Attack on Chartres: FULL TEXT of the Letter of Bishops of France in Consultation with the Dicastery for Divine Worship (Cardinal Roche) on Traditional Pilgrimages

For some reason, some have reduced to the rank of a simple "rumor" our previous post transcribing the comment by the French Association "Paix Liturgique" on the attack by Abp. Jordy, Archbishop of Tours and assigned by the French Conference of Bishops (CEF) to deal with Traditional Catholics.

Naturally, we would not have posted such a grave matter based on a simple rumor. No, the letter on general norms on all Traditional Catholic pilgrimages in France does exist, and our translation of it is transcribed below. It was a letter based on correspondence sent by Abp. Jordy and other anti-Traditional French bishops to the Dicastery for Divine Worship, headed by Cardinal Roche, and its intent is obviously to create all kinds of embarrassment to the organizers of the Paris-Chartres Pilgrimage and all other pilgrimages in France. It is shameful and, unfortunately, it is not a "rumor".

***

Paris, Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Dear brother bishops,

The Bishops of France and Cardinal Roche Still at War Against the Traditional Pilgrimages of France -- What Will Leo XIV do?

 

Sometimes, decisions can wait. At other times, they have to be made fast.

In April and early May, making use of the interregnum for their nefarious ends, the anti-traditional bishops of France negotiated with Cardinal Roche, Prefect of Divine Worship, in order to make as hard as possible the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass and sacraments in the Paris-Chartres Pilgrimage -- and all other pilgrimages in France. [Update: Full text of the Letter of the French Bishops here.]

Leo XIV was not involved in these decisions. What will he do now? What will Roche do now?

From Paix Liturgique:

Cardinal Roche's Dicastery for Divine Worship and Cardinal Aveline's Conference of French Bishops wish that the traditional pilgrimages flourishing in France be brought into the liturgical order of Paul VI.

Leo XIV: Synodality with Ecumenism

Leo XIV, today, in Audience to Representatives of other Christian Communities and Other Religions:

"Aware, moreover, that synodality and ecumenism are closely related, I wish to assure my intention to continue Pope Francis' commitment to promoting the synodal character of the Catholic Church and developing new and concrete forms for an ever more intense synodality in the ecumenical field.

Leo XIV Inauguration Mass - Full Text of the Sermon: "Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat."

Leo XIV

Mass for the Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry of the Supreme Pontiff

Saint Peter's Square, May 18, 2025

Dear Brother Cardinals, Brother Bishops and Priests, Distinguished Authorities and Members of the Diplomatic Corps, and those who traveled here for the Jubilee of Confraternities, Brothers and Sisters:

I greet all of you with a heart full of gratitude at the beginning of the ministry that has been entrusted to me. Saint Augustine wrote: “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (Confessions, I: 1,1).

Personal Reflections on the Election of Pope Leo XIV - by Fr. Richard Cipolla

 for Rorate Cæli

May 16, 2025

Within hours after the election of Pope Leo XIV,  Cardinal Burke sent the new Pope a heartfelt message of congratulations:

Leo XIV: The Church Must Always Speak the Truth, "resorting whenever necessary to blunt language that may initially create misunderstanding"

 The central message of the new pope in his address to the Diplomatic Corps today:

Leo P.P. XIV - Official Portrait

(Click for larger view and/or for printing)

Prayer for the Pope:
[Partial indulgence granted: Enchiridion indulgentiarum, IV ed. (al. conc., 25, 1°)]

“Let’s sing with the Pope”: New Initiative from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music (PIMS) - Videos for Learning Basic Chant

 From the PIMS Instagram account:

“Let’s sing with the Pope” is a new initiative from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music (PIMS), which is launching a series of short educational video tutorials on social media to help the People of God sing along with the Holy Father during the upcoming major liturgical celebrations.

It aims to make the rich heritage of Gregorian chant accessible to all—a universal musical and spiritual language for celebrations such as papal Masses and to promote active and conscious participation in the liturgy.

FR. Robert Mehlhart OP, Rector of the Institute, presents simple, singable chants that are easy to learn, encouraging active and meaningful participation.

The Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music currently has 153 students from 44 countries; 10 of them will sing in the guide choir at the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate.

Video below, from their YouTube page:

5-Day Silent Ignatian Men's and Women's Retreats in Ohio, July 2025 - Register Today

Una Voce Federation President: Message on Leo XIV ("A Pope of the Anglosphere")

A Pope of the Anglosphere

Joseph Shaw

President, Una Voce Federation (FIUV)

During the reign of Pope Francis, a lot of attention was, rightly, given to his Argentinian background, and the Argentinian assumptions and habits of minds that he may have carried. I am grateful to our Argentinian friends who helped us to understand what was going on, during a rather confusing time. Now we have a Pope from the English-speaking world – even if he has spent a great deal of time in Peru – and I feel that I can more easily understand him.

