PLEASE DONATE - PLEASE HELP the oldest continuing Traditional Catholic Community in South America through Friends of Campos (Holy Week and Easter Appeal)

Traditional Sister guiding a class of young students in a chapel of the Campos Apostolic Administration

In Corde Iesu

Keeping tradition alive in the country hills of rural Brazil in the region of Campos dos Goytacazes and its surrounding area is a blessing or a miracle. In fact, the Traditional Latin Mass has always persevered in the region and the Personal Apostolic Administration has brought the people to holiness of life!

It is with renewed faith in the Lord as we approach the time of our Paschal Feast that we reach out for support in our project. If you are considering a special offering during Holy Week and the Easter season, please include Campos in your generosity.

In this unique place in the world, your donation will help with maintenance for the priests and seminarians and for the sisters in their devout work with children and elderly disabled. Every dollar you donate goes very far in the Brazilian currency!

Friends of Campos wishes you and your family a holy and blessed Easter!

Click here to donate!

[Our website donations page (at www.friendsofcampos.org/donations.html) accepts Stripe or Paypal; there's also information for sending bank transfers.]

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Traditional Sisters provide elderly care -- the Sacraments in the Traditional Form are
all administered by the priests of the Campos Apostolic Administration

IMPORTANT: Donate and Help the Oldest Continuous Traditional Catholic group: the Traditional Catholics of Campos (New Non-Profit for Donations)

PRESS RELEASE:

New non-profit to support traditional Catholic community in Brazil

5/31/2020

Friends of Campos, Inc. is a new US-based not-for-profit providing grants to support the seminary and the social and educational projects of the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney, located in Campos de Goytacazes, Brazil. The region, under the bold guidance of Dom Antônio Castro-Mayer, was a great preserve of traditional Catholic life during the tumultuous period following the Second Vatican Council. Thanks to his encouragement at that time, the region continues to be one in which traditional Catholic life and liturgy flourish.

The Personal Apostolic Administration was formally erected in 2002 by the Holy See by the decree Animarum Bonum to conserve the liturgical, doctrinal and cultural traditions of the Catholic Church, in full communion with the Magisterium. The community as a whole has thirteen parishes, six rectories, fifteen private Catholic schools, four homes for the aged, and eight associations of women religious. Some 35 priests serve in a community of over 30,000 active parishioners. The seminary takes up to 40 young men for formation, and is expanding to accept up to 80, as demand consistently exceeds the available space.

While the focus of Friends of Campos is on supporting the Seminary, which is the spiritual and cultural heart of the community, grants are also offered for projects at social and educational institutions run by the Personal Apostolic Administration around the diocese. Friends of Campos works with a local board of clergy to evaluate and select proposed projects and administer grants.

Although the area is rich in traditional Catholic culture, it is very poor materially, and even modest donations go a long way towards the needs of the community. The Coronavirus epidemic which has hit even developed countries hard, brings more difficulties to Campos which has few of the resources needed to fight the health problems and economic devastation. The unbroken Tradition of faith acts as a bulwark in troubled times, but material support - even the basics of food and hygiene - are always needed.

You Report: 1st Pontifical Mass since Novus Ordo in São Paulo, Brazil Bp. Rifan: Francis considers Traditional Mass a "treasure"

The first Pontifical Mass to be celebrated in the Archdiocese of São Paulo, Brazil, the most populous diocese in South America, since the advent of the Novus Ordo was celebrated by the Apostolic Administrator of the Personal Apostolic Administration of St. John Mary Vianney (Campos, Brazil), Bp. Fernando A Rifan, on February 9.

A reader who was present reports:

On February 9, 2014, the city of São Paulo celebrated the 10th anniversary of the celebration of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form. The Traditional Mass is celebrated everyday (twice on Sundays) in a downtown chapel, by the chaplain, Fr. Jonas Lisboa, a priest of the Apostolic Administration.

The Solemn Pontifical Mass was celebrated in an older and bigger church this time, a building belonging to the Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The mass was celebrated by Bp. Fernando Areas Rifan, the Deacon was Father José Henrique, and the Subdeacon Father Jefferson Pimenta. Father Jonas Lisboa functioned as Auxiliary Priest.

The mass was well attended, very beautiful and solemn. During the sermon, bishop Rifan told us about his last visit to the Holy Father and that the pope thinks that the Traditional Latin Mass is a treasure for the Church and that his only fear is that the Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form could be “instrumentalized”, and bishop Rifan answered His Holiness that he is doing everything that he could to ensure that this is not going to happen and to promote the Extraordinary Form as a treasure for the entire universal Church, to which he humbly belongs. At the end of the Mass the Te Deum was sung by all those present.

More images are available here.

