The usus antiquior in weddings & seminaries

Tridentine Community News (July 19, 2009):

Two Upcoming Tridentine Wedding Masses

The next two weeks will see two more Extraordinary Form Nuptial Masses. Next Saturday, July 25, Kirsten Gawronski and Mark Lanfear will be married according to the Tridentine sacramental form at St. Josaphat Church.

The following Saturday, August 1 at 10:30 AM at Sweetest Heart of Mary Church, Barbara Martin Bailey and Gregory Bailey will have their marriage convalidated according to the Extraordinary Form. This will be the first Tridentine Nuptial Mass celebrated at Sweetest Heart in over 40 years. It will be held at a side altar, as is traditional for convalidations. Mr. Bailey invites all readers of this column to attend this Mass.

As of August 1, Assumption-Windsor, St. Josaphat, St. Joseph, and Sweetest Heart of Mary Churches will all have hosted Tridentine weddings since the promulgation of our Holy Father’s Motu Proprio, Summórum Pontíficum.

Seminaries Supporting the Extraordinary Form

The long-term future for the Classical Roman Rite is in the hands of our seminarians. One might then ask, how are today’s seminaries educating them in the Extraordinary Form? There are several levels of support that a seminary can show.

At the top level are seminaries that are entirely devoted to the Traditional Mass. These include the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter’s seminaries in Nebraska and Germany, and the Institute of Christ the King’s seminary in Italy.

Second are seminaries, monasteries, and houses of formation where the Tridentine Mass plays a significant, though not exclusive role. The Norbertine St. Michael’s Abbey of Orange County, California; the Oratorians’ St. Philip Neri Seminary in Toronto; and the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago offer such environments.


At the next level are seminaries where some degree of ongoing education in and celebration of the Extraordinary Form takes place. All seminarians at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri are required to learn how to celebrate the Classic Liturgy; Mass in the Extraordinary Form is offered there twice per month (see photo above). Connecticut’s Holy Apostles Seminary, which trains second-career vocations as well as younger ones, holds weekly Masses and regular classes. The Archdiocese of Chicago’s St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, America’s largest seminary, holds periodic Masses and workshops. Mundelein’s affiliated Liturgical Institute even held a for-credit course from June 8 to June 26 entitled “History and Spirituality of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite”. St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia offers an elective class on the Mass and has held a Mass for all seminarians and faculty to attend. The Pontifical North American College in Rome celebrated its first Tridentine Mass in April, 2008 and then ordered 200 copies of the Fraternity of St. Peter’s training DVD, indicating substatial interest.

Next are seminaries where the occasional Tridentine Mass is celebrated. The Archdiocese of New York’s St. Joseph “Dunwoodie” Seminary is one example.

Some seminaries have acknowledged the growing interest in the Traditional Mass via one-time presentations on the subject. London, Ontario’s St. Peter’s Seminary held such a day for the entire seminarian and faculty body in 2008. Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Maryland held a similar day for its 150 seminarians. Orchard Lake’s Ss. Cyril & Methodius Seminary held a seminar for a Liturgy Class a few months ago. The Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio held its first Mass in March, 2009. Hopefully, these will not be isolated events.

Last are the seminaries which have not done anything formal yet, but where it is clear that interest exists among certain seminarians, faculty members, or both. Detroit’s Sacred Heart Seminary is one of these. In such places, it not uncommon for seminarians to pursue independent study of the Extraordinary Form. Fr. Lee Acervo, for example, ordained in 2008 from Sacred Heart, is self-taught on the Mass and is now a regular celebrant at St. Josaphat.

On a positive note, it is hard to keep up with the activities at each seminary. It is likely that more seminaries than we know of have begun programs of exposure, perhaps rather low-key. As more parishes begin to hold Tridentine Masses, and more seminarians study the Mass and go on to celebrate it after ordination, it is only a matter of time until those future priests bring more structured training for it into an increasing number of seminaries.

Having lived through the explosive growth of the microcomputer industry between 1975-84, this author sees some parallels in today’s rather entrepreneurial Tridentine Mass scene. It was obvious to PC pioneers that computers were going to become pervasive in society, yet the general populace did not realize this for several years. Many universities were still teaching computer programming on punch cards until around 1980 and did not incorporate microcomputer programming into their curricula until the mid 80s. Technology trends forced an updating of their course offerings. Similarly, we believe that the majority of seminaries will eventually implement programs to prepare their students to support the resurging interest in the Traditional Latin Mass.

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@stjosaphatchurch.org. Previous columns are available at www.stjosaphatchurch.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat bulletin insert for July 19, 2009. Hat tip to A.B.]