Latest FSSP statistics [Rorate Caeli]

The wonderful bloggers at Rorate Caeli, keeping abreast of the Catholic world, have a post on the latest statistics for the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter.

As of October 24, 2015, the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter has a total of 421 members (257 incardinated), of whom 262 are priests, 14 are deacons and 145 are seminarians (including postulants but not including the deacons). All the deacons are incardinated in the FSSP. Of the 262 priest-members, 243 are incardinated, 11 are incorporated "ad annum", 4 are associated and 4 are postulants. Fifteen priests have been ordained this year -- the highest since 2004, when the FSSP had seventeen sacerdotal ordinations. (FSSP has averaged at 11 ordinations per year since 2004). The average age of the membership of FSSP is 37.

This year the FSSP received 34 new major seminarians: 17 in Denton (USA) and 17 in Wigratzbad (Germany). In addition the society received 3 new seminarians for the Ezechiel House novitiate in Australia.

Worldwide, the FSSP currently serves in 219 Mass centers / locations in 121 dioceses, including 34 personal parishes. (No breakdown available of how many Mass centers have Mass every Sunday.)

In comparison, as of January 20, 2006 (presumably reflecting the statistics as of late 2005) the FSSP had a total of 300 members -- 180 priests, 13 deacons and 107 non-deacon seminarians -- serving 111 Sunday Mass centers / locations in 85 dioceses worldwide (including 6 personal parishes). A total of 34 seminarians were accepted in 2005.

More striking than the steady growth in the numbers of priests and seminarians,  is the great jump in Mass locations and personal parishes served by the FSSP -- from 111 Sunday Mass centers to 219 Mass locations (not all every-Sunday) and from 6 to 34 personal parishes in 10 years.

The following charts are from the FSSP statistics page as of October 24, 2015 (to which we link at the beginning of this blog post). The charts show the gradual but steady growth of the FSSP, despite the temporary setback it experienced in 1999-2000 over the controversy on Protocol 1411/99, which initially threatened to result in the imposition of TLM-Novus Ordo "biritualism" on the FSSP but eventually had the opposite and welcome effect of consolidating its all-Traditional Mass identity.

Br. Augustine Professes Simple Vows with the Benedictines of Norcia

From Fr Cassian Folsom, OSB of the Benedictines of Norcia, comes this happy news from their community!

Br. Augustine Professes Simple Vows
Fr. Cassian Folsom, O.S.B.
10 Nov 2015
On September 8th, the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Br. Augustine from Greenville, SC, USA professed his simple vows. He was given the name Augustine from his devotion to the 5th century Bishop of Hippo.

Br. Augustine is a young monk, having graduated from Thomas Aquinas College in 2013, and along with his formation classes, he also assists in the brewery.

Please join us in congratulating Br. Augustine on his profession and say a prayer for his continued discernment and formation.

NLM: Blessing of A Cornerstone for the Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer

From Gregory Dipippo at the New Liturgical Movement comes this exciting development in the French realm of things!

It has been too long since we had occasion to post about the Fraternity of St Vincent Ferrer, a group of traditional-rite priests base in France who follow the Dominican liturgical and spiritual tradition. They are currently at the beginning of a project to build a new church for their community, a project which they are documenting at a separate website, www.despierresquiprechent.org. (“Stones That Preach”) The following video was just posted a couple of days ago on the site, showing the Bishop of Laval, France, H.E. Thierry Scherrer, blessing the first stone of the church.

For the video, please see either NLM or the Fraternity's website.

1P5: Bp Schneider to Ordain Two Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem

Bishop Schneider to Ordain Two Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem

From the great Catholic website run by Steve Skojec, "One Peter Five," comes this joyous news!

On October 17, 2015, at 10:00 AM, the priestly ordinations of Dom John Berchmans Tonkin, CRNJ, and Dom Alban Baker, CRNJ, will take place during a Solemn Pontifical Mass of Ordination (1962 Missal) at Saint James the Greater Catholic Church in Charles Town, WV. Bishop Schneider will offer the Mass and perform the ordinations, and Bishop Bransfield will also be in attendance.

See more information at One Peter Five!

Professions at Silverstream Priory

From New Liturgical Movement comes this exciting news!

