Wert wrote a considerable amount of sacred music, but little of it was published during his lifetime. He published only three books of motets, one in 1566 and the other two in 1581; a few of his works, such as the "Missa Dominicalis" appeared in anthologies with the music of other composers. His other six masses remained in manuscript, as did the majority of the music he wrote for Santa Barbara in Mantua. Most likely this was because he was commissioned to write that music, such as his cycle of 127 hymns, specifically for that institution, and his publisher was in Venice.