Our thanks to reader Gian Marco Talluto for sharing with us these pictures of the ordination of a bishop in the Byzantine Rite, which took place in Sicily on this day in 1938.
Giuseppe Perniciaro was born in Mezzojuso, in the province of Palermo, Sicily, on January 11, 1907. After studying at the Greek-Albanian Seminary in Palermo, he was a student at the Pontifical Greek College in Rome, where he attended the best Pontifical Universities; in 1928, finished his theology courses, and the following year, began his specialization in Oriental Ecclesiastical Sciences at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. On July 7, 1929, at the Church of Sant’ Atanasio in Rome, he was ordained a priest by Mons. Isaia Papadopoulos, Assessor of the Oriental Congregation. In 1932, he was called to take up the office of Rector of the Greek Albanian Seminary in Palermo, founded by Father Giorgio Guzzetta in 1734.
On October 26, 1937, following the creation of the Eparchy of Piana dei Greci by Pope Pius XI, Papas Giuseppe Perniciaro was elected, at only 30 years of age, Titular Bishop of Arbano, and auxiliary of the Archbishop of Palermo.
The following January 16, in the cathedral of St Demetrius, he was consecrated Bishop in the presence of Cardinal Luigi Lavitrano, archbishop of Palermo and apostolic administrator of Piana dei Greci, by Giovanni Mele, bishop of Lungro, assisted by Paolo Schirò, titular bishop of Bende (the last ordaining bishop of the Greek Rite in Sicily), and by Alessandro Evreinoff, titular bishop of Pario and ordaining bishop of the Greek Rite in Rome. During the same Liturgy, Monsignor Perniciaro conferred his first priestly ordination on deacon Matteo Sciambra from Contessa Entellina.
On July 12, 1967, after the death of Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini, Monsignor Perniciaro was appointed residential bishop of the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi. (The eparchy’s name was changed from Piana dei Greci to Albanesi for political reasons in 1941).
Monsignor Perniciaro actively participated as a Father of the Second Vatican Council as a member of both the Italian and Sicilian episcopal conferences. During his long episcopate he accompanied with prayer, work, and also with physical and spiritual suffering, the birth and development of the diocese of Piana, concluded his earthly mission on June 5, 1981.
Thanks to the site https://www.visitpiana.com/eparchia and the Facebook page of the parish of San Nicola di Mezzojuso for the biography and photos of the ordination of Mons. Perniciaro.
A contemporary newsreel report of this ceremony.
Initial procession
The prelates in the procession were in order: Fr Flaviano La Piana, Papas Lorenzo Perniciaro, Fr Isidoro Croce, Papas Giuseppe Perniciaro, Fr Odilone de Golenvau (rector of the Greek College) with Mons. Evreinoff, behind Mons. Schiró and Mons. Mele, and finally, Cardinal Lavitrano.
Cardinal Lavitrano
Consecration prayer, in the foreground Mons. Schirò and Mons. Evreinoff, Mons. Giovanni Mele can be seen.
Blessing performed by the new bishop
Final procession with the new bishop in the foreground
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!
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.
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.
On Monday, I published the first part of this set of photos of the first Mass of Fr Isaac Lind, which he offered on Pentecost Sunday. He was ordained for the Fraternity of St Peter on May 26th along with two others, Frs Quinn Gomez and Evan Schwab. Here is the continuation of the series, starting from the Offertory. Thanks once again to Mr Ron Lawson for sharing these beautiful images with us.
21. Preparing to incense the offerings.
22. Since this is the priest’s second Mass ever, the deacon, as a kindly older brother, is reminding him of the order of incensation, which is rather elaborate.
In case anyone is wondering what “order of incensation” refers to, here’s a diagram from a Roman Missal with all the indications:
23. ...incensation, continued...
24. The deacon incenses the priest. By now the subdeacon has the paten, which he has covered in the humeral veil and is holding up before his eyes, blocking his view of the unfolding mysteries. Note the servers waiting at the edge of the sacristy to emerge for the Lavabo.
