A Prayer Novena for the Fraternity of St Peter

We are glad to share this prayer request from the Fraternity of St Peter, which will renew this year the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Of course, I am certain that all our readers are praying continually for the good preservation of the institutes and churches that celebrate the traditional Roman Mass, but the upcoming Marian feasts are a good time to bring this intention to the fore.    

Three years ago, at a moment of deep incertitude, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter called out to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, mindful that never was it known that anyone who fled to her protection has been left unaided. Following a novena, the Fraternity consecrated itself to her Immaculate Heart on the very day that the Holy Father providentially published the decree reaffirming the practice and charism that the Fraternity has had from its foundation.

Three years later, in order to render thanks once again and implore her continual help, all the members of the Fraternity will solemnly renew this consecration. To represent them all, the members of the Plenary Council and I will recite the act of consecration at the Grotto of Lourdes on her feast day, February 11.

We ask all the faithful who are close to us to join in this novena of preparation February 2-10, 2025 and to renew the consecration on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, February 11, 2025.

Fribourg, January 18, 2025
Rev. John Berg
Superior General FSSP

Video of FSSP Priestly Ordinations in Germany

The German-language YouTube channel of the Fraternity of St Peter has recently issued a highlight video of the priestly ordination of seven men, celebrated this past June 15 in the church of Ss Peter and Paul in Lindenberg (Bavaria). The ordaining bishop was Wolfgang Haas, the retired (as of September of last year) archbishop of Vaduz, Lichtenstein, who had just celebrated his golden jubilee of his own priestly ordination. There are several shots of the beautiful custom (not formally a part of the rite) by which the newly ordained priests give to their mothers the cloth which is tied around their hands at the anointing. It is a long-standing custom that the mother of a priest is buried with this cloth in her hands, to symbolize that she gave a priest to God, and will be rewarded for this in heaven. Over 900 people were present for the ceremony. Feliciter, et ad multos annos!

Photos of a Recent FSSP Ordination

On May 29, the day before Corpus Christi, 11 deacons of the Fraternity of St Peter were ordained to the priesthood at the cathedral of St Cecilia in Omaha, Nebraska, by His Grace Terrence Prendergast, Archbishop Emeritus of Ottawa-Cornwall. We recently received these pictures of the ceremony, which is, of course, really too rich for any reasonably sized photopost to capture in full, so I have also included a video of the complete ceremony. Many thanks to the photographer, Lucia De Anda, and our congratulations (slightly belated) to all the new priests, to their families, and to the FSSP - ad multos annos!

The ordinands process into the church wearing the diaconal stole, carrying lit candles and the chasuble with which they will be clothed after the ordination proper.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Fr John Berg Elected Superior General of the FSSP

The General Chapter of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, which is currently being held at Our Lady of Guadalupe International Seminary in Denton, Nebraska, has elected Fr John Berg as Superior General for a third (non-consecutive) term of 6 years; he previously held the office from 2006-18. The election of the Assistants and Counselors will follow in the next few days. NLM is pleased to congratulate Fr Berg and the Fraternity, as we urge all of our readers to continually remember the leadership of all the traditional rite groups and orders in their prayers.

Born in the United States in 1970, Fr Berg studied philosophy at Thomas Aquinas College in California, and theology at the FSSP’s International Seminary of St. Peter in Wigratzbad, Germany; he holds a licentiate from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. Ordained a priest in 1997, he was a professor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary. After serving as Superior General of the Fraternity from 2006-18, for the past six years he returned to parochial work as the pastor of the Fraternity’s parishes in Providence, Rhode Island, and Omaha, Nebraska.

A Documentary on the 1998 Ecclesia Dei Roman Pilgrimage

In October of 1998, for the tenth anniversary of Pope St John Paul II’s motu proprio Ecclesia Dei, a great pilgrimage to Rome was organized by the Fraternity of St Peter, which also celebrated its tenth anniversary that year, in cooperation with several other groups, lay, religious, and clerical, dedicated to the celebration of the traditional Roman Rite. Just today, Peter has posted to his YouTube channel this documentary about it, which has hitherto been available only to those who managed to keep their old VHS players functioning.

