Relevant: Archdiocese of Vaduz to celebrate Chrism Mass in the more ancient way

From the French-language website of the Confraternity of Saint Peter, the association of praying faithful attached to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter:

Interesting and relevant news for the faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form: in a few days [Holy Thursday], Abp. Haas, Archbishop of Vaduz [Liechtenstein], will celebrate the Chrism Mass in the presence of his clergy in this same Extraordinary Form. [Editorial signed by Fr. Bizard]

It is a first for a Diocesan Ordinary since the Paul VI liturgical creations (except in the case of the Diocese of Campos, Brazil, during the tenure of Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer, and considering the special case of the Apostolic Administration of St. John Mary Vianney, in the same city, after its establishment by John Paul II).

Apostolic Chamber in Summorum Pontificum mode

Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, Secretary of the Governatorate of Vatican City State and Auditor General of the Apostolic Chamber (presided by the Cardinal Chamberlain and in charge of the affairs of the Holy See during its current vacancy), celebrated a Pontifical Mass yesterday in Città di Castello, Umbria, with the assistance, among other great priests, of one of our favorite Franciscans of the Immaculate, Fr. Serafino Lanzetta, as well as Fr. de Andrade, FSSP. (Tip: Messa in Latino)

Archbishop-elect Sample on Sacred Music and the Traditional Latin Mass

From an interview published today by Catholic World Report: Portland’s new archbishop: “I’m a teacher at heart”. 

CWR: The Archdiocese of Portland is home to Oregon Catholic Press, which produces missals and liturgical music materials used by two-thirds of our country’s Catholic churches. You have developed an interest in the liturgy—in fact, you’re writing a pastoral letter on the topic. Can you share with us some highlights of that letter?

Sample: Yes. It is on pastoral music, and is just being released. We just hired a new director of sacred music, and this will be his road map. It will be my last contribution to the life of the Church in Marquette.

In this letter I discuss the liturgical movement of the Church, what Vatican II said about liturgical music, documents released on the topic after Vatican II, as well as writings by popes about [liturgical music]. It is not my vision or my ideas; I try to present the Church’s vision.

It is clear that the Council calls for the liturgy to be sung. In recent decades we’ve adopted the practice of singing songs at Mass. We take the Mass, and attach four hymns or songs to it. But this is not the Church’s vision. We need to sing the Mass. It is meant to be sung. The texts of the Mass are meant to be sung.

The Church provides us with chant, which is integral to liturgy, and should inspire the music of the Mass. We need to get away from singing songs at Mass and return to singing the Mass. And Gregorian chant is best suited to the Mass. The new director I hired [in the Diocese of Marquette] will introduce chant. It will be a huge shift for the people.

I mean no criticism of our sacred musicians, who are very dedicated. It will be a shift for them as well.

And, in addition to Latin chant, we also need to introduce chant in English. Although the Second Vatican Council said that chant should be given “pride of place,” one rarely hears it in parishes. Music is an important part of celebrating the Mass. As Pope Benedict has said, if we get the music right, we’ll get the spirit of the Mass right.

CWR: Where have you seen liturgy and liturgical music done well?

Sample: The parishes I’ve visited have all different levels of quality of music. In my formative years, the liturgy at the Church of St. Agnes in St. Paul, Minnesota, led by Msgr. Richard Schuler (1920-2007), was outstanding.  More recently, the liturgy and music at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the March for Life was spectacular.

CWR: You’ve been involved in ordinations for the Fraternity of St. Peter, which celebrates the traditional liturgy of the Roman rite. What do you like about the pre-Vatican II rite of the Mass, and will we be seeing more of it in Portland?

Sample: I appreciate the Tridentine liturgy. I am 100 percent a product of the Second Vatican Council, in that I grew up in its wake, and all my formation was post-Vatican II. Therefore, my fondness for the Tridentine liturgy is not based in nostalgia. Having been exposed to it, I’ve gained a great appreciation for it.

