Devotees of traditional Mass
to gather in Rome on pilgrimage
as Year of Faith begins
by Andrea Tornielli
Translated from the Italian service of
August 2, 2012
The faithful who follow the traditional Mass thanks to Benedict XVI's 2007 Motu Proprio will gather in Rome for a pilgrimage around the start of the Year of Faith to conclude with Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, it has been just been announced.
"Through the initiative of representatives from various lay groups like the International Federation Una Voce (One Voice) and Italy's National Coordination for Summorum Pontificum, the Coetus internationalis pro Summorum Pontificum (international group in support of Summorum Pontificum) has been formed, with the end of organizing an international pilgrimage of associations, groups and movements supporting Benedict XVI's motu proprio during the Year of Faith. The pilgrimage will conclude with a Mass to be celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday, November 3. An official presentation of the event will be made kin Rome on September 18"
The organizers said the event is intended as "a great mobilization in Rome, bringing together in pilgrimage and prayer all the faithful who are devoted to sacred liturgy and to the Holy Father who, now more than ever, at a time of attacks against his person, needs our unanimous manifestation of affection, obedience and support. Start to organize yourselves!"
It will not be the first time that a traditional Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica after the motu proprio was issued in 2007. The latest was offered on May 17, 2011 by German Cardinal Walter Brandmueller, at the end of a similar gathering of traditional-rite devotees held in Rome.
[Cardinal Leo Burke has also celebrated the traditional Mass in St. Peter's at one of the annual lecture-conferences held in Rome by an association of priests supporting the traditional rite.]
The organizers did not say anything about a possible meeting with the Pope, but they are obviously hoping that the Pope will find a way to address their pilgrims coming to Rome.
In September 2010, three years after the motu proprio formally went into force, the French-based group Paix Liturgique released some relevant statistics, both quantitative as well as qualitative. A study was conducted in 30 countries where Catholicism is most solidly established, in terms of the number of places where it is offered regularly, the frequency and schedule, evaluating, for instance, if the schedules are appropriate for the whole family.
The survey was carried out in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Poland, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Canada, the USA, Mexico, Colombia m Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, India, the Philippines, New Zealand, South Africa, Gabon and Nigeria.
The data has been corroborated by two independent sources. At the time of the survey, the traditional Mass was being said in 1,444 places. Of these, 340 had a Mass on at least one weekday; 313 celebrated Sunday Mass but not every week; 324 regularly celebrated Mass but not at a schedule favorable to family attendance (i.e., not between the hours of 9-12 am). But 467 places held Sunday Mass every Sunday at a family=friendly time, accounting for 32.3% of all the Masses, while 25% of Masses were offered on weekdays.
Interestingly, the Lefebvrians at the time of the survey were offering the traditional Mass, as they have always done, in 690 places - half as many as those who have only been doing so since 2007.
So, despite difficulties and resistances put up by bishops and priests in many parts of the world, the traditional Mass is getting to be known and attended, albeit slowly, by a growing number of Catholics.