Cardinal Ratzinger features very prominently here, since he spoke at one of the conferences held during the pilgrimage, and we can see clearly how Summorum Pontificum was the fruit of his long meditation on the problem of continuity and rupture (not just liturgical continuity and rupture), and what they mean for the life of the Church. He contends that the essential problem in finding a way for the traditional rite to continue to exist in the Church lies in the education of the bishops, and it is very heartening to see that his prediction that it would be resolved in the better education of a new generation of bishops has largely come true.

Among the other notable speakers are Fr Joseph Bisig, the founder of the FSSP, and his successor Fr Arnaud Devillers, who I believe was at the time superior of their American district; the late Michael Davies, one of the great defenders of the traditional liturgy in the mad early post-Conciliar years; His Eminence Alphonse Cardinal Stickler, who during the pilgrimage celebrated a Pontifical High Mass for the feast of Christ the King (back when such Masses were extremely rare); and His Excellency James Timlin, bishop of Scranton, Pennsylvania, another staunch supporter of the traditional Mass. At 30:00, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, founder of then-very-new Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, makes a brief appearance.

I was present for most of the major events of this pilgrimage, including the Mass celebrated by Bishop Timlin at the North American College, and Cardinal Stickler’s Pontifical Mass; this was also the occasion on which I first met our Ambrosian expert Nicola de’ Grandi. It was an exciting time, one which I look back on with joy and gratitude, and confidence that the great pastoral wisdom and charity of the bishops who participated in it will most assuredly prevail again someday in the Church.

The Feast of All Saints 2023

From the Breviary according to the use of the Roman Curia, 1529, the beginning of the sermon for the seventh day in the Octave of All Saints.

Today, most beloved, we celebrate with one rejoicing the feast of All Saints, in whose company heaven exsulteth, by whose protection the earth is made glad, by whose triumphs the Holy Church is crowned, whose confession is all the more glorious in honor, as it was the mightier in their suffering. For as the striving increaseth, so increaseth also the glory of those that strive, and the triumph of martyrdom is adorned by many different sorts of suffering. Come then, brethren, let us now seize upon the way unto life, which bringeth us unto the heavenly city, where we are enrolled and proclaimed as citizens, the way of that happiness whose feast we celebrate today under the name of the dedication of Round St Mary’s.

The altar of the Pantheon decorated for the feast day in 2016. 

“Sancta Maria Rotunda - Round St Mary’s” was the usual medieval name of the Pantheon as a church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and All Martyrs by Pope Boniface IV (608-15) in 609 A.D. The common tradition, explicitly stated in the other All Saints sermons in the 1529 Breviary, was that the origin of the feast of All Saints lay in this act of dedication, by which the temple of all the gods was cleansed from the worship of demons and given to the honor of all the Saints. It must be stated as a matter of history that there is no evidence to prove that the Pantheon was actually a temple.

In the Middle Ages, the sermon read at Matins on the feast of All Saints was the same in almost every Use of the Roman Rite, called from its first words “Legimus in ecclesiasticis historiis”; the author is unknown, although it was frequently attributed to St Rabanus Maurus. The first lesson refers to the institution of the feast of All Saints, and the dedication of the Pantheon as a church. (In 2017, I wrote an article explaining that this is almost certainly not the case, and that the feast was instituted as a response to the iconoclast heresy of the 8th century.) The second lesson is about God, while the six lessons that follow descend through the hierarchy of the Saints: the Virgin Mary, the Angels, the Patriarchs and Prophets, the Apostles, the Martyrs, and the various types of Confessors. The holy Virgins and other female Saints are mentioned in the same lesson as the Virgin Mary, the model of consecrated life; the ninth lesson is taken from a homily of St. Augustine on the Sermon on the Mount, the beginning of which is the Gospel of the feast.

