Philadelphia Roamin' Catholic

Photos for the Feast of Title at St. Paul's Church 2011

2011-07-20T15:48:00.007-04:00

ere are some photos from the Solemn Mass at St. Paul's Church for the External Solemnity of the Feast of Title--the Commemoration of St. Paul (June 30, 2011). (N.B. it was the external solemnity since this day is also the Feast of Dedication for the cathedral church.) Photos courtesy of Miss Jennifer Dabovich and Mr. Thomas Rudolph.

Photos from Corpus Christi at St. Paul's Church 2011

2011-07-20T15:26:00.013-04:00

Here are some photos from the Latin Mass & Procession at St. Paul's Church for the External Solemnity of Corpus Christ (June 26, 2011). Photos courtesy of Miss Jennifer Dabovich and Mr. Thomas Rudolph.

Apologies

2011-07-19T14:12:00.000-04:00

I have to apologize for not having kept up this blog. My job, my work with the TLM and my personal life have all conspired to provide me little time to give the attention that this blog needs. I am endeavouring to set aside some time each week to update this blog and I hope that it will be more on top of Latin Mass community events in the future.

Photos from the Feast of Title for SMMDP

2011-06-06T12:05:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos, courtesy of Miss Jennifer Dabovich, for the Feast of Title at St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzis.

Important Notices

2011-05-06T11:50:00.000-04:00

I must inform you that the pastor of St. Paul's Church, Fr. Gerald Carey, was in an automobile accident on the way back from the Quarant'Ore at Our Lady of Lourdes, Overbrook on. He sustained a knee injury will not be able to sing Latin Mass for the next few weeks and will be having other priests fill in for him. Of your charity, please keep Fr. Carey in your prayers.

Due to Fr. Carey’s accident, as well as the bride’s health, the wedding of Michael John Knowles and Susan Elizabeth della Ripa that was scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 14, according to the traditional Roman Rite, will be re-scheduled for some time in the summer.

Palm Sunday Photos 2011

2011-04-20T11:48:00.013-04:00

Here are some photos from Palm Sunday at St. Paul's Church, according to the 1955 Holy Week rite.

Photographs are courtesy of Mr. Timothy Thomas and Miss Jennifer Dabovich.

Palm Sunday TLM in Philadelphia

2011-04-12T12:37:00.001-04:00

St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia will be having Palm Sunday according to the Traditional Roman Rite.

The Church of Sta. Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi (the other church in the parish) will be used as the ecclesia collecta on this day, weather permitting. This means that the ceremonies will begin there with the blessing and distribution of palms at 12 noon, and then process through the Italian Market to St. Paul’s Church for the Mass. If you are physically unable to walk in the procession, you should wait at St. Paul’s Church for the procession to arrive at about 12:35 p.m.

St. Paul's Church is easily accessible from I-95, exit at Columbus Boulevard/ Delaware Avenue. Christian Street is at the first traffic signal north of Washington Avenue. The church is located on Christian Street between 9th & 10th Streets. Parking is available across the street from St. Paul's Church. The Church of Sta. Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi is located approximately four blocks away on Montrose Street between between 7th & 8th Streets. Montrose Street is one full block south of Christian Street.

TLM Wedding Update

2011-04-10T12:35:00.000-04:00

Miss Della Ripa has recovered and the wedding has been re-scheduled:

On Saturday, May 14, at 11 a.m. Michael John Knowles and Susan Elizabeth della Ripa will be married at St. Paul’s Church, Christian Street according to the Traditional Roman Rite. The couple is extending an invitation to the Latin Mass community to attend the Marriage & Nuptial Mass. Please make plans to attend if you are able.

St. Paul's Church is located in South Philadelphia and is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Camden, Delaware, & Montgomery counties. Parking is available in the lot across the street from the church.

Wedding Update: PLEASE TAKE NOTICE!!!

2011-02-14T22:00:00.004-05:00

Susan Elizabeth della Ripa has been hospitalized as of last week and the TLM wedding mentioned below will almost certainly be postponed until after Easter. Please keep her in your prayers. I will post more as I hear it.

Wedding Announcement

2011-02-06T22:52:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, February 26, at 12 noon Michael John Knowles and Susan Elizabeth della Ripa will be married at St. Paul’s Church, Christian Street according to the Traditional Roman Rite. The couple is extending an invitation to the Latin Mass community to attend the Marriage & Nuptial Mass. Please make plans to attend if you are able.

St. Paul's Church is located in South Philadelphia and is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Camden, Delaware, & Montgomery counties. Parking is available in the lot across the street from the church.

External Solemnity of Candlemas

2011-02-02T22:46:00.007-05:00

On Sunday, February 6, at 12 noon, St. Paul's Church, Christian Street will be celebrating the External Solemnity of the Purification of the B.V.M., according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

The External Solemnity belongs to this Feast of the Purification by right, according to the 1960 Code of Rubrics, and may be celebrated on Sunday, provided that permission is received from the Holy See to transfer the ceremonies also. St. Paul’s Church received permission from the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei two weeks ago allowing the parish to celebrate the ceremonies and External Solemnity on either the Sunday preceding or following, in perpetuity, provided that the Sunday is not a Sunday of the First Class e.g., Septuagesima.

St. Paul's Church is located in South Philadelphia and is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Camden, Delaware, & Montgomery counties. Parking is available in the lot across the street from the church.

Traditional Latin Mass for the Epiphany

2011-01-03T16:45:00.007-05:00

St. Paul's Church, South Philadelphia
931 Christian Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147

The Epiphany of our Lord: Thursday, January 6, Sung Mass & Epiphany Proclamation at 7:00 p.m.

St. Paul's Church is located in South Philadelphia and is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Camden, Delaware, & Montgomery counties.

Christmas Photos from St. Paul's Church, Christian Street

2011-01-01T20:00:00.008-05:00

Archdiocese of Philadelphia Christmas TLM Schedule

2010-12-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Overbrook
6301 Woodbine Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19151

Christmas Eve: Christmas Carols at 11:30 p.m.; Solemn High Mass at 12 midnight.

Our Lady of Lourdes Church is located in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia and is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Delaware, & Montgomery counties. The Schuylkill Expressway may be taken to City (Line) Avenue, which runs all the way to Lancaster Avenue. Safe parking is available along Lancaster Avenue above 63rd Street.

Saint Paul's Church, Philadelphia
931 Christian Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147

Christmas Day: Sung High Mass at 12 noon.
Sunday in the Octave of Christmas: Sung High Mass at 12 noon.
New Year's Day: Sung High Mass, followed by Benediction with the Te Deum, at 12 noon.

Saint Paul's Church is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Delaware, and Lower Bucks counties. The church may easily be reach from I-95, taking the Columbus Boulevard/ Delaware Avenue Exit. Parking is available in the lot across from the church. The church is also available vîa public transportation. If taking public transportation, the 23 Bus may be taken from Market East Regional Rail Station, on the northwest corner of 12th & Market Streets. You should then disembark at 12th & Christian Streets and walk two-and-a-half blocks east. For the return trip you can take the 23 bus north-bound at 10th & Christian.

Sacred Heart (Polish) Church, Swedesburg
149 Jefferson Street, Swedesburg (Bridgeport), Pennsylvania 19405

New Year's Day: Low Mass at 9 a.m.

Sacred Heart Church is located in the Swedesburg neighborhood of Bridgeport and is easily accessible to those in Montgomery & Chester counties. Please check Mapquest or a GPS system for directions.

November Requiem Mass at St. Andrew's Church

2010-11-07T20:20:00.025-05:00

As we begin November let us remember to pray for the Faithful Departed this month. November is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Souls and it was a custom to have Requiem Masses said throughout the month. On Saturday, November 6, St. Andrew's Lithuanian National Parish had a Requiem Sung Mass for the faithful departed of the parish. The celebrant was Fr. Robert Pasley of Mater Ecclesiæ Mission in Berlin, New Jersey. The minor propers of the Mass were sung by the pastor of St. Andrew's Church, Fr. Peter Burkauskas. Photos courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph.

All Souls Day at St. Paul's Church

2010-11-03T23:51:00.020-04:00

St. Paul's Church, Christian Street had Rosary for the Dead, Requiem Sung Mass, and Absolutions of the Dead for All Souls Day. The celebrant of the Mass was the pastor, Fr. Gerald Patrick Carey. Visitors included Fr. James Badeaux, Pastor of Holy Archangel Michael Byzantine Catholic Church, Mont Clare. The musical ordinary was Tomás Luis de Victoria's 'Missa pro defunctis a 4 voce'. Photos courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph, Mr. Timothy Gallen, and Miss Jennifer Dabovich.

All Saints Day at St. Paul's Church

2010-11-02T23:38:00.008-04:00

Here are some photos from All Saints Day at St. Paul's Church, Christian Street. The guest celebrant and preacher was Fr. Dennis Carbonaro, Pastor of Our Lady of Consolation Italian National Parish, Tacony. The musical ordinary was Tomás Luis de Victoria's Missa 'O Quam Gloriosum'. Photos courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph.

Christ the King at St. Paul's Church

2010-11-01T11:48:00.012-04:00

The Feast of Christ the King marked the one year anniversary of the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Paul's Church, Christian Street. The pastor of St. Paul's Church--Fr. Gerald Patrick Carey--offers a High Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, as well as for other feast days. Following the Mass was Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and the Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus prescribed by Pope Pius XI to be recited annually on the Feast of Christ the King. A reception followed in the rectory.

Christ the King, All Saints, All Souls

2010-10-29T23:20:00.009-04:00

This year we have so many important church holidays back-to-back--Christ the King, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. Here is a listing of where to assist at the Traditional Latin Mass for these three days. Addresses for each of these churches can be found in the sidebar of this blog, located to the right.

Archdiocese of Philadelphia

St. Paul's Church, South Philadelphia. The Feast of Christ the King marks the one year anniversary of the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Paul's Church, Christian Street. The pastor of St. Paul's Church offers a High Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, as well as for other feast days.

Christ the King: High Mass & Benediction at 12 noon
All Saints Day: High Mass at 7 p.m.
All Souls Day: Rosary for the Dead at 6:30 p.m.; Requiem High Mass & Absolutions of the Dead at 7 p.m.

Sacred Heart (Polish) Church, Swedesburg. The pastor, Fr. Andrew McCormick, offers a traditional Latin Mass for all the Holy Days of Obligation.

All Saints Day: Low Mass at 6 p.m.

Holy Saviour (Italian) Church, Norristown. The pastor, Msgr. Charles Sangermano, offers the traditional Latin Mass every Sunday in his parish at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Chapel. Msgr. Sangermano will offer the second and third Requiem Masses of All Souls Day in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite at Holy Saviour Church, which is located at 407 E. Main Street in Norristown. The address for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Chapel can be found in the right sidebar of this blog.

