Bishop Frank Caggiano has informed us that the weekly Saturday 8 AM Missa Cantata at St. Mary Church, Greenwich, CT will continue.

See our original post regarding this mass.

UPDATE: I have added some clarifying comments and notes here and there in this article.

I recently paid a visit to the neighborhood of Columbia University. That institution is currently almost on lockdown,  with all the entrances to the “quad” controlled by security guards. We all have heard of the recent clashes related to Gaza.  But this security and surveillance environment is more fundamentally the inevitable result of the woke ideological domination there. As for the Catholic Church, its presence near Columbia is divided between two churches, Corpus Christi to the north on West 121st St. and Notre Dame to the south on West 114th St. (I recognize that the Catholic churches I am discussing have responsibilities beyond just caring for the Columbia Univerity community; I think that aspect, however, is more interesting to outsiders.)

For decades the face of Catholicism to the Columbia University community was Corpus Christi parish – culminating in the idiosyncratic regime of Msgr. Myles M. Bourke from the 1960’s until 1992. He did foster his own unique liturgy – nevertheless he was devoted to Catholic truth and above all to the continuation of an outstanding music program superior to that of almost any other church of the archdiocese of New York.

Since his departure, the ecclesiastical situation between West 144 and West 121 Streets has been fluid. Institutions, personnel and philosophies have abruptly appeared and disappeared – sometimes very publicly, often with little notice or explanation. Notre Dame parish, originally separate from this world, was drawn into it when the chaplaincy of Columbia university was first shifted there. 

Currently there is now one Catholic parish:  the “Parish of Corpus Christi and Notre Dame.”  The “parish church” of the united entity is Corpus Christi church.  The chaplaincy of Columbia University, however, was installed in the rectory of Notre Dame parish – at considerable expense.(initally a figure of $10 million was claimed) I believe the intent of these changes is to make Notre Dame primarily a chapel for the Columbia community while Corpus Christi retains its status as the local Catholic parish.(see footnote 4 below)

This return of the chaplaincy to Notre Dame – it had already operated out of that church between 2003 and 2011 – should be a significant upgrading of the architectural image of the Catholic church in the eyes of the students and faculty of Columbia. For Corpus Christi church, however elegant, was designed in the 1930’s in part to appeal to the supposed expectations of protestant America. Notre Dame church, on the other hand,  is exuberantly Catholic – even baroque, if in a restrained, classicizing 17^thcentury French form. 

Undeniably,  positive changes have been made under the united parish’s current leadership. At Corpus Christi church, the tabernacle has been returned to the center of the high altar. Indeed, the parish bulletin compared the new arrangement of the tabernacle with a photograph of the 1950s. And, by all appearances, Corpus Christi’s tradition of musical excellence continues – backed by financial support independent of the parish.

Analogous changes to the layout of the church of Notre Dame also have been made, if with less publicity. At some point in the recent past, an altar – and the tabernacle – were placed, rather incongruously, inside the church’s Lourdes Grotto, which now serves as a kind of Lady Chapel. The previous location of the tabernacle in a side chapel has been terminated; whether the Blessed Sacrament in this church has now been restored to the “center of the sanctuary” literally depends on your point of view.

I recently attended the 12:10 PM weekday mass in the Grotto. A congregation of 25 to 50 was present, which isn’t bad at all for New York City ( I would guess 150 or so attend the weekday mass at around the same time at St. Patrick’s cathedral). The priest gave a detailed explanation of  Saint Albert the Great which particularly impressed me as I had studied in Cologne where the saint is buried. The mass concluded with the recitation of the prayer to Saint Michael and the singing of the Salve Regina. Both would have been virtually unthinkable at the campus ministries (including those of “Catholic” universities) of  the 1970’s.