When All Saints was granted an octave by Pope Sixtus IV in the early 1480s, each day of the octave was assigned a different sermon with the same structure, covering the first eight of the nine lessons at Matins. Each year, we commemorate All Saints and its octave with one of these lessons, taking them this year from from the sermon assigned to be read on November 7th.

Just a few minutes’ walk away, the church of the FSSP, Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, celebrates the feast of All Saints every year by decorated the high altar with many of its relics. The large busts in the upper tier are of Ss Gregory the Great, Augustine, Pius V and Charles Borromeo, made for the canonization of the last of the, which was celebrated on All Saints’ day in 1610. On the second tier, relics of the Apostles Peter, Paul, Matthew and John are enclosed in bases which support bronze statues of them (which are unbelievably heavy), with a variety of small relics between them. The two small silver busts are of Saints from the Roman catacombs. (Our thanks to Mr John Ryan Debil for these pictures.)  

On the altar of the left transept, which is dedicated to St Matthew, a variety of other relics, with St Philip Neri, the founder of the church’s confraternity, front and center.

Recent Priestly Ordinations for the North American Province of the FSSP

On Friday, May 26, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone ordained three members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter to the sacred priesthood at a Pontifical Mass in Lincoln, Nebraska. There were so many highlights to the liturgy—I always feel like my head is going to explode at one of these pontificals, they are just so overwhelming: a pageantry of symbols of the richest meaning, with moments of piercing spiritual insight sparked by inexhaustible prayer texts bequeathed to us from centuries of faith.

The little detail that struck me most this time around was caused by the unusual way the ordination ceremony breaks up the alleluias. In Paschaltide (and Ascensiontide is no different) there are two Alleluias (instead of a Gradual/Alleluia or a Gradual/Tract). The first Alleluia is sung through, and the second is begun—but then, before the verse is sung, the entire very long ordination ceremony takes place. Talk about a delayed cadence, postponed period, interrupted utterance! And after all that is done, the schola resumes with the verse of the second alleluia, followed by the Gospel.

That day was the feast of St. Philip Neri. Here are his alleluias:

Alleluia, alleluia. De excélso misit ignem in óssibus meis, et erudívit me. (From above He hath sent a fire into my bones, and hath instructed me.)

Alleluia. [ —> Ordinations <— ] Concáluit cor meum intra me: et in meditatióne mea exardéscet ignis. Alleluia. (My heart grew hot within me, and in my meditation a fire shall flame out.)

“He hath sent a fire into my bones and hath instructed me.” The vocation sent by God, in the form of a desire to be a priest... the long years of study... the spiritual struggles... the moment when this immense gift is finally bestowed at the hands of the bishop and one knows, in his bones, that he is a priest forever, according to the order of Melchisedek...

“My heart grew hot within me, and in my meditation a fire shall flame out.” The fire is now ignited within these men by the indelible inscription of Christ's sacrificial priesthood in their souls—a change in BEING. Agere sequitur esse: action flows from being. From this character shall flame out the fire of priestly prayer, sacramental grace, and the preaching of the Word.

St Philip Neri—what a patron to have on one’s ordination day! What a pair of Alleluias to remember and ponder!

The following are a selection of photos that display many major moments of this magnificent ceremony. There is a whole catechesis embedded in this sequence. I will not attempt to be thorough (that would take a book) but I'll at least try to identify what is going on in the ceremony at each point.

1. A deacon looks at the cloth (the maniturgium) that will bind his hands after they have been anointed with chrism. This same cloth is customarily given to the priest’s mother to be buried with her as a sign that she gave a priest to the Church. 

2. Putting on the maniple, sign of laboring in the Lord’s vineyard.
 

3. Holding the chasuble and ready to process.
 

4. On the way...
 

5. The bishop and his attendants enter the church.
 

6. Prayers at the foot of the altar.
 

 

Continue Reading this Article. . .

