The Feast of the Immaculate Conception occurs on 8th December, and will be celebrated at the York Oratory with due celebrity. There will be First Vespers on Thursday 7th Dev at 6pm: and on thre feast day itself there will a Low Mass at 8.15am and a SZolemn Mass at 6pm.
The Music is listed below.
The Vatican has announced that the Bishop of Tyler, Texas, Rt Rev Joseph Strickland, has been dismissed. The dismissal was made known in the following statement:
The Holy Father has removed Bishop Joseph E. Strickland from the pastoral governance of the diocese of Tyler, United States of America, and has appointed Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin as apostolic administrator of the same diocese, rendering it sede vacante.
The decision came after an apostolic visitation ordered by the Pope last June in the Diocese of Tyler, which was entrusted to two US bishops, Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden, and Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas of Tucson.
No reason has been given for the dismissal, and no one has been able to point to any misdemenour on the part of the bishop, other than the accusation that Bishop Strickland was undermining the authority of the Pope. Bishop Strickloand has been a strong upholder of the Catholic Faith, and was well known as a defensor fidei.
There will be a Sung Requiem Mass at the York Oratory at 6pm for deceased members of the Oratory. It will be the Plainsong Missa pro Defuncta.
This is in addition to the regular Low Mass in Latin at 8.15am.
The Latin Masses at the York Oratory on All Souls Day will be as follows:
8.15am Low Mass
6pm Solemn Mass
The musical setting for the Solemn Mass will be Victoria'a Missa pro Defunctis for six parts.
There will also be a Sung Requiem Mass at 7.30pm at the Church of Our Lady and St Peter Chanel in Hull. This will be a Plainchant. Please support this Mass, as it is only occasionally that we have a Sung Mass in Hull.
There will be Latin Masses at the York Oratory on the Feast of All Saints as follows:
8.15am Low Mass
6pm High Mass
The musical setting of the evening Mass will be Victoria's O quam gloriosum est regnum, with motets by Lassus and Byrd.
There will be a meeting of the Guild of St Clare at St Wilfrid's Church (the York Oratory) on Saturday 21st October at 10am. Anyone with an interest in sewing is welcome.
You can bring your own work, or participate in the repair of vestments belonging to the Oratory. No experience is necessary, and tuition and advice will be on hand.
Participants are asked to bring a packed lunch, although some choose to visit a local cafe. Tea, coffee and biscuits are provided. The day usually ends around 3pm. For fcurther information email waddadux@gmail.com
The Feast of St Wilfrid will be celebrated at the York Oratory on Thursday 12th October with a Solemn Mass at 6pm. The Musical setting will be Missa Cantate by Sheppard. Interesting Missa Cantate means Sing the Mass, which implies that we are being encouraged to participate at least in our minds.
There will also be the motets, Beati Omnes (also by Sheppard) and O Sacrum Convivium (Tallis).
As is normal there will also be a Low Mass at 8.15am.
There will be a Solemn Mass at 6pm in the York Oratory to celebrate the Feast of St John Henry Newman on M onday 9th October. The musical setting will be the Mass of St Philip Neri by Sewell, and there will be the motets Ecce Sacerdos Magnus (Elgar) and Ave Verum Corpus (Elgar).
There will, of course, also be the usual Low Mass at 8.15 am.
The twelfth annual international pilgrimage, Populus Summorum Pontificum, is due to take place in Rome between 27th and 29th October. Since 2012 priests, religious and laity have been gathering in Rome each year for this pilgrimage, which has featured a Solemn Mass at the altar of the Chair of St Peter in the Vatican Basilica.
However, this year, the organisers have been informed by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti OFM Conv., Archpriest of St Peter's Basilica, that the celebration of the Holy Mass in the traditional form, that normally takes place on the Saturday of the pilgrimage, will not be authorised. In stead, it is being proposed that the Creed will be sung as pilgrims take part in a procession to the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles.
Last year, 1700 pilgrims took part in the Populus Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage. The organisers are hoping that there will be many more this year.