Christ the King: Low Mass at 11 a.m. (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Chapel)
All Souls Day: Requiem Low Masses at 9 a.m. (Holy Saviour Church)

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Overbrook. The Mercedarian Friars offer the traditional Latin Mass every Sunday and on some of the major feast days.

Christ the King: Low Mass at 7:30 a.m.
All Souls Day: Requiem High Mass & Absolutions of the Dead at 7 p.m.

Our Lady of Consolation (Italian) Church, Tacony. Our Lady of Consolation offers the traditional Latin Mass every Sunday. The new pastor supports the TLM and has even learned to say it himself.

Christ the King: Low Mass at 1 p.m.

Diocese of Camden

Mater Ecclesiæ Mission. Mater Ecclesiæ was the first personal parish in the nation for those attached to the Traditional Latin Mass. They offer Low Mass daily and High Masses for Sundays, Holy Days and other feasts.

Christ the King: High Mass & Benediction at 11 a.m.
All Saints Day: High Mass at 7:30 p.m.
All Souls Day: Requiem High Mass & Absolutions of the Dead at 7:30 p.m.

St. Peter's Church, Merchantville. The pastor of St. Peter's Church offers a weekly High Mass every Sunday and also on certain Holy Days.

Christ the King: High Mass at 12 noon
All Souls Day: Requiem High Mass & Absolutions of the Dead at 7 p.m.

From Fr. Pasley at Mater Ecclesiæ

2010-10-27T23:11:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends of Mater Ecclesiæ,

On October 13, 2000, during the Great Jubilee of our Blessed Lord’s birth, on the 82nd Anniversary of the last apparition of our Lady at Fatima, on the feast of Saint Edward the Confessor, and 7 years before Pope Benedict’s motu proprio, "Summorum Pontificum", which freed the Traditional Latin Mass and Sacraments throughout the entire world, the first Diocesan owned and staffed Traditional Rite parish, Mater Ecclesiæ, was founded. There will be a Choral High Mass on the Feast of Christ the King, Sunday, October 31, at 11 a.m.; a Choral High Mass on the feast of All Saints, November 1, at 7:30 p.m., and a Requiem Mass on All Souls Day, November 2, at 7:30 p.m. The All Souls Mass will have a special dedication for the 50 people who have been buried from Mater Ecclesiæ in the last 10 years.

Many more celebrations are planned and notification will be sent out to all. Some might ask, "Why all this fuss for only 10 years?" We rejoice because the last 10 years have been a daily miracle. At the time it was founded this place should never have existed. There have been many challenges to our existence throughout the ten years and yet we have overcome them. Mater Ecclesiæ has grown and continues to grow. We have 3 young men studying for the priesthood, one young lady in the Traditional Carmel in the Diocese of Harrisburg, many people have returned to the practice of the faith. Most people who long for the Traditional Mass could not dream of having what we have at Mater Ecclesiæ. We also feel that we have a definite place in Pope Benedict’s plan to restore the Church through restoration of the Sacred Liturgy. Mater Ecclesiæ is a blessed place. Our Blessed Lady has watched over us and protected us every step of the way. May our Lady be praised! May God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be praised!

Please join us as we rejoice in the wonderful gift of Mater Ecclesiæ Mission.

Sincerely,
The Rev. Robert C. Pasley, KHS, Rector

Pentecost XXI

2010-10-19T08:12:00.010-04:00

Some photos (courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph) from the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost at St. Paul's Church, Christian Street. The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary is now said before Mass. Also in the photos is the new antipendium (altar frontal), courtesy of Mr. David de Young. Mr. De Young made this altar frontal to match a green vestment set given by Mr. Timothy Gallen.

Rosary Sunday

2010-10-07T08:00:00.011-04:00

On October 3, St. Paul's Church celebrated the External Solemnity of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The usual Sunday High Mass was followed by the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, sung in procession through the Italian Market, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Photos courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph and Mr. Christopher Conrad.

TLM for Feast of Holy Rosary in NYC

2010-10-04T11:59:00.000-04:00

Pontifical High Mass in Manhattan, this Thursday, for the Feast of our Lady of the Holy Rosary. You may click on the images below to view more details.

Evensong according to the Anglican Use

2010-10-03T23:51:00.004-04:00

Beginning Sunday, October 24, at 5 p.m. St. Bede's Roman Catholic Church in Holland, PA will be celebrating weekly Evensong (Vespers or Evening Prayer) according to the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite. If you are interesting in singing, otherwise helping out, or have any questions, please call Fr. Michael La Rue, K.M. at (215) 369-2868. The site for St. Bede's Church, which includes directions, can be found by clicking here: Church of St. Bede the Venerable. The Anglican Use was created for those Anglicans/ Episcopalians coming over to Rome who still wanted to retain their liturgy and customs. The liturgical book for the Anglican Use is the Book of Divine Worship. This is, essentially, a Catholic version of the American Book of Common Prayer, Standard of 1979, which is the more modern, but also more Catholic-leaning, of the two Prayerbooks used by the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (the other one being the Book of Common Prayer, Standard of 1928.)

Rosary in Procession

2010-09-27T17:08:00.002-04:00

On Sunday, October 3, the External Solemnity of the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, following the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Paul's Church, Christian Street the Holy Rosary will be sung in procession through the neighborhood. The procession will be followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Traditional Latin Mass at St. Paul's is the usual weekly Sung High Mass at 12 noon. The music for the Mass ordinary will be Hassler's "Missa Secunda" and the Holy Rosary will be sung to a setting formerly used at the Church of St. James, Spanish Place in London.

Saint Paul's Church is located near the intersection of 10th & Christian Streets in South Philadelphia. If taking the Delaware Expressway (I-95), exit at Columbus Boulevard and travel west on Christian Street. Parking is available in the lot across the street from the church. If you are using public transportation, Bus Route 23 may be taken southbound from the Market East Railroad Station (Reading Terminal).

Photos from Holy Cross Day Mass (Part II)

2010-09-16T23:11:00.030-04:00

Here are some photos from the Solemn Mass and Procession & Benediction with the Relic of the True Cross--for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross--at St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. The celebrant was the Pastor of St. Paul's Church, Fr. Gerald Patrick Carey; the deacon was Fr. Richard McFadden of St. Charles Borromeo Church, Cornwells Heights across from the National Shrine of St. Katherine Drexel; and the sub-deacon was Friar David Spencer, O. de M. from the Monastery of Our Lady of Mercy. Photos courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph. You may click on the photos to enlarge them.

Photos from Holy Cross Day Mass (Part I)

2010-09-16T22:59:00.014-04:00

Here are some photos from the Solemn Mass and Procession & Benediction with the Relic of the True Cross--for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross--at St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. The celebrant was the Pastor of St. Paul's Church, Fr. Gerald Patrick Carey; the deacon was Fr. Richard McFadden of St. Charles Borromeo Church, Cornwells Heights across from the National Shrine of St. Katherine Drexel; and the sub-deacon was Friar David Spencer, O. de M. from the Monastery of Our Lady of Mercy. Photos courtesy of Miss Jennifer Dabovich. You may click on the photos to enlarge them.

Solemn Mass on Holy Cross Day

2010-08-31T10:46:00.005-04:00

On Tuesday, September 14, at 7 p.m. St. Paul’s Church, Christian Street in Philadelphia will be having a Solemn Mass followed by a Procession & Benediction of the Relic of the True Cross. The guest preacher will be Fr. Andrew McCormick, Pastor of Sacred Heart Polish National Parish in Swedesburg. This Mass will be to celebrate the third anniversary of the implementation of the motu proprio “Summorum Pontificum”, which gave wider access to the Traditional Latin Mass.

Prelude: Kevin Allen “Vexilla Regis”
Mass Ordinary: Thomas Tallis “Mass for Four Voices”
Offertory motet: King João IV of Portugal “Crux fidelis”
At Benediction: Michael Lawrence “Vexilla Regis”
Postlude: Alec Wyton “Fanfare”

Saint Paul's Church is located near the intersection of 10th & Christian Streets in South Philadelphia. If taking the Delaware Expressway (I-95), exit at Columbus Boulevard and travel west on Christian Street. Parking is available in the lot across the street. If you are using public transportation, Bus Route 23 may be taken southbound from the Market East Railroad Station (Reading Terminal).

Assumption Mass 2010

2010-08-09T14:14:00.006-04:00

From Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio, Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of Latin Liturgy Association, Inc.

Mater Ecclesiæ’s 10th Annual Assumption Mass

On the Feast of the Assumption, Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 1:00 PM, Mater Ecclesiæ Roman Catholic Parish will celebrate the Tenth Annual Mass of Thanksgiving at Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Church, 43 West Maple Avenue in Merchantville, New Jersey. The Solemn High Extraordinary Form of the Mass will be celebrated according to the 1962 Roman Missal and will once again feature the Ars Laudis Festival Chorus & Orchestra.

The Mass setting will be Missa Brevis Septorum Sanctorum Dolorum B.M.V. by Carl Heinrich Biber. It will be conducted by Dr. Timothy McDonnell. The singing of the Gregorian Propers will be directed by our Cantor, Mr. Nicholas Beck.

For the tenth consecutive year, the Reverend Robert C. Pasley, KHS, Rector of Mater Ecclesiæ, Berlin, NJ, will celebrate this Solemn Mass in thanksgiving for the canonical establishment of Mater Ecclesiæ.

For more information, please call 856-753-3408 or visit the website: www.materecclesiae.org

First Vespers of the Assumption

2010-08-09T14:05:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, August 14 at 6:15 p.m. at Mater Ecclesiæ Chapel will have Solemn First Vespers of the Assumption. Vespers will begin the Assumption festivities for which Mater Ecclesiæ is well-known.

Photos from TLM at St. Ann's in Hampton, NJ

2010-07-26T19:48:00.019-04:00

The Pastor of St. Paul's, Philadelphia--Fr. Gerald Carey--was invited to say a TLM at historic St. Ann's Church, Hampton (Diocese of Metuchen) for the External Solemnity of their Feast of Title. St. Paul's Guild of Altar Servers for the Latin Mass served the Mass. The Sung Mass was followed by a Procession with the parish's relic of St. Ann. Afterward there was a reception and fireworks in the churchyard. This was the first traditional Latin Mass at the parish in over forty years. Photos courtesy of Mr. Timothy Walsh.

Photos from the 2010 TLM at the Philadelphia Carmel

2010-07-17T20:24:00.000-04:00

The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at the Philadelphia Carmel (Carmelite Monastery). Photos courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph.

