Recently a camp for learning Gregorian chant was held at Immaculate Conception in Rapid City, SD. Nicolas and Elizabeth Lemme led the chant camp. The camp was one week long, and featured children from apostolates around the U.S. At the end of the camp the members chanted the Friday Mass at Immaculate Conception Church. Fr. Christopher Hathaway, FSSP, was the celebrant for the Missa Cantata.

This year’s Camp St. Isaac Jogues, at the FSSP’s headquarters in Elmhurst, PA, was a great time of faith and fun. Campers were involved in a variety of sports and activities, all leavened by daily Mass and devotions. This year included hosting a parish picnic for the local Fraternity parish, Saint Michael the Archangel, in Scranton. The picnic was a great success — great games and activities fueled by lots of food — and concluded with a gathering of parishioners, campers, and priests praying the Holy Rosary, which was led by newly-ordained Fr. Joseph Heffernan, FSSP, chaplain of the camp.

We look forward to next year’s camp!

Fr. James Buckley, FSSP, spiritual director and professor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, led a group of seminarians and young men on a pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. After beginning with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and blessing of the travel vehicle, Father and the pilgrims made their way to Maryland and then processed to the Shrine, where the pilgrimage ended with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the crypt church. Enjoy pictures of the pilgrimage.

North American Martyrs, our apostolate in Seattle, was blessed to celebrate recently the reception of First Holy Communion by 15 children of the parish.  Fr. Gerald Saguto, FSSP, chaplain, offered the Mass. Enjoy pictures of the day. Many thanks to Mr. Michael Curtis for the beautiful images.

Father Michael Irwin, FSSP, long-time member of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, recently celebrated his 50th Anniversary of ordination with a Solemn High Mass of thanksgiving at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, in Denton, Nebraska.  Father Irwin was assisted by Fr. James Buckley, FSSP, as deacon and Fr. Robert Ferguson, FSSP, as subdeacon. Enjoy pictures of this celebratorious day.

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Fr. Daniel Nolan, FSSP, was ordained in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday May 31, 2014, and offered one of his first Masses in his home state of Oklahoma, at St. Monica Catholic Church in Edmond.  Father Nolan was assisted by his brother, Fr. Justin Nolan, FSSP, with Fr. Christopher Pelster, FSSP, assisting as Deacon.

Father was born June 10th, 1976, in Spokane, Washington. In 1982 his family moved to Oklahoma and they have been there ever since. He is the second oldest of thirteen children, four of whom were adopted.

Father was educated in the Seton Homeschool program from the 2nd – 12th grade. The strength of the homeschooling curriculum allowed him to make advances later in life that he felt might otherwise have not been possible.

In July of 1996 he entered the United States Naval Academy, and it was there that he first began to think about a priestly vocation. Father had always looked at the priesthood as something which no one really wanted to do, but somehow, through incomprehensible grace, managed to endure. But he figured every young Catholic man had at least the duty to consider it, so consider he did. At the time, he gave God a 1% chance.

Four years later he graduated with a BS in Systems Engineering and received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. After training as an infantry officer, he was stationed in Camp Lejeune, NC, and over the next three years deployed to Okinawa, Cuba, Kuwait, Iraq, and the Republic of Georgia. During this time his faith in God was both tested and strengthened in a variety of ways. His thoughts about the priesthood continued to grow as well, and by now he was giving God a 50/50 chance.

In May of 2004 Father was assigned to the Oklahoma City Military Entrance Processing Station, and it was during this time that he began to attend the Traditional Latin Mass. He became convinced, by the beauty and power of the traditional liturgy, that this was the future of the Church. He looked upon life as a spiritual battlefield, and if priests were God’s army, then FSSP priests were God’s Marine Corps. He joined the Marines for a reason, and he joined the FSSP for a similar reason. If he was going to fight, he wanted to fight in the best unit, the hardest unit, the toughest unit.

Father Nolan separated from the military in August of 2006 as a Captain, and, after a year of discernment and prayer, finally entered the seminary in the fall of 2007. As he looks back, he realizes that the call to the priesthood was a call to fulfillment; a call to happiness. There have been, and will be trials and crosses, but if well endured, they are always redemptive.

As Father says, “God had a plan for my life, and thank God I followed it!”

Fr. Joshua Passo, FSSP, was ordained in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday May 31, 2014, and offered his first Mass the next morning at Immaculate Conception, our parish in Omaha.  Father Passo was assisted by Fr. Robert Ferguson, FSSP, with Fr. Karl Marsolle, FSSP, assisting as Deacon, and Fr. Michael Passo, FSSP, his brother, as Subdeacon.

Father’s vocation story begins with God giving him parents who taught him what it means to know, love, and serve God faithfully. Father considers his parents two wonderful and amazing people who have been a great example and influence for him not only in his answering the call to his vocation, but especially to answering the call to the vocation to which God gives everyone, that is, the call to holiness.

Father thanks all of his brothers and sisters for their support, good example, and love. For him, what little virtue he has and also why he has been able to persevere in his vocation has been only because of God’s grace and the support of his family.

One thing he learned about his priestly formation in the seminary is that it has been a journey of trust in God. As a seminarian you experience many situations when you have no other option than to just trust in God and hope for the best. Whether it was in the classroom or taking a very difficult exam, fulfilling all his daily duties of work, study, and prayer, or serving as the Head Master of Ceremonies in Pontifical Masses or other difficult Ceremonies, all of these situations can leave a seminarian with the overwhelming feeling that he had not the time, energy, or ability to accomplish everything that is required of him. Father found myself saying often to God: “My God, I can’t do this. Only with your help can I have success in this work.” As he looked back at all he accomplished in his seven years at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary he knows that it was only by the grace of God and his trust in Him which gave him the strength and ability to complete the seven years of priestly formation.