Thursday 29th June is the Feast of St Peter & St Paul, and is a Holyday of Obligation. There will be La\tin Masses at the York Oratory as follows:
8.15am Low Mass
6pm Solemn Mass
Please note that THERE WILL BE NO 7.30PM LATIN MASS AT OUR LADY AND ST PETER CHANEL IN HULL that day, as Fr Massie has to say a novus ordo Mass that evening.
The Northern Chapter of the Guild of St Clare will be meeting in the upper room of St Wilfrid's Church (The York Oratory) between 10am and 3pm on Saturday 24th June. Anyone interested in needlework, or the making and repair of vestments is invited to attend. If you have your own project, please bring it along. Otherwise, there will be plenty of work to do on the Oratory's collection of vestments. Contact waddadux@gmail.com for further details.
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Barbara Hustwick, who died recently. Barbara was a long time supporter of the Latin Mass, but was unable to attend Church in recent years due to her suffering from Parkinson's disease.
Her body will be received in to St Wilfrid's Church in York at 4pm on Tuesday 13th June, with her Requiem at 10am on Wednesday 14th June.
Thursday 8th June is the Feast of Corpus Christi, and a Holyday of Obligation. At the York Oratory, there will be a Low Mass at 8.15am, and a Solemn Mass at 6pm. The High Mass will b e followed by a procession through the streets of York and Benediction in the church. The musical setting for the Solemn Mass will be Victoria's O quam Gloriosum.
Please note that, due to the absence of Fr Massie, there will be no Latin Mass at the Church of Our Lady and St Peter Chanel in Hull.
Due to the unavailability of Fr Massie, there will be NO Latin Mass in Hull on the Feast of Corpus Christi.
There will, however, be a Sung Latin Mass at the York Oratory at 6pm.
This is advance notice of a major pilgrimage.
The annual pilgrimage in honour of St Margaret Clitherow and the Martyrs of York will take place on Monday 28th August (August Bank Holiday).
Pilgrims are invited to assemble at the Bar Convent in Blossom Street from 10am onwards. Devotions will begin at 10.30am in the convent chapel, with the procession setting off from outside the convent at 10.45am. The procession will visit Ouse Bridge (the place of Margaret Clitherow's execution) before moving on to the Shambles, where she lived. There will be a Sung Mass at noon in St Wilfrid's Church.
The organisers of the Chartres Pilgrimage, which takes place over the Whitsun weekend, have been forced to close registrations 15 days before the commencement of the event, due to an unprecedented number of applications. A limit of 16,000 pilgrims has been applied for practical reasons.
The size of the pilgrimage has grown steadily in recent years, but applications for the 2023 pilgrimage have shown an unprecedented 33% leap.
Pilgrims from 22 countries will be taking part, including about 300 priests and religious. In the past, the Chartres Pilgrimage has been very much a youth movement, with the average age of pilgrims being about 20. However, this year's registrations have seen a surge in adult participants, with many more families taking part.
Thursday 18th May is the Feast of the Ascension, a Holyday of Obligation.
There will be a Sung Latin Mass at 6pm in the York Oratory. There will also be a Low Mass in Latin at 7.30pm in the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Peter Chanel in Hull.
This coming weekend, there will be two First Masses offered by newly ordained priests of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.
On Saturday 13th May at 10am Canon Liam Dodd will offer his first Solemn Mass at the Church of Ss. Peter, Paul and Philomena in New Brighton.
The following day, Sunday 14th May, Canon Michael McCowan will be offering his first Solemn Mass at the Church of St Walburge in Preston.
Canons Dodd and McCowan are shown below on the day of their ordination, flanked by two oither priests of the Institute ordained the same day.
The annual pilgrimage in honour of the English Martyrs will take place in Preston on Saturday 13th May,
Pilgrims should assemble at 12 noon at St Walburge's Church, Weston Street, PR2 2QE. |After prayers in the church, the procession with relics and banners will set off for the Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs in Garstang Road, PR1 1NA, where a Solemn Mass will be offered at 1pm (approx).