Yet how sustainable are these gains? As the recent history of these two  churches near Columbia has shown,  in the current state of the Roman Catholic Church everything depends on the personality of the current pastor (and bishop). Yes, remarkable achievements have been made, but at the same time attitudes and ideologies persist that implicitly or expressly challenge these accomplishments. For example, the pastor of Corpus Christi has emphasized the role of the restoration of the tabernacle to its central place as a key step in the “eucharistic revival” in the Church. 1) Yet, a month earlier, in the same bulletin of this church, a lengthy quotation of Cardinal Cupich appeared:

As Cardinal Cupich and other commentators have recently noted, since the Eucharist is our Life, it is more an action (taking, blessing, breaking and sharing) than an object. We should focus on the dynamic action and prophetic challenge of the Eucharist….more than on the worship of Jesus present on the altar. Likewise, our liturgy should be a community action and consciousness, rather than an act of individual piety. The very fact that the Eucharist is under the forms of bread and wine shows that it is essentially transitory, made to be consumed by us to transform us, all together into the Body of Christ….2)

Cupich clearly is setting forth the reasons why the tabernacle was moved off the high altar in the first place. 

Further, the Catholic chaplaincy also has just offered the “Annual Thomas Merton Retreat” led by Robert Ellsberg,  the son of Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame. He has long been a stalwart of Catholic religious and political radicalism. The advance publicity for the retreat would seem to promise an uncritical presentation of the thought of Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day, among others. And of course, Ellsberg now can draw on papal authority:

Pope Francis has distinguished between what he calls a “laboratory faith” and a “journey faith.”  The first can appear like a “compendium of abstract truths” while in a “journey faith” we find God along the way…3)

We could also mention the uncertain existence of the mysterious “personal parish” of St. John Henry Newman for the students and faculty of Columbia University. 4)  And Fr. Roger Landry, installed as chaplain to Columbia University with great fanfare in 2022, and who led a procession with the Blessed Sacrament at Columbia this year is leaving at the end of December 2024 for bigger if not better administrative responsibilities. 5) The parish of Corpus Christi and Notre Dame also has more mundane problems not dissimilar to those besetting many parishes in the city and beyond. The number of masses in the combined parish has had to be reduced because of the shortage of clergy. A French Sunday school associated with the historic French mission of Notre Dame parish recently moved out because of the lack of French families living in the vicinity of Notre Dame parish.

In summary, much has been improved on the Upper West Side. Yet, as always in the Novus Ordo, all such favorable developments remain linked to the current leadership of the parish. With new clergy, a different direction could be taken. That is why traditionalists place their trust not on present spiritual leaders,  however charismatic, but on the fulness of the faith, in liturgy, theology and morality.  

(Above) One of the plaques in their original location – St. Vincent de Paul church. Perhaps we cannot fully comprehend the identification of the French cause in World War I with the will of God. (Photo 6/2008)

(Above) Commemorating the reinstallation in 2017 of these memorials in Notre Dame parish. Perhaps if these worthies had shown more energy in the past St. Vincent de Paul parish could have been saved. (Photo 11/2024)

1. Parish Bulletin, August 18, 2024. (with a picture from the 1950’s!) The bulletin claims the move of the tabernacle to the side altar (or room) was made around 1990. Also: “This restoration is part of a larger, more long-term renovation, in which we plan to move the baptismal font to where the tabernacle has been, and to install an accessible restroom where the baptismal font currently sits.” (Accessed 11/16/2024)
2.  Parish bulletin, July 14, 2024. (Accessed 11/16/2024)
3. Corpus Christi Chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society, “A Journey Faith (sic): walking with Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day and other Companions along the Way,” (handout in Corpus Christi church; no author given)
4. “Decree erecting the Personal Parish of Saint John Henry Newman for the Pastoral Care at Columbia University in New York” (9/28/2023). “The church of Notre Dame, in the parish of Corpus Christi and Notre Dame, is herewith designated as the parish church of the newly erected personal parish.”
5. Murphy, Alyssa, “‘Luckiest Priest in America’ Leads His Last Eucharistic Procession on Campus,” National Catholic Register ( 11/12/2024) (Accessed 11/16/2024)

Nov. 26, 2024 Update: Bishop Caggiano has informed us that this Traditional Mass will continue!

