The Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP) in Warrington will provide a live-streamed sung liturgy in the Extraordinary Form during the Holy Triduum at the request of the Archbishop of Liverpool.

Archbishop Malcolm McMahon asked the priests at St Mary’s Shrine to live-stream their Holy Week ceremonies in order to “enable viewers to draw close to the sacred liturgy at the most important time in the Church’s calendar”.

The archbishop’s request comes after the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales received several appeals to live-stream the Paschal Triduum in the Extraordinary Form. Fr Chris Thomas, General Secretary of the Bishop’s Conference, informed the Latin Mass Society of Archbishop McMahon’s request.

While the FSSP at Warrington have been live-streaming ceremonies for the past three years, this is the first time the bishops have specifically requested and endorsed their doing so.

As churches remain closed due to the coronavirus lockdown, St Mary’s Warrington is also one of the very few places in the country where five clerics are able to perform a Traditional Missa Cantata behind closed doors as they live as one household.

The Masses will be available to watch at LiveMass.net.

Archbishop McMahon said: “I would like to commend the live streaming of the Holy Week services from St Mary’s in Warrington to all those devoted to the extraordinary form. This will enable viewers to draw close to the sacred liturgy at the most important time in the Church’s calendar and to share in the deep spirituality of the FSSP. I would like to thank Fr de Malleray and his community for making this available so generously.”

Latin Mass Society chairman Joseph Shaw said: “I am delighted that the most complete set of Easter Services possible in the circumstances is going to be made available by the Fraternity of St Peter, and that the Archbishop and other bishops see this as a service to the whole Church in this country in this difficult time. The more ancient form of the Catholic liturgy is not only loved by a loyal band of supporters but represents a liturgical richness for all Catholics.”

The FSSP is a Clerical Society of Apostolic Life that is dedicated to the Traditional Latin Mass. They have five apostolates in England including St Mary’s, Warrington.

While the priests at Warrington will celebrate Holy Week according to the 1962 rubrics, some FSSP parishes have been given permission to use the older pre-1955 ceremonies. One such parish, in Fribourg, Switzerland, will also be streaming its ceremonies on LiveMass.net.

The full schedule for Warrington is:

Maundy Thursday, 9 April

10am-12:00noon Tenebrӕ: Gregorian chant

8:00pm-9:30pm Solemn Mass

9:30pm-midnight: Eucharistic adoration (most likely not filmed on LiveMass)

Good Friday, 10 April

10am-11:40am Tenebrӕ: Gregorian chant

3:00pm-5:00pm Solemn Liturgy

Holy Saturday, 11 April

10am-11:40am Tenebrӕ: Gregorian chant

8:00pm-midnight Solemn Easter Vigil followed by Solemn Mass

(The Easter Vigil will begin at sunset and will end by 11pm):

Easter Sunday, 12 April

11:00am-12:30pm Solemn High Mass

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