Una Voce America

We are pleased to inform you of wonderful news.  Thanks to the good offices of The Most Reverend Henry J. Mansell, Archbishop of Hartford, the Latin Mass celebrated for those in the New Haven community who are devoted to the old liturgy, shortly will have a new home at Saint Stanislaus Church in central New Haven.

As many of our members and friends have known for some time, New Haven’s Sacred Heart Church, which has been the home of the traditional Latin Masses celebrated for our society since its inception in 1985, is scheduled to close in the very near future.  We take this opportunity to express our deepest thanks to The Reverend James Richardson and the Parish of Sacred Heart Church for twenty-four years of hospitality and support.  We express our special gratitude to Fr. Richardson for his willingness in recent years to celebrate the old Mass, often at but a moment’s notice, to ensure the stability of our schedule.  We would be remiss if we did not offer our sincere thanks to Frs. Robert Newman, James Smith and Robert Ladish, who were brave pastors in making Sacred Heart Church available for the celebration of the old liturgy before its recent, more widespread acceptance.  Our gratitude to them can never be fully expressed.

Aware that the closure of Sacred Heart Church is imminent, the Officers of the Society wrote to the Most Reverend Henry J. Mansell, Archbishop of Harford, late in the spring expressing the concern that when the church closed, the members and friends of the Society who have faithfully attended the Latin Masses there would be without a home.  In his gracious response dated 23 June, Archbishop Mansell explained that he had consulted with clergy in the New Haven Deanery, and that The Reverend Roman Kmieç, C.M., pastor of Saint Stanislaus Church in New Haven, had offered his church as a new home for the Latin Mass in our community.  

The Co-chairmen and Vice-chairman of the Society met with Fr. Kmieç on 10 July.  After a discussion of the history of the Society and an examination of the church with regard to its suitability for the celebration of the old liturgy, Fr. Kmiec extended his generous invitation to the Society to make St. Stanislaus its new home.   We accepted without hesitation since the opportunity presents so many benefits to the life of our group.

Located close to the center of New Haven at the intersection of State and Eld Streets, St. Stanislaus is an imposing edifice in the Baroque style, whose construction began in 1901 by Polish craftsmen and artisans from the old country.  Served by priests of the Congregatio Missionis, founded by St. Vincent de Paul in 1625 (commonly known as the Vincentians), the people of St. Stanislaus are strongly traditional in Catholic faith and practice, many of them desirous of the return of the older liturgy to their parish. The beautifully decorated church interior remains essentially the same since the day of its consecration and thus ideally suited for the celebration of the traditional rites.

Relocation will require a considerable planning and hard work on the part of the Society’s Executive Committee and our members.  With Fr. Kmieç we agreed on September 13 as the date on which the first Latin Mass will be celebrated at St. Stanislaus.  Falling on the eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14th) this date is most appropriate, since it is the second anniversary of the implementation of Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.  So we are pleased to announce a festive celebration of that feast with Solemn Mass and Benediction on Sunday, 13 September at 2:00 pm.  We exhort our members and friends to mark this date on their calendars, to plan to attend the service with family and friends, and to offer prayers of thanksgiving for what promises to be a stimulus for an exhilarating new era in the life of the Saint Gregory Society.  You will receive reminders of this happy occasion with details as to location and parking.

On behalf of Una Voce Northern Alabama, I am pleased to announce our first ever diocesan-wide workshop for the laity: “Introduction to the Extraordinary Form.” This free, daylong workshop will take place on Saturday, August 15–the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, at the Cathedral of St. Paul in downtown Birmingham. Fr. Justin Nolan, FSSP, will offer conferences on the theology and ritual of the Ancient Form of the Roman Rite of the Mass. The highlight of the day will be Solemn High Mass in the Cathedral. Lunch will be provided directly following the Mass.

During the conferences, Fr. Nolan will answer many frequently asked questions regarding the basics of the Traditional Latin Mass, such as:

-Why does the priest not face the people?
-Why is the Mass in Latin?
-How can I participate?
-What is Summorum Pontificum?
-What are Pope Benedict’s thoughts on the Extraordinary Form?