The weekly Saturday 8 AM Missa Cantata at St. Mary Church, Greenwich will be discontinued at the end of January 2025 at the direction of Bishop Caggiano.  As we understand it, the celebrant, Fr. Carl McIntosh, was only given permission to celebrate this traditional Mass until his time of retirement, which now will be the end of January.  

Fr. McIntosh began celebrating a Saturday morning Missa Cantata in early 2021 at his parish, St. Roch Church, also in Greenwich.  In 2023, in the wake of Traditionis Custodes, he was ordered to move the Mass out of the church,   into a room in the school building next door.  Later, the pastor of St. Mary church on Greenwich Ave. welcomed the Mass to his basement chapel.

Few of the locals know about this gem of Mass, as it was not mentioned in the church bulletin.   Early rising joggers and dog walkers pass the door to the chapel, which has been propped open, unaware of the beautiful, chanted liturgy that is unfolding within.  Regulars at this Mass found out about it by word of mouth or from notices in this blog.    

The 8 AM Mass is, on a very small scale, a remarkable achievement, evidencing the power of the traditional liturgy. This Mass is a Missa Cantata  – at a very unusual time for such a liturgy! In particular, the music was performed at a very high level – equaling or exceeding what would have been heard at the Sunday Masses of a major parish in 1962! On at least one occasion, a solemn Mass was even celebrated.

And attendance at the Saturday Mass always recovered from the changes of location – it was a minor miracle of dedication, persistence, and devotion. Despite these “spiritual benefits,”  it was more important to the diocese that this Mass first be exiled and then suppressed.  

Do I need to mention that, to the best of my knowledge, Bishop Caggiano has at no time seen fit to communicate with any of the congregation regarding his decisions throughout these four years? The entire discussion has been among the clergy. 

We urge you, if you care about this Mass, to write to Bishop Caggiano asking him to allow Fr. McIntosh to continue celebrating this Mass.  Fr. McIntosh is in fact very interested and available.  You might mention that there are no close Traditional Mass options nearby at that time.  Sts. Cyril and Methodius, which has an 8:30 AM Mass, is 45 minutes away.  Indeed,  there are few Saturday morning Novus Ordo Masses in the area.  

Tuesday Nov. 5th: St. Mary of Mt. Virgin, New Brunswick, NJ, Sung Requiem Mass, 7 pm

Wednesday, Nov. 6th: St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, Solemn Requiem Mass 1:15 pm. Missa pro Defunctis by Claudio Casiolini.

Thursday, Nov. 7th, Carmelite Monastery, 189 Madison Ave. Morristown, NJ, 7 pm the Purgatorial Society of Andrew Avellino 4th Requiem Mass of the 2024 year

Thursday, November 7, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New York, NY,  
6:00 PM – Confessions; 7:00 PM, Requiem Mass, Missa Cantata
(A Missa Cantata is offered on the First Thursday of the Month with Confessions before Mass, the Sermon is preached in Polish and a Coffee Hour usually follows the Mass. All are welcome to this Mass organized by the Polish Apostolate. There is an accessible lift at the 115th Street entrance and parking is available on a first come, first serve basis at the 116th Street driveway.)

Friday, November 8, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New York, NY,  6:00 P.M. Confessions; 7:00 P.M. Anniversary Requiem Mass, Missa Cantata for the deceased members of the Regina Coeli Council #423 of the Knights of Columbus, Sermon and Absolution at the Catafalque. 8:00 P.M. Talk with Father Fidelis Moscinski CFR in the Parish Hall.

Monday, Nov. 11, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Bridgeport, 6 pm, Armistice Day Requiem. Requiem High Mass for all the War Dead, particularly those of our parish. Absolution at the catafalque after Mass, followed by the placing of a wreath on the war memorial.