A Video of Solemn Pontifical Vespers from the Throne

This past Sunday, His Excellency William Lori, the Archbishop of Baltimore, preached and then celebrated Pontifical Solemn Vespers from the throne, followed by Benediction, at the National Shrine of St Alphonsus Liguori in Baltimore. In 2017, the Archbishop Lori entrusted the church, which had had an indult Mass since 1992, to the Fraternity of St Peter; we thank His Excellency for his paternal solicitude for the faithful attached to the traditional rite.

FSSP Sacred Music Symposium in Los Angeles, June 20-24

The Fraternity of St Peter in Los Angeles is pleased to announce that its Sacred Music Symposium is taking place this summer from June 20-24th. A refreshing retreat for choral directors and dedicated parish singers, this event is organized with the aim of promoting the use of authentic sacred music in parishes. The Symposium draws upon the expertise of leading conductors and composers in the field of sacred music to inspire, challenge and encourage those who provide music for Holy Mass. Everything taught at it can be applied to both the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Forms and put into immediate practical use.

This year the focus is on directing and developing excellent volunteer choirs. The week’s events will culminate in a glorious special Mass for the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, at which the music learned during the week will be sung.

To learn more about it or to register for this conference please visit https://www.ccwatershed.org/symposium/ or email sacredmusicsymposiumla@gmail.com.

A New Booklet on the Stabat Mater, by Fr Armand de Mallery, FSSP

Fr Armand de Malleray of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, who is currently serving at their apostolate in Warrington, England, has just recently published a new booklet of Meditations on the Stabat Mater, which can be ordered in the UK via the website of the Catholic Truth Society, and in the United States via Fraternity Publications, the FSSP’s online bookstore.

In this episode of the Catholic Truth Society’s podcast, Fr de Malleray talks with publisher Pierpaolo Finaldi about the origins of the Stabat Mater and how it became associated with praying the Stations of the Cross, the structure of the hymn and how it gently introduces us to Jesus’ suffering through His Mother. This is a book to help the reader to walk the road from Lent to Passiontide to Easter – and indeed from life to death to eternal life – in the company of the most Blessed and Sorrowful Mother, who stands at the foot of the Cross of her Son.

The booklet has also received some impressive endorsements:

• “If you truly wish to be transformed by Christ, go to the Cross and contemplate His Passion. If you truly desire to plumb the depths of knowledge of Christ’s Passion, go to His Blessed Mother. There is no other created being in Heaven or on Earth that understands the sufferings of Our Lord better than the one who had a sword pierce her own heart. If you want to know some of what the Blessed Virgin Mary teaches about her Son’s Passion, read this book. With great wisdom, the author has chosen the hymn which best expresses the profound sorrow of Our Lady, a sorrow filled with hope – the Stabat Mater. This hymn forms the landscape in which he skilfully illustrates the mystery of Calvary and the journey of the soul from fall to rise.” Mother Marilla OSB, Superior General of the Tyburn Nuns, London
• “A Desert Father of the fifth Century commenting on a vision he had of Saint Mary, the Mother of God, weeping by the Cross of the Saviour, famously declared, ‘I wish I could always weep like that.’ The medieval meditation, Stabat Mater, responds to this wish of the Christian soul. Who would not feel moved to comfort the sorrowful Mother of our crucified Saviour? Who would not desire to be taught by her the tears of authentic compunction? The author’s fine and sober commentary leads us ‘to better appreciate [Mary’s] grief so as to be shaped by it, her sorrowful heart becoming the matrix of our souls as they learn contrition.’ A luminous and profound exposition of one of the most powerful and consoling prayers of the Catholic tradition.” Dom Xavier Perrin, OSB, Abbot of Quarr (Isle of Wight), author of The Radiance of Her Face
• “One could be forgiven for thinking, that as ‘She stood’ beneath the Cross, the sufferings endured by the Blessed Virgin Mary, were in actuality, an ‘event’ in themselves. In a most delicate and imperceptible way, the author, with adept contemplative precision, offers to us these reflections. His Commentary on the Stabat Mater is not for the faint hearted, it is an invitation offered to us all, of ‘standing with’ Mary on Calvary. Alike to that of the Crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mary is depicted, comparable with her Son, as a figure pierced to the spot, not by nails, but by a sword of sorrow. This moving Commentary on the Stabat Mater, discloses for us, in a simple, yet most piteous way, at what cost we were redeemed.” Mother Bernadette of the Heart of Mary OCD, Prioress of the Carmelite Monastery in Birkenhead, England
• “True devotion to Blessed Mary Ever-Virgin is the simplest, safest, and straightest way to loving union with Christ, and contemplation of the compassionate heart of 'the Lady of fair weeping' leads us directly to the Heart of her divine Son, pierced by our sins; it has the power to move us to contrition, to the desire to make reparation, and to a greater assurance of Our Lord's merciful love. This conviction of faith inspired Jacopone da Todi’s writing of his hymn, the Stabat Mater, and animates the author’s new commentary, so clear and sound in its doctrine and lyrical in its language. This beautiful little book, born of prayer, is just what I need, what every Catholic needs, for the fruitful praying of the Stations of the Cross.” Fr John Saward, Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, author of Redeemer in the Womb: Jesus Living in Mary