It is interesting to recall that the Lion of Campos, Bp. Antonio de Castro Mayer, who ordained Bp. Rifan to the priesthood, was a native of Campinas, not far from São Paulo, and that his priestly formation was accomplished almost entirely in the Archdiocese of São Paulo, of which he was the Vicar General (he was ordained in Rome at the end of his studies).

We are always open to your reports of local Masses and events related to the Traditional Roman Rite. Please, keep sending them to us!

Update: We have been told that there might have been a previous pontifical Mass in the intervening period - this was certainly the first by a Bishop from the country itself and not dedicated to a specific group.

Patronal Feast in the Apostolic Administration Saint John Mary Vianney

The Apostolic Administration Saint John Mary Vianney, in Campos, Brazil (the only Particular Church fully dedicated to the Traditional Roman Rite) celebrated its Patronal Feast on August 8, the day dedicated to the Patron and model of all Parish Priests. 

The Pontifical Mass was celebrated in the Principal Church (Cathedral) of the Administration, completely full, by the Apostolic Administration, Bishop Fernando Rifan. Priests, seminarians, religious men and women, lay faihful of all ages were present.

Further images may be found in the Apostolic Administration's Facebook page. (tip: reader)

Juventutem: Images of Pontifical Mass in the Ancient Cathedral of Rio

As we had announced here, Traditional Masses and activities are taking place in the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel of the Ancient See, the former Cathedral of Rio. Reader Luis Augusto Rodrigues Domingues has posted several images of the beautiful chuch completely filled with young people during the Pontifical Mass celebrated yesterday by Bishop Fernando Rifan, apostolic administrator of the Personal Apostolic Administration of St. John Mary Vianney, in Campos, Brazil. 

Entrance procession

(Click here for further images)

WYD Rio: an all-traditional experience in a beautiful church

Juventutem Niteroi (based in Niteroi, the city across the bay from Rio) sends us the link to the program of Traditional masses and activities in Rio de Janeiro during World Youth Day, all based in the former Cathedral of the city - Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte do Carmo da Antiga Sé (Our Lady of Mount Carmel of the Ancient See - address), under the guidance of the Apostolic Administration St. John Mary Vianney.

If you know young men and women going to Rio, especially those who may not have experienced a traditional mass before, or priests who are going to World Youth Day for any reason, please keep them informed of these activities.

Tuesday, July 23rd / Terça, 23 de julho

3pm - Missa cantata

Wednesday, July 24th / Quarta, 24 de julho

9:30am - Catechesis / Catequese (S. Ex. Revma. Dom Fernando Arêas Rifan)

10am - Missa cantata

6pm -Solemn Pontifical Mass / Missa Pontifical Solene (S. Ex. Revma. Dom Fernando Arêas Rifan)

Thursday, July 25th / Quinta, 25 de julho

9:30am - Catechesis / Catequese (S. Ex. Revma. Dom Fernando Arêas Rifan)

10am - Missa cantata

3pm - Missa cantata

Friday, July 26th / Sexta, 26 de julho

9:30am - Catechesis / Catequese (S. Ex. Revma. Dom Fernando Arêas Rifan)

10am - Missa cantata

3pm - Missa cantata

Another reader informs us that the side altars of the Church are ready to be used for Low Masses by all priests willing to do so - minor details of vestments and other items could be arranged with the staff that will be present there. Confessions will be widely available there and certainly Low Masses will also be available on the days preceding and following the main days, as well as public liturgical hours - there should be more information on the spot.

Pope Francis greets Bishop Rifan

In the General Audience of May 22, the Holy Father greeted his Apostolic Administrator for the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney (Campos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), the only jurisdiction exclusively dedicated to the use of the Traditional liturgical books of the Roman Rite and created as such by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

Images of the Apostolic Administration of St. John Mary Vianney - Holy Week and Paschaltide

Easter Sunday Morning Mass - Main Church

The Apostolic Administration Saint John Mary Vianney, in Campos, Brazil, is an example of how Pontifical concern for the care of Traditionalist faithful can translate into stable canonical structures with their own Bishop - in this case, Apostolic Administrator Bp. Fernando Rifan. While they are reforming their main website, beautiful images of the ceremonies of the holy days of March have been updated in their Facebook page. (Also here, including the Chrism Mass, Holy Week in the Campos Carmel, and others.)

Easter Sunday Morning Mass - Main Church

[Easter Mass images from Salvem a Liturgia]

Tenth Anniversary of the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney - Campos, Brazil

On January 18, 2002, the Holy See made public the autograph letter signed by Pope John Paul II on the preceding Christmas Day, in response to a letter sent to him months earlier by the Bishop and Priests of what was then called "Priestly Union of Saint John Mary Vianney", the followers of the bravest of all residential bishops in the world, Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer, assured them he would establish, in the course of the following months, a canonical structure in which they would be free to celebrate, and all the Catholic faithful would be free to attend, the Traditional Latin Mass and all sacraments of the traditional Roman Rite exclusively. On the same day, the decree Animarum Bonum of the Congregation for Bishops was promulgated, with the canonical foundation of the Personal Apostolic Administration "Saint John Mary Vianney" [AAS 94 (2002), 305-308].

