![IMG_1104](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53866751121_bbc129fe91.jpg)
Labels
- Bishops
- Chant
- Children
- Clerical abuse
- Conservative critics of the EF
- Correctio Filialis
- Fashion
- FIUV Position Papers
- Freemasonry
- Historical and Liturgical Issues
- Islam
- Liberal critics of the EF
- Marriage & Divorce
- Masculinity
- New Age
- Patriarchy
- Pilgrimages
- Pope Francis
- Pro-Life
- Reform of the Reform
- Young people
Monday, July 22, 2024
Mass in Dundee
![IMG_1104](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53866751121_bbc129fe91.jpg)
Saturday, July 20, 2024
Conversation with 'Learn Latin'
Thursday, July 18, 2024
LMS Annual General Meeting: photos
![IMG_1062](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53865139340_89c95e767e.jpg)
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Two more petitions to save the Traditional Mass: in the Catholic Herald
![IMG_3778](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53325266355_9bcdda11f0.jpg)
Thursday, July 04, 2024
48 Public figures support the Traditional Mass: materials
![]() |
The Latin Mass Society's Annual Requiem in 2023, in Corpus Christi Maiden Lane |
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
George Galloway on the Traditional Mass
![]() |
George Galloway: Official photo from the UK Parliament |
This has emerged in an interview with Timothy Stanley in the Daily Telegraph. Galloway, who is seeking re-election as the Member of Parliament for Rochdale in England's north west, noted that he is a practicing Catholic, and a 'big fan' of Pope Francis.
Stanley, a Catholic convert who also has experience of the radical left, felt inspired to ask him about the Traditional Mass.
The article is paywalled (here) but this is the money quote:
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
The Sign of Peace, for Catholic Answers
![]() |
The Kiss of Peace at the LMS Walsingham Pilgrimage 2023: High Mass in the Shrine |
The friction derives from the experience of it getting out of hand—being disruptive and even an intrusion. These problems were serious enough to raise the question, at the 2009 Synod of Bishops in in Rome, of moving the Sign of Peace to before the Offertory. Here, I want to shed some light on the meaning of the rite, which helps to put the question into some context.
![]() |
At the LMS Annual Mass of Reparation in Bedford. |
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Learn Latin this Summer!
![IMG_1281](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52327606790_78eacb6a08.jpg)
In person teaching (more here)
- An intensive course to make the most of your time
- Based on the Latin of the Traditional Mass
- Three tutors to make sure everyone has exactly the level of Latin instruction they need
- Daily Traditional Mass celebrated by our chaplain
- A Catholic ethos
- 80% discount for clergy and seminarians
- 50% discount for students
- Another £55 off for LMS members
Wednesday, June 05, 2024
Getting men to Mass: for Catholic Answers
![]() |
Men outnumber women at the LMS Walsingham Pilgrimage: sign up here! |
Monday, June 03, 2024
Corpus Christi Procession in the rain
![IMG_0941](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53760246433_edf9e0a58f.jpg)
Friday, May 31, 2024
An Ordinariate for Traditionalists?
![]() |
Three priests of the Archdiocese of Westminster take part in a High Mass for Pentecost Monday in Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, in London. |
In the new edition of the traditionalist journal Sedes Sapientiae readers will find an article by Fr Louis-Marie de BligniĆØres FSVF on the idea of a traditionalist ‘circumscription’, a term covering Personal Ordinariates and Prelatures, and a response to this article by me. Fr de BligniĆØres, for those who don’t know, is the founder and superior of the Society of St Vincent Ferrer, which uses the traditional Dominican Rite. His article promotes the idea of a “circumscription” for Traditionalists: a non-geographical diocese headed by an Ordinary appointed by Rome. I am a bit more sceptical.
Since then an interview with Fr de BligniĆØres has been published on Rorate Caeli on this subject, and I have been encouraged to put my thoughts about it into the public domain as well, to further stimulate what is a very necessary debate. What follows is complementary to my Sedes Sapientiae article.
