A Traditional
Latin Mass Parish

by Michael J. Miller

On Pentecost Sunday, 2004, I attended Mass with some friends at Mater Ecclesiae Roman Catholic Church in Berlin, New Jersey (located roughly one-third of the way from Camden to Atlantic City).

The church was almost full, but completely silent. Paintings of the apostles looked down from the ceiling, while polychrome statues of other saints stood in front of ranks of votive lamps at the sides and back of the nave. Young couples with children continued to arrive, and all genuflected reverently before kneeling in the pews to pray.

To the majestic accompaniment of organ and instrumental music, the entrance procession began. A battalion of well-trained acolytes in cassock and surplice and an honor guard of Knights of Columbus marched slowly down the aisle ahead of a priest wearing a fiddle-back chasuble and a biretta.

As the celebrant reached the sanctuary and the hymn ended, a Schola or choir of men’s voices intoned the Introit verse, “Spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarum…” and sang it in a centuries-old Gregorian chant setting. I was attending a Traditional High Mass, celebrated in the official language of the Catholic Church—Latin—according to the Roman Missal of 1962. Of course, the ceremonies and music were as splendid as they could be for Pentecost Sunday. Yet on any given Sunday or holy day the Traditional High Mass is celebrated at Mater Ecclesiae. And the “Tridentine Mass” is celebrated there as “Low Mass” every other day of the year!

First Diocesan Tridentine Parish

Fr. Robert Pasley, the celebrant of those Traditional Masses at Mater Ecclesiae in Berlin, New Jersey, gave a talk about his remarkable church at a convention of the Latin Liturgy Association on June 27, 2004.

As a diocesan priest for the Diocese of Camden for 22 years, a member of the LLA for 25, and Vice President of the Church Music Association of America (which publishes the journal, Sacred Music), Fr. Pasley has always been interested in the liturgical heritage of the Roman Rite. The forms of priestly ministry to which he was assigned, however—stationed in parishes where little or no attention was paid to ceremonies and the music was often “horrific,” teaching at a Catholic high school and eventually serving as Vice-Principal—left him no opportunity to chant the Tridentine Mass, or even to say the Novus Ordo Mass in Latin. “I figured that, by the time I was made a pastor, there would be nothing left but a few Glory & Praise hymnals, and no one would be interested in Latin at all.

“Well, God had a different plan…. I am constantly amazed, with the passing of each year, how God can do so many things in the midst of chaos and confusion; how he can take seemingly separate threads in one’s life and miraculously bring them together in his good time.” As it turned out, Fr. Pasley’s first assignment as a pastor was a diocesan Tridentine parish, the first of its kind in the United States.

Vicissitudes of a Latin Mass Chapel

The pre-history of Mater Ecclesiae Church suggests why a “Tridentine parish” is such a rarity in American dioceses. It started as what you might call an “underground” Latin Mass chapel.

In 1967 a layman named Joe Natale bought the property on which the church now stands. Soon afterward he built a chapel for the weekly celebration of the Tridentine Mass by visiting priests and formed “Holy Family Monastery.” Neither the chapel nor the “community” had any canonical status, and there was an ongoing battle with the Diocese of Camden.

In 1995 Natale died, leaving no deed for the property. Two members of Holy Family Monastery moved to New York State and tried to sell the place. The small but loyal congregation of local lay people who had supported the chapel for decades with their weekly contributions organized to claim the property. They formed an association called the Oblates of St. Jude, filed a civil suit, and won in court.

With the express permission of Bishop McHugh, the ordinary of Camden Diocese at that time, the Oblates of St. Jude invited a Canadian priest, Fr. William Ashley, who was duly authorized to set up a Latin Mass chapel, which was called “Our Lady’s Chapel.”

When Bishop McHugh was transferred to another diocese, Bishop DiMarzio became the ordinary in Camden.

Fr. Ashley’s ambitions to found a religious community (“Opus Mariae Mediatricis”) were at cross-purposes with the plans of the diocese. After some controversy, he was asked to take his ministry and his candidates elsewhere, and it appeared that the Latin Mass chapel would collapse entirely.

At that moment, Fr. Pasley says, “Something very strange happened. The Bishop said that he would make the chapel a full diocesan entity. And he did. After years of separation, misunderstanding and hurt, Mater Ecclesiae was founded as a canonical mission on October 13, 2000.” Fr. Pasley was appointed the first “rector,” which means that he has autonomy and complete control over the sacramental life, pastoral work and finances of the mission.

He regards the date of the foundation as auspicious: October 13 is also the feast day of St. Edward the Confessor, patron of the territorial parish in Pine Hill in which Mater Ecclesiae is located and of which it is a mission; it is also the anniversary of an appearance of Our Lady of Fatima and the miracle of the sun. Furthermore, the mission was established during the Jubilee Year.

Full Union with the Diocese

Because of the tumultuous history of the Latin Mass chapel—which recalls the trusteeship disputes in some American parishes at the turn of the nineteenth century—it is necessary to say a word about the property at 261 Cross Keys Road in Berlin, New Jersey. As they were leaving the diocese, Opus Mariae Mediatricis sold the property to the Oblates of St. Jude (the lay association that had been the constant presence there over the years). The Oblates borrowed the money from the Diocese of Camden to pay Opus Mariae, and then signed the property over to the Diocese with a reversionary clause. This stipulates that the Latin Mass must be offered on a regular basis in the chapel on the property, and that if someday it were no longer offered there, then the property would revert to the Oblates of St. Jude. So the diocese now owns the land and the buildings on it, on the condition that it maintains the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.

Although the temporalities involved are a bit complicated (Mater Ecclesiae continues to pay back its debt to the diocese as a regular operating expense), there is no doubt whatsoever that the new arrangement is mutually beneficial for the diocese and the devotees of the Traditional Latin Mass. After more than thirty years of attending a Latin Mass “wherever they could find one,” those lay people have been reincorporated into a permanent structure of the Catholic Church. (Since Mater Ecclesiae Church is a non-territorial mission, it draws worshippers from all the counties in the Camden Diocese area, as well as from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and other neighboring dioceses in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.)

The diocese, too, has benefited both financially and spiritually. Based on the number of families registered at the mission, the diocese set a goal for Mater Ecclesiae to meet in donating to the annual Bishop’s Appeal in 2004; although there are only a half-dozen wealthy individuals among them, the amount pledged to the diocese exceeded the goal by 65%. And a simple listing of the liturgical, pastoral, and social activities at Mater Ecclesiae Mission demonstrates its incalculable spiritual value to the Diocese of Camden.

Parish life at Mater Ecclesiae

Liturgy and devotions
The first and overwhelming impression that the visitor has upon entering Mater Ecclesiae Church, which is rather small but richly decorated, is that this, indeed, is a house of prayer. The life of Fr. Pasley and of his parishioners revolves around the liturgy.

Every day the Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated at least once, with confessions available and the Rosary recited in public. Baptisms, weddings, and funerals are celebrated at the mission church, which has all its own sacramental registers, just like a parish, and every few years the bishop comes to confirm children and the occasional convert.

Every week a prayer hour for priests is scheduled, and two prayer groups meet for devotions to the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts and to Saint Pio of Pietrelcino. Every Friday in Lent there are Stations of the Cross.
Every month there is all-night Eucharistic Adoration from First Friday to First Saturday. In May there are special devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Every year “Forty Hours” devotions are scheduled, the full ceremonies of Holy Week are celebrated, and a procession is held on the Feast of Corpus Christi. Novenas to the Immaculate Conception, St. Joseph, and St. Jude are promoted. On the Feast of the Assumption, Fr. Pasley celebrates Solemn High Mass at Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Camden, emphasizing the mission’s canonical dependence on the diocese.

Sacred music
The place of traditional sacred music in these liturgies should be noted. Every Sunday at the 11:30 High Mass, the proper prayers (Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory, and Communion Prayer) are sung by a five-member men’s choir in Gregorian chant settings from the Liber Usualis. The director of this choir, as well as the regular organist and the conductor, who plans approximately twenty choral Masses per year on special occasions, are all professional musicians with degrees in their fields. For the yearly Assumption Mass, soloists, a full choir and instrumentalists are hired to perform a Mass setting by Haydn or Mozart.

Fr. Pasley explains the unusual expense: “Music is one of our main emphases here. People line up to have these choral Masses offered. We just advertise, ‘These are the feast days coming up, this is what is will cost to have a choir for that feast day.’ Whoever offers the stipend for that Mass can have it sung in memory of someone. We think nothing of donating money toward vestments or toward artwork or toward flowers; well this is a living praise and glory to God, and everybody benefits by the donors’ generosity, so it’s also an act of charity.”

Pastoral work
Besides sick calls to his own parishioners, Fr. Pasley serves as a hospital chaplain two days a week. He also gives conferences and sometimes celebrates Mass at the Newman Center of Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., and occasionally helps other pastors and chaplains with confessions, especially at diocesan Catholic high schools.

Education
Weekly meetings of the RCIA are held, and three were received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 2004. C.C.D. instruction is offered to about seventy children in a home-school-based program. Fr. Pasley reports that it is approved by the diocesan religious education department. “We assign and provide the books; we have a teacher for each grade; they meet once a month here at the parish with the teachers, but the rest of the time they are to work their assignments out with the family, at home. Then, while the children are meeting with the teachers, I meet with the parents and give them a catechetical talk in the hall, so that they’re being catechized while the children are. It really works very well.” The mission also sponsors various conferences for adults throughout the year.

Social life
Mater Ecclesiae Mission has a very active social committee. They provide refreshments after each Sunday or holy day Mass and sponsor a monthly breakfast, run an annual Chicken Barbeque, and hold an Irish festival to raise money.

Service organizations
The Oblates of St. Jude, who continue to be a vital part of the mission, run a fully operating gift shop that is well stocked with religious articles and books.

A charter council of the Knights of Columbus made up of over forty men is based at Mater Ecclesiae Church. The Knights support the pro-life cause, raise funds for mentally handicapped children, and offer material aid to poor parishioners. They also donate a great deal of time to repair projects around the church.

The mission has a website, www.materecclesiae.org, with a statement of purpose, information about the Traditional Latin Mass, a schedule of liturgies and devotions and a copy of the weekly bulletin.

Growth and improvements
The Traditional Latin Mass is important to many Catholics; membership in a canonical entity attached to a diocese should be important to all Catholics; when combined, they make a sure-fire formula for thriving parish life. Since it’s founding in October 2000, the number of families worshipping regularly at Mater Ecclesiae Mission has gone from 70 to 425.

This extraordinary revival is reflected in the almost complete renovation of the building and grounds. When the diocese acquired ownership of the property and Fr. Pasley moved in as rector, the place was in a shambles. “There were no telephones; the roofs leaked everywhere, and water came out orange from an old shallow well. In the four years that we have been here, we have repaired the roofs, made connections to the city water supply, installed a central heating / air conditioning system in the rectory and repaired fire code violations left from previous owners.” All of these improvements have already been paid for.

Fr. Pasley puts it this way: “Something very simple and basic happened at Mater Ecclesiae. We [devotees of the Traditional Latin Liturgy] are allowed to do what we are supposed to do—be a Catholic parish—on a par with all the others.” Nowadays this is something of a miracle. Seminarians from all over flock to Mater Ecclesiae to experience the intensity and transcendence of the liturgical life there. Two men from the mission are currently seminarians with the Fraternity of St. Peter, and both were assigned to work at Mater Ecclesiae as their summer apostolate.

With the Church
The twentieth-century liturgist, Odo Cassel said that, while at Mass, we are “between two worlds”—this world and the next. Fr. Pasley humorously applies this expression to Mater Ecclesiae, as being somehow between pre- and post-Vatican-II Catholicism. His parishioners tell him, “Father, you have to walk a tightrope.” He admits that he has to be extra careful to be truly Catholic in his preaching and teaching, and to know what he is talking about, so as not to be labeled a “traditionalist,” a “conservative,” a “liberal” or a “Modernist.” “I have to do my homework, and I’ve done more homework here than in all the rest of my priesthood.”

When preaching, his policy is to avoid polemics. “Confront issues, yes, when needed, but don’t be constantly berating; just teach the faith. Encourage people to live their faith, and then to go out and win souls. We [Traditional Catholics] are not better or more elite; we are greatly blessed, and therefore have a greater obligation, especially to be humble and make reparation.”

This policy is reflected in the life of the mission as well. “We strive to cooperate with the diocese in every way. We are not on the periphery of the Church; we are at the heart. We participate in the yearly diocesan pilgrimage [to the National Shrine in Washington], and in diocesan events. We go up to the bishop and make our presence known! We advertise in the diocesan newspaper, and—very importantly—we cooperate with diocesan fundraising, the Bishop’s Annual Appeal.”

The wider perspective
In speaking at the national convention of the Latin Liturgy Association, Fr. Pasley emphasized that his parish hall is named after Bishop DiMarzio. “Let’s be factual—Bishop DiMarzio did a wonderful thing in founding Mater Ecclesiae; we will always be indebted to him. He was truly concerned about the aspirations of these good people…. But he didn’t just wake up one day and say, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful to set up a Traditional parish so that we can give a wide and generous application of Ecclesia Dei [the papal document encouraging “indult” Masses].’ Actually, it was set up because a problem had to be solved. Why is it that those who have a legitimate desire for the traditional rites generally get notice only when there is a problem to be solved?

“Today we hear all about the fundamental options for the poor. We hear about the glories of diversity. We gush over ecumenical initiatives. But how about the rights of those who are starving for their Catholic heritage? How about legitimate liturgical diversity for those who have a right to it? How about sharing our churches with our own Catholic brethren for a change? How about letting priests, especially young priests, say the Traditional Mass?… Social justice is everywhere but in our own house. The situation is very unfair at present, and we must not give up working to improve it.”

A local church or a parish or mission within a diocese, if it is really thriving, should reflect the characteristic marks by which the Church herself is known. This author is convinced, from an interview with the rector, from his own impressions of Mater Ecclesiae Mission on several occasions, and from testimony of friends who are registered there, that this diocesan Traditional parish is in fact one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

In affirming the legitimate aspirations of a relatively small but determined group of Catholics to attend Mass in the Traditional Latin rite, the Diocese of Camden has publicly affirmed their Catholicity (which was never theoretically in question) and has reincorporated them into the official worship and pastoral life of the Church. Fr. Pasley has spoken with most of his brothers in the diocesan priesthood about it, and in his opinion most of them see this as a very good thing. The people of Mater Ecclesiae have responded by supporting their mission church and the diocesan local Church in an admirable way, by their prayers and contributions. This demonstrates remarkable unity between those Traditional Catholics and the diocese in which they worship. It resembles, at the parish level, the reunification that took place through the founding of the international Fraternity of St. Peter.

The atmosphere of prayer at Mater Ecclesiae Church is more than a persistent aroma of incense and beeswax candles. The modesty and care with which the worshippers dress for church, the evident reverence of all who attend liturgies there, a true actuosa participatio that is expressed both in silence and, at appropriate moments, in sacred song, indicate that this is a holy place where people strive for holiness.

These devotees of the Traditional Latin Mass are not snobbish aesthetes or elderly sentimentalists. Most of them are working people from middle-class backgrounds, and many are young couples with children (Lots of children!). In the congregation at Mater Ecclesiae one finds Catholics of Italian and Irish background, with some Blacks and Hispanics and East Asians. It is a worshipping community that is truly catholic.

Finally, these are not “Sunday-only” Catholics. The large number of home-schooling families and the very active service organizations at Mater Ecclesiae Mission indicate that many of the lay people there are practicing their faith in an apostolic way.

Bishop DiMarzio, indeed, performed a great service for the Diocese of Camden in founding Mater Ecclesiae Mission. The liturgical and pastoral life there demonstrates to the Universal Church as well that it is possible to regularize the status of Traditional Mass-goers in a diocese without causing confusion or divisiveness. Ad multos annos, Fr. Pasley! May God grant you many years as rector of your diocesan “Tridentine