Ascension Day

Thursday 26th May is Ascension Day and a Holyday of Obligation.  Latin Masses in the traditional form will be offered in the diocese as follows:

     York Oratory         08.15    Low Mass

                                   18.00    Sung Mass

     Our Lady, Hull     7.30pm    low mass

Manchester Oratory

It has been announced that the Holy See has given permission for the Manchester Oratory to continue to offer Mass according to the 1962 books on Sundays for a period of two years.

Church of St Chad, home of the Manchester Oratory

At first it seemed curious that there was a need to apply to Rome for this permission, as Traditionis Custodes appears to give responsibility for granting such permissions to local bishops.  However, the reason is that St Chad's Church is a Parish Church as well as an Oratory.  TC includes a clause that the Latin Mass cannot be celebrated in Parish Churches, a stipulation that has been ignored by all other bishops of England and Wales.     

It seems that Bishop Arnold (of Salford) stipulated that a condition of the Manchester Oratory continuing their regular Latin Mass on Sundays, was that the Oratory applied to Rome for permission for this particular Mass to be held in a Parish Church.  This permission has now been granted by the Congregation for Devine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, which is headed by Archbishop Roche.  The permission is limited to two years, after which the Oratory would presumably be expected to reapply.

Although it is regrettable that it has been necessary to go through the process of applying to Rome, the outcome is not unsatisfactory.  One would presume that permission to offer the Latin Mass in a Parish Church would be similarly granted if applied for elsewhere in England and Wales.

Pilgrimage to Honour English Martyrs

With apologies for short notice.

English Martyrs' church, Preston

After a lapse of two years due to COVID, a pilgrimage in honour of the English Martyrs is to take place at Preston on Saturday 7th May.  

The programme is as follows:

     11.45am           Assemble at St Walburge's Church.   

      12 noon           Procession to Church of the English Martyrs' starts

      1pm (approx)  Sung Mass at English Martyrs' begins, followed by tea in the hall.

The pilgrimage will be led by the canons of the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest, which has custody of both of these spectacular Preston churches.

The Church of St Walburge was designed by Joseph Hansom and opened in 1854.  It boasts the third highest steeple in England, only being surpassed by Salisbury and Norwich Cathedrals.  The Institute of Christ the King has begun a restoration scheme, which will take many years, and is estimated to cost £3.5 million.  Currently, the first stage of the roof renewal is in hand.

The Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs was designed by Edward Welby Pugin, and was opened four years after St Walburge's in 1867.  Unlike St Walburge's which was built by the Jesuits, English Martyrs' Church was staffed by diocesan clergy.

Key Addresses

St Walberge            Weston St, Preston.   PR2 2QE

English Martyrs      Garston Road, Preston.   PR1 1NA

Preserve the Latin Mass

 Someone by the name of Mark Rome, whom I take to be American, is collecting signatures worldwide for a petition to Pope Francis urging an end to restrictions on the Latin Mass.  He is hoping for 1,000,000 signatures and at present has "tens of thousands".

Below is a link to a podcast.

https://preservethelatinmass.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Marc_Rome_On_MyCatholicFaith_podcast.mp3

Fr Quirke

Back in October, I published a post about a young priest celebrating Mass at a Rock Altar on Achill Island in Ireland.  Here is the picture:

I was a bit worried that it might be a photoshopped picture, and that the story might be fake.  However, I need not have worried.  It turns out that the priest is Fr Gerard Quirke, a priest of the Irish Diocese of Tuam.  It has recently been announced that Fr Quirke is now a postulant with the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, and is resident at Warrington.  It looks as if the FSSP may gain another good young priest.  If this happens, Fr Quirke will be the second Irish diocesan priest to join the FSSP in recent years.

Confirmations in the Old Rite

 Most readers will probably know that Archbishop Roche, the Prefect of the Congregation for Devine Worship, issued a document entitled Responsa ad Dubia just before Christmas.  The document supplied answers to some questions that had purportedly been raised by bishops from around the world about the implementation of Traditionis Custodes, the motu proprio that that had been issued by Pope Francis earlier in the year.  Amongst the matters covered by Responsa ad Dubia was the use of liturgical books that relate to the older rites, and the use of the Pontificale Romanum was specifically banned except in canonically erected personal parishes.  

The Pontificale Romanum contains the texts to be used in conferring the sacraments that are reserved to bishops.  As a result, it would seem that the Responsa ad Dubia outlawed confirmations in the older rite in all places other than personal parishes.  This interpretation was adopted by the Archdiocese of Westminster which cancelled the traditional confirmations that were due to take place this summer in the church of St James, Spanish Place.

