Lex orandi lex credendi: Pontifical High Mass at Basilico di San Pietro in Vaticano

Originally posted 3/11/2012, thoroughly updated and photographs captioned 10/11/2012

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Here are some pictures of today's pilgrimage in thanksgiving for Summorum pontificum organised by the Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce. There have been Masses and traditional devotions organised in the run-up to today, but the Pontifical High Mass (Mass of the Immaculate Heart Of Mary) at the Altar of Saint Peter's Chair celebrated by Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is the high point of the Pilgrimage. The Holy Father granted a Plenary Indulgance (under the usual conditions) to the faithful who attended the Mass. 

Following Adoration, the procession of Priests and Pilgrims leaves San Salvatore in Lauro

The Mass was, as expected, beautiful, reverent, and inspired great hope for the future of the traditional liturgy. There were hundreds of pilgrims: I calculated from a quick chair-count from the dome afterwards that, including those standing, there were probably almost a thousand people in the congregation. It was the usual healthy demographic mix that is so common at extraordinary form Masses everywhere: lots of young people - teens, twenties, thirties - in addition to young families and older people. It was - as EF Masses tend to be - racially mixed and with a visible number of disabled people as well. I mention this because the great irony of EF Mass congregations being perfectly "politially correct" in terms of demographic distribution when compared to the average parish, never fails to amuse me. Is anything more inclusive than the Universal Mass in the Universal Church in a universally understood language? I digress...

It feels as though Rome he been taken over by young traddie priests: the Borgo Pio is teeming with them, there were scores (I lost count) on the Sanctuary - it's wonderful and it's the future.  As my husband pointed out, there were very few priests there older than him: the vast majority were in their 20s, 30's and early 40's (poor DH is in his mid 40s).  We have run into several friendly and familiar faces:  the famous  Fr Z, Monseigneur Wasch of the incomparable ICKSP, and Fr Andrew Southwell from St Bedes, Clapham Park but currently clearly enjoying his sabbatical in the Eternal City.

Today started out with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at San Salvatore in Lauro followed by a procession through Rome to St Peter's Bascilica for the Pontifical High Mass in the Extraordinary Form celebrated by His Eminence, Antonio, Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship. Winding through Rome's narrow streets, four abreast, while singing the Litany of the Saints was, frankly, amazing. We certainly amazed some restaurant patrons who seemed completely freaked out by the presence of a slowly moving procession of singing pilgrims; and that was before the scores of Biretta'd, cassock and cotta'd clergy at the end of the procession passed them by! The traffic was stopped for the procession at major intersections, and the whole of via della conciliazione was closed to allow the pilgrims to process towards St Peter's. I was profoundly grateful that the first memory my children will have of entering St Peter's Basilica will be with a procession of praying, singing pilgrims walking directly up the centre of Piazza San Pietro and through the central doors of the Basilica to the Cathedra Petri and Bernini's amazing creation

 "...designed to display the chair on which, according to ancient tradition, St. Peter sat and taught Roman Christians. Pope Alexander VII had the ivory-covered chair put into the gigantic bronze cathedra, with the statues of the Doctors of the Church, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine of the Roman Church and St. Athanasius and St. John Chrysostom of the Greek Church. The religious significance is extremely clear. The Doctors of the Church were always consistent with Peter's teachings as they expounded theological doctrine.

The gospel does not change because the Holy Spirit, portrayed as a dove flies along the span of the centuries, assisting and accompanying its church. The chair or cathedra of Peter symbolizes the perpetual continuity of the doctrine and its promise of infallibility. It triumphed over all heresies throughout the centuries." 

[from StPetersBasilica.org, emphasis mine)

 
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 It's been a long but spiritually nourishing day. I'm profoundly grateful to the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI for Summorum Pontificum as participation in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass has brought many graces to our family - and it was evident today that we weren't the only ones. I spoke to pilgrims who'd come from Brazil to thank the Holy Father and show their fidelity to him. There I was thinking that we'd done well to get four young children to Rome from SE England; I was humbled by what I heard today: young and fit, our journey has been s doddle in comparison to so many who came from around the world.