If a young man were to ask Father what he must do to make it through seven years of seminary formation, he would tell him that he must trust and love God more than He ever has before. No matter what happens, no matter how helpless he may feel at times, he will always have the strength and ability to accomplish what is asked of him if he continues to give God the first place in his heart. All God wants from each and every single one of us is our love and commitment, once we have given Him this, we can do anything.

With God all things are possible.

Fr. Passo wishes that the love and blessing of the Infant Jesus be with each of you, and asks that you all keep him in your prayers.

Recently a Solemn High Mass was offered at St. Mary of the Assumption church in the present of His Excellency, the Most Rev. Michael F. Olson, Bishop of Fort Worth. St. Mary’s is the home of Fort Worth Latin Mass Community; the priests of Mater Dei parish, our apostolate in Dallas, assist the community by offering the Traditional Latin Mass there.

Fr. Thomas Longua, FSSP, pastor of Mater Dei, was the celebrant, assisted by Fr. Philip Wolfe, FSSP, as Deacon and Fr. Terrence Gordon, FSSP, as Subdeacon. The Mass was offered in a full church, with 450 people in attendance.

Bishop Olson gave the sermon, and spoke fondly of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the 2007 document that further expanded the faithful’s access to the Traditional Latin Mass and Sacraments. His Excellency remarked that he sees Summorum Pontificum as helping to heal divisions that have developed in the Church over the previous decades.

What follows are pictures of the day. Many thanks to His Excellency for attending the Mass and supporting the Community at St. Mary’s. Please, in your kindness, continue to keep in your prayers the members of the Fort Worth Latin Mass Community as they seek to found a parish of their own.

Fr. Paul Leung, FSSP, ordained in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday May 31, 2014, offered his first Mass the next morning in the Chapel of Saints Peter and Paul at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska.

It might be interesting to know that, by the grace of God, Father was the first vocation to the FSSP from Hong Kong (China). Father was born in Hong Kong, where he lived most of his life, benefiting from a warm and supporting family. He is grateful to his country, which provided him with a sound education and opportunities for personal growth. After graduating from college, he found out that the Traditional Latin Mass was being said at a school chapel in Hong Kong fortnightly. In the beginning, he went there only out of curiosity, but as the time passed by, he found the old form of the Mass attractive, inspiring and captivating.

Long before he came to the Traditional Latin Mass, Father had been discerning a religious vocation. The initial calling from God was at a diocesan retreat, where the book he read about the missionaries in China and Hong Kong stirred his heart intensely, and he could not even sleep without thinking about it. The next day, he ran to talk to the priest and Father told him to wait and pray, as he was only in high school. However, he did not give up in searching God’s will, and attended many vocational retreats organized by different religious orders. Overall, however, he was disappointed with their approaches on religious vocation, as they over-emphasized the social aspect.

Father felt there was something missing and he thought perhaps he was not meant to be a priest. For many years, he put aside this dream and focused on his studies and work. This was until he started to go the Traditional Latin Mass, and began to consider the priesthood again through the inspiration of an old Italian missionary priest. The Mass he said was most devout and it always impressed young people like Father Leung. His witness of the priesthood will forever be ingrained in Father Leung’s mind.

The way he celebrated Mass made Father think that this was the whole point to in becoming a priest. On more than one occasion, the missionary priest encouraged Father Leung to pursue a vocation to the priesthood. Coincidentally, at that time a priest from the FSSP was visiting Hong Kong to assist the Latin Mass community there. Father seized this opportunity to tell him about his vocational wishes.

After due consideration, Father was accepted by the Fraternity and joined the novitiate house in Sydney, Australia. After a year, he came to Denton, Nebraska for further studies. The ways of God are truly mysterious and we cannot not go forward if we don’t take the initial step, as difficult as it may be.

Time flies! Seven years passed so quickly for him. Father recounts that it has been a wonderful experience for him to respond to God’s call. The time at the seminary was the happiest time in his life. There were seminarians from all countries, but all shared the same perspective as Father Leung about the Mass. Always in his mind before his ordination was the thought that “By the grace of God, I will be a priest soon, despite my unworthiness.”

Seven years of studies seem pretty long for most people, but it is necessary because of the great vocation and responsibilities of a priest that he needs to be formed in the person of Our Lord Crucified, and to be able to exercise his priesthood effectively.

Father Leung humbly asks all of you to keep him in your prayers.

Fr. Joseph Heffernan, FSSP, ordained in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday May 31, 2014, offered one of his first Masses at the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Images below are from that Mass.

Father was born May 23rd, 1987, the seventh child in a family eventually numbering twelve children. His parents had developed a love and attachment to the “extraordinary” form of the Roman Rite and all of the children grew up attending it. All twelve Heffernan children (8 boys, 4 girls) were home-schooled.

The intention to apply to Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary was formed at age eighteen, upon graduation from high-school. After two years of community college, his application was accepted and he entered Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in September of 2007.

Father cited three main influences for his vocation and the decision to enter Our Lady of Guadalupe.

First was the habit of morning and night prayers and the family rosary which his parents maintained. His mother added one Hail Mary to the morning offering that we would each “know his/her vocation in life.” Following morning prayers, Father Heffernan’s mother read aloud a summary of the life of the saint of the day. This was very inspiring.

Second was the opportunity to serve Mass from age of seven. The proximity to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and to the priest for thirteen years instilled a love for the Mass and the priesthood.

Third was the willingness of two older siblings to join the seminary and the religious life to discern vocations. The idea of having a religious vocation thus became very natural to the family. Father extends his sincere appreciation for the support and prayers that his as received, and asks all to continue to pray for him as he enters priestly life.