Priestly Seminaries of Tradition -- Their Chalice Overflows -- Not Enough Room for All of the Vocations

 

20 seminarians from the St. Peter Seminary in Wigratzbad (FSSP) received the minor ordinations in February 2020.

(Florence) While diocesan seminaries are empty due to a lack of vocations and, in the fight against priestly celibacy and for the female priesthood, priestly vocations do not seem desirable anywhere, traditional seminaries have completely different concerns. They are struggling with the lack of space. The Seminary of Saint Peter of the Fraternity of St. Peter in Wigratzbad and the Seminary of St. Philip Neri of the Institute of Christ the King and Sovereign Priest in Gricigliano have experienced so many new entrants that it is as though they are bursting at the seams.

In order to be able to accommodate all seminarians, in Wigratzbad, where seminarians from the German and French-speaking countries and the respective neighboring areas study, the rooms of other academic years were occupied twice over. The premises in the seminary, which was only inaugurated in December 2000, have long been exhausted. The seminary records the years 2019 and 2020 as the strongest entry cohorts to date. Since it is a new building, there are no outbuildings or attics that could be used to accommodate seminarians.

In Gricigliano, rooms that were part of the farm buildings of the former manor, in which the seminary is located and which have not previously been used, are being provisionally rededicated. Further conversions to gain space or additions or extensions will be necessary hereand there.

Last May and June, thirteen candidates from the Petrine Brotherhood were ordained priests. Because of the corona restrictions imposed by the governments of France and the Federal Republic of Germany, they took place for the new priests from Wigratzbad under special circumstances and not in public. Among the consecrated there are four new priests from the German-speaking countries.

Due to the redesign of the altar area carried out by the diocese of Augsburg a few years ago, the Church of the Atonement in Wigratzbad is no longer suitable for Mass in the traditional rite. For ordinations, even under normal conditions, the seminary has to use churches in the area that are made available by friendly priests.

For the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in July nine new priests were ordained for the traditional form of the Roman Rite. The ordinations were, as it has for the Institute, become a tradition in the church of Santi Michele e Gaetano and were offered by Cardinal Raymond Burke. The church, dedicated to the Archangel Michael and consecrated by the great Saint Cajetan, a co-founder of Theatines, is located in the immediate vicinity of the famous cathedral of Florence and the associated baptistery.

Community photo after vesting and tonsure in front of the seminary of St. Philipp Neri in Gricigliano (Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest)

20 seminarians of the institute were vested in the run-up to the ordination and received tonsure. 23 seminarians received vesture and tonsure for the Society of Saint Peter in October 2019 in the USA and in February in Wigratzbad.

Both communities are still very young. Under canon law, both were established as societies of apostolic life by clerics under papal law who know no religious vows. While the Society of Saint Peter  is constituted as a society of secular priests, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest follows the example of secular canons, like those brought into being by St. Francis de Sales. The former are addressed as priests (fathers), the latter as canons (canons).

The Fraternity of St. Peter was founded in 1988 by a handful of former priests and seminarians of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X. Today it has two international seminaries. The General House is located in Friborg, Switzerland. The Superior General is the Pole, Father Andrzej Komorowski, Regent of the seminary of Wigratzbad is the French, Father Vincent Ribeton and of the seminary of Danton (USA) the Swiss Father, Josef Bisig.

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest was founded in 1990 by two French priests, Monsignor Gilles Wach, Canon Philippe Mora in Gabon and they were received shortly after in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence in Tuscany. Msgr. Wach is Superior General of the Institute, Kan. Mora Regent of the international seminary.

While the Society of Saint Peter has three roughly equally strong pillars, a German, a French and an English, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a predominantly a French community. The majority of their relatives come from France or the French-speaking area. However, the Institute's vicar general is the German priest Msgr. Rudolf Michael Schmitz. Msgr. Wach was ordained a priest by Pope John Paul II, Msgr. Schmitz by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.

The lack of space can be remedied, but the lack of appeal is much more severe.

