Pictures of a Byzantine Priestly Ordination and First Divine Liturgy

We are very pleased to share these pictures of the priestly ordination and first Divine Liturgy of Fr Philip Gilbert of the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church; we have previously published a number of articles about the Byzantine Liturgy by him, as well as photographs of his subdiaconal ordination in 2018. The ordination was done by His Grace Benedict (Aleksiychuk), bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chicago; both ceremonies took place at the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Redwood Valley, California. Our congratulation to Fr Philip, and to all his family and friends; thanks and kudos also to the photographer, Mr James King. 

Fr Philip (in white) and another deacon incense the bishop as he enters the church. The ordination was celebrated on Saturday, May 25th, the Leave-taking of Pentecost, which is celebrated in green in the Slavic tradition.

The bishop is solemnly vested in the nave of the church before the Liturgy begins.

At the Little Entrance

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Corpus Christi 2022 Photopost (Part 4)

And so we finally come to the last of this year’s Corpus Christ photoposts. This post also includes a Mass and procession on the feast of the Sacred Heart at the oldest church in the world dedicated to it, in Laranjeiras, Brazil, and a new priest’s first Mass celebrated on Pentecost. Thanks once again to everyone who shared these with us!

Holy Innocents – New York City

From the mighty Mr Arrys Ortañez, whose albums are always among the most difficult to select from, since all of the pictures are so beautiful. 

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A First Mass at St Vincent Archabbey

Continuing with some recent photopost submissions of first Masses: on Pentecost Sunday, the day after his priestly ordination, Fr Cassian Edwards OSB offered his first Solemn Mass at the basilica of St Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, assisted by his confereres Br Barnabas O’Reilly as deacon, and Fr Boniface Hicks as subdeacon. The vestment set was taken out of the Abbey Art Gallery after many decades and put back to its proper use; it is part of a full abbatial solemn set made in the late 1800s. This was the first “first Mass” offered in the Traditional Rite by a newly ordained priest of the community since the liturgical changes. Our congratulations to Fr Cassian, to his religious family, and to all those who helped him with such a beautiful celebration for his first Mass – feliciter! (All photos courtesy of Mr David Sao.)

Tradition will always be for the young!

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A Recent First Mass in Louisiana

It is now the season for ordinations and first Masses, and we have received a few photopost submissions of such events in the last few days, which we are happy to share with our readers. The first one comes from Fr Thomas Kennedy of the diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana, who was ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, May 22, by Bishop Robert Marshall at the cathedral of Saint Francis Xavier in Alexandria, and celebrated his first Solemn Mass the next day at the basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Natchitoches. The Mass was in the Ordinary Form, celebrated ad orientem in Latin and English, and you can see from these photos, very much within the spirit of the Catholic liturgical tradition. The vestments are semi-Gothic works in the Pugin style, made by JH Design Chamber. We gladly offer congratulations to Fr Kennedy and to his diocese, and to all those who served alongside him in such a worthy offering of the Holy Mass - ad multos annos!

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Tradition is for the Young - Photos by Allison Girone

It has been a busy month for Allison Girone, one of our favorite photographers, who has graciously shared with us her work from some recent events at a couple of different churches: two first Communion ceremonies, a Confirmation, a priest’s first Mass, and a May crowning. I never tire of saying that we should all take encouragement from seeing how many young people are not just participating in the Sacraments and ceremonies of the Church, but also working to make sure that they continue to be celebrated in the traditional rites. Feliciter!

First Communions at the Church of St Patrick in Wilmington, Delaware

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A First Mass at St John Cantius in Chicago

This past Saturday, Nathan Ford, a member of the Canons Regular of St John Cantius in Chicago, was ordained to the priesthood, and on the next day, celebrated his first solemn Mass. The deacon of the Mass, Br. Joseph Brom, was ordained to the diaconate the previous Saturday; the superior of the Canons, Fr Joshua Caswell, served as the assistant priest, and H.E. Excellency Bishop Joseph Perry, Auxiliary of Chicago, attended in choir. Congratulations to Fr Ford and Br Brom, to their families and their religious community – ad multos annos! We also thank a member of the parish, Mr Basil Damukatis, for share these pictures of the Mass with us, a nice series of views taken from the church’s gallery.