Cardinal Müller to the Associated Press on the Latin Mass and the new Pope: "According to his character, I think he is able to speak with people and to find a very good solution that is good for everybody."

A good portion of the interview granted by Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller in Rome to Nicole Winfield, of the Associated Press, was dedicated to the central question of the Traditional Latin Mass -- central because Francis chose to make it so by creating division in a matter that Benedict XVI had settled peacefully. It would honestly be a muted matter now if Francis had just left it alone.

Main excerpts:

They went into last week’s conclave vastly outnumbered and smarting after being sidelined by Pope Francis for 12 years. And yet conservatives and traditionalist Catholics are cautiously optimistic over the historic election of Pope Leo XIV, hopeful that he will return doctrinal rigor to the papacy, even as progressives sense he will continue Francis’ reformist agenda.

Better destruction than devotion: Indiana Novus Ordo parish kicks out Latin Mass community, gets closed by bishop several years later

An Indiana parish that ran to the National Catholic Reporter to stir up animosity against the Latin Mass community found out this week it will be closed due to lack of vitality.

St. Joseph's Church, Hammond, IN

On Sunday, the parish officially announced it would be closing sometime in 2026, following a series of discussions with other churches in the area over how to address demographic changes and a declining number of priests.

Yet things could have gone so differently.

Leo XIV on Liturgy: "We have great need to recover the sense of mystery that remains alive in your [Eastern] liturgies."

Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in Rome for Jubilee Pilgrims from the Eparchy of Mukachevo (May 12, 2025)

***

 

In his audience with Eastern Catholics in Rome for the Jubilee:

I would also like to mention Pope Leo XIII, the first Pope to devote a specific document to the dignity of your Churches, inspired above all by the fact that, in his words, “the work of human redemption began in the East” (cf. Apostolic Letter Orientalium Dignitas, 30 November 1894).

PINNED: Leo XIV: the Man, the Priest, and the Bishop - Who is He? An Assessment, by RORATE CÆLI

[PINNED MAY 11 POST, newer posts below]

Who Is He?

by Serre Verweij

for Rorate Cæli

May 10, 2025

Robert Francis Prevost has become Pope Leo XIV. Before May 8, 2025, most people did not know the name Prevost, but now he is the chief shepherd of over a billion Catholics. Both orthodox Catholics and modernists have been celebrating, while there have been naysayers on both sides, too. This reflects the fact Prevost was touted as a ‘compromise candidate’ and pushed by strong prelates on both sides. Both the orthodox and the modernists seem to think, or hope, that the new Pope actually leans more in their direction, with orthodox faithful especially being optimistic after his more traditional choice of papal attire and his orthodox first papal mass. So, to put it crudely, the real question is: who got played? 

To fully understand our new Pope it could help to look into his past statements, actions, and general career, starting with his recent rise in Rome. 

The meteoric rise

Testimonies on Father and Bishop Prevost - from Illinois and Peru

From Illinois, the following note from a priest: 

The former Fr. Prevost was an assistant pastor at St. Jude in New Lenox for a time, not far from where we serve.  It is an Augustinian parish.  

The strong and firm consensus about him in this area is that he is smart, quiet, and kind.

***

The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) in North America has annual missions to northern Peru, especially in the city of Piura. There, they are warmly welcomed by an American priest, Father Joe (Joseph Uhen), of the Santísimo Sacramento Parish.

Fatima and Pope Leo XIV

by Fr. Jay Finelli

Today is the 108th Anniversary of the First Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. Let us examine the prophetic link between Fatima, Pope Leo XIII, and Pope Leo XIV.

FRIENDS OF CAMPOS: Help the only Diocesan Structure in the World Exclusively Dedicated to the Traditional Mass

Friends of CAMPOS, BRAZIL: EASTERTIDE

Aldo Maria Valli: "Time to Return to a Normal Pope."

 Aldo Maria Valli, the former Vaticanist for Italian state broadcaster RAI (and very critical of the last pontificate, as every sensible Catholic), concluded his article today with these words:

"Before and After the Conclave" - by Archbishop Héctor Agüer

Before and After the Conclave

Archbishop Héctor Agüer

Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina

Buenos Aires, May 12, 2025

Before the Conclave

Our Long Collective Nightmare is Over

Earlier today, another sign that, no matter what happens, at least a sense of Catholic normalcy is returning to the Vatican.

