Extra Masses in York

Fr Duffield has given me a list of additional Masses in the usus antiquior planned for St Wilfrid's Church in York. The are a follows: Ash Wednesday 5th March 6pm Wednesday The Annunciation 25th March 6pm Tuesday The Ascension 29th May 6pm Thursday Corpus Christi 19th June 6pm Thursday The Assumption 15th August 6pm Friday All Saints 1st November 11am Saturday All Souls 3rd November 6pm Monday It is not clear at the moment whether any of these will be Sung Masses. Apologies for the layout. I cannot get the return to work for new lines.

Clifton Cathedral

Over at Auntie Joanna Writes, Joanna Bogle reports on her recent visit to Clifton Cathedral. Usually this author chooses her words carefully so as not to cause anyone any offence. In this post, she pours scorn on the building and on the Sunday Mass that she attended. She has not a good word to say about the place, or the liturgy offered there. The one and only time that I have visited Clifton Cathedral was in the 1960s, soon after it opened. I thought then that, architecturally, it was totally devoid of merit. Nearly 50 years later, Joanna Bogle has come to the same conclusion. Probably, the only thing to have changed is that there are now rows of buckets on the floor to collect the water from the leaking roof!

There is so much in a Name

At this time of the year, I often think about the differences between the new and old forms of the Mass when it comes to the naming of Sundays. We have the succession Septuagessima, Sexagessima and Quinquagessima. How much more interesting these are than sixth, seventh and eight Sundays of Ordinary Time. The expression Ordinary Time seems so mundane. I often think that the modern nomenclature is what one might expect from a Communist state, where people might live on the 9th Floor of Block 17 in District 34 of a particular town.

Missa Cantata on Sunday

This is a reminder that as from this coming Sunday, 23rd February, which is Sexagessima Sunday, the regular Sunday evening Mass at St Wilfrid's Church in York will be a Missa Cantata. Music, usually plainsong, will be provided by the Rudgate Singers. The Rudgate Singers are looking for more singers, as the church is quite large and requires a lot of filling with sound. Additional servers are also needed, especially during university holiday times, as some of the regular crew are students.

San Francisco to get Oratory

There are reports on the internet that Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, the Archbishop of San Francisco has asked Fr Joseph Illo, who is currently chaplain to Thomas Aquinas College to found an Oratory in downtown San Francisco. The initial community is likely to consist of Fr Illo, another priest and two brothers. It seems that the archbishop will provide a suitable church, on the condition that Fr Illo comes up with some financial guarantees that will tide the new Oratory over its first three years. Fr Illo launched an appeal earlier this month, and has already received pledges for two thirds of the $220,000 that is required. So the financial hurdle is well on the way to being met. It has not been disclosed which church the archbishop has in mind, but it is likely to have a prominent position in the city centre, as the Oratorian mission is very much one to city dwellers.

More FSSP Priests on the Way

During the first two weeks of February, 15 young men were ordained to the major order of Sub-deacon, and it is likely that they will become deacons later this year. All could be ordained priests in 2015.

Battle Lines Drawn in Lausanne.

Bishop Alain Castet of Lausanne in France has issued some instructions concerning the manner in which Mass can be celebrated in the usus antiquior in his diocese. He has decreed that: Communion must be given in the hand if requested, The Epistle and Gospel must be read only in French, and not previously read in Latin and The Epistle and Gospel must be read by a lay person. It seems that this bishop is trying to go as far as he can to put restrictions on the celebration of the older form of the Mass, without specifically contravening the provisions of Summorum Pontificum, although this is arguable. The interesting question to ask is: What motivates Bishop Castet to introduce such restrictions? It surely cannot be his concern to satisfy those of the faithful who have an attachment to the older form.

Harvard and MIT

On 9th February, there was a Solemn Mass in the shared chapel at the Massachussets Institute of Technology, and it was attended by about 150 students. The chapel is a space age building, not very well suited to the traditional Mass, but a way was found to make it work, and reports indicate that the event was a great success. There is a picture on New Liturgical Movement. It follows a Solemn Mass in the chapel of the Catholic Chaplaincy of Harvard University last autumn which was also very successful. These two Masses were both firsts for Solemn Masses in the two institutions but in both cases they certainly will not be the last. This contrasts, somewhat, with what we find in English Universities, where there is generally considerable resistance to the usus antiquior in any form. As is very often the case, then US is in the lead, showing us what can be done. I am sure that there are students at English universities with similar enthusiasm for the usus antiquior. We need them to be more active in their campaigning.

Masses in York

On the final Sunday of this month (that is Sunday 24th Feb), the Mass in York will be a Missa Cantata. Thereafter, it is planned that all the Sunday Masses in York will be Missae Cantatae. This will put some additional pressure on both the serving team and the choir. Anyone with the appropriate skills, who is willing to help out in either of these areas is urged to make themselves known after Mass. Training can be arranged for any men, especially young men, or boys who would like to learn to serve.

What is going on in Germany?

I have just looked at the statistics for page views of this blog. In recent weeks there has been much interest from Germany, The top ten countries last week were: Germany 220 Ukraine 213 United States 176 United Kingdom 103 Israel 23 Russia 21 Brazil 12 France 9 New Zealand 7 China 5 The US and the UK are usually at the top of the list but have recently given way Germany and the Ukraine. Could it be that the behaviour of some of the German bishops has provoked German Catholics to take a renewed interest in traditional matters? It also puzzles me why Ukraine, which is consistently in the top ten, scores so highly.

Communion on the Tongue

The Archbishop of Colombo in Sri Lanka, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, has restored the practice of Communion being received only on the tongue and whilst kneeling to his diocese. He says that that is the most appropriate way of expressing belief in the real presence. He has asked that altar rails be restored in all churches and chapels of the Archdiocese. Well done Cardinal! We could do with a few more like you.

Statistics from New Zealand

Some of you might be wandering what happened to the post entitled: Statistics from New Zealand. I am wondering as well, because it just disappeared, and I have no record of what I wrote. The main point was that according to the recent national census, the Catholic Church has overtaken the Anglican Church of New Zealand, as the largest denomination in the country. The number of people claiming adherence to the Anglican Church had declined by, I think, 17% since the previous census, which was six years earlier. Catholic adherence had declined by 4% over the same period.

Free Places for Seminarians

The Latin Mass Society is offering places at its forthcoming Priest and Server Training Conference entirely free to seminarians studying at any of the seminaries serving the dioceses of England and Wales. The conference will take place at Belmont Abbey, near Hereford from 29th April to 2nd May 2014, and will provide tuition in the extraordinary form of the Mass. According to how advanced the students are in their progress through seminary, they will be able to follow a course on serving, sub-deaconing, deaconing or celebrating Mass. Details of how to book a place can be found on the main website of the Latin Mass Society.

An Introduction to the Extraordinary Form

Fr John Cahill is holding an interesting event on Saturday 22nd February at his parish in Leicester.  He has chosen the Feast of the Chair of St Peter to devote a day explaining the Extraordinary Form of the Mass to people who are new to it.


The day starts with a Solemn Mass at 11am and ends with Solemn Benediction at 4.30pm.  In between, the meeting will divide into groups where participants can be instructed in the following subjects:


    The History of the Roman Rite,
     Responses for Low Mass,
     Serving Low Mass and
     Chants for Mass and Benediction.


Tea and Coffee will be provided, but participants should bring their own lunch.


The venue is St Peter's Church, Hinkley Road, Leicester.   LE3 0TA


For further enquiries, or to book:


     tel   0116 251 9802 or
     e-mail   wleicscatholic@btinternet.com