[Catholic Caucus] Five Traditional Pontifical Liturgies to Be Celebrated in Rome and the US

National Catholic Register ^ | October 20, 2025 | Edward Pentin

[ebb tide]

[Catholic Caucus] Five Traditional Pontifical Liturgies to Be Celebrated in Rome and the US

The liturgies are being celebrated over the next month at a time when Pope Leo XIV is weighing up whether to continue restrictions imposed by Pope Francis' 2021 apostolic letter ‘Traditionis Custodes.'

Despite continuing suppression of the traditional liturgy — which appears to be concentrated in some dioceses of the United States — four cardinals and an archbishop are to celebrate five traditional pontifical liturgies in Rome and the U.S. over the next month.

At 3 p.m. this coming Saturday, Cardinal Raymond Burke will celebrate a pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica as part of the annual “Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage” attended by traditional Catholics from around the world. The cardinal last celebrated a pontifical Mass for the same event in the basilica in 2014. 

The Mass had become an annual tradition since the pilgrimage began in 2012 but was suspended in 2022 following Pope Francis’ apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of the Tradition), which had led to sweeping restrictions of the traditional Roman Rite in the preceding year. From then on, only the Office of Sext (midday prayer) was allowed to be sung. 

The decision to allow the Mass to go ahead appears to have come from the top. “Clearly, [it was] because the Pope said: ‘Let them do it,’” Msgr. Marco Agostini, a papal master of ceremonies and a leading advocate of the traditional Mass in Rome, told The Washington Post Oct. 19.

As part of the pilgrimage, on Oct. 24 Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna will celebrate pontifical vespers in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Rome. The cardinal, who is sympathetic to the traditional Roman Rite but does not celebrate it regularly, last celebrated pontifical vespers for the pilgrims in the Pantheon in 2022.

[ebb tide]

The credibility of Traditionis Custodes was severely undermined over the summer when it emerged that the original justification for implementing its restrictions had been based on misrepresented data about bishops’ opinions. 

[ebb tide]

Ping