On Thursday, 6 August, feast of the Transfiguration, Dom Benedict Maria Andersen (a native of Denver, Colorado) pronounced his final vows as a Benedictine monk of Silverstream Priory and received the monastic consecration. Father Benedict, 34 years old, holds degrees from the Lateran University, Rome, and from Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary, New York; he is a skilled typesetter and designer of liturgical books.

On Saturday, 15 August, feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, Dom Finnian Joseph King (a native of Bohermeen, Co Meath) and Dom Elijah Maria Carroll (a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma) pronounced their first vows as Benedictine monks of Silverstream Priory. Dom Elijah, 26 years old, is a graduate of the University of Tulsa. He will begin theological studies with the Dominican faculty at St Saviour’s, Dublin, in September. Dom Finnian, 34 years old, worked abroad for several years before entering Silverstream; he is currently studying art under Dony MacManus.

Representatives of the Benedictine family from the Abbey of St Joseph of Flavigny in France, and from the Abbey of San Miniato in Florence Italy were present for the occasion. Silverstream Priory now counts four professed monks, of whom two are priests. The Abbot of Flavigny recently sent Dom Basil M. McCabe, O.S.B. to lend a helping hand to the community at Silverstream during a particularly busy time. A number of men from Ireland and from abroad are currently preparing to come to Silverstream Priory for the initial phase of monastic formation.

Some photos from the happy occasion, more of which can be found here:

Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle (Silverstream Priory)

The Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle (also known as Silverstream Priory) is a community of monks living under the Rule of St. Benedict in Stamullen, County Meath, Ireland.  It is an autonomous diocesan priory of the Order of St. Benedict, and Dom Mark Daniel Kirby is the founder and superior.

The monks of the monastery devote themselves to the worthy celebration of the sacred liturgy in its age-old classical forms and to perpetual adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar in a spirit of reparation.

The monastery was formed in the Diocese of Tulsa upon the invitation of Bp. Edward James Slattery, who invited Dom Mark Daniel Kirby to form a monastery based on the Rule of St. Benedict, while also emphasizing adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and spiritually assisting Catholic clergy.  In 2011, the monks were invited by Bp Michael Smith to relocate to the Diocese of Meath, and in March 2012, the community moved into Silverstream House (hence the name, Silverstream Priory).

To support themselves and their mission, the community undertakes various works compatible with their vocation and without leaving the monastery, which notably include hospitality to the clergy (via offering a place for spiritual retreats) and operating a Catholic book shop in the gatehouse of the priory.

The monks have a regular newsletter they issue, and their weekly homilies are uploaded online.  They also have a number of apostolates that they run, which include two confraternities and a Eucharistic guild.

To contact them, please use the form they provide online.  For visits or their location information, please see this page.  Their horarium can be found on their website as well.

Website:  http://www.cenacleosb.org/

Transalpine Redemptorists receive a new member

On 22 August 2015, the Transalpine Redemptorists received a new member into their ranks.  They have posted photos at their blog and Facebook page, where you can see Br. Jerome be received into the Congregation.  Br. Jerome, as he is now known, comes from the Midwest in the United States.

Some photos have been published below.

The postulant kneels and is questioned by the Superior regarding his desire to enter the Congregation.

He is clothed in the religious habit.

He is given a new name, Br. Jerome.

The Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer

The Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer are a Catholic religious institute canonically erected in the diocese of Aberdeen and are based on Papa Stronsay, with an additional house in Christchurch, New Zealand.  While their rule is  based on that of St. Alphonsus Liguori, they have no formal connection to the Redemptorist congregation.

Fr. Michael Mary Sim C.SS.R sought to make sense of the turmoil in the Church in the late 1980s.  Convinced the crisis came from and was caused by a crisis in Liturgy, he turned to Abp. Lefebvre for advice and guidance.  After some months, it was suggested to Fr Sim to ask about founding a religious community where the Traditional Latin Mass and the old Redemptorist Rules could be lived for the English-speaking world.  The Congregation was originally based at the Monastery of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, then moved to the Mother of Perpetual Succour Monastery in Joinville, Haute-Marne, France in 1994.  In May 1999, the island of Papa Stronsay was purchased in 1999, and it was there that the Golgotha Monastery was established, which has been their home and mother house ever since.  In 2008, the Congregation petitioned the Holy See for reconciliation, which was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI.  On 15 August 2012, the community was granted canonical recognition as a Clerical Institute of Diocesan Right by Dom Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B., Bishop of Aberdeen.

As of mid-2015, there are 19 men living in the community.

