Diocese of Arlington (Va.) eliminates 72 Traditional Latin Masses at three remaining parish churches

Society of St. Pius X chapel continues to grow and flourish; Father John Audino, FSSP, to replace Father John Killackey, FSSP, at Chelsea Academy

The Diocese of Arlington announced in July that the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments had approved Bishop Michael F. Burbidge’s request to continue three parish churches to offer the Traditional Latin Mass on Sundays. The three parish churches are Saint Rita Catholic Church, Saint John the Beloved Catholic Church and Saint Anthony of Padua Mission Church within the Diocese of Arlington.

This news was initially greeted joyfully across Catholic news outlets as proof that the rumored document that would deny the Traditional Latin Mass to all diocesan churches, priests, and bishops had at the least seemingly been delayed. However, the message hidden by the headline was that the number of Traditional Latin Masses each Sunday at these parish churches would be cut by one each month, thereby eliminating access to 36 Masses a year, totaling 72 during the new permission period going forward.

The headline proclaimed, “Vatican Renews Permission for the Celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Arlington in Accordance with Traditionis Custodes.” In reality, Bishop Burbidge willingly accepted a “recommendation” by the Dicastery that each of the three remaining parishes offer one fewer Traditional Latin Mass on Sundays each month. In other words, the Novus Ordo Missae would replace the regularly scheduled Sunday Traditional Latin Mass on one Sunday each month. For the time being, the lay faithful still have access every Sunday to Traditional Latin Masses offered at five non-parish locations in the diocese. Also, the Traditional Latin Mass and all of the sacraments are offered by priests of the Society of St. Pius X.

Similar to the Diocese of Charlotte, the Diocese of Arlington once had more than 20 churches offering the Traditional Latin Mass prior to the chopping block and destruction of the Faith by fiat issued by Cardinal Arthur Roche.

“The lay faithful will be church-hopping on those Sundays in which their parish church does not offer the Traditional Latin Mass,” said Erika Zepeda, a Catholic wife and mother who resides in the impacted area and who helped assist Catholics during the COVID shutdown of parishes and sacraments by bringing access to the Society of St. Pius X to the diocese to serve the needs of the Catholic faithful.

“We see new faces every single week, which has forced us to remodel a bit,” Zepeda said. “Beyond that, we’ve received emails from people in other states who want to move to this area because they see it as their safest bet for keeping a Traditional Latin Mass and all of the sacraments.”

“The diocesan chaplains of the Traditional Latin Mass communities aren’t allowed to administer sacraments outside the Mass, so people are seeking traditional sacraments wherever they can get them,” Zepeda said.

“Without a doubt, more people are flocking to the SSPX because of these restrictions,” Zepeda said. “And now that it’s clear that the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is not setting up a new parish here, it’s only a matter of time before more people will reassess their options. The Novus Ordo isn’t one of them,” she said.

Mary Ann Kreitzer agreed. “I’m not sure how many families are registered, but we usually have more than 3 hundred attending Mass on the weekends and sometimes up to 400,” she said.

“The emphasis on catechism for both adults and children is impressive. I often meet new people at the after-Mass coffees who are attending for the first time. Many come from long distances. We have people coming from northern Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia.”

Kreitzer said she believes that the two-year extension, including deleting 72 Traditional Latin Masses, was yet another salvo to drive traditional Catholics away from their parishes.

“It’s one more indication that the final plan is suppression. The Vatican would happily do it by fiat, I think, but the uproar over the leaked document seems to have put a damper on things,” she said.

“This latest move is a step forward for them because, while they continue to allow the Traditional Mass in Arlington, if the bishops carry out the so-called ‘suggestion,’ there will be one less Mass at the three parishes. And in Richmond, all the diocesan TLMs are now suppressed.”

Kreitzer continued: “The only options that will be left would be the few Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter locations and the Society of St. Pius X. And the ridiculous policy of banning information on where the Masses take place and times continues,” she said.

“That reflects a pettiness almost beyond belief. “No bulletin notices for you, TLM stepchildren. Il Papa says no, no, no!”

In related news, Fr. John Audino, FSSP, will replace Fr. John Killackey, FSSP, as the part-time chaplain at Chelsea Academy, where the Traditional Latin Mass is offered on Sundays.

The spokesperson for the Diocese of Arlington and pastors with knowledge of the situation declined or did not respond to requests to provide their insights for this story.