From June 1-4, 2015, an international conference on liturgical formation in light of the new evangelization will be held in New York, under the title:
SACRA LITURGIA USA 2015
CULMEN ET FONS VITÆ ET MISSIONIS ECCLESIÆ

Continuing the initiative of Sacra Liturgia 2013, organized by Bishop Dominique Rey (Fréjus-Toulon, France) in Rome, this conference seeks to support the Church’s saving evangelistic and catechetical mission, as well as the continued revitalization of the liturgical life of the Church, especially in the United States.

The sacred liturgy plays a central, vital role in the new evangelization, attracting souls to the heart of Christ and His Church. For the baptized, the sacred liturgy resides at the heart of the Christian faith and life — indeed it is the “source and summit of the life and mission of the Church.” As Bishop Rey stated at the opening of the 2013 conference in Rome, “The sacred liturgy is not a hobby for specialists. It is central to all our endeavors as disciples of Jesus Christ. This profound reality cannot be overemphasized. We must recognize the primacy of grace in our Christian life and work, and we must respect the reality that in this life the optimal encounter with Christ is in the Sacred Liturgy.”

The conference brings together a wide range of renowned international speakers including Raymond Cardinal Burke; Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone (San Francisco); Dom Phillip Anderson, OSB (Abbot of Clear Creek Monastery); and Dom Alcuin Reid (Monastère Saint-Benoît, Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, France); among others. See the appendix for a complete list of speakers and topics.

Topics addressed at the conference will range from broad subjects like the relationship between liturgy and culture, Catholic identity, youth, the arts, and Catholic education to specific questions like the mid-20th-century changes to Holy Week and the post-Vatican-II reform of the calendar and lectionary. Lectures will take place at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues) which is conveniently located at a subway stop.

The conference lectures will be augmented by working sessions for those in Catholic higher education. Sponsored by The Cardinal Newman Society, the sessions will facilitate a conversation about renewing the liturgical life of Catholic colleges and universities to support the intellectual and moral formation of students and faculty in the Faith.

At the heart of the conference are the liturgical celebrations. There will be Solemn Vespers in the usus antiquior, a Sung Mass in the Dominican rite, and Solemn Pontifical Masses in the usus recentior and usus antiquior. The Solemn Pontifical Mass in the usus antiquior on the feast of Corpus Christi, celebrated on Thursday, June 4th, will be followed by a Eucharistic procession in the streets of New York. Liturgies will be held at the Church of Saint Catherine of Siena (411 E 68th Street), a beautiful Dominican parish on the Upper East Side.
With the prestigious lineup of speakers, as well as the beautiful liturgies planned, those attending the conference will come away with a rich experience of the intellectual heritage and liturgical life of the Catholic faith. The serious intellectual inquiry into the sacred liturgy will prove fruitful for both academics and laymen alike. Attendees will meet Catholics from all over the world, and be afforded the opportunity to build good working relationships with others of those seeking to deepen their love of Christ through the Church’s liturgy, and to continue their work for liturgical renewal.

Approximately 300 participants are expected. Registrations for the whole conference will open on January 1, 2015, and part-time registrations will be possible beginning at Easter. More information about registration, affordable housing, and locations is available at the conference website: www.sacraliturgiausa.org/

The conference is being organized by Rev. Richard Cipolla, Ph.D., D. Phil (Oxon.) and Jennifer Donelson, D.M.A. Media inquiries may be made to contact@sacraliturgiausa.org.

The organizers are grateful to His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan for his kind permission to hold this conference in the Archdiocese of New York, as well as the gracious welcome of the Dominican friars and staff at Saint Catherine of Siena Church. This event could not take place without the generous support of the conference sponsors: the Knights of Columbus, The Cardinal Newman Society, de Montfort Music, Regina Magazine, Granda, Cantica Nova Publications, the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny, and the Church of Saint Catherine of Siena.

List of speakers and conference website

Msgr. Joseph Ambrosio will be having a modified version of the 40 Hours Devotion at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Newark, New Jersey this coming weekend (Friday, Nov. 21st through Sunday, Nov. 23rd).