Video: Leo XIV takes possession of papal apartments in Apostolic Palace - move in 7 weeks

Video below, provided by Italian news agency ANSA:

A RORATE Editorial Note: Kinship

A Pontificate to Continue the Legacy of Christ

On the same day that the Church in Rome buried Pope Francis I had the privilege of offering a funeral Mass and burial for a woman who, almost 40 years ago, was among those who requested of Cardinal Hickey, then Archbishop of Washington, a southern Maryland venue at which to offer the Latin Mass. That location turned out to be my parish of Saint Francis de Sales and I was the priest who took up that task in 2010 as a new pastor there.

The writer with the late Catherine Quinn who, almost forty years ago, was instrumental in restoring the traditional Latin Mass in the Archdiocese of Washington.

Leo XIV: the hope of the Church and the world

 

Dear Readers,  for your consideration, I offer this translation of an Italian  article that  reflects my present thoughts and sentiments regarding the election of Pope Leo XIV, despite initially being worried when I heard his name.  

Paolo Deotto

Il Nuovo Arengario

10th May 2025

Allow me today to speak only of the Pope.

In the coming days we will also return to our customary news, which is, unfortunately, mostly news of a world lost, in the hands of the reckless (in the best of cases) and the wicked (more often than not), where the few who are still lucid and honest are insulted and attacked.

A world that needs to rediscover reason and peace - true peace.

And from whom can this true peace come if not from Christ?

Can we once again look to Rome as a guide and a beacon of light?

I hope so with all my heart. Twelve years of the Bergoglian disaster have filled us with suspicion.  Nor could it be any other way.

Leo XIV to the Lady of Good Counsel

In the guestbook at Genazzano, the city of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel, which he visited today, Pope Leo XIV wrote the following:  

“Still in the first days of the pontificate, I felt the duty and a deep longing to approach Genazzano, the shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel, who, throughout my life, has accompanied me with her maternal presence, with her wisdom, and the example of her love for her son who is always the center of my faith. Way, truth and life. 

"Thank you Mother, for your help - accompany me in this new mission”  

Leo PP XIV 

May 10, 2025

Francis Witnesses the Traditional Mass in Saint Mary Major

 The Jubilee Pilgrimage of the Institute of Christ the King had a celebratory Traditional Mass in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major this week.

In the video below (tip: Una Voce Sevilla, Spain), that lighted spot in the background is the recently opened tomb of Francis, which was put in the place of magnificent early 17th-century baroque  wall ands doorway, decorated with the most beautiful stone, destroyed and demolished to accomodate the enormous humility of the humble pontiff.

Leo XIV: Address to the College of Cardinals

Thank you very much, Your Eminence. Before taking our seats, let us begin with a prayer, asking the Lord to continue to accompany this College, and above all the entire Church with this spirit, with enthusiasm, but also with deep faith. Let us pray together in Latin.

Pater noster… Ave Maria…

In the first part of this meeting, there will be a short talk with some reflections that I would like to share with you. But then there will be a second part, a bit like the opportunity that many of you had asked for: a sort of dialogue with the College of Cardinals to hear what advice, suggestions, proposals, concrete things, which have already been discussed in the days leading up to the Conclave.

Dear Brother Cardinals,

Leo XIV and the Future of the Church - by Roberto de Mattei

 Roberto de Mattei

Rome, May 10, 2025

The white smoke rose as a surprise from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 6:08 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, as the twilight illuminated the Bernini colonnade. An hour later, St. Peter's Square and Via della Conciliazione were packed with more than a hundred thousand people, while nearly a billion were connected through the media. The crowd, as had happened in 1978 with Pope Wojtyla, did not immediately understand the name of the new pontiff, announced by Cardinal Dominique Mamberti. However, the applause erupted long and thunderous. The square acclaimed the 267th successor of St. Peter, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who assumed the name of Pope Leo XIV. 

Rector of Cathedral in Pope's former Diocese: "I never heard from him one sentence in favor of all these [human sexuality] novelties"

The rector of the Chiclayo Cathedral in the years when Robert Prevost was diocesan ordinary, Fr. Jorge Millan Cotrina, lived with other priests in the residence of the bishop, now Pope Leo XIV, for 8 years.

He was interviewed earlier today by a famous Argentine radio interviewer (YouTube video embedded in the end here, in Spanish); the interviewer pressed him on regarding "LGBT issues." 