External Solemnity of SS. Peter & Paul

2010-07-04T23:53:00.011-04:00

To-day the External Solemnity of SS. Peter & Paul was celebrated. This was mandated by the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore and Apostolic Indult (Dec. 19, 1840). All Masses to-day had to be of the external solemnity. This was a compromise with the Holy See; the American bishops wanted only six Holy Days of Obligation for the United States, whereas the Holy See wanted the United States to observe eight. The compromise was that the external solemnities for two of these Holy Days—Corpus Christi & SS. Peter & Paul—would be observed at all Masses on the Sundays following those feasts. It should also be noted that SS. Peter & Paul are the Major Patrons of the Metropolitan Cathedral Church, and also the Minor Patrons of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

As well, a former Archbishop of Philadelphia, James F. Wood, had asked all parishes in this archdiocese to celebrate American Independence Day by having a Votive Mass of the Holy Trinity, when the calendar permitted (to-day it did not), followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament with the Te Deum solemnly sung. Thus, the Mass to-day was followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament with the singing of the Te Deum.

Photos courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph.

External Solemnity for Feast of Title

2010-06-30T22:15:00.019-04:00

To-day, the External Solemnity of the Feast of Title for Saint Paul’s Church was celebrated. The Feast of Title for St. Paul’s Church—the Commemoration of St. Paul—falls on June 30. That day is also the Feast of Dedication for the Cathedral Church, i.e. the anniversary of the day it was solemnly consecrated. However, the External Solemnity belongs to a Feast of Title by law and may celebrated on that day if impeded or transferred to the previous or following Sunday.

Photos courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph.

TLM at Philadelphia Carmel 2010

2010-06-17T19:33:00.004-04:00

From Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio, Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of Latin Liturgy Association, Inc.

Sodales:

A Missa Cantata in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite will be held on the final night of the 107th annual novena in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, i.e. Friday July 16, 2010, at the Carmelite Monastery. The monastery is located at 66th Avenue & Old York Road in Philadelphia. The recitation of the rosary and Litany of Loreto (in Latin) will begin at 6:45 p.m. The Mass will begin at 7:30 p.m. Please arrive early for a seat inside! Music will include choir and congregational singing. The celebrant will be Father Gerald Carey, Pastor of St. Paul's Parish in South Philadelphia.

The Order of Music is as follows:

Organ Preludes: "Toccata per l'elevazione" by G. Paolucci, "Fugue in G minor" by M. Charpentier
The Ordinary of the Mass: "Missa 'Stella Matutina'" by V. Carnevali
Offertory Motets: "O Bone Jesu" by M. Ingegneri, "Gaudent in cælis" by T.L. de Victoria, "Alleluia" by W.A. Mozart
Communion Motets: "Cantate Domino" by G.O. Pitoni, "Ecce Panis Angelorum" by T. Dubois, "Ave Verum Corpus" by Charles Gounod, "O Sacrum Convivium" by R. Remondi
Organ Postlude: "Cieli Immensi" by B. Marcello

The special Epistle for this Mass granted to the Carmelites is from 1 Kings. 18.41-46 and is the story of the prophet Elijah on Mt Carmel and the vision of the little cloud, a symbol of the Blessed Mother, before the great rain who is Christ. This story is referred to in the Novena hymn to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Note also that the Carmelites have the privilege of using the Asperges on the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the lovely sequence "Flos Carmeli", which the cloistered nuns will sing.

The Monastery is accessible vîa SEPTA bus routes K and C. N.B. the Broad Street Subway's Olney Avenue Station is ten blocks away from the Monastery. There is parking in the lot on 66th Avenue and on the street. All are most cordially invited.

We are very grateful to Dr. Lucy Carroll, choir director at the Monastery and Member of the Philadelphia Chapter, Latin Liturgy Association, Inc. Advisory Council, for all her hard work in making this beautiful experience available. We are grateful likewise to the Carmelite nuns for inviting us into their home and to Fr. Carey and all who are helping with this celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

Ipsa Virgo Virginum intercedat pro nobis ad Dominum!

Most cordially yours,
Rudy Masciantonio

Sacred Heart Mass at St. Jean Baptiste Church, Manhattan

2010-06-12T10:17:00.000-04:00

Some photos from the Solemn Pontifical Mass on the Feast of the Sacred Heart at the Church of St. Jean Baptiste, Manhattan, which is run by the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. The celebrant was the Most Rev. François Gayot, Archbishop Emeritus of Cap-Haïtien, Haïti. Sadly, most of my photos came out blurry but more can be seen at this blog: The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny.

External Solemnity of Corpus Christi

2010-06-10T12:06:00.017-04:00

The External Solemnity of Corpus Christi at St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. Photos courtesy of Miss Jennifer Dabovich.

Photos from the Latin Mass at SMMDP

2010-06-03T18:29:00.013-04:00

Here are some photos from the the first Traditional Latin Mass in forty years at the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi, one of the two churches in St. Paul's Parish, Philadelphia-- also home to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's only weekly High Mass. The Church of Sta. Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi was founded by St. John Neumann, when he was Bishop of Philadelphia, as the first Italian National Parish in the United States. It was merged into St. Paul's Parish in 2000.

On Saturday, May 29, there was a Procession & Sung Mass at the church. The Mass was for the External Solemnity of the Feast of Title. Normally, it would not have been possible to celebrate this Mass during the Octave of Pentecost. However, the parish received special permission from the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei allowing the parish to celebrate a First Class Votive Mass of Saint Mary Magdalen of Pazzi. Their decision was based upon the historical significance of the church and the fact that this was the first Latin Mass to be celebrated in the church since the liturgical changes following the Second Vatican Council.

Most of the music at this Mass was music by Italian composers. The guest preacher was Msgr. Charles L. Sangermano, Pastor of Holy Saviour Parish, Norristown and sometime pastor of St. Paul's Parish. (Msgr. Sangermano is also the one who oversees the implementation of the Traditional Latin Mass in this archdiocese.) The parish’s relic of St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi was venerated at the rail immediately after the Mass. Following this there was a cake & spumante reception in the church's Christopher Columbus Hall. The Mario Lanza Institute, located on the property, was also open for visitors.

(Photos are courtesy of Mr. Timothy Thomas.)

Corpus Christi at Mater Ecclesiæ

2010-05-31T22:21:00.001-04:00

From Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio, Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of Latin Liturgy Association, Inc.

Sodales:

Mater Ecclesiæ Mission, Berlin NJ, will celebrate the "Feast of God," Corpus Christi, on it's actual day, viz., Thursday, June 3, 2010. The Traditional Latin Mass will begin at 7:30 PM, followed by the Eucharistic procession and blessing at the various altars. The music for the Mass will be the Gregorian propers, Victoria's Missa 'O Quam Gloriosum' and the Saint-Saëns's Ave Verum Corpus. On Sunday, June, 6, there will be External Solemnity of the Feast will be celebrated at the 11:00 a.m. Missa Cantata, followed by a smaller Eucharistic Procession in church. All are welcome. Please see the Mater Ecclesiæ website for directions to the church.

Our thanks to Father Robert C. Pasley, Rector of Mater Ecclesiæ, for this information, and to you, dear reader, for giving it your attention.
Vivat Jesus in cordibus nostris! In aeternum!

Most cordially,

Rudy Masciantonio

Pentecost at St. Paul's

2010-05-26T19:59:00.008-04:00

Chiesa di Sta. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi

2010-05-15T12:53:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, May 29, at 11:00 a.m. there will be a Procession & Traditional Latin Sung Mass at the Church of St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, one of the two churches in St. Paul's Parish, Philadelphia. This church was founded by St. John Neumann, when he was Bishop of Philadelphia, as the first Italian National Parish in the country. The Mass will be for the External Solemnity of the Feast of Title. Most of the music for the Mass will be by Italian composers. The guest preacher will be Msgr. Charles L. Sangermano, Pastor of Holy Saviour Parish, Norristown (and sometime pastor of St. Paul's Parish). Following the Mass there will be a cake & spumante reception in the parish hall. To help support local business, those attending may want to consider having lunch at one of the many restaurants in the Italian Market area following the reception. The Church of St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi is located on Montrose Street between 7th & 8th. Parking is available three blocks away in the lot directly across from St. Paul's Church, on Christian Street, near 9th. Visitors are welcome.

Normally, it would not be possible to celebrate this Mass during the Octave of Pentecost. However, we have received special permission from the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (the papal commission set up to oversee the traditional Latin Mass) allowing us to celebrate a First Class Votive Mass of Saint Mary Magdalen of Pazzi. Their decision was based upon the historical significance of the church—that it was founded by St. John Neumann and was the first Italian National Parish in the United States—and that this is the first Latin Mass to be celebrated in the church in over forty years.

Ascension Thursday

2010-05-10T12:09:00.001-04:00

Saint Paul's Church, Philadelphia
931 Christian Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147

Ascension Thursday: Sung Mass at 7 p.m.

Saint Paul's Church is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Delaware, and (lower) Bucks counties. Parking is available in the lot across the street. If you are using public transportation, Bus Route 23 may be taken southbound from Market East Railroad Station (Reading Terminal).

Saint Peter's Church, Merchantville, New Jersey
43 W. Maple Avenue, Merchantville, New Jersey 08109

Ascension Thursday: Sung Mass at 12 noon.

St. Peter's Church is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia and (lower) Bucks counties vîa the Betsy Ross Bridge. Parking is available behind the church.

Mater Ecclesiæ Parish, Berlin, New Jersey
261 Cross Keys Road, Berlin, New Jersey 08009

Vigil of Ascension: Low Mass at 7:30 p.m. (anticipated Mass)
Ascension Thursday: Sung Mass at 7:30 p.m.

Mater Ecclesiæ Parish is easily accessible to those in Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester counties. It is recommended that one drive to Mater Ecclesiæ Parish. Parking is available on the side of the church.

First Friday TLM Reminder

2010-04-28T12:42:00.004-04:00

From Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio, Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of Latin Liturgy Association, Inc.

Sodales,

On First Saturday, May 1, 2010, the Traditional Latin Mass will be offered at the Church of St. Albert The Great by Fr. Patrick Brannan, S.J. Due to First Holy Communion being scheduled at the Parish on this same date at 10 A.M. in the Church, the TLM will be offered at 9 A.M. in the Rectory Chapel, preceded by Confessions at 8:30 A.M. The address is 212 Welsh Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006. The telephone number for the parish office is 215-947-3500. Please note that St. Albert the Great is also accessible via SEPTA, both by regional rail and bus.

We are grateful to LLA Philadelphia Chapter Advisory Council member Mark Matthews, Esq. for making these arrangements and for providing this information. Thank you, dear reader, for giving this message your attention. Per Virginem Matrem concedat nobis Dominus salutem et pacem! Alleluja!

Most cordially,

Rudy Masciantonio

Greater Litanies Procession at St. Paul's

2010-04-26T12:24:00.005-04:00

Here are a few photos from the Procession of the Greater Litanies at St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia. Sadly, the rain prevented the procession from going outdoors. The procession was followed by the Mass of the Rogations. After Mass there was a reception in the parish rectory.

