The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Photo: NLM Fr De Malleray has written to pass on the good news that the Reading house of the Fraternity of St Peter in England , is now canonically erected as of today. The FSSP has been offering Mass there every Sunday for four years, and moved their permanent residence to Reading two years ago. The apostolate is under the care of Fr de Malleray and Fr Leworthy FSSP. The canonical erection of an FSSP house is made by the superior general but requires the written consent of the diocesan Bishop: in this case, Bishop Crispian Hollis. The Fathers, and I am sure, all of us, are grateful to Bishop Hollis for his kind consent to the establishment of the apostolate of the FSSP on a permanent basis. Congratulations to the FSSP on this important milestone in their work in England. Very Rev Fr John Berg, FSSP will solemnly inaugurate St John Fisher House on Sunday 3rd October 2010. After the 11am Solemn High Mass (External Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary) at St William of York Church, t...

Dowry is the quarterly publication of the FSSP in England . The Autumn edition is just out and has articles on various matters of interest. You can download a pdf or read the periodical online .

Fr Kramer of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter is the parish Priest of the Church of the Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini in the historic heart of Rome, erected by the Vicariate of Rome as a personal parish to guarantee pastoral care for the community of Traditional faithful in Rome. On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which marked the second anniversary of Summorum Pontificum , Fr Kramer gave an interview for Vatican Radio . Fr Kramer especially emphasised that the restoration of the traditional form of the Roman Rite is not a matter of "going back" to the time before Vatican II. He spoke particularly of the greater warmth and communication between bishops and priests, and between priests and people. I agree with him. There was certainly warm and open communication in some cases but I think he is right that this has been greatly improved in recent decades. Another important consideration is the reverence with which Mass is celebrated. One side of the "...

Thanks to Fr Ray Blake , I have been looking through the website of the FSSP in Venice . Don Konrad zu Loewenstein FSSP has care of the Church of San Simòn Piccolo near the railway station. There are some photos from last Sunday's Mass at NLM ( San Simeon Piccolo, Venice ). The above photo is from the website - taken on the feast of St Mark. As Fr Blake remarks, San Simòn seems to be the place for young Venetians. It is rather heartbreaking to realise that he is also probably right in describing the Church as "not that significant" in Venetian terms. Venice is one place in Italy that I have not yet visited: I'm rather keen to go there now. When I do, I think I'll ask them if I can take home one of their more ordinary Churches - perhaps one that they wouldn't really miss too much. The FSSP Venice website is very well put together and it is the only website I can remember which has had background music that I have not turned off.

Recently, Very Rev Fr John Berg FSSP, the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter , met with the Holy Father in the library of the Apostolic Palace. Fr Berg was given the opportunity to speak privately with the Holy Father for fifteen minutes - something less common now that under Pope John Paul II. Afterwards Pope Benedict greeted Fr Bisig and the other founders of the FSSP. He gave his blessing to the FSSP which has 350 members. (There are also 2600 members in the Confraternity of St Peter.) The Holy Father's particular message was "remain ever faithful." The FSSp website shows some interesting statistics . As of September 2008, there were 347 members: 208 priests, 11 deacons, and 128 seminarians. Average age of members: 37 . ("The Church is alive. The Church is young."

Fr Armand de Malleray FSSP will be giving a retreat for Clergy from Monday 13 July (3pm) to Thursday 16 July (12noon) at Douai Abbey in Berkshire, on the theme ”The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and our priestly identification to Christ.” The retreat celebrates the Year of the priesthood with St John Mary Vianney, Curé of Ars. This will be a silent retreat with reading at meals related to the theme of the retreat. There are full details at the website for the FSSP in Great Britain . Donations are invited to help clergy attend the retreat: cheques should be payable to ”FSSP England” and sent to Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP, 179 Elgar Rd, Reading RG2 0DH, Berks. (Please mention ”Retreat Sponsoring”.)

The website for the Finnish Apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter has announced that Father Benjamin Durham FSSP will visit Sweden, Finland, and Estonia during Passion Week leading to Palm Sunday. He is celebrating Mass, leading the Stations of the Cross and giving a one day retreat. Here is a link to the schedule . The photo shows Fr Durham saying Mass in the Blessed Sacrament chapel of St Henry's Cathedral, Helsinki, on his last visit. I said Mass myself there a year ago and very much enjoyed meeting people and seeing Helsinki.

A kind reader alerted me to the Sensus Traditionis website run by a priest of the FSSP who is also a psychologist. There is a good collection of mp3 files in addition to various helpful online texts.

Fr Armand de malleray writes to say that on Thursday 5 February, there will be a presentation of the EWTN-FSSP DVD tutorial on the Extraordinary Mass, by the priests of the FSSP in England. This will be at 7pm at the London Oratory (St Wilfrid’s Hall). Fr de Malleray FSSP will give the presentation which will be followed by the projection of extracts of the DVD (the interview by Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, and the spiritual explanation by Fr Calvin Goodwin, FSSP). There will be refreshment afterwards. Copies of the DVD will be available for purchase at the special launch price of £12. Entrance to the event is free and all are welcome. There will be a Low Mass beforehand at 6pm in the Little Oratory, celebrated by Fr Armand de Malleray. The FSSP kindly sent me a copy of the two DVD set and I must say that it is an excellent resource for priests or seminarians wishing to learn how to celebrate mass according to the usus antiquior . You can choose from four different camera angles and the ...

Sorry - I got things a bit mixed up in my post about Finland the other day. The new website is the one devoted to the activities and visits of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in Finland . The Saint Gregory Society has been going for some time and continues to be a general point of reference for traditional liturgy in Finland.

[ corrrected ] There is a new Finnish website devoted to the activities and visits of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in Finland . There is also a homepage for the Saint Gregory Society , which will continue to be the general point of reference for traditional liturgy in Finland. The independent blog Summorum also continues to provide news of various items of Catholic interest in Finland. The Finnish Catholics also ask our prayer for a good new Bishop for Finland - let us pray for a Bishop who is an enthusiastic teacher of the faith and is willing to support and encourage the traditional liturgy in Finland. From the Summorum blog, here is a clip of Pilvi Listo playing part of Francois Couperin's Messe Pour les Paroisses at the Agricola Church in Helsinki:

The FSSP-served Sunday Mass in the Northampton diocese will move from Bedford 4pm to Flitwick 5pm as of the first Sunday of Advent 2008. The new parish church is five minutes from junction 12 of the M1 motorway. The Sacred Heart Church Flitwick has a hall with kitchen and a car park, which will enable people to meet after Mass (and possibly before) for social gathering and catechism according to the needs. The Parish Priest, Canon Denis McSweeney is supportive of the traditional Mass and will kindly provide matching vestments, vessels and liturgical items for a dignified offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Bishop of Northampton, Rt Rev Peter Doyle, has kindly approved of the FSSP’s request to relocate its regular ministry in his diocese to Flitwick. Canon Denis McSweeney and his parishioners have given a friendly welcome to the FSSP. Address : Sacred Heart Catholic Church Pope Close Flitwick MK45 1JP View Larger Map PS Paul writes to say that the Church is only ten minutes...

Fr Armand de Mallerary of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter will be giving retreats in England in Advent and Lent. Both retreats will be held at Douai Abbey in Berkshire (Upper Woolhampton RG7 5TQ) and at both retreats Holy Mass will be offered each day in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Here are further details: ADVENT RETREAT: 8-11 DECEMBER 2008 Monday 8th December 2008 at 2pm until Thursday 11th December 2008 at 11am Theme: Our Lady and the Incarnation Cost: £137 - to cover: 1-Accommodation: single room with en-suite bathroom, full board. The Guest Master suggests a donation of £125 per person (individual discount granted on request) 2-Preacher: a minimum £12 per person would be expected in order to cover Fr de Malleray’s expenses. LENTEN RETREAT: 2-6 MARCH 2009 From Monday 2nd March 2009 at 2pm until Friday 6th March 2009 at 11am Theme: "By his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5) Cost: £169 - to cover: 1-Accommodation: single room with en-suite bathroom, full...