• English website of the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP).
• 
  
• English website of the Institute of Christ the King Soverign Priest  (ICRSS).

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Peter Brotherhood / ICRSS (screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Facebook Disables Account of Ohio Lawmaker and Traditional Catholic, Critical of Coronavirus Restrictions

Edit: Nino Vitale is a Traditional Catholic, FSSP parishioner. His campaign and personal Facebook account have been blocked.

By Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio—State Rep. Nino Vitale’s campaign Facebook account has been down since Friday morning, according to the Champaign County Republican.

Vitale, one of the Ohio House’s most conservative members, said Friday he wasn’t sure exactly what happened with his account and wasn’t given any explanation by Facebook. “They’re so far being helpful and looking into it,” Vitale said of the world’s largest social-media platform.

https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020/04/facebook-disables-account-of-ohio-lawmaker-critical-of-coronavirus-restrictions.html

AMDG

Half of Seminarians and All Priests at Wigratzbad Have Corona

ABy Martin Bürger

FOLLOW MARTIN

 

OPFENBACH, Germany, March 20, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Almost all priests and roughly half of the seminarians currently at a German seminary of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), a traditionalist community of priests and seminarians, have been infected by the coronavirus.

On the evening of March 13, the seminary had first announced that a priest, who stayed at the seminary as a guest, had contracted the virus. At the time, the community, which is dedicated to the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, had stated that all Masses in Wigratzbad would take place without the seminarians joining.

“With the powerful help of faith, hope and charity, we do not let ourselves be discouraged. In a few days, the first healed ones will be able to take over from the newly sick, to maintain the spiritual and material life of the house,” the seminary community wrote.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/all-priests-half-of-seminarians-at-traditional-catholic-order-infected-by-coronavirus

AMDG

45 New Entrants for the Fraternity of Saint Peter

Young men in black cassock: seminarians and leaders of the seminary the Society of Saint Peter in Wigratzbad.

Census shows prolific growth in FSSP communities.

(Wigratzbad) After withdrawing on retreat days, 30 applicants have entered the International Seminary of the Society of Saint Peter (FSSP) in Wigratzbad. In total, the Society is registering 45 new entrants for the academic year 2019/2020.

Founded in 1988, the Priestly Society of Tradition has two international seminaries: the St. Peter Seminary in Wigratzbad and the Theological Seminary of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Denton, USA. The training is possible in German, French and English.

The French-speaking and German-speaking candidates are trained in the Swabian town of Wigratzbad, near Lake Constance. The English speaking is in Texas in the USA.

The 30 new entries in 2019 for Wigratzbad

The establishment of a Spanish-language seminary is being worked toward.

In the past year 24 new entrants had been registered in Wigratzbad. This year, new entrants for German-speaking applicants have doubled.

17 new entrants have taken up the training in French, 13 in German and 15 in English.

On October 19, 23 seminarians of the second year of study received tonsure and vestments, 15 in Wigratzbad and eight in the USA.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: FSSP Wigratzbad (Screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

In Order Not to Lose a Priest in Winter (of the Church) We Recommend the Soutane!

While Rome does not take any concrete measures after the Anti-Abuse Summit, the Society of Saint Peter gives a simple and concrete recommendation.

(Freiburg im Üchtland) The Church goes through a winter in Western Europe. So is the priesthood. A simple and concrete answer comes from the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), packed in a sympathetic message.

The two phenomena, the crisis of the clergy and the Church, are closely related. The winter is expressed in the decline of priestly vocations, the consequent shortage of priests and currently with great publicity in the sexual abuse scandal by clerics.

Against this background, the Priestly Society (FSSP) has launched an original initiative. It gives an answer with image and text, dressed in a sympathetic message with a double meaning.

You can take the picture and the accompanying text literally and take it as a sympathetic greeting. But it can also be read in response to the crisis, the winter that the priesthood is currently living through.

