Paix liturgique

There is a topic that is rarely discussed by canonists or theologians, and even less so by pastors: Do the faithful have needs that the Church has failed to address?

It is true that to answer this question, we would first have to ask it… which is no easy task in an ecclesiastical world so far removed from reality that it most often ignores the “smell” of its faithful, as Pope Francis put it. But why? Must we admit that these clergy are not people of limited intelligence—or even of average intelligence?

The only answer that comes to mind after several decades of observation is that of willful denial. By “willful denial,” I mean the intellectual stance that reinforces itself with the certainty that these so-called faithful in need (traditionalists, of course!) simply do not exist…

Admittedly, however, these clergymen are not that foolish, and they are capable of performing a few mental exercises to land on their feet… I knew one of them particularly well, Bishop Éric Aumônier, when he was bishop of Versailles; he had become a master of this art. That’s why he could repeat ad nauseam: “Of course there are a few of these faithful who demand the traditional Mass, but they’re nothing but manipulators, Trotskyists who, through their agitation in small factions, want us to believe they’re numerous when in fact they’re nothing: that’s the trap we must not fall into.” Move along, there’s nothing to see here!

Unfortunately, this intellectual stance has spread like wildfire throughout nearly the entire ecclesiastical world and has now become an indisputable orthodoxy there. It is also—and above all—a comfortable certainty: since these seekers do not exist, there is no need to meet them, speak to them, engage in dialogue with them, or take them into account… Phew, and Deo gratias!

But as the years go by, this stance is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. Not only in light of large gatherings like the one in Chartres—which, to them, is more an example of the manipulation of youth by a few old reactionaries, as most French bishops believe (I recall one of them repeating endlessly before the immense column of pilgrims: “manipulation! manipulation! manipulation…”

Chartres, but also now the dozens of similar gatherings taking place in every province of France… then across Europe and even around the world on an ever-increasing scale, not to mention the international Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage to Rome. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to deny reality. But there remains one last recourse for those who deny reality: all these people, manipulated into participating in large demonstrations, would not actually be there on the ground. In short, they are a staged farce, made up of manipulated actors—not the faithful expressing their demands and needs in the face of necessity.

Yet numerous examples contradict this ultimate denial. Take, for example, the request by the faithful of Saint-Germain-en-Laye to be able to participate in a traditional liturgy.

Their story is more than exemplary and began over 35 years ago, in 1991, when a vicar general of Versailles accused the community of Port-Marly of welcoming into its ranks (horresco referens!) Catholics who came from the parish of Saint-Germain-en-Laye… Which, incidentally, was absolutely true.

Consequently, several of these faithful naturally turned to their parish priests in Saint-Germain to request a traditional Mass in their own parish, since it seemed to the vicar general that it was abnormal for them to attend a parish other than their own. But denial is often self-contradictory, for after accusing the parishioners of Saint-Germain of going to Port-Marly, successive parish priests of Saint-Germain then disputed the very existence of these faithful and thus the legitimacy of their request.

Had it not been for the almost supernatural perseverance of particularly courageous Catholics—how can we forget our friend Bertrand du Boullay, who endured so many insults and so much contempt in this struggle—the deniers might have been able to control the situation for a long time. (They even went so far as to let a Sunday congregation applaud their policy of exclusion.)

But as the saying goes, you can’t fight nature (or reality)—it always comes back with a vengeance. And so, in 2018, a few faithful members decided to come and pray quietly every week in the Church of Saint-Germain to make their presence known: the “math/7/7” wave—“Knock, and it will be opened to you”—was launched.

One cannot imagine how much of an effect these persistent prayers can have on God’s heart, as evidenced by the reactions of the enemies of peace. These simple prayers provoked outcries of outrage and hysterical screams, as if these faithful had desecrated the church.

That was the state of affairs when the COVID crisis broke out. Far from dampening the faithful’s tenacity, it encouraged them to redouble their efforts, and for the first time, in June 2020, a traditional Mass was celebrated in front of the Saint-Louis Chapel at the former hospital in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. This Mass brought together more than 150 faithful and left a lasting impression: there were indeed, in Saint-Germain, visible—tangible, if I may say so—faithful who wished to live out their Catholic faith according to the rhythm of the traditional liturgy.

Thus began these “unauthorized” Masses, which, every Sunday and on feast days—summer and winter, rain or shine—drew an average of 100 faithful (generating a collection of 250€ per celebration, a fact worth noting for those in charge of liturgical affairs).

I will not recount here all the underhanded tactics that were attempted to put an end to this extraordinary situation, because in fact they were to no avail. The faithful are, moreover, grateful to the prefectural, municipal, and police authorities—who were approached by our pastors—for maintaining calm and composure and for never intervening in a strictly intra-Catholic matter that in no way disturbed public order.

What followed was miraculous and exemplary. In February 2023, what had been considered impossible until then became partially possible: Bishop Crepy, the new bishop of Versailles, finally granted permission for a traditional Mass to be celebrated in the chapel of the Franciscan Sisters of Saint-Germain, despite the terms of the baffling motu proprio *Traditionis Custodes*, which, in its narrow-mindedness, continued to believe that the faithful did not exist and therefore had no needs.

It was providential that some of the original faithful refused to accept a solution they deemed unstable and preferred to continue attending Mass outdoors in front of the hospital chapel until a comprehensive, clear, and fair agreement was reached—an agreement that continues to bring together, winter and summer alike, an average community of 35 faithful (with an average collection of 135€)...

But the story doesn’t end there, and as if by some roundabout way, the dialogue that had never been able to take hold fully and honestly suddenly fell into place by the grace of the Lord. The faithful “outside the walls,” the pastor of Saint-Germain, and the vicar general of the diocese found a common ground that was, all things considered, quite simple: to guarantee Mass throughout the year (including summer), to celebrate the “minor feasts,” and to allow baptisms and funerals.

Some might say that the case of Saint-Germain is exceptional.

They would be wrong, for in 2007, when Benedict XVI published the motu proprio *Summorum Pontificum*—the 19th anniversary of which we celebrate today—more than 700 groups of petitioners came forward in France; although to date only about a hundred of them have been heard, while the others have found the doors of love, charity, and dialogue closed to them.

But, as those most opposed to peace will say, all this is just talk. We will respond to them: Since 1976, more than 30 surveys have been conducted in France among people who consider themselves Catholic, in an effort to understand what their liturgical expectations might be within the Catholic Church today. The results show surprisingly consistent patterns:

- 30% of the faithful wish to live out their Catholic faith in their parishes according to the traditional liturgy.

- 60%—whom we will call “welcoming Catholics”—have no objection to the request made by the former group.

- And only 10%—the survivors or descendants of those who drove us out of our parishes in the 1960s—oppose it…