What sparked my interest in it was Pope Benedict’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum [granting greater freedom to priests to celebrate the older form of the liturgy]. I thought, “I’m a bishop of the Catholic Church, and it’s my responsibility to know how to celebrate Mass according to both the new and old rites.” I’ve learned the Tridentine liturgy, and have since celebrated three Pontifical High Masses and Masses for the Fraternity of St. Peter and the Institute of Christ the King (in Florence, Italy).

I believe that Pope Benedict wants the Extraordinary Form of the Mass to influence liturgical reform, to lead to a reform of the reform, because in some areas we’ve gotten off track. He wants the pre-conciliar liturgy to help shape the new liturgy and help reconcile us with the past. If the Tridentine Mass was once beautiful, it cannot now be harmful.

The Tridentine Mass certainly has many strengths; for example, it clearly stresses the sacrificial nature of the Mass. It also draws many young people who did not grow up with it. They’re discovering their heritage and tradition. It’s providing them with something they’re not finding in the ordinary form. We need to pay attention to that.

When I arrive in Portland, I’ll find out the status of the Tridentine Mass, and see if there are stable groups who want it. As their archbishop, I’ll do what I can to make it available.

Photo source: FSSP

The TLM in German-speaking lands: statistics since 2007

While much attention is being focused on the news that the Archdiocese of Berlin is undergoing "significant restructuring" (a euphemism for 105 parishes being scheduled for reduction to 30 parishes by 2020), it might be instructive to take a look as well at how Summorum Pontificum is faring in Germany, as well as in Austria and Switzerland. The following statistics of canonically-regular Traditional Latin Masses (i.e. those under diocesan auspices and not including those of the SSPX) are from the website of Pro Missa Tridentina: 

AS OF JANUARY 16, 2013:

Germany -  152 locations with the Traditional Latin Mass:

                 -- 53 every Sunday (of which 32 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 

                 -- 27 one to three Sundays per month

                 -- 72 on weekdays only

Austria -  33 locations with the Traditional Mass:

               -- 11 every Sunday (of which 8 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 

               -- 5 one or two Sundays per month

               -- 17 on weekdays only

Switzerland - 39 locations with the Traditional Latin Mass:

                   -- 22 every Sunday (of which 12 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 

                   -- 4 one or two Sundays per month

                   -- 13 on weekdays only

AS OF MARCH 24, 2012:

Germany -  148 locations with the Traditional Latin Mass:
                 -- 53 every Sunday (of which 28 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 
                 -- 26 one to three Sundays per month
                 -- 69 on weekdays only

Austria -  32 locations with the Traditional Mass:
               -- 12 every Sunday (of which 7 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 
               -- 4 one or two Sundays per month
               -- 16 on weekdays only

Switzerland - 41 locations with the Traditional Latin Mass:
                   -- 23 every Sunday (of which 12 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 
                   -- 4 one or two Sundays per month
                   -- 14 on weekdays only

AS OF JANUARY 15, 2012:

Germany -  148 locations with the Traditional Latin Mass:

                 -- 52 every Sunday (of which 28 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 

                 -- 31 one to three Sundays per month

                 -- 65 on weekdays only

Austria -  31 locations with the Traditional Mass:

               -- 12 every Sunday (of which 7 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 

               -- 4 one or two Sundays per month

               -- 15 on weekdays only

Switzerland - 41 locations with the Traditional Latin Mass:

                   -- 23 every Sunday (of which 14 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 

                   -- 5 one or two Sundays per month

                   -- 13 on weekdays only

            

AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2010:

Germany -  137 locations with the Traditional Latin Mass:

                 -- 49 every Sunday (of which 23 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 

                 -- 27 one to three Sundays per month

                 -- 60 on weekdays only 

Austria -  27 locations with the Traditional Mass:

               -- 11 every Sunday (of which 7 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 

               -- 3 one or two Sundays per month

               -- 13 on weekdays only

Switzerland - 37 locations with the Traditional Latin Mass:

                   -- 21 every Sunday (of which 12 also have them on Holy Days of obligation) 

                   -- 4 one or two Sundays per month

                   -- 12 on weekdays only

"On weekdays only" encompasses Mass sites ranging from those with a Traditional Latin Mass one weekday per quarter to those that have it on one or more days in the course of a week.