Fr. Isaac Lind, FSSP, one of the priests ordained on Friday, May 26, celebrated his first Sunday Mass two days later, on Pentecost, in the Fraternity’s chapel in Lincoln, Nebraska. St. Francis of Assisi is truly a Gothic gem of a church; it was once a chapel (!) for a Franciscan hospital, which explains its stained glass windows, but that’s a topic for another post. Fr. Lind’s first Mass, on the vigil of Pentecost, was offered at a Carmelite monastery where two of his sisters are nuns; joining him for the solemn Mass was his older brother, a monk of Clear Creek monastery. The Lind family is doing some heavy lifting vocationally! (Of your charity, please say a prayer for all of them.)
The subdeacon of the Mass was a fellow member of the FSSP; in the sanctuary were yet other seminarians; and in the choir loft, still more seminarians, joining the dozen or so regular singers (including yours truly). What an monumental occasion, from Veni Creator at the start to Te Deum at the end!
Thanks to fellow chapel associate and resident photographer Ron Lawson, I had a magnificent portfolio to choose from. I have picked my favorites and will offer some commentary. There are many perspectives on the ceremonies here that would be difficult to see from most places, or to see at all, and once again we can and should be thankful for the “ministry of photography” that has spread the healthy contagion of tradition all over the world. As Matt Menendez famously said at the New York Sacra Liturgia Conference, contrasting the first generation of trads with today’s, “They had the trauma; we have the internet.”
1. Vesting in the sacristy. Always a busy place before Solemn Mass!
2. Fr. Lind vesting for the procession.
3. Entering the church, between the holy water angels.
4. A packed house, including a bunch of FOCUS missionaries who happened to be in town. (Yep, “the kids are old rite!”)
5. In the place where I (on the left) spend most of my time in church on Sundays... together with some future choristers.
6. The priest sprinkles the people with holy water during the Vidi aquam.
7. After the Vidi aquam, the priest doffs his cope and dons the chasuble, assisted by the deacon & subdeacon (as indeed he is assisted by the two of them throughout the Mass).
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.
Today is the traditional feast of St. Basil the Great. During this time of year when many men are ordained to major orders, it may be beneficial to recall some wisdom from the past—from the Greek Anthologhion printed by Grottaferrata. It is striking how focused St. Basil is on the centrality of the priest's offering of the holy oblation with attentiveness, with the right dispositions of heart, and with care for the canons, including that which prohibits communicating public sinners. St. Basil and Archbishop Cordileone would find conversation easy on this topic. The translation is by a monk of Norcia.
ΠΑΡΑΓΓΕΛΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΥ ΠΡΟΣ ΙΕΡΕΑ
Take care, O priest, to present yourself as a laborer without cause for shame who correctly transmits the Word of Truth.
Never prepare to offer Mass while being at enmity with someone, lest you drive away the Paraclete.
On the day you offer Mass, do not judge or quarrel, but remain in the church praying and reading until the time appointed for you to perform the divine mysteries; and stand before the altar with compunction and purity of heart, not glancing here and there, but with fear and trembling stand in the presence of the heavenly King.
Do not rush through your prayers or shorten them in order to please men, and be not an acceptor of persons, but be solely concerned with the King who is present, and the Heavenly Powers who encircle you.
Make yourself worthy of the holy canons. Do not offer worship with those who go astray. Look to him before whom you stand, look to how you perform your priestly duty, and with whom you communicate.
Do not forget the commandment of the Lord and of the holy Apostles. For he says, “Do not give holy things to dogs, or throw pearls before swine.” See that you do not betray the Son of God into the hands of the unworthy. Fear not in that hour the glorious ones of the earth, nor he who wears the diadem. Give freely to those who are worthy of communion, as you have freely received. But do not give communion to those impeded from receiving it by the holy canons.
See that no mouse or vile thing touches the holy mysteries, nor that they not get soaked, or be fouled by smoke, or polluted by profane or unworthy substances.
Observing these and similar things you will save yourself and those who obey you.
Our final photopost of Passiontide veils begins with pictures sent by one of our most assiduous photopost contributors, Mr João Melo, of a diaconal ordination celebrated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on the Fourth Sunday of Lent by His Excellency Fernando Rifan, for the Personal Apostolic Administration São João Maria Vianey de Campos. We wish you all a most blessed Palm Sunday, and look forward to seeing your photos!
One of the most hackneyed of all clichés is that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” But there’s a reason certain familiar sayings arise in the first place, and that’s because they express a truth beyond gainsaying.
