At St. Mary Church, Greenwich, CT, a traditional Mass will be offered on Thursday, February 22 at 7:30 pm, for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter.

.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 15 @ 8 pm – 9:30 pm, Princeton University Chapel, Princeton, NJ: FOURTH ANNUAL TRADITIONAL LATIN HIGH MASS: All are welcome to attend the Fourth Annual Traditional Latin Mass, which will be offered at the Princeton University Chapel, hosted by the Aquinas Institute. The celebrant will be Fr. Hernan Ducci of the Fraternity of St. Joseph the Guardian. 

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 22 @ 7 pm Our Lady of Peace, 620 Amboy Avenue, Fords, NJ 08837. SOLEMN HIGH LATIN MASS FOR THE FEAST OF THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER THE APOSTLE (at Antioch), Rev. David V. Skoblow, Celebrant.  Schola and choir under the direction of  Mr. Anthony R. Nardino of St. Peter’s New Brunswick, NJ, assisted by Mr. Peter A. Carter, of St. John the Baptist, Allentown, NJ. Dessert, coffee and fellowship to follow at the Convivium in the church hall below the sanctuary.

Yesterday evening at St. Mary’s in Norwalk a shrine for the statue of Our Lady of Norwalk was unveiled and dedicated. The local artists who created the shrine were in attendance, Henry Egan, artist, and Alonso Florez, master woodworker. Also in attendance was Harry Rilling, the Mayor of Norwalk. Fr. Cipolla explained the iconography of the statue and shrine. “The oyster shell she holds in the symbol of Norwalk, oysters having a particular symbiosis with the city. The Child holds a pearl, for it is He who is the Pearl of Great Price, who died and rose that we might live.”

The right panel shows St. Mary’s Church

The left panel shows an oyster fisherman, with the Norwalk islands in the background. Is this a likeness of Fr. Cipolla? He explained in his sermon that an oyster fisherman is like a priest who uses his rake to dig for souls.

At the top of each panel is an oyster with a pearl.

Behind Our Lady is her throne surrounded by saints and angels.

Solemn Mass was celebrated with the usual large assembly of altar boys.

The combined choirs of St. Mary’s performed,  under the coordinated direction of both David Hughes and Charles Weaver.

After the Mass, a procession to the new shrine of Our Lady

Fr. Cipolla blesses the shrine.

A reception featuring fresh oysters and clams, and cava.

Fr. Cipolla, honorary oyster fisherman.

But the star of the reception was Fr. Donald Kloster, the new curate, who arrived at the parish on Monday.

Thanks for Arrys Ortanez for providing these photos from the  Mass and blessing of candles for the Feast of the Purification at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Brooklyn.

This Wednesday, February 6, St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, Ct, will offer a solemn Mass to dedicate a new shrine to Our Lady of Norwalk at 6 pm. All choirs of St. Mary’s will participate. A special reception will follow in the parish hall.

Fr. Cipolla recently wrote about the new shrine:

At the beginning of last summer I commissioned a local woodworker to build a medieval triptych that would be the basis for a true Shrine of Our Lady of Norwalk. . . .
Then I had to find a painter who understood medieval painting techniques and who would have great empathy with the project itself. I interviewed three local artists and made a decision, based on the recommendation of a friend of St. Mary’s, to hire the artist who would paint the triptych, who, by the way, has roots in Norwalk. . . .
The statue of Our Lady of Norwalk will sit on a platform that projects out from the center of the triptych. The left panel has a painting of St. Mary’s church. The right panel shows an oyster fisherman in full gear, with the Norwalk islands in the background. The central panel depicts Mary’s throne with saints surrounding. How fitting all of this is for Norwalk, which is the geographical center of the shoreline of Fairfield County and which is the locus of the Mother Church of so many parishes in this diocese. How fitting this is for our Lady and her Son to guide as a supernatural Lighthouse this special parish with its special mission of true liturgical renewal at a time when the Church so sorely needs this!

This Sunday, February 4, at 3 pm is the first of a series of Rosary concerts at St. Mary’s Norwalk.  This week’s concert, dedicated to the Joyful Mysteries,  features David Hughes, St. Mary’s Church music director, on the organ.

Father Hernan Ducci of the Fraternity of Saint Joseph the Guardian will preach a Lenten retreat based on the Ignatian Exercises at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, located at 1282 Yardville-Allentown Road, in Allentown, New Jersey. The Spiritual Exercises comprise an ordered series of meditations and contemplations born from the profound spiritual experience St Ignatius, gained from his conversion and his time as the first Superior General of the Society of Jesus. These exercises purpose to help the retreatant discern God’s will for his own life.

In addition to the meditations, the traditional Mass will be sung each day, as well as parts of the Divine Office; there will also be plenty of opportunities for spiritual direction and Confession.

The retreat will begin in the early afternoon of Friday, February 16 and finish on the afternoon of Sunday, February 18, with the parish choral Vespers. (The First Sunday of Lent, President’s day weekend.) In order to cover the expenses (Fr. Hernan’s travel from France, food, donation to the parish, etc) we suggest a donation of $60. Also, please bring a sleeping bag.

For more information and to register, please read this google doc.  If you have any questions please contact hernan.ducci@gmail.com.

Friday February 2 is the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary or Candlemas. The following churches will offer traditional Masses:

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, low Mass, 7:30 am;  Solemn Mass and procession, 6 pm

Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Bridgeport, CT, 7:45 am, 6 pm

St. Stanislaus Church, New Haven, CT, 8 am.

St. Martha Church, Enfield, CT, high Mass, 7 pm

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, New York, procession and Solemn Mass, 7:30 pm

Church of the Holy Innocents, New York, procession, blessing of candles and sung Mass at 6 pm.  Please bring your own candles to be blessed.

Holy Name of Jesus Church, Brooklyn,  Solemn Mass, 7 pm

St. Anthony of Padua, Jersey City, Solemn Mass 8 pm, procession and blessing of candles precedes the Mass.

Traditional Masses for the Feast of St. Blaise and blessing of the throats, Saturday, Feb. 3:

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, 9 am.

Saints Cyril and Methodius, Bridgeport, 7:45 AM. Blessing of throats immediately after Mass followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Holy Rosary, 15 minutes of meditation concluding with Benediction.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New York,  9 AM – Low or Sung Mass, Votive Mass of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Commemoration of Saint Blaise, Blessing of Throats, Novena Prayers to Our Lady of Mount Carmel,  Eucharistic Adoration, Recitation of the Rosary and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament; Confessions heard before Mass and during Adoration

Church of the Holy Innocents, New York,  1 pm.

Statue of St. Blaise is in the Basilica of the Vierzehnheiligen (Fourteen Holy Helpers) near Bamberg, Germany