The hours of exposition are as follows:

Friday, Nov. 21 – 8:30am to 7pm
Saturday, Nov. 22 – 8:30am to 5:30pm (Traditional Mass for Peace at 3pm)
Sunday, Nov. 23 – 12pm to 5pm.

N. B.  A group will be meeting on Saturday Nov. 22 at Holy Innocents Church in Manhattan at 10 am to go as a group via NJ Transit to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Newark.  If you are interested, please contact Eddy Toribo, ejtm83@aol.com.

The parents of Regina Pacis Academy and its sister school, Cardinal Newman Academy, have organized an online auction to raise much-needed funds for the school.  Regina Pacis Academy is an independent Catholic school located in Norwalk, CT.  This year, by permission of Bishop Caggiano, the school has moved into the beautiful school building of St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, CT.

If you could find it in your heart to support this school, you may go online to see many items to bid on in an online auction that culminates next Sunday, November 23, during the school’s fund-raising dinner.

Link to online auction

The school receives no funds from any parish or the diocese.  The parents raise all of the funds through a reasonable tuition and various fund-raisers including this one, the most important of the year.

According to the school’s website:

“Regina Pacis and Cardinal Newman Academies offer students their patrimony in the Catholic Faith within a classical education. Students learn to do all things well, aware that they act in the presence of their heavenly Father. Our teachers demonstrate their witness to the Faith, their dedication to education and their affection for their pupils. The reception of the Sacraments sustains the life of the schools.”

Students assemble for a daily morning assembly.

Father Paul Check, the school’s chaplain, leads students, faculty, and parents in the Angelus, the first of many prayers offered during the school day.

Last Spring, the school was honored by a visit of Bishop Frank Caggiano.  Here he is visiting a Latin class of Cardinal Newman Academy high school students.  The schools instruct all students in Latin, from Kindergarten through twelfth grade.

All students participate in weekly schola practice, receiving instruction in Gregorian Chant. The students chant the divine office once a month, sing at week-day school Masses and on occasion at  Sunday Extraordinary Form Solemn Masses.  Students, parents, and faculty have the opportunity to attend daily Mass before the start of each school day—and most do.  Regular Confession is also available to the students.

Last Spring his Eminence Cardinal Burke visited the school, offered a special Mass, and addressed students, parents and faculty.

Regina Pacis Academy is proud of its yearly drama productions.  Last spring’s play was Robin Hood.

A scene from the beloved annual Christmas pageant

Student Schola performs at the Christmas pageant.

Another annual event that is treasured at the school is the May crowning.

Here is a link to the online auction, where you can provide support for the school.

Online Auction

Regina Pacis Academy website

The Roman Forum has been asked by a number of friends attending the Summer Symposium from June 29th through July 10th, 2015 to organize an eleven-day “introductory tour” of the Greek world preceding the gathering in Gardone Riviera. Fr. Richard Munkelt and Dr. John Rao will be the tour guides. There is space for twelve more participants.
At the moment, the planned date of departure is June 14th, arriving the next morning in Athens. After four nights in Athens (from which we will be visiting Delphi and other surrounding sites of importance), we will tour Epidaurus, Mycenae, Sparta/Mystra, and Monemvasia by means of private vans. From Monemvasia we will travel north by boat, staying a night on the island of Hydra, passing Salamis to spend one last evening in the Athens area. Participants may leave for home from Athens on June 26th, but those taking part in the Summer Symposium will fly to Venice. Tour guests attending the Summer Symposium will remain two nights in Venice, proceeding to Gardone on June 28th.
There will be one lecture each day, either by Fr. Munkelt or Dr. Rao, dealing with Greek History and Culture, as well as Early and Byzantine Christian Civilization.
Exact cost is not yet known. The estimated  amount is c. $2,300 (possibly less).   NB: Participants’ travel costs to and from Greece are not included.

Anyone interested in taking part should contact the Forum at this address/email by January 15th, 2014.

Roman Forum Greece Tour
An Introduction to the Hellenic World
11 Carmine St., Apt. 2C
New York, NY 10014
drjcrao@aol.com