St. Clement Parish, our apostolate in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, recently concluded its 50th anniversary celebrations with three days of events crowned by a Solemn Pontifical Mass at Ottawa’s magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral, the first traditional Pontifical Mass to be celebrated at the cathedral in 20 years.

The festivities began on Thursday, November 22nd, when St. Clement’s held Solemn Vespers for the feast of their patron led by Fr. Josef Bisig, rector of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary and a founding member of the FSSP. The accompanying music featured the debut of Dedisti Domine, a piece specially composed by St. Clement organist Rachel Laurin for the 50th anniversary. The text is taken from the antiphon found in those same Vespers.

The Solemn Pontifical Mass took place the next day, Friday, November 23rd, the feast of St. Clement, and was celebrated by His Excellency the Most Reverend Terrence Prendergast, Archbishop of Ottawa. The Archbishop carried the crozier of his predecessor, Archbishop Joseph-Aurèle Plourde, who first granted permission for a small community of Catholics to hear the traditional Mass at the Monastery of the Sister Adorers of the Precious Blood in Ottawa on March 3rd, 1968. That group later became the parish of St. Clement under Archbishop Plourde’s successor Archbishop Marcel Gervais, who invited the Fraternity to assume administration in 1995. In 2011, Archbishop Prendergast invited the parish to administer the historic church of St. Anne, and St. Clement celebrated its first Solemn High Mass there on Trinity Sunday of 2012. You can read more about the history of this remarkable community in our post here.

The Archbishop was assisted at the Mass by St. Clement pastor Fr. Erik Deprey, assistant pastor Fr. Jacques Breton, Deacon Luc Poirier, North American Superior Fr. Michael Stinson and FSSP Québec assistant pastor Fr. Laurent Demets. Also present were Fr. Bisig and FSSP Superior General Fr. Andrzej Komorowski, and the choir of St. Clement provided the music for the Mass. Parishioners and non-parishioners alike flocked to the cathedral to attend, some driving as far as 2 to 3 hours. In the sanctuary, a relic of St. Clement was displayed for veneration.

On Saturday, Fr. Bisig gave a talk on the history of the FSSP. You can read more on that talk in the story here published by the Canadian publication The Catholic Register, and you can read their story on the anniversary Mass here.

We congratulate the parish of St. Clement on its 50 years of service to God and the faithful of the diocese of Ottawa, and pray for many more years to come!

A happy and most joyful feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady! Today we celebrate the singular privilege granted to Our Blessed Mother of being preserved free from original sin from the very first moment of her existence. Truly she is the most blessed of all creatures, full of every grace and virtue, the most worthy and noble Mother of God and our Mother as well. This feast is a Holy Day of Obligation (the obligation is never abrogated, even when it falls on a Monday or, like today, a Saturday), so be sure to check your parish’s Mass schedule today.

Blessed Pope Pius IX infallibly defined the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception in the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus, promulgated on December 8th, 1854. There we read:

From the very beginning, and before time began, the eternal Father chose and prepared for His only-begotten Son a Mother in whom the Son of God would become incarnate and from whom, in the blessed fullness of time, He would be born into this world. Above all creatures did God so love her that truly in her was the Father well pleased with singular delight. Therefore, far above all the angels and all the saints so wondrously did God endow her with the abundance of all heavenly gifts poured from the treasury of His divinity that this mother, ever absolutely free of all stain of sin, all fair and perfect, would possess that fullness of holy innocence and sanctity than which, under God, one cannot even imagine anything greater, and which, outside of God, no mind can succeed in comprehending fully.

We wish a happy patronal feast day to our parishes in Omaha, Nebraska, El Paso, Texas and Colorado Springs, Colorado!

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

On Saturday, November 17th, His Excellency the Most Reverend Robert Finn, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph, conferred minor orders on twenty-one men from Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary during a Solemn Pontifical Mass at the seminary chapel. Eleven seminarians in their third year of studies received the first two orders of Porter and Lector, and ten in their fourth year received the second two, those of Exorcist and Acolyte. Please pray for these men as they continue their discernment, and for the fourteen second-year seminarians who received tonsure in October.

