St. Joan of Arc Parish, our apostolate in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was recently featured in Our Sunday Visitor. The article discusses why many Catholics are drawn to the Latin Mass and highlights the work of the FSSP, specifically at the Idaho apostolate. Read the full story here!

The article mentions the famous skiing-while-bagpiping feat performed by former St. Joan of Arc assistant pastor Fr. Daniel Nolan, done as a fundraiser for the church building project underway at the parish. To read more about the parish’s building plans and to support their efforts, visit their website here.

Join your intentions to the Mass offered at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary on Father’s Day, June 17th, 2018. Those whom you enroll will be remembered in this Mass and in the daily prayer of the priests and seminarians of the Fraternity, and you will receive a beautiful card to give to those you enroll. Be sure to enroll early so you can receive and send out your cards in time for Father’s Day! You can also print the card by clicking the image to the right.

Enroll for Father’s Day 2018

The priestly ordinations for the Fraternity of St. Peter take place on Saturday, May 26th, 2018 at St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska. If you can’t be there in person, you can watch the Pontifical Mass and ordination ceremony live on LiveMass, with commentary by FSSP priests! Watch the video below or see the flyer here to find out how and when to tune in. Share the video, post the flyer, tell your friends and family, spread the word!

On Saturday, the 5th of May, 2018, His Excellency the Most Reverend Wolfgang Haas, Archbishop of Vaduz, Liechtenstein, conferred the diaconate upon six men, four French and two German, of our international seminary in Wigratzbad, Germany. The 2018 ordinandi:

Rev. Mr. Janosch Donner
Rev. Mr. Christophe Joly
Rev. Mr. Julius Kappel
Rev. Mr. Hubert Lion
Rev. Mr. Thibaut Matschek
Rev. Mr. Thomas Souville

The day could not have been a more beautiful one for the ceremony, the spring sun illuminating the green hills of the little Bavarian town of Gestratz as the ordinandi processed into the parish church, where the Pontifical Mass and the ordinations took place. His Excellency was assisted by Fr. Patrick du Faÿ, Rector of the seminary, Fr. Brice Meissonnier and Fr. Sven Conrad.

As each candidate entered the crowded chapel, he carried a candle in his right hand and his stole and dalmatic, the particular vestments of the deacon, on his left arm. The main part of the ordination ceremony comprises the laying of the bishop’s right hand upon the head of each candidate and the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon him, the clothing of the candidate in the stole and dalmatic, and the presentation to him of the book of the Gospels, which it is his new duty to sing during Mass.

Please pray for these men and the newly-ordained deacons of our North American seminary, who advanced to the diaconate on March 17th of this year. They are drawing close to their priestly ordinations, the culmination of years of prayer, study and discernment, and your prayers are invaluable to them as they enter into this final stage of preparation.

A happy and most glorious feast of the Ascension! Our Lord ascended glorious into Heaven forty days after His Resurrection, having instructed his disciples and given them their great commission to go and preach the Gospel to all nations.

One of the notable liturgical traditions of this day is the extinguishing of the Paschal Candle, the symbol of the Risen Christ, after the Gospel, and its removal from its place near the altar to the baptistery or the area of the church where the baptismal font resides. The Easter season extends until Pentecost Sunday, but since Christ has returned to the Father and is no longer upon earth, the visible symbol of Him is taken away. The Paschal Candle is relit for baptisms and funerals that take place throughout the year.

Ascéndit Deus in jubilatióne, et Dóminus in voce tubæ.

God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

– Psalm 46:6, from the Paschal Alleluia and Offertory for today

On Saturday, May 12th, 2018, join Catholics from all over California for the 10th annual Great Marian Procession, a magnificent event organized every year in honor of Our Lady by the priests and parishioners of St. Stephen the First Martyr Parish, our apostolate in Sacramento, California. The grand procession is held each May, crowds of faithful marching through the streets of Sacramento to honor Our Lady and to pray for California, the country and the world.

To learn more, we caught up with Heather Keevers, a parishioner of St. Stephen’s and the VP of Marketing for the Great Marian Procession. Starting as an idea that inspired procession founder and fellow St. Stephen’s parishioner Mike Solton, the procession has become the largest Marian procession on the West Coast, with over a thousand people joining in and record numbers expected this year. The procession will gather at 8 a.m. at East Lawn Cemetery, and at 9 a.m., a pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima will travel over 3 miles through Sacramento, accompanied by the Knights of Columbus, bagpipe and drum bands, the Knights and Ladies of St. Jean de Brebeuf (a.k.a. KLSJB Explorers & Guides), an army of altar boys and a veritable sea of faithful souls who, as Ms. Keevers notes, come from both Latin Mass and non-Latin Mass parishes to honor Our Lady.