After making clear that these "LGBT" issues really are irrelevant in Chiclayo, unlike abroad and in the Peruvian capital Lima, the priest was firm: "He [Leo XIV] knows very well what is the teaching of Christ" on such matters; "he showed it to us in his homilies; I never heard from him one sentence in favor of all these novelties. Rather, he was always a man who tried to put realities in the proper place."

What Italian Daily "Corriere della Sera" Reported on May 1st

Source: Conclave Life, Corriere della Sera, May 1st, 2025.

Excerpt, for the record of current events:

Spiritual Bouquet for Pope Leo XIV

 For traditional Catholics and all Catholics interested in adding their names and prayers to the spiritual bouquet organized by the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales: please click here.

Inaugural Sermon of Leo XIV - Sistine Chapel - Full Text

A very good first sermon of the new Pope in the mass with the Cardinals at the Sistine Chapel. No buzzwords, just Christ-God. Christological, Christ-centered, Patristic.

Leo spoke briefly in English before his sermon, saying:

"I want to repeat the words from the Responsorial Psalm: 'I will sing a new song to the Lord, because He has done marvels,' and indeed, not just with me but with all of us.

"My brother Cardinals, as we celebrate this morning, I invite you to reflect on the marvels the Lord has done, the blessings that the Lord continues to pour out on all of us through the Ministry of Peter.

"You have called me to carry that cross, and to carry out that mission, and I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me, as we continue as a Church, as a community of friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the Good News, to announce the Gospel."

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt 16:16). In these words, Peter, asked by the Master, together with the other disciples, about his faith in him, expressed the patrimony that the Church, through the apostolic succession, has preserved, deepened and handed on for two thousand years." 

Then, the following homily in Italian:

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God: the one Saviour, who alone reveals the face of the Father.

For the historical record: Certificate of Acceptance of the Supreme Pontificate

 

Certificate of the Public Instrument of Acceptance of the Roman Pontificate by Cardinal Prevost and formal registration of the name he assumed, drawn up by the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations acting as notary. (Source: Office of Pontifical Celebrations X account @UCEPO)

Interestingly, the last native English-speaking pope, Cardinal Nicholas Breakspear (Adrian IV), a cardinal of the order of bishops, also had as his cardinalatial title the Suburbicarian See of Albano.

Before Leo XIV, he had been the only Cardinal of that titular see to be elected Roman Pontiff.

The Fast Election of Leo XIV: Now What? - by Fr. Claude Barthe

 Fr. Claude Barthe

May 8, 2025

In the French Academy, we'd call this an “election of a Marshal”: on the second day of the conclave, in the fourth vote, Robert Francis Prevost just won an absolute majority, faster than Cardinal Ratzinger in 2005 and Cardinal Bergoglio in 2013.

Born in Chicago in 1955, a religious of the Augustinian order, a highly competent jurist with long pastoral experience in Peru, where he became Bishop of Chiclayo, he was called by Pope Francis to become Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in 2023.

All commentators will now ask whether he will be a faithful follower of Pope Francis. The answer is both yes and no. 

So what to think of the new Pope?

Leo XIV

 It's too soon. 

On the one hand... he is a creature of the Church of Chicago and liberal Villanova University, and the very liberal Catholic Theological Union (even more liberal when he was a student there, in the feverish 1970s);  he has a long life living in the Liberation Theology-filled rural expanses of Peru; on the other, he is a Doctor of Canon Law, after a period in which it was destroyed by arbitrariness.

We are encouraged by his choice of name, by his reasonable opening message, and by his use of the papal mozzetta -- they are all signs of true humility, not the feigned humility of the past few years. We dread the future, we just want peace. Will peace come?...

Oremus pro pontifice nostro Leone XIV

Dominus conservet eum,

et vivificet eum,

et beatum faciat eum in terra,

et non tradat eum

in animam inimicorum eius.

Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost, American, born in the Archdiocese of Chicago, on September 14, 1955, was elected on the 4th vote of the Conclave. His pontifical name is Leo XIV.

Prevost is a former superior of the Order of Saint Augustine, and bishop in Peru (where he had lived much of his religious life), before being named Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops by Francis.

 

We pray for him and for the happiness, peace, and liberty of the Holy Roman Church, and of the entire Catholic Church.

What Holy Mother Church needs is unity and peace, no more agitation. Since 1959, this permanent state of agitation.

May Our Lord and Our Lady grant us a period of peace. We need peace. We need normality.

God bless the new Pope, and may God protect our Church.

We will soon publish a post with more information on the new Roman Pontiff.

