On Sunday 15th delegates of the FIUV conference attended Mass at the church of the personal parish given to the Fraternity of St Peter, SS Trinita dei Pellegrini, as recently as May 2008. This is a beautiful church in central Rome, which has clearly suffered from some neglect over the years but is now home to a thriving community again.
The Fraternity priests celebrated a Solemn Mass with a polyphonic choir; with the FIUV delegates the church was nearly full. The celebrant was Fr Joseph Kramer FSSP, the parish priest; the deacon was Fr Brendan Gerrard FSSP.
In addition to the three sacred ministers, there were three priests in choir.
Interestingly, the servers, and members of a sodality robed in red who sat in the nave, kissed a small icon after the Kiss of Peace. They also used a houseling cloth at communion. These customs, which remind me of medieval English customs, in fact survive in a number of places on the Continent.
The vibrancy of the community was very evident. As soon as Solemn Mass was over a priest came out to celebrate a Low Mass at one of the side chapels, a group of the faithful going to assist - clearly for some particular reason. A group of nuns attended the Mass, and the confessional near where I was sitting was in great demand. After Mass was over the Italian families with their small children chatted in the piazza outside the church.
It is wonderful to see the restoration of tradition at every level in Rome, from the Monsignori's early morning private Masses in the crypt of St Peter's to the local families attending the FSSP church.
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