The statistics for Switzerland include the whole country, and not just the German-speaking areas.

According to a press release published by Pro Missa Tridentina in 2008, the situation in Germany before and immediately after Summorum Pontificum was as follows:

February 15, 2008 - 90 locations 

End of December 2007 - 78 locations (more than double in less than half a year!)

July 2007 (just before Summorum Pontificum) - 35 locations

1997 - 23 locations with the Traditional Latin Mass (monthly, weekly, weekdays, etc.)

It is evident that between Feb. 2008 and Feb. 2010, the number of Traditional Latin Mass locations increased from 90 to 137 in Germany. 

Credit Where Credit is Due

You will remember back in May we brought you the story of Fr. William Holtzinger, A.K.A. the "Poodle Priest," of St. Anne's Parish in the Archdiocese of Portland. We make no apologies for rightly criticizing a novelty that turned the Sacrifice on Calvary into Barnum and Bailey's. 

Whether Fr. Holtzinger has had a full conversion to orthodoxy or not we cannot say. We must, in charity however, give him credit for at least beginning to adhere to the words of our Holy Father and starting to implement Summorum Pontificum. 

From Father's personal website:

Mass in the Extraordinary Form 

Several months ago I was asked if we could offer a special Mass in what is called the "Extraordinary Form," previously called, the Tridentine Mass or Latin Mass. After supportive consultation with various people and groups including our Archbishop, Chancellor, and the vicariate area priests, I decided to support and accommodate a quarterly Mass in the Extraordinary Form at Our Lady of the River. The first of these Masses will be on February 10th at 6 PM. Questions you might have likely deal with what, how, and why. 

Read more here. 

Another monastery rediscovers its traditional Rite

Vyšší Brod (photo source)

One of the least-known major news stories of 2012 for the "world of Tradition" in the Latin Rite has been the return of the Cistercian monastery of Vyšší Brod in the Czech Republic (see also their more updated Czech website) to the traditional Cistercian Rite (as it existed prior to Vatican II).

Although the monastery's own website seems to show that it still uses the Novus Ordo, we have received confirmation that the monastery now has its daily Conventual Mass (Sunday to Saturday) and its whole Divine Office according to the Traditional Cistercian Rite. We expect that the website will eventually be amended to reflect this change.

Vyšší Brod belongs to the Ordo Cisterciensis (O.Cist) or Cistercians of the Common Observance.

Mass in the Monastery. (Source)

Vyšší Brod is now the third monastery in the Benedictine tradition (after the Trappist monastery of Mariawald and the Benedictine monastery in Norcia) to make the switch, in the years since the promulgation of Summorum Pontificum, from being all "Reformed Rite" to being predominantly or exclusively Traditional Rite.

The following is a video of a Pontifical Mass celebrated in Vyšší Brod by Dom Josef Vollberg OCSO, Abbot of Mariawald, on December 15 of this year. 

The Reform in the Trappist Abbey of Mariawald: "Putting God back at the center of the life of the monastery"

Divine Office in Mariawald, prior to the renewal of the High Altar (source) 

In 2008, the sole Trappist Monastery in Germany, the Abbey of Mariawald, became the first (and, so far, the only) Trappist monastery to completely return to the pre-Conciliar liturgical books since the liturgical reforms of the 1960s. The Abbot of Mariawald, Dom Josef Vollberg, was interviewed very recently by Paix Liturgique, which has published a partial English translation of the interview: “Restoring Her Youth To the Church”: an interview with the Abbot of Mariawald". I would like to highlight the following portion of the interview (emphases mine):

2) Can you tell us the motivations that led you to embrace the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum and to choose the extraordinary form at your Abbey, late in 2008? 

Dom Josef: In our community there had been no visible fruits of the changes brought about by the second Vatican Council and our numbers had fallen drastically. From 1965 to 2011, many monks left the monastery and we had only two confirmed vocations.

And so, faced with the new liturgy's anthropocentric tendency, the desire was born to put God back at the center of the life of the monastery. Just as a tree lives only when it is fed by the energy it draws up through its roots, so too the monk (and not only the monk!) needs the wisdom of a centuries-old treasure to restore her youth to the Church.