HABEMUS PAPAM

 

A new Pope has been elected after the 4th Vote (3rd of the day): The See is no longer vacant.

We will soon learn his name when the Cardinal Protodeacon announces him from the Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica.

From Rome: Might it be Today?

Habemus Papam? Maybe?

by Aurelio Porfiri

Rome, May 8, 2025

Many people and seasoned Vatican watchers around the Vatican have the impression that today might be the day the new Pope is elected.

I’ve spoken with individuals who have been following Vatican affairs for decades, and they say it would be surprising if no Pope were elected today. Everyone is waiting for the moment when Cardinal Dominique Mamberti appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s (unless he himself is the one elected) to announce the name of the new Pope to the world.

What To Do During The Conclave

The last couple weeks were the important ones for any hope of influence. Media articles lifting up good cardinals. Reports exposing bad cardinals. We can only hope the cardinal electors talked with their sheep, read up on their colleagues, chatted with their colleagues on strategy and came up with a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C, if not more.

The Procession of the Cardinals - Litany of the Saints - Live

You may follow along with the Libretto available here.

Conclave Predictions: The Length Will Indicate What Lies Ahead

by Aurelio Porfiri

Rome, May 7, 2025

Today, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, which leans progressive, still listed Cardinal Pietro Parolin, former Secretary of State, as the frontrunner, and noted a rise in support for the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. According to journalist Iacopo Scaramuzzi, La Repubblica’s Vatican correspondent and author of the article, Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle appears to be losing ground.

Parolin, the Front-Runner -- "Double luck," wishes Cardinal Dean at Final Mass before Conclave

 Cardinal Pietro Parolin is the front runner -- no doubt about that. As Rorate said days ago on X/Twitter:

There is no doubt Parolin is the front runner, as Ratzinger in 2005 (for the same reasons), and Bergoglio in 13 (because he had been the second-place in 05).

Since there is no runner-up now (Scola being over 80), this is Parolin’s to lose. (Twitter)

There seems to be an assumption by some that this is being "alarmist." Not true; while a Parolin pontificate would not be a good Catholic's choice, believe us when we say that there are MUCH worse options.

Regardless, being a favorite doesn't mean it's certain, far from it. Two thirds is a MIGHTY number to reach. Nobody knows. (Twitter)

This clear favoritism seems to have been confirmed by a comment made the Cardinal Dean, Cardinal Re, personally to Parolin in the Missa pro Eligendo Pontifice in the Vatican Basilica: "Best of luck... doubly!" (Auguri... doppi!) -- video below:

The New York Times: "Catholics Who Prefer Latin Mass Pin Hopes on a New Pope"

 

Main excerpts below:

Catholics Who Prefer Latin Mass Pin Hopes on a New Pope 

Ruth Graham

The New York Times

May 7, 2025 (page A12)

About 140 people came to the Sweetest Heart of Mary church in Detroit for the Traditional Latin Mass at noon the Sunday after Easter. Incense and organ music wafted through the ornate sanctuary, built by Polish Catholics in the late 19th century. It was a beautiful sunny spring afternoon, and the lilacs by the rectory were in bloom.

THE CONCLAVE: Waiting for the White Smoke - by Roberto de Mattei

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

Rome, May 7, 2025

While we wait for the white smoke to rise over the Sistine Chapel, we ask ourselves: what will be the first words that the new Pope will pronounce from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica? "Brothers and sisters, good evening," like Pope Francis, or "Praised be Jesus Christ," like John Paul II? Or a formula like that of Benedict XVI, who after saying: "After the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord," and added: "In the joy of the risen Lord, trusting in his permanent help, let us move forward. The Lord will help us and Mary, his Most Holy Mother, will be on our side." Certainly, the words and gestures with which the future Pope will inaugurate his pontificate will already reveal a trend, offering a first element of discernment to the sensus fidei of the Catholic people.

Whatever name he takes, will the Pontiff elected by the College of Cardinals want to follow in the footsteps of Francis or break with his pontificate, which many say has been a catastrophe for the Church? The candidacy of Pope Francis' Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, poses serious problems in this respect. In fact, it has never happened in the modern age, with the exception of Pius XII, that a Secretary of State became Pope, because the cardinal electors generally want to emphasize in their choice that each pontificate is different from the previous one. 

