We have received a report from Arrys Ortanez that the last Traditional Mass in St Agnes Church, New York, was celebrated today. I have not found any published announcement of this in the pages of the St. Agnes parish bulletin – amid that publication’s incessant appeals for money – although mention of the traditional Mass had disappeared from the Mass schedule early this year. I am not at all surprised – in recent years there had been repeated conflicts between the Latin Mass congregation and St. Agnes pastors on a variety of fronts. Certainly the transfer of the parish to Opus Dei in 2016 did not bode well for the long-term prospects of the Latin Mass given that organization’s well known hostility to Traditionalists.

Still, it is a sad event. St. Agnes saw the institution in January 1989 of one of the first regular traditional Masses in the New York Archdiocese after the promulgation of the 1988 Indult. This was in the old church, subsequently destroyed by fire. It also was at a time when a remarkable group of priests led by Monsignor Eugene V. Clark operated out of the St Agnes Rectory.

I took my mother to the first – or at least one of the very first – traditional Mass at St Agnes. She was impressed at how many former altar servers were present in the congregation, hearing the audible recitation by so many of the responses. ( I now think that was really because some in the pews were following the practice of the “dialogue Mass” they dimly remembered.) And that Mass continued until this very year, a welcome spiritual resource for so many people. And so many important Masses were celebrated here! – a search of our St. Hugh of Cluny site brings up dozens of posts. The loss of the traditional Mass at St. Agnes is a tragedy, for it was the last relic of a great era of this parish.

On a pilgrimage of the Yale University Alumni Academy to Santiago de Compostela “where it is believed the remains of St. James, Apostle and patron saint of the country, are buried.” You can follow the Camino “during a very special Holy Year.”

Retrace the steps of this revered pilgrimage with daily, invigorating walks ranging from 3-5 miles. Admire spectacular monuments, savor fine cuisine, and spend your nights in deluxe hotels and historic Paradores including some former monasteries.

All for only $7,899 (double occupancy)

For more information see:

El Camino de Santiago

Footsteps of St. James: El Camino de Santiago

(Thanks for the tip to a devoted alumnus of Yale)

Courtesy of Sandro Magister:

A Memorandum on the Next Conclave Is Circulating Among the Cardinals. Here It Is:

Since the beginning of Lent the cardinals who will elect the future pope have been passing this memorandum around. Its author, who goes by the name of Demos, “people” in Greek, is unknown, but shows himself a thorough master of the subject. It cannot be ruled out that he himself is a cardinal. (Sandro Magister)

Commentators of every school, if for different reasons, with the possible exception of Father Spadaro, SJ, agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe.

(…)

(A)    The German synod speaks on homosexuality, women priests, communion for the divorced. The Papacy is silent.

(B)    Cardinal Hollerich rejects the Christian teaching on sexuality. The Papacy is silent. This is doubly significant because the Cardinal is explicitly heretical; he does not use code or hints. If the Cardinal were to continue without Roman correction, this would represent another deeper breakdown of discipline, with few (any?) precedents in history. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith must act and speak. (I should add to this that Cardinal Hollerich of Luxembourg is specifically singled out and commended for his closeness to Pope Francis by the media of the “German Catholic Church.” – SC)

(C)    The silence is emphasised when contrasted with the active persecution of the Traditionalists and the contemplative convents

And much, much more in this explosive document…..

A Memorandum on the Next Conclave Is Circulating Among the Cardinals.

Nevertheless I am mystified by statements such as this:

Schism is not likely to occur from the left, who often sit lightly to doctrinal issues. Schism is more likely to come from the right and is always possible when liturgical tensions are inflamed and not dampened.

Why should the left need to go into schism? As the author shows himself, they are in control of the institution, at least in key locations. And it’s certainly news to me that the left “doesn’t make a big deal” about doctrinal issues. (SC)

The Guild of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus will be inaugurated on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, with Bishop Frank Caggiano during Choral Vespers at Sacred Heart Church in Georgetown/Redding, CT, 30 Church Street. There will be a reception immediately following in Pryor-Hubbard Hall.  

According to the flyer, the Guild is one of three ventures Bishop Caggiano is launching this year to promote truth, beauty and goodness in the Diocese of Bridgeport. The Guild exists to promote and foster beauty in the sacred arts from its base in Georgetown, Connecticut through a full calendar of events and pilgrimages.

The Guild will be planning concerts, discussions on Catholic literature, art, and architecture, sacred music and scholas.