by Karen Hastreiter, FSSP Minneapolis

On Sunday, June 24th, 2018, the Church of All Saints, the FSSP apostolate in Minneapolis, celebrated the transferred feast of Sts. Peter and Paul with a Pontifical Mass at the Faldstool offered by the Most Reverend Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan.

Several months ago, the Bishop had graciously accepted the invitation of Rev. Peter Bauknecht, FSSP, pastor of the Church of All Saints, and Rev. Alex Stewart, FSSP, parochial vicar, to celebrate the patronal feast of both the FSSP and the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis. Rev. Bauknecht served as Assistant Priest, Rev. Stewart as Deacon and Rev. Zachary Akers, Director of Development for the FSSP, as Subdeacon. Sitting in choir were Abbé Arnaud Evrat, General Secretary of the FSSP, and Rev. Michael McClellan, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis. The Very Rev. John Berg, current Superior General of the FSSP, heard confessions throughout the Mass. Also in attendance were seven Knights of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre along with four Missionaries of Charity. There was standing room only available as over 530 people filled the church. The choir sang Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli which, unbeknownst to the director and members, happened to be His Excellency’s favorite Mass arrangement.

Following the beautiful Pontifical Mass was the parish’s Fifth Annual White-on-White Garden Party which commemorates the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul and the anniversary of the arrival of the FSSP around the same time in 2013. This English-style garden party, initially the inspiration of the parish’s first parochial vicar, Rev. Simon Harkins, FSSP, was celebrated outdoors on the parish lawn and garden. Over 400 guests were in attendance. The older boys of the parish acted as waiters, serving the guests sandwiches and strawberries and cream with scones made by one of the parishioners, an Englishman. Violinists played a beautiful variety of classical music, arias and Broadway musical pieces. The afternoon ended at 4pm with Pontifical Vespers, which included a beautiful rendition of Ludovico Viadana’s Magnificat.

As His Excellency stayed at the parish’s rectory, he was able to offer Low Mass on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday evening the Mass was preceded by his conferring the Sacrament of Confirmation on a young man who recently started practicing the Catholic Faith into which he had been baptized. On Tuesday evening, Bishop Schneider gave a talk in the parish center on the importance of the family as a “domestic Church”, particularly in light of the increasing attacks against it over the last century. He told part of his story as a child growing up in a Communist country and the difficulties, including the lack of priests, that he and his family suffered. He spoke of the necessity of a solid, consistent prayer life on the part of both mother and father and the importance of the family saying morning prayer, evening prayer and the Rosary together. He strongly encouraged parents to lead by example in striving for holiness, so that their children might carry that witness with them even after they leave home and even if, by some misfortune, they should fall away from the practice of the Catholic Faith. When he finished speaking, he received a standing ovation.

The presence of His Excellency at the parish for four days was an immense blessing and gift, not simply because he is a successor to the Apostles, not only because he speaks the Truth, but because he lives that Truth. He speaks of Our Lord as one who knows Him intimately. His whole being exudes joy, peace and zeal for souls. His call to prayer challenged each person to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ, Who longs for our hearts. While acknowledging the darkness in the world, the Bishop did not dwell on it, but instead reminded us to focus on the Light and to put all our confidence and trust in Him. It was truly a grace-filled visit for this FSSP apostolate in Minneapolis.

Our thanks to Tracy Dunne for her photographs of the events.

Today our country remembers the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. One of the most famous lines from the Declaration addresses the idea that man has a Creator, and hence has a certain intrinsic human dignity and subsequent rights that no state or outside entity can legitimately revoke:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. 

As we celebrate our country’s founding this day and enjoy the yearly festivities with our friends and family, let us take the opportunity to thank God for His many blessings and to pray for the United States of America, particularly that the lives of the most vulnerable, the unborn, might be protected in accordance with the demands of this unequivocal and unanimous Declaration, adopted 242 years ago today.

Gregorian Chant Camp & Conference
July 23rd – 27th: Children’s Camp
July 27th – 28th: Adult Conference

Corpus Christi Chapel will participate in Musica Sacra Florida 2018 next month in beautiful Naples, Florida. Led by Dr. Susan Treacy, Gregorian Chant Conference Director, the annual event begins with a five-day camp for youth, ages 8 to 18, where they will learn to sing Gregorian chant, explore Catholic art and architecture, hear inspiring stories from FSSP clergy and enjoy recreation time. The week culminates with a day-and-a-half Gregorian chant conference for adults and young adults seeking to enrich their knowledge of the Catholic Church’s own sung prayer. Both children and adults are invited to attend Solemn High Masses the weekend of July 28th – 29th. For detailed information about the schedule, fees and accommodations and to register online, please visit www.MusicaSacraFlorida.com.

Established in August 2017, Corpus Christi Chapel is an FSSP mission located in Florida’s Diocese of Venice and serves a large area covering Naples, Ave Maria, Marco Island, Fort Myers and Cape Coral. Average attendance for three Sunday Masses combined is 300, with 50 consistently attending daily Mass. Now in its “pilgrim” stage, the up-and-coming parish has established men’s, ladies’ and young adults’ groups, adult catechesis and Scholae (chant choirs) for men, women, boys and girls. Corpus Christi Chapel looks forward to welcoming you. Find more information and the Mass schedule at www.CorpusChristiFSSP.com.

Dr. Susan Treacy, Professor of Music at Ave Maria University, directs the Men’s and Women’s Scholae Gregorianae at Corpus Christi Chapel in Naples, Florida.

Our thanks to Pamela Grothaus of FSSP Naples for submitting this news bulletin.

A most blessed and joyful feast of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus! Devotion to the Precious Blood goes back to the very foundations of the Church, the divine Blood of Christ shed upon the Cross always recognized by Her as the price paid for man’s redemption. Prefigured by the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament, the Blood of the Lamb and Its power to purify us from sin are discussed innumerable times in the Epistles of the New Testament. And not only was Christ’s Blood shed once for all, but It also becomes present on our altars in every Mass and is received by us in every Holy Communion.

The current feast, with origins in the 16th century, was extended to the universal Church in 1849. Blessed Pope Pius IX had been forced to flee from Rome to Gaeta in 1848 due to violence in the city from nationalist forces, and on Saturday, June 30th, 1849, the day that Rome was liberated by French troops, he declared that the Feast of the Precious Blood should be celebrated by all of Christendom. In August of the same year, he placed the feast on the first Sunday of July, and this was later adjusted to be the 1st of July by Pope St. Pius X.

Just like in 1849, this year the 1st happens to fall on a Sunday, and as a first class feast supersedes the Mass of the Sunday – and recalls that momentous weekend 169 years ago when Pio Nono gave the entire Church this glorious feast.

We wish a happy patronal feast day to Most Precious Blood Parish, our apostolate in Tulsa, Oklahoma!

On Saturday, the 23rd of June, five priests from our international seminary in Wigratzbad, Germany, were ordained to the sacred priesthood by the Most Reverend Vitus Huonder, Bishop of Chur, Switzerland. The Pontifical Mass and ordinations took place at the parish church of Heimenkirch, close to the seminary in Bavaria, Germany. The ceremony was attended by about eighty priests and a full church of the faithful who had come to witness this most extraordinary event and receive first blessings from the new priests. Please pray for these priests and for those from our North American seminary who were recently ordained in Omaha, Nebraska and Warrington, England.

The 2018 ordinandi from Wigratzbad:

Fr. Youri Santos de Farias (Brazil)
Fr. Dimitri Artifoni (Italy)
Fr. Jérôme Sévillia (France)
Fr. Jean-Antoine Kegelin (France)
Fr. Michał Kołodziej (Poland)

A happy and most blessed feast of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul! Today is a first class feast on which the Church celebrates two central figures of Her founding: St. Peter, the rock upon whom Our Lord chose to build His Church and the first of His Vicars upon earth, and St. Paul, a persecutor of the Church who became the Apostle of the Gentiles and through whose pen were written many of the Epistles that we find among the inspired works of Scripture.

This feast is a particularly joyful day for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, as it is one of our patronal feast days. On this day, members of the Confraternity of St. Peter, the Fraternity’s lay sodality, can gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions. You can learn more about the Confraternity and find out how to join here.

Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram ædificábo Ecclésiam meam, et portæ ínferi non prævalébunt advérsus eam.

And I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18

With the gracious invitation of Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, we are pleased to announce the entrustment of St. Mary’s Church in Providence to the Fraternity of St. Peter, effective August 1st, 2018.

St. Mary’s is one of the oldest Catholic churches in Rhode Island, the parish being established in 1853 and the current church consecrated in 1869. Designed by Irish-born architect James Murphy to serve the large Irish-immigrant community in the area, the church is a majestic Gothic Revival structure, with the stunning arches typical of the style and beautiful stained glass windows.

The church is easily accessible from eastern Connecticut, southern Massachusetts and the metropolitan Boston area. This will be the second apostolate for the Fraternity in the New England region and we are grateful for the invitation!

Fr. Richard (Ricky) Wallace was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He attributes his vocation primarily to his mother, who told him that he should pray to God, and ask to know His will for his own life. She said to Ricky that whatever God’s will is, he would be happy in following it. Furthermore, he was moved after reading a biography of the heroic priest, St. John Vianney.

Even before he was a teenager, Ricky knew that he would probably have to be a priest someday, though this idea was not attractive to him. During high school, Ricky began serving at the Latin Mass and this had a good impact on his vocation. Toward the end of high school, the idea of a religious or priestly vocation became more attractive to Ricky, and he found happiness in visiting Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in 2010. He applied for entrance to the seminary in 2011 and in the meantime got a job. He was accepted to the seminary and moved from the desert to the great plains of Nebraska.

Looking back on seven years of seminary formation, Fr. Wallace notices how much he has learned intellectually, spiritually, and at a human level. Recalling the principle that grace builds on human nature, he considers his human formation especially important. He has also had the opportunity to travel much, which has been both joyful, and a fruitful learning experience. Just as his mother told him, doing God’s will does bring happiness. He thanks his family for their support, as well as his benefactors, and those whom he has gotten to know along the way to the priesthood.

To those discerning a priestly vocation, Fr. Wallace encourages one to have a deep and faithful prayer life, especially in regard to devotion to the Blessed Virgin; he also encourages one to find a spiritual director, and keep good friends at one’s side.

June 29th, the first-class feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, is a patronal feast day of the Fraternity. Every year, our District Superior offers a special Mass on this day for the intentions of all those enrolled in the Mass. Follow the link below to enroll your friends and family, in this milestone year in which the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter celebrates 30 years of service to God and His flock. You can also download this year’s holy card, which includes a novena prayer that you can say during the nine preceding days.

Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul Novena Holy Card

Enroll for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul 2018

This August, the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Cincinnati will host a Sacred Music Retreat from August 8th – 12th, 2018. The retreat will be held at St. Anne Retreat Center in nearby Melbourne, Kentucky, and will feature a number of conferences for liturgical musicians and opportunities to attend daily Mass and participate in the sung Office. Among those presenting at the retreat is Nicholas Lemme, instructor of music at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary. The final two days of the retreat will culminate in Matins and Lauds for the Dead, a Pontifical Requiem Mass at Old St. Mary’s and a Pontifical Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Church. Both churches are located in Cincinnati and are apostolates of the Cincinnati Oratory.

Registration runs through June 30th, though it will close once the limit of 110 is reached. If necessary, late registration will run from July 1st through July 16th for an additional fee. You can learn more about the retreat, view the schedule and find out how to sign up here, and you can join the Facebook event here.