Dom Geoffroy Kemlin, Abbot of Saint Peter of Solesmes, the venerable abbey founded by Dom Prosper Guéranger, and the major site responsible for the renewal of the Traditional Liturgy and the revival of Gregorian Chant before Vatican II, sent a letter to the Pope with a proposal regarding the Traditional Latin Rite. The Abbey adopted the New Rite of Paul VI, but a branch of its daughter-houses, headed by Our Lady of Fontgombault, have kept the Traditional Rite. Dom Kemlin is also the head of the Congregation of Solesmes of the Benedictines, which includes Fontgombault and its daughter-houses.
The contents of the letter are translated by us below, followed by a translation of the full interview granted by Dom Kemlin to the local news radio. (At the end, you will find the original images of the letter in French.)
+ PAX. ABBAYE
SAINT-PIERRE
DE SOLESMES
November 12, 2025
Most Holy Father,
As Abbot of Solesmes and President of the Benedictine Congregation of Solesmes, I take the liberty of writing to you in order to respectfully share some reflections with a view to putting an end to the liturgical dispute that is troubling the faithful in France, but also in the United States, in England, in Germany, and elsewhere.
Dom Guéranger, the restorer of Solesmes in the 19th century, was one of the principal architects of the return of the dioceses of France to the Roman liturgy. Through his work of restoring monastic life, as well as his various writings, he in a certain sense gave birth to the liturgical movement, which led to the constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium of the Second Vatican Council, and to the liturgical reform that followed. This reform was therefore received with gratitude at Solesmes. It was implemented there without hesitation, yet with the concern of remaining rooted in tradition, in particular by preserving the use of Latin and Gregorian chant.
Other monasteries of our Congregation — notably the Abbey of Fontgombault, and its successive foundations — chose to return to the use of the ancient missal, with certain adaptations. This difference in orientation was at first a source of tension within our Congregation. However, we gradually learned to respect, and even to appreciate, the different choices of one another.
In order to know one another better and to understand one another more fully, we established within the Congregation a "Liturgical Unity Commission," which meets every two months. We have decided to broaden our next meeting by inviting representatives of the Augustinian tradition. […]
Most Holy Father, it is often said that those attached to the ancient rite instrumentalize the Mass and use it as an identity banner. If, in fact, such behaviors exist, they are far from being in the majority. As an ardent defender of the Pauline rite, I can only testify that the majority of those attached to the ancient rite are so because they find in it a strong and authentic spiritual experience that they are unable to find in the new missal. I believe the time has come — in order to work toward a true return to unity — to acknowledge this clearly and to interpret it as a sign of the Spirit. It is, I believe, only in the Ordo Missae of the Missal of Paul VI that those attached to the ancient riteare not to be found. It is, in fact, undeniable that the two Ordos (that of Paul VI and that of Pius V) present notable differences in liturgical "unction," in ways of entering into prayer, and underlie different anthropologies. This is why I do not believe we will ever succeed in getting those attached to the Vetus to freely embrace the Novus Ordo. "Revising" the Missal of Paul VI in one way or another therefore strikes me as inevitable if we are to find our way back to unity.
One solution, advocated by some, would be to revise the Ordo Missae of the Paul VI missal to make it more closely resemble the ancient Ordo Missae. I do not think this would be a good solution. It would, in fact, displease everyone, and would only create new divisions — with the risk of ending up with not two, but three missals.
This is why I would like to respectfully suggest a different solution which could, in my view, achieve the liturgical peace we so greatly desire.
It would simply consist of inserting into the Missale Romanum the ancient Ordo Missae (revised a minima to bring it into conformity with Vatican II, particularly by opening it up, for those who wish, to the use of the vernacular, concelebration, and the four Eucharistic prayers) — while leaving the new Ordo Missae unchanged. Both Ordos Missae would thus form part of the single Roman Missal. Rather than dividing and excluding, this solution would make it possible to include and welcome the faithful attached to the ancient Missal, without in any way offending or alienating those attached to the new Ordo.
This would restore liturgical unity, since the entire Latin Church would use the single Missale Romanum, with a single calendar. I am convinced that the faithful attached to the Vetus Ordo would be satisfied with such a solution and would benefit from all the undeniable contributions of the liturgical reform (new prefaces and Eucharistic prayers, revised orations, the sanctoral calendar, the cycle of readings, etc.); likewise, the faithful attached to the liturgical reform would see nothing changed for them.
Please forgive the boldness of writing to you in this way to offer suggestions. The Abbey of Solesmes has always been at the service of the Holy See and of the Pope. Since Dom Guéranger, it has always been committed to the service of the liturgy and of the unity of the Church. I would simply like to reaffirm our availability to contribute to healing the liturgical divisions that wound our Mother, the holy Church.
Placing this suggestion in your hands, I assure you, Most Holy Father, of my complete devotion and of my daily prayer, as well as that of the entire Congregation of Solesmes, for your ministry in the service of the universal Church.
+ Frère Geoffroy Kemlin
***
[Interview granted to RCF Sarthe, on March 16, 2026]
LITURGICAL QUARREL: WHAT IF EACH SIDE TOOK A STEP TOWARD THE OTHER?
An article written by Agnès Millot – RCF Sarthe, March 16, 2026
Dom Geoffroy Kemlin, Benedictine Abbot of Solesmes, has written a letter to Pope Leo XIV. He shares with him a reflection aimed at resolving the liturgical dispute that has divided the Church since Vatican II. His idea: "revise the new missal to incorporate the Vetus Ordo" and thereby restore ecclesial unity…
The antagonism between Catholics attached to the ancient Latin rite and supporters of the new Vatican II missal goes back to the early 1970s… Why did you write to the Pope now?
