The
Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (In
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
:
Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri -
FSSP) is a group of
traditionalist CatholicTraditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
priests and seminarians in good standing with the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
.
Canonical status
According to
Canon lawCanon Law, the ecclesiastical law of the Roman Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. The academic degrees in canon law are the J.C.B. , J.C.L...
, the FSSP is a "Clerical
Society of Apostolic LifeA Society of Apostolic Life is a group of men or women within the Catholic Church who have come together for a specific purpose. Unlike members of an Institute of Consecrated Life or a religious order, members of apostolic societies do not make religious vows...
of Pontifical Right." It is not an
Institute of Consecrated LifeInstitutes of Consecrated Life are canonically erected institutes in the Roman Catholic Church. Their membersprofess the Evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience by vows or other sacred bonds. They are defined in the Code of Canon Law under canons 573-709...
, and members take no religious vows, but are instead bound by the same general laws of celibacy and obedience as diocesan clergy and, in addition, swear an oath as members of the Society. The Fraternity's Pontifical right status means that it has been established by the
PopeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
and is answerable only to him in terms of their operation (through the
Pontifical Commission Ecclesia DeiThe Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei is a commission of the Roman Catholic Church established by Pope John Paul II's motu proprio Ecclesia Dei of 2 July 1988 for the care of those former followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre who broke with him as a result of his consecration of four priests of...
), rather than to local bishops. A local bishop still governs the Fraternity's work within his respective diocese. In this sense its organization and administrative reporting status are similar to those of religious orders of pontifical right such as the Jesuits and
DominicansThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic in the early 13th century in France...
.
Charism
The FSSP consists of priests and
seminariansA seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of higher education for instructing students , sometimes at the postgraduate level, in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, to prepare students for ordination as clergy or other ministry...
who intend to pursue the goal of Christian perfection according to a specific
charism-Religious meaning:A charism -Religious meaning:A charism -Religious meaning:A charism (plural: charismata. From the Greek, charis - grace; the divine influence on the receiver's heart, and its reflection in his or her life is a power, generally of a spiritual nature, believed to be a freely given...
, which is to offer the
MassThe Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, in many Lutheran Churches, and in a small amount of High Church Methodist parishes...
and other sacraments according to the
Roman RiteThe Tridentine Mass is a common name for the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. In this time period, it was the most widely celebrated form of the Catholic liturgy in the world.The term "Tridentine" is derived...
, as it existed before the
Second Vatican CouncilThe Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October, 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on 8 December, 1965...
. Thus, the Fraternity uses the
Roman MissalThe Roman Missal is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.-History:...
, the Roman
BreviaryA breviary is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by, bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office...
, the
PontificalPontifical may refer to the Roman Pontifical, a Roman Catholic liturgical book used by a bishop.When used as an adjective, Pontifical may be used to describe things related to the office of a bishop, such as the following:*Solemn Pontifical Mass...
(Pontificale Romanum), and the
Roman RitualThe Roman Ritual is one of the official ritual works of the Roman Catholic rite. It contains all of the services which may be performed by a priest or deacon which are not contained within either the Missale Romanum or the Brevarium Romanum...
, according to the editions of 1962, the last before the liturgical reforms of the
Second Vatican CouncilThe Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October, 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on 8 December, 1965...
were promulgated.
This older form of the Mass, known as the
Tridentine MassThe Tridentine Mass is a common name for the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. In this time period, it was the most widely celebrated form of the Catholic liturgy in the world.The term "Tridentine" is derived...
(promulgated by
Pope St. Pius VPope St. Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church...
and
Pope John XXIIIBlessed Pope John XXIII , born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli , known as Blessed John XXIII since his beatification, was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958.He called the Second Vatican Council but did not live to see it to completion,...
), is now collectively known as the
Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, by decree of
Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI is the 265th and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and, as such, Sovereign of the Vatican City State...
's
Motu ProprioA motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him.It may be addressed to the whole Church, to part of it, or to some individuals....
Summorum PontificumSummorum Pontificum is an Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued "motu proprio" . The document specified the rules, for the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, for celebrating Mass according to the "Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962" , and for administering most of the sacraments in...
.
Mission
Following from its charism, the Fraternity's mission is twofold: to sanctify each priest through the exercise of his priestly function; and to deploy these priests to parishes. As such, they are to celebrate the sacraments, catechise, organise youth groups (e.g.
Boy ScoutsScouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in society....