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Dan Hitchens on Sister Clare Crocket: podcast from the Latin Mass Society
![IMG_0777](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53728956906_dd9ef7b24d.jpg)
![IMG_0770](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53728043177_a5bcb9abb3.jpg)
Talks take place in the basement of Our Lady of the Assumption; please enter by the back entrance into the basement: 24 Golden Square, W1F 9JR near Piccadilly Tube Station (click for a map).
Doors open at 6:30pm; the talk will start at 7pm.
There is a charge of £5 on the door to cover refreshments and other expenses.
Saturday, May 25, 2024
Happy 20th Birthday, Juventutem International!
![IMG_0858](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53745299970_2c003edffa.jpg)
Friday, May 24, 2024
Fr John Hunwicke: 'month's mind' Requiem
![]() |
Requiem in Warwick Street from last year. |
Monday, May 20, 2024
Novena for a special intention, starting Tusday 21st May.
![]() |
Bishop Sherrington giving Benediction at the LMS Confirmations in 2019, St James' Spanish Place. |
The Latin Mass Society calls for a Novena in honour of Corpus Christi
We appeal to our members, supporters, and well-wishers to pray a Novena with us for an special intention:
beginning on Tuesday
21st May,
and culminating on the eve of Corpus Christi, Wednesday 29th May.
This is not some matter of international importance, pertaining to just one diocese, but it is of great importance for those concerned, and it is emblematic of the sufferings of Catholics attached to the Traditional Mass which have followed Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Traditionis custodes.
For the case we have in mind, and for all similarly affected because of their devotion to the Church’s traditions, we implore the assistance of Our Lord, really present in the tabernacles of our churches, through the intercession of His Mother and St Joseph Patron of the Church, and of our church’s patron saints: to remember His people. Those praying this Novena might like to use the following invocation (repeated three times):
Parce DĆ³mine, parce pĆ³pulo tuo: ne in ƦtĆ©rnum irascĆ”ris nobis.
Spare, O Lord, spare Thy
people: and be not angry with them for ever.
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Praying for the Conversion of the Jews
![]() |
The Good Friday 'Intercessions' in 2023, in St Mary Moorfields, London. |
The Church desires that Jesus of Nazareth be accepted as the longed for “Christ,” by “Israel”—Israel in the biblical sense, the Jewish people. This implies that they accept the Christian faith, in the context of the Church’s mission to “all men.”
Readers who have followed the debate surrounding the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews found in the pre-Vatican II 1962 Missal may find this surprising, but this is not an isolated case. Even more explicit prayers for the conversion of the Jewish people are found in the Liturgy of the Hours, in the Morning Prayer of December 31 and in Lauds on January 2, and the idea is raised elsewhere.
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Ascension Day High Mass in Oxford
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Discussion of 'A Defence of Monarchy' with Calvin Robinson
Friday, May 10, 2024
Rogation Mass in Maiden Lane, London
![IMG_0673](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53711658064_81dbd8308d.jpg)
Wednesday, May 08, 2024
Kingsley Lewis, RIP
![IMG_9696](https://live.staticflickr.com/2540/3866070942_7e931ffaef.jpg)
Monday, May 06, 2024
A Defence of Monarchy: podcast with Gavin Ashenden
HE Eduard von Habsburg, Hungarian Ambassador to the
Holy See
This is an incredibly interesting and well done book. It is especially valuable that it makes the argument in favour of even a weak monarchy, in its constitutional powers and even in terms of the personal commitments of it representatives. Instead of giving way to despair, the book encourages us to continue to appreciate the constitutional and symbolic importance of monarchy, while we wait for a monarchy that embodies Catholic principles in their fullness.
Fr Calvin Robinson, Patron of the British Monarchist Society
This book provides many lessons to Roman Catholics on why the British monarchy is a good thing; how Christians can be united around the British institution, even with our differences; and a staunch reminder that British heritage is undeniably Catholic, and a strong preserver of Catholic tradition through ceremonies such as the coronation and funeral services of the monarch. The last thing any traditionalist should want to see is the end of Catholic tradition.