Note that the liturgy at Mariawald is not completely identical with the Roman rite. It has its own specific features in terms of the calendar, Eucharistic liturgy, and especially as far as concerns the Breviary (the Liturgy of the Hours).

3) What changes has this choice meant for your religious life?

Dom Josef: The reform as (sic) made the monks' spiritual life more demanding. The new--understand “ancient”--liturgy requires an appropriate learning process: singing Gregorian chant is an art that demands a specific formation; attention to Latin as the proper language of worship demands willpower and diligence; reciting the Breviary takes longer and starting the Office at 3am demands a true willingness to surrender onself. All these sacrifices are rewarded by the discovery of heretofore unknown riches.

Service at the altar too requires appropriate training and the faithful themselves have to be formed to the liturgy versus Deum. Celebration versus Deum rather than versus populum demands a different kind of 'participatio actuosa' on their part--and for the most part, a more conscious one. Communion on the tongue also leads to deeper adoration. By the way, the Holy Father himself distributes Communion on the tongue in the Novus Ordo, thus giving an example of the much desired “reform of the reform.”

4) What influence has it had on the quality of your community life?

Dom Josef: Forty years of the new liturgy make any new change of orientation difficult, especially for the older brethren.

These days, however, the earlier tensions have eased and the situation is more serene. Openness to the Church's uninterrupted tradition and the more intense spiritual life are slowly bearing fruit, especially when it comes to new vocations. There is no room for impatience. If I may use the image of one of the Abbey's friends: reforming Mariawald is like turning around an ocean liner going at full steam: it takes time. Mariawald needs time . . . and also everyone's prayers.

5) What assessment are you in a position to make of this choice today? Has it had an effect on the vocations you have been attracting?

Dom Josef: If you wish to ask me for an assessment, I would say: “I would do it again, despite many, and sometimes subtle, difficulties.” There have been and there still are many candidates to enter at Mariawald: since the 2008 reform, between forty and fifty. But most of them do not stay because of the demands specific to the strict rule that we observe. This reflects a general phenomenon in our present-day society: the inability to commit on the long term. Ones sees it in the refusal to marry, the ever more general practice of cohabitation, and the increasing number of civil divorces.

This fear of commitment reaches all religious orders and is not tied to the nature of our reform. In 2008 we were twelve monks at the monastery. Two have since passed away. Today, therefore, there are ten of us, including a brother who has recently made his solemn profession (there's one who isn't afraid to commit!). We also have a novice and shall welcome a postulant this year, and there are two or three people who have shown serious interest in joining us. We also have three monks who live outside the monastery.

For the record: TLM at Gesu e Maria to continue

Messa in Latino reported on November 27 that the every-Sunday Traditional Latin Mass in Gesu e Maria in Rome will continue for the foreseeable future. The sole change is that, beginning on December 8, the Mass will be moved to a slightly earlier time slot.

The welcome news came after the Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Vallini, and Msgr. Zuppi, Auxiliary Bishop in Rome, intervened and discussed the situation with the Discalced Augustinian friars. 

(For the background to this, see One of Rome's oldest running Traditional Latin Masses to be stopped?)

One of Rome's oldest running Traditional Latin Masses to be stopped?

The every-Sunday Traditional Latin Mass in the Chiesa dei SS.mi Nomi di Gesù e Maria along the Via del Corso, usually known simply as Gesù e Maria, is scheduled to be replaced beginning on December 2 of this year with a Portuguese Mass. Ironically, this is the titular church of Domenico Cardinal Bartolucci, who said in 2009 that he always celebrated the Traditional Latin Mass since his ordination. The news has long been anticipated by various Italian Catholic blogs, and Messa in Latino called this week for a rally of Catholic Traditionalists in front of this church on the morning of December 2 in an effort to save the TLM, the Mass for which this church was built in the 16th century, from permanent eviction. 

The eviction of the every-Sunday Traditional Latin Mass and its replacement with a vernacular Novus Ordo has been ordered by the Discalced Augustinian friars who run the church, which has a Mass schedule that is far from being full. The TLM in this church dates back to the early 1980's and has been taken care of by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest since 1992. 