This event is free and open to the public–all are invited and no registration is required. However, we ask that you please RSVP online at www.unavocenorthernalabama.com to help us plan for the event. A nursery will be available if you wish to make use of it.

We have provided below a tentative schedule for the event and a flyer with all of the pertinent information. Please help us spread the word about this workshop by telling those who may be interested. Please contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you on August 15!

Ad Jesum per Mariam,

David Biddle, President
Una Voce Northern Alabama

The Traditional Latin Mass has returned to another parish in the San Francisco Archdiocese!

Trinity Sunday June 7th was the first monthly High Mass offered by Fr. William Young at Mater Dolorosa Church, 307 Willow Ave (& Miller), South San Francisco and was attended by over 200 souls.  My boys and I were honored to serve for Father, who has been quietly offering the Traditional Mass for some time now, and also offers the weekly 12:15PM Sunday Mass at St. Vincent’s Home for Boys in San Rafael, north of San Francisco. 

As I knelt in the sanctuary of Mater Dolorosa’s plain 1960’s interior, I was humbled by the quiet work of the young Filipino organizers who ensured the return of this “worthy ritual to the Divine Majesty” to their parish for “the praise and glory of His name” and “the benefit of all His Holy Church”.  The congregation was ethnically diverse, yet we could pray together in the ancient language of the Church.  This genuine and practical unity in the Faith has to be part of what Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI intends.  Domine, non sum dignus!

At the present, the monthly Mass at Mater Dolorosa will be 6:30PM on the 1st Sunday of each month.  For more information contact: Ando Perlas @ 650-892-5728

Slowly, but surely, the Traditional Mass is returning to San Francisco Bay Area parishes.

Fr. Jerry Brown, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Brentwood (Oakland diocese) offers a weekly 5PM Sunday Mass at his parish. 

Fr. Lawrence Goode, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi, East Palo Alto continues to offer a weekly Mass 6PM every Friday.

 Fr. Jean Marie Moreau, ICKSP offers daily Masses at St. Margaret Mary’s in Oakland and Fr. Pedro Ottonello, O.A.D, longtime and faithful chaplain, continues to offer three Masses a week at Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Santa Clara.  Fr. Moreau recently offered Masses at the historic California Missions of Santa Clara and San Jose (Fremont) as well as a Sunday High Mass at Five Wounds Portugese National Church in San Jose.

 Our Lord continues to increase His Grace, despite the unworthiness of the people of our time.  May we respond with an increase in faith, hope and charity!

— submitted by Doug Zeitz,  Una Voce Palo Alto, CA

On the Feast of the Assumption, Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 12 Noon, Mater Ecclesiae Roman Catholic Church will celebrate the Ninth Annual Mass of Thanksgiving at Saint Peter Roman Catholic Church, 43 West Maple Avenue, 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 and Orchestra.

The Mass setting will be Missa Sancti Nicholai (1772) by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), conducted by Dr. Timothy McDonnell. The singing of the Gregorian Propers will be directed by our Cantor, Mr. Nicholas Beck.

The location of the Mass has changed this year due to ongoing renovations at the Cathedral in Camden.

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

For more information, please call 856-753-3408 or visit the Mater Ecclesiae website.

Mater Ecclesiae is a Mission of St. Edward’s Parish, Pine Hill, in the diocese of Camden New Jersey. The Mission was established on October 13, 2000, the anniversary of the final apparition of Our Lady at Fatima. All Masses and Sacraments are celebrated according to the liturgical books of 1962.