The picture shows in winter landscape four priests of the brotherhood in Soutanes, in addition the message:

"In order not to lose a priest in the snow in winter, we recommend the cassock."

It is a concise, catchy answer that appeals to reason, emphasizes the special status of the priesthood, and addresses in a friendly invitation both the Church hierarchy and each individual priest.

See also on the subject of priestly clothing:

My priestly dress protected me

The cowl does not make a monk yet. No cowl even less ...

"VIVA la Sotana!" - a homage to the priest's clothing

Communist daily demands return to priestly clothing - "Civil clothes in the nettles"

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Picture: MiL

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMD

Permanent Apostolate of the FSSP in South Tirol

Benedictine abbey Säben

(Innsbruck) The Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) now extends its pastoral activity and now has a permanent apostolate also in the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone.

Already 15 years ago the first contacts to South Tyrol had been made. Priests of the Society of Saint Peter were invited to their parishes by friendly priests. 300 of the faithful had asked the diocesan bishop with their signature for the erection of a Mass location in the traditional rite. However, the promising start failed because of the then Bishop of Bolzano-Bressanone. The time was obviously not ripe yet. The Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum created by Pope Benedict XVI. initially freed the Mass in September 2007.

The pilgrimage church Mariahilf near Bressanone (built around 1650)

In the diocese, within two years there were two bishop changes. Since autumn 2011, the diocese has been headed by Bishop Ivo Muser. New possibilities opened up. Since June 2013, an FSSP priest celebrates Holy Mass once a month in the German church of Bolzano in the traditional form of the Roman Rite. From the summer of 2014, a second location in Bressanone followed in the same rhythm. Since then, the two episcopal cities, the ancient episcopal city of Bressanone (since about 960) and the new episcopal city of Bolzano (since 1964) have been reached by the Priestly Society of St. Peter.

The two Mass locations were looked after at the German church in Bolzano and the Mariahilf church in Brixen by the Upper Bavarian Mittenwald, which is itself looked after by Innsbruck already.

Additionally, contacts were established with the only Tyrolean Benedictine monastery, the Abbey of the Heiligenkreuz in Säben. It's a connection that blends well with the two Mass locations. Not only because the monastery is geographically located exactly between them, but because Säben from the 6th -10th Century was the first and oldest episcopal see of the diocese of Brixen.

The old bishop's palace, today's monastery, towers like a strong fortress of God on the Säbener mountain high above the Eisacktal. At the foot of the mountain, which for early Christians had been a safe haven, lies the small town of Klausen and the castle of Branzoll. The ascent to the monastery takes place from there on foot. The high age of Christianity on this venerable "Holy Mountain of Tyrol" can be felt everywhere.

Since 1686 there is a daughter of the Abbey Nonnberg in Salzburg on the mountain. Since then, contemplative Benedictine nuns live here in strict retreat. They dedicate themselves to choral prayer, domestic work and the gardens. Fr. Sven Connrade, the first priest of the FSSP, found a friendly reception with the nuns. Thus, the FSSP has its first office in Tyrol.

The monastery is the destination of many pilgrims to the Heiligenkreuz Church, one of the three churches of the monastery. There is also a guest house that is open to people looking for more than a few days more than just a hotel. Interested women can live in the monastery community.

From Säben the FSSP has looked after the two Mass locations whereby in Bressanone it was extended by the constant presence of a priest. In the Church of Mariahilf, the Holy Mass is now celebrated on every Sunday and public holiday in the traditional rite. This is a big win for the faithful in South Tyrol, which is gratefully accepted.

P. Conrad took over in the meantime new tasks in Bettbrunn. The South Tyrolean sites are now looked after by P. Bernward van der Linden, an FSSP priest with experience of the Benedictine charism, which is why he feels at home in the Benedictine Abbey on the Säbener Berg.

So there is the hope that in future in Bolzano on all Sundays and public holidays, Holy Mass can be celebrated in the traditional form of the Roman rite.