Ten years later, in the new world of Summorum Pontificum, the Apostolic Administration of Campos remains the only one in the world with a canonical structure and a bishop dedicated to the Traditional Mass, living side by side and peacefully with the existing Diocese, its Ordinary and clergy. We thank God for this gift - but pray that more similar structures will be available, sooner rather than later, around the world.

[Image: faithful fill the Main Church (Cathedral) of the Apostolic Administration in the ordination of its two most recent priests - December 18, 2011.]

___________________________________________________

AUTOGRAPH LETTER OF JOHN PAUL II

TO BISHOP LICINIO RANGEL AND THE SONS OF THE

UNION OF ST JOHN MARY VIANNEY OF CAMPOS, BRAZIL

To my Venerable Brother Licinio Rangel

and the beloved Sons of the Union of St John Mary Vianney of Campos, Brazil

Ordinations - II. Two new priests for the Apostolic Administration of St. John Vianney in Campos

Last year, Rorate Caeli reported the ordination of two new deacons for the Personal Apostolic Administration of St. John Vianney in Campos dos Goytacazes. This past Sunday (December 18) these two deacons were ordained to the priesthood by their bishop, Msgr. Fernando Arêas Rifan. The website of the Apostolic Administration has a full gallery of photographs from the ceremony, many of which are reproduced on the Subsídios Litúrgicos blog.

In some recent combox discussions, a number of Rorate readers asked about the growth of the P.A.A. If it is any indication, the new priests, Fr. Renan Menezes and Fr. Bruce Júdice, are the first priests to be ordained for the P.A.A. since 2009. All in all, the P.A.A has had 8 new priests in the 7 years beginning with 2005, when Fr. Silvano Salvatte Zanon was ordained. (Rorate dedicated one of its first posts to his ordination.) The photo galleries for the ordinations of these eight priests can be found here.

Considering that the P.A.A. in Campos had 29,512 faithful in 2010 (according to the Annuario Pontificio), its rate of priestly ordinations is actually better than that of most Catholic dioceses in the West. Let us be patient, and let us pray!

Campos: Cornerstone blessing and First Mass in new Seminary Chapel

Bishop Fernando Rifan, Apostolic Administrator of the A.A. Saint John Mary Vianney, in Campos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, blessed the cornerstone of the new Seminary Chapel on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Following the ceremony, the Chapel housed the first of the countless Sacrifices that will be celebrated in that sacred space.

Note on the Concelebration of Holy Mass in the ordinary form of the Roman Rite

by Bishop Fernando Rifan [Apostolic Administrator of the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney, Brazil]

Some people have questioned us on the occasional and eventual concelebration, by myself and by some of our priests, of Masses celebrated according to the Rite of Paul VI, that is, in the current ordinary form of the Roman Rite.

Most Catholics, in common sense, perfectly understand that, though in our Apostolic Administration the Roman Liturgy in its most ancient use is preserved, it may be normal that, in certain occasions, the Bishop and his priests may concelebrate Holy Mass in the current form, usually used by the Pope and by the entire Church of the Roman Rite; it is normal, correct, and good, because it demonstrates that we are Catholics in full communion with the whole Church.

Some, however, suggest that this presence would represent a betrayal to Tradition, almost an apostasy, a renouncement to all criticisms that were made and that can be made to the Liturgical Reform and to all its consequences, an approval of all that takes place today in Masses, an opening towards "Progressivism", and, even worse, that it would be part of a practical, non-doctrinary, "arrangement" with the Holy See. Given the malice of the suspicions, insinuations, and devious conclusions, which go beyond facts and intentions, and which could agitate unprepared people, I explain the doctrinal reasons for our actions, according to Catholic doctrine, and I renew the clarifying note that had already been made in another occasion and the explanations fully given in my Pastoral Orientation on the Living Magisterium of the Church and in my book "Considerations on the forms of the Roman Rite" (cf. http://www.adapostolica.org/ ).

Corpus Christi in Campos

Images of the Corpus Christi procession led by Bishop Fernando Rifan in the Principal Church (Cathedral) of the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney, in Campos, Brazil. (Source: Igreja Principal - Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima). 

If you have links to Traditional Corpus Christi Masses and Processions, please post them in the comments.

Corpus Christi with the Redemptoristine Nuns

Lovely pictures, posted by the Papa Stronsay blog of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, of the Corpus Christi Mass and procession held in the only currently-existing Redemptoristine Monastery with nuns solely dedicated to the Traditional Mass, under the authority of the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney, Brazil (the monastery is located at São Fidélis, near Campos).

