Senior Vatican correspondent @NCRegister; co-founder of https://xitter.cf/t.co/jVE1pdckxy; founder of https://xitter.cf/t.co/ZP038lcfOY
Rome / UK
Joined October 2008
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God’s Mighty Little Missionary — The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Mother Maria Stieren
Now available to pre-order from @SophiaPress:
sophiainstitute.com/product/…
“I wholeheartedly recommend this compelling, beautifully written, and profoundly Catholic biography.”
—Obianuju Ekeocha, President and Founder, Culture of Life Africa
All author royalties go to the Congregation Mother Maria founded.
Traditional Catholic pilgrims of the Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage have been blocked this morning from entering St Peter’s Basilica to pray at the tomb of St Peter. The Vatican stopped the procession at the obelisk in St Peter’s Square, the border of Italian jurisdiction, according to @messainlatino.
The Vatican has also prohibited a Pontifical Mass to be celebrated this afternoon in the Basilica of St Mary Major. Instead it will be a Prelatial Low Mass and can last no more than one hour @messainlatino. Bishop Athanasius Schneider will be the celebrant.
Correction to the second half of this post which was incorrect. As FIUV, one of the pilgrimage associations said in an Oct. 26 statement, the Mass was only ever to be a Prelatial (Pontifical) Low Mass:
“In the meantime permission was sought and gained for a Prelatial (Pontifical) Low Mass in St Mary Major.
The Coetus was privileged to be allowed a Mass there on a Saturday, which is not normally allowed for pilgrim groups. A very reasonable time slot was allocated for this, and Mass ended at about 4:15, as would be expected.
The Cardinal Archpriest, the sacristans, and the Basilica security were all very helpful, and we are very grateful to them. The Dominican priests whose role is to hear confessions in the Basilica made themselves available to the pilgrims.”
fiuv.org/?m=1
Vatican Denies Traditional Pilgrim Group Permission to Pray Together in St. Peter’s | National Catholic Register
Organizers say more than 1,500 pilgrims were refused a collective visit to pray at the Apostle’s tomb after their request for a Pontifical Mass was also rejected.
ncregister.com/news/pentin-a… @NCRegister
Edward Pentin retweeted
JUST IN: Bishop Athanasius Schneider Offers Mass for Pope Francis’s Soul at St. Mary Major, Calls for Liturgical Peace
Read the official English text of Bishop Schneider’s Oct. 24 homily at the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage here: dianemontagna.substack.com/p…
ALT Photo credit: Advaticanum
Pope Leo XIV's visit to Latin America Nov. 6-17 will go ahead as planned after his doctors give him the all clear, @HolySeePress confirms:
"Two weeks after the surgical procedure undergone by Pope Leo XIV, the Holy See Press Office confirms that the Holy Father's recovery continues to progress, in accordance with the favorable assessments communicated by his medical team.
As previously reported, the surgical procedure was successful and without complications. Subsequent medical examinations confirmed that the condition was localized and that no further oncological treatment is necessary.
Since returning to the Vatican, the Holy Father has gradually resumed his activities, adjusting his daily schedule in consultation with his doctors to prioritize his recovery while continuing to fulfill the responsibilities of his ministry. He has maintained important appointments and public engagements, remaining attentive to the needs of each day and allowing for appropriate periods of rest.
The Holy Father remains deeply grateful for the prayers and affection he has received from throughout the world and for the dedicated care of the medical professionals who have accompanied him during his recovery.
Dr. Luigi Carbone confirms that the Holy Father’s recovery after the surgery continues, and the latest medical examinations attest to his good health and favorable clinical condition. Based on his current clinical status, as well as the instrumental and laboratory tests performed, there are no contraindications that would prevent him from undertaking his upcoming apostolic journey to Latin America as planned. The Pope is following medical recommendations with great care and diligence, and with a deep determination to continue serving the Church.
In this respect, the Holy See Press Office confirms that the Apostolic Journey of Pope Leo XIV to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, scheduled for 6–17 November 2026, will proceed according to the programme previously published.
The Holy Father looks forward with great joy and enthusiasm to this journey, which will offer opportunities to strengthen the bonds of communion with the local Churches, encourage the faithful in their mission, and bring a message of faith, hope, and peace to the peoples of Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, encountering the faith of their peoples, and sharing with them the hope and peace that Christ brings to our world: 'I am looking forward to returning to the continent where I’ve experienced so many moments of my life. May this journey be an occasion for us to open our hearts to one another, strengthen our communion as brothers and sisters, and renew our commitment to proclaiming the Gospel with joy.'”