Contact:

P. Bernward van der Linden

Säbener Aufgang 10

39043 Klausen

Mass Locations:

Brixen

Pilgrimage church Mariahilf in Zinggen

Brennerstrasse 37, 39042 Bressanone

4th Sunday of the month at 6 pm, all other Sundays and holidays at 9.30 am

Bolzano (Bozen)

German Church of St. George

Weggensteinstraße 14, 39100 Bolzano

3rd Sunday of the month at 6 pm

See also:

Priestly figures: Pastor Josef von Zieglauer and the Tridentine Mass in the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone

Text: Martha Burger

Image: Wikicommons / Information Sheet of the FSSP (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

30 Years of the FSSP — New Website

30 years of the Society of Saint Peter - new website

(Berne) The General House of the FSSP has a new website.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its founding, the Fraternal Society of St. Peter  (FSSP), established in 1988, presents itself on the Internet with a new image. The initiative comes from the General House of the Ecclesia Dei Community, which is located in Friborg, Switzerland. The founding date is July 18, 1988, when twelve priests and seminarians completed the foundation in the Swiss Abbey of Hauterive in the canton of Friborg.

The website provides information about the traditional community, introduces the Superior General and his assistants as well as the various districts.

As a "joint mission" of the Society, the site says:

"This communal mission has a twofold aspect: first, the sanctification and formation of priests in the traditional liturgy commonly called the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite. Second, the care of souls and the pastoral work of priests in the service of the Church.”

The Superior General is Fr. John Berg. He is assisted by Father José Calvin, Fr. Patrick du Faÿ de Choisinet (at the same time Rector of the Seminary of St. Peter in Wigratzbad) and Fr. Andrzej Komorowski (at the same time General Treasurer), and Fr. John Brancich and Fr. Josef Bisig as counselors. The Office of the Secretary-General currently is exercised by P. Arnaud Evrat. German-speaking district superior is P. Bernhard Gerstle.

The worldwide offices and apostolates of the Brotherhood are listed and should be clearly displayed on an interactive map. The latter does not work, however. With reworks is therefore to be expected

Today, the Brotherhood of St. Peter has 287 priests and 150 seminarians. Its affiliated Confraternity St. Peter  includes almost 6,000 laymen.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: fssp.org (screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

New FSSP Ordinations in Germany by Cardinal Burke

Edit: this is from the FSSP site with thanks from Accion Liturgica. There are plenty of pictures at the Society site with Cardinal Burke presiding:

The priestly ordinations of this academic end of year were conferred on Saturday, July 1st in the parish church of Lindenberg. The pontiff was His Eminence Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, cardinal-patron of the Order of Malta. 

- Abbé  Thibault Desjars of Keranrouë ( French, 30 years old)

- Abbot  Jakub Kaminski ( Polish, 31 years old)

- Abbé  Edouard Laurant ( French, 26 years old)

- Abbé  Henri Lefer ( French, 26 years old)

- Abbot  Štěpán Šrubař ( Czech, 26 years old)

- Abbot  Roland Weiß ( German, 30 years)

Deo gratias!

AMDG

New Peak in Membership in the Fraternity of Saint Peter -- Request by the Faithful of Bishop Zdarsa

Positive growth in the Fraternity of Saint Peter. Deaconal Ordination
in Lindau

(Wigratzbad) The Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) has published the latest statistics of its personnel. The community of world priests, who cultivate the traditional Roman Rite and teach tradition, currently has 270 priests, 23 deacons and 132 seminarians.

The priestly brotherhood was established in July 1988 as a clerical society of apostolic life. It was founded by six members of the Society of Saint Pius X, who did not want to take the step to  break with Rome, which was undertaken by the bishops who were participated in the episcopal consecrations not allowed by Pope John Paul II.

During the founding month, the founders were received in audience with  Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. They wanted to continue the work of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in an ecclesiastical framework and in unity with Rome. Rome offered  them a quick canonical recognition. As early as 18 October 1988, the Holy See established then as a society of papal law. 2003 was the final recognition by Rome.

