You may also recall, it was not that long ago, the Catholic Mass was celebrated in Latin.
To point out a big difference though - people were *taught* to *read* said Latin. And speak it.
Longer ago, it was more of a issue to keep people controlled (Hense Luther, et al), but more recently (unless you meant pre-Luther) it wasn't the same thing. People could - and most were - expected to learn Latin as part of their studies.
Not just memorize what was said to have been said. That's History. :)
Addison