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[Catholic Caucus] Considerations on the Traditional Pilgrimage to Rome -- by Roberto de Mattei Considerations Sine Ira et Studio on the Ad Petri Sedem Pilgrimage Roberto de MatteiNow that the polemics that arose in the heat of the moment have settled, let us attempt to offer some dispassionate considerations, sine ira et studio, as the Romans used to say, on the fifteenth Peregrinatio ad Petri Sedem, held in Rome from October 23 to 25, 2026.The Roman pilgrimage is organized by the Coetus Internationalis Summorum Pontificum, chaired by Christian Marquant. It takes place each year at the end of October and...

A Bad Look for the Vatican - On the Blocking of Saint Peter’s to Traditional Pilgrims - by Bishop Marian Eleganti A Bad Look for the VaticanThis year's ban on the traditionally minded "Ad Petri Sedem" pilgrims entering Saint Peter's Basilica on October 24, 2026 borders on hostility toward Catholics who are loyal to the Pope and orthodox in their faith. It has nothing to do with concern for unity in the Church or with operational difficulties in organizing liturgical celebrations in Saint Peter's.The rites that exist in the Catholic Church, in their peaceful coexistence with the Novus Ordo, demonstrate...

[Catholic Caucus]Newly Published Letters Refute Vatican Claim That TLM Pilgrimage Failed to Specify Its Request MiL also publishes the text of a June 12 letter to Pope Leo XIV requesting permission to celebrate Mass.(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...

[Catholic Caucus] The TLM Pilgrimage in Rome & the Call for “Liturgical Peace” Above: the traditionalist pilgrimage in Rome. Photo by the author.Throughout the highs and lows experienced by the traditional movement in the last fifteen years, one event has remained key in the calendar, and this year was no exception. The 2026 edition of the annual Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage once more served as the siren call for Latin Mass devotees across the globe to descend upon Rome on this last weekend of October. Once in the city though, it is fair to say, that the pilgrimage faced more...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Mutsaerts: Why is ‘liturgical diversity’ good except for Latin Mass? A Catholic can attend the Divine Liturgy according to several traditions. But as soon as a Catholic wishes to attend a Latin Mass, suddenly liturgical diversity becomes a problem.The Catholic Church prides itself on its universality, cherishes an impressive diversity of liturgical traditions, and regards that diversity as an expression of its richness. A Catholic can attend the Divine Liturgy according to the Byzantine tradition, the Maronite tradition, the Armenian tradition, or the Chaldean tradition. No one considers this a threat to ecclesial unity in and of...

[Catholic Caucus] The Lepers: Letter from the Secretariat of State blocking entry of Traditional Pilgrims to Saint Peter’s Basilica Three weeks before the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, which is in its 15th year and has always ended on the last Sunday in October, Father Claude Barthe, chaplain of the pilgrimage, received the denial.Diane Montagna reports (main excerpt):A letter from the Vatican Secretariat of State to the organizers of the annual Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage, obtained by this journalist, confirms reports that the pilgrims were barred from entering St. Peter’s Basilica in procession to pray at the tomb of the Apostle.The letter,...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican bars Traditionalists from St. Peter’s, no prayer allowed Since 2007, grateful hearts have traveled to Rome on the anniversary of Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum motu proprio, which liberated the Latin rite liturgy after it was supposedly abrogated by Paul VI. Each October, faithful Catholics have participated in a pilgrimage through the streets of Rome which culminates inside St. Peter's Basilica. Even when the Mass they was denied to them, they held a prayer service over the bones of St. Peter, singing the Credo and overing thanksgiving. But this year? In an unprecedented move, and only days before...

[Catholic Caucus] The Vatican's “speech of inclusiveness and tolerance is not true, it is ideological and selective,” Bishop Athanasius SchneiderThe Vatican's “speech of inclusiveness and tolerance is not true, it is ideological and selective,” Bishop Athanasius Schneider told AdVaticanum.com following the Vatican’s ban on the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage procession entering St. Peter’s Basilica today.Schneider criticized the contradiction between the Church’s promotion of synodality and its exclusion of traditional Catholics.“A group of Catholics who are in good standing and recognize the Pope, pray for the Pope, for the bishops — exactly this group was banned,” he said.Schneider suggested that accusations of...

TRADITIONALISTS, THE LAST PARIAHS - Never Before: Traditional Pilgrims Blocked from Entering Saint Peter's The move was announced to Christian Marquant (of Paix Liturgique), during the liturgical conference that precedes the pilgrimage every year. From our friends at Messa in Latino:Christian Marquant: "The Pope Denied Us Saint Peter's, Believing the Mass Was Instrumentalized Last Year"Reported by Enrico Messa in Latino, October 23, 2026*The President of the Association Paix Liturgique, who has devoted his life to the defense of the Mass of all ages, concluded our meeting with direct, clear, and incisive words.*---...Turning to an examination of the ecclesial situation,...

[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Annual Latin Mass pilgrimage barred from entering St. Peter’s Basilica The Vatican Secretariat of State told the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage’s chief organizer that their procession is banned from St. Peter’s this year, according to a new report.The faithful attending this weekend’s Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage will no longer be permitted to enter St. Peter’s Basilica, per a Friday report.Vatican journalist Diane Montagna, citing Christian Marquant, the pilgrimage’s chief organizer, reported Friday that the Vatican will bar priests, religious, and lay faithful participating in the 15th annual Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage from entering St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, Oct. 24,...