Father Philip O’Donnell will offer the traditional Latin Mass on the First Friday of the month at 7:00 PM; he has also celebrated a TLM on the feast of the Sacred Heart.
UNA Voce Southern Nevada is in the process of forming a schola with the help of Ramon Wals who also serves in the number two position of UNA Voce Southern Nevada. Mr. Wals has expertise in traditional Latin Music and chants.
Father Leo Slatterie (a retired Cistercian monk) continues to offer our weekly Ordinary Form Latin Mass on Sunday at 9:30 AM.
All of this would not have been possible without the dedication and support of the parish administrator (Father Jesse Cortes) who continues to offer both forms of the Mass in Latin, plus three other vernacular languages.
St. Bridget Parish in Las Vegas is blessed with three such wonderful priests who carry on the traditions of our faith. I feel this is the type of parish that would please the Holy Father.
Please feel free to spread this information to all who are interested.
— submitted by Ron Casey, Una Voce Southern Nevada

The Latin Mass community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania has announced a new Mass time. Effective immediately, the traditional Latin Mass will be celebrated every Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The new celebrant is Father Pang Tcheou, a priest of the Diocese of Harrisburg.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 259 Oliver Street, Newark, New Jersey, will hold a Solemn High Traditional Latin Mass in honor of its patroness, on the titular feast of the parish, July 16 at 12 noon. The Mass will be immediately followed by a procession with the Statue of Our Lady through the parish accompanied by a full symphonic Italian feast band and fireworks.

In response to Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, Reverend Father Thien Nguyen, pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, has generously invited Reverend Father David Phillipson to offer the Extraordinary Form Mass (the Traditional Latin Mass) every Sunday at 8:00 AM, beginning on June 28th. Father Phillipson will also offer the traditional Mass at 8:00 AM on Holy Days according to the Traditional Calendar.

Father will hear confessions at 7:30 AM before Mass, and the Rosary will be prayed aloud at that time. Father will also hold spiritual conferences and traditional devotions, and administer the Sacraments according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. For more information, visit the parish website at www.immaculateconceptionfitchburg.com.

Immaculate Conception Church is located at 59 Walnut Street in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The parish will also maintain its regular schedule of Masses in the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo Masses).

On Friday, June 19th, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. on the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Bishop Fernândo Rifan, of the diocese of Campos in Brazil, will celebrate a traditional Pontifical Solemn Mass at the Throne at the Church of St. Jean Baptiste (East 76th and Lexington Avenue).

There will also be a conference on devotion to the Sacred Heart and a dinner in honor of Bishop Rifan on Saturday, June 20th, 2009. For more information about this Mass and other events related to it, go to http://www.sacredheartconfraternity.org/2009_CSH_Events_Archive.html

MASS OF THE AGES  IN THE ANCIENT MOUNTAINS OF WEST VIRGINIA

A Missa Cantata, Extraordinary Form, will be offered by Fr. Timothy Grassi at 4:00 pm on Sunday, May 17, in Thomas, WV (Tucker County), at the small but warm and beautiful St. Thomas Aquinas. Fr.Grassi offers the traditional  Latin Mass every weekday morning at St. Thomas, and every other Sunday in nearby Parsons, WV at Our Lady of Mercy Mission.

According to Gratton Gannon, chairman of the Una Voce chapter in West Virginia, musicians from St Anthony’s of Follansbee, WV with their organist Robert Fulda will travel to Thomas to assist local parishioners. Thomas is a tiny remote mountain town with few accommodations, but nearby are Canaan Valley and Blackwater Falls, both with good accommodations and gorgeous natural settings.

“The last two stirringly sung High Masses at St Patrick in Weston and St. Francis Xavier in Parkersburg were overwhelmingly attended with over 400 people and standing room only each time,” Gannon said.
“People came to these two wonderfully- preserved churches from all over West Virginia and Ohio. There seems to be a genuine thirst for the Latin Mass in this area. Currently in the diocese, the Extraordinary Form is offered monthly by Fr. Kevin Quirk at the Cathedral of St Joseph in Wheeling in response to local requests. We are grateful for these grace-filled opportunities to assist at the ancient rite, and we pray for more,” Gannon added.

For further information, contact: Fr. Timothy Grassi, olm@yahoo.com, (304-463- 4488); Grattan Gannon, Gannon2006@hotmail. com, (304-522-2014); John Roush, jroush@mountain.net; or Mike & Mary Tillman, Tillmans@hotmail. com.