/Girl Guides or similar), preach retreats, organize
pilgrimageIn religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of many major religions participate in pilgrimages...
s, and generally provide a full sacramental and cultural life for lay Catholics who are likewise drawn to the rituals of the 1962 missal. In order to help complete its mission, the Fraternity has built its own
seminariesA seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of higher education for instructing students , sometimes at the postgraduate level, in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, to prepare students for ordination as clergy or other ministry...
with the goal of forming men to serve the Fraternity.
Founding
The FSSP was established on July 18, 1988 at the Abbey of
HauteriveHauterive may refer to:*In Switzerland:**Hauterive, Neuchâtel**Hauterive, Fribourg*In France:**Hauterive, Allier**Hauterive, Orne**Hauterive, Yonne*In Canada:**Hauterive, Quebec, now part of Baie-Comeau-See also:...
, Switzerland by twelve priests, twenty-four boys and a score of seminarians (led by Father Josef Bisig) who had formerly belonged to Archbishop
Marcel LefebvreMarcel-François Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970, Lefebvre...
's
Society of St. Pius XThe Society of St. Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre....
; they were unwilling to follow that movement into what the
Congregation for BishopsThe Congregation for Bishops is the congregation of the Roman Curia which oversees the selection of new bishops that are not in mission territories or those areas that come under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Oriental Chuches who deal with the Eastern Catholics, pending papal approval...
and
Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła served as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate; only Pope Pius IX served longer...
defined to be a
schismaticThe word schism , from the Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , means a split or a division, usually in an organization or a movement. A schismatic is a person who creates or incites schism in an organization or who is a member of a splinter group...
act and grounds for
excommunication latæ sententiæExcommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. The word literally means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
due to the
consecration of four bishopsThe Écône consecrations were a set of episcopal consecrations that took place in Écône, Switzerland, on 30 June 1988. They were performed by Roman Catholic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop Antonio de Castro Meyer, and the priests raised to the episcopacy were four members of Lefebvre's Society...
without a papal mandate. Father Josef Bisig became the Fraternity's first superior general.
Organization
The FSSP's current superior general is the Very Rev. John Berg. The Vicar General and Assistant is the Very Rev. Patrick du Faÿ.
The Fraternity is divided into three districts and three regions:
- German-speaking District, Superior: Father Axel Maußen
Father Axel Maußen, FSSP is a Roman Catholic priest and is the current regional superior of the German speaking region of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, which covers the territories of Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.A German, he studied theology at the University of Bonn...
- French (France) District, Superior: Father Vincent Ribeton
Father Vincent Ribeton is the regional superior of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in France, one of the largest missions for the fraternity....
- North American District, Superior: Father Eric Flood
- Belgium-Netherlands Region, Superior: Father Hervé Hygonnet
- Southern Cross Region, Superior: Father William Define
The Fraternity has two seminaries:
- The International Seminary of St. Peter in Wigratzbad
Wigratzbad, a hamlet in Germany is the headquarters of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, where its first seminary was founded. The seminary is formally known as the International Serminary of St. Peter....
-OpfenbachOpfenbach is a municipality in the district of Lindau in Bavaria in Germany.- Geography :Opfenbach is located in the Allgäu region, more precisely in the Westallgäu, about 15 km from Lindau. One of the districts of Opfenbach is Wigratzbad...
, in the German state of BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
(Diocese of Augsburg), was established in 1988. It serves French and German-speaking seminarians.
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary
Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary is the second seminary of the recently established Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. The seminary was canonically established in 1988 by Pope John Paul II in accordance with his letter of Ecclesia Dei Adflicta and opened in 2000. The seminary is located in Denton,...
, in DentonDenton is a village in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln, Nebraska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 189 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Denton is located at ....
, NebraskaNebraska is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha....
, USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(Diocese of LincolnThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln is a Roman Catholic diocese in Nebraska, and comprises the majority of the eastern and central portions of the state south of the Platte River. The episcopal see is in Lincoln, Nebraska...
), was established in 1994 and serves English-speaking seminarians.
They also operate a boarding school,
St. Gregory's AcademySaint Gregory’s Academy is an all-male Roman Catholic boarding school located in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania. It is associated with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. The Academy offers a threefold education and formation: spiritual, intellectual, and physical...
in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania.
, the FSSP included 194 priests and 115 seminarians in 50 dioceses spread among Australia, Austria, Benin, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Nigeria, Poland, Switzerland, and the USA.
Superiors General
- Josef Bisig 1988–2000
- Arnaud Devillers 2000 - 2006
- John Berg 7 July 2006 -
Sources
External links