Greater Litanies at St. Paul's Church in Philadelphia

2010-04-20T22:57:00.006-04:00

This Sunday, April 25, St. Paul's Church, Christian Street in Philadelphia will be having the Procession of the Greater Litanies followed by the Mass of the Rogations. The Mass of the Rogations will replace the Mass of the Third Sunday after Easter (as allowed by S.R.C. 3069). Following the Mass there will be a reception in the parish rectory. All are welcome to attend; R.S.V.P. to the parish office at 215-923-0355.

Saint Paul's Church is located near the intersection of 10th & Christian Streets and is easily accessible vîa I-95. Parking is available across the street from the church. The church is also accessible vîa public transportation. The 23 Bus can be taken from Market East Regional Rail Station (wait at the bus stop at the northwest corner of 12th & Market) to 12th & Christian. This is two blocks west of the church. For the return trip the 23 Bus can be taken from 10th & Christian Streets. For more information visit: www.septa.com

Photos from the Forty Hours Prayer in Overbrook

2010-04-19T14:18:00.019-04:00

Here are some photos from the Mass of Exposition (in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite) for the Quarant'Ore at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Overbrook. These photos are courtesy of Mr. Patrick Hart.

Quarant'Ore

2010-04-16T09:56:00.001-04:00

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Overbrook will be opening its Forty Hours Prayer with a Solemn Mass of Exposition, in the Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, this Sunday at 12 noon. All are welcome to attend. The church is located in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia (6301 Woodbine Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19151) and is easily accessible by car from the Schuylkill Expressway and vîa SEPTA Regional Rail's R5 train to Paoli/ Thorndale.

Easter Sunday at St. Paul's Church, Christian Street

2010-04-05T09:50:00.013-04:00

Photos courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph.

Easter Sunday High Mass Schedule

2010-04-03T08:34:00.003-04:00

Saint Paul's Church, Philadelphia
931 Christian Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147

Easter Sunday: Solemn Mass at 12 noon.

Saint Paul's Church is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Delaware, and (lower) Bucks counties. Parking is available in the lot across the street. If you are using public transportation, Bus Route 23 may be taken southbound from Market East Railroad Station (Reading Terminal).

Saint Peter's Church, Merchantville, New Jersey
43 W. Maple Avenue, Merchantville, New Jersey 08109

Easter Sunday: Solemn Mass at 12 noon.

St. Peter's Church is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia and (lower) Bucks counties vîa the Betsy Ross Bridge. Parking is available behind the church.

Mater Ecclesiæ Parish, Berlin, New Jersey
261 Cross Keys Road, Berlin, New Jersey 08009

Easter Sunday: Sung Mass at 12 noon.

Mater Ecclesiæ Parish is easily accessible to those in Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester counties. It is recommended that one drive to Mater Ecclesiæ Parish. Parking is available on the side of the church.

Maundy Thursday Altars of Repose

2010-04-01T23:59:00.012-04:00

It's getting increasingly harder in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to visit the traditional seven Altars of Repose on Maundy Thursday. Two of my usual stops--St. Philip Neri and St. John the Evangelist closed earlier than usual. However, South Philadelphia seems to be the last bastion of churches that are open late. This year I picked up St. Monica's and St. Richard of Chichester.

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Overbrook

St. Matthias' Church, Cynwyd

Cathedral Church of SS. Peter & Paul

St. Francis Xavier Church, Green Street

St. Joseph's Church, Willing's Alley

St. Monica's Church, Ritner Street

St. Richard of Chichester Church, Pollock Street

More Philadelphia Palm Sunday Photos

2010-03-30T22:01:00.000-04:00

More Palm Sunday photos courtesy of Mr. Christopher Conrad.

Photos from TLM Palm Sunday at St. Paul's Church

2010-03-29T11:24:00.004-04:00

Palm Sunday, according to the 1955 Holy Week rites, began at the ecclesia collecta, the Church of Sta. Maria Magdalena dei Pazzi. Sta. Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi is the other church in the parish. Founded by St. John Neumann as the first Italian National Parish in the United States, it was merged with St. Paul's in 2000. The blessing and distribution of palms took place there, followed by a procession through the Italian Market. The gentlemen of the schola sang the antiphons during the procession, with the faithful joining in for the "Gloria, laus et honor". The Mass followed at St. Paul's. The Passion during the Mass was sung almost entirely by the pastor, Fr. Gerald Carey, except for the "crowd" verses of the Synagoga that were sung by the choir to the musical setting by Tomás Luis de Victoria. (Photos courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph; you may click on them to view a larger version.)

Palm Sunday at St. Paul's Church

2010-03-24T12:08:00.004-04:00

Please note the following regarding the traditional Latin Mass at St. Paul's Church for Palm Sunday. The Church of Sta. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi (the other church in the parish) will be used as the ecclesia collecta on this day, weather permitting. This means that we will begin there with the blessing and distribution of palms at 12 noon, and then process through the Italian Market to St. Paul’s Church for the Mass. If you are physically unable to walk in the procession, you should wait at St. Paul’s Church for the procession to arrive at about 12:35 p.m. The Church of Sta. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi is located approximately four blocks away on Montrose Street between between 7th & 8th Streets. Montrose Street is one full block south of Christian Street.

Article on St. Paul's Church

2010-03-23T12:02:00.001-04:00

Here's a link to a great article about the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Paul's Church. (N.B. the Mass that the author attended was not a Solemn Mass, but a Sung Mass.) The article appears in this weeks edition of "The Weekly Press". Click on the link below.

"A Burlap Church No More"

Traditional Holy Week at Mater Ecclesiæ

2010-03-22T11:56:00.001-04:00

The Holy Schedule at Mater Ecclesiæ Parish in NJ.

Schola Cantorum in Delaware County

2010-03-09T16:49:00.004-05:00

From Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio, Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of Latin Liturgy Association, Inc.

Sodales:

I am pleased to tell you that a Schola Cantorum is being founded, in the Delaware County Vicariate of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, by Mr. Erik M. Paffett. It is being described as “a volunteer organization with the purpose of cultivating a renewed interest in the treasury of Catholic Sacred Music known as Gregorian Chant. The Schola Cantorum of Delaware County (SCDC) is designed to provide church musicians, laity and Catholic clergy the opportunity to learn, sing and understand this captivating repertoire in a liturgical setting. The Schola collaborates with various churches in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, PA and is centralized in Delaware County.”

The SCDC is currently engaged in preparing the chant for the Novus Ordo Latin Mass for Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2010, at 4:00 p.m. that will be celebrated at St. Anastasia's Church, West Chester Pike and Radnor Road in Newtown Square, PA. Though this initial effort is directed toward preparing for a Novus Ordo Latin Mass, SCDC hopes to direct its efforts toward Traditional Latin Masses as well. You may learn more about the SCDC by visiting the following URL:

http://scholadelco.blogspot.com/
Should you wish to contact Erik Paffett directly, his e-mail address is:

erik@paffett.net

Thank you for giving this message your attention. Ipsius pietas et misericordia nos adjuvet!

Most cordially,
Rudy Masciantonio

First Saturday TLM in March

2010-02-21T23:57:00.004-05:00

From Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio, Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of Latin Liturgy Association, Inc.

Sodales:

I am delighted to tell you that through the efforts of one of our members, the Traditional Latin Mass will be offered on the First Saturday, March 6, 2010, at the Rectory Chapel of St. Albert the Great Church located at 212 Welsh Road in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania (19006) at 10:00 a.m. preceded by confessions (also in the Rectory) at 9:30 a.m. Fr. Andrew McCormick of Sacred Heart Church, Swedesburg will be the celebrant. The telephone number of St. Albert the Great Parish is 215-947-3500 and the website is www.saintalthegreat.org We would be grateful for your help in publicizing this opportunity. We would be grateful if members and friends of the Latin Liturgy Association, Inc. would express heartfelt thanks to Msgr. Paul Dougherty, Pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish, for his hospitality toward the TLM.

We hope that future TLMs will be made available at St. Albert the Great on First Fridays and on First Saturdays, but we would appreciate help in lining up celebrants for future months. You may contact Mark Matthews at Mark@Matthews123.com or 215-947-6555.

Thank you very much for giving this message your attention. A blessed Lent to all! Nos cum Prole pia benedicat Virgo Maria!

Most cordially,
Rudy Masciantonio

Our Lady of the Snows, pray for us!

2010-02-10T20:17:00.002-05:00

TLM for Feast of Title--Our Lady of Lourdes

2010-01-22T10:12:00.009-05:00

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Overbrook will be having a Solemn Mass, in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, for their Feast of Title on Thursday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. A plenary indulgence is available, under the usual conditions (i.e. making your Confession, Holy Communion, and reciting prayers for the Holy Father--usually a Paternoster, Ave Maria, and Gloria Patri--in the church). The church is located at 63rd Street & Lancaster Pike (Avenue), the church is easily accessible by public transportation. Street parking is available on 63rd Street (alongside the church) and along Lancaster Pike (west of the church). It is a also five minute walk from Overbrook Station on the SEPTA R5 Line to Paoli (formerly the 'Mainline of the Pennsylvania Railroad'). As well, it can be accessed by bus--SEPTA Bus Route 46 ends right in front of the church.

Notre-Dame de Port-au-Prince, priez pour eux!

2010-01-13T12:01:00.013-05:00

The city and countyside lie in ruins... As most of you have already heard, the city of Port-au-Prince (capital of the Republic of Haïti) was struck by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake yesterday afternoon. The epicenter was located 25 miles southwest of the city. In a disaster all too reminiscent of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the city was leveled and further damage continues due to rampant fires. If you can send anything, please help by donating to Catholic Relief Services . You can do so by clicking HERE. Many are still trapped under rubble, people are without homes or food, hundreds of thousands have died including the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince and many seminarians. Catholic Relief Services is one of the largest relief organizations in the wold and already has a strong presence in this country, where Catholicism is the state religion! If you cannot give money, many organizations are also taking clothes. But please do something!

Notre-Dame de Port-au-Prince, priez pour eux!

Mass for the Epiphany of our Lord

2010-01-02T15:08:00.004-05:00

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Overbrook
6301 Woodbine Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19151

The Epiphany of our Lord: Wednesday, January 6, Sung Mass at 7:30 p.m.

Our Lady of Lourdes Church is located in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia and is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Delaware, & Montgomery counties.

New Year's Day Masses

2009-12-31T19:15:00.001-05:00

Saint Paul's Church, Philadelphia
931 Christian Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147

New Year's Day: Low Mass with organ music, followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, at 12 noon.

Saint Paul's Church is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Delaware, and Lower Bucks counties.

Sacred Heart (Polish) Church, Swedesburg
149 Jefferson Street, Swedesburg (Bridgeport), Pennsylvania 19405

New Year's Day: Low Mass at 11:30 a.m.

