A pioneering and unpublished text of a "Mass without a Priest," destined for Catholic communities in the diocese of Metz, composed by Dominique François Hanon, a member of the Congregation of the Mission, the Vincentians, in 1795, during the period of the French Revolution. This devotional exercise is based on the Dry Mass (missa sicca) known from the Middle Ages. Hanon followed the prayers of the Mass, but had them recited by a lay reader, apparently male or female, aloud, and in French. He modified some traditional texts to reflect the position of Catholics at that time, and composed new material. Whether the text was ever used is unknown, but it is an indication of future developments in Catholic practice.