After Mass, there will be veneration of relics. Refreshments will be served in the English Martyrs' hall.
The pilgrimage will be led by the Canons of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, which has custody of both these churches. The Church of St Walburge was designed for the Jesuits by Joseph Hansom and opened in 1854. It has the highest steeple of any parish church in England. The Church of St Thomas of Canterbury was designed Edward Pugin and was opened four years later. It is one of his finest works.
Here is a picture of la\st year's pilgrimagde.
The Archbishop of Glasgow, Most Reverend William Nolan, announced that as from 1st May 2023 Latin Masses will no longer be celebrated at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Balornock, which which is a housing estate on the northern fringes of Glasgow. The parish priest is Fr Mark Morris, who has done a great deal to promote the Latin Mass in one of the most socially deprived areas of Glasgow. In 2019, the Immaculate Heart Church hosted a Pontifical High Mass with Cardinal Raymond Burke at the throne.
Latin Masses continue in the Archdiocese at St Brigid’s Church in Toryglen at 9.30am on Sundays. Toryglen is housing estate on the southern fringes of Glasgow, which, like Balornock, has many high rise tenements developed in the 1960s.
The statement issued by Archbishop Nolan states that the authorities in Rome have given permission for the 1962 Latin Mass to be celebrated at St Brigid’s in Toryglen, which will be the sole venue for such Masses in the Archdiocese. This would imply that, in accordance with the Rescripta of February, Archbishop Nolan applied to Rome for permission to continue Latin Masses at both churches, but that it was only given was only given for one location.
The Archbishop thanked Fr Morris for the care he had shown for the Latin Mass community at Immaculate Heart of Mary, and acknowledged that many would be disappointed that they will have to travel to another parish.
I am happy to report that Latin Masses will be continuing at all three venues in the Middlesbrough Diocese. Following the Rescripta issued by Cardinal Roche of the Dicastery for Divine Worship in February, Bishop Drainey sought permission for all the Latin Masses offered in the Diocese of Middlesbrough to continue. A positive response has now been received.
At the York Oratory, the Sung Masses at noon on Sundays will continue, as well as the the Low Masses at 8.15am Mondays to Fridays and the 9.15 am Mass on Saturdays.
At the Church of St Andrew in Teesville, a Low Mass will continue on Sundays at 3pm.
At the Church of Our Lady and St Peter Chanel in Hull, the Low Masses will continue on Thursdays at 7.30pm.
Thew arrangements are to be reviewed in two years.
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On Wednesday 1st March at 7pm, there will be a performance of Stainer's Crucifixion given by the combined ranks of York Oratory's Choral Scholars, Schola and Choir. Something not to be missed.
Arthur Cardinal Roche, formerly Bishop of Leeds, but now Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, has today issued a statement concerning two aspects of the "implementation of the motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes" of July 16 2021. He states that two specific dispensations are reserved ti the Apostolic See.
The two dispensations are:-
- the use of a parish church or the erection of a personal parish for the celebration of the Eucharist using the Missale Romanum of 1962 (cf. Traditionis custodes art. 3 §2);
- the granting of license to presbyters ordained after the publication of Motu proprio Traditionis custodes to celebrate using the Missale Romanum of 1962 (cf. Traditionis custodes art. 4).
In the original document, it is not completely clear whether individual bishops have the authority to grant these dispensations, and many have argued that, since the purported intention was to give bishops greater control over the celebration of the older form of the Mass, it would be logical for these two issues to be within the competence of local bishops.
It is clear that the intention of this latest instruction is to further limit the availability of the Latin Mass, but it is much less clear how things will work out. In the Diocese of Middlesbrough, Latin Masses are offered publicly and regularly in three parish churches. This is done with the full approval, and indeed the encouragement, of Bishop Drainey. The new instruction would seem to require that application must be made to Rome to seek permission for these to continue. I cannot see this happening any time soon.
This is a reminder that there will be a gathering of the northern chapter of the Guild of St Clare at the York Oratory after the 9.15am Mass. Anyone with an interest in the making or repairing of vestments, or ecclesiastical sewing and embroidery more generally is invited to attend, regardless of experience.
As this picture shows, the Guild is not totally a female organisation.
Wednesday 22nd February is Ash Wednesday. Ashes will be blessed and imposed at the following times at the York Oratory.
8.15am Low Mass
6pm Missa Cantats
On Saturday 25th February between 10am and 3pm, the northern chapter of the Guild of St Clare will be meeting in York. Members of the Guild will gather in the upper room of St Wilfrid's church after the 9.15am Mass to undertake various needlework tasks, principally the making and repair of vestments.
Anyone interested in vestments, whether experienced in needlework or not, would be most welcome. Tuition and advice will be available for beginners.
If you have your own needlework project, whether ecclesiastical or not, bring it along to work on. That way, you will have something to do whilst being inspired to greater things. If you do not have any work in progress, you will be able to assist someone else, until such time as you are confident to take on something new.
Please bring a packed lunch. Tea, coffee and usually biscuits will be provided.
David Lloyd was the Chairman of the Latin Mass Society when I became the Representative for the Middlesbrough Diocese about 20 years ago. He lived in Holywell in North Wales, and had been a active member since the early days of the Society. David died the other day, and here is some information about Requiem Masses for the repose of his soul.
A few of you have asked to be informed when arrangements have been made for a Requiem for David Lloyd, former Chairman and Secretary of the LMS.
A Sung Requiem Mass will be celebrated at 6.30pm, Monday 13th February in Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, in London. The Society hopes to organise another in SS Peter & Paul and St Philomena in the Wirral: to be confirmed.
We have tried to organise a Requiem for Pope Benedict XVI, in conjunction with Brompton Oratory, but Cardinal Nichols has refused permission for this to take place. In response to the request, he wrote: ‘You will understand that the provisions laid down by the Holy See allow me to give permission for the use of the 1962 Missal in response to the pastoral need of a Stable Group of people. Requests from the Latin Mass Society do not fall into this category…’
This is why the Requiem for David will take place in the context of one of our long-established weekly Masses in Maiden Lane.
It is extraordinary that Cardinal Nichols should not regard the Latin Mass Society as a stable group.
It seems that in the Diocese of Cheyenne, which is in the USA, the bishop is taking a hard line on the implementation of Traditionis Custodes.
A Solemn Requiem Mass will be offered for the repose of the soul of Pope Benedict XVI at the York Oratory on Friday 13th January at 6pm. The setting of the Mass will be Victoria's Missa pro Defunctis for four voices.
The Sister Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest has announced that a further nine postulants joined the order in December. The new members of the order come from the United States, Nigeria, Italy, France, Germany, Mexico and Argentina, and bring the total membership of the order to over 70. Here are the new postulants at the order's noviciate in Naples.
Friday 6th January is the Feast of the Epiphany. In the Diocese of Middlesbrough, there will be the following Latin Masses:
11am Church of St Joseph, Stokesley Low Mass
6pm York Oratory Sung Mass
The Mass at Stokesley will be the last Latin Mass offered in the parish by Fr Charlton. I am sure that all readers would like to join me in wishing him a long and happy retirement.
I remind readers that, starting on Sunday 8th January, Fr Sellers will be offering a Latin Mass on Sundays at 3pm in the Church of St Andrew in Teesville. Please consider giving this Mass your support.
Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who was private secretary to Pope Benedict throughout his papacy and retirement, as well as during his time as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has given an interview to a German Catholic newspaper. The interview is available as a video, and has been posted on the Rorate Caeli website.
Unfortunately for me, it is conducted in German, which is a language that I do not understand, but I understand that Archbishop Ganswein states that when the Pope Emeritus read Traditionis Custodes, it broke his heart.
No doubt a translation of the interview will emerge before long.
