Ordination and First Mass for the Fraternity of St Joseph the Guardian

On the feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, His Excellency Dominique Rey, bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, France, ordained Dcn Danka Pereira, a member of the Fraternity of St Joseph the Guardian, to the priesthood in the traditional rite. Three days later, Fr Pereira celebrated his first solemn Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help; both of these celebrations took place at the church of St Trophime in the town of Bourmes Les Mimosas, which is under the Fraternity’s care. Our thanks to them for sharing these photos with us, and our congratulations to Fr Pereira, to his family, friends, religious family, and diocese - ad multos annos!

Bishop Rey reads the admonition to the ordinand from the Pontificale.

The Litany of the Saints is sung, led by two cantors who kneel at the entrance to the sanctuary; the ordinand prostrates himself, while all others kneel.

After the bishop has imposed hands on the ordinand, all the priests in the church do the same.

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Burying the Alleluja 2020 (Part 3)

We have received a few more sets of pictures of the burials of the Alleluja. The first comes from the Canons of St John Cantius in Chicago, who have for some years done this with a large placard with the word written on it in gold letters, which they carry in solemn procession to the Lady Chapel, and “bury” under the altar cloth. (Some other churches have imitated this custom of theirs, including one of the churches featured in part two.)

At the Church of the Resurrection in Lansing, Michigan, the Alleluja was carried outside the church after Lauds and buried on the grounds of the parish school, with a black cope to boot!

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Ignatian Retreat in Allentown, NJ, Feb. 7-9

On the weekend of Septuagesima Sunday, Fr Hernan Ducci of the Fraternity of Saint Joseph the Guardian will preach a retreat for men based on the Ignatian Exercises, at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, located at 1282 Yardville-Allentown Road, in Allentown, New Jersey. The Spiritual Exercises comprise an ordered series of meditations and contemplations born from the profound spiritual experience St Ignatius, gained from his conversion and his time as the first Superior General of the Society of Jesus. The purpose of these exercises is to help the retreatant discern God’s will for his own life.

The retreat will begin on the early afternoon of Friday, February 7, and finish with lunch on the afternoon of Sunday, February 9. In order to cover the expenses (Fr. Hernan’s travel from France, food, donation to the parish, etc.) we suggest a donation of $60. Also, please bring a sleeping bag. In addition to the meditations, the traditional Mass will be sung each day, as well as parts of the Divine Office; there will also be plenty of opportunities for spiritual direction and Confession. To confirm your attendance please read the following Google doc and fill in the registration form. If you have any questions, please contact hernan.ducci@gmail.com. Feel free to forward this invitation to anyone else you think would be interested.

All Saints and All Souls 2019 Photopost (Part 1)

As is usually the case, we received many more photographs of All Souls liturgies than All Saints, and once again, it’s great to see that all of them have black vestments. We begin with a nice variety of things from six different countries, including a Pontifical Mass; we also include some photos of celebrations the feast of Christ the King on its date. A real bumper crop of submissions has come in, so there will be at least two more posts of them. Thanks to all those who sent these in - evangelize through beauty!

Chapel of Christ the King –  Zagreb, Croatia

(Photos courtesy of Hrvoje Abraham Miličević)

Procession to the nearby cemetery for the Absolution

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The Feast of St Anne in Provence 2019

Our good friends of the Fraternity of St Joseph the Guardian in La-Londe-Les-Maures, France, also have the pastoral charge of the church of St Anne on the beautiful little island of Porquerolles. Each year for the church’s patronal feast, the principal Mass is followed by a procession with a statue of St Anne, and a blessing of the boats in the waters of the island’s port. Here are some great photos taken during the recent celebration; you can see the full set on their Facebook page.

The members of the choir dressed in traditional Provençal costume.

