CNA Staff, Oct 2, 2023 / 17:35 pm
An annual Requiem Mass that has been held at Westminster Cathedral in London, England, for more than 50 years has been relocated amid the continued restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass issued by the Vatican.
The annual sung Mass had been hosted by The Latin Mass Society since 1971 for the repose of the souls of its deceased members and benefactors. Although the Mass was scheduled to be celebrated again on Saturday, Nov. 4, the diocese informed the Latin Mass Society that the celebration was canceled due to the restrictions in Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes.
In the motu proprio, issued by Pope Francis on July 16, 2021, the pontiff directed bishops to designate specific locations for the Latin Mass but ordered that none of those locations can be parish churches. If the bishop wants to allow a parish church to continue its celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass, he must acquire a dispensation from the Holy See, which is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
A spokesperson for The Latin Mass Society told CNA that Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who presides over the Diocese of Westminster, told the society that the annual Mass “is not part of the cathedral’s pastoral provision for the Traditional Mass” and that the cardinal did not ask Rome for a dispensation so they could continue the annual tradition.