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.

The General Chapter of the FSSP, occurring once every six years, is an international meeting at which elected representatives make crucial decisions about the future growth of the Fraternity. Among the primary tasks of the Chapter are the elections and appointments of various leadership positions, including Superior General, District Superiors, Bursars and Seminary Rectors. The 2018 Chapter is to be held July 3rd – July 18th, 2018, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska.

The following is taken from the letter of Superior General Fr. John Berg to the members of the Confraternity concerning the items to be discussed at the Chapter:

Between the opening recollection and the closing Mass, the Chapter will carry out the most important work for the life and government of our Fraternity. During these days the essential decisions will be made which will guide us during the next 6 years. The Capitulants will vote for the members who will govern our Fraternity until the following Chapter. Particular laws, which determine how our founding charism is lived out by its members in the day to day, will also be discussed and later promulgated. Finally, the delegates of the Chapter will outline a course to be followed for the Fraternity’s development – both spiritual and material – over the next six years.

We will relay the results of the elections for Superior General and District Superior right here at the Missive, so bookmark the blog and subscribe to our email list (see sign-up box at the bottom of this post) for all the latest.

We ask you to join us in praying for the graces and guidance of the Holy Spirit during the Chapter. Two prayers in particular will be offered for this intention by the members of our Fraternity, and we invite you to pray them as well.

Firstly, from June 18th to the conclusion of the Chapter on July 18th, the Veni Sancte Spiritus is offered each day for the intentions of the Chapter.

Secondly, a novena is being offered in preparation for the Chapter. From June 25th to July 3rd, the Veni Creator with its versicle, response and oration will be offered each day. 

May God reward you for your prayers and your support of the Fraternity!

Eucharistic Conferences ‘Ego Eimi – It is I’ (John 6:51)
On Transubstantiation, Concomitance, Fragments and Presence

A series of four conferences on the Most Holy Eucharist by Fr. Armand de Malleray, FSSP, Rector of St. Mary’s Shrine Church in Warrington, England

This series was offered at St. Mary’s Shrine Church in Warrington on June 11th – 14th, 2018, and was advertised by the Liverpool Archdiocese in June 2018, in preparation for Adoremus, the National Eucharistic Congress in Liverpool (September 7th – 9th, 2018). The texts of the conferences were approved for publication on June 5th, 2018 by Fr. John Berg, Superior General of the FSSP. Each 40-min conference can be watched on demand on LiveMass’ Vimeo and Youtube channels.

Monday, June 11th – Transubstantiation: How the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ Occur under the Externals of Bread and Wine
Tuesday, June 12th – Concomitance: How Christ’s Blood Also is in the Host, and His Body Also in the Chalice
Wednesday, June 13th – Fragments: Why Each of Them is Christ, and How to Treasure Them
Thursday, June 14th – Presence: How God’s Presence is Supreme in the Holy Eucharist

Fr. Armand de Malleray, FSSP, preached on the Holy Eucharist at the International Eucharistic Congresses in Quebec (2008) and Dublin (2012) and wrote several articles on the same topic in Dowry, the quarterly magazine of the FSSP in the UK & Ireland. He preaches retreats every year to the laity and to clergy as part of his ministry in the UK and as General Chaplain to the Juventutem International Federation and to the Confraternity of St. Peter.

On Saturday, June 9th, 2018, the Rev. Mr. Seth Phipps was ordained to the holy priesthood by the Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon, Archbishop of Liverpool, at St. Mary’s Shrine, the FSSP’s apostolate in Warrington, England. The ordination was the 11th to take place for the North American District this year, Fr. Phipps’ classmates from Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary having been ordained two weeks prior in Omaha by the Most Reverend Alexander Sample, Archbishop of Portland. This is the second year that our Warrington apostolate has hosted ordinations: on June 17th, 2017, Archbishop McMahon ordained Fr. Alex Stewart and Fr. Krzysztof Sanetra at St. Mary’s. Fr. Phipps celebrated his first Mass the following day, Sunday, June 10th, 2018, at the same location.

You can view the full video and a photo gallery of the ordination and Pontifical Mass below. Please keep Fr. Phipps and the other new priests of the Fraternity in your prayers, as well as the five seminarians from our European seminary who will be ordained on the 23rd of this month.

On March 3rd, 2018, Mater Misericordiæ Mission, our apostolate in Phoenix, Arizona, turned out in force for the 9th annual Nun Run, the biggest fundraising event of the year for the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration of Our Lady of Solitude Monastery in Tonopah. The sisters are of the same order as Mother Angelica’s sisters in Alabama, and their desert monastery has been a place of solitude and retreat for our FSSP priests as well as other priests and laity of the area. And the runners from Mater Misericordiæ, led by pastor Fr. Michael Passo and assistant pastor Fr. Michael Malain, not only came and participated in the Run – their performance was outstanding. To find out more, we caught up with Fr. Passo, who told us more about the parish’s excellent results and what they did to prepare for the Run.

