On the evening of Monday, June 25th, the Most Reverend José Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles, dedicated the church of St. Vitus, the new home of the Fraternity’s apostolate in L.A. The apostolate has been flourishing since its founding in 2014, but up until Monday was without a permanent home. Mass had been celebrated at several different churches in the area, primarily at St. Victor’s in West Hollywood.

Assisting the Bishop at the dedication were St. Vitus’ pastor and assistant pastor, Fr. James Fryar and Fr. Federico Masutti. Also attending was North American District Superior Fr. Gerard Saguto, who, following the dedication, celebrated the first Mass in the new church. He was assisted by Fr. Masutti and Fr. Anthony Dorsa, assistant pastor of FSSP San Diego, with His Excellency preaching the sermon. The church was full to overflowing with faithful who had come to participate in the event, and a joyful reception finished the day’s activities. The next evening, the parish was privileged to pray Pontifical Vespers with His Excellency Bishop Joseph Brennan. Due to the size of the Archdiocese, L.A. has several auxiliary bishops assigned to different regions, with Bishop Brennan caring for the San Fernando region where St. Vitus is located.

The priests and community of St. Vitus put many hours of renovation work into the church to prepare it for the ceremony, and in the coming months they will continue their labors in order to bring it to its completed form. We are very much looking forward to seeing St. Vitus in its full splendor soon!

Our thanks to Jim Sheehan for his photographs of the event and to another parishioner for contributing to this article.

We relay to you an update on the General Chapter currently underway at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska.

The General Chapter of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) today elected in a plenary session the Assistants and Counselors of the General Superior as follows:

Assistants: Fr. Daniel Geddes, Fr. Arnaud Evrat and Fr. Stefan Reiner
Counselors: Fr. Paul Giard and Fr. William Lawrence

The General Chapter of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), held from July 3rd to July 18th, 2018 at Our Lady of Guadalupe International Seminary in Denton, Nebraska, elected today in plenary session Fr. Andrzej Komorowski as Superior General for 6 years.

A Polish priest born in 1975, Fr. Andrzej Komorowski joined St. Peter’s International Seminary in Wigratzbad after studying economics at the University of Poznań (Poland). Ordained a priest in June 2006 by H. E. Jorge Cardinal Medina Estévez, he ministered in various apostolates of the Fraternity in Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Elected Assistant of the Superior General at the 2012 General Chapter, he held that position at the Fraternity’s General House in Fribourg (Switzerland) whilst fulfilling the duties of General Bursar and frequently providing ministry to the faithful in French-speaking Switzerland.

As successor to Fr. John Berg, Fr. Komorowski is the 4th Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.

Fr. Stephen Braun was born and grew up in Houston, Texas, and became acquainted with the Traditional Latin Mass as a youth at Annunciation Catholic Church in downtown Houston, and at Saint Mary Cathedral in Austin, Texas, during his college years at the University of Texas at Austin.

Though he had been majoring in biology, expecting to apply to medical school, towards the end of his university studies he felt a nagging and persistent call drawing him to consider a priestly vocation. He first visited Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in 2009, and was very impressed, but wanted to spend some time working and discerning before entering.

Though he did not grow up in a Fraternity apostolate, a new parish opened up in his area in September 2011, the same week that he entered the seminary in Nebraska, where he has spent the past seven years in priestly formation. When home on breaks and assignments, he has enjoyed having the opportunity to see his parish community in Houston continue to grow, and was able to preach his first sermon there on Easter Sunday in 2017.

Fr. Braun celebrated a series of first Masses around the state of Texas in June and will head to his first assignment this month.

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