World News

Updates from France, Spain and the USA, with Paul Waddington

In July, a notice, signed by Rt Rev Pascal Roland, Bishop of Belley Ars, in France, was posted in the sacristy of the shrine to St John Vianney, the Curé d’Ars. The notice effectively outlaws the celebration of the Tridentine Mass at the Shrine. It states that a priest can celebrate with the old missal only if he is alone, and exclusively in the crypt. It is ironical that the website of the Shrine places great emphasis on the welcoming of pilgrims.

Spain

The Traditional Catholic Pilgrimage to Covadonga in Spain took place for the third time in July. The three-day pilgrimage takes place each year over the weekend closest to the feast of St James. This year, it attracted 1,200 pilgrims, most of them young people. The pilgrims walked around 100km from the Cathedral of Oviedo to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Covadonga, carrying flags and banners. They were arranged in 22 chapters, mostly Spanish groups, but including groups from France, Germany and Portugal.

USA

The Diocese of Cleveland announced in August that the Church of St Elizabeth of Hungary in the City of Cleveland would become a Shrine Church for the promotion of the Christian heritage of the Hungarian people, as well as for divine worship according to the liturgical books in use prior to the reforms of 1970.

Although not a Parish Church, the bishop’s decree stated that, so far as is possible, the Shrine should be treated as analogous to a parish, with the privilege of celebrating the sacraments and other acts of divine worship normally specific to parish churches. The Shrine also has the privilege of keeping its own registers of baptisms, confirmations, first communion, marriage and death.

The announcement stated that in the near future a Religious Order would assume responsibility for the daily operations at the Shrine of St Elizabeth of Hungary. It subsequently became known that the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest would be taking charge of the Shrine in September. Traditional Masses are now offered daily with two Masses on a Sunday.

The Church of St Elizabeth of Hungary was opened in 1922 and its architectural style has been described as Baroque Revival with a strong Italian influence. It is a large, and particularly beautiful church, which has retained many of its original features, including its white marble High Altar.

This change has come about as a result of the merger of the parish of St Elizabeth of Hungary with the neighbouring parish of St Emeric, which will continue to serve the Hungarian community.

It seems that Bishop Malesic of the Cleveland Diocese has taken the opportunity of the merger of two former parishes, which was done to make better use of diocesan clergy, to establish a venue for traditional liturgy. In doing so, he has demonstrated that, despite Traditionis custodes, there are ways of ensuring the continuance of the Usus Antiquior