Annual Great Marian Procession, May 12th

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.

Rogation Days

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.

Thousands Attend Pontifical Mass with Archbishop Sample in D.C.

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.

Mark Your Calendars: FSSP Ordinations May 26th

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.

Happy Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

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

Join the FSSP for the Annual Buckley March

Each year, priests and seminarians of the FSSP and lay supporters undertake the Buckley March, an annual pilgrimage from Barnesville, Maryland to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the march is to make reparation for our own sins and the sins of the nation, to beg God’s mercy upon us and to pray for the conversion of hearts.

The three-day march runs from May 31st – June 2nd and comprises 51+ miles, following the Potomac River most of the way. The schedule begins with a sung Mass at St. Mary’s Church in Barnesville on the morning of Thursday, May 31st, and concludes with a Solemn High Mass at the Basilica in D.C. on Saturday, June 2nd.

There are a few different ways to participate in the march. Men and capable boys/teens are invited to join the FSSP for the entire march and stay at the FSSP campsite. Everyone else can join the FSSP for the marching and find other accommodations, or just join for the last leg of the pilgrimage, which begins at Georgetown Waterfront Park in D.C. on June 2nd.

If you choose to join the FSSP for any portion of the pilgrimage, it is very important that you make arrangements for meals and for transportation to and from drop-off points and the campsite. It often works best if you get a group together, such as a group from your parish. For more information on how the pilgrimage works and what plans you will need to make, please click here.

Registration is required for everyone except those who are just joining for the last leg. A $3.00 registration fee is required if you plan to stay at the campsite. Registration deadline is May 10th. You can find more information and register here.

First Superior General to Speak April 29th on FSSP Founding

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter at 30: Tradition and Fidelity

Fr. Josef Bisig, co-founder and first Superior General of the FSSP, will give an eye-witness account of the events and personalities leading up to the Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei by Pope St. John Paul II in 1988, which helped to establish the Fraternity and paved the way for Summorum Pontificum by Pope Benedict in 2007.

For more information, contact Fr. Zachary Akers at development@fssp.com.

Pontifical Mass on April 28th at Basilica in D.C.

On Saturday, April 28th, 2018, at 1 p.m., His Excellency the Most Reverend Alexander K. Sample, Archbishop of Portland, Oregon, will celebrate a Solemn Pontifical Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The Mass is being celebrated in honor of the 10th anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, the 2007 Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, which encouraged the wider celebration of the ancient form of the Mass, proclaiming that it is “to be considered an extraordinary expression of the same lex orandi of the Church and duly honoured for its venerable and ancient usage.” (SP Art. 1)

Four priests from the Fraternity will assist at the Mass: Fr. Gregory Pendergraft, pastor of St. Stephen of Hungary Parish in Allentown, as deacon; Fr. Zachary Akers, the FSSP’s Director of Development, as 1st Master of Ceremonies; Fr. Gregory Eichman, Chaplain of Mater Dei Latin Mass Community in Harrisburg, as 2nd Master of Ceremonies; and Fr. Josef Bisig, Rector of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, as one of the two Deacons at the Throne. The Basilica choir will sing the Missa Salve Regina by Victoria as well as several Renaissance motets, and the Propers will be sung by the schola of the nearby parish of St. Mary Mother of God, which has for many years offered the Traditional Latin Mass every Sunday.

If you are unable to attend in person, you can watch the Mass on EWTN, which will be broadcasting it live and worldwide.

You can view and download the flyer for the event here.

Reflections on the Triduum: Easter

The final installment in our “Reflections on the Triduum” series, today’s post looks back on the Easter Vigil and Easter Day Masses at FSSP apostolates around the world.

FSSP Seattle

Washington

North American Martyrs Parish

Easter Vigil
Photos by Michael Curtis

 

FSSP Chesapeake

Virginia

St. Benedict Parish

Easter Sunday

 

FSSP Dallas

Texas

Mater Dei Parish

Easter Vigil

 

FSSP Calgary

Alberta, Canada

Latin Mass Community at St. Anthony Parish

Easter Vigil

 

FSSP Fresno

California

Holy Cross Chaplaincy
All photos by Paul Flores

Easter Vigil

 

Easter Sunday

 

FSSP Vancouver

British Columbia, Canada

Holy Family Parish

Easter Sunday

 

FSSP Allentown

Pennsylvania

St. Stephen of Hungary Parish

Easter Vigil
Photos by Michael Stuckey

 

FSSP Mexico

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Nuestra Señora del Pilar

Easter Vigil

 

FSSP Minneapolis

Minnesota

All Saints Church

Easter Vigil
Photos by Tracy Dunne

 

FSSP Scranton

Pennsylvania

St. Michael Parish

Easter Vigil

 

Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary

Denton, Nebraska

Easter Sunday

 

FSSP Warrington

England

St. Mary’s Shrine

Easter Vigil
Photos by John Aron

 

Priesterseminar Sankt Petrus

Wigratzbad, Germany

Easter Vigil

 

 

FSSP Lyon

France

Collégiale Saint-Just

Easter Sunday

Our Superior General, Fr. John Berg, joined FSSP Lyon for Easter Sunday Mass and a mysterious tradition that involves holy water, incense and cracking giant chocolate eggs (Editor’s Note: We would like to see this tradition makes its way to America as soon as possible).

Pontifical Mass to Mark 100th Anniversary of St. Lawrence Chapel

On Tuesday, April 24th, 2018, His Excellency Bishop Ronald W. Gainer, Bishop of Harrisburg, will celebrate a Solemn Pontifical Mass at St. Lawrence Chapel, home of Mater Dei, our apostolate in the Pennsylvania capital. The Mass honors the 100th anniversary of the dedication of St. Lawrence, a beautiful neo-Gothic edifice that stands near St. Patrick’s Cathedral on State Street.

The community of St. Lawrence has even older beginnings, its roots stretching all the way back to German immigrant communities of pre-Revolutionary Pennsylvania. The community became a parish in 1859, and the current chapel was dedicated in the spring of 1918. You can read more here in the booklet released for the 125th anniversary of St. Lawrence Parish in 1984.

Mass will begin at 7pm, and will include music by Mater Dei’s Schola and Mixed Choir in collaboration with the music staff of St. Patrick’s. Additionally, Mater Dei is hosting a “100th Anniversary Opening Celebration” the preceding Sunday, April 22nd, with a High Mass at 10am followed by a bratwurst and burger lunch, an organ recital and sung Vespers with organ.

If you are in the area, join with Mater Dei in celebrating the centennial of the beautiful chapel that they call home.