Photos for the Pope - Mass July 29th

"Let my prayer be directed as incense in Thy sight; the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice." (Ps. 140).

In July, Leo Darroch (President of Una Voce) asked us to take some photos that could be included in the annual report that Una Voce submits to the Vatican and that is handed to the Holy Father.

Leo informed me that he had used some pictures from this blog for the 2009 report and that these were well received by the staff in the various departments of the Vatican.

A few of the 2010 photos below.

Prayers at the foot of the Altar

Incensation of the faithful.

Elevation of the Host

A packed Cathedral, part of the crowd of up to 1200 people who attend Sunday Mass.

With between 600 and 1200 people receiving Communion at the Mass we have additional priests to assist with the distribution of Holy Communion.

Clergy, Servers, Choir Director/organist and a soloist

The judicious application of a surplice turns a server's red garment from the Ordinary Form into a cassock for the Extraordinary Form. The idea of our sacristan, Constance Kayombo.

We have many needs to allow us to celebrate the TLM in the most fitting way possible. Please consider helping us.

Photo Credits: Catherine Cordeiro

Some additional photos here.

Mea Culpa!!

I was a bit shocked when I realised that I had last posted news on this blog in February.

The reason for this is not that nothing is happening with the TLM in SA but that I have been so busy working to make things happen that I haven't had time to update the readers. I am going to try and catch up over the next week or so.

One postive development that has kept me very busy has been a change in the mass schedule at the Cathedral of Christ the King. Sunday Mass has now been moved to the last Sunday of every month at 9:30am. This is the Cathedral's main Sunday Mass with anything between 600 and a 1000 mass goers.

Fr. Sean von Lillienfeld is celebrating the Missa Cantata in the more solemn form. That means I have been busily training thurifers, acolytes and torch bearers.

But training is not all we have been doing. Over 500 missalettes have had to be printed and instructional material written, printed and collated.

We are also lucky to have the Cathedral choir singing at all these masses.

Pictures of the Mass to follow in a subsequent report.

Sung Mass for Candlemas in Port Elizabeth

On 2 February, the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (as the day is known in the traditional, 1962 calendar), or Candlemas, a Sung Mass in the Extraordinary Form was offered by Father Gregory Mitchell, CO, of the Port Elizabeth Oratory, at St Bernadette's Church in 8th Avenue, Walmer.

This was the first occasion that a Sung Mass, as opposed to a Low Mass, was offered in the traditional rite, in a diocesan parish in Port Elizabeth, since the issue in 2007 of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.

The Mass was offered at the parish's usual 5:30pm Mass time, and was attended by between 30 and 40 people, mainly parishioners of St Bernadette's, but also a few from further afield.

The ceremonial of the Candlemas blessing of candles and procession was followed completely (as completely as possible in the absence of deacon and subdeacon). The small schola consisting of two accomplished adult men, rendered Missa de Angelis, as well as all the Propers very professionally indeed. Members of the congregation also joined in the singing of the Ordinary and the responses.

Grateful thanks must be given to the Oratory Fathers, and in particular Fr Gregory, for this Mass, as well as the faithful server and schola, for a moving experience. We hope and pray that this will be only the first of many such sung, and eventually High, Masses, offered in the Extraordinary Form in Port Elizabeth, and that the people exposed to the traditional Mass for the first time, or the first time in many years, will be encouraged to attend these Masses regularly.

Another step forward for the implementation of Summorum Pontificum!

News concerning Mass in Pta

The following is the text of an e-mail I sent to those on the Una Voce mailing list this afternoon (6th February 2010)

It has come to my attention through our Pretoria Co-ordinator that the Mass being offered on Sunday (7th February) in Pretoria will include the option for the faithful to receive communion in the hand and will also include the use of the new lectionary rather than the readings proper to the 1962 Missal i.e The Traditional Latin Mass.

It is the policy of International Federation Una Voce and Una Voce SA to only offer official support to those masses that respect the full integrity of the Traditional Latin Mass. Our mission is the promotion of the Traditional Latin Mass and therefore we cannot dedicate our resources to support other efforts or initiatives.

It is my personal conviction that if the Traditional Latin Mass is not to be offered in its full integrity it is wiser to offer the New Mass (Mass of Paul VI, Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite) in Latin, facing the Altar, with Gregorian Chant all of which are allowable and salutary practices within the Ordinary Rite.

I personally apologise that you are being informed of this at the last minute. Unfortunately, it was not possible for me to meet Msgr. Hill in person, and also our Pretoria co-ordinator, Mr. Jacques Carbonell, was incapacitated this last month and was only made aware of the abovementioned this afternoon.

I can assure you that in future I willl personally investigate all the circumstances around a particular Mass prior to publicising it under the auspices of Una Voce SA.

Should you have any questions and queries feel free to e-mail me.

Once again my apologies.

Kindly keep Una Voce SA and our (often difficult) mission in your prayers.

Traditional Latin Mass heading to Pretoria

Una Voce SA is pleased to announce that our Pretoria group has been hard at work organising a Traditional Latin Mass in Pretoria.

A number of priests are interested in saying the mass and our Pretoria group are now finalising the location. We hope to start in February.

To be able to do this we need your help in the following ways:

In order to keep people in the Pretoria area informed we are building an e-mailing list of people who would like to attend the Pretoria TLM . If you are in the Pretoria area or would travel to Pretoria and are interested please send me an e-mail at unavocesa@gmail.com and put "Pretoria" in the subject line.

Servers: would you like to serve the TLM? We are looking for a number of male servers of any age.

Choir: If you are a choir member or a choir leader you or your choir may want to sing at a TLM. Please contact us as it would be wonderful to have a choir to sing both chant and polyphony.

Publicity: spread the news to friends and family. Some may want to be on our e-mail list, please send us their details.

Please feel free to contact the Pretoria organiser:
Mr Jacques Carbonell 082-443-9706