For now, worship as usual for local Latin Massgoing Catholics as new restrictions evaluated

Catholics in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis who regularly attend Mass in the “extraordinary form” of the liturgy can expect to find their Masses unchanged this weekend, as local Church leaders take time to understand and implement a July 16 order from Pope Francis to place greater oversight on the use of that form of the Mass.

In a July 16 letter to clergy, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said that, for now, parishes that celebrate Mass in the extraordinary form — also known as the “traditional Latin Mass” or “Tridentine Mass” — should stick to the status quo. Archbishop Hebda has formed a task force to review the pope’s new law and consider the next steps to take the archdiocese. Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens is the task force chair.

Noting that the norms are effective as of July 16, Archbishop Hebda said he “will need some time to study the new norms, examine our local situation and seek counsel.”

“With that in mind, I am happy to grant the necessary faculties so that those priests who are already celebrating the rites of the Extraordinary Form may continue to do,” he said. “I similarly direct that the Mass in the Extraordinary Form continue in those locations where it is currently being offered in the Archdiocese. No new public liturgical celebration of the Extraordinary Form, however, should be introduced anywhere in the Archdiocese at this time without my written permission.”

In a “motu proprio” — or personally issued legislative directive — titled “Traditionis custodes,” Pope Francis called for greater control under local bishops over who and where Mass can be celebrated according to the 1962 Missal, the form of the Mass that was used from the 16th century until 1970, when a new missal was promulgated with liturgical reforms recommended during the Second Vatican Council. According to the motu proprio, a diocese’s bishop has the sole authority to authorize use of the 1962 Missal.

In dioceses where the celebration of the extraordinary form of the Mass already takes place, such as in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the motu proprio states that a bishop must determine that Catholics who choose to worship in that form do not deny Vatican II’s liturgical reforms. The bishop should establish the places where the extraordinary form of the Mass can be celebrated, and it should not be celebrated in parish churches. Priests who regularly celebrate the extraordinary form of the Mass must now request permission to do so from their bishops. Archbishop Hebda has asked priests who currently celebrate the extraordinary form and who wish to continue to write him with a request for authorization by Aug. 15.

Currently, Mass in the extraordinary form is regularly offered in the archdiocese at seven parishes: St. Agnes in St. Paul, St. Joseph in Miesville, Holy Trinity and St. Augustine in South St. Paul, St. Michael in Pine Island, Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale and All Saints in northeast Minneapolis.

In November 2017, Archbishop Bernard Hebda granted All Saints the canonical designation of a “personal parish” for Catholics who are attracted to worship in the extraordinary form. (In contrast, most parishes are established with geographic boundaries, which designates who constitutes a parishioner by canon law.)

Since 2013, All Saints has been in the care of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, a religious community of priests who celebrate Mass exclusively in the extraordinary form.

The July 16 motu proprio reverses elements of Pope Benedict’s 2007 motu proprio “Summorum Pontificum,” which relaxed previous restrictions around the 1962 Missal’s use. It permitted priests to celebrate Mass according to either missal, and to honor requests from the faithful who wished to worship according to the 1962 Missal. It also granted bishops the authority to establish a personal parish for Catholics wishing to worship according to the extraordinary form.

Meanwhile, “Summorum Pontificum” reiterated that the 1970 Roman Missal is the “ordinary expression” of the “rule of prayer” for the Latin-rite Church, and that the 1962 Missal is the “extraordinary expression” of that same rule. Mass according to the 1962 Missal is sometimes referred to as the “traditional Latin Mass,” in contrast to the “new Latin Mass” of the 1970 Missal, which was later translated for vernacular celebration worldwide.

In his July 16 motu proprio, Pope Francis explained that by allowing Mass to be celebrated in its 1962 form, Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI “intended ‘to facilitate the ecclesial communion of those Catholics who feel attached to some earlier liturgical forms’ and not to others.”

In 2020, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith consulted bishops about their experience under “Summorum Pontificum.” Having heard the congregation’s opinion, Pope Francis said he aims “to press on ever more in the constant search for ecclesial communion” by reestablishing restrictions around the use of the 1962 Mass.

The Roman Missal is the book that contains the prayers and instructions for celebrating the Mass. Pope St. John XXIII promulgated the 1962 Missal right before the opening of the Second Vatican Council. Mass celebrated according to that Missal is also called the “Tridentine Mass,” due to the Missal’s historical continuance with editions of the missal promulged following the Council of Trent in the 16th century.

The Second Vatican Council called for a reform of the liturgy’s texts, so, following the council, in 1970 Pope St. Paul VI issued a new Roman Missal, rendering the 1962 Missal defunct. However, because of some Catholics’ attachment to the older Missal, in 1984, the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, under St. John Paul II, permitted its use in certain circumstances. In 2007, “Summorum Pontificum” broadly expanded that use.

Father Tom Margevicius, the archdiocese’s director of worship, said that in his experience, Catholics who attend Mass in the extraordinary form are attracted to its longevity and its feeling of being grounded in centuries of tradition. He noted that it has particularly gained popularity among Catholic millennials who appreciate that it does not come across as “ephemeral.”

“That meets a sociological need, especially for young people today — to feel that what they’re doing is not just a flash in the pan, a flash on the screen, but it’s got everlasting, eternal significance,” he said. “Pope Benedict has said that the ordinary form can do that (too), especially if the ordinary form is celebrated well with reverence and dignity and generous uses of silence and sacred music.”

According to Archbishop Hebda’s July 16 letter, the task force studying “Traditionis custodes” will include Father Margevicius; Father Bryan Pedersen, pastor of Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale; Father John Gallas, a theology professor at The St. Paul Seminary; and Susan Mulheron, the archdiocese’s chancellor for canonical affairs.

“I am grateful to these individuals for generously offering to undertake this work, and I look forward to receiving their recommendations,” he said. “I will provide you with more information on this topic soon. For now, please know that I would welcome your thoughts or concerns, which I will forward to the task force.”

“We are blessed in the Archdiocese by so many individuals and families who love the liturgy in both of its forms and find in the Eucharist the nourishment they need to live exemplary lives of service,” he said. “Nonetheless, on this Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, let us ask Our Lady’s intercession for an even greater devotion to the Eucharist so that we might be drawn together in even greater unity as we journey together towards the eternal liturgy of heaven.”