Tridentine Community News - Church Restoration: St. Stephen the Martyr, Columbus, Ohio; Making Catholic Schools Affordable: A Lesson from the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska; Sub Tuum Præsídium; Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (June 10, 2018):

June 10, 2018 – Third Sunday After Pentecost

Church Restoration: St. Stephen the Martyr, Columbus, Ohio

In what is becoming a regular occurrence throughout North America, another church has undergone an upgrade from bland, modern design to a traditional arrangement with Communion Rail. Unlike most such examples, this is a modest, low-ceilinged church. One does not have to have an expansive building to undertake this sort of a restoration. [Before and after photos from the Liturgical Arts Journal blog and William Heyer Architect]




Making Catholic Schools Affordable: A Lesson from the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska

Not so long ago a significant number of parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit and elsewhere had parochial schools. Most were elementary to middle schools, going up through Eighth Grade; a few parishes also offered high schools. The virtual disappearance of teaching nuns in recent decades meant that the cost of running such schools skyrocketed, since lay teachers earn significantly more pay. Many parishes started to subsidize their schools, often falling into debt as a result. With declining enrollment, many parochial schools were forced to close. Only a relative handful of parishes offer schools today.

Much has been written about the successes of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska. Never lacking in vocations, it consistently has the #1 or #2 highest ratio of priests-to-laity of any diocese in America. All of its seminarians learn the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter has its own seminary in the diocese, along with the diocese’s own St. Gregory the Great Seminary. Reverent Masses in the Ordinary Form are the norm. Only altar boys are permitted. There are no Permanent Deacons, however laymen are installed as Acolytes and Lectors. And their Catholic schools are healthy and well-attended.

One of the reasons their schools have attracted so many students is that tuition is kept very low, on the order of $1,000 or lower, depending on the school. A “Parish Scholarship” system funded by stewardship at the diocesan and parish level makes up for the shortfall in the actual cost of educating a student. This buy-in from the top down has resulted in the Diocese of Lincoln opening new Catholic elementary schools at the same time that many other dioceses are experiencing net closures of schools. Perhaps the others should look to Lincoln for an example.

Sub Tuum Præsídium


A brief, historic prayer to our Lady, enriched with a Partial Indulgence, is the Sub Tuum Præsídium:

Sub tuum præsídium confúgimus, sancta Dei Génetrix; nostras deprecatiónes ne despícias in necessitátibus, sed a perículis cunctis líbera nos semper, Virgo gloriósa et benedícta.

We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Tue. 06/12 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (St. John of San Facundo, Confessor)
• Sat. 06/16 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (Saturday of Our Lady)

[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 June 10, 2018. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]