Wednesday, Nov. 13: Annunciation Church, Crestwood, NY, Annual Requiem Mass for Deceased Priests and Religious of the Archdiocese, 7 pm Upper Church

Tuesday, Nov. 26: St. Ann Church, Hampton, NJ, 7 pm, Traditional Latin Vespers for the Dead. Enroll deceased at PurgatorialSociety.org

On Saturday October 26, pilgrims to the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage in Rome processed to St. Peter’s Basilica led by his Excellency Marian Eleganti, bishop emeritus of Chur, Switzerland.

All Saints Day, Friday Nov. 1

Connecticut

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, 8 am and 12:10 pm low Masses; Solemn Mass 7 pm

Sacred Heart Oratory, Redding, 6 pm

Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Bridgeport, 7:45 am low Mass; 6 pm high Mass

St. Patrick Oratory, Waterbury, 8 am low Mass; 6 pm High Mass

St. Martha Church, Enfield, 7 pm

New York

Holy Innocents Church, New York, NY, 8 am Low Mass; 6 pm High Mass

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New York, NY, 7 am and 7:45 am, low Masses; 7 pm Missa Cantata.

St. Josaphat Church, Bayside, Queens, 7 pm

St. Rocco Church, Glen Cove, Long Island, 7 pm Missa Cantata

St. Matthew Church, Dix Hills, Long Island, 10:30 am

St. Paul the Apostle, Yonkers, 12 noon

Annunciation Church, Crestwood, 7 pm Missa Cantata

Immaculate Conception, Sleepy Hollow, 5 pm Low Mass.

Church of the Holy Trinity, Poughkeepsie, 7 pm

St. Mary and St. Andrew, Ellenville, 7 pm

New Jersey

Our Lady of Sorrows, Jersey City, 5 pm

Our Lady of Victory, Harrington Park, 5:30 pm

St. Anthony of Padua Oratory, West Orange, 9 am low Mass; 7 pm high Mass

Our Lady of Fatima, Pequannock, 7 am, 9 am, 12 noon, 7 pm

Corpus Christi, South River, 7 pm, Missa Cantata. Confessions at 6 pm.

Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, Raritan, 7 pm Missa Cantata

All Souls Day, Saturday Nov. 2

Connecticut

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, Solemn Requiem Mass, 9 am

St. Mary Church, Greenwich, Missa Cantata, 8 am. ( In the lower chapel, accessed from the outside entrance to the left of the main entrance.)

Sacred Heart Oratory, Redding, 6 pm Solemn Requiem Mass

Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Bridgeport, 8:30 am and 9:10 am low Masses, 10:15 am high Masses

St. Patrick Oratory, Waterbury, 8 am and 9 am low Masses; 10 am High Mass

St. Martha Church, Enfield, 9 am

New York

Holy Innocents, New York, NY, 11 am and 11:30 am, low Masses; 1:30 High Mass

St. Vincent Ferrer Church, New York, NY, 9:30 am, Requiem Mass in Dominican Rite. Mozart Requiem.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New York, NY, 7 am, low Mass; 9 am Sung Requiem Mass and absolution at the catafalque

St. Josaphat Church, Bayside, Queens, 10 am Sung Requiem Mass. Gabriel Faure’s Requiem in D Minor.

St. Margaret of Cortona, Bronx, 12 noon, Solemn Requiem Mass.

St. Rocco Church, Glen Cove, Long Island, 10 am Missa Cantata

St. Paul the Apostle, Yonkers, 12 noon

Annunciation Church, Crestwood, 2 pm Missa Cantata

Church of the Holy Trinity, Poughkeepsie, 11 am, Sung Requiem Mass

St. Joseph Church, Middletown, 11 am

New Jersey

Our Lady of Sorrows, Jersey City, 11 am. The Ordinary of the Mass will be the Jommelli Requiem with choir and orchestra

St. Anthony of Padua Oratory, West Orange, 9 am Requiem Low Mass; 11 am Requiem High Mass

Our Lady of Fatima, Pequannock, 7 am, 9 am

Corpus Christis, South River, 12 noon, sung Mass. Confessions and Rosary at 11 am

Shrine Chapel of the Blesses Sacrament, Raritan, 10 am Solemn Requiem Mass with choir, strings and pipe organ singing Requiem in D Minor by Gabriel Faure.