I prayed for my readers, for other Catholic bloggers, for our priests, our seminarians, for friends and for family, Most of all I prayed for the Holy Father, that his generous liturgical vision continues

 to bear fruit.

The procession crosses the Tiber towards Castel Sant'Angelo

The Roman traffic was stopped to allow the procession to proceed in dignity. It was a long procession, and some of those drivers will have been waiting for quite a while. Despite this there appeared to be good humour all around from bystanders, although some bewilderment on the faces of touists as the procession wove through the narrow streets near San Salvatore.

Coming home to Rome: the via della conciliazione was closed to traffic to allow the procession to pass. We gathered many pilgrims along the route: people were waiting for us to pass, others appeared to decide to join spontaneously. By my estimate there were at least twice the number of pilgrims arriving at Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano than left San Salvatore in Lauro. We were about ten rows (of four abreast) when the procession left - by the time we arrived we were about thirty rows back!

Walking straight up to the centre door of Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano

I was very happy that this was the way my Children entered St Peter's Basilica for the first time: through the front central door, praying and singing.

Pilgrims waiting for Mass to begin. The seating area in front of the Altar of the Chair of St Peter holds just under 500 people, and there were around 100 extra chairs to the right (I took photos of the seating area from the dome later on to confirm numbers of seats). All were filled and there were some people standing at the back. We estimated that there were almost a thousand people at the Mass.

We lost count of how many priests were on the Sanctuary, but we noticed the Benedictines, FSSP and the ICKSP.

His Eminence, Antonio, Cardinal Cañizares Llovera,Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

Incensing the Altar

The last Gospel

Last Gospel

It was a long day for smaller pilgrims. He was full of beans and in full voice the next day though!

Utterly inspired. Totus tuus.

Not a clown or puppet in sight, and they're completely transf

ixed.

Visit to the friendly Swiss Guards (or, properly, Pontificia Cohors Helvetica)

Dome of Home: Beacon of Hope

1046 people were counted into the Shrine Church of Saints Peter, Paul and Philomena this morning for a very special Mass (Solemnity of the Annunciation of the BVM) to mark the establishment of the shrine which has been entrusted by His Lordship, Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. The church was packed to the rafters - standing room only. The vast majority of people were local, many unfamiliar with the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite, but reading faces and overhearing conversations afterwards, it was clear that the response was overwhelmingly positive.

There's a lot I'd like to write about the day, which takes the brick-by-brick Hermeneutic of Continuity restoration of tradition to a new level in England. I saw many eyes rimmed with tears after the Mass. An elderly man next to me was almost speechless with joy: he said he'd not seen anything remotely close to a Mass this "powerful and holy" since his youth. He felt that this was the beginning of something new.

I was delighted to meet Canon Meney, the Rector of the Shrine, as well as Monsignor Wach who founded the Institute. Both know our ICKSP contacts and friends in the South of France, so it felt a little like a homecoming. I was pleased to be able to thank Msgr Wach for the work done by the Institute: it is a truly blessed foundation. In return, we were invited to join the ICKSP at their headquarters in Italy for a holiday! I think we'd better start saving or I won't hear the end of it from my eldest son... We also met several religious sisters from the Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus some of whom had come over from Switzerland, others from Italy, especially for the Mass. It's wonderful to see so many young vocations. I'm always struck by how happy young religious are, and these women were no exception. The children - particularly the girls - enjoyed meeting them and they are such wonderful role models. I'm particularly grateful to them for offering to pray for us during our long drive home.

The reception afterwards was extremely busy but we were determined to squeeze every wonderful second out of the day and so we stayed and met old friends and new. I was especially pleased to bump into Charlie Chasuble and meet his lovely family; what with Father Simon Henry there, it was a bit like an impromptu blognic.  

