Arlington, Va. – The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, established in 1988 by Pope St. John Paul II, has received the canonical designation of chaplaincy by Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge to serve Catholics the sacraments using the traditional rite (pre-Vatican II) in the diocese of Arlington. The FSSP has been providing a chaplain to Chelsea Academy in Front Royal for several years now, providing regular Masses for Catholics in Front Royal teamed up with diocesan clergy.
Three sources close to the situation on the ground who requested anonymity, said that Catholic laymen are seeking a more permanent home for the FSSP to eventually be located in the Marshall, Va, area. One source said that Catholics in the Arlington diocese (particularly in the Front Royal area) have been requesting, praying and hoping for the FSSP to be located in the area for more than 30 years.
As a chaplaincy rather than a parish, this arrangement allows the FSSP priests to serve primarily in Front Royal while remaining fully within the framework of Traditionis Custodes.
“Father Jonathan Romanoski, FSSP, and Father John Audino, FSSP, have been appointed to the Chaplaincy,” according to the news release. The statement also specifically stated that “The FSSP is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right, erected by the Holy See and in full communion with the Church, in contrast to the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), which remains in a state of irregular communion.”
It should be noted that the SSPX began ministering to Front Royal area Catholics in 2020 at the request of Catholics who were deprived of the sacraments due to the unprecedented shutdown of parishes for nine weeks in Arlington due to the COVID 19 hysteria.
The SSPX continued to provide the sacraments to Catholics desiring all of the Traditional-rite sacraments following Pope Francis’s declaration of war against traditional Catholics in his motu proprio Traditonis Custodes in 2021. Note especially that the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei through Cardinal Gerhard Muller requested that bishops allow SSPX priests to witness sacraments of matrimony after already previously granting permission to Catholics to be absolved by SSPX priests in the sacrament of Penance. The SSPX chapel in the Front Royal area continues to offer twice-per-Sunday Traditional Latin Masses and all of the sacraments to Catholics without interruption.
Canonical structures such as chaplaincies remain one of the few remaining avenues for expanding traditional ministry after the prohibition on new personal parishes.
The diocesan statement added: “As a Chaplaincy, rather than a parish, this agreement allows for Fr. Romanoski and Fr. Audino to live the fraternity that is part of the FSSP charism and to serve primarily in Front Royal while periodically assisting elsewhere in the diocese. Since the priests of the FSSP have the faculty, granted them by a decree of Pope Francis on February 11, 2022, to celebrate the Mass and the sacraments in the Extraordinary Form with the consent of the Ordinary of the place [Bishop Burbidge], this arrangement enables the faithful, in keeping with Traditionis Custodes, to be able to participate in the celebration of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Diocesan policy about such celebrations remains in effect. The celebration of Baptism, Confirmation, and Matrimony in the Extraordinary Form is for those individuals/families who have a particular pastoral connection to the community and who participate regularly in this form of the liturgy with the consent of the local pastor and the local ordinary.”
Traditionis Custodes officially banned opening any new personal parishes including the FSSP, Institute of Christ the King, the Institute of Good Shepherd, and others. However, canonical entities such as shrines, oratories and chaplaincies are still available to dioceses, Traditional priests and laity.
This arrangement does not affect the celebration of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form, which continues at three parishes and five non-parish church locations according to diocesan policy and the permission of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,” according to the diocesan statement.
The SSPX began ministering to Front Royal Catholics during the unprecedented parish shutdowns of 2020 and has continued offering the traditional sacraments without interruption.
The Arlington diocese, along with Detroit and Charlotte, were among dioceses in the U.S. with the most Traditional Latin Mass offerings until the merciless hammer dropped in 2021.
Requests for comment and follow-up questions to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, the diocese of Arlington and Chelsea Academy were still pending at the time of writing. Whether or not the sacrament of Penance will be available through the new chaplaincy is not clear at time of publishing.
For an updated listing of times and locations for the Traditional Latin Mass in the Arlington, Diocese, please check latinmassarlington.org.