It has now emerged that Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of the Liverpool Archdiocese will be conferring confirmations in the traditional rite at the FSSP church in Warrington on Saturday 2nd July.  It is likely that there will be large numbers of confirmands because of the cancellation in Westminster.  Anyone wishing to be confirmed at Warrington (or their parents) is invited to conduct Fr Quirke who is dealing with the preparation of candidates for the FSSP.  His email is:   

frquirke@outlook.com.

A course of preparation will begin in Warrington after Easter.  It is possible that courses of preparation,  organised at other locations may be accepted so it would be wise to contact Fr Quirke at an early date.

St Mary's Church, Warrington.

Fr Michael Rowe

Fr Michael Rowe is a priest of the Archdiocese of Perth in Australia.  For many years, he has travelled to England to take part in the Latin Mass Society's walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham. This was until he was prevented from doing so by COVID.  He is the chaplain to a thriving Latin Mass Community which was given the redundant church of St Anne in the Belmont area of Perth by the previous Archbishop.  The Latin Mass community has spent a lot of money improving the church, including the installation of an organ.

Church of St Anne

The current Archbishop has decided to sell this church, thus depriving to Latin Mass community of any premises.  Appeal through the processes of Canon Law have so far failed, so Fr Rowe is now seeking redress through the Civil Courts, and is seeking funds to go to the Australian High Court.  A fuller explanation of the case, as well as an opportunity to donate towards costs  can be found on the Go Fund Me page.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-latin-mass-at-st-annes-perth-australia?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet

Attendance at Latin Masses Growing at an Accelerating Rate.

 

The following is the result of a survey conducted by the Christus Vincit Foundation.  It was an on line survey, which could mean that the sample was not very representative, but it did have 4870 respondents, which is large enough a number for the survey to be taken seriously. The answers to the question about how long respondents have been attending the Latin Mass should give reasonably reliable results;

This survey indicates that 13% of responders have been attending the Latin Mass for less than a year, and 47% have been attending for less than five years.

The conclusion must be that allegiance to the Latin Mass is not only growing at a healthy rate, but is accelerating.

Ash Wednesday

 Wednesday 2nd March is Ash Wednesday.  Ashes will be blessed and distributed at a Missa Cantata at 6pm in the York Oratory.

Traditionis Custodes Has Little Impact in England & Wales

According to the listings in Mass of Ages, the quarterly magazine of the Latin Mass Society, the average number of Latin Masses offered on Sundays in England and Wales over the coming three months is 63.  This is one up on the previous quarter, and is the highest number ever reported.  

It seems that the only casualty that can directly be attributed to Traditionis Custodes, so far as Sunday Masses is concerned, is in the Diocese of Clifton, where Bishop Lang ordered the cancellation of the Mass in Glastonbury.

Another casualty has been the cancellation of the proposed Confirmations in the traditional rite, that were to take place at St James, Spanish Place in London.  However, there is good news that might mittigate this set back.  Pope Francis has confirmed to the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter that they are free to use the Pontifical (the book containing the rite of Confirmation in the traditional form) in their churches.  It seems that this permission applies also to all the Ecclesia Dei communities, so the possibility of traditional confirmations exists in at least five dioceses.

Generally, reports from around the country suggest  that attendance at Latin Masses is continuing grow.  So overall, Traditionis Custodes has had little impact.  My impression is that it has given a minor boost to the traditional movement.

Why the Latin Mass will Continue to Prosper

The picture below  was taken at St Patrick's Oratory, the Church of  the Institute of Christ the King in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA.  It shows 17 of the 36 babies baptised  at that church during 2021.

Any congregation with 36 baptisms in a year is surely growing.  Just think how much larger the congregation will be in, say, ten years.  This is a demographic trend that Traditionis Custodes cannot conquer.  The Latin Mass will not only survive all attempts to extinguish it, but it will thrive, especially in Green Bay.

After seeing this photograph, surely the appeal of the Traditional Mass to young people, especially young families, could not be denied by anyone.

Preserve the Latin Mass

There is a petition circulating in which it is hoped to get one million signatures to a letter to Pope Francis appealing to him to allow the preservation of the Latin Mass throughout the world. Unfortunately, I am not clever enough to provide a direct link, but the petition is easily found by typing Preserve the Latin Mass into any search engine.  

Please consider signing it whether or not you are a regular attender at the older form of the Mass.  I know that there are many who do not personally favour the Latin Mass, but who do think that the the current attempt to get it removed from our churches is both uncharitable and illiberal, and therefore should be resisted.

PLEASE SIGN IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO

A Reminder

A Latin Mass in the traditional form is offered at 3pm every Sunday at the Church of St Joseph in Stokesley.  