As a result of the events of July 1988, a new space in the Church had apparently emerged for another priestly society, which was bound to  tradition. While the Society continued its growth outside of Church recognition, the new establishement of the Society of Peter grew within it. It was not just a matter of course.

425 Members in 117 Branches

Obviously there was and is need. The Fraternity occupies a special task in priestly education. In Germany a priest's seminary is held in German and French, in the USA and in Australia, two seminaries in English. In Mexico, a Spanish priestly seminary is under construction.

Since its inception the Society of Saint Peter has experienced  steady growth. Over the past twelve years, an average of eleven new priests have been consecrated to the Society every year. In 2016, 16 new priests were consecrated. In 1988 there were six founding fathers at the beginning. In 1992 the Society already had over 100 members, In 1997, 200, 2006, 300 and 2014, 400. Today, there are 425 members.

The Society  has 117 branches worldwide, including 82 canonically built houses. From these, 226 locations are supervised in 124 dioceses. The number of parishioners supported by the Society  is 38. 51 Society Brothers come from the Federal Republic of Germany, 13 from Austria and three from Switzerland. The German district is responsible for 68 locations in 23 dioceses.

Founded in 2007, the Confraternity of Saint Peter , an association for the faithful, who feel particularly indebted to the FSSP and want to support their apostolate through prayer and sacrifice, counts 5,231 members. 856 of them come from the German-speaking areas.

Prayer Site Wigratzbad to the Fraternity of Saint Peter

Diocesan Prayer Site Wigratzbad

In the German-speaking world, it is the special wish of many faithful, considering the generous and paternal gesture by Bishop Konrad Zdarsa of Augsburg. Since the oldest priestly seminary in the Society is located in Wigratzbad, and this place is especially connected to a place of prayer, there is a desire that the diocesan place of prayer be entrusted to the Society. Since 1976, the prayer site has been managed and supervised by a diocesan priest, who is the director of the prayer place. In 2011, the acting Prayer Director was appointed. The relationship with this priest and the seminary has not been entirely  friction-free due to incomprehensible unkindness.

Through the seminary there are  many priests and seminarians who are available for the pastoral care, service of the altar and the care of the pilgrims. Liturgical points of friction, as they were provoked by unnecessary reconstruction work of the altar room of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Sacred Heart of the Virgin Mary, are to be automatically repaired. In times of priest shortage, the diocese would have more priests  available for other tasks, the Wigratzbad prayer site would be in the best hands and would create a precious spiritual center of  Roman tradition in the diocese, which is rich in other pilgrimage churches.

Text: Gottfried Enderle
Image: Fssp.org/gebetsstaette.de (screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Katholisches...
AMDG

Fraternity of Saint Peter Relocated from Capuchin Church in Vienna to Paulaner Church

(Vienna) The Vienna branch, which was founded in 1988 FSSP, will  lose after 18 years, the famous Capuchin Church as a permanent Mass site.

"After about eighteen years in which we were allowed to be hosted by  the Capuchins, we have to give up the cherished Capuchin Church in downtown as a place of worship,"  announced  the local superior, Father Florian Grafl, in his preface to the March newsletter, has  received "a melancholy aftertaste" this year of "joy and jubilation over the high holy Easter."

April 2nd, the white Saturday in the Octave of Easter "will be the last day on which the weekday Mass at 8:00 am will be said in the Capuchin church."

There is No Reason for the Eviction

New Mass location: Wiedner parish church of the Holy Guardian Angels (Pauline Church)

One reason for the termination of the right of hospitality by the Capuchins was not disclosed.

The "termination"  took place a complete surprise.Nevertheless, it was Father Grafl, who will announce a new Mass location: "On White Sunday, April 3, Holy Mass will be said in the traditional Rite in the Schutzengelkirche (Pauline Church) [Church of the Guardian Angels] at Wiedner Hauptstraße."