Gavin Ashenden, Chaplain to the Queen 2008-2017
This excellent and intriguing new book edited by Dr Shaw, defending the monarchy from a Catholic perspective, offers not only an informed perspective on constitutional developments and realities, but makes a powerful case that the monarchy we have offers us a great deal more than would a republic. It also serves as a defence of the integrity of Elizabeth II against under-informed anxieties held by some passionate defenders of the rights of the unborn child. The grasp of constitutional and historical development makes refreshing reading for anyone interested in our constitutional settlement not only as a matter of history, but also to furnish us with ways of judging the political dilemmas a turbulent cultural future may present us with.
Thursday, May 02, 2024
Fr John Hunwicke: a brief appreciation
![]() |
The Vidi Aquam before Sunday Mass at the St Catherine's Trust Family Retreat, after Easter, 2013. |
![]() |
Fr Hunwicke giving 'First Blessings' after his ordination in 2012, in the church of St Winifride, Holywell, during the St Catherine's Trust Summer School and LMS Latin Course. |
He was a convert Anglican cleric, who was ordained as a Catholic priest in 2012. Although already retired by this time, he was always willing to put his great erudition and long experience of teaching to use for the cause of the Traditional Mass.
![]() |
Fr H. celebrating Mass for the Guild of St Clare Sewing Retreat in 2022. The young server here was the recipient of the 'First Blessing' in the photo above. |
As an Anglican, Fr Hunwicke was a ‘Papalist’, one who accepted the supremacy of the Pope in principle, and also a proponent of the Traditional Roman Rite, which he had learnt as a seminarian at St Stephen’s House in Oxford before the liturgical reform. He joined the Latin Mass Society as a ‘Friend’, since only Catholics can be full members.
For thirty years he taught Latin at Lancing College. His last post as an Anglican was to the ancient church of St Thomas the Martyr, near the railway station in Oxford.
![]() |
Teaching Latin for the LMS Residential Latin Course, 2013 |
![]() |
Celebrating High Mass in St David's, Pantasaph, 2013. |
Wherever he went he was valued for his great wit and erudition, and also for his pastoral touch. Joining the ‘Roman Church’ was a momentous and courageous move, and some on our side of the Tiber had mixed feelings about a batch of new recruits who combined powerful intellects with strong characters. I like to think, nevertheless, that Traditional Catholics, such as those in the Latin Mass Society, made their appreciation of him clear.
![]() |
Preaching at the SCT Summer School / Latin Course, 2014. |
Thursday, April 25, 2024
The Monarchy, Democracy, and God's Rule
I don’t expect, in general, American citizens to be easily impressed by arguments for a hereditary monarchy, but the downsides of an elected executive Presidency are perhaps most on display in the year of a bitterly contested election. The extraordinary “bloodbath” discourse currently swamping my social media feed is a reminder that, just as many conservatives and Christians feel their very existence and identity is threatened by the progressive state, so many progressives in positions of influence in the media, academia and politics feel something similar about a possible Trump second term. The prestige and legitimacy of elements of the constitution that perdure through the electoral cycle—the civil service, the armed forces, the judiciary, and for some lucky nations a hereditary monarchy—should not be seen as regrettable limitations on the democratic principle, but as a set of things that can nurse democracy through its stickiest moments.
The Catholic case for monarchy is not just about its practical usefulness in a modern democracy, however, but about its symbolic importance, which translates remarkably well between the conditions of democratic and non-democratic, modern and pre-modern, and Western and non-Western polities. This is a central point of a collection of essays which I have edited to respond to criticisms of the monarchy in the context of last year’s British royal succession, not just by addressing some rather ignorant political and legal arguments, but by defending the idea of a person at the apex of a constitution who is as much as possible identified with that role: who is the head of state not by virtue of his own or anyone else’s choice, but just by being who he is.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Roger Buck reviews 'The Latin Mass and the Intellectuals'
Their brilliance is evident in the book and these profound souls were often astoundingly prophetic as to the steep price the Church would pay for sacrificing her liturgy. Indeed, as the non-Catholics here also recognised, the West itself would pay a steep price. A great irony in the book is that these were all lay people, even at times agnostic or atheist ones, but who clearly saw things the clerics could not.
