Tridentine Community News - Former Detroiter Organizes First Regular Tridentine Masses in the U.S. Virgin Islands; Catholic Chapels in Shopping Districts; Local TLM schedule

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (September 24, 2017):

September 24, 2017 - Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Former Detroiter Organizes First Regular Tridentine Masses in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Dennis Taubitz was a familiar face at Detroit and Windsor Tridentine Mass sites. An attorney for the City of the Detroit, Dennis served on the Finance Council at St. Josaphat/Mother of Divine Mercy and counted the collection after Mass on Sundays. A few years ago Dennis and his wife Irma relocated to the U.S. Virgin Islands because of a job opportunity. Soon after his arrival, Dennis realized that there was no Tridentine Mass being celebrated on either of the two islands, St. Thomas or St. Croix. Seeing this as an opportunity rather than a problem, Dennis set about the long process of piecing together the many elements necessary to get a new Mass site started: Churches willing to host the Mass, supplies [including altar cards framed at a store in Bloomfield Township], altar servers, newspaper ads, a Facebook presence, and developing a constructive relationship with diocesan officials in the chancery.


The most important part of the puzzle, of course, was finding a priest celebrant, and on that front Dennis’ effort has another tie to Detroit: The celebrant will be Fr. John Fewel, who was a classmate of our own Fr. Joe Tuskiewicz at Pope St. John XXIIII National Seminary in Boston. Fr. Fewel serves as the editor of the diocesan magazine, The Catholic Islander. An issue of the magazine containing an article about the Tridentine Mass is here: http://www.catholicislander.com/1116cilq/index.html. [That’s Dennis in the photo sitting in the front row of the congregation on the left.]

All that work has paid off, with not one but two sites debuting: A quarterly Mass has already started, with the first Mass having been on September 3 at 5:00 PM, at Holy Cross Church in Christiansted on the island of St. Croix [photo above]. Starting on Sunday, October 1 at 1:00 PM, there will be a monthly Tridentine Mass at St. Anne’s Chapel in French Town, on the island of St. Thomas. Find out more at: https://www.facebook.com/Virgin-Islands-Tridentine-Latin-Mass-Association-588475614874999/

Catholic Chapels in Shopping Districts

The April 26, 2015 edition of this column listed some Catholic chapels that exist in office buildings. The August 12, 2017 edition of Canada’s Catholic Register newspaper included an article listing some similar chapels in shopping districts. These are all dedicated Catholic chapels, with the Blessed Sacrament reserved, providing a spiritual oasis for busy workers and shoppers. Confession and Holy Mass are offered at all of these sites.

The Centre Dieu Chapel in the Laurier Quebec Mall in Quebec City opened in 1967 and serves 15-20 Massgoers every day, with adoration offered after the noon Mass.

The St. Benedict Chapel in Edmonton’s City Centre Mall opened in 2006 and offers three Masses Monday-Friday at 7:15 AM, 12:15 PM, and 5:15 PM, and Saturday at 12:15 PM.

St. Stephen’s Chapel on Bay Street in Toronto is not in a mall but in a busy office and retail district. Opened in 1986, it offers Mass Monday-Friday at 8:00 AM, 12:10 PM, 1:10 PM, and 5:10 PM. It is a smaller version of Chicago’s similarly missioned St. Peter’s in the Loop Church.


Holy Cross Chapel in downtown Houston [pictured above] is also not in a mall but in a busy retail and office area. Run by priests of Opus Dei, it offers Mass Monday-Friday at 11:35 AM and 12:15 PM.

The article also mentions the granddaddy of them all [“of the mall”?], the St. Francis Chapel in the Prudential Center in Boston, which was already mentioned in our office building chapels column and is constantly busy with Mass, Confessions, and adoration.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 09/25 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (Feria)
• Tue. 09/26 7:00 PM: High Requiem Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (Daily Mass for the Dead)
• Sat. 09/30 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (St. Jerome, Priest, Confessor, & Doctor)

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for September 24, 2017. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]