Edward Pentin retweeted
A statement from Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce (FIUV) following the Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage over the weekend
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Many members and supporters take part in the pilgrimage and we as an organisation are a member of the Caetus Internationalis Summorum Pontificum; we regard the annual pilgrimage as having great significance for the movement for the Traditional Mass. We would like to correct some misunderstandings which have arisen over the organisation of the pilgrimage this year.
The authorities (through the Secretariat of State) declined the Coetus’ request for the celebration of Mass in St Peter’s, in August. At that point it was hoped and assumed that it would nevertheless be possible to have a collective devotion of some kind for the pilgrims, in St Peter’s, as happened in 2023 and 2024 when permission for Mass was refused. The August letter did not rule this out, so the Coetus requested it.
This request was refused in a letter dated 30th September, which was however not received by the organisers until well into October.
In the meantime permission was sought and gained for a Prelatial (Pontifical) Low Mass in St Mary Major.
The Coetus was privileged to be allowed a Mass there on a Saturday, which is not normally allowed for pilgrim groups. A very reasonable time slot was allocated for this, and Mass ended at about 4:15, as would be expected.
The Cardinal Archpriest, the sacristans, and the Basilica security were all very helpful, and we are very grateful to them. The Dominican priests whose role is to hear confessions in the Basilica made themselves available to the pilgrims.
We are also grateful to the Lissom Grove choir and to the 1,500 pilgrims who filled this ancient Basilica.
Joseph Shaw, President
Monika Rheinschmitt, Treasurer
Edward Pentin retweeted
Today, at the meeting of the organizers of the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage, Christian Marquant commented on the controversy stirred up on social media by people who wish to sow confusion:
1. The request to use the altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica was made on the day of Bishop Athanasius Schneider’s audience with Pope Leo at the Vatican, on 18 December 2025, ten months and one week before the Pilgrimage.
2. On 7 August, eight months after the request, a negative response arrived from the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. No alternative date was suggested for the Mass, contrary to what's claimed by those people hungry for the limelight.
3. On 8 September, Father Claude Barthe, chaplain of the Pilgrimage, sent a request to the Secretariat of State asking whether the Pilgrimage might enter the Basilica to pray at the tomb of St. Peter, as had happened in the fourteen previous years, even when no Mass was celebrated there: “May we nevertheless, on the coming 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 Basilica’s sacristy informs us that this would be possible at 1 p.m., should Your Excellency grant us the necessary permission.”
4. On 30 September, the response was sent by post, delivered a few days later to the Apostolic Nunciature in Paris, and only reached Father Barthe on 12 October, less than two weeks before the Pilgrimage. The response was negative. The pilgrims would not even be allowed to enter the Basilica to pray.
5. This was not disclosed immediately at that time because the organizers still tried to obtain permission for the group to enter the Basilica, given the importance of that gesture and the scandal it would represent for the pilgrims, and for Catholics in general, to be denied entry in the context of a pilgrimage. Since these efforts were unsuccessful, the announcement was made one day before the procession that led the pilgrims to St. Peter’s Square.
6. Christian Marquant lamented the confusion stirred up by people who have no connection whatsoever with this initiative of Catholic faithful, and he emphasized that the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage has at its heart love for the Pope and for the Catholic Church.
Long live Christ the King! Viva Cristo-Rei!
Edward Pentin retweeted
LATEST: As the Vatican Secretariat of State did not specify in their Sept. 30 letter what precise request was being denied, some have asked what pilgrimage organizers had requested in their letter of Sept. 8.
I had included the content of their request in my article earlier today, but have now further specified it, writing:
In his letter of 8 September, Abbé Barthe had acknowledged the Secretariat of State’s refusal to authorize a Mass in the usus antiquior, the older form of the Roman Rite, in St. Peter’s Basilica this year. He then asked:
“May we nevertheless, this coming 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 Basilica’s sacristy indicates to us that this would be possible at 1 p.m., should you grant us permission.”
Article here: dianemontagna.substack.com/p…
JUST IN: Letter Confirms Vatican Barred Annual TLM Pilgrimage from Entering St. Peter’s Basilica — dianemontagna.substack.com/p…
A Sept. 30th 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.