Sacred Heart Church is located in the Swedesburg neighborhood of Bridgeport and is easily accessible to those in Montgomery & Chester counties.

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-25T14:01:00.000-05:00

Where to hear Mass at Christmas-tide

2009-12-14T11:58:00.020-05:00

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Overbrook
6301 Woodbine Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19151

Christmas Eve: Christmas Carols at 11:30 p.m.; Solemn Mass at 12 midnight.

Our Lady of Lourdes Church is located in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia and is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Delaware, & Montgomery counties.

Saint Paul's Church, Philadelphia
931 Christian Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147

Christmas Day: Low Mass with music at 12 noon.
Sunday in the Octave of Christmas: Sung Mass at 12 noon.
New Year's Day: Low Mass with organ music, followed by Benediction, at 12 noon.

Saint Paul's Church is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Delaware, and Lower Bucks counties.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Italian) Church, Plymouth Meeting
450 Fairfield Road, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania 19401

Christmas Day: Low Mass at 11:30 a.m.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (a chapel of Holy Saviour, Norristown) is located in Plymouth Meeting and is easily accessible to those in Montgomery & Chester counties.

Sacred Heart (Polish) Church, Swedesburg
149 Jefferson Street, Swedesburg (Bridgeport), Pennsylvania 19405

New Year's Day: Low Mass at 11:30 a.m.

Sacred Heart Church is located in the Swedesburg neighborhood of Bridgeport and is easily accessible to those in Montgomery & Chester counties.

Christus Regnat Journal

2009-12-13T16:36:00.002-05:00

A reader from St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association asked me to post a link to their website. This group, based in Ireland, publishes the bi-annual journal "Christus Regnat", the latest edition of which is just recently available. To find out more information about "Christus Regnat", please click HERE.

Photos from Immaculate Conception at St. Paul's Church

2009-12-09T23:01:00.026-05:00

Here are some photos from the Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at St. Paul's Church, Christian Street. They are provided courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph. To see a larger version, please click on the photo you want to see.

Latin Masses for the Immaculate Conception

2009-12-01T00:00:00.007-05:00

Under this title, Our Lady is the patroness of not only the United States, but also of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is also a Holy Day of Obligation. you may want to consider where you will attend Mass for this day. If you are looking to hear Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, then there are two options.

Sacred Heart Church, Swedesburg
123 Jefferson Street, Swedesburg, PA 19405
Low Mass at 7:00 p.m.
Sacred Heart Church is located in the Swedesburg neighborhood of Bridgeport and is easily accessible to those in Montgomery & Chester counties.

St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia
931 Christian Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Solemn Mass at 7:00 p.m.
Guest preacher: Fr. Peter Burkauskas of St. Andrew's Lithuanian Parish
St. Paul's Church is easily accessible to those in Philadelphia, Delaware, and Lower Bucks counties.

All Souls' Day at Our Lady of Lourdes, Overbrook

2009-11-03T11:19:00.012-05:00

Here are some photos from the All Souls Requiem Mass, in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Overbrook. (Some of the photos are a slightly blurry since I was sitting at the back.) The celebrant was the pastor, Fr. James W. Mayer, O. de M.

All Saints' Day at St. Paul's Church, Christian Street

2009-11-01T22:06:00.006-05:00

Photographs courtesy of Mr. Thomas Rudolph:

The celebrant and preacher was Fr. Kevin McGoldrick of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Wolf Street in South Philadelphia; the deacon of the Mass was Fr. Gerald Carey, pastor of St. Paul's Church; and the sub-deacon was Friar David Spencer, O. de M. of the Monastery of Our Lady of Mercy and Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Overbrook. The High Mass vestment set used the previous week was borrowed again.

Photos from Philadelphia's First Weekly High Mass in the EF

2009-10-26T21:14:00.031-04:00

Photographs courtesy of Mr. James Capaldi and Mr. Thomas Rudolph (you can click on the photos to see a larger version):

Weekly High Mass in Philadelphia

2009-10-18T00:00:00.022-04:00

Beginning on October 25, St. Paul's Church, Christian Street will begin having a weekly Latin Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The parish is located in South Philadelphia and encompasses both St. Paul's Church and the Church of St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi. St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi was founded in 1852 by St. John Nepomucene Neumann, then Bishop of Philadelphia, as the first Italian National Parish in this country.

The Traditional Latin Mass will be every Sunday at 12 noon at St. Paul's Church. There will also be Masses for each of the six Holy Days of Obligation in this country as well as for other feast days.

A Traditional Latin Mass in the Church of St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi is being planned for that church's Patronal Feast on May 29, 2010. The parish is scheduled to have its Forty Hours Prayer beginning on Lætare Sunday next Lent, and Fr. Carey hopes to have it according to the Traditional Roman Rite. The public recitation of the Divine Office is also being planned for the future.

The normal Sunday Mass at St. Paul's will be a Sung Mass/ Missa Cantata (solemn form). However, Solemn Masses (with deacon & sub-deacon) have been scheduled for the first two Sundays--October 25 and November 1--being the feasts of Christ the King and All Saints, respectively. Solemn Masses will also be scheduled for various other Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation throughout the year.

A schola cantorum is in the process of being formed to sing the chants. As well, professional singers will be used for feast days. The choir and schola cantorum will be directed by Dr. Robert Hall and the organist will be Mr. Lee Milhous. On the first Sunday, the Mass setting will be Sir Richard Terry's "Short Mass in C". The motets will be Sir Edward Elgar's Ave Verum Corpus, Lorenzo Perosi's Laudate Dominum, and Te Sæculorum Principem sung to plainsong and falsobordone.

The parish can be reached from north of the city vîa the Delaware Expressway (I-95) by taking the Columbus Boulevard Exit, turning right onto Columbus Boulevard, and then turning right onto Christian Street; from south of the city vîa the Delaware Expressway (I-95), exiting onto PA-611 toward Pattison Avenue, making a slight left onto Broad Street, following Broad Street for about 2 miles, and making a right onto Christian Street; or from west of the city vîa the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), merging onto the Vine Street Expressway (I-676), exiting at Broad Street, turning right onto Broad Street and following it all the way around City Hall, then turning left onto South Street, and right onto 10th Street. There is limited parking (approximately 25 spaces) in the church's parking lot directly across the street. Parking is also available around the church in the Italian Market neighborhood. The area is fairly safe, though I would not park west of 11th Street.

The church is also accessible vîa public transportation. If coming from the suburbs, take the train into Market East Station (Reading Terminal); exit onto Market Street in front of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. From 12th & Market Streets, catch the 23 Bus southbound to Oregon Station in South Philadelphia. Exit the bus at 12th & Christian and walk two blocks east to St. Paul's Church. For other information visit http://www.septa.com/ and click on "Plan My Trip".

Please make every effort to support this holy endeavour with your regular attendence, prayers, or financial contributions.

All Souls Mass

2009-10-17T22:44:00.000-04:00

From Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio, Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of Latin Liturgy Association, Inc.

Sodales:

1.) Please note that there will be a High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia (63rd & Lancaster), on All Souls' Day, November 2, 2009, at 7:30 PM. The choir will sing portions of the Requiem Mass by Cristóbal Morales, and the balance will be sung to plainsong. The pastor of the parish--Father James Mayer, O. de M.--will be the celebrant.

2.) Also, please note that the regularly scheduled TLM at Sacred Heart Church in Swedesboro (Bridgeport) PA has been moved from the 1st Sunday of the month to the 4th Sunday. This TLM will continue to be at 8:45am.

Thank you for giving this notice your attention

Per Virginem Matrem concedat nobis Dominus salutem et pacem!

Most cordially,
Rudy Masciantonio

Missæ Cantatæ in Diocese of Camden, New Jersey

2009-10-17T22:43:00.004-04:00

From Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio, Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of Latin Liturgy Association, Inc.

Sodales.

I am happy to tell you that special choral TLMs will be celebrated at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church located at 43 W. Maple Avenue in Merchantville, New Jersey (Diocese of Camden) on the Feasts of Christ the King and All Saints. Each Mass will be sung by a four-voice professional chorus, the money for which was donated by generous parishioners. The Rev. Anthony J. Manupella, Pastor of St. Peter's, will be the celebrant. LLA member Michael Lawrence is the Organist and Master of the Schola Cantorum. Here is the program for the Masses:

October 25 at noon, Feast of Christ the King:
G.P. da Palestrina: Missa Brevis
William Byrd: Ave Verum Corpus
Organ Pieces: Louis Vierne's Berceuse (from the Pieces de Fantasie), and Samuel Adler's Festive Proclamation

November 1 at noon, Feast of All Saints:
William Byrd: Mass for Three Voices
Hans Leo Hassler: Cantate Domino
Organ pieces: Dietrich Buxtehude's Prelude in D Major, and Olivier Messiaen's Le Banquet Celeste

As many of you know, St. Peter in Merchantville (Diocese of Camden) has a weekly TLM at noon on Sunday. The TLM is a High Mass from September through June. The special choral High Masses are new. The Pastro, the Rev. Anthony J. Manuppella, has already conducted an instructional program on “Getting Ready for the Traditional Latin Mass”. The website of the church (www.stpeterrcc.com) also contains informative material on the Traditional Latin Mass. The telephone number of the church is 856-663-1373.

We are very grateful to Michael Lawrence, Organist and Master of the Schola Cantorum at St. Peter, for bringing this information to our attention, and, of course, for his hard work in making this special music possible.

Ipsa Virgo Virginum intercedat pro nobis ad Dominum!

Most cordially,
Rudy Masciantonio

Sung Mass & Forty Hours Prayer

2009-10-17T15:05:00.001-04:00

From Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio, Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of Latin Liturgy Association, Inc.

Sodales:

On Sunday, October 25, 2009, the Feast of Christ the King, the regularly scheduled Traditional Latin Mass celebrated at 11:30 AM at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (454 Fairfield Road) Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania (Chapel of Holy Saviour, Norristown) will be a Missa Cantata. The traditional Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus will also take place at that Mass.

Also, on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, October 18, 19, 20, the Forty Hours Prayer [in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite] will take place at Holy Saviour Church (407 E. Main Street) Norristown, Pennsylvania. Devotions are at 7:00 PM each evening consisting of the traditional prayers and hymns, with the procession of the Blessed Sacrament taking place on Tuesday evening. The preacher is Father Ronald Check.

We are very grateful to Monsignor Charles Sangermano, Pastor of Holy Saviour Parish for providing this information.

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini!