The church has a chequered history.  Opened in 1873 to a design provided by George Goldie, it could be described a a small church built to a modest budget.  It suffered from a disastrous fire in the 1970s that destroyed the roof, and much else.  A new roof was provided and the internal arrangements were altered so that the altar was in the middle of the south (liturgical) wall.

In recent years, the original orientation has been restored, which is a huge improvement.

Seen in the Streets of Chicago

This truck, which has been photographed in Chicago, has an uncompromising message.  The gentleman in the red biretta is Cardinal Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, who has imposed Draconian measures to restrict the Latin Mass in his diocese, including banning it on the first Snday of every month.

 

How Things Used To Be

The photograph below was taken in the 1950s, and shows ordination day at the Seminary of Saint Sulpice in Paris.  You can count 66 ordinands in the picture, and there are clearly more outside the view of the camera.

This seminary might have served about five dioceses in the Paris area, which suggests an average of 13 or more ordinations per diocese.  Nowadays, an average French diocese has about two ordinations each year.  A more alarming statistic is that 60% of French Dioceses will have no ordinations this year. 

Fr James Mawdsley

I first came across Fr James Mawdsley around the year 2000.  At that time, he was in the news as a campaigner against the repression of the tribal people of Burma by their government. Many years later I met him in completely unrelated circumstances, and discovered that he was about to start training to become a priest of the Priestly Society of St Peter.  After studying at Wigratzbad, he was ordained in Warrington in 2016, and has served the FSSP, mostly in Austria and Germany.

Recently, he has hit the headlines again.  He has embarked on a new campaign to fight the attempt by Pope Francis to curtail and eventually eliminate the Latin Mass.  In order to be free to take on this cause, and not to cause the FSSP embarrassment, Fr Mawdsley has resigned from the order.

He has now released a video, which can be found on the Remnant and on Fr Z's blog as well as several other places.

Brazilian Archbishop to defy Respona ad Dubia

 Below is a report taken from en.news that states that a Brazilian archbishop will on 19th February be conducting a priestly ordination according to the Pontificale Romanum.  

Archbishop Fernando Guimarães, 75, the Military Ordinary of Brazil, will ordain a priest for the Good Shepherd Institute on February 19 in Brasilia, Brazil.

He will use the Pontificale of 1962 of which Francis and his Liturgy Congregation believe that it is “forbidden.” The Institute announces the ordination of Abbé Thiago de Oliveira Pino “with joy.” The whole Church rejoices with them.

This news, if correct, is important for two reasons.  Firstly, it involves an archbishop disregarding the Responsa ad Dubia issued by Archbishop Roche of the Congregation for Divine Worship.   Secondly, it indicates that Institute of the Good Shephard, one of the three largest orders of traditional priests, intends to continue ordaining priests in the traditional rite.

Candlemas

The Feast of Candlemas, or the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary is on Wednesday 2nd February.  There will be a Sung Latin Mass with blessing of candles and procession at 6pm in St Wilfrid's Church, York.

Thursday 13th January

 CANCELLED MASS

Please note that the Latin Mass that usually takes place  at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Peter Channel at 7.30pm on Thursdays will NOT take place on Thursday 13th January.  The Mass will resume the following week.

The Tablet

 

Although I do not subscribe to The Tablet, I am always interested to see what it has to say on matters concerning the Latin Mass.  I discovered that last week's edition included three letters (including one from myself) on the subject, all of which were highly critical of the policy coming from the Pope Francis and the Vatican of attempting to extinguish the Mass that so many of us love.  The letters are reproduced below.

I would encourage readers who want to defend the Latin Mass to use every opportunity to promote the cause.  Writing to the Tablet is one way of doing this.

Pope Francis Speaks

 

The following are extracts from the sermon given in St Peter's Basilica by Pope Francis on the Feast of the Epiphany:

"Have we been stuck all too long, nestled inside a conventional, external and formal religiosity that no longer warms our hearts and changes our lives?"

"Do our words and our liturgies ignite in people's hearts a desire to move towards God, or are they a 'dead language' that speaks only of itself and to itself?"

It seems that Pope Francis is continuing to deride the Latin Mass, and is now doing so in his sermons.

Epiphany

Thursday 6th January is the Feast of the Epiphany and a Holyday of Obligation.  In the Middlesbrough Diocese, there will be a Sung Mass at 6pm at St Wilfrid's, York; and a Low Mass at the Church of Our Lady and St Peter Chanel in Hull  The Mass in Hull will be offered for the repose of the soul of Peter Miles, a long time member of the Latin Mass Society, who died before Christmas.