Father Joseph DeGuzman, FSSP, was Ordained on Saturday, June 1, and offered his first Solemn High Mass the next morning at Saint Francis of Assisi, our apostolate church in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Fr. DeGuzman was assisted by Fr. William Lawrence, FSSP, our Director of Vocations, Deacon Massimo Botta, FSSP, was Deacon, and Acolyte Caleb Insco was Subdeacon.

In the short version of his vocation story, Father relates jokingly that a friend of his introduced him to cognac, and then to the Fraternity.  Father was not sure what he wanted to do once he graduated from college, so he stayed in school for a while completing post-graduate work.  When graduation finally approached and he had to make a decision, Father DeGuzman began to discern the Priesthood.  When he mentioned this to his friend, his friend suggested that he investigate the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.  Never having attended a traditional Latin Mass before, Father DeGuzman first experienced the Mass of the Ages at our seminary, Our Lady of Guadalupe.  He decided to apply and, being accepted, spent his first year of seminary in profound discernment of the path of Tradition and his vocation to the Priesthood.  As the years went on he became more confirmed in his vocation and the Fraternity, to the point that he knew that the Fraternity was the place for him.

Fr. DeGuzman will begin his priesthood serving Our Lady of Fatima, our apostolate in Pequannock, NJ.  Enjoy images of his first Mass.

At the invitation of the Charlotte Latin Mass Community, Fr. John Berg, Superior-General of the FSSP, offered an Evening of Reflection at Saint Ann Catholic Church in Charlotte on May 2, 2013. The topic was “Ephesus, Vatican II, and the Year of Faith,” and he compared different aspects of these two ecumenical councils in light of the Year of Faith. Fr. Berg also discussed various issues related to the Mass and Traditions of the Church, and accepted questions following the talk.

The talk lasted a little more than an hour and addressed many salient points about the founding principles of the Fraternity of St. Peter, which was based, in part, on the Protocol of 5 May 1988. Father Berg explained that the Year of Faith and the Second Vatican Council were both intentionally opened on October 11th – the Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – which was established by Pope Pius XI to commemorate the 1500th anniversary of when the Council of Ephesus bestowed the title of Theotokos (“Mother of God”), to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Father Berg also outlined problems that arose after the Second Vatican Council, as theologians on both the left and the right radicalized one another. In the end those on the right came to the conclusion that the documents of the Council should be read as a break with the pre-conciliar Church (a “hermeneutic of rupture”), while those on the left, in their triumphalism, reached the same conclusion, seeing the documents of the Council as a radical departure which thankfully left behind the pre-conciliar Church. In this common conclusion, both parties ultimately decided not to do the more difficult work of finding the “hermeneutic of continuity,” which Pope Benedict XVI said must be present. He then reviewed the solutions offered by Pope Benedict XVI to these problems, as well as the many gifts to the Church provided during his pontificate.

The talk was well attended and well received. During a reception that followed, Fr. Berg took questions from attendees. In addition, those present made a good will offering for the benefit of the FSSP Seminary. The following morning, Friday, May 3rd, Fr. Berg celebrated First Friday Mass and heard confessions.

The Charlotte Latin Mass Community is a stable group of faithful (coetus fidelium) who gathered together on the Feast of the Assumption in 2011 to request a regular Sunday Mass in the Extraordinary Form. After 18 months of prayer and patience, their petition, which was ultimately elevated to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei in Rome, was granted. On February 10, 2013, one day prior to Pope Benedict’s abdication, a letter was read from the pulpit of St. Ann Catholic Church in Charlotte granting this petition by order of the Bishop of Charlotte, His Excellency Peter Jugis. Mass in the Extraordinary Form was officially added to the regular Sunday Mass schedule starting on March 3, 2013 at 12:30 pm.

For more information about the Charlotte Latin Mass Community contact Chris Lauer.

On Saturday, June 1, 2013, five deacons of the Fraternity of St. Peter were raised to the Sacred Priesthood of Christ by His Excellency, Bishop James D. Conley, at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Our gratitude and thanks to His Excellency for ordaining these men to the Holy Priesthood, our congratulations to our new priests and their families, and thanks to all our benefactors and friends who have supported these men and the seminary during the course of their studies with prayers and other assistance. As each new priest has asked, and we always recommend, continue to pray for our new priests, and all of the priests of the Fraternity.

The newly ordained priests of the Fraternity are:

• Father Michael Passo
• Father Joseph DeGuzman
• Father Anthony Uy
• Father Kevin Young
• Father Charles Vreeland

As a reminder, Deacon Massimo Botta, native of Rome, will be Ordained on Saturday, June 22, 2013, in the Fraternity parish in Rome, Santa Trinita dei Pelligrini. Please keep him in your prayers.

Please look for additional coverage of ordinations in an upcoming edition of the monthly newsletter.

In honor of the Descent of the Most Holy Ghost upon the Apostles and Mary, Fr. Jose Zepeda, FSSP, pastor of St. Michael’s in Scranton, celebrated the Solemn Vespers of Pentecost with Fr. Michael Stinson, FSSP, and Deacon Massimo Botta, FSSP, on the afternoon of Pentecost Sunday. They were joined by the schola of Saint Michael’s and by a large number of the faithful gathered to unite in this solemn office.