The Pope Confirms FSSP’s Use of Traditional Liturgy

The following communiqué has been published on the website of the Fraternity of St Peter. We urge all of our readers to continue their prayers for the preservation of the Ecclesia Dei institutes in their charisms as agreed upon with them by the Holy See.

On Friday, February 4, 2022, two members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Fr. Benoît Paul-Joseph, Superior of the District of France, and Fr. Vincent Ribeton, Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary in Wigratzbad, were received in private audience by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for nearly an hour.

During the very cordial meeting, they recalled the origins of the Fraternity in 1988; the Pope expressed that he was very impressed by the approach taken by its founders, their desire to remain faithful to the Roman Pontiff and their trust in the Church. He said that this gesture should be “preserved, protected and encouraged”.

In the course of the audience, the Pope made it clear that institutes such as the Fraternity of St. Peter are not affected by the general provisions of the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes, since the use of the ancient liturgical books was at the origin of their existence and is provided for in their constitutions.

The Holy Father subsequently sent a decree signed by him and dated February 11, the day the Fraternity was solemnly consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, confirming for the members of the Fraternity the right to use the liturgical books in force in 1962, namely: the Missal, the Ritual, the Pontifical and the Roman Breviary.

Grateful to the Holy Father, the members of the Fraternity of St. Peter are in thanksgiving for this confirmation of their mission. They invite all the faithful who feel close to them as a spiritual family to attend or join them in prayer at the Mass tomorrow, on the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, and to pray for the Supreme Pontiff.

Frs Paul-Joseph and Ribeton with the Holy Father

A New Recording from the FSSP’s European Seminary

The FSSP’s International Seminary of St Peter, located in Wigratzbad, Germany, will soon be releasing a recording in both chant and polyphony of Christmas Matins, which is traditionally sung before the Midnight Mass of Christmas. The YouTube channel of the distributor, DeMontfort Music, published this trailer a few days ago; you can find more information about the recording, which will be available as of next Tuesday, on their website: https://www.demontfortmusic.com/sancta-nox-christmas-matins-from-bavaria.

A Personal Note of Thanks to the FSSP and FIUV in Mexico

On behalf of Dr Kwasniewski and myself, I would like to express our profound gratitude to the Mexican apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, especially to the head of their house in Guadalajara, Fr Daniel Heenan; and likewise, to the Mexican branch of the International Federation Una Voce, and particularly to the president, Mr Edgar Fernández, for their warm and generous hospitality over the past week as we attended the recent Summorum Pontificum conference in Guadalajara. I would also like to thank the many people who were kind enough to express their appreciation of the papers we delivered at the conference, and of the work we do at NLM in general. It was a pleasure to meet you all, and we will both be very glad to return to Mexico when occasion arises. We also offer our heartiest congratulation to Fr Joel Pinto Rodríguez FSSP, who was ordained to the priesthood by H.E. Raymond Cardinal Burke during the conference, on June 11th, the feast of the Sacred Heart. This was the first priestly ordination in the traditional rite to be celebrated in Mexico since the post-Conciliar liturgical reform.