At the Gospel

The intonation of the Creed.

Beginning of the Offertory

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A First Mass in Poland

On Thursday, August 20, the feast of St Bernard of Clairvaux, a newly-ordained priest, Fr Fabian Skowron, O. Cist., celebrated his first Mass in the traditional rite at the Cistercian monastery in Wąchock, Poland, assisted by seminarians and altar boys from Warsaw, Sandomierz and Radom, and several members of his own community. The Mass was sung by the choir of the cathedral basilica in Sandomierz, which sang the Gregorian chants from the Cistercian Gradual; the O Salutaris Hostia was sung immediately after the consecration, according to the Order’s custom. After the Mass, the faithful received first blessings from the new priest, to whom we offer our congratulations – ad multos et felices annos!

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Photos of a New Priest’s First Mass

For obvious reasons, we have had almost no photoposts in the last few months, but now that restrictions are easing up in some places, and especially with ordination season upon us, hopefully we’ll be able to have them more often, and take some much-needed encouragement from them. Here is something which I am sure all of our readers will find especially heartening to see: this past Sunday, Fr James Dvorak of the diocese of Victoria, Texas, celebrated a Solemn High Mass of Thanksgiving for his priestly ordination in the traditional rite. He was assisted by seminary classmates who will themselves soon be ordained to the priesthood in their respective dioceses: Dcn Michael Cellars of Charleston as deacon of the Mass, Dcn Joe Hernandez of Brownsville as subdeacon, and Dcn Miguel Flores of Austin as master of ceremonies. Fr Tommy Chen, vocation director of the diocese of Victoria, served as the assistant priest. The last two photos show Fr Dvorak giving his mother the manuterge used to absorb the chrism from the ordination rite, and his father the stole he wore the first time he heard Confessions. I am sure our readers are all familiar with the tradition by which the mother of a priest is buried with the manuterge, as a symbol that when she approaches heaven, she will say to the Lord that she gave Him her son to serve as a priest. The tradition of giving the stole to a priest’s father is apparently quite recent, but certainly no less beautiful and fitting for that.

Our thanks to Dcn Armando Alejandro for sharing these pictures with us, and we very happily offer our congratulations to Fr Dvorak, to his family and friends, and to the diocese of Victoria - ad multos annos!

The Vidi aquam

Prayers before the altar; note that the assistant priest, whose job is to help the newly ordained priest through his first Mass, stands at the right, and the deacon moves to the left side next to the subdeacon. (At such a Mass, the assistant priest takes over several of the duties normally given to the MC.)

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Ordination and First Mass of Fr Jordan Hainsey

This past Saturday, Jordan Hainsey, a friend of NLM who has made many guest contributions over the last several years, was ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky, by H.E. Bishop Roger Foys. The following day, Fr Jordan celebrated his first Mass in the cathedral, with Bishop Foys attending in choir from his cathedra. We are very happy to share these pictures of the two ceremonies, and to offer our congratulation to Fr Jordan, to his family and friends, and to the entire diocese of Covington. Ad multos annos!

At the Litany of the Saints.

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Photos of FSSP First Mass in Providence, RI

Following up on yesterday’s post of the priestly ordination of Fr William Rock FSSP, here are some photographs of his First Mass, which he celebrated the day after at the same church, St Mary’s in Providence, Rhode Island. The Veni, Creator Spiritus was sung before the Mass, and the Te Deum afterwards; Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who celebrated the ordination, and several members of the local clergy and the FSSP attended the Mass in choir. The last three photos show Bp Schneider blessing Fr Rock’s calice and paten the day before the ordination. (Photos by Claire Gruneberg and Tony Beretto.)

It is customary for a newly-ordained priest to celebrate his first Mass attended by an assistant priest in cope, who guides him through the ceremonies, basically doing much of what the MC normally does at a solemn Mass.

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