In Solemn Vespers, the celebrant is in cope, while the assistants are in choir dress. Incensing of the altar occurs, and various acolytes are used who are normally reserved for service in Mass. The office is offered from the sedelia, with each Antiphon and Psalm intoned by the celebrant, after which the schola completes the recitation of the Psalm. Solemn Vespers concludes with the singing of the Salve Regina, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Enjoy images from Scranton.

The priests and seminarians of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary prepare themselves each year for the approaching Feasts of the Ascension and, ten days hence, Pentecost – birthday of the Church – with the solemnities of the Minor Rogation Days.

The Rogation Days are a traditional time of prayer and fasting for several intentions:

• To appease God’s anger at our transgressions.
• To ask for protection from disasters.
• To beseech God to bless us with a fruitful harvest.

Rogation derives from the Latin rogare, which means to entreat or request, and comes from the Gospel of the fifth Sunday of Easter, wherein Saint John mentions Our Lord’s words, “…Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be made full.” The fifth Sunday of Easter is often thus referred to as Rogation Sunday.

Besides the special Masses in observance of the Rogation Days, the seminarians made the traditional procession around the grounds of the seminary.  In past centuries, especially in England, such a procession was made around the bounds of a parish territory in order to beseech God to bless, in a special way, that parish. Enjoy images from Denton.

Our Tulsa apostolate, the parish of Saint Peter, recently celebrated the finding of a new, permanent home.  Fr. William Define, FSSP, has now blessed the newly purchased church, Mass and the sacramental life of Saint Peter’s has commenced, and plans are being made to rightfully transform the new building into a fitting habitation for Our Lord.

Father Define, the parishioners, and the North American District extend our heartfelt thanks to His Excellency, Bishop Edward James Slattery, and his Diocesan Finance Board for the help and guidance in procuring Saint Peter’s new parish home. To say that their support and guidance was critical is to understate their importance. The members of the parish finance board had to learn an wide array of details and information very quickly, and this was helped along by His Excellency and the finance board. As one member of the parish board noted, they had to “drink from the proverbial fire hose” to learn what the diocese required.

Besides the conversion of the church from its current state as a former Protestant building, plans are being formulated for the construction of a parish rectory.  Father Define currently resides in an RV, which he is glad to have, since it means the parish has a new, permanent home. Enjoy pictures from their new home.

Fr. Antony Sumich, FSSP, and Fr. Brian McDonnell, FSSP, are assigned to our Calgary and Edmonton apostolates in Alberta, Canada, and have been busy in the Sacramental life of their communities over the past year. What follows are images from Calgary and Edmunton, which include a Solemn Requiem Mass, Father Sumich participating in the preparation of moose meat for the poor, the Easter Vigil of 2013, and a visit with the Most Reverend Frederick Henry, Bishop of Calgary.

A special note about the Requiem vestments.  This beautiful set actually belongs to the Diocese of Calgary, and was lent to the Fraternity for use in the Solemn Requiem Mass.

The origin of the tradition of Marian devotions in May is not certain, but it is known that as far back as the thirteenth century King Alphons X of Castile, Spain, wrote in his Canticles of Holy Mary of the many days in May dedicated to Our Lady.

During the Middle Ages devotion to the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin also grew, and later, in the Renaissance, devotion to Mary in May became a widespread practice in Italy. Devotion to Mary in this month increased in the nineteenth century in the English-speaking world, including here in America.

The May Crowning, an act of homage wherein we recognize the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, occurs in most countries on or around May 1.  Because Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday of May in the United States, we typically celebrate the May Crowning on that day.  The girls of a parish process in with flowers in hand, to lay them up in a basket near a Marian statue, followed by a maiden, often in blue, who places a crown upon Our Lady’s head.

Enjoy images from May Crownings in the District, including Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, Saint Michael’s in Scranton, and Holy Family in Dayton.

Enjoying a beautiful sunny day of spring, Bishop Timlin began with a firm exhortation to those receiving the Sacrament of the need to always remain close to Christ and His Church as they grow into adulthood. He then cautioned the confirmandi against the dangers of this world: secularism and the tendency to irreligion, the attacks upon the Faith, and the temptations that come with life in the modern world, exhorting them to prayer and the Sacraments, and above all a firm love and trust in the Lord for guidance and grace.

Assisted by Fr. Jose Zepeda, FSSP, pastor of Saint Michael’s, and Fr. Joseph Poisson, FSSP, Assistant Pastor, the bishop then began the prayers and blessings of Confirmation. As each child and sponsor approached, he sealed them with Sacred Chrism, blessed them, and gave the slap of admonition. This is the gentle warning that each confirmandi is now strengthened in their Baptismal graces and expected to be able to suffer affronts at the hands of the world.

After the concluding prayers and final blessing, Bishop Timlin then joined the parish in the hall for refreshments and congratulations of the newly Confirmed. Enjoy pictures of this joyous day.