Their vocations blog has a very good brief review of the active and contemplative life they lead, which all should read, who have an interest in this community.

They also promote the holy image of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings, set in Scotland, under the title of The Bonnie Prince.

Monastery Address:
Golgotha Monastery Island
Papa Stronsay
Orkney, KW17 2AR
Scotland, UK
International: + [44] 1857 616 210
Website: http://www.papastronsay.com/index.html
Blog:  http://www.papastronsay.blogspot.com/
YouTube Video Account: https://www.youtube.com/user/filiiSSR/videos

Interior of monastic cell at Papa Stronsay

Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux

The Benedictine Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux was founded in 1970, when Dom Gérard Calvet left the Abbey Notre-Dame de Tournay with the consent of his abbot, wishing to retain the Traditional Latin Mass and the traditional monastic life.  In 1974, ties between Tournay and the new community were severed after Archbishop Lefebvre ordained priests for the growing community.  In 1978, the little community purchased land in the town of Le Barroux and began construction of a Romanesque abbey.  In 1988, relations with Abp. Lefebvre were broken when he consecrated four bishops at Econe.  In 1989, with the approval of the Holy See, the monastery was erected as an Abbey and Dom Gérard was appointed the first Abbot.  Cardinal Mayer consecrated the Abbey in the same year.  In 2008, the Abbey joined the Benedictine Confederation.

The Abbey hosts retreats throughout the year, runs a monastery shop, sells bread, and also streams their offices live and makes them available for download online.  The offices are sung in Gregorian chant according to the Extraordinary Form, and this initiative is supported by Msgr Jean-Pierre Cattenoz, the archbishop of Avignon.

As of late 2014, the monks number 53 at Le Barroux and an additional 16 at a new monastery recently founded between Toulouse and Bordeaux.

Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine
1201 chemin des Rabassières
84330 LE BARROUX
Tél. : +33 (0)4 90 62 56 31
Fax : +33 (0)4 84 50 84 57

Website: http://www.barroux.org/

Liturgical Schedule: http://www.barroux.org/en/heures-des-offices/horaire-des-offices.html

Chanted Office: http://barrouxchant.com/

Abbaye Saint-Paul de Wisques

The Benedictine Abbey of Saint Paul of Wisques is located in Wisques, Pas-de-Calais, France.  It was founded in 1889 by monks from the Abbey of St Peter, Solesmes to serve as chaplains to the nearby nuns of St. Cecilia of Solesmes.  After the anti-Catholic laws in 1901, they moved to the Netherlands and founded the Abbey of Saint-Paul of Oosterhout.  The community returned to Wisques in 1920.  At one point, the Abbey had 60 monks in residence.

In 2005, Father Jacques Lubrez was elected the fifth Abbot of Saint Paul.  In 2009, just a few weeks before his unexpected death, he wrote "Today in 2009: 120 years after the foundation, the community is experiencing a precarious situation, considering the reduced number of its members (16), the high average age (70 years), and the lack of new applicants in many years."  In 2013, the average age of the monks had increased to over 75 years old.  The Abbey was close to closing its doors until the Abbey of Fontgombault was asked to take over the Abbey of Saint Paul.  In January 2013, four monks arrived from Fontgombault to begin teaching the remaining monks the traditional Office and to support the day-to-day and practical activities of the Abbey.  In October 2013, the Abbey transitioned to a house of Fontgombault Abbey with the bishop's approval, adopting the uses and customs of Fontgombault, in particular the use of the Extraordinary Form for Mass and the Office.  Photos from the transition can be found at this Facebook album.

Abbaye Saint Paul de Wisques
50, Rue de l’école
62219 Wisques
France
Tél. : 03 21 12 28 50
Website: http://www.abbaye-saint-paul-wisques.com/

Hours of the Office
5:15am: Matines (On Sundays, 4:50am), followed by Lauds
At the end of Lauds (around 7:00am): Low Mass (lasting from 30-35 minutes)
8:15am: Prime
10:00am: Terce and the sung conventual Mass
12:50pm: Sext
2:35pm: None (Sundays at 3pm, Thursday at 2:30pm)
6:00pm: Vespers (Sundays and feast days: 5:00pm; summer Thursdays from 3 May to 14 September: 3:45pm)
8:35pm: Compline

Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of Triors

The Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of Triors (Abbaye Notre-Dame de Triors) is a monastery stituated at Châtillon-Saint-Jean in the Drôme, Rhône-Alpes, France.  

It was founded in 1984 as a priory of Fontgombault Abbey in an 18th century chateau that was bequethed to the monks for that purpose.  Triors was raised to the status of an independent abbey in 1994.  The first abbot was Dom Hervé Courau, who continues in that post today.  The abbey church (constructed from 1992-1993) was dedicated on October 5, 1996 and is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.  In 2013, a project to construct a guesthouse was launched and construction began in 2014.  Like it's spiritual beginnings, the Abbey uses the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and focuses on Gregorian chant.  The community currently numbers over 40 monks aged from 22 to 77 years old.  

The monks have recorded and produced a complete discography of all the Sundays in the liturgical year and the albums can be purchased through Traditions Monastiques.  There are also a number of Gregorian chant resources available on their website.

Lauds and Vespers have been broadcast live on Radio Esperance since December 2013.  Lauds begins around 6-615am (local time) and Vespers is broadcast live on Sundays and major feasts at 5pm (local time).

The abbey church is open daily from 7am until 1pm and from 2pm to 7:30pm.  The Mass and Office are sung in Gregorian chant daily (please check their schedules).

An interview with Dom Courau in French can be found at Chroniques d'un catho ordinaire.

Address:
ABBAYE NOTRE-DAME
205, chemin des Carnets
26750   TRIORS
FRANCE
Tel : 04 75 71 43 39
(de préférence entre 11h20 - 12h30 ou 15h - 17h30)
Fax : 04 75 45 38 14

Website: http://ndtriors.fr/

For a schedule of their liturgies: http://ndtriors.fr/offices.html

Abbey of Saint Michael of Kergonan

The Abbey Saint Michael of Kergonan is a Benedictine monastery of women religious.  It was founded in 1898 as St Cecilia Solesmes Abbey.  In 2012, it consisted of forty nuns.  Their conventual Mass is that of the Novus Ordo in Latin with Gregorian chant.

Every day on Radio Esperance, you can listen as the nuns chant their offices live.

Three or four times a year, retreats are offered at the abbey.

In 2012, a video was produced on their cloistered life, and a preview is below.

Address and Contact Information:
Abbaye Saint-Michel de Kergonan
56340 Plouharnel
Tél : + 33 (0)2 97 52 32 14 – de 11h 20 à 12h 20 et de 14h 30 à 17 h
Fax : +33 (0)2 97 52 37 66
Email : abbaye.smk[at]orange.fr
Website: http://saintmicheldekergonan.org/

Abbey Saint-Joseph de Clairval

The Abbey of Saint Joseph de Clairval is located in the diocese of Dijon, France.  The Abbey is a community of monks living according to the Rule of Saint Benedict in obedience to the Catholic hierarchy.

"By their consecrated life, the monks affirm the primacy of God and the goods of the world to come in imitation of Christ chaste, poor and obedient" (John Paul II, March 25 1996).

“Saint Benedict wanted to open his monastery mainly for the eternal salvation of a great number.” (John Paul II, May 22 1980)

According to the Benedictine spirit, the liturgical life constitutes the center of the monk's day. Faithful to its own charism, the Saint Joseph Abbey organizes five day spiritual retreats and also publishes a spiritual letter which is sent free to those who request it (in seven languages, French, German, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Dutch, and English).

The community's liturgy is the Novus Ordo, at request of the local bishop, using Gregorian chant and in celebrated ad orientam, but many of the monks offer Mass according to the usus antiquior, while the Divine Office is done in Latin and Gregorian chant, using the Breviarium Monasticum adapted to the modern Roman liturgical calendar.

This community was the focus of a post at New Liturgical Movement in 2010.

Abbey Saint Joseph de Clairval
21150 FLAVIGNY SUR OZERAIN
France
Telephone: 33 3 80 96 22 31
Fax 33 3 80 96 25 29
Website: http://www.clairval.com/

The Abbey will also take Mass intention requests in the number of one individual Mass, a novena of Masses (9 consecutive Masses), or Gregorian Masses (30 consecutive Masses).  You can find more information at their website under "Information - Masses."

Benedictines of the Immaculate

The Benedictines of the Immaculate are a new traditional community of Benedictines of strict observance in Liguria, Italy. They were founded on July 2nd 2008, in Villatalla, a small Italian village located in Liguria on the height of Imperia, very near to Vintimmille and on French border.

This community was founded by two monks coming from the Abbey of Our Lady of the Annnunciation, Le Barroux (France), at the request of Monsignor Mario Oliveri, bishop of Albenga-Imperia.

Benedettini dell'Immacolata
Casa Santa Caterina da Siena
I-18020 VILLATALLA (IM)
ITALIA

Email: benedett.immacolata[at]alice.it

More information, including a schedule of their liturgies, can be found on their blog here.

L'Abbaye Notre Dame de Fontgombault

L'Abbaye Notre-Dame de Fontgombault is a Benedictine monastery of the Solesmes Congregation, founded in 1091, and located at Fontgombault in the département of Indre, France. Their liturgical rites follow the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and they are also the most populous of Solesmes' 23 foundations.  It has made three foundations in France (Randol Abbey, Triors Abbey, Gaussan Priory), one foundation in the USA (Clear Creek Abbey), and has recently received the care of the Benedictine Abbey of St Paul of Wisques in France.

A video (in French) "Fons Amoris" was made on the Abbey of Fontgombault, and you can find extracts of this film on YouTube.

Excerpt 1 is here:

More information is available on Wikipedia or at the official page of the village of Fontgombault.

Abbaye Notre Dame de Fontgombault
36220 FONTGOMBAULT
Tel. : 02.54.37.12.03
Fax. : 02.54.37.12.56

Mass is celebrated daily at 10am.

Vespers are celebrated:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday at 6pm
Thursday at 3:45pm (from 3 May to 14 September) and 6:00pm (through the rest of the year)
Sundays and public holidays at 5:00pm

For spiritual retreats, contact retraites-fgt[at]orange[dot]fr

The abbey church is open to visitors from 8:30am to 1:00pm and 2:15pm to 7:15pm. Religious items are sold in a souvenir shop adjacent to the Abbey. There you can find icons, rosaries, medallions, books, reproductions of paintings or photographs, tapes and CDs of religious songs, among other items,

The pottery shop is open daily from 9am to 12:45pm and 2:00pm to 7:00pm, except Sunday from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Sandstones, icons and enamels are made by the monks of Fontgombault themselves.

The monastic products store is open from 11am to 12:30pm and from 3:00pm to 5:30pm except on Sundays and holidays. You can find craft products from various monasteries. You can buy fresh produce such as cheese, eggs, fruits and vegetables, but also wines, liqueurs, honey, jams, pastries, sweets and even cosmetic and dietary products.

L'Abbaye Notre-Dame de Randol

Randol Abbey (or L'Abbaye Notre-Dame de Randol) is a Benedictine monastery situated at Randol near the village of Saint-Saturnin, Puy-de-Dôme department, in the Auvergne mountains of France.

It was founded in 1971 as a priory of Fontgombault Abbey and was raised to the status of an independent abbey on 21 March 1981. The monastery building was constructed at the time of foundation in a striking contemporary style in a spectacular mountainside location.

It is part of the Solesmes Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation and as such focuses on Gregorian chant and the Tridentine Mass.

The abbey's webpage (in French) can be found at www.randol.org

Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart

Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest

To support the work of the Institute of Christ the King, Divine Providence has brought about the formation of a community of contemplative nuns dedicated to reparation and adoration of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest. Leading a non-cloistered contemplative life, the sisters offer their daily prayers and sacrifices particularly for the priests of the Institute and the souls entrusted to them.

In June 2004, Ennio Cardinal Antonelli, Archbishop of Florence, vested the first three sisters with their habit. In Spring 2007, they already number nine sisters and four postulants, from France and the United States.

As with the priests and oblates of the Institute, the Adorers of the Royal Heart hold three co-patrons as guiding lights of their spirituality: St. Francis de Sales, St. Benedict, and St. Thomas Aquinas. From St. Francis de Sales' doctrine of Divine Love, the sisters draw the pattern of their vocation, in constant pursuit of growth in Love, always grounded in Truth.

The Benedictine aspect of their charism is reflected in the centrality of the Church's Liturgy, Holy Mass and the Divine Office, carried out in the Classical Roman Rite, around which revolves the rhythm of their daily life. In St. Thomas Aquinas, the sisters find the clarity and structure of thought necessary for their formation and ever deepening understanding of the mysteries of our Catholic Faith. Finally, it is through their principal patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary under Her title of the Immaculate Conception, that they seek to conform their beings and their lives to the Royal Heart of Her Divine Son; thus their motto -- "In Corde Regis."

Their day is centered around prayer -- Holy Mass and the Divine Office in the Classical Latin Rite, one hour of mental prayer and one hour of adoration in the evening, Rosary, etc. Punctuating this rich life of prayer are periods of manual labor and intellectual training, including instruction in Gregorian Chant, Latin, Spirituality, Philosophy, Theology, as well as the learning of crafts such as sewing, lace-making, and the care of liturgical ornaments and altar linens. As the community expands, it is foreseen that foundations will be made alongside the apostolates of the Institute of Christ the King, where the Sisters will support the apostolic work of our priests. Counting already with three American sisters, it is foreseeable that the Sisters will eventually make a foundation in the United States.

For more information please contact:

Our Lady of Good Deliverance House

Via di Gricigliano, 51

50065 Sieci (FI)

ITALY

web: http://www.institute-christ-king.org/vocations/sisters/

For inquiries regarding vocations to the Sisters Adorers, please contact the US Provincial Headquarters in Chicago.  

Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney

The bishop and priests of the Apostolic Administration of St John Mary Vianney in Campos, Brazil

The Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney was established on 18 January 2002 by Pope John Paul II for traditionalist Catholic clergy and laity within the Diocese of Campos in Brazil. It is the only Personal Apostolic Administration in existence, and the only Catholic Church jurisdiction devoted exclusively to celebrating the pre-1970 form of the Roman Rite. Its current Apostolic Administrator is Bishop Fernando Arêas Rifan.  It consists of over 30,000 Catholics, 32 priests, 7 seminarians, 38 religious sisters, and 24 schools.

An Apostolic Administration is not a group or a religious society or congregation, but is a normal and official ecclesiastical circumscription of the Catholic Church, the same as a Diocese or a Prelature or an Ordinariate, that is, a particular church, part of the Universal and unique Catholic Church. Because of that, the Bishop of the Apostolic Administration has the same power as a diocesan bishop in his jurisdiction.

As a group of traditionalist Catholics thus fully within the Roman Catholic Church, they recognize the authority of the Pope as Vicar of Christ and Shepherd of the Church, the legitimacy of the Second Vatican Council, and the validity of the Mass approved by Pope Paul VI. The Priests of the Apostolic Administration have the faculty to celebrate in Latin the Mass and all the other sacramental rites in the form codified by Pope Pius V and modified by his successors down to Pope John XXIII.

More information can be found at the Apostolic Administration's website, here (Portuguese language).

Pope Francis greets Bp Rifan in 2013.

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP)

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a Clerical Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical right, that is, a community of Roman Catholic priests who do not take religious vows, but who work together for a common mission in the world. The Fraternity was founded in response to the Holy Father’s call to ecclesial unity and the new evangelization. The mission of the Fraternity is three-fold: the sanctification of the clergy, forming and leading stable parishes and communities by offering the Catholic liturgy according to the liturgical books of 1962, and to participate in the New Evangelization through the living tradition of the Church, which is ever ancient and ever new.

The Fraternity was founded on July 18, 1988 at the Abbey of Hauterive (Switzerland) by a dozen priests and a score of seminarians. Shortly after the Fraternity's foundation and following upon a request by Cardinal Ratzinger, Bishop Joseph Stimpfle of Augsburg, Germany granted the Fraternity a home in Wigratzbad, a Marian shrine in Bavaria that now lodges the Fraternity's European seminary. In the same month of October there arrived a handful of priests and some thirty seminarians ready to start "from scratch". As of October 2014, there are 253 priests and 144 seminarians in the Fraternity.

The Fraternity has two seminaries, one located in Wigratzbad, Bavaria, Germany, and another in Denton, Nebraska, USA.  Their contact information is located below.

The North American District of the Fraternity also has this Vocations website prepared.

To God Who Giveth Joy to My Youth: Life at O.L.G.S.

Priesterseminar Sankt Petrus
Kirchstraße, 16 – D 88145 OPFENBACH-WIGRATZBAD
Tél. : (00 49) (0) 83 85/92 21 0
Fax : (00 49) (0) 83 85/92 21 33
http://www.fssp.eu
http://fsspwigratzbad.blogspot.de/

Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary
7880 West Denton Road
Denton, NE 68339 USA
Tel. 001/402/ 797-7700
www.fsspolgs.org

How you can help this blog

Do you want to help out this blog in promoting and spreading traditional Catholic vocations?  Here are some things that you can do to help out this blog:

Spread the word!

• Can you feature this site on your blog?  Or ask your friends to do the same?
• Would your oratory, chapel, parish, or diocese feature this in a newsletter or on a website?  Would you ask them?
• Are there other websites we should be featured on or linked from?

Let us know!  After all, this blog is designed to encourage vocations, so people need to see it!

Translation

• Can you translate materials about the societies, institutes, and communities listed here out of their original languages and into English?  

Be our eyes and ears

• Is there content we ought to feature?  If so, tell us!
• Do you have information on courses of studies in various seminaries, entrance requirements, website links?  
• Do you have personal experience of or with one of the communities featured here?  Share your experiences with us!

And, if you know of any others discerning their vocations, point them to this blog!

Use the Contact Form in the sidebar to submit information or contact us.

May the Lord send us many holy priests, monks, and religious sisters and nuns!  

Prayer for Vocations by Pope Pius XII

Prayer for Vocations by Ven. Pope Pius XII

Lord Jesus, High Priest and universal Shepherd, Thou hast taught us to pray, saying: "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His harvest" [Matt. 9: 38]. Therefore we beseech Thee graciously to hear our supplications and raise up many generous souls who, inspired by Thy example and supported by Thy grace, may conceive the ardent desire to enter the ranks of Thy sacred ministers in order to continue the office of Thy one true priesthood.

Although Thy priests live in the world as dispensers of the mysteries of God, yet their mission demands that they be not men of this world. Grant, then, that the insidious lies and vicious slanders directed against the priesthood by the malignant enemy and abetted by the world through its spirit of indifference and materialism may not dim the brilliance of the light with which they shine before men, nor lessen the profound and reverent esteem due to them. Grant that the continual promotion of religious instruction, true piety, purity of life and devotion to the highest ideals may prepare the groundwork for good vocations among youth. May the Christian family, as a nursery of pure and pious souls, become the unfailing source of good vocations, ever firmly convinced of the great honor that can redound to our Lord through some of its numerous offspring. Come to the aid of Thy Church, that always and in every place she may have at her disposal the means necessary for the reception, promotion, formation and mature development of all the good vocations that may arise. For the full realization of all these things, O Jesus, Who art most zealous for the welfare and salvation of all, may Thy graces continually descend from heaven to move many hearts by their irresistible force; first, the silent invitation; then generous cooperation; and finally perseverance in Thy holy service.

Art Thou not moved to compassion, O Lord, seeing the crowds like sheep without a shepherd, without anyone to break for them the bread of Thy word, or to lead them to drink at the fountains of Thy grace, so that they are continually in danger of becoming a prey to ravening wolves? Does it not grieve Thee to behold so many unplowed fields where thorns and thistles are allowed to grow in undisputed possession? Art Thou not saddened that many of Thy gardens, once so green and productive, are now on the verge of becoming fallow and barren through neglect?

O Mary, Mother most pure, through whose compassion we have received the holiest of priests; O glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, perfect model of cooperation with the Divine call; O holy priests, who in Heaven compose a choir about the Lamb of God: obtain for us many good vocations in order that the Lord's flock, through the support and government of vigilant shepherds, may attain to the enjoyment of the most delightful pastures of eternal happiness.

Photo of Pope Pius XII from Wikipedia

A blog revival

After a three year period of dormancy, this blog is being revived under "new management!"

Over the next few weeks and months, this blog will feature new and updated information for most of the communities previously featured, along with fixing and replacing any broken media links where relevant (images, videos, etc).  Once that task is completed, we intend to regularly post information relating to traditional Catholic vocations and the discernment thereof.

The blog will continue to focus primarily on communities using exclusively the traditional Catholic liturgy (in general, the rites and rituals in effect in 1962).  The blog will also try to provide information on retreats and pilgrimages with traditional communities around the world.  However, this blog will also post about communities that are either discovering or re-discovering their traditional Catholic heritage by (re-)implementing traditional forms of Catholic liturgy.

Please pray that this endeavor grows and helps lead souls to their proper vocation.

Please also pray for the St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association, whence this blog idea came.

Please also pray for the original blog creator, Mark.  Last I heard, he entered the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter's seminary.  If you might, please offer a prayer for his vocation, wherever he is.