“People come from all over,” she said. “People come from different parishes that are not involved with the Latin Mass. It gives them a chance to harken back to tradition.”

Whereas in former years the procession has concluded with Solemn High Mass at the Cathedral, this year it will travel to the west steps of the State Capitol, where Our Lady will be crowned and Fr. John Lyons, F.S.S.P., pastor of St. Stephen’s, will lead the people in the consecration of California to Mary.

“As California goes, so goes the nation, so goes the world,” Ms. Keevers said. “This procession is about going out into the secular word, into the streets, into the public, and being a very visible witness for Catholicism. It’s about honoring the Mother of Our Lord and honoring the Queen of Heaven, bringing her to the people and asking for her powerful intercession.”

We encourage you to join in the procession if you are on the West Coast this weekend, or if you cannot be there in person, to offer your prayers in union with those of the attendees. You can even send in prayer requests, which will be carried in a basket through the procession and laid at the feet of Our Lady. You can send in your requests and learn more about the procession at the website here (the prayer request form is on the right hand side, a little ways down the homepage).

Invite your friends and family, follow the Facebook page, tune in on Instagram, and watch and share the official video for the 2018 procession below.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Our thanks to Jen Rego for the photos used in this article, and to Kalin Lippsmeyer for the featured cover photo.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we commemorate the Rogation Days, traditional days of prayer, and formerly fasting, which take place every year on April 25th and the three days preceding the feast of the Ascension, the former being known as the Major Rogation and the latter as the Minor Rogations. The word “rogation” has its origins in the Latin word “rogare”, which means to supplicate or ask, and the purpose of the Days is to beg God for His mercy, to turn away His anger, and to ask Him to bless the fruits of the earth while protecting us from natural disasters.

All the Rogation Days consist of a procession followed by a Rogation Mass. The procession, which traditionally moved around the territorial borders of the parish, includes the blessing of the fields and other natural features of the landscape during the recitation of the Litany of the Saints.

Et ego dico vobis: Pétite, et dábitur vobis: quaérite, et inveniétis: pulsáte, et aperiétur vobis. Omnis enim qui petit, áccipit: et qui quærit, invénit: et pulsánti aperiétur.

And I say to you: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

– Luke 11:9-10, from the Gospel for the Rogation Mass

Major Rogation at the Seminary of St. Peter in Wigratzbad, Germany

Major Rogation at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Denton, where the dawn procession is greeted by the morning sun rising upon a clear day.

It was a day of immense gratitude for all those who flocked to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on the bright spring afternoon of Saturday, April 28th, 2018. Gratitude for the gift of Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Letter which encouraged the wider celebration of the Latin Mass, and gratitude for the grand event held in D.C. to celebrate the Letter’s 10th anniversary. There at the Basilica, the largest Roman Catholic church in North America and one of the ten largest in the world, His Excellency the Most Reverend Alexander K. Sample, Archbishop of Portland, Oregon, celebrated a Solemn Pontifical Mass at the Throne in the presence of 4,000 faithful.

The clergy, religious and altar servers alone numbered about 100. Four FSSP priests assisted at the Mass, Fr. Gregory Pendergraft as Deacon, Fr. Zachary Akers as 1st MC, Fr. Gregory Eichman as 2nd MC and Fr. Josef Bisig as one of the Deacons at the Throne. The Mass was a Votive Mass in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to whom the Basilica is dedicated and whom we honor as the Patroness of the United States. The Mass setting was Victoria’s Missa Salve Regina, sung by the choir of the Basilica, who were accompanied by the Washington Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble. Two visiting choirs performed the preludes before Mass, the scholas of the Lyceum School in South Euclid, Ohio and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Allentown, New Jersey, with the men’s schola from St. Mary Mother of God Catholic Church in D.C. singing the Propers of the Mass.

The event was hosted by the Paulus Institute for the Propagation of Sacred Liturgy, and the Mass itself was coordinated by the careful efforts of Fr. Akers, the FSSP’s Director of Development, and Fr. Eichman, pastor of FSSP Harrisburg. Fr. Joseph Lee, Dean of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, was in the control room, assisting the camera and media crew with the video aspects of the Mass, which was broadcast live by EWTN. If you were not able to attend in person, you can watch the video below.

The Archbishop preached an eloquent and powerful homily on the theme of Summorum Pontificum, thanking Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in the name of all gathered at the Basilica for his wisdom and generosity in publishing the Letter, addressing the particular draw of the Latin Mass for young people, who attended the Mass in large numbers, and discussing how the older form of the Mass relates to the newer. The homily begins at 54:20 in the video above.

To the young people gathered before him, he said:

“You are a sign, a great sign, of encouragement and hope for the Church tossed about these days on the troubled waters of secularism and relativism. As they say, ‘You get it.’ You understand your place in the world and in the Church to help rebuild a culture of life in society and a renewal of Catholic culture within the Church herself.”