It was a long day: we left our house at 4:30 am and drove for almost 6 hours to get the the Shrine.  It didn't matter what the journey threw at us (roadworks, fog, bad traffic, the van's transmission temporarily packing in on the M6) we were clearly meant to get there. We had no sat-nav with us and almost ended up taking the tunnel to Liverpool, but were saved at the last minute by a friendly tollbooth operator who showed us a sneaky way out. Even then we had no clue where we were - it was 10:15am and the Mass started at 10:30 - "pray kids, pray" I shouted as I drove with more hope than certainty. We rounded a corner and there, above us, only moments away was the "Dome of Home".  We arrived with 10 minutes to spare and   - Deo gratias - a kind steward let us park behind the church, so we were on time!  It took over five hours to get home, which makes 11+ hours driving. Was it worth it? Would we do it again? Absolutely. Next time we'll stay a little longer though...

The "Dome of Home" becomes, in Canon Meney's words a "beacon of hope"

The Reverend Canon William Hudson (left in black) translates the welcome address from Monsignor Wach (in blue)

The Most Reverend Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewbury vests at the beginning of Mass 

Spot the blogging priest.

Reverend Canon William Hudson, Pro-Provincial for England reads part of the Apostolic Blessing

Our favourite Bishop!

Men of the moment: His Lordship, Bishop Davies, Msgr Wash and Canon Meney 

 

Bishop Davies cuts the cake!

 

See Father Simon Henry's blog for a detailed description of the Mass and subsequent festivities as well as some wonderful photographs that capture some of the spirit of the day.

Bigger than the Beatles. Cooler too.

We're all getting rather excited here about the grand opening of the Shrine Church of Ss Peter and Paul and St Philomena, New Brighton, Wirral which has been entrusted to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest an order both dedicated and devoted to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite; an order dedicated to defending Catholic orthodoxy and priestly spirituality. We love the ICRSP who run our parish in France, and our contact with them has been a great blessing to our family.

We'll be leaving SE England in the small grey hours of Saturday morning, to arrive at the Shrine Church on time for Mass which will be celebrated by Monsignor Gilles Wach, the French founder of the Institute, and the homily will be preached by our favourite Bishop, Rt Rev. Mark Davies, the Bishop of Shrewsbury. 

How much better can it get? 

Well, try this on for size: the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has offered a Papal Blessing with an attached Plenary Indulgence (usual conditions apply) for all the faithful who attend the grand opening.

Well, what ARE you waiting for? Details below

...and while you're sorting out your travel arrangements, why not say a decade (or five) of the Rosary for Bishop Mark Davies, a courageous and visionary shepherd, without whom none of this would be possible... 

...and when you've done that, say another decade (or five) for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. who, (as I wrote last year) 

"have a steady stream of vocations for the priesthood and of women to the religious life. Their parishes are so demographically healthy that anyone much over 40 will be at the top end of the age bell-curve. They run excellent schools, academically and doctrinally rigorous, educating children in the Faith. They run orthodox Catholic summer camps for boys and girls, and traditional Catholic scout groups. In short, they are a massive success story". 

God bless the ICRSP: may they repeat their international successes here in Mary's Dowry.

Where are all the Catholic Philanthropists?

Just askin'.

I don't mean the grand-gesture industrial magnates who throw a cool million or two towards a papal visit or a new school. These guys are useful, helpful, and obviously every little penny helps, but the "grand gesture" philanthropists aren't -- or at least shouldn't be - the bread-and-butter of giving to the Church.

When WW2 broke out and Belfast was being hammered by the Luftwaffe, my grandfather, a self-made man, gave away all but one of his collection of six or seven cars to local priests to enable them to visit the sick, injured and dying. Today this seems like a grand gesture, but I don't think that my grandfather saw it as such. He just did what was needed. He gave without counting the cost as an old Parish Priest of ours was fond of saying. Anyone in his position would have done the same, and it was never mentioned in his lifetime; he would have been mortified. He simply did what he could to help, as did many, many other people. For people of that generation it was taken for granted that helping to the best of your abilities or resources is what you did.