Have you visited the new website for our official bookstore, Fraternity Publications? The recently reconstructed site features over 100 new products, improved layout and easier navigation. We offer an extensive selection of titles, including saints’ writings, children’s books, Bibles, breviaries, missals and prayer books, as well as rosaries, crucifixes, scapulars and gifts. You’ll also find nifty features like wishlists and low-cost shipping through Media Mail, plus great discounts in our sale section.

Do some of your Christmas shopping this Thursday through Saturday, December 6th through 8th, during our St. Nicholas Day Sale – take 10% off your entire order! Just use the code #10stnick when checking out.

www.fraternitypublications.com

by Mrs. Katie Zeunges, FSSP San Diego 

On Wednesday, October 31st, 2018, parishioners of St. Anne Parish in San Diego, California, hosted their annual All Hallows’ Eve party in celebration of All Saints’ Day, attended by over 300 people.

After beginning the evening with a Rosary led by pastor Fr. John Lyons, children dressed as Saints were introduced to the crowd during the Saint Parade. Some of the Saints included St. Juan Diego wearing his tilma, St. Kateri with braided hair, St. Padre Pio with his stigmata, St. Catherine of Alexandria with her cracked wheel, St. Joan of Arc with her shield and sword and Servant of God Fr. Kapaun in his military garb. What a joy it was to see the children invoking these heavenly giants.

Following the Saint Parade, the Carnival Games began. For the Wheel of Saints, children spun the wheel which landed on a letter of the alphabet, then they had a few seconds to name a saint that began with that letter. At the Halo Toss booth, children attempted to throw glow-stick ring halos onto pegs. St. Peter’s Fishers of Men booth challenged children to use magnetic-tipped fishing poles to pull up duct tape fish while being careful not to reel up the boot. At St. Joseph’s Workshop, children searched through sawdust to find St. Joseph’s wooden hammers, saws and squares.

Team competition games began with the St. Lucy’s Eyeball Relay Race in which each team focused on carrying a ping-pong ball in a spoon across the yard and back again to trade off with another team member. The Saint Guessing Jar Game involved estimating the goodies inside each saint’s jar and the winners went home with treats such as St. Brendan the Navigator’s Gummy Fish and St. Marie-Azelie Martin’s Colorful Rose Garden Candies. The evening continued with the Saint Scavenger Hunt. Teens searched among the crowds to find the 16 adults holding the particular saint card that answered a question regarding that saint. After the hunt, several rounds of Saint Bingo ensued for young and old with some impromptu narratives about the saints while the names were called.

During the party, a Carved Pumpkin Contest brought many voters to select their favorite of the 18 saint-themed carvings. There was a tie for first place this year which went to Jesus on the Road to Calvary by Francis Kuss and Our Lady and St. Joseph Traveling to Bethlehem by Ana Larson. Second place was the soldier kneeling before the cross by Therese Cruz.

For snacking enjoyment, families brought an impressive array of saint-themed snacks to share. Edible wonders included St. Juan Diego’s Nachos, St. George’s Swords made of cucumbers and hummus with red pepper handles and St. Notburga’s Pigs in a Blanket.

Throughout the evening, Fr. Lyons and assistant pastor Fr. Christopher Mahowald could be found holding adorable babies, participating in saintly games or chatting with guests. St. Anne Parish is so blessed to have these extraordinary priests (plus Fr. Dorsa who was away that evening). What a wonderful way to spend All Hallows’ Eve with fantastic priests and remarkable Catholic families!

We at the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter were saddened to hear of the passing of Bishop Robert Morlino of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin this past Saturday, November 24th. A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, near where our headquarters are located, Bishop Morlino was ordained in 1974 and served as the Bishop of Helena, Montana before his appointment to the Diocese of Madison in 2003. A brilliant and educated man, Bishop Morlino earned his doctorate in Moral Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, with a specialization in fundamental moral theology and bioethics. He received countless awards for his work in defending the dignity of the human person from a wide array of entities, from Human Life International to the Department of the Army.