Most cordially,
Rudy Masciantonio

Sankt Hedwig von Andechs

2009-10-16T10:21:00.006-04:00

To-day is the feast day of a rather obscure saint to whom I have a devotion--Saint Hedwig. She was a German woman from a noble background who married into a Polish royal family. There is a great devotion to her in both Germany and Poland, so much so that the Germans who migrated to Latin America brought their deovtion there. I was at the Saint Jude Shop last year when I saw rather nice wooden statue. None of the women working in the store knew which saint it was. As I turned it over, I noticed on the bottom that it was from Colombia and labeled 'Santa Eduwiges'. I bought it on the spot. Here's Saint Hedwig's history as per The Catholic Encyclopædia of 1913:

Duchess of Silesia, b. about 1174, at the castle of Andechs [Bavaria]; d. at Trebnitz [Silesia], 12 or 15 October, 1243. She was one of eight children born to Berthold IV, Count of Andechs and Duke of Croatia & Dalmatia. Of her four brothers, two became bishops, Ekbert of Bamberg, and Berthold of Aquileia; Otto succeeded his father as Duke of Dalmatia, and Heinrich became Margrave of Istria. Of her three sisters, Gertrude married Andrew II, King of Hungary, from which union sprang St. Elizabeth, Landgravine of Thuringia; Mechtilde became Abbess of Kitzingen; while Agnes was made the unlawful wife of Philip II of France in 1196, on the repudiation of his lawful wife, Ingeborg, but was dismissed in 1200, Innocent III having laid France under an interdict.

Hedwig was educated at the monastery of Kitzingen, and, according to an old biography, at the age of twelve (1186), was married to Henry I of Silesia (b. 1168), who in 1202 succeeded his father Boleslaw as Duke of Silesia. Henry's mother was a German; he himself had been educated in Germany; and now through his wife he was brought into still closer relations with Germany. Henry I was an energetic prince, who greatly extended the boundaries of his duchy, established his authority on a firm basis, and rendered important services to civilization in the realm. For this purpose he encouraged to the utmost the spread of the more highly developed civilization existing in the German territories adjoining his to the west, so that Silesia became German in language and customs.

Hedwig now took a prominent part in the beneficent administration of her husband. Her prudence, fortitude, and piety won for her great influence in the government of the land. In particular she gave her support to new monastic foundations and assisted those already in existence. It was chiefly through the monasteries that German civilization was spread in Silesia. Henry and Hedwig endowed munificently the Cistercian monastery of Leubus, the Premonstratensian monastery of St. Vincent, and the foundation of the Canons of St. Augustine at Breslau. The following monasteries were established: the Augustinian priory of Naumburg on the Bober (1217), later transferred to Sagan, the Cistercian monastery of Heinrichau (1227), and the priory of the Augustinian Canons at Kamenz (1210). St. Hedwig brought the Dominicans to Bunzlau and Breslau, the Franciscans to Goldberg (1212) and later to Krossen. The Templars established a house at Klein-Oels. Henry was also the founder of the Hospital of the Holy Ghost at Breslau (1214), and Hedwig tended with disinterested charity the leper women in the hospital at Neumarkt. At the instance of his saintly wife, the duke then founded at his own expense, and on ground donated by himself the convent of the Cistercian nuns at Trebnitz (1202), and generously endowed it. This was the first house of religious women in Silesia. The first nuns came from Bamberg and took possession of their new monastery early in 1203. The first abbess is said to have been Petrussa, succeeded by Bl. Gertrude, a daughter of Henry and Hedwig, who at an early age had been betrothed to Otto von Wittelsbach. After he murdered the German King Philip of Swabia (1208), the betrothal was annulled and Gertrude entered the Abbey of Trebnitz (before 1212), where she later became abbess.

For some years after her marriage, Hedwig resided chiefly at Breslau. She had seven children. A son, Boleslaw, and two daughters, Sophia and Agnes, died at an early age; Henry succeeded to his father's title; Conrad died while still a young man, in consequence of a fall from his horse (c. 1214); and Gertrude embraced the religious life. On Christmas Day, 1208, another son of Hedwig's was baptized, probably not identical with the above-mentioned Boleslaw, who had died before this time. On the suggestion of Hedwig, after the birth of this last child, she and her husband led a virgin life (1209), and pronounced a vow of chastity before the Bishop of Breslau. Duke Henry took the tonsure and allowed his beard to grow, like the Cistercian lay brothers (whence his sobriquet of "the Bearded"). From this time forward Hedwig spent much of her time at the Abbey of Trebnitz, where, on the death of her husband (1238), she took up her permanent abode, that she might devote herself unreservedly to exercises of mortification and piety as well as to works of charity. She transferred to the abbey her inheritance of Schawoine. Hedwig had had many trials and tribulations. In the year 1227 her husband, with Duke Lesko of Sandomir, was treacherously set upon by Swantopolk, Duke of Pomerania, and severely wounded. Hedwig immediately hastened to Gonsawa, where the bloody deed had taken place, to care for her husband. Lesko had been killed, and war now broke out between Henry of Silesia and Conrad of Masovia over the possession of Cracow. Conrad was defeated, but succeeded in surprising Henry in a church attending Divine service and led him captive to Plock (1229). Hedwig forthwith went to her husband's assistance, and her very appearance made such an impression on Conrad of Masovia that he released the duke.

Of Hedwig's children, only Gertrude survived her; Duke Henry II fell at Wahlstatt (1241) in a battle against the Tatars. After her husband's death, Hedwig took the grey habit of the Cistercians, but was not received into the order as a religious, that she might retain the right to spend her revenues in charities. The duchess practised severe mortification, endured all trials with the greatest resignation, with self-denying charity cared for the sick and supported the poor; in her interior life of prayer, she gave herself up to meditation on supernatural things. Her piety and gentleness won for her even during life the reputation of a saint. She was interred in the church attached to the monastery, and was canonized by Clement IV, 26 March, 1267, and on 25 August of the same year her remains were raised to the honours of the altar. Her feast is celebrated 16 October; she in honoured as the patroness of Silesia.

With St. Hedwig as patroness, R. Spiske, later canon at Breslau, founded, in 1848, a pious association of women and young girls, from which developed the congregation of the Sisters of St. Hedwig, established in 1859, at Breslau, under the Rule of St. Augustine, and constitutions approved by the bishop. Their chief aim is the education of orphaned and abandoned children; they also conduct schools for little girls and trade schools. Their activity extends chiefly over Germany and Austria, but they also have a house in Denmark. The sisters number about three hundred, with mother-house at Breslau.

Heilige Hedwig, bitte für uns!

The Most Holy Rosary

2009-10-07T17:53:00.004-04:00

In Pope Leo XIII's 1889 encyclical, Quamquam pluries, he prescribed that this prayer to St. Joseph be added to the recitation of the Most Holy Rosary during the month of October:

To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we have recourse in our tribulation, and having implored the help of thy thrice-holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. By that charity wherewith thou wast united to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by that fatherly affection with which thou didst embrace the Child Jesus, we beseech thee and we humbly pray, that thou wouldst look graciously upon the inheritance which Jesus Christ hath purchased by His Blood, and assist us in our needs by thy power and strength.

Most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, protect the chosen people of Jesus Christ; keep far from us, most loving father, all blight of error and corruption; mercifully assist us from heaven, most mighty defender, in this our conflict with the powers of darkness; and, even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the supreme peril of His life, so now defend God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; keep us one and all under thy continual protection, that we may be supported by thine example and thine assistance, may be enabled to lead a holy life, die a happy death, and come at last to the possession of everlasting blessedness in heaven. Amen.

Quote of the Day

2009-09-20T14:32:00.006-04:00

"...The picked intellects of Protestantism ended in conceiving and professing a purely subjective religion, which no longer demanded from the believer an obligatory adhesion to any metaphysical, moral or historical dogma. Between the idealistic Protestantism and the positive Protestantism of tradition ever more fundamental divergences came to light. So much was this the case that it was possible to wonder, on occasion, whether the Protestant spirit were capable of creating a "religion," a faith common to the whole aggregate of believers, or whether it were not merely a dissolvent which gradually eliminated from Christianity every positive element, until at last it faded into a vague religiosity which was stripped of all power of attraction and was incapable of becoming the guiding principle of any genuine religious body.

...The Protestant faith is progressing towards a purely spiritual and internal religion, without dogmas, priests, sacrifices, good works, or external ceremonies. And yet, apparently in order to have a tangible existence and an outside influence, it cannot avoid promulgating a creed and binding itself to the historical and traditional past of Christianity and constituting itself as a Church. It is obviously open to question whether on the one hand the Protestant spirit will not necessarily feel itself cramped in any Church, and on the other whether a religion without a Church is sheer nonsense.

Naturally upon this question opinions are divided. Some... insist upon the impossibility of reconciling the religious feeling of the few with the religion of the masses. They point out the growing gulf between the mental outlook of the enlightened Protestants who are capable of making their own belief, and the crowd of the mediocre, the lukewarm and half-hearted believers who do not make their Christianity, but submit to it and thus remain attached to the old forms and the ancient practices. And from this they draw the conclusion that Protestantism contains a contradiction within itself which is destined to become ever more intolerable in proportion as it develops, and will entail the more or less fatal dissolution of the Protestant Church."

--Henri Lichtenberger

Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady

2009-09-15T14:15:00.004-04:00

Stabat mater dolorosa
juxta Crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat Filius.

Cujus animam gementem,
contristatam et dolentem
pertransivit gladius.

O quam tristis et afflicta
fuit illa benedicta,
mater Unigeniti!

Quae mærebat et dolebat,
pia Mater, dum videbat
nati pœnas inclyti.

Quis est homo qui non fleret,
matrem Christi si videret
in tanto supplicio?

Quis non posset contristari
Christi Matrem contemplari
dolentem cum Filio?

Pro peccatis suæ gentis
vidit Jesum in tormentis,
et flagellis subditum.

Vidit suum dulcem Natum
moriendo desolatum,
dum emisit spiritum.

Eia, Mater, fons amoris
me sentire vim doloris
fac, ut tecum lugeam.

Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
in amando Christum Deum
ut sibi complaceam.

Sancta Mater, istud agas,
crucifixi fige plagas
cordi meo valide.

Tui Nati vulnerati,
tam dignati pro me pati,
pœnas mecum divide.

Fac me tecum pie flere,
crucifixo condolere,
donec ego vixero.

Juxta Crucem tecum stare,
et me tibi sociare
in planctu desidero.

Virgo virginum præclara,
mihi jam non sis amara,
fac me tecum plangere.

Fac, ut portem Christi mortem,
passionis fac consortem,
et plagas recolere.

Fac me plagis vulnerari,
fac me Cruce inebriari,
et cruore Filii.

Flammis ne urar succensus,
per te, Virgo, sim defensus
in die judicii.

Christe, cum sit hinc exire,
da per Matrem me venire
ad palmam victoriæ.

Quando corpus morietur,
fac, ut animæ donetur
paradisi gloria. Amen.

Calling all experienced musicians

2009-09-14T00:44:00.003-04:00

From Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio, Chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of Latin Liturgy Association, Inc.