In a similar vein - unremarkable then, remarkable now: our former parish church, like many, was paid for entirely by the local population. It was built in the early 20th C, but had extensive additions later on, also paid for by the local population. People saved and gave. I remember reading the history of the parish and wondering whether it would be possible, less than a hundred years later, to have the same thing happen if the church needed to be replaced for some reason. I doubt it, not because local people aren't devoted to their parish, nor because the parish lacks a stable congregation (it doesn't, it's a thriving and much more affluent parish than it would have been a century ago). People's priorities are different now. There's an assumption that somebody else pays. That "somebody"  might be a corporate body, or "the Church" (clearly removing ourselves from the equation), or the government, or one of the super-rich, but I don't think that the layperson in the pews sees himself as a philanthropic giver in the way that people used, a few short generations ago.

Reading Fr. Finigan's post about Sacred Heart Church in Limerick and thinking about the money needed for the new ICKSP apostolate in New Birghton Wirral made me wonder about the "whos" and "hows" of funding such projects.

It's entirely up to us: me and you. If we don't take responsibility for the things that matter, then who will? The time is now to give and not count the cost.

Shame the devil - Support the first Traditional Parish in the United Kingdom

As regular readers will be aware, I love the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and this blog occasionally reads like something of an unofficial fan club for the order. The ICRSP (or ICKSP in English, but I'm finding the K hard to get used to!) are an inspiring and successful Traditional order with a healthy stream of vocations and are a solid bulwark of orthodoxy in an increasingly heterodox French church. They describe themselves thus:

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right whose goal is the honor of God and the sanctification of priests in the service of the Church and souls. Its specific aim is missionary: to spread the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ in all spheres of human life. Our work is carried out under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, to Whom the Institute is consecrated. (ICKSP US Website)

In France they have flourishing parishes, run academically and doctrinally rigorous schools, summer camps and scout groups. They have 35 houses in ten countries, 50 priests, and more than 60 seminarians in 15 years. How often I have wished that we had an apostolate of theirs here!

Naturally, then, I was delighted by the news in June that the Right Rev. Mark Davies has invited the order to set up the first completely Traditional parish in England and Wales. It will be set up as a Personal Parish under the provision of the Motu Proprio, 'Summorum Pontificium' for all faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. It is the first time that an Ecclesia Dei institute has taken over a parish in the UK, and as such is a breakthrough for the Traditional Form of the Roman Rite here.

The ICRSP will be taking over and restoring the church of SS Peter and Paul, in New Brighton, Wirral. The church is built in a classical style on a grand scale -- it was originally built by the contributions of the faithful, and the IRCSP are hoping that the necessary renovations can be funded in the same way. I'm sure that there are many,  particularly among the secular lobby, who would say "certainly that sort of thing may have happened in times past, but there's no way that it could happen today!" Let's prove them wrong and get this church renovated and opened on time for the Greater Glory of God!

 The latest edition of Mass of Ages  has an article about the order, the new parish and the church, as well as giving some indication of the momentous renovation task facing the order before the parish can open in September. In an insert to Mass of Ages, Canon William Hudson of the ICKSP says:

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is delighted to announce that it will be opening the first Traditional Parish in England and Wales. This is a major breakthrough for the Traditional Mass. The Bishop of Shrewsbury, the Right Rev. Mark Davies, has invited the Institute to make an important foundation in his diocese, based in the imposing church of SS Peter and Paul, New Brighton, Wirral.

 In September three members of the Institute will be taking up residence in the presbytery and starting this new  and hugely exciting apostolate.

But we urgently need your help to make this a reality! 

In the long term the church will need considerable work. But in the immediate future we are aiming to raise £40,000 to cover essential restoration of the presbytery and other 'start up' costs. 

Without your generosity this project cannot go ahead! 

Thank you for helping make this project a reality. 

Yours sincerely in Christ the King,

Canon William Hudson
ICKSP

You can contribute to the appeal  by sending a (UK) cheque made out to: Institute of Christ the King 
and sent to:
Canon William Hudson, ICKSP Brussels International Catholic School, Chaussée de Wavre 457, 1040 Brussels, Belgium


Non-UK readers could send an International Money Order in UK Pounds made out to the same details at the same address.

I would also ask you all to join me in an extra prayer for Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury who has made this possible by inviting the Institute of Christ the King in this momentous venture. Bishop Davies specifically wants SS Peter and Paul to be a centre of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and so "to be open to all Catholics and for it to be a model in this regard for the entire diocese" (Mass of Ages, Aug 2011, p15).