Fr. Passo and Fr. Malain are both accomplished runners, and, as Fr. Passo explains, make a great team in Arizona where the warm weather makes running possible year-round. Fr. Passo was a state qualifier in track & field in high school, and Fr. Malain ran track and cross-country in high school as well as cross-country at the University of Houston. Fr. Malain was the fastest priest at the Nun Run, and finished 3rd overall in the 10K, Fr. Passo finishing 6th overall at the same distance.

Other winners among the FSSP Phoenix contingent included Maria Brezniak and her daughter Natalia, who both finished 1st in their age groups for the 5K, and Brittany Allen, who finished 1st in her group for the 10K. Matt Heffernan, brother of FSSP Seattle pastor Fr. Joseph Heffernan, finished 1st in his group in the 10K, and 7th overall. In total, 36 FSSP Phoenix parishioners participated, and they received an award for that too, taking home the prize for the parish with the most participants.

Fr. Passo recounted how the parish joined together to prepare for the race in the time leading up to the big day on March 3rd. After the parish’s three Sunday Masses, the priests would hold “fun runs” with the parishioners. 10-15 people would come out each Sunday for the runs, and then they would head over to a local IHOP for a late lunch. The event thus became not only an enjoyable challenge for the parish and an act of charity for a monastery of sisters dear to them, but also a way to strengthen the bonds of the parish and build up their sense of community with one another.

Our congratulations go out to FSSP Phoenix for their superb performance, and to the sisters for a successful Nun Run!

Fr. Martin Rangel-Garcia was born in a small town called Guadalupe Distrito Bravo, Chihuahua, situated along the US-Mexican border. He was born into a small, loving and very devout Catholic family. Childhood memories are all related to family and the Church: the beautiful processions accompanied by musical bands, in which his family would participate, either for Holy Week or for the town’s patronal feast of “Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe”; visits to neighbor’s houses to pray the rosary for the traditional Posadas during Christmas; his mother’s Bible study class; or simply attending Sunday Mass with his family. The Faith was part of the family’s everyday life which was very favorable for his vocation.

When his family migrated to Arizona, many of their beloved traditions stayed in Mexico. Life in the United States was very different, and even the Faith was practiced differently – it was less “lively.” As the years went by, the practice of the Faith in him diminished. Yet, God continued to call on young Martin’s heart. His faith found a renewed vigor when the family moved back to Texas, close to their hometown in Mexico. Having old friends close, with whom Martin would attend youth group meetings at his home parish, gave the young priest-in-the-making a boost to his faith. In 2004 he joined a missionary youth group for eight years, which further strengthened him in his vocation.

Eventually the time came for Martin to make a life changing decision. Enter the seminary? Which seminary? The secular priesthood was not appealing, because he did not want to live alone in a parish. Therefore, it had to be a religious congregation which lived life in community. A solid Catholic formation was another thing that Father looked for, along with the daily use of the habit.

All these traits he found within the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. Guided by Fr. Kenneth Fryar, FSSP, Martin entered Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in 2011. Persevering in his vocational call, by God’s grace, Father was ordained to the sacred priesthood on May 26th, 2018, at Saint Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska, by the Most Reverend Alexander Sample, Archbishop of Portland, Oregon.

Our thanks to Mr. Michael Curtis for the photographs used in this article.

Today, June 9th, His Excellency the Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon, Archbishop of Liverpool, will ordain Mr. Seth Phipps to the sacred priesthood at 11 a.m. local time (6 a.m. Eastern) at St. Mary’s Shrine, our apostolate in Warrington, England. Mr. Phipps will celebrate his first Mass the following day, Sunday, June 10th, at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s. He will also offer Mass the Sunday afterwards, June 17th, at St. William of York in Reading, again at 11 a.m., with first blessings to be given after both Masses. Please pray for Mr. Phipps on this holy day of his ordination and for his ten classmates from Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary who were ordained two weeks ago in Omaha!

The ordination will be webcast live at LiveMass at 11 a.m. British time, 6 a.m. Eastern, 5 a.m. Central, 3 a.m. Pacific. Fr. Krzysztof Sanetra and Fr. Alex Stewart were ordained at St. Mary’s last year, and you can watch the video of their ordinations below.

Our thanks to Mr. John Aron for the photographs used in this article.