The Inevitability of Francis, Fulfillment of the Council -- and the Death of the Spirit of Vatican II

 by Father Richard Cipolla

The papacy of Francis was indeed inevitable. The person of Jorge Mario Bergoglio was formed by the years leading up to the Second Vatican Council, by the event of the Council itself and the three decades following the Council.  He has been described as a complex man with a complex history. Surely a part of this complexity was a result of being a Jesuit at a time of great upheavals in the Jesuit order during the 1960s and 1970s that followed the Second Vatican Council.  It is now commonplace to point out that the main effects of Vatican II on the Catholic Church were not merely on what the documents of that Council said, but also, and much more to the point, on the appearance of what became known as the “spirit” of Vatican II.  This “spirit” was claimed to be the authentic reading of the Council documents that in many cases contradicted the documents themselves.  The most obvious example is the revision of the Liturgy that was carried out by a group of liturgical periti, the experts,some of whom held well known negative feelings towards the Traditional Roman Mass as shown in their publications even before the Council.  The frank and detailed history of the proceedings of the Concilium is readily available in Annibale Bunigni’s published account of the proceedings of the Concilium in his book The Reform of the Liturgy: 1948-1975. It is there that one sees quite clearly the phenomenon of the “spirit” of Vatican II, where what the Council document on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, asked for, and the liturgical form that came out of the Concilium were quite different, where the “spirit” of Vatican II voided the letter and import of Vatican II.  These liturgical “spiritists” still roam the corridors of the liturgical academic center of Sant’ Anselmo in Rome and elsewhere, though silver threads are showing among their golden heads. 

All is Ready for the 2025 Conclave (Video)

Tutto è pronto. I cardinali domani entreranno in #Conclave2025 pic.twitter.com/9DTM21if5n

— Silere non possum (@silerenonpossum) May 6, 2025

Conclave in an Era of Cultural Shift

 by Kevin Tierney

for Rorate Caeli

May 6, 2025

Thomas Cole, Desolation (1836)

On May 7^th, 2025, the world will turn its attention to Rome for the papal conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis.  In a certain way of looking at things, it is a reminder that Catholicism, and only Catholicism, can capture the attention of the world when it comes to Christianity.  That even her foes watch with great interest is a reminder of this fact.  In addition to the importance, everyone loves a good story of intrigue, and conclaves are full of them.  Already we are seeing the intrigue afoot.

From Rome: Rome is now Mission Territory

by Aurelio Porfiri, in Rome

for Rorate Caeli

May 5, 2025

Rome, the city that seems indifferent to everything and everyone, awaits the Conclave with curiosity. A curiosity that often turns into folklore and is no longer lived in the light of faith. This concerns more and more people—not only in Rome. Precisely for this reason, the new Pope cannot avoid considering that the proclamation of the faith must be one of the main themes of his Pontificate.

Propers for the Votive Mass for the Election of a Supreme Pontiff - OREMUS

Priests everywhere who offer the traditional Latin Mass should make a point of using this rare and beautiful Votive Mass "Pro eligendo Summo Pontifice," with the Introit "Suscitabo." There are at least two ferias this week, Tuesday and Thursday, that would allow for it. 

Imagining a Restorative Conclave

 

The pope has died. As good Catholics we always pray for and commend the souls of all who have died to the mercy of God. This we also do for the man chosen by conclave in 2013 to serve in the office of supreme pontiff for these past twelve years. Requiescat in pace, Pope Francis.

CONCLAVE: Restoring Unity to the Church

Fr. Claude Barthe

Res Novae

May 3, 2025

Even prior to the opening of the pre-conclave General Congregations, the Eternal City has entered into a state of effervescence. The question has arisen as to whether the 135 cardinal electors, nearly 80% of whom were appointed by Francis, will bring to the pontificate a man whose governance will be in the same vein, or, on the contrary, a cardinal with a will to compromise, who will take into account the grievances of the conservatives, to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the state of the forces present. If left at that, however, restoring the lost unity would not be on the agenda. The post-Vatican II popes ultimately failed to restore this unity, both the popes of “restoration”, John Paul II and above all Benedict XVI, and Francis, the pope of “progress”. A pope espousing a more tempered version of progress would likewise fail.

Call for All-Night Adoration, May 4-5, for the Election of a Holy Pope

Our friends in Una Voce Czechia are recommending all-night adoration in one's parish or community on the night of Sunday, May 4, to Monday, May 5, 2025. Eucharistic adoration may begin immediately after Sunday Mass and then end on Monday morning. However, another day and time may be chosen, as it suits the circumstances.

If you get this going, please let them know here so it can be added to the global map.

A RORATE Guide: The Who's Who of Bad Options in the Conclave

Rorate has chosen to provide a list that is useful for identifying those who may not be the best choices available for the Cardinal Electors in the 2025 Conclave -- for doctrinal or moral reasons, or simply for reasons of administrative ineptitude.

After 12 years of doctrinal disaster, moral ambiguity, and administrative authoritarianism and chaos, the Church deserves unity and peace.

This is our guide of problematic Cardinals: if you hear one of the names below after the Habemus Papam... it could be a sign of trouble in the years ahead: small, middle-sized, or huge problems...

The Who's Who of Bad Options in the Conclave

by Serre Verweij

May 1, 2025

Renewal and Restoration in the Church: An Open Letter to the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

(The document below may be downloaded as a PDF here.)

An Open Letter to the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

Your Eminences:

The following document emerged from discussions over the past year among theologians, pastors, and canonists, who had been encouraged to produce this document by a senior cardinal. Originally our thought had been to seek for signatories—knowing, as we do, how many notable figures in the Catholic Church are in agreement with or sympathetic to the points made herein—but in view of the suddenness of the upcoming conclave, we have decided to publish the statement as it is.

In publishing this statement, we do not wish to take upon ourselves tasks to which we have not been called by God. Rather, we simply wish to offer, out of love for the Church and according to our lights, some suggestions that may be helpful to those who have received the awesome responsibility of governing Christ’s flock. This we do, moreover, on the traditional feast of St. Catherine of Siena, a laywoman who was a light to the Church in her time, and reminds us of the need to speak with boldness or parrhesia, as befits disciples of the one Master.

The authors recognise that “in vast areas of the world, the faith is in danger of dying out like a flame which no longer has fuel” (Benedict XVI, Letter to Bishops), while errors and deviations abound within the Church; and they hope that the proposals here set forth constitute a timely call to metanoia.

With the assurance of our fervent prayers to the Holy Ghost for the College of Cardinals especially in the upcoming Conclave, we humbly ask your prayerful consideration of the content that follows.

April 30, 2025

St. Catherine of Siena

(usus antiquior)

CONCLAVE: "For the Honor of the Church", by Roberto de Mattei

 Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

April 30, 2025

The funeral of Pope Francis on the parvis of St. Peter's Basilica and the translation of the coffin to St. Mary Major, in the grandiose setting of ancient, Baroque, and 19th-century Rome, represented a historic moment charged with symbolism. Sovereigns, heads of state and government, public men of all ranks, gathered from all over the world in Rome did not pay homage to Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but to the institution he represented, as had happened on April 8, 2005 for the funeral of John Paul II.  Although many of these personalities belong to other religions or profess atheism, all were aware of what the Roman Church, caput mundi, the center of universal Christianity, still means. The image of Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky face to face on two simple chairs, between the aisles of St. Peter's Basilica, seemed to express their smallness, under the vault of a basilica that holds the destinies of the world. And the 170 leaders gathered in the Eternal City, by their presence also seemed to question the future of the world, on the eve of the conclave that will open on May 7. 

Cardinal Burke: "Given the gravity of the situation"

The Sacred College of Cardinals during the General Congregation of Monday, April 28th last, has set the date for the beginning of the Conclave: May 7, 2025. Given the gravity of the situation, I ask that those who will complete the Novena on May 5th next, immediately begin a second Novena, continuing to pray the Novena Prayer until the new Successor of Saint Peter is elected. For those who have begun the novena after April 26th, I ask you to continue praying the Novena Prayer, until the new Successor of Saint Peter is elected. If you have not yet begun to pray the Novena Prayer, I urge you to begin praying it immediately.

I thank all who have been praying the Novena Prayer or who will begin praying it now. We can be confident that Our Lady of Guadalupe will intercede powerfully for the election of a good and holy Shepherd of the Universal Church.

Raymond Leo Cardinal BURKE

***

April 29, 2025

2025 Conclave Novena Prayer

Conclave Chronicles: Francis died too fast, and the College of Cardinals is adrift

 by Jaime Gurpegui

for InfoVaticana

Rome, April 29, 2025

Rome is living these days in an atmosphere of unreality. The sentiment conveyed in the Eternal City, in the midst of the pre-conclave period, is a mixture of bewilderment, discretion, and silence.

May it be a Minimal Papacy: For a Pontificate of the Essential, with no more Personalism, Narcissism, and Despotism

Camillo Langone 

Il Foglio

April 24, 2025

Limited to its essential tasks. The head of the Church is not the Pope, but Christ. Let the new Pontiff's motto be John the Baptist's words about Jesus, “He must increase, I decrease.” 