While it is true that there are numerous private Masses every day according to the Classical Roman Rite in the Eternal City, not least in St. Peter's Basilica itself, the list of TLM's that is maintained by Inter multiplices Una Vox indicates that there are only eight churches in Rome (out of several hundred) that have an officially-scheduled weekly TLM -- an exponential improvement over the pre-Summorum situation, but also an indication of the distance which the restoration of the Roman liturgy still has to travel. It is against this background that the potential loss of the TLM in Gesù e Maria should be seen. 

Photo source: link. 

Two forms of "Youth Mass"

Two Masses, two sides of the battle over the minds and hearts of young Catholics.

1) This is a promotional poster for the "Messe qui prend son temps", the "Mass that takes its time", that is regularly celebrated by the French Jesuits in the Eglise Saint-Ignace in Paris, expressly for students and young professionals. The poster is currently on the main page of the website of the Jesuit Province of France. Versions of this Mass are also celebrated in a few other cities in France. 

And here are some glimpses of what the French Jesuit "Mass that takes its time" is like:

You Report - Summorum at 5: More and more Traditional Masses in SW Ohio

We thank reader D. Reed for this report on recently established Traditional Latin Masses in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio:

Three weekly masses in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite have recently been established in the Cincinnati Archdiocese.

The archdiocese consists of 214 parishes in 19 southwestern Ohio counties and is bordered by the Columbus and Toledo dioceses as well as by the states of Indiana and Kentucky. Of its three million inhabitants, 500,000 are Catholics and are led by Archbishop Dennis Schnurr and Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Binzer. The Traditional Mass was always available in recent years to the faithful, but it was only offered in Cincinnati (Sacred Heart Catholic Church: Sundays and holy days, Old St. Mary's Catholic Church: Mon-Sat, holy days) and Dayton (Holy Family Catholic Church- FSSP-administered: daily). Three archdiocesan priests over the past few months have learned and begun offering the traditional Latin mass weekly in the parishes in which they serve. Starting back in May, St. Remy Catholic Church in Russia, Ohio (Shelby County) began offering the traditional mass "most" Fridays at 7:30pm. In October, Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Trenton, Ohio (Butler County) began offering the traditional mass every Saturday morning at 8am. Also in October, St. Mary's Catholic Church in Philothea, Ohio (Mercer County) began offering the traditional mass every Wednesday morning at 9am. These recent developments brings the total daily or weekly diocesan Traditional Latin Masses available in this corner of Ohio to six. Please pray for the continued growth throughout southwestern Ohio of the celebration of the Traditional Mass.

Terminology: is "Extraordinary Form" an acceptable name? And is it the official name?

We never thought it would be necessary to write this, since both aspects we will treat seem to be obvious, and have seemed so since 2007. Yet, there have been so many misunderstandings regarding the expression "Extraordinary Form" that we feel constrained to make two points clear.

(1) Why was the name "Extraordinary Form" introduced by the Holy Father in the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum? Answer: in order to solve a liturgical law conumdrum.

Traditionally, throughout the history of the Church - at least since the differentiation of rites became clear and attached to specific patriarchies and geographical areas - bi-ritual priests have been exceptional. They still are an exception. Additionally, the Pope felt the need to finally undo the injustice that had been kept - and defended by most canonists - since the advent of the Apostolic Constitution Missale Romanum, of Paul VI (1969), that had created the Novus Ordo Missae: had it, and the previous and subsequent documents that modified all rites of sacraments, abrogated the Traditional Roman Rite?

The use of the term "form" solved both problems: it did not make all priests in the Latin Church, including the vast majority of secular priests, immediately bi-ritual (in law), which would be rather untraditional; and, most importantly, it solved the apparent problem of the impossibility of the abrogation of a liturgical rite of immemorial origin. (It was an apparent problem because, as the Pope implied when he said that "what earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful," the immemorial liturgical Rites and Uses of the Latin Church could not and cannot simply be abrogated.) In a sense it is an artifice, a noble intellectual construction, since the common celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass seem to express two very distinct rites - but the use of such legal constructions is quite common in law, and there is nothing immoral in it. The use of the terminology made clear that celebrating the Traditional Mass is a solemn right of each priest of the Latin Church.

