(Pilgrims gather in front of the Obelisk to sing the Credo; Photo: Diane Montagna)
Posted on 10/28/2026 10:55:16 AM PDT by ebb tide
(Pilgrims gather in front of the Obelisk to sing the Credo; Photo: Diane Montagna)
New letters have emerged concerning the Vatican’s refusal to let the fifteenth annual Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage Ad Petri Sedem enter St. Peter’s Basilica in procession. They confirm reports on the organizers’ Sept. 8 request and directly refute the Vatican’s claim that the request was not specific enough.
Today the Italian blog Messainlatino (MiL) published three letters documenting the exchanges: Archbishop Paolo Rudelli’s Aug. 7 refusal of a request to celebrate Mass, Fr. Claude Barthe’s Sept. 8 request to enter the Basilica for prayer and Eucharistic adoration, and Archbishop Rudelli’s Sept. 30 reply.
The First Letter
The first letter, dated Aug. 7 (protocol no. 55.786), was sent by Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, Substitute for General Affairs at the Secretariat of State, to Fr. Claude Barthe, chaplain of the pilgrimage. Written in French, it reads in English:
SECRETARIAT OF STATE
First Section – General AffairsFrom the Vatican, 7 August 2026
No. 55.786
Dear Father,
In your letter of 12 June, you submitted a request to celebrate a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, according to the usus antiquior, during the international Pilgrimage Ad Petri Sedem.
We regret to inform you that, for this year, we are unable to grant your request.
Please accept, Father, the assurance of my religious devotion.
✠ Paolo Rudelli
Archbishop Rudelli was responding to a letter of June 12, which Fr. Barthe addressed to Pope Leo XIV. According to the organizers, it was their fourth request made to the Vatican; the first three went unanswered. MiL has published the text of the June 12 letter as well. Written in French, it reads in English:
“For fifteen years, our Pilgrimage has brought to Rome, to the Tomb of the Apostle and to his Successor, pilgrims representing all the priests and faithful throughout the world who are attached to the traditional liturgy. Every year, except for 2023 and 2024, we were granted the grace of celebrating the traditional Holy Mass in the Vatican Basilica. In 2025, by permission of Your Holiness, we were able to resume this pious custom. I therefore return to Your Holiness to ask that you paternally renew your authorization of last year, as well as the earlier authorizations of Pope Francis.”
The Second Letter
On Sept. 8, following the Secretariat of State’s refusal to authorize Mass, Fr. Barthe wrote back to Archbishop Rudelli with a different request: permission to enter the Basilica in procession, pray for the Pope, and adore the Blessed Sacrament at 1 p.m. According to the letter, the Basilica’s Sacristy had informed organizers that this would be possible at that time, should permission be granted by the Secretariat of State. Written in French, in English the letter reads:
CŒTUS INTERNATIONALIS SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM
8 September 2026
H.E. Msgr. Paolo Rudelli
Substitute of the Secretariat of StateMost Reverend Excellency,
I have duly received your letter of 7 August, informing me that, for this year, our international pilgrimage Ad Petri Sedemwas not authorized to celebrate a Mass according to the usus antiquior in St. Peter’s Basilica on 24 October.
May we, however, on this 24 October, enter the Basilica in procession, pray for the Pope at the Confession, and adore the Blessed Sacrament at the Altar of the Chair? The Sacristy of the Basilica informs us that this would be possible at 1 p.m., should you grant us permission.
I ask Your Most Reverend Excellency to accept the homage of my profound respect.
[signature]
Today’s publication of the Sept. 8 letter confirms an Oct. 25 report on the content of the organizers’ request. It also challenges the account published by The Pillar on Oct. 26.
According to The Pillar, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that if the organizers wanted to hold an activity such as Eucharistic adoration or prayer, “they should’ve made a specific request to that end.”
Bruni also told The Pillar on Monday that the Secretariat of State’s letter rejecting the pilgrimage’s request referred “exclusively to the procession, because that’s ordinarily not allowed, not even for dioceses that come in pilgrimage.”
However, the Sept. 8 letter explicitly requested permission to enter St. Peter’s Basilica in procession, pray for the Pope at the Confession, and adore the Blessed Sacrament at the Altar of the Chair. It specified the date and proposed time, 1 p.m., which the Basilica’s Sacristy had indicated would be possible if permission were granted.
Furthermore, the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage Ad Petri Sedem has been granted permission to enter the Basilica in procession for the past fourteen years.
The correspondence therefore raises a clear question: if the refusal concerned exclusively the procession, why was permission for the requested prayer and Eucharistic adoration not granted separately? The Sept. 30 reply declines the request without offering any explanation.
The Third Letter
The third letter, dated Sept. 30 (protocol no. 58.510), was first published on Oct. 25. It is Archbishop Rudelli’s reply to the Sept. 8 request, which he declined.
According to Christian Marquant, president of the Coetus Internationalis Summorum Pontificum, the letter was first sent to the French nunciature and was received by organizers on Oct. 12. Also in French, it reads in English:
SECRETARIAT OF STATE
First Section – General AffairsFrom the Vatican, 30 September 2026
No. 58.510
Dear Father,
In response to your letter of 8 September concerning the international pilgrimage Ad Petri sedem, I inform you that it is not possible to respond favorably to your request.
Please accept, Father, the expression of my religious and devoted sentiments.
✠ Paolo Rudelli
SubstituteAll letters have been published here with the kind permission of MessainLatino (MIL).
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
Ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.