He discussed the especial affinity that young people display for the Latin Mass and addressed the question of why young people should be so drawn to a liturgical form that they did not grow up with. Perhaps, he said, they are drawn to it because of the sense of mystery and wonder that it offers to them. The Archbishop drew from the Letter to the World’s Bishops that accompanied Summorum Pontificum, quoting Pope Benedict’s words regarding the attraction of the Latin Mass for the young (see the full Letter here).

The Archbishop then reflected upon the place of this Mass in the experience of the older generations.

“This is the Mass that has produced saints,” he said.

He also quoted what he considers one of the most important phrases in the Letter to the Bishops.

“‘There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. 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. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.'”

Archbishop Sample continued by discussing the relationship between the two forms of the Roman Mass, referencing the Letter to the Bishops and his own discussion with Pope Benedict when he visited Rome for his ad limina visit in 2012. The Archbishop emphasized to his listeners that there should be no rupture between the two forms, and that the old Mass, with its reverence and sacredness, can inform and enrich the celebration of the newer Mass.

“I believe this is a key to interpreting Pope Benedict XVI’s desire. Namely, that the flourishing of the more ancient form of the liturgy with its beauty, reverence and sacredness will cause a natural development and enrichment of the way in which the newer Mass is celebrated. As he says, there cannot and should not be a rupture between the two forms. One must be able to recognize the older form of the Roman Rite in the newer.”

At the end of Mass, after processing out and offering his pastoral blessing to the thousands that filled the basilica, the Archbishop generously greeted all the faithful who waited patiently in a receiving line that stretched from the front steps of the grand basilica into the vestibule. The day could not have been a more pleasant one, the late afternoon sun shining warmly upon the crowds and reflecting the joy evident among all on an occasion of thanksgiving and celebration for the gift of the Latin Mass. As the Archbishop said at the conclusion of his sermon:

“Let us thank the Lord for Pope Benedict’s gift to us, the greater celebration and availability of the usus antiquior of our common heritage in the Roman Rite.”

Our thanks to Mr. Joe Vitacco for the photographs used in this article.

The priestly ordinations for the Fraternity of St. Peter will take place on Saturday, May 26th, 2018. Ten men will be ordained by His Excellency the Most Reverend Alexander K. Sample of the Archdiocese of Portland in a Pontifical Mass to be held at the Cathedral of St. Cecilia in Omaha, Nebraska at 10 o’clock in the morning. A reception will follow at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary from 2 – 5 pm, with first Masses to be offered at various locations the following Sunday, May 27th.

The 2018 ordinandi for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter are:

Rev. Mr. Martin Adams
Rev. Mr. Stephen Braun
Rev. Mr. Michael Cunningham
Rev. Mr. Christopher Fitzpatrick
Rev. Mr. Graham Latimer
Rev. Mr. Aaron Liebert
Rev. Mr. Daniel Mould
Rev. Mr. Martin Rangel-Garcia
Rev. Mr. Andrew Rapoport
Rev. Mr. Richard Wallace

In addition, the Rev. Mr. Seth Phipps will be ordained in the United Kingdom on Saturday, the 9th of June.

All are welcome to attend, and the Mass will also be broadcast live on LiveMass. Please pray for these men as they prepare for this transformative event, in which, making a complete sacrifice of their lives, they are fully consecrated as ministers of God, with the ability and obligation to make Christ present upon our altars in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to administer the mercy of God in the Sacrament of Penance, and to guide and care for the souls that will be entrusted to them as they are sent out into the world.

Jurávit Dóminus, et non pœnitébit eum: Tu es sacérdos in ætérnum, secúndum órdinem Melchísedech.

The Lord hath sworn and He will not repent: Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech.

A happy and most blessed feast of St. Joseph the Worker! Established in 1955 by Pope Pius XII as a response to the “May Day” celebrations of communist and socialist groups, today’s feast honors St. Joseph in a particular way as the model of Christian workers. St. Joseph was a carpenter and worked diligently and humbly in the service of Mary and Jesus, Who Himself spent His youth working alongside St. Joseph in his woodshop. We too, in whatever capacity we work, have the opportunity to work alongside Jesus and to offer our work in union with Him to the Father, Who blesses and purifies it and makes it an opportunity for sanctity. St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us!

We also wish a happy patronal feast to St. Joseph the Worker Parish, our apostolate in Tyler, Texas!

All whatsoever you do in word or in work do all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. Whatsoever you do, do it from the heart: as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that you shall receive of the Lord the reward of inheritance. Serve ye the Lord Christ.

– Colossians 3:17, 23-24, from the Epistle for today