(2) Despite this, the expression "Extraordinary Form" is NOT the "official" name of the Traditional Roman Rite. It is just one of the many ways to refer to it. In fact, as can be seen in the very texts of the official documents, several different names are used to refer to the Traditional Roman Rite.

The motu proprio itself speaks in its first words of the "extraordinary use" and of the "ancient form" (antiqua forma) of the Roman Rite. In its articles, mention is made of "the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII" (that is, Missal of St. Pius V also is as "official" as "Missal of Bl. John XXIII" - no wonder Cardinal Navarette-Cortes used the term in 2008); it is an "extraordinary expression" (extraordinaria expressio), and also "extraordinary form" (forma extraordinaria). It is also called by the motu proprio the "earlier liturgical tradition".

The rites of sacraments according to the Traditional Rituale Romanum are characterized as according to the more ancient ritual (Rituale antiquior), same adjective applied to the Pontifical, and to the form itself: earlier form (forma antiquior).

All these names are included in the short text of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum itself!

In the letter to bishops, mention is also made of "the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970". The Pope says in the letter that they are not "two rites" (though in the letter he uses the name "new rite"! - making us quite comfortable with also using the expression old rite...), but also uses different names for it therein: a "usage", the "earlier Form", the "1962 missal", the "old Missal", the "ancient Latin liturgical tradition" (a very beautiful name, by the way)

In the Instruction Universae Ecclesiae, preference is given to the expression "forma extraordinaria", but also there all kinds of different expressions: "usage", "use", "Usus antiquior", "1962 Missal"...

These are just the "official" names used widely in the documents themselves - not forgetting the need for clarity that demands a continued use of expressions that are established in the vernacular, such as Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in English, and "Tridentine Mass" (even if not particularly exact) in English and in several European languages. Not to mention the very respectable use (for instance, by former President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos) of the expressions "Gregorian Rite" and "Classical Roman Liturgy".

THEREFORE: (1) do not feel forced in any way to use the name Extraordinary Form as if it were the only acceptable name - it is not even the exclusive name used in the documents themselves;

(2) do not complain when others use it, as if it were illegitimate or unacceptable; if you do not like it, fine, just do not use it yourself.

Cardinal Cañizares: "I celebrate the Traditional Mass because it is normal to do so"

From the interview granted by Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, to La Stampa's Andrea Tornielli on his celebration of the Traditional Mass next Saturday in the Vatican Basilica, the culmination of the November 1-3 international pilgrimage to Rome of Traditional Catholics in union with His Holiness:

What is the point of the pilgrimage?

“To give thanks to God and thank the Pope for the motu proprio he issued five years ago, recognising the value of the liturgy celebrated according to the missal of the Blessed John XXIII and marking continuity with the tradition of the Roman Rite. By recognising the previous liturgy one understands that reform does not mean doing away with older traditional practices.”

Why did you agree to celebrate mass for pilgrims who follow the pre-conciliar Rite?

“I agreed because it is a way to show people it is normal to use the 1962 missal: there are two forms of the same Rite but there is only one Rite, so it is normal to use it during mass celebrations. I have already celebrated a number of masses according to the missal introduced by the Blessed John XXIII and I will gladly do so again on this occasion. The Congregation in which the Pope has called me to act as Prefect does not oppose the use of the old liturgy, although the task of our dicastery is to enhance the meaning of liturgical renewal according to the directives of the Sacrosanctum Concilium constitution and follow in the footsteps of the Second Vatican Council. In relation to this it must be said that the extraordinary form of the Latin Rite must draw inspiration from the conciliar Constitution which in the first ten paragraphs focuses on the true spirit of the liturgy and so is relevant to all rites.”