I had the opportunity to concelebrate with Pope Leo at Sant'Anselmo, the Benedictine abbey in Rome, in November. The Abbot Primate had invited the Holy Father for the 125th anniversary of the dedication of the church — and he accepted! At the end of Mass, I was introduced to the Pope as the Abbot of Solesmes. He exclaimed: "Ah!! Solesmes!!" — showing that he knew who we were. I immediately felt the desire to write to him and share certain things that had been on my heart for a long time, regarding the liturgical situation in France and within the universal Church.
Why does the question of liturgical unity matter so much to you?
In our Congregation of Solesmes we have monasteries that celebrate according to both rites: the old and the new. I have experienced this personally in my own journey… I entered the Abbey of Fontgombault at the age of 20, where Mass is celebrated according to the ancient missal of Saint Pius V, before coming to Solesmes where the monks celebrate Mass (in Latin) according to the Vatican II reform. I have lived this question in a very personal, very intimate way.
So when I see divisions over this topic, I suffer! The liturgy is meant to foster unity in the Church, not to divide us! That is why I wanted to share with the Holy Father, humbly, a proposal in an attempt to move forward on this issue…
In this letter (below the article) you write: "the time has come to work toward a true return to unity." Do you think the disagreements have gone too far?
Any antagonism within the Church causes us suffering. We are members of the Body of Christ. Our witness to the world is to show that we are united. That said, this unity is not uniformity! Pope Francis emphasized this many times.
Concretely, your proposal would involve revising the Ordo Missae of Paul VI — that is, the ordinary of the Mass, which comprises all the prayers and invariable parts of the Roman Rite. Why?
I believe that each Catholic sensibility must be willing to take a step toward the other. This could reduce the divisions and recover that unity which is so important. What I am proposing is an inclusive approach: inserting the Vetus Ordo [ed. note: the ordinary of the Mass from the pre-Vatican II Latin missal] into the current Roman Missal. This would make it possible to integrate the different ways of celebrating into a single form…
What specific points of the Mass could be modified?
The priest could simply choose to incorporate elements of the old missal that no longer appear in the Paul VI missal. I am thinking, for example, of the prayers at the foot of the altar, or the old Offertory, which was reformed.
Doesn't this risk adding confusion for the faithful?
There will certainly need to be a framework established. The liturgy belongs to the Church, so it is up to the Holy See to decide what is to be done. I believe, nonetheless, that this solution is workable, because the liturgical reform retained many elements in common with the old missal. One would simply be adding certain options.
So the old missal of Saint Pius V, to which traditional communities have remained attached, would also be somewhat modified?
Indeed. If the Vetus Ordo were inserted into the current missal, it would open up new possibilities — for example, celebrating Mass according to the ancient rite but in the vernacular, rather than exclusively in Latin. It would also allow the priest to use the new Eucharistic prayers and the new prefaces. And finally, I am thinking of the cycle of readings: the current lectionary called for by Vatican II is far richer than the old one. There would be a real scriptural benefit for the faithful. All of this would enrich the Vetus Ordo.
What are the advantages of this scenario for the day-to-day life of the Church and of Catholics?
This proposal broadly welcomes the legitimate aspirations of the faithful and of priests, without diminishing in any way the authority of either the Pope or the bishops. It would thus allow the prerogatives of each to be respected. I do not see how tensions could persist, since everyone would celebrate according to their own sensibility while doing as the Church asks. Furthermore, the liturgical calendar would also be unified.
Your proposal is rooted in a particular soil: that of the Congregation of Solesmes. How has the legacy of Dom Guéranger [ed. note: the restorer of the Benedictine order in the 19th century] guided you?
Dom Guéranger worked to bring the dioceses of France back to the Roman Missal, and therefore toward liturgical unity. It is in following his path that I wrote to the Holy Father. Moreover, at Solesmes, we implemented the Vatican II reform in a way that is firmly rooted in tradition, preserving Latin and Gregorian chant. The liturgical reform can be put into practice not as a rupture but, on the contrary, as a continuity.
What are the differences, ultimately, with Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio, which had broadened the possibilities for celebrating according to the old missal?
Benedict XVI's goal was to demonstrate the importance of the ancient liturgy for the Church: it is a sacred heritage that must not be abandoned. But the 2007 Motu Proprio placed the use of the old missal alongside the new one, which did not reduce the differences. Here, by contrast, there would be only one missal for one community of faithful.
Doesn't your idea go against Traditionis Custodes, the Motu Proprio promulgated by Pope Francis in 2021?
No, I don't think so. The goal of Pope Francis, through that document, was precisely to put an end to the divisions. The situation was visibly causing him suffering. This proposal, on the contrary, could allow us to achieve the unity that everyone desires, while at the same time embracing the diversity of the Church.
Do you think that young Catholics today look at this "liturgical quarrel" differently? The 18-to-35 generation and the newly baptized, for example, seem far more relaxed on the subject…
Yes, absolutely! We see today how easily they move from one rite to another, with no difficulty in welcoming one another. Most of them pray just as easily at Paray-le-Monial, at Taizé, or on the Chartres Pilgrimage. It is a beautiful example set for us, one that can soften our hearts. I would add that within the Congregation of Solesmes we already live this liturgical diversity — and it is lived in peace and unity. When the abbots of Fontgombault or Triors come to Solesmes, they celebrate according to the Vatican II missal. And conversely… when I go there, I celebrate Mass according to the ancient rite. This unity already exists in seed form within our congregation. We need to share this grace so that it may become a grace for the whole Church.
What do you now hope for from the Church, from the Dicastery for Divine Worship, or from the bishops?
My letter to the Pope is obviously only a suggestion. I am well aware that it still needs to be refined and clarified further. I hope that the bishops will continue to reflect on this topic and put forward their own proposals, so that the Church may recover the unity it so deeply longs for… [Source]