Some time ago, as I was visiting with a dear Benedictine friend of mine, I happened to notice two holy cards in his monastic breviary. The first was a card with nutty looking geometric shapes and a font that screamed 1970s. The other was a card that could have been from the 19th century.
I told the monk I’m a collector of vintage holy cards (sometime I’ll have to put pictures of some of them up on NLM), and that I’d enjoy giving these two a closer look. My guess of the 1970s was off just a little. The card featuring geometric shapes and the saying “The Creator has made the world…Come and see it” from the Pima Indians was an ordination holy card from May 30, 1965.
Ordination Holy Card (1965)
The other card, once I held it, felt surprisingly new. It turned out to be an ordination holy card from May 24, 2014. The text on the back of this card (not shown here) was not taken from the Pima Indians but from Hebrews 5, in the Knox translation no less:
The purpose for which any high priest is chosen from among his fellow men, and made a representative of men in their dealings with God, is to offer gifts and sacrifices in expiation of their sins. He is qualified for this by being able to feel for them when they are ignorant and make mistakes, since he, too, is all beset with humiliations, and, for that reason, must needs present sin-offerings for himself, just as he does for the people. His vocation comes from God, as Aaron’s did; nobody can take on himself such a privilege as this. … Thou art a priest for ever, in the line of Melchisedech.
Ordination Holy Card (2014)
I went to my holy card collection and pulled out a holy card from 1909, printed in Csákova, Romania, for the first Mass of a German priest. This card is smaller and narrower, as is often the case with older cards, and says at the bottom: “Das Himmelsbrod will ich empfangen und anrufen den Namen des Herrn. – I will receive the bread of heaven and call upon the Name of the Lord.” On the back, it says: “Heiliges Herz Jesu, ich vertaue auf dich! – Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee!”
First Mass Holy Card (1909)
What do we notice when we look at this progression—1909, 1965, 2014?
The 1909 card, with sensitive rendering, evokes the natural order elevated to the supernatural through the liturgy, with the wheat and grapes yielding themselves into the chalice surrounded by light, mounted on an altar book that is wrapped in a stole embroidered with crosses, the whole graced by a Eucharistic text. Two world wars and fifty-six years later, the 1965 card lacks any Christian symbols or texts, any indication that it has anything to do with the priesthood, or even any representational art to speak of. Forty-nine years later, the 2014 card shows a priest bowing humbly before the altar, where, in mystic vision, the High Priest blesses him as he mediates for the people, in the midst of a great church. Light—the light of grace and truth—cascades from Jesus, the Head of the Mystical Body, to the priest and people, in that hierarchical order. The 2014 card, with different imagery, is saying the same thing as the 1909 card: here is the source of light and life; here is the elevation of nature by grace; here is the special work of the ordained minister.
When we look with pained embarrassment at the 1965 card, we cannot help feeling that the 1960s are, with rare exceptions, thoroughly dead—and never was a death so welcome. Like the priests of centuries past, today’s youthful clergy have surrendered themselves to a genuine priestly vocation, with a spirit of awe, reverence, and veneration for the sacred mysteries. They are (just as the Letter to the Hebrews teaches) chosen mediators who offer gifts and sacrifices. The luminous liturgical theology of Pope Benedict XVI and the joyful rediscovery of the ancient Roman Rite of Mass have had much to do with this renewal. May they continue to bring in a harvest of vocations, men who wish to serve in union with, and in imitation of, the Heart of Jesus.
On Saturday, February 19, His Excellency Dom Fernando Guimarães, C.Ss.R, Bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Brazil, ordained Thiago de Oliveira Pino, a member of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, to the priesthood at the chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows in Brasília. The Mass was a votive of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, during which choir sang Palestrina’s Missa brevis and various motets by the same author such as the Sicut Cervus, as well as the Pange Lingua by the Brazilian Friar Jesuíno do Monte Carmelo. NLM is very happy to offer warmest congratulations to the newly ordained priests and to his family, as well as to the Institute, and likewise, our thanks to Dom Guimarães for his pastoral solicitude on behalf of the Institute and the faithful who follow the traditional liturgy. Let us remember to thank God for all the blessings and mercies He gives us through the ministry of the priesthood, for the families in whom religious vocations are born and fostered, to pray for their increase, and for all of our bishops and clergy.
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