On so many counts it is important that this venture is successful -- not least of all because the Devil himself will want it to fail, knowing as he will how many souls a parish like this will save.

God bless the IRCSP! God bless Bishop Mark Davies! God bless our Pope!

Béziers' best kept secret...

If you like your France à la Peter Mayle, then Béziers isn't the city for you: try Aix or St Remy or some of the pretty Luberon villages instead. There's nothing easy or gentle about Beziers: it rises jagged and arid above the vineyards of the Herault; life on its narrow streets slightly tinged by a shimmering heat haze of madness. It's a Babylon where North African, Gitane, French, Catalan, and Occitane words and dialects colour the local accent. It's beautiful but hard work; invigorating but tiring. In short: not the sort of place you'd expect to find a tranquil haven.

I should come clean here and admit that I'm a glutton for punishment when it comes to cities: many of my favourite places are those that don't instantly reveal their charms, the kind of place you either love or hate. I remember some 15 years ago a colleague at work almost spitting in indignation that anybody could possibly love that hot, noisy, rude city... Béziers. But I do.

Take a look at this link to Google maps: This is Place Garibaldi. Click on StreetView and do a 360' tturn on the spot. Remarkably unremarkable, it's in the heart of a commercial, predominantly Arab district - busy, noisy and dusty: a major arterial route through the centre of town. The narrow side streets have excellent small grocery shops that sell Raz-el-hanout and "maison" tagine spice mixes. Yum. But today we're not here for physical sustenance, rather something longer-lasting.

This is the doorway of 2 bis Pl. Garibaldi, Beziers (you can see it on the StreetView link above behind a large blue van that's in the foreground). Even an observant passer-by would spot very little to attract attention; and if such a passer-by were overtaken by curiosity and feel impelled to duck inside this particular doorway to see what he might find, he would discover an entrance hall like a hundred thousand others in French urban buildings, with an unremarkable staircase leading to appartments on the upper floors. Unless, that is, it was a Sunday or Holy Day.

On a Sunday or Holy Day our observer's eye would be led to an open pair of doors at the back of the entrance hall, leading into a large bright vestibule with a tell-tale statue of Saint Rita with votive candles lit before her at one end. If it was a Sunday or Holy Day he might also hear the pure strains of plainsong. Our traveller would have arrived at Chapelle Sainte-Rita: Bezier's best kept secret.

For the past 12 years the Extraordinary Form of the Mass has been prayed here every Sunday morning and every Holy Day. The chapel is devoted to the EF. Years before the Motu Proprio, a traddie-friendly Bishop gave permission for the older form of the Mass to be said here on a regular basis, and a new parish was born. Strictly speaking, it's a "parish within a parish" as the Chapelle is attached to the parish church next to the Cathedral and many parishioners attend their daily Mass there in the Ordinary Form. But what a parish - probably the youngest, most dynamic parish that I can recall: at 41 I felt like an oldie! Large families, new families, teenagers, young couples in their 20s, lots of babies, and a fair sprinkling of older and elderly parishioners as well. I'm used to parishes that pray the Extraordinary Form being far more demographically healthy than the average parish, but this group was positively thriving. The Parish Priest appears to have boundless energy and is wonderfully orthodox, having been ordained in 2005 by the Institut du Christ-Roi Souverain Prêtre, and it is wonderful to see his relationship with both young and old. He also turns out to be a friend of our local Parish Priest (in France) with whom we get on very well - another advocate of the Benedictine reforms. As a family we were welcomed to the Chapelle Sainte-Rita community as though we were long lost parishioners, and instantly invited to events, our eldest son invited to serve the following Sunday. The choir is wonderful, the chapel acoustics lovely. Can you tell that we're delighted?

We've found a true home from home in France, and I heartily recommend any devotees of the old rite looking for Mass in the western Herault to come to Chapelle Sainte-Rita in Beziers (2 Bis, Place Gambetta). There's a hidden pearl of great price behind that innocuous doorway.