Paix liturgique

The Abbot Primate of the Benedictines, the German Jeremias Schröder, who, by virtue of his office, leads the Abbey of Sant'Anselmo on the Aventine Hill in Rome, gave an interview on April 30 on the website of the German Bishops' Conference, katholisch.de (see the translation of the main excerpt on Le blog d'Yves Daoudal), on the subject of the traditional liturgy. In a conciliatory tone, this prominent religious figure acknowledges, to some extent, the failure of Traditionis Custodes: “After Benedict XVI’s openness in this area, it is no longer possible to completely eliminate the old rite.” And he went on to explain that, within the Benedictine order, several abbeys have preserved the ancient rite (Fontgombault and its daughter houses, Norcia, Le Barroux) and that everything proceeds peacefully: “We have brothers and sisters who have built their religious life on this form of prayer and Mass. This form has meanwhile found its place in the Church and, therefore, should be permitted, at least in certain contexts.” This statement takes on an even greater significance because it comes from a prelate who is one of the highest-ranking figures within the Roman Catholic Church. And his comments acquired even greater importance when, a few days later, on May 2nd, they were picked up and analized in an article by Andrea Galli in the newspaper Avvenire. (https://www.avvenire.it/chiesa/labate-primate-dei-benedettini-la-messa-in-rito-antico-non-puo-piu-essere-eliminata_107854?fbclid=IwY2xjawRlO_lleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBXUVVITUNvY1VYSW5jUVlLc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqSGqlh4uFR4R7uQZKhTuG4w_WaESbKMhZViAAfCe8tea5kts6dS12uLxQQI_aem_9_eWO03n4URUJF3cKwhKPg). In practical terms, Avvenire is seen as if it were the official organ of the Italian Episcopal Conference, whose president is Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna. This message of peace, which fully coincides with the position of the Cardinal of Bologna himself, a progressive prelate who, nevertheless, extends a great amount of liberalism also toward the Tridentine universe (and has twice inaugurated the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage), and it is undeniable that it could only have been published with the approval of the leadership of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

This stance, as is well known, is presented amidst a certain, and not entirely reassuring, agitation regarding the traditional liturgy:

- The organization, during 2025, by the French publisher Nicolas Diat, of a group of prelates, superiors of communities that celebrate the ancient rite, such as the abbots of Fontgombault, Lagrasse, and Triors, with the aim of presenting proposals to the Pope, all under the patronage of Monsignor Edgar Peña Parra, then Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State (see Letter of Paix Liturgique No. 1307, dated November 20, 2025).

- An audience granted on December 17, 2025, by the Holy Father to Bishop Schneider to discuss, in particular, the persecution to which the celebration of the ancient liturgy is being subjected.

- A request to the Holy Father for a permission to celebrate a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica during the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage on October 24, 2026.

- A letter to the Pope from Dom Kemlin, Abbot of Solesmes, dated November 12, 2025 ("Un missel unique pour les deux rites" : la proposition de l'abbé de Solesmes qui relance le débat liturgique - Tribune Chrétienne), wherein he proposed incorporating the ancient Ordo Missae into the Missale Romanum (possibly with some modifications to adapt it to the Second Vatican Council, in particular allowing, for those who so desire, the use of the vernacular, concelebration, and the four Eucharistic Prayers).

- A letter from the Pope, dated March 18, 2026, sent by Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State, to the bishops of France, in which he pointed out the "growth of communities linked to the Vetus Ordo" and asked them to "propose concrete solutions so as to generously include those who sincerely adhere to the Vetus Ordo, in accordance with the guidelines established by the Second Vatican Council regarding liturgy" (Le pape Léon XIV encourage les fidèles français et leur clergé à l'annonce de l'Évangile, en des temps certes difficiles - Église catholique en France).

- The meeting of the French Episcopal Conference (CEF) in Lourdes, from March 24 to 27, during which this topic was addressed under the direction of Bishop Olivier de Cagny of Évreux (La Croix, “Tridentine Mass: Will France find the solution to the ‘traditionalist question’ in the Church?”, March 31, 2026). The majority of the bishops were in favor of allowing the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (but not the sacraments), provided that the new lectionary and the new liturgical calendar were adopted for these Masses and that priests celebrating the Vetus Ordo would also celebrate the new one.

Regarding the last point, to which I will return to on another occasion, I ask myself: why is it necessary to force priests who celebrate the Vetus Ordo to celebrate the new one, without also allowing those who celebrate the new Ordo to celebrate the old one?

From all this, it is clear that, at the beginning of this new pontificate, the conciliar or post-conciliar liturgical ideology remains deeply rooted in the Church's pastors, but that, nevertheless, a significant change has taken place: finally, the liturgical problem is being recognized as such. The only possible solution — a peaceful freedom for the entire traditional liturgy — is not yet being discussed, but there is agreement that this liturgy does still exist and that, in one form or another, it must be respected.

Take heart, then, dear Parisian sentinels, who tirelessly pray your rosaries having precisely in mind the intention of liturgical peace within the Church, at number 10 rue du Cloître-Notre-Dame, from Monday to Friday, from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Saint-Georges de La Villette, 114 avenue Simon Bolivar, on Wednesdays and Fridays at 5 p.m., in front of Notre-Dame du Travail, on Sundays at 6:15 p.m. Your prayers and those of all who, everywhere, add theirs to yours, are beginning to bear fruit!