May it be a minimal Papacy. A Papacy like the Minimal State theorized by liberal philosopher Robert Nozick, that is, limited to its essential tasks. Few things, but done well. Not only because the vain loudness of an overwhelming Papacy, and an idolatrous and unbelieving Papolatry, disturb my ears. Especially because “the head of the Church is Christ, not the Pope” (Pope John XXIII). Because “the figure of the Pope is praised too much. One risks falling into the cult of personality” (Pope John Paul I). Because “the Pope is not an oracle, he is infallible only on very rare occasions” (Pope Benedict XVI). Let us begin again with the beautiful Gregorian title “Servus servorum Dei.”

On the Way to Emmaus and Back - Clemens Victor Oldendorf

On Easter Sunday, the Holy Father Francis, visibly weakened, once again gave the Easter blessing Urbi et Orbi. On Easter Monday, he died in the early hours of the morning as a result of a stroke. This Easter Monday is traditionally associated with the Gospel that contains the story of the journey taken by two disciples, still deeply affected by the shadow and supposed failure of Good Friday, from Jerusalem to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35). On their way, they meet a stranger with whom they strike up a conversation. This stranger is the risen Lord, whom they do not recognize as Jesus of Nazareth. Rather, they get the impression that this stranger, who walks with them for a while, is someone who has never heard of Jesus and, above all, is the only one who does not know what happened to him in the days before: crucified, died, and buried. Lost in death.

2025 Conclave Start Date: May 7

 From Italian blog Silere non possum:

Today, at the fifth General Congregation, the Cardinals assembled in the Vatican during the sede vacante period have established that the Conclave for the election of the new Supreme Pontiff will start on May 7th, 2025.

[Source, in Italian]

The Price of Humility: The Destruction of a Massive Doorway from the Early 17th Century in Saint Mary Major

One needs lots of destruction to fit humility in. Performative humility, that is.

With so many crypts and modest places to be interred in Rome, the humblest pope ever, possibly one of the humblest men ever to inhabit the earth, had a massive and beautiful doorway, including all surrounding precious inlaid stones, destroyed in order to place his humble gigantic tomb

(Click for larger view)

In Memoriam: Catafalque for Pope Francis

In our church of Saint Francis de Sales in southern Maryland we have erected a catafalque in memory of His Holiness Pope Francis.

The catafalque, derived from the Italian word catafalco, literally means a scaffold or elevation, but in its strictly liturgical sense the word is employed to designate the cenotaph-like structure which is used at the exequial offices of the Church and takes the place of the bier whenever the remains are not present. It is covered with a black cloth or pall, is usually placed immediately outside the sanctuary, and is the centre of the ceremonies of that part of the exequial office known as the absolution, receiving the same attention as the corpse would if present.

CONSUMMATUM EST - IT IS FINISHED

Basilica Liberiana pic.twitter.com/fdTYqbnZGz

—  April 26, 2025

A RORATE Guide to the Cardinals and the Conclave

by Serre Verweij

April 26, 2025

[Read our previous piece on the Conclave here.]

The spectre of the coming conclave hangs ever over the heads of more than 130 cardinal electors and 1.2 billion Catholics. Speculation is rife. Will the next Pope be like Pope Francis or more ‘conservative’, like Pope Benedict?

This question is crucial. The Vatican is dealing with grave financial problems. Pope Francis has not been able (or willing) to solve this problem, in spite of the fact that it was part of the reform mandate he received in 2013. The Vatican has also become rather discredited on the foreign policy level. Even worse is the risk of schism resulting from the radical German bishops and their allies in Belgium and Switzerland The Anglican church was torn apart by disagreements over homosexuality. Only an orthodox Pope can ensure this doesn’t happen to the Church of Christ. 

The stakes are even higher due to the extension of the Synod on Synodality. The ‘ecclesial assembly’ in Rome in 2028 risks (further) disempowering the bishops of the Catholic Church and creating a new governance structure, where the Pope and (handpicked) laymen and laywomen (and activists) call the shots. Early in Francis’ pontificate progressives, and even some moderates, were hoping for greater collegiality between Rome and local bishops’. Instead, the opposite happened. Francis’ divisive policies and unfinished curial reforms have destabilized the Curia itself and raise the possibility of laywomen serving as prefects and providing dictates to the bishops of the world. 

The next Pope will need knowledge of canon law, theology and the inner workings of the Curia. Who is up to the task? What heretics or corrupt figures might be put forward? Rorate Caeli has previously warned of a repeat of the 2013 conclave, where false candidacies and rumours were used to distract from the real progressive candidate, Jorge Bergoglio. Who could the real candidates be and who are the false leads?

Unlikely progressives