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Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter

ThePriestly Fraternity of Saint Peter(Latin:Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri;FSSP) is atraditionalist Catholicsociety of apostolic lifefor priests and seminarians. It isin communionwith theHoly See.It was founded in 1988 by 12 former members of theSociety of Saint Pius X(SSPX) who left following theÉcône consecrations,which resulted in the SSPX bishops beingexcommunicatedby theHoly See.

Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter
Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri
AbbreviationFSSP
FormationJuly 18, 1988;36 years ago(1988-07-18)
FounderFr.Josef Bisig
TypeSociety of apostolic lifeofpontifical right(for men)
HeadquartersMaison Saint Pierre Canisius,Fribourg,Switzerland
Coordinates46°48′17″N7°09′37″E/ 46.804796°N 7.160385°E/46.804796; 7.160385
Membership(2023)
569[1]
• 368 priests
• 201 seminarians
Superior General
Fr.John Berg
Websitefssp.orgEdit this at Wikidata

Headquartered in Switzerland, the society maintains two international seminaries: theInternational Seminary of St. PeterinWigratzbad-Opfenbach,Bavaria,Germany, andOur Lady of Guadalupe SeminaryinDenton, Nebraska,United States. The society is officially recognized by the Holy See and has 368 priests who celebrate theTridentine Massin locations in 147 worldwide dioceses.

Canonical status

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According tocanon law,the FSSP is a clericalsociety of apostolic lifeof pontifical rite.[2]It is not, therefore, aninstitute of consecrated lifeand members take no religious vows, but are instead bound by the same general laws of celibacy and obedience asdiocesan clergyand, in addition, swear an oath as members of the society.[2]The fraternity'spontifical-ritestatus means that it has been established by thePopeand is answerable only to him in terms of its operation (through theDicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life;prior to January 17, 2019, through thePontifical CommissionEcclesia Dei), rather than to local bishops.[3]A local bishop still governs the fraternity's work within his respective diocese.[citation needed]In this sense its organization and administrative reporting status are similar to those of religious orders of pontifical right (for example, theJesuitsorDominicans).

On 28 September 2024, theDicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life,informed the FSSP, that it had opened anapostolic visitation.According to the Fraternity, this is intended to "enable the Dicastery to know who we are, how we are doing and how we live, so as to provide us with any help we may need."[4]

Mission and charism

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Members of the fraternity celebratingSolemn Mass

The FSSP consists of priests andseminarianswho intend to pursue the goal of Christian perfection according to a specificcharism,which is to offer theMassand othersacramentsaccording to theRoman Riteas it existed before the liturgical reforms that followed theSecond Vatican Council.[5]Thus, the fraternity uses theRoman Missal,the RomanBreviary,thePontifical(Pontificale Romanum), and theRoman Ritualin use in 1962, the last editions before the revisions that followed the Council.

The 2007motu proprioSummorum Pontificumhad authorized use of the1962 Roman Missalby allLatin Churchpriests as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite without limit when celebrating Mass "without a congregation".[6]Its use for Mass with a congregation was allowed with the permission of the priest in charge of a church for stable groups attached to this earlier form of theRoman Rite,provided that the priest using it was "qualified to do so and not juridically impeded" (as for instance by suspension).[7]That was abrogated by the 2021motu proprioTraditionis custodesthat emphasized deference towards theMass of Paul VIand added restrictions to which clergy could perform the Roman Rite according to the pre-Vatican II form.[8][9]

On 4 February 2022, two priests of the fraternity were received by Pope Francis in private audience, who subsequently issued a decree confirming that the FSSP could continue to celebrate the traditional liturgy publicly in their own churches or oratories, or anywhere else with the consent of the local ordinary.[10][11]The decree was dated 11 February 2022, the Feast ofOur Lady of Lourdesand coincidentally the same day that the FSSP consecrated themselves to theImmaculate Heart of Maryafter anine-day novena.[12][13]On 29 February 2024, the Superior General of the FSSP, Fr. Andrzej Komorowski, was received in private audience by Pope Francis, who assured them that the FSSP would continue to enjoy the right to celebrate the traditional liturgy.[14][15]

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.[2][16]As such, they are to celebrate the sacraments, catechize, preach retreats, organizepilgrimages,and generally provide a full sacramental and cultural life for lay Catholics who are likewise drawn to the rituals of the 1962 missal.[2]In order to help complete its mission, the fraternity has built its ownseminarieswith the goal of forming men to serve the fraternity.

Founding

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See also:Ecône Consecrations

For the honour and glory of the holy Catholic Church, for the consolation of the much troubled faithful, and for the peace of their conscience, the undersigned, members until now of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X, declare with profound regret over the illicit consecration of bishops on 30 June [1988] that they have remained within the Catholic Church aspars saniorof this same Fraternity, and that they have but one desire: to be able to live as a religious society in this Church and place themselves at her service under the authority, of course, of the Roman Pontiff, her supreme head.

— From theDeclaration of Intention by the Founders(2 July 1988)[17]

The FSSP was established on July 18, 1988, at the Abbey ofHauterive,Switzerland, by twelve priests and twenty seminarians, led byJosef Bisig,all of whom had formerly belonged to ArchbishopMarcel Lefebvre'sSociety of Saint Pius X;they were unwilling to follow that movement into what theCongregation for BishopsandPope John Paul IIdeclared to be aschismaticact and grounds forexcommunicationlatae sententiaedue to theconsecration of four bishopswithout a papal mandate.[2][18][19]Fr. Josef Bisig became the fraternity's first superior general.

Organization

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Palm Sundayprocession at an FSSP apostolate inPerpignan,France

As of November 2023,the fraternity included 569 members: 368 priests, 22 deacons, and 179 non-deacon seminarians in 146 dioceses spread among Australia, Austria, Benin, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, the United States, and Vietnam. The fraternity's membership represents 35 nationalities, and the average age of its members is 39. As of 2023,thelayConfraternityof Saint Peter had 9,546 members enrolled, who spiritually support the fraternity's charism.[20]

Superiors general

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The FSSP's current superior general isFr. John Berg,who was elected to a third (non-consecutive) term as superior general on July 9, 2024.[21]Former superiors general include:

Provinces, districts and regions

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The fraternity is divided into four districts:[22]

  • German-speaking District, Superior: Fr. Stefan Dreher
  • French District, Superior: Fr. Benoît Paul-Joseph
  • North American Province, Provincial: Fr. William Lawrence
  • Oceania District, Superior: Fr. Michael McCaffrey

Educational institutions

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The fraternity has two seminaries:

Ezechiel House, a house of formation for first-year seminarians, exists in the city of Sydney, Australia. The Director of Ezechiel House is Fr. Duncan Wong.

In 2015, the fraternity established in Guadalajara, Mexico, Casa Cristo Rey, an apostolate which it plans to develop into a house of formation for first-year seminarians for native Spanish-speaking postulants. Presently, Casa Cristo Rey serves as a priestly discernment program for young men from Spain and Latin America.[23]In 2016 Casa Cristo Rey opened the Junipero Serra Spanish Institute, a program offering six or eight weeks of Spanish immersion for priests and seminarians.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Figures – FSSP".
  2. ^abcde"What are we?".The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. June 9, 2010.RetrievedJune 10,2010.
  3. ^"Decree erecting the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, 18 October 1988".Documents.Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. October 18, 1988.RetrievedJune 10,2010.
  4. ^https:// fssp.org/en/apostolic-visitation-of-the-fraternity/
  5. ^"History of the North American District".What are we?.Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. June 9, 2010.RetrievedJune 10,2010.
  6. ^"Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum on the" Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970 "(July 7, 2007) | BENEDICT XVI".w2.vatican.va.Retrieved2018-12-29.
  7. ^Summorum Pontificum,art. 5
  8. ^"New norms regarding use of 1962 Roman Missal: Bishops given greater responsibility".Vatican News.Vatican City.16 July 2021.Retrieved16 July2021.
  9. ^Pope Francis(16 July 2021)."Traditionis Custodes".Rome.Retrieved16 July2021.
  10. ^"Decree of Pope Francis confirming the use of the 1962 liturgical books – FSSP".fssp.org.Retrieved2024-03-08.
  11. ^"Official communiqué of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter – FSSP".2022-02-21.Retrieved2024-03-08.
  12. ^"Consecration of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter to the Immaculate Heart of Mary – FSSP".2022-02-11.Retrieved2024-03-08.
  13. ^Mares, Courtney (21 Feb 2022)."FSSP says Pope Francis has issued decree confirming its use of 1962 liturgical books".Catholic News Agency.Retrieved2024-03-09.
  14. ^Santucci, Matthew (March 1, 2024)."Pope Francis meets FSSP head, confirms right to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass".Catholic News Agency.RetrievedMarch 2,2024.
  15. ^"Audience with Pope Francis – FSSP".2024-03-01.Retrieved2024-03-08.
  16. ^"Excerpt of the Constitutions of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter".Documents.Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. June 29, 2003.RetrievedJune 10,2010.
  17. ^"Declaration of intention by the founders, 2 July 1988".Documents.Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. July 2, 1988.RetrievedJune 10,2010.
  18. ^"Audition of the Auditors II".Synodus EpiscoporumBulletin.Holy See Press Office. September 30 – October 27, 2001.RetrievedJune 10,2010.
  19. ^Devillers, Arnaud (Summer 2002)."A Response to Christopher Ferrara".Latin Mass Magazine. Archived fromthe originalon April 14, 2004.RetrievedJune 10,2010.
  20. ^"Presentation".Confraternity of Saint Peter.Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. November 1, 2023.
  21. ^"Election of the Superior General of the Fraternity".FSSP.org. July 11, 2024.
  22. ^"New District Superior for the FSSP".Una Voce Carmel. February 26, 2008.RetrievedJune 10,2010.
  23. ^"About".Casa Cristo Rey.FSSP Mexico. September 2015. Archived fromthe originalon March 23, 2017.RetrievedMarch 23,2017.
  24. ^"FSSP in Mexico to Offer Spanish Immersion for Clergy".New Liturgical Movement. December 10, 2015.RetrievedMarch 23,2017.
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