Ordinary - Extraordinary: an extraordinary Main Altar at the Mariawald Abbey Church

Our readers are quite aware that the Trappist Abbey of Mariawald, in Heimbach (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany), was one of the very few institutions in the world to make use of one of the potentially most powerful words in the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum (art. 3) and became exclusively dedicated to the pre-conciliar Liturgy and customs of their venerable and glorious order.

Though questioned by the Abbot General of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance at the time, the matter was finally confirmed by the personal intervention of Pope Benedict XVI according to many reports.

On September 6, 2012, the new main altar was installed in the abbey church of this community dedicated exclusively to their ancient rites and customs.

Traditional Mass celebrated in the old new-style altar
(1963/1964 Volksaltar - People's Altar):

New ancient-style altar (French-speaking region, 1800s):

[Source: Abtei Mariawald. Tip: Le Forum Catholique]

Prayers for the success of the November Pilgrimage to Rome

From Una Cum Papa Nostro, the blog of the organizers of the international pilgrimage of Catholic traditionalists to Rome from November 1 to November 3 of this year, culminating in a Pontifical Mass according to the 1962 Missal in St. Peter's Basilica. (There is no real news yet on who will be the celebrant of this Mass, and it is better not to speculate.)

On October 7, a Rosary for the Pilgrimage

Sunday October 7, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto, every single Summorum Pontificum Coetus is invited to pray for the success of the CISP Pilgrimage in November. 

We ask any group of faithful and religious that benefits from the Extraordinary Form of the Mass to pray their Rosary in that beautiful day for the spiritual goals of the Pilgrimage, as expressed by our Chaplain: 

-  thanksgiving and support for the Holy Father;
-  demonstration of loyalty to Peter;
-  profession of faith and participation in the New Evangelization promoted by His Holiness. 

*** 

Un chapelet pour le Pèlerinage 

En la fête du Très Saint Rosaire, anniversaire de la bataille de Lépante, le dimanche 7 octobre, le Coetus Internationalis Summorum Pontificum invite tous les groupes Summorum Pontificum à prier pour le succès du pèlerinage de novembre à Rome. 

Le Coetus Internationalis demande à chaque communauté laïque ou religieuse qui bénéficie de la forme extraordinaire de la messe de prier un chapelet aux intentions du pèlerinage, telles qu’exprimées par son aumônier, l’abbé Claude Barthe : 

- action de grâces et de soutien filial au Saint Père,
- témoignage de fidélité au successeur de Pierre,
- profession de foi et désir de participer à la nouvelle évangélisation voulue par Benoît XVI.

You report: American Anglican Ordinariate, anti-Tradition zone

We have received the following report from a reader:

You have previously posted on your blog reports about Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson's animosity towards the Traditional Mass and another contributor, Augustinus, followed up with mention of the Mass being celebrated Friday mornings at Mount Calvary in Baltimore, a church of the Anglican Ordinariate.

You should know that after Mass there last Friday, September 21st, it was announced that, while the celebration of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form is "allowed" [sic] to Ordinariate priests, it cannot be celebrated at Ordinariate premises, "since that form of the Mass is not integral to the Anglican patrimony."

This is less than three months after the termination of another weekday Traditional Mass at an archdiocesan parish due to a priest's reassignment.  That church, St. William of York, with its communion rail and removable low altar, and Mount Calvary were two of the few churches in Baltimore that are well-suited to accommodate the Traditional Mass. 

                                       

Rorate can add that - having confirmed the content above with other sources -, according to our own Roman inquiries on this matter, one man seems to be responsible for the embarrassing and outrageous hatred displayed by the Ordinary of the United States, Msgr. Steenson, regarding the Traditional Mass of the Roman Rite: Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington. Wuerl had been put in place as a sort of liaison between Rome and the Anglicans before the official creation of the Ordinariate, and still acts as the Capo di tutti capi of the Ordinariate, on which he imposes his personal idiosyncrasies and hatreds.

We do not think, though, that this excuses Steenson's unbelievable weakness in his foremost administrative task: defending the rights and prerogatives of his priests and faithful. He may think the rights ascertained by Summorum Pontificum to all priests of the Latin Church, including those of his own Ordinariate, are an easily dismissable "problem" created by "difficult" people, with which he should not waste his scarce "political capital". We say with utmost certainty that this weakness will come back to haunt him and all his priests and faithful in more "serious" matters. We would have thought that his Episcopalian experiences would have warned him to the dangers of ceding territory to the Enemy, but, alas, some lessons are never learned by those constitutionally unable to learn them.