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Guild of St Clare Sponsorship for the Royal School of Needlework, 2024
![]() |
A Guild of St Clare Sewing Retreat |
We are pleased to announce an exciting sponsorship opportunity for those interested in studying Needlework.
The Guild of St Clare is offering sponsorship for candidates wishing to study The Royal School of Needlework Certificate Course.
Deadline for applications is the 23rd June 2024
See HERE for more information and how to apply.
Iota Unum talks: Dan Hitchens and Sebastian Morello
![]() |
Sr Clare Crockett |
I am pleased to announce two talks in the Latin Mass Society's Iota Unum series:
Friday 17th May, Dan Hitchens: ‘Sister Clare Crockett: a modern saint?’Friday 28th June, Sebastian Morello: ‘Cartesian Catholicism and the Loss of Sacred Space’
Talks take place in the basement of Our Lady of the Assumption; please enter by the back entrance into the basement: 24 Golden Square, W1F 9JR near Piccadilly Tube Station (click for a map).
Doors open at 6:30pm; the talk will start at 7pm.
There is a charge of £5 on the door to cover refreshments and other expenses.
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
New edition of Gregorius Magnus published
- Pope Benedict, one year on: Caroline Farey on 'The Way of Beauty'; Andrew Cusack on the liberation of the Old Mass.
- 120 year anniversary of Evelyn Waugh
- St Thomas Becket, by Thomas Colsey
- T.S. Eliot, by Robert Lazu Kmita
- Cardinal Ambongo on Fiducia supplicans, by Michael Haynes
- A Traditional Catholic school in Nigeria
See it on ISSUU, optimised for mobile devices.
Download the pdf for viewing on a screen.
Download the high-res pdf for printing.
Join the email list here.
Please support the FIUV by becoming a Friend.
Monday, April 15, 2024
Why do bishops cover up sexual abuse? In the European Conservative
Friday, April 05, 2024
Catholic Monarchs and bad laws
![]() |
Requiem Mass for the late Queen Elizabeth II at St Mary Moorfields, London, 8th October 2022, organised by the Latin Mass Society |
Van Maren helpfully provides some detail on how King Baudouin of Belgium avoided signing Belgium’s 1990 abortion law, and how Prince Alois of Liechtenstein defeated abortion in Liechtenstein. The courage and determination of these monarchs are an example to us all, and particularly to Catholic statesmen tempted to compromise in their defense of the most vulnerable in society.
They followed quite different strategies, because of the quite different political and constitutional circumstances in which they found themselves. Before we criticize any heads of state for acting as they did, we need to be clear what strategies we think were available in their cases.
Wednesday, April 03, 2024
Traditional Triduum Services restricted: in the Catholic Herald
![]() |
Easter Vigil at St Mary Moorfields in 2023 |
The changes follows the decision of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of the diocese, and the head of Catholics in England and Wales, to discontinue the custom of featuring liturgy over the Easter weekend in the traditional form – something which had taken place annually since the 1990s.
Cardinal Nichols acknowledged in correspondence to Fr Michael Cullinan denying the latter’s request to host this year’s triduum at St Mary Moorfields – the only Catholic church in The Square Mile of the City of London – that he was aware the decision would cause disappointment.
“I realise that this will disappoint some people,” he revealed, “but I have to keep the wider picture in view”, in an email which has been shown to the Herald.
Read the whole thing there.
Monday, April 01, 2024
Easter Vigil in Bedford: photos
![IMG_0403](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53622814638_3d1fe9cbd7.jpg)
![IMG_0408](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53622617801_dc5a543e06.jpg)
![IMG_0427](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53622616881_46b8ee650b.jpg)
![IMG_0449](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53622820973_0269565020.jpg)