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The Pro Civitate Dei Conference in France, June 7-14

The Pro Civitate Dei Summer Program is a weeklong Anglophone program, hosted and organized by the Fraternity of St Joseph the Guardian, which seeks to foster the restoration of Western culture in a rich liturgical and intellectual environment inspired by Christian conviviality and traditional Catholic life. The program will be held in La Londe-les-Maures, France, June 7–14, on the French Riviera; young adults will gather from around the world for a schedule of lectures on topics of contemporary and historical interest in Catholic philosophy, theology, liturgy, and politics. Mass is sung every day according to the traditional rite, along with Vespers and Compline. Pro Civitate Dei is open to undergraduates, graduate students and young professionals aged 18–30; registration is open on a first-come basis. For more information, see https://www.procivitatedei.org; for all inquiries contact pcdfrance@gmail.com.

Mass at the church which houses the relics of St Roseline in Les Arcs de Provence

One of the lectures.

His Excellency Dominique Rey, Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, addresses the participants of the last year’s conference.

At Pro Civitate Dei you will:

* Learn why—and how—the restoration of Christian culture is possible

* Explore integralism and Catholic political and social thought

* Gain experience in the fundamentals of Gregorian chant

* Visit sites of Christian pilgrimage, including the incorrupt relics of Ste Roseline des Arcs-de-Provence

* Experience Provençal culture in the French Riviera

* Pray the Divine Office and enter more deeply into the Church’s liturgy

I have spoken at this conference three years in a row, and each time it was indeed a most enjoyable experience, with liturgies celebrated very well, and excellent conversations thoughout the day. My first year, we visited the cave of St Mary Magdalene, the Sainte-Baume, and the church which keeps the relic of her skull. The second year, we had Mass one day in a 12-century chapel on a very tall hill, with an incredible view of endless miles of the Riviera. The FSJC also has the pastoral charge of a church dedicated to St Anne on the beautiful island of Pourquerole, where celebrated solemn Mass, visited an Orthodox monastery, and spent the afternoon on a perfect beach.

Burying the Alleluia 2019

I am sure that most of our readers have read or heard something of the various customs related to the removal of the word “Alleluia” from the liturgy on Septuagesima Sunday. In the Roman liturgical books, this is done in a typically simply fashion; at the end of Vespers of the previous Saturday, “Alleluia” is added twice to the end of “Benedicamus Domino” and “Deo gratias”, which are sung in the Paschal tone. It is then dropped from the liturgy completely until the Easter vigil. In some medieval uses, however, “Alleluia” was added to the end of every antiphon of this Vespers, and a number of other customs, some formally included in the liturgy and others not, grew up around it as well.

One of the most popular was to write the word on a board or piece of parchment, and then after Vespers bury it in the churchyard, so that it could be dug up again on Easter Sunday, and brought back into the church. Our friends from the Fraternity of St Joseph the Guardian in La-Londe-les-Maures, France, observe this every year, with the black cope otherwise used only at funerals. (If any others readers have photos of this ceremony which they would like to send in, we will be very glad to share them with our readers: photopost@newliturgicalmovement.org.)

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Ignatian Retreat in Allentown, NJ, Feb. 15-17

On Septuagesima weekend, Fr Hernan Ducci of the Fraternity of Saint Joseph the Guardian will preach a retreat for men based on the Ignatian Exercises, at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, located at 1282 Yardville-Allentown Road, in Allentown, New Jersey. The Spiritual Exercises comprise an ordered series of meditations and contemplations born from the profound spiritual experience St Ignatius, gained from his conversion and his time as the first Superior General of the Society of Jesus. These exercises purpose to help the retreatant discern God’s will for his own life.

The retreat will begin on the early afternoon of Friday, February 15 and finish on the afternoon of Sunday February 17, with lunch (President’s day weekend). In order to cover the expenses (Fr. Hernan’s travel from France, food, donation to the parish, etc) we suggest a donation of $60. Also, please bring a sleeping bag. In addition to the meditations, the traditional Mass will be sung each day, as well as parts of the Divine Office; there will also be plenty of opportunities for spiritual direction and Confession. To confirm your attendance please read the following Google doc and fill the registration form. If you have any questions please contact hernan.ducci@gmail.com. Feel free to forward this invitation to any else you reckon would be interested.