Other Scheduled Requiem Masses

Tuesday Nov. 5th: St. Mary of Mt. Virgin, New Brunswick, NJ, Sung Requiem Mass, 7 pm

Wednesday, Nov. 6th: St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, Solemn Requiem Mass 1:15 pm. Missa pro Defunctis by Claudio Casiolini.

Thursday, Nov. 7th, Carmelite Monastery, 189 Madison Ave. Morristown, NJ, 7 pm the Purgatorial Society of Andrew Avellino 4th Requiem Mass of the 2024 year

Wednesday, Nov. 13: Annunciation Church, Crestwood, NY, Annual Requiem Mass for Deceased Priests and Religious of the Archdiocese, 7 pm Upper Church

Last weekend for the Feast of Christ the King, Catholics from around the world gathered in Rome for the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage to demonstrate their devotion to the Traditional Liturgy of the Church.

On Friday Evening, October 25, Solemn Vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary were celebrated in the Pantheon, Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs, in Rome. The celebrant was Bishop Marian Eleganti O.S.B., auxiliary bishop emeritus of Chur, Switzerland.

Catholic Church suspends operations at Connelly Theater in flap over controversial plays….

After the New York archdiocese prevented the production of “Becoming Eve” at the church-owned Connelly theater, the general manager resigned in prostest. The theater itself announced that it is ceasing operations with no sign when, or if, it will reopen.

This came after the archdiocese, which owns the Connelly Theater, prevented New York Theatre Workshop from putting on the play “Becoming Eve,” which tells the story of a transgender woman within the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. 1)

Well, since 1993 this building has housed the “Cornelia Connelly Center,” an initiative of the Sisters of the Holy Child aimed at “disadvantaged” girls. The name is that of the foundress of the Holy Child schools. The Catholic faith is still present on East 4th Street today, but cannot be said to feature prominently in the school’s publicity. And how long will the school remain here? From the strategic plan of the Cornelia Connelly Center:

 Continue to utilize and maintain the building at 220 East 4th Street.
 Explore options for alternate locations once our lease expires. 2)

The theater in the school building has been leased out for years to various off-broadway productions.

Now it is welcome news that the archdiocese is finally paying attention to what takes place on its properties. But is what was proposed to be shown at Connelly that different in spirit from a recent event at St. Patrick’s cathedral itself?3)

1. Blum, Gillian, “Catholic Church suspends operations at Connelly Theater in flap over controversial plays“ The Spirit (10/28/2024)
2. Cornelia Connelly Center, “Strategic Plan 2021-2026.” About the school see connellycenter.org
3. See “Rosary Rally Organized as Act of Reparation for Sacrilege at St. Patrick’s Cathedral,” The Society of St Hugh of Cluny (2/23/2024)

We recently attended Saturday afternoon mass at the Priory of the Annunciation in Charles Town, West Virginia together with some other pilgrims who had participated in the National Latin Mass Pilgrimage in Washington. This was the (only?) opportunity to attend a traditional mass that afternoon in the greater Washington area. (Charles Town is more than an hour’s drive from Arlington, Virginia, where the pilgrimage commenced.)

Mass was celebrated by a priest of the Augustinian Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem. Since our last visit in 2014, the canons have accomplished remarkable things in restoration of their priory. The sumptuously decorated chancel (sanctuary ) and side altars are reminiscent now of medieval England, now of a Byzantine church. This is Catholic art as it should be: overflowing and superabundant.

(Above) The priory today; (below) in 2014.

Website of the Priory.