Sodales:

Beginning on October 25,2009 there will be weekly sung Traditional Latin Mass at 12:00 noon at St. Paul's Church in South Philadelphia on Christian Street between 9th & 10th Streets. St. Paul's Church is forming a mixed choir and a men's schola cantorum to perform under the direction of Dr. Robert Hall, music director for the traditional liturgy. Interested singers should demonstrate familiarity with musical notation and sight singing and the men of the schola should demonstrate familiarity with traditional chant notation. Weekly duties will include preparation of the chant "propers" from the Roman Gradual (men's Schola) as well as music to be sung by the mixed choir including the Ordinary of the Mass, chants, motets, and appropriate hymns. Interested singers should contact Dr. Robert Hall directly at 267-978-2119 or by e-mail at headdoc50@aol.com for more information. Thank you.

Society of All Saints (Sisters of the Poor)

2009-09-03T00:01:00.046-04:00

To-day the American Congregation of the Society of All Saints was received into the bosom of our Holy Mother, the Roman Apostolic Church; this was a very difficult decision for them. The Sisters of the Poor hold a very special place in my heart since I've known them from my days with the Anglo-Catholics. I thought I'd share with you a little bit about the order.

Peter F. Anson's 1955 classic The Call of the Cloister: Religious Communities and kindred bodies in the Anglican Communion has a whole chapter devoted to the Sisters of the Poor from which I have reproduced a few passages below. (N.B. in both the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, the custom of calling secular priests 'Father' didn't take hold until the late 1800s. Before this time 'Father' was generally reserved for priests who were members of religious orders; secular priests were refered to as either 'Mister' or 'Doctor' depending upon their level of education.)

"The early stages of this large and widespread community was so closely associated with Margaret Chapel, London, that a brief account of this place of worship, which played such an important part in the early days of the Catholic Revival in the Church of England, would seem necessary. Margaret Chapel stood at the east end of Margaret Street, which runs parallel with Oxford Street. A century ago it mainly consisted of dingy five-storey houses, while north of it were smaller streets of a much lower type often lined with costermongers' barrows. To the west lay the fashionable quarters of Portland Place and Cavendish Square. Thus Margaret Street touched the two extremes of wealth and poverty. The chapel at its east end had been erected in the eighteenth century and was a plain, ugly building with galleries. The Reverend Frederick Oakley [a friend of John Henry Newman] had been nominated to the charge of the chapel in 1839, and it soon became the favorite place of worship for the disciples of the Tractarian leaders. The three-decker pulpit at the east end was replaced by a small communion-table, vested with a crimson frontal, on which stood a plain cross, and alms-dish, and two French candlesticks. In 1845 Mr Oakley followed Newman on his road to Rome. He was succeeded by the Reverend W. Upton Richards, who maintained the same standards of worship. Every Sunday morning Margaret Chapel was filled with a select, fashionable congregation, some drawn there out of curiosity, others from motives of piety. There was a certain amount of astonishment in seeing a preacher wearing a surplice instead of the then usual black gown. Whether the slow and ponderous plain-chant of the Laudes Diurnæ: the Psalter and Canticles set and pointed to the Gregorian Tones, with Mr Richard Redhead rumbling on the organ, was more devotional than cheerful Anglican chants, provided matter for argument after the service. By 1847, so Benjamin Webb wrote to Dr [John Mason] Neale, 'they have now got up a complete musical Mass: the Commandments, Epistle, Gospel, Preface, etc. all sung to the ancient music. I venture to assert that there has been nothing so solemn since the Reformation; and it may never be able to be done again.'

"Among the regular worshippers at Margaret Chapel was Miss Harriet Brownlow Byron, who lived with her sisters in Nottingham Place; her father and mother having died some time before. She was born in 1818 and her family were well-to-do folk who had a property at Coulsdon in Surrey. She described herself in after years as "a wordly little thing" before she made her first confession to Mr Upton Richards on 3 July 1848. After this she began to keep a definite Rule of Life, making daily meditation, reciting the Day Hours, and visiting the poor. Mr Richards seems to have recognized her gifts and possibilities, for he set her to read the Fathers of the Church, and recommended that she should take a course of training at King's College Hospital.

"Three years before this the Sisterhood at Park Village West [the Sisterhood of the Holy Cross] had been founded. The "convent" was within easy walking distance of Nottingham Place, and Miss Byron often went there, usually accompanied by her two friends, the beautiful Miss Ethel Bennett, afterwards foundress of the Sisters of Bethany, and Miss Georgina Hoare, who found her vocation as one of the Sisterhood of St. John the Baptist, Clewer.

We may be almost certain that Miss Byron and these other ladies assisted at the laying by Dr. Pusey of the foundation stone of the new church, dedicated to All Saints on All Saints' Day, 1850, and at the last service which had been held in Margaret Chapel on Easter Monday that same year. For the next nine years the congregation had to worship in a temporary building in Great Titchfield Street, while the walls of Butterfield's masterpiece slowly rose on the site of the former Margaret Chapel. Miss Byron was now convinced that God had called her to form a Sisterhood, and on 16 August 1851 she went with Mr Richards to inspect a house in Mortimer Street and decided to rent it. On St Luke's Day of the same year she gave up the world, without there being anything spectacular about this renunciation. She took up her abode in Mortimer Street with three incurable invalids and two orphans. For the first six months she cared for these inmates alone. One room was fitted up as an oratory, and on the Vigil of St Andrew, 1851, Mr Richards offered the Holy Sacrifice for the community that was to be."

The Sisterhood eventually grew, slowly but surely. The Divine Office was said in common, they attended Mass together, and in 1860 they took up hospital work. In 1869 the Sisters opened their own hospital with the help of the Anglican Lord Bishop of Oxford. It was the first hospital to be founded and worked by religious of the Church of England. Soon the Sisters were invited to open a house in Scotland and eventually opened a house in the United States:

"The American Congregation of the Society, which has had its own Mother Superior and novitiate since 1890, was born on 12 December 1872 when a few Sisters landed on American soil. It was 'a bitterly cold day, laced together with gusts of keen wind; icicles hung on the rigging of the ship and the beards of the sailors, but the welcome was otherwise warm.' It was the Reverend Joseph Richey, of Mount Calvary Church, Baltimore, Maryland, who asked the Mother Foundress to spare some of her community. At that date his church was one of the outposts of the Catholic movement in the United States. It is related that after much scrubbing and cleaning on the part of the Sisters an eight-room house became the first Baltimore convent. Starting with a school for girls, work among the great negro population of the city was soon added...

"In 1890 the Community moved to a new convent in 801 North Eutaw Street, Baltimore. In 1916, thanks to a generous benefactress, a country home for children was erected at Catonsville, Maryland. Here also is located the picturesque mother house and novitiate, with its fine Perpendicular Gothic chapel. St Anne's Home for aged women in Philadelphia, opened in 1913, provides a happy peaceful atmosphere in contrast to the bustle of the great city. In these houses of the American Congregation of the Society of All Saints one finds the same spirit of peace and austerity as in the convents at home. The same handicrafts are carried on. Altar breads are baked, and the Sisters do practically all the household work themselves. There is the same stress on the solemn recitation off the Divine Office. Meditation and prayer constitute the foundation of the life, and active works find their support in these. Retreats and Quiet days, corporate or private, are given in the Convent Chapel at Catonsville, Baltimore [sic]."

In 1876 the Sisters opened a house in South Africa, at the request of the Anglican Bishop of Cape Town. In 1878, four Sisters went to work with the Cowley Fathers in India. The order grew and drew in more novices including Maria Francesca Rossetti, the older sister of pre-Raphaelite painter & poet Dante Gabriel Rossstti and poet Christina Rossetti, who joined the Society of All Saints at the age of forty-six. Sister Maria Francesca's contribution to the Sisters of the Poor was a very poetic translation of the Monastic Diurnal into English, The Day Hours and Other Offices as Used by the Sisters of All Saints. This was used until a revision, conforming to the breviary revisions of Pope Pius X, was adopted in 1922. A chapel for the convent at London Colney was designed for them by the famous Sir Ninian Comper and was dedicated in 1927. This chapel and the attached convent were purchased from the English Congregation of Sisters by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster in 2008. It is now the All Saints Pastoral Centre.

The American Congregation still has their convent in Catonsville, Maryland and maintains a house here in Philadelphia. I have the pleasure of knowing Sister Elaine, who maintains St. Anna's Home here in Philadelphia. The original St. Anna's Home was located at the corner of Race & Woodstock Streets near Logan Square. It was a sprawling house that was two very long row houses combined. The chapel was on the top floor and was a lovely little space, replete with a wooden rood screen and altar piece. Sadly, the cost of maintaining the building was too much and the Sisters sold it in 2000 (if I remember correctly). St. Anna's Home was moved to a smaller house on Van Pelt Street.

I remember Sister Elaine telling me about the Sesquicentenary Anniversary of the order in England in 1998. It must first be noted that, like in the Roman Catholic Church, many Anglican religious orders 'reformed' their habits after the liturgical changes of the 1970s. The American Congregation of the Sisters of the Poor kept their habit mostly intact and simply shortened their veil from floor-length to waist-length, whereas the English Congregation adopted a greatly modified habit. When the American Congregation showed up for the Sesquicentennial celebration in London one of the English sisters came over and asked them to which order they belonged. No one knew who they were since the American sisters had retained the traditional habit!

You can visit their website: http://www.asspconvent.org/

As well there are articles in the Archdiocese of Baltimore's newspaper The Catholic Review:

10 Episcopal nuns in Archdiocese of Baltimore to join Catholic Church.

Archbishop O’Brien welcomes 10 Episcopal nuns, priest into Catholic Church

To-day a new chapter in their history begins as the American Congregation is received into the Roman Catholic Church. It is hoped that the Novus Ordo liturgy (used at their reception intot he Church) will not be foisted upon them permanently. Please keep Sister Elaine and all of the Sisters of the Poor in your prayers, Nihil Habentes, Omnia Possidentes.

"Out of the Flaminian Gate"

2009-08-23T14:56:00.005-04:00

I felt like posting this hard-to-find text of Nicholas, Cardinal Wiseman's famous letter "Out of the Flaminian Gate". This was a pastoral letter to the Catholics of England on the occasion of the restoration of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and the establishment of the Archdiocese of Westminster and its suffragan dioceses. The triumphalist tone of this letter caused a great stir in England that took years to calm. Queen Victoria, after having read a copy of the letter, is rumored to have shouted, "Am I Queen of England, or no?!!!" Here is the text:

Cardinal Wiseman’s letter “Out of the Flaminian Gate” (October 1850)

Nicholas, by the Divine mercy, of the Holy Roman Church by the title of St. Pudentiana Cardinal Priest, Archbishop of Westminster, and Administrator Apostolic of the Diocese of Southwark:

To our dearly beloved in Christ, the Clergy secular and regular, and the Faithful of the said Archdiocese and Diocese:

Health and benediction in the Lord!—If this day we greet you under a new title, it is not, dearly beloved, with an altered affection. If in words we seem to divide those who till now have formed, under our rule, a single flock, our heart is as undivided as ever in your regard. For now truly do we feel closely bound to you by new and stronger ties of charity; now do we embrace you in our Lord Jesus Christ with more tender emotions of paternal love; now doth our soul yearn, and our mouth is open to you, though words must fail to express what we feel on being once again permitted to address you, For if our parting was in sorrow, and we durst not hope that we should again face to face behold you, our beloved flock, so much the greater is now our consolation and our joy, when we find ourselves not so much permitted as commissioned to return to you by the supreme ruler of the Church of Christ.

But how can we for one moment indulge in selfish feelings, when, through that loving Father’s generous and wise counsels, the greatest of blessings has just been bestowed upon our country, by the restoration of its true Catholic hierarchical government, in communion with the see of Peter?

For on the twenty-ninth day of the last month, on the Feast of the Archangel Saint Michael, prince of the heavenly host, his Holiness Pope Pius IX. was graciously pleased to issue his Letters Apostolic, under the Fisherman’s Ring, conceived in terms of great weight and dignity, wherein he substituted for the eight Apostolic Vicariates heretofore existing, one archiepiscopal or metropolitan and twelve episcopal sees; repealing at the same time, and annulling all dispositions and enactments made for England by the Holy See with reference to its late form of ecclesiastical government.

And by a brief dated the same day his Holiness was further pleased to appoint us, though most unworthy, to the archiepiscopal see of Westminster, established by the above-mentioned Letters Apostolic, giving us at the same time the administration of the episcopal see of Southwark. So that at present, and till such time as the Holy See shall think fit otherwise to provide, we govern, and shall continue to govern, the counties of Middlesex, Hertford, and Essex as ordinary thereof, and those of Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Berkshire, and Hampshire, with the islands annexed, as administrator with ordinary jurisdiction.

Further, we have to announce to you, dearly beloved in Christ, that, as if still further to add solemnity and honour before the Church to this noble act of Apostolic authority, and to give an additional mark of paternal benevolence towards the Catholics in England, his Holiness was pleased to raise us, in the private consistory of Monday, the 30th of September, to the rank of Cardinal Priest of the holy Roman Church. And on the Thursday next ensuing, being the third day of this month of October, in public consistory, he delivered to us the insignia of this dignity, the cardinalitial hat; assigning us afterwards for our title in the private consistory which we attended, the Church of St. Pudentiana, in which St. Peter is groundedly believed to have enjoyed the hospitality of the noble and partly British family of the Senator Pudens.

In that same consistory we were enabled ourselves to ask for the archiepiscopal Pallium for our new see of Westminster; and this day we have been invested, by the hands of the Supreme Pastor and Pontiff himself, with this badge of metropolitan jurisdiction.

The great work, then, is complete; what you have long desired and prayed for is granted. Your beloved country has received a place among the fair Churches, which, normally constituted, form the splendid aggregate of Catholic Communion; Catholic England has been restored to its orbit in the ecclesiastical firmament, from which its light had long vanished, and begins now anew its course of regularly adjusted action round the centre of unity, the source of jurisdiction, of light and vigour. How wonderfully all this has been brought about, how clearly the hand of God has been shown in every step, we have not now leisure to relate, but we may hope soon to recount to you by word of mouth. In the meantime we will content ourselves with assuring you, that, if the concordant voice of those venerable and most eminent counsellors to whom the Holy See commits the regulation of ecclesiastical affairs in missionary countries, if the overruling of every variety of interests and designs, to the rendering of this measure almost necessary; if the earnest prayers of our holy Pontiff and his most sacred oblation of the divine sacrifice, added to his own deep and earnest reflection, can form to the Catholic heart an earnest of heavenly direction, an assurance that the Spirit of truth, who guides the Church, has here inspired its Supreme Head, we cannot desire stronger or more consoling evidence that this most important measure is from God, has His sanction and blessing, and will consequently prosper.

Then truly is this day to us a day of joy and exaltation of spirit, the crowning day of long hopes, and the opening day of bright prospects. How must the saints of our country, whether Roman or British, Saxon or Norman, look down from their seats of bliss, with beaming glance, upon this new evidence of the faith and Church which led them to glory, sympathising with those who have faithfully adhered to them through centuries of ill repute for the truth’s sake, and now reap the fruit of their patience and long suffering. And all those blessed martyrs of these latter ages, who have fought the battles of the faith under such discouragement, who mourned, more than over their own fetters or their own pain, over the desolate ways of their own Sion, and the departure of England’s religious glory; oh! how must they bless God, who hath again visited his people,--how take part in our joy, as they see the lamp of the temple again enkindled and rebrightening, as they behold the silver links of that chain which has connected their country with the see of Peter in its vicarial government changed into burnished gold; not stronger nor more closely knit, but more beautifully wrought and more brightly arrayed.

And in nothing will it be fairer or brighter than in this, that the glow of more fervent love will be upon it. Whatever our sincere attachment and unflinching devotion to the Holy see till now, there is a new ingredient cast into these feelings; a warmer gratitude, a tenderer affection, a profounder admiration, a boundless and endless sense of obligation, for so new, so great, so sublime a gift, will be added to past sentiments of loyalty and fidelity to the supreme see of Peter. Our venerable Pontiff has shown himself a true shepherd, a true father; and we cannot but express our gratitude to him in our most fervent language, in the language of prayer. For when we raise our voices, as is meet, in loud and fervent thanksgiving to the Almighty, for the precious gifts bestowed upon our portion of Christ’s vineyard, we will also implore every choice blessing on him who has been so signally the divine instrument in procuring it. We will pray that his rule over the Church may be prolonged to many years, for its welfare; that health and strength may be preserved to him for the discharge of his arduous duties; that light and grace may be granted to him proportioned to the sublimity of his office; and that consolations, temporal and spiritual, may be poured out upon him abundantly, in compensation for past sorrows and past ingratitude. And of these consolations may one of the most sweet to his paternal heart be the propagation of holy religion in our country, the advancement of his spiritual children there in true piety and devotion, and our ever-increasing affection and attachment to the see of St. Peter.

In order, therefore, that our thanksgiving may be made with all becoming solemnity, we hereby enjoin as follows:--

This our Pastoral Letter shall be publicly read in all the churches and chapels of the archdiocese of Westminster and the diocese of Southwark on the Sunday after its being received.

On the following Sunday there shall be in every such church or chapel a solemn Benediction of the blessed Sacrament, at which shall be sung the Te Deum, with the usual versicles and prayers, with the prayer also Deus omnium Fidelium Pastor et Rector for the Pope.

The collect, Pro Gratiarum Actione, for thanksgiving, and that for the Pope, shall be recited in the Mass of that day, and for two days following.

Where Benediction is never given, the Te Deum with its prayers, shall be recited or sung after Mass, and the collects above-named shall be added as enjoined.

And at the same time, earnestly entreating for ourselves also a place in your fervent prayers, we lovingly implore for you, and bestow on you, the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Given out of the Flaminian Gate of Rome, this seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord MDCCCL.

(Signed) NICHOLAS,
Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.
By command of his Eminence,
FRANCIS SEARLE, Secretary.

Never Again!

2009-08-09T15:36:00.003-04:00

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once called this 'Our National Shame'. The second atomic bomb that was dropped, "struck the Catholic district of Nagasaki, the most numerous and important center for the Church in the Far East. The Catholic community then had more than 12,000 faithful. Almost all perished. The epicenter of the explosion was the Cathedral which, among other things, at that time was crowded with the faithful in the queue in front of the confessional to prepare for the Feast of the Assumption."

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Philadelphia Roamin' Catholic

Photos for the Feast of Title at St. Paul's Church 2011

Photos from Corpus Christi at St. Paul's Church 2011

Apologies

Photos from the Feast of Title for SMMDP

*Important Notices*

Palm Sunday Photos 2011

Palm Sunday TLM in Philadelphia

TLM Wedding Update

Wedding Update: PLEASE TAKE NOTICE!!!

Wedding Announcement

External Solemnity of Candlemas

Traditional Latin Mass for the Epiphany

Christmas Photos from St. Paul's Church, Christian Street

Archdiocese of Philadelphia Christmas TLM Schedule

November Requiem Mass at St. Andrew's Church

All Souls Day at St. Paul's Church

All Saints Day at St. Paul's Church

Christ the King at St. Paul's Church

Christ the King, All Saints, All Souls

From Fr. Pasley at Mater Ecclesiæ

Pentecost XXI

Rosary Sunday

TLM for Feast of Holy Rosary in NYC

Evensong according to the Anglican Use

Rosary in Procession

Photos from Holy Cross Day Mass (Part II)

Photos from Holy Cross Day Mass (Part I)

Solemn Mass on Holy Cross Day

Assumption Mass 2010

First Vespers of the Assumption

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Photos from the 2010 TLM at the Philadelphia Carmel

External Solemnity of SS. Peter & Paul

External Solemnity for Feast of Title

TLM at Philadelphia Carmel 2010

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External Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Photos from the Latin Mass at SMMDP

Corpus Christi at Mater Ecclesiæ

Pentecost at St. Paul's

Chiesa di Sta. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi

Ascension Thursday

First Friday TLM Reminder

Greater Litanies Procession at St. Paul's

Greater Litanies at St. Paul's Church in Philadelphia

Photos from the Forty Hours Prayer in Overbrook

Quarant'Ore

Easter Sunday at St. Paul's Church, Christian Street

Easter Sunday High Mass Schedule

Maundy Thursday Altars of Repose

More Philadelphia Palm Sunday Photos

Photos from TLM Palm Sunday at St. Paul's Church

Palm Sunday at St. Paul's Church

Article on St. Paul's Church

Traditional Holy Week at Mater Ecclesiæ

Schola Cantorum in Delaware County

First Saturday TLM in March

Our Lady of the Snows, pray for us!

TLM for Feast of Title--Our Lady of Lourdes

Notre-Dame de Port-au-Prince, priez pour eux!

Mass for the Epiphany of our Lord

New Year's Day Masses

Merry Christmas!!!

Where to hear Mass at Christmas-tide

Christus Regnat Journal

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Latin Masses for the Immaculate Conception

All Souls' Day at Our Lady of Lourdes, Overbrook

All Saints' Day at St. Paul's Church, Christian Street

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Weekly High Mass in Philadelphia

All Souls Mass

Missæ Cantatæ in Diocese of Camden, New Jersey

Sung Mass & Forty Hours Prayer

Sankt Hedwig von Andechs

The Most Holy Rosary

Quote of the Day

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Calling all experienced musicians

Important Notices