Since the Anglican Ordinariate of the United States has become an explicit and rabid Anti-Traditional area, at least in its highest position, it is unlikely that Rorate will report any of its future developments. We stay with Fisher, More, Byrd, Campion, and Newman, and all the various Traditional rites, forms, and uses of the Latin Church  - they can stay with the "Anglican Patrimony" of Annibale Bugnini. As Vicky Gene Robinson (Steenson's contemporary fellow "bishop" of the Episcopal Church in the early 2000s - Robinson, starting in March 2004, Steenson in October 2004) might say, godspeed on your new "life journey"...

You Post: Upcoming Masses for September 8 - 15

I invite our readers to post, in the combox, their communities' schedules for special Masses (especially Traditional Latin Masses) in honor of the following feasts and events:

September 8 - The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

September 12 - The Most Holy Name of Mary

September 14 - The Exaltation of the Holy Cross & 5th anniversary of the coming into effect of Summorum Pontificum

September 15 - The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Information about Solemn or Pontifical Masses and conferences / seminars / lectures commemorating the 5th anniversary of Summorum Pontificum's effectivity will be most appreciated.

International Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage to Rome November 2012

Rorate Caeli has received the following press release.

On the Feast of All Saints (1st November), an international 'Summorum Pontificum' pilgrimage to Rome

The Coetus Internationalis pro Summorum Pontificum has just been constituted in Rome by representatives of several associations of faithful, including the International Federation Una Voce and the Italian Coordinamento Summorum Pontificum in order to organize an international pilgrimage of associations, groups and movements supporting 'Summorum Pontificum' and His Holiness Benedict XVI to mark the Year of Faith.  The pilgrimage will conclude on Saturday, November 3, 2012, with a Mass in St. Peter' Basilica. An official presentation of the event will take place on September 10 in Rome.


Photo: Fr. Josef Bisig FSSP and other Traditional Catholic clerics and pilgrims during the October 1998 pilgrimage of Traditional Catholics to Rome marking the tenth anniversary of Ecclesia Dei. Source: FSSP website. 

You report: First TLM in Rostov-on-Don, Russia since Soviet times

July 22, 2012: TLM in Rostov-on-Don

From Mr. Oleg-Michael Martynov of Una Voce Russia:

Traditional Latin Mass was celebrated in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, perhaps for the first time since 1952 when the city's only Roman Catholic parish was “liquidated” by the Communist authorities. Its church was blown up. 

Forty years later, after the Soviet regime collapsed, the parish of the Last Supper was given a new birth by a young missionary priest from Poland, Fr. Jaroslaw Wisniewski who now serves in the Central Asian republic

of Uzbekistan. A somewhat unusual, but very inspiring church was erected in a nice park area, together with magnificent parish facilities. 

Fr. Wladislaw Kloc, SDB, another Pole who has spent many years as a missionary in Zambia and then in Russia, celebrated on Sunday, July 22, his first usus antiquior Mass. Much assistance was rendered by Una Voce Russia, both its local members and those who have traveled some 1100 kilometers (more than 650 miles) from Moscow to provide help and council. 

Rostov-on-Don is soon supposed to become Russia's third place, after Moscow and St. Petersburg, and first one in the Diocese of Saint Clement in Saratov, to have regularly scheduled Masses celebrated according to the norms of Summorum Pontificum.

Poland: before and after Summorum Pontificum

Poland before Summorum:
                                         1 location with daily TLM (including Sundays)
                                         4 locations with every-Sunday (but not daily) TLM

Poland after Summorum, as of 7/7/12:
                                         4 locations with daily TLM (including Sundays)
                                         18 locations with every-Sunday (but not daily) TLM

(Note: if a town has a Mass celebrated by the same priest for the same group of believers in various churches in rotation, then it is counted as one place.)

Source: Nowy Ruch Liturgiczny