The Sons explain this rare procession inside the Enclosure:

The Redemptoristine nuns take a fourth vow. It is the vow of Enclosure. Their enclosure is such that on every day of the year, except today, they do not easily or clearly see Our Lord because of their enclosing lattice; the plate pierced with small holes. Enclosed souls feel this deprivation keenly. They offer this austerity as a sacrifice to obtain the conversion of sinners and the salvation of the most abandoned souls.

This is how these nuns view the Holy Sacrifice:

The Sons explain:

This is a typical Redemptoristine view of Mass. The nuns have a strict grill which St. Alphonsus gave them consisting in a plate that is pierced with holes. The nuns may draw near the grill and peep through. This photo is somewhat blurred at the edge of a hole in the lattice.

The celebrating priest is Father Everaldo Bon Robert, of the Apostolic Administration.

Note: a happy Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Succor to all Sons and Daughters of St. A.M.Liguori!

Mediator Dei - 60th Anniversary - III Comments by Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer - I The priesthood of the faithful

The most famous writing by Antonio de Castro Mayer, Bishop of Campos, Brazil, from 1949 to 1981, was his "Pastoral Letter on the Problems of the Modern Apostolate", published in 1953. The letter included a section with 80 erroneous propositions, based particularly on two of the most important Papal documents of the 20th century, the landmark encyclicals of Pope Pius XII on Sacred Liturgy (Mediator Dei, of 1947) and on False Theological Opinions (Humani Generis, of 1950).

Bishop Castro Mayer's letter is an extremely useful tool in the interpretation of several aspects of Mediator Dei and underline the relevance of Pope Pius's warnings.

False Opinion: The faithful "concelebrate" the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with the priest.

True Opinion: The faithful participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass.

Pope Pius XII explains the problem in Mediator Dei, 83-104: "...[T]here are today, Venerable Brethren, those who ... assert that the people are possessed of a true priestly power, while the priest only acts in virtue of an office committed to him by the community. ...[W]e deem it necessary to recall that the priest acts for the people only because he represents Jesus Christ, who is Head of all His members and offers Himself in their stead. Hence, [the Priest] goes to the altar as the minister of Christ, inferior to Christ but superior to the people. The people, on the other hand, since they in no sense represent the divine Redeemer and are not mediator between themselves and God, can in no way possess the sacerdotal power. All this has the certitude of faith."

Castro Mayer further explains the papal words:

These two propositions require an explanation. Never can it be said that the faithful "concelebrate" with the priest, for in the Church the expression "concelebrate" refers to Masses with several celebrants. They all actively concur in offering the sacrifice and in effecting the transubstantiation. An example of this is found in the Mass of priestly ordination, in which the new priests concelebrate with the bishop their ordination Mass. Likewise, the proposition in which it is said that the faithful participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass requires an explanation. Many understand it to mean that the faithful "concelebrate" the sacrifice. ...Others understand it to mean that the priest is but a mandatary or delegate of the people, and his priestly acts have no value except insofar as he represents the people. It is not in this way that the proposition is to be understood according to the teaching of Mediator Dei. In fact, the priest is not a delegate of the people, for he is chosen by divine vocation and engendered by the sacrament of holy orders. This does not mean that the priest, in a certain sense, does not represent the people. He does represent it insofar as he represents Jesus Christ, head of the Mystical Body, of which the faithful are the members, and when the priest offers the sacrifice on the altar, he does so in the name of Christ, High Priest, who offers it in the name of all the members of His Mystical Body. So, in a certain sense, the sacrifice is offered in the name of the people. That is why [the faithful] must participate in the sacrifice. In what way must they participate? Mediator Dei tells us:

[T]he people unite their hearts in praise, impetration, expiation and thanksgiving with prayers or intention of the priest, even of the High Priest himself, so that in the one and same offering of the victim and according to a visible sacerdotal rite, they may be presented to God the Father. [Mediator Dei, 93]

Thus there is a definite meaning to the expression participate which can be used if one takes care to exclude every other less exact meaning.

A new Priest of the Most Holy Sacrifice

The latest pictures of the priestly ordination of Padre Silvano Salvatte Zanon, in the Apostolic Administration St. John Mary Vianney, in Campos, Brazil.

The ordination took place in the Principal Church of the Apostolic Administration (its "Cathedral", which is not called thus since the name is reserved to the Diocesan Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior), the Personal Parish Church of the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, which is still under construction.

The imposition of hands, sacramental matter of the Holy Orders, as defined by Pope Pius XII, of glorious memory, in his Apostolic Constitution Sacramentum Ordinis.

More pictures of the Ordination here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.