While we were in Mexico, however, my computer suffered a catastrophic automatic update, which is why we have had so few posts this week. My clever nephew has solved the problem, and we will, Deo volente, be getting back to a more regular posting schedule soon, including some of Peter’s pictures of the various sites we visited. In the meantime, just a little preview...

the FSSP church in Guadalajara, dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Pilar, the patroness of Spain...

and the laying-on of hands at Fr Rodríguez’s ordination. (Both photos by Peter.)

Going on Pilgrimage 2021

I just wanted to let our readers know that things may be a little bit slower than usual on NLM over the next several days. Today, I am travelling to Guadalajara, Mexico, where I will be participating in the Fraternity of St Peter’s Summorum Pontificum Convention. In addition to the various liturgical events, which include a priestly ordination on Friday afternoon, to be celebrated by His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke, I will be delivering a paper on the history of the ordination rites in the traditional Roman liturgy; next week, we will be visiting some of the sites associated with the Cristero Martyrs. I promise that I do my best to continue processing our photopost submissions for Corpus Christi and Pentecost. There is plenty of time to send more in to photopost@newliturgicalmovement.org.

The ordination will be live-streamed at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLYAwtcAwaA. People can also sign up to participate in the convention virtually through the following event page: https://www.eventbrite.com.mx/e/summorum-pontificum-online-online-access-english-tickets-156537777707.

The FSSP in Mexico recently also posted some nice videos about the traditional liturgy which you may enjoy.

“The most beautiful thing this side of Paradise.”

“Are young people still interested in Faith? Why are they attracted to the traditional Latin Mass?”

“How the traditional Mass helped my conversion to Catholic Faith.”

“Our spiritual life has to be centered in Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the traditional Latin Mass.”

The 3rd Summorum Pontificum Convention in Mexico Next Month

The Summorum Pontificum Convention is an international Catholic gathering in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico - land of the Cristeros - dedicated to promoting the liturgical, spiritual, theological, and artistic traditions of the Church. The convention takes its name from Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu Propio from 2007 in which he wrote about the traditional Roman Rite, “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too.”

This year’s convention will feature speakers such as Fr Javier Olivera Ravasi, Dr Peter Kwasniewski, Matt Fradd, and Gregory DiPippo, as well as His Eminence Cardinal Raymond Cardinal Burke who will celebrate three pontifical Masses, including a priestly ordination for the Fraternity of St. Peter. There are also opportunities to participate in workshops for sacred music and for serving the Traditional Latin Mass, a concert of sacred music, and a Cristero tour of historic Guadalajara (Simultaneous translation will be available for both English and Spanish during the conferences). Tickets for virtual participation are also available.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.summorum.mx, or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/3er-congreso-summorum-pontificum-2021-tickets-146495338501?aff=ebdssbeac&keep_tld=1#, Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Summorum-Pontificum-FSSP-M%C3%A9xico-2021-105459744949442

TLM Conference and Priestly Ordination in Guadalajara, Mexico, June 10-13

NLM is pleased to announce on behalf of the FSSP in Mexico the following Summorum Pontificum Congress, to be held from June 10-13, and including a priestly ordination at the hands of Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke.

“Summorum Pontificum Congress is an event for Catholics who want to learn more about the richness of their liturgical, artistic, theological, and spiritual traditions. This year the keynote address will be given by His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke, member of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, who will also celebrate a traditional priestly ordination – the first in Mexico in many years. There will be three pontifical Masses and the sacrament of Confirmation, outstanding conferences, and much more. The Summorum Pontificum Congress will bring together faithful Catholics from all over Mexico and abroad to participate in this historic event. Translation services will be available in English and Spanish.”

For more details and for registration, visit the bilingual website.

