Rorate Caeli

You report: Bishop Schneider's Pontifical Mass in Russia

From Mr. Oleg-Michael Martynov of Una Voce Russia comes this report. (See also Rorate's earlier post on this Pontifical Mass.)



Another step in the restoration of traditional Roman Catholic spirituality in Russia was taken on October 15: Mgr. Athanasius Schneider, the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Maria Sanctissima in Astana (Kazakhstan), celebrated a Solemn Pontifical Mass at the historic church of St. Louis in Moscow. Serving was an international team of clergy representing three different religious institutes: Canon Gwenaël Cristofoli ICRSS was the assistant priest, Fr. Vitaly Leontiev FSSP served as deacon, and Fr. Michał Jermaszkiewicz OP acted as subdeacon. Abbé Louis Valadier was the primary master of ceremonies. Fr. Igor Kowalewski, the parish priest of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul parish (which shares the church with the parish of St. Louis) assisted in choro. The choir under the direction of Mr. Timur Dosayev sang beautiful pieces of sacred polyphony.

This Holy Mass began the three-day conference of scholars, entitled "Catholic Church in the USSR in the 1920s and 30s" and held by Una Voce Russia with the support of the Archdiocese of Mother of God of Moscow.