Bishop Schneider: ‘We cannot continue with the Novus Ordo’ Bishop Athanasius Schneider defended the positions of the SSPX against Vatican II’s ‘ambiguities’ and the Novus Ordo’s ‘defects.’Bishop Athanasius Schneider called out the “doctrinal and liturgical defects” of the Novus Ordo Mass.In an exclusive interview with journalist Michael Haynes published Tuesday, Schneider praised the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) as a “work of Divine Providence.” The bishop, one of the clerics best acquainted with the SSPX in the world, defended the Society’s criticisms of the Second Vatican Council and of the Novus Ordo Missae.Schneider highlighted the fact that the traditional...

[Catholic Caucus] Roche falsely claims Summorum Pontificum’s goal was SSPX ‘returning’ to Church Pope Benedict XVI has said it is ‘absolutely false’ that the ‘reauthorization’ of the Latin Mass was ‘primarily a concession’ to the SSPX.Anti-traditionalist Cardinal Arthur Roche has repeated the false claim that Pope Benedict XVI issued Summorum Pontificum to “smooth the way” for the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to “return to the Church.”The prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship told AdVaticanum in an interview published Tuesday that “Summorum Pontificum was created to accommodate, and also to smooth the way for, the Society of Saint...

Exclusive interview: Cardinal Roche to traditionalists: ‘You are edging yourself away from the centre of Catholicism’ In an exclusive interview with AdVaticanum, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship speaks about his dicastery, the controversy over an Islamic chant at a Belgian university Mass, the future of Traditionis Custodes, the validity of SSPX sacraments and whether there was an appetite among bishops for change from Summorum PontificumCardinal Arthur Roche is one of the most senior churchmen in the Vatican. He served as Secretary of the then Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for almost a...

Interview with Cardinal Roche: the Pope is not going back on Traditionis Custodes, Summorum Pontificum will not returnCardinal Roche, the English head of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, granted an extensive interview to website Ad Vaticanum as he nears the end of his term.We provide below the excerpts that concern Traditional Catholics, the entire interview deals with several other matters.... This year will mark five years since the implementation of Traditionis Custodes, the motu proprio from Pope Francis’s pontificate, which adjusted a previous motu proprio from Pope Benedict’s pontificate. Do you think, in view of these changes from pontificate to...

[Catholic Caucus] “We Demand the Latin Mass”: CIC 2026 Statement to the Vatican “Give Us Back the Mass of Our Fathers!” Michael Matt delivers the extraordinary closing statement of the 2026 Catholic Identity Conference—a direct appeal to Pope Leo XIV, a warning against the continued suppression of Tradition, and a declaration that faithful Catholics will not be silenced or driven from the Church. The message is clear: Restore the Latin Mass—or face the resistance of Catholics determined to defend the Faith.Your Holiness:We address our Holy Father as loyal sons of Holy Mother Church, “with burning concern” for the souls of...

[Catholic Caucus] Latin Mass Persecutor Viola Named to Saint Peter’s - And What Happens Now in Divine Worship Liturgical shake-up today at the Vatican:Appointment of vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City, archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican and president of the Fabric of Saint PeterThe Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, O.F.M., hitherto secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City, archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican and president of the Fabric...

Leo XIV’s excommunication backfires: SSPX lists multiple priests who just joined them ‘While Rome plans a procedure for priests wishing to leave the SSPX, many priests from diocesan clergy and religious communities continue, around the world, to draw closer to the Fraternity or to join it,’ the SSPX noted.The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) on Friday posted a list of diocesan and religious priests around the world who have joined the Society, undeterred by penalties or the Vatican’s declared excommunications. “After the ordinations, diocesan priests continue to turn toward Tradition,” the official international SSPX Twitter account wrote in a...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Mutsaerts: Go to Latin Mass instead of trying to fix your own parish 'If there's a bad Novus Ordo Mass, you can't improve those priests, I'm afraid. So just go anywhere else,' Mutsaerts told LifeSite at the Catholic Identity Conference.Bishop Robert Mutsaerts said that Catholics who attend parishes with irreverent Novus Ordo Masses should find a Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or another reverent liturgy instead of attempting to transform their home parish.During a brief October 3 interview with LifeSite after his talk at the 2026 Catholic Identity Conference (CIC), Mutsaerts responded to a question about whether the...

Another diocesan priest links up with SSPX, bishop removes faculties The bishop of Knoxville, TN, who suppressed the Latin Mass earlier this year, has now revoked the faculties of a diocesan priest who has associated himself with the SSPX. The bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, has revoked all the faculties of a diocesan priest who has associated himself with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). A strongly-worded statement issued by the diocese said that Bishop James Beckman had withdrawn all faculties, permissions, and authorizations previously granted to Fr. David Mary Engo for ministry within the diocese. “He is not authorized...

[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Toronto Oratory’s Latin Masses to be curtailed Sept. 20: reports Weekly Traditional Latin Masses at the Toronto's Holy Family and St. Vincent de Paul churches will no longer continue, according to two long-established blogs, and traditional-form sacraments will end immediately. Beginning Sunday, September 20, the weekly Traditional Latin Masses (TLM) at the Toronto Oratory’s Holy Family and St. Vincent de Paul churches will no longer continue as weekly celebrations of the 1962 Missal, according to two long-established Toronto blogs with deep ties to the churches in question.Each parish would instead be required to offer one Novus Ordo...