Edward Pentin retweeted
JUST IN: Letter Confirms Vatican Barred Annual TLM Pilgrimage from Entering St. Peter’s Basilica — dianemontagna.substack.com/p…
A Sept. 30th 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.
Edward Pentin retweeted
LATEST: A few photos from today’s ‘Summorum Pontificum’ pilgrimage. Vatican and Italian security allowed pilgrims to enter the square as far as the obelisk, but as reported yesterday, the Vatican Secretariat of State barred the procession from entering St. Peter’s Basilica to pray at the tomb of St. Peter.
I asked a Vatican security official what he thought of the group. He said: “Very beautiful and peaceful.”
The organisers of the Ad Petri Sedem Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage told me this evening that they were offered no alternative dates or possibilities to celebrate the Pontifical Mass today in St Peter's Basilica, neither in the August 7 letter from the Secretariat of State that denied them the possibility, nor in the weeks and months leading up to the Vatican's decision. They were simply told the basilica was unavailable. The Vatican also made no mention of any other events taking place at the same time in the basilica that could clash with the Mass.
The pilgrimage organisers first sought permission for a Pontifical Mass at the Altar of the Chair (and a papal audience) of St Peter’s Basilica in December 2025 via Bishop Schneider, with further approaches reported in April and June. The Secretariat of State formally denied the Mass in a letter of 7 August.
The Lectio Francisci event and subsequent Mass at the same altar on 24 October were announced publicly only around 23–25 September (after the denial) and run at 15:30 and 18:00, so they would not have overlapped with the hours a typical Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage pontifical Mass would have occupied.
The Franciscan event in the basilica therefore appeared after the rejection rather than as a pre-existing booking conflict that forced the decision.
Let me know if any of this is incorrect…
But first, I mostly go to FSSP in the US and ICKSP in Rome. I’ve also spent the last two decades organizing pilgrimages and know all the ins and outs of planning group pilgrimages.
Ok, so the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage NEVER had permission for Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica this year?(Yet they still advertise it on their site.)
Their requested date interfered with an already scheduled Mass and lecture on the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis. So they were given the choice between another day or having the Mass at Saint Mary Major. But only yesterday, or maybe today, they told those on the pilgrimage the church had changed?
Part of this pilgrimage has always been to visit the tomb of Saint Peter. So when they asked for permission to have the pilgrimage visit the tomb of Saint Peter, they were still told they could not AT THE REQUESTED TIME because of the planned event. This is also still on their website, although they knew months ago? Back in August?
And now everyone who likes clicks and controversy is saying the Vatican BANNED them, but really they asked for a date that wasn’t available and wouldn’t agree to change their date, which I completely understand is not easy to do.
Last year’s Mass with Cardinal Burke was glorious, but if the basilica is already booked, the basilica is already booked. Right?
I also think we should have a high TLM weekly in Saint Peter’s Basilica. ✌️
The organisers of the Ad Petri Sedem Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage told me this evening that they were offered no alternative dates or possibilities to celebrate the Pontifical Mass today in St Peter's Basilica, neither in the August 7 letter from the Secretariat of State that denied them the possibility, nor in the weeks and months leading up to the Vatican's decision. They were simply told the basilica was unavailable. They also made no mention of any other events taking place at the same time in the basilica that could clash with the Mass.
There's a new version of this post
Edward Pentin retweeted
Bishop Schneider today at St Mary Major's ––
“Due to some liturgical restrictions and even pastoral discriminations, these (Latin Mass devotee) Catholics feel like 2nd class Catholics”
.@messainlatino notes that the pilgrims are “faithful from various dioceses from many parts of the world,” barred from the same basilica where Anglican archbishop Sarah Mullally and a Muslim recently prayed, where in 2019 “idolaters of Pachamama entered triumphantly,” and where last year a pilgrimage of LGBT activists was welcomed during the Jubilee, and allowed to parade rainbow flags. It adds that today’s pilgrims “are in no way whatsoever part of the Society of St. Pius X, nor are they affiliated with or sympathizers of the Society.”
Traditional Catholic pilgrims of the Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage have been blocked this morning from entering St Peter’s Basilica to pray at the tomb of St Peter. The Vatican stopped the procession at the obelisk in St Peter’s Square, the border of Italian jurisdiction, according to @messainlatino.
The Vatican has also prohibited a Pontifical Mass to be celebrated this afternoon in the Basilica of St Mary Major. Instead it will be a Prelatial Low Mass and can last no more than one hour @messainlatino. Bishop Athanasius Schneider will be the celebrant.