Subdiaconal Ordination in Fréjus-Toulon

Today, on the feast of St Leontius, bishop of Fréjus and patron of the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, Bishop Dominique Rey ordained to the subdiaconate Brother Danka Pereira, a member of the Fraternity of St Joseph the Guardian, and Abbé Przemyslaw Karczmarek of the Institute of the Good Shepherd. The ceremony took place at the church of St Trophimus in the little town of Bormes-les-Mimosas, during a Prelatitial Mass, with the exceptional use of those pontifical vestments required when the bishop celebrates a low Mass in which he confers orders  Our congratulations to the ordinands and to their religious communities, and our thanks to FSJC for sharing these pictures with us.

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Photopost Follow-Up: Prayers for the Dead

As a follow-up to our recent All Saints and All Souls photoposts, and yesterday’s photos of Masses celebrated by military chaplains during World War I, here are a few late submissions.

On Tuesday, November 6, the Order of Malta in the Dallas area commemorated the centennial of the end of World War I with Solemn Vespers of the Dead at the University of Dallas’ Church of the Incarnation, celebrated by Fr Carlos Hamel of the Fraternity of St Joseph the Guardian (Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, France). The Schola Cantorum Stellae Solae, directed by Brian Bentley, sang the Gregorian chant. The “Remembrance Day” Vespers drew well over a hundred participants from the university and local area, including clergy of the Dominican and Cistercian orders, as well as a dozen seminarians. (Photos by Anthony Mazur, reproduced by permission.)

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Pro Civitate Dei - Final Call for Participants

Only a handful of spots remain for the fourth annual Pro Civitate Dei summer school, hosted and organized by the Fraternity of St Joseph the Guardian in La-Londe-les-Maurs, France, from June 8-15. Young adults will gather from around the world for this week of traditional Catholic culture in the French Riviera. The Anglophone program admits select students and young professionals to a schedule of lectures from top-tier Catholic professors, chanted liturgies according to the traditional rites, and a convivial environment aided by local rosé and the French joie de vivre. Pro Civitate Dei seeks to foster the restoration of Western culture in a rich liturgical and intellectual environment inspired by Christian conviviality, with lectures on topics of contemporary and historical interest in Catholic philosophy, theology, liturgy, and politics.

You’ll find all the information needed in a two-minute read here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pro-civitate-dei-summer-programme-2018-tickets-41153411963. Please note that only one spot is still available for women. Questions and donor inquiries can be sent to pcdfrance@gmail.com.

I spoke at this conference last year and the year before, and it was indeed a very enjoyable experience both times, with liturgies celebrated very well, and excellent conversations thoughout the day. My first year, we visited the cave of St Mary Magdalene, the Sainte-Baume, and the church which keeps the relic of her skull. Last year, we had Mass one day in a 12-century chapel on a very tall hill, with an incredible view of endless miles of the Riviera. The FSJC also has the pastoral charge of a church dedicated to St Anne on the island of Pourquerole, where we visited an Orthodox monastery, celebrated solemn Mass, followed by an afternoon on a perfect beach.

Burying the Alleluia 2018

Many of our readers will have heard of the various customs related to the removal of the Alleluia from the liturgy on Septuagesima Sunday. In the Roman liturgical books, this is done in the simplest possible fashion; at the end of Vespers of the previous Saturday, “Alleluia” is added twice to the end of “Benedicamus Domino” and “Deo gratias”, which are sung in the Paschal tone. The word is then dropped from the liturgy completely until the Easter vigil. In some medieval uses, however, “Alleluia” was added to the end of every antiphon of this Vespers, and a number of other customs, some formally included in the liturgy and others not, grew up around it as well.

One of the most popular was to write the word on a board or piece of parchment, and then after Vespers bury it in the churchyard, so that it could be dug up again on Easter Sunday. Our friends from the Fraternity of St Joseph the Guardian in La-Londe-les-Maures, France, observe this every year, wearing the black cope otherwise used only at funerals.

Fr Jeffrey Keyes sent us these photos of this ceremony done by the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa (they of the famous amice-tie designs) at the Regina Pacis Convent in Santa Rosa, California, where he serves as chaplain. This year, they even made a little coffin for the Alleluia!

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