Another Solemn Mass in the Rite of Lyon

Earlier this summer, we shared photos and video of a solemn Mass in the traditional Rite of Lyon celebrated on the feast of the city’s patron, St Irenaeus, at the FSSP’s church there. On September 6th, the solemn Mass was once again celebrated, this time for the feast of the church’s patron, St Just, a 4th century bishop of Lyon. Our thanks to the FSSP Apostolate in Lyon for permission to reproduce some photos of the Mass from their Facebook page, and our congratulations to Fr Brice Messonier, who has worked patiently for many years to restore the regular use of the Lyonaise Mass, to his confreres Frs Hubert Lion and Côme Rabany, and all the church’s servers. This Mass was also a farewell for Fr Messonier, who is now taking up the leadership of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, the FSSP church in Rome, and we wish him all the best in his new assignment.

The cross-bearer and thurifer wear a garment something like a stole called an “orfrois de tunique – the orphrey of a tunicle”, since it looks like the decorative bands of a tunicle, which in the Middle Ages was very often worn by acolytes on solemn feasts. The two acolytes who carry the candles wear full albs with the cincture, as was generally done in the Middle Ages.

The subdeacon does not usually stay with the priest and deacon as he does in Roman Mass; his “default” position, so to speak, for the Mass of the Catechumens is in the first choir-stall on the Epistle side.

As in the Dominican Mass, there is no incensation of the altar at the beginning of the Mass, so the priest goes straight to the reading of the Introit.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

A Recent Solemn Mass in the Rite of Lyon

This past Sunday, a solemn Mass was celebrated in the traditional Rite of Lyon at the Fraternity of St Peter’s church in that city, the Collegiate Church of St Just, for the feast of the local Patron Saint, the 2nd-century bishop and martyr Irenaeus. We have featured the Mass of Lyon a few times in the past, but this is the first time, as far as I know, that it has been done solemnly within recent memory. I personally don’t know much about the rite, and so I will limit my comments on the pictures; if I make any mistakes, or omit anything of interest, I would be grateful to any readers who can correct or add to what I write here in the combox. Further down is a picture of an interesting and absolutely unique vestment. Congratulations to the clergy of St Just for their efforts to maintain and preserve this beautiful part of the Church’s liturgical patrimony, and our thanks for their permission to reproduce these photographs.

The two acolytes who carry the candles wear full albs with the cincture, as was generally done in the Middle Ages.

Note that the columns of the church are partly or wholly decorated with red coverings for the feast day; this is not a specifically Lyonese custom, but was widely observed throughout Europe, and is still kept in some places.

When not holding something in their hands, the acolytes keep them crossed over their chest as we see here.

When the priest is at the Missal, he is accompanied only by the deacon...

Continue Reading this Article. . .

FSSP Liturgical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, June 11-14

From June 11-14, the Fraternity of St Peter’s apostolate in Guadalajara, Mexico, will host its third Summorum Pontificum Congress, with His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke as one of the speakers, and as celebrant of the liturgical events; among these will be a priestly ordination, and the Mass and procession of Corpus Christi, which falls on June 11 this year. In addition to the various conferences and discussions on liturgical and theological subjects, Una Voce Mexico will hold its second annual convention at the same time, there will be opportunities to visit some of the sites of the Cristero Wars, and various social events. For more information, and to purchase tickets see the conference website: https://summorumpontificum.mx/.

Corpus Christi Watershed’s Fifth Sacred Music Symposium, June 15-19

Corpus Christi Watershed is pleased to announce that the FSSP’s Fifth Sacred Music Symposium will take place in Los Angeles from June 15-19. This year’s theme is “Rehearsal Techniques for Volunteer Choirs: How to stand in front of a choir and live to tell about it!” The professors will reveal their “secret” techniques and lead enjoyable conversations with the participants.

The entire cost of attending the Symposium—including deposit, conference fee, and meal plan—is just $275. We call it the “everything fee.” To request an application, send an email to dom.mocquereau@gmail.com with some information about yourself, and please don’t forget to include your phone number. This year, the Symposium will be held at St Teresa of Avila Catholic Church and School, located at 2216 Fargo Street in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.

Here is some more information about the Symposium: