The year 2007 was a history-making year for those devoted to the Extraordinary Form of Holy Mass. The most important liturgical legislation to come from Rome since Vatican II, Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio, Summórum Pontíficum, was published in July 2007, took effect on September 14, 2007, and promised to produce a flowering of additional Masses and celebrations of the other Sacraments according to the Traditional Forms.
2008 was a year of putting that legislation into practice. Let’s consider what has happened during this calendar year:
In the Archdiocese of Detroit, the following additional churches began to hold Tridentine Masses, either on a regular or special-event basis:
- St. Albertus, Detroit
- Ss. Cyril & Methodius, Sterling Heights
- Sweetest Heart of Mary, Detroit
- Sacred Heart, Yale
- Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Wyandotte
- St. Edward on the Lake, Lakeport
On Christmas Day, St. Patrick Church in rural Kinkora outside Stratford, Ontario, became the first parish church in the diocese to commence its own Extraordinary Form Mass at the initiative of the pastor.
Tridentine Weddings and Baptisms have been held at Assumption-Windsor and St. Josaphat. Confessions in the Extraordinary Form are now heard at Assumption. Requiem Memorial Masses with Absolution at the Catafalque are regularly held at St. Josaphat on Monday evenings. Funerals in the Classic Form are available on both sides of the river as needed.
November saw Fr. Josef Bisig, FSSP visit our area and celebrate the annual Anniversary Mass at Assumption. That’s a newsworthy event to readers of this column, but who would have thought that reporters from CBC Radio and the Windsor Star newspaper would be there to conduct interviews?
Newly-ordained Fr. Lee Acervo has become a regular celebrant of the Tridentine Mass both at Ss. Cyril & Methodius and St. Josaphat, with support of the Archdiocese. There was a time in the recent past when this sort of practice was unthinkable for a young priest. Of course, Roma locúta, causa finíta – the Vatican does have the final say on what is permitted and encouraged.
Bishop Earl Boyea, a great friend of the Traditional Mass, was appointed Ordinary of the Diocese of Lansing. Coincidentally, after decades of no public Tridentine Masses in Ann Arbor, on one Saturday in November, two Tridentine Wedding Masses were held simultaneously at two churches in Ann Arbor.
Nationally, as the accompanying chart from the Coalition in Support of Ecclésia Dei indicates [click on image for details], the number of Tridentine Mass sites continues to grow. And whereas the debut of a new Mass site used to be a newsworthy event, it is getting harder to know of all of the new sites, because parishes can begin them quietly on their own. For instance, we only learned about St. Edward’s Mass indirectly from another parish. On the one hand, it can be frustrating to find out where these “stealth” Tridentine Masses are being held, but on the other hand, it is marvelous to see the mainstreaming of the Extraordinary Form. It used to be news when an Apollo rocket took off; quick – do you remember how many Space Shuttle launches there were in 2008?Seminaries in Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and Maryland are beginning to hold regular Tridentine Masses and are starting to train seminarians to celebrate this form of Holy Mass.
EWTN continues to broadcast occasional Tridentine Masses. Like rocket launches, these, too, has become non-events.
Predictions for 2009
It is expected that the Holy Father will issue the long-awaited “clarification” document to Summórum Pontíficum. This promises to remedy situations where authorities in certain dioceses are overstepping their bounds in restricting celebration of the Extraordinary Form. It will also hopefully answer some questions about ambivalent wording in the Motu Proprio. Some fear that the clarifying language may be too permissive with regard to rubrics. We shall have to wait and see.
This document may also require – or at least strongly urge – seminaries to provide training in the Extraordinary Form. Detroit is the third most active diocese in the U.S. with regards to number of Tridentine Mass sites. Many would be gratified to see our seminaries take a leading role in supporting the restoration of the Classic Liturgy and the music that accompanies it, especially given the local resources at their disposal.
[Comments? Ideas for a future column? 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 December 28, 2008. Hat tip to A.B.]
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