If the parish already has an interpreting system, the audio feed sends the translated voice into its transmitter.
Is the Mass recorded?
No. Livefy never stores the sound of the Mass. Transcripts of the words are kept only if the parish turns on Keep the words of each service in Settings.