He was a stalwart shepherd in a time of turbulence in the Church, and a great friend of the Latin Mass who conferred minor orders at our seminary a number of times. Several Requiem Masses have been offered by priests of the Fraternity for the repose of his soul, and many more will be offered. We invite you to join us in prayer for the late Bishop. He will be greatly missed.

Bishop Morlino’s funeral Mass will be celebrated this coming Tuesday, December 4th, and will be broadcast by EWTN at 11am Central Time.

Réquiem aetérnam dona ei, Dómine: et lux perpétua lúceat ei. Requiéscat in pace. Amen.

From October 26th through the 28th, 2018, the Fraternity of St. Peter participated in the 7th annual Populus Summorum Pontificum, a pilgrimage which takes place every year in Rome in which hundreds of priests, religious and lay people gather to witness in a public way to the Catholic Faith and to the beauty and timelessness of the Latin Mass. The pilgrimage spans three days and is led by a bishop, archbishop or cardinal, this year by Bishop Czeslaw Kozon, Bishop of Copenhagen. Our parish in Rome, Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, and its priests lend a great deal of assistance to the pilgrimage and the parish hosted a number of the activities on the 2018 itinerary.

Fr. Charles Ike, FSSP, was particularly involved in this year’s events, speaking on Friday at the Populus Summorum Pontificum Forum that took place at the Augustinianum on Friday. The theme of this year’s pilgrimage was “Summorum Pontificum in Africa”, and Fr. Ike, who hails from and was ordained in Nigeria, addressed the subject from a first-hand perspective. On Friday evening, Fr. Ike celebrated the opening Mass of the pilgrimage at Santissima Trinità, assisted by FSSP Director of Development Fr. Zachary Akers and the parish’s assistant pastor Fr. Dimitri Artifoni.

On Saturday, after the Rosary and adoration in the morning at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Damaso in central Rome, Bishop Kozon led the pilgrims in procession through the streets of the city, across the Tiber and into the Basilica of St. Peter. Among them was Fr. Akers, who spoke of the extraordinary event.

“It was such a moving experience to process down the streets of Rome while singing hymns, and ultimately into St. Peter’s Basilica while singing the Creed, in unison with thousands of others, in the ancient language of the Church,” he said.

At the Basilica His Excellency celebrated a Solemn Pontifical Mass at the altar of the Chair, with a great crowd of pilgrims in attendance and dozens of priests and religious – including His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke – assisting in choir as the Mass of the ages was celebrated in one of the central churches of Christendom. The homily was given by His Eminence Angelo Cardinal Comastri, archpriest of the Basilica.

Archbishop François Bacqué, Apostolic Nuncio, led Pontifical Vespers at Santissima Trinità later that evening, and on Sunday, Bishop Kozon celebrated a Solemn Pontifical Mass at the parish. The three-day event was a great success and the parish looks forward to participating again next year, when the pilgrimage will take place from Friday, October 25th through Sunday, October 27th and will be led by His Excellency Bishop Dominique Rey, Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, France. You can learn more about the pilgrimage at its website here.

Day 1

Solemn High Mass at Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini

Day 2

Procession

Solemn Pontifical Mass at the Altar of the Chair

Pontifical Vespers at Santissima Trinità

Day 3

Solemn Pontifical Mass at Santissima Trinità

In the United States, today we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Although a civic holiday and not a liturgical one, we still recall the prayerful roots of the day, which traces its origins back to days of thanksgiving observed by America’s first settlers. The first nationwide Thanksgiving proclamation was issued by George Washington in 1789, and the holiday was instituted for good by Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

Today is a fitting day to remember all the blessings of God and to render Him thanks as we gather with family and friends. Consider stopping by your local parish for morning Mass before heading to your Thanksgiving destinations; the very word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving” and is the greatest offering of thanks that we can give to God for all His countless graces. Let us remember also those who are in need and do not have a family or a hot meal to come home to this day (we recommend donating to your parish’s food pantry or St. Vincent de Paul Society), and all those stationed or deployed far from home.

At the Fraternity, we give particular thanks to God for the incredible flourishing of the FSSP in North America, which has proven to be fertile ground indeed for our ministry with over 100 priests serving thousands of parishioners in 54 apostolates.

Laudábo nomen tuum assídue, et collaudábo illud in confessióne, et exaudíta est orátio mea. Et liberásti me de perditióne, et eripuísti me de témpore iníquo. Proptérea confitébor et laudem dicam tibi Dómine Deus noster.

I will praise Thy name continually, and will praise it with thanksgiving, and my prayer was heard. And Thou hast saved me from destruction, and hast delivered me from the evil time. Therefore I will give thanks and praise to Thee, O Lord our God.

– Ecclesiasticus 51:15-17, from the Epistle for today, the feast of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr

by Mrs. Adele Patek, FSSP Seattle

On September 30th, 2018, North American Martyrs Parish in Seattle, Washington, led by pastor Fr. Joseph Heffernan and assistant pastor Fr. Adrian Debow, celebrated their 10th anniversary with a Solemn High Mass at St. Alphonsus, the church where the parish holds most of its Masses. Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, of the Archdiocese of Seattle, attended and assisted at the Mass from the throne.

North American Martyrs also welcomed several visiting clergy for this momentous occasion: Fr. Michael Stinson, the new North American District Superior; Father Gerard Saguto, the first administrator of North American Martyrs, visiting from FSSP Minnesota; Fr. Christopher Fitzpatrick, newly ordained for the FSSP in 2018 and a former parishioner; and from Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Nebraska, Deacon Ralph Oballo, to be ordained in the spring, and seminarian Mr. Matthew Palmer. Also present was Fr. Richard Klepac, SOLT, the pastor of St. Alphonsus.

Archbishop Sartain had previously given permission for the parish to celebrate the external feast of St. Isaac Jogues, St. Jean de Brébeuf and Companions, which occurred earlier in that week. The parish was therefore able to celebrate with the Mass of their patrons.

Fr. Heffernan was the celebrant, with Fr. Saguto as deacon and Deacon Oballo as subdeacon. Mr. Palmer assisted as Master of Ceremonies for the Mass and Fr. Debow as Master of Ceremonies for the Archbishop. Both MCs and the myriad servers all helped the Mass to proceed smoothly and beautifully.

The altar was decked with glowing candles and many colorful flowers. The shining gold vestments were newly made by parish volunteers and worn for the first time that day. Clouds of incense wafted through the church as the choir sang the Gregorian chant and Victoria’s Missa O Magnum Mysterium. The church was crowded, with approximately 550 people in attendance.

Archbishop Sartain gave a powerful homily about St. Isaac Jogues and the other North American martyrs. He reminded everyone of these martyrs’ steadfastness in the face of severe trials and tortures as they labored to bring the Faith to North America.

After Mass, Archbishop Sartain joined everyone at a reception in the parish hall, which had been decorated the previous day by parish volunteers. There His Excellency was presented with a painting of his coat of arms, which was painted by Susan Jasper, a parishioner of North American Martyrs.

The 10th anniversary celebration was beautiful and inspiring and we hope for many more years in this vibrant parish. +

Fr. Adrian Debow formerly served as assistant pastor at North American Martyrs; he is currently assigned to the General House in Europe.

Further reading on the 10th anniversary celebration and the history of North American Martyrs Parish: http://nwcatholic.org/news/local/north-american-martyrs-celebrates-10-years-as-a-latin-mass-parish.html

Our thanks to Mr. Michael Curtis for his photographs of the event.

St. Mary, our new parish in Providence, Rhode Island, was recently featured in the Rhode Island Catholic! St. Mary is led by former FSSP Superior General Fr. John Berg and currently draws more than 250 to its two Sunday Masses. From the article:

He [Evan Cornell, a parishioner] and his wife agreed that there is “something different” about being in a parish led by the FSSP. Cornell said it was the way the fraternity parishes “pull parishioners in holiness towards Christ.”

Read the whole article below!

www.thericatholic.com/stories/traditional-latin-mass-a-draw-at-st-marys-on-broadway,10242