The Fraternity of St. Peter was offered by Msgr. Franz Wilfinger, the pastor at the Paulaner Church,  "generously, a new home."

The Guardian Angels Church, also known as Pauline Church, is the parish church of the district of Wieden at Wiedner Hauptstraße Nr. 21 in the fourth district of Vienna. The first mention of the church dates back to 1211. It came to be through a donation in 1353 by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Spirit founded by Louie Anjou. In 1529 the Church was destroyed during the first Turkish siege. Since the members of the Order were scattered, it was dissolved.

"New home" in the Wiedner Parish

In 1626 Emperor Ferdinand II. in the course of the Counter-Reformation, called upon the Pauline Order founded by Francis of Paola 1435, to Vienna. The "Least of Brothers," as the members of the strict mendicant order call themselves, erected the first Paulaner church in 1651, consecrated to the Holy Guardian Angels. During the second Turkish siege of 1683, the church was destroyed again. This time as a precaution by the Vienna City defenders to leave the Turks no secure position for the attack. After the war,  the third and present church was built.

The storming of the monasteries of Emperor Joseph II.  was  in 1784 and the Viennese Paulaner monastery was a victim.The monastery buildings were almost completely raised. The only remainder is the presbytery which is used for that purpose today.

Capuchin Crypt, the grave where  the Habsburgs lay

The Fraternity of St. Peter in Vienna does not have its own church and is therefore dependent on hospitality at a parish or religious order,  the church of a rector. A canonical erection as an Old Rite personal parish for the Archdiocese of Vienna has not been  previously discussed. So far there is not one in all of Austria.

The Vienna Capuchin convent currently consists of ten brothers. seven of whom are priests. One of the tasks of the monastery is the custody of the Capuchin Crypt, the place of repose until 1918, of the ruling house of Habsburg.  The last, Otto von Habsburg and his wife Regina von Saxon were buried in the Imperial Crypt in 2011.

The Capuchins describe "necessary renovations" as the reason for the eviction. Finally, the church interior was subjected to a thorough renovation in 1976.

Text: Martha Weinzl 
Image: Wikicommons

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches... 

AMDG

From Empty Seminaries to Full Seminaries -- Ordinations at the Society of St. Peter

(Wigratzbad) Last Saturday, Bishop Vitus Huonder of Chur ordained 11 subdeacons of the Fraternity of St. Peter. At the same time the Bishop of Chur ordained 15 seminarians in the traditional rite to minor orders as porters and lectors. Five seminarians were ordained exorcist and acolyte. All ordinands are preparing for the priesthood at the International Seminary of the Society St. Peter of Peter (FSSP) in Wigratzbad in the diocese of Augsburg near Lake Constance.

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This coming February 20th, there will be another 13 subdeacons  ordained at the second international seminary of the FSSP in the US. "Therefore, there is a realistic prospect that in 2017, 24 new priests are to be ordained for this old ritual community," said Messa in Latino .That would be twice the average of the past twelve years.

"Perhaps we should make the Holy Father aware that there are not just empty seminaries, but also full seminaries when he complains of the lack of priests next time. And that there will be a reason when there are the seminaries of tradition that are full," says Messa in Latino alluding to the speech of Pope Francis last February 1st, to participants at the conclusion of the Year of Consecrated Life .

At the Pontifical Mass, Bishop Huonder was assisted by Father Arnaud Evrat, the General Secretary of the Society of St. Peter, Father Jean-Laurent Lefevre, House Master of the Establishment at Fontainebleau, and Father Christian  Jäger, Administrator for the Apostolate of the Society of St. Peter in Munich.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: FSSP Wigratzbad (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to more photos @ Katholisches...

AMDG

Images of FSSP Parish Holy Family in Vancouver

Edit: Vancouver has always been a little more conservative. These are pleasing images of youth, vibrancy and hope.

Founder of Juventutem Invited by Benedict XVI.

