Website of the Ecclesia Dei Commission Online

by Gregor Kollmorgen

The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei now has an official website called Summorum Pontificum. The address is www.ecclesiadei-pontcommissio.org. So far it is mainly in Italian, but versions in English, German, Spanish, French and Portuguese are apparently being prepared. This is Card. Castrillón's introductory letter (click to enlarge):


NLM translation:

To the end of keeping bishops, priests, religious and faithful permanently informed about every aspect concerning the Extraordinary Use of the Roman Rite and every expression of the Gregorian liturgy, on this Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei inaugurates the "web" site Summorum Pontificum.

We will strive to incorporate into the structure of this website official documents, study material, information about events, comments and audiovisual instruments helpful for the understanding and performing of the liturgical celebrations.

We do not aim in any way at establishing an interactive website, but rather at offering information and materials in complete fidelity to the "mens" of the Holy Father, who has manifested the clear intention of preserving and keeping alive, in extraordinary form, the theological, spiritual, religious and artistic richness of the Gregorian Liturgy.

(Hat-tip for the link to the Spanish blog Hoc Signo.)

(reposted from The New Liturgical Movement)

New ICRSS Apsotolate in Grenoble

by Gregor Kollmorgen

On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the first anniversary of the coming into force of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, another splendid solemn Mass was celebrated in France. It inaugurated a new apostolate of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, in the city of Grenoble, the episcopal see of St. Hugh, who received into his diocese St. Bruno and his companions, where they founded the Grande Chartreuse, the first Charterhouse. Here are some pictures of the Mass in the apostolate's church, the collegiate church of St. Andrew:





They have a very encouraging number of servers, who are dressed in the Institute's signature blue:


For more images, go here.

(reposted from The New Liturgical Movement)

New Edition of the Breviarium Romanum, with Imprimatur

by Gregor Kollmorgen


I am very happy to announce that an excellent new edition of the Breviarium Romanum, the Divine Office of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite as permitted to all clerics bound to the Office per Art. 9 para. 3 of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, is going to be published by the German Catholic publisher, Nova et Vetera, in cooperation with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. Significantly, this new edition has received the Imprimatur (ecclesiastical approval) of a German bishop.

A special website with all information and an order form will soon go online. In the mean time, here is some "preview" information:

The Breviary will fully comply with the rubrics of the usus antiquior, i.e. the codex rubricarum of 1960.

The text of the psalms will be that of the Vulgate (Gallican psalter).

It will come in two volumes in flexible leather covers. It will be a newly typeset edition (not a reprint), arranged in the traditional, two-column Breviary layout, and will have several other traditional features of the art of liturgical book-binding.

It will also include four insert cards for each volume with the most frequent texts.

The price for the complete set will be EUR 198, i.e. as per today USD 272.69, plus shipping.

Now this Breviary edition is expected to be ready for shipping by the end of November/early December. Once the order form is online, orders will be carried out in the order of their placement. Early orders should therefore arrive in time for Christmas even in the US by airmail. As soon as the website is up, I will let you know.


(reposted from The New Liturgical Movement)

Clear Creek Benedictine Ordinations

by Shawn Tribe

Recently the Benedictines of Clear Creek had the ordination of one of their monks to the diaconate. They have posted a few photos of this event, which also gives you a view into their ongoing monastic building project.



(reproduced with permission from The New Liturgical Movement)

Age limits

A reader asks:

What is the age limit for traditional vocations? I have heard of gentlemen up to 75 being admitted, but I think many are in their 40's and 50's these days. Though, I am hearing of many in their 40's and 50's being denied, too, from the Texas dioceses. Also, there are dioceses which preclude men from entering the seminary if they have been divorced.

Are you able to help? I know the FSSP, for example, has a general age limit of 35 years, but will consider individuals over that on a case-by-case basis.

Spera in Deo - new TLM resource

by Fr Tim Finigan

Patrick Cheng has started a new blog "Spera in Deo" to provide online resources for the usus antiquior of the Roman Rite. He collects together a collection of resources for Sundays and feast day. These include online propers, leaflets, chants and other background materials, including links to the relevant page of Guéranger's L'Année Liturgique.

(reproduced from The Hermeneutic of Continuity")

Chapter of the Institute of Christ the King

by Gregor Kollmorgen

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest's annual Chapter has been meeting in Gricigliano. They were visited by two eminent prelates, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard and Archbishop Raymond L. Burke. Cardinal Ricard is Archbishop of Bordeaux, in whose archdiocese the Institute has a Mass apostolate. He is also President emeritus of the National Conference of French bishops and the vice-President of the International Conference of European bishops. His Eminence remarkably told the chapter:

"I thank you in the name of the French bishops for the good work of the priests of the Institute in the dioceses of France."

Archbishop Burke, during his visit, blessed and crowned an antique statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Here are some pictures:

Cardinal Ricard assisting at the throne at a Solemn Mass:

Archbishop Burke blessing and crowning the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Archbishop Burke with Msgr. Schmitz:

Note that the Archbishop is wearing a tufted fascia (instead of the fringed one) which used to be worn with choir dress. I hope we can discuss this reasonably, but it is certainly interesting that the Archbishop who is one of the foremost canonists and known for his meticulous observation of the law does wear this item of vesture when many argue that its abolition by Paul VI is still in force. However, let us not only focus on this one rather specific point at such a splendid occasion.

Read the accounts with more pictures here and here.

(reproduced with permission from The New Liturgical Movement)

Apostolates of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius

by Shawn Tribe

One of the interesting things I learnt through Fr. Dennis Kolinski of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, was that the Canons Regular do operate in more than just their famed parish church of St. John Cantius itself.

The Canons now also have an additional parish apostolate, that of St. Peter's Parish in Volo, Illinois.



While on their website, you might also want to look at the beautiful retreat chapel of the Canons Regular, St. Anne's Chapel in Lawton, Michigan. The Eastern feel to the building is no mistake, having been constructed in Poland and then re-constructed in the United States for the Canons Regular.




(reproduced with permission from The New Liturgical Movement)

Ordinations at Le Barroux

Recently, Cardinal Rodé conferred priestly ordinations at the Benedictine Abbey of Le Barroux in France, on the 26th of July.

Here are a few photos, courtesy of The New Liturgical Movement (see the full photo album for more):-

Photos from ICRSS Ordinations

The New Liturgical Movemement reports that the Institute of Christ the King has now released a comprehensive collection of photographs from recent priestly and other ordinations hat took place inside the beautiful Santi Michele e Gaetano church in Florence, Italy.

Here is a selection:

This year's new seminarians of the Institute after having been invested with the soutane:


Minor orders being conferred by Bishop Basil Meeking (em. of Christchurch, NZ):


Ordination to the Diaconate, also by Mgr. Meeking:


Priestly ordinations by Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, in the Institute's splendid Florentine church:

Mgr. Burke vesting - you can see that he is wearing the rochet under the amice:




The newly ordained concelebrating:

The ordaining bishops were Bishop Basil Meeking, Emeritus of Christchurch, and Archbishop Raymond L. Burke.

Please see the website for more photos.

Can you help us?

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place…”

– Pope Benedict XVI in his Letter accompanying Summorum Pontificum

For five months now this Traditional Vocations blog has been featuring Traditional societies and religious orders using the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. We need your assistance to continue this.

In particular, there are many Traditional societies, institutes and religious communities which are not listed here, mainly because we cannot locate information about them in English. Could you translate materials about them out of their original languages and into English?

Alternatively, if you know of communities not featured here, with information in English, then please do comment!

Here are some other things you can do to help:

Spread the word!

• Can you feature this site on your blogs? Or ask your friends to do the same?

• Would your Parish or Diocese feature this in a newsletter, on a website? Would you ask them?

• Are there other websites we should be featured on, or linked from?

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?

• Have you personal experience of one of the communities featured here? Share your experiences with us!

And remember, if you know others discerning their vocations, point them this way! May the Lord send us more holy Priests, monks and nuns than we can know what to do with!

FSSP 20 years old!

Congratulations to the
Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP)
on its twentieth anniversary!