 (Vatican) Benedict XVI. received two representatives of tradition on 1 September, : the founder and treasurer of the Foederatio Internationalis Juventutem (IFJ)  traditional youth and the director of the International Pilgrimage of Tradition, Populus Summorum Pontificum.  From 23-26th October 2014  there will be  a third International pilgrimage to Rome.

Cosimo Marti of Juventutem and Giuseppe Capoccia of Summorum Pontificum Populus received late Monday afternoon in the Vatican.   Cosimo Marti had asked in vain for an audience with the Pope before the resignation of Benedict XVI. Last July, he received a surprise letter from the Apostolic Nunciature in Bern. In the Swiss capital, the headquarters of Juventutem.

The Nunciature sent a letter from Curial Archbishop Georg Gänswein. It contained an invitation,  no longer expected,   to a meeting with Benedict XVI.  Marti had assumed that his application had been filed with the resignation and had not expected a reaction.

The letter stated that he could bring a companion. Marti chose Giuseppe Capoccia, Director of Summorum Pontificum Coetus Internationalis , who has organized the International Pilgrimage of Tradition in Rome since 2012 Summorum Pontificum Populus. The pilgrimage will take place in 2014 for the third time at the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, Peter, in St. Petersdom. The pilgrimage  is being held out of gratitude for the 2007 Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum granted by Pope Benedict XVI., to free  all priests in the celebration of the traditional form of the Roman rite.

2014: 10 years Juventutem

Juventutem, the Youth of Tradition

Since the International Federation Juventutem 2014 is having ts 10th anniversary, there is a pivot point of this year's pilgrimage. Cardinal George Pell, the prefect of the Economic Secretariat of the Holy See will celebrate Pontifical High Mass on this occasion on October 24 in the church of the Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini of the Fraternity of St. Peter in Rome. Ecclesiastical Assistant of Juventutem is Father Armand de Malleray of the Fraternity of St. Peter .

The highlight of the pilgrimage will be on Saturday, October 25,  at the Pontifical Office in St. Peter's Basilica, which will be celebrated in 2014 by Cardinal Raymond Burke. On Sunday, October 26, the youth from Juventutem   will visit the Benedictine Monastery of Norcia, where Cardinal Walter Brandmüller will give a sermon and Holy Mass in the Immemorial Rite.

Immemorial Mass for Juventutem at WYD 2005 in Cologne signaled a Liturgical Turning Point

Cardinal Pell had already celebrated the Traditional Rite for Juventutem in 2005 at WYD in Cologne  as the umbrella organization of traditional youth organization took part for the first time in an official event of the Catholic Church. WYD 2005 was also the first time once again, that the Old Rite had been celebrated in an official event, a major Church. The Old Mass at World Youth Day in Cologne signaled, only a few months after the election of Benedict XVI., the beginning of a liturgical change.

Two years after the Cologne, the same Pope granted the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum . He is also thought of  the thousands of young people with Juventutem who had come to Cologne, where he wrote in the accompanying letter to the bishops, which was published with the motu proprio:

"Immediately after the Second Vatican Council it was presumed that requests for the use of the 1962 Missal would be limited to the older generation which had grown up with it, but in the meantime it has clearly been demonstrated that young persons too have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, particularly suited to them. "

The former opinion, that the "request" was restrictive to the older generation, or should be limited, seems to be something to which the successor of Benedict XVI., Pope Francis is still attached. In the ad limina visit of the Czech bishops last February, Francis wondered aloud to Archbishop of Olomouc Graubner in January at the fact that young Catholics interested in the traditional rite:

"When I think about it more thoroughly, I find that it is rather a kind of fashion. And because it is a fashion, therefore we must not give it so much attention. "

The contents of what took place on Monday during the meeting with Benedict XVI. is not yet known. Before the meeting Cosimo Marti and Giuseppe Capoccia, said the French site Notions Romaines, it was their desire to express the loyalty and gratitude as representatives  of traditional youth to Benedict XVI.. Otherwise  the encounter was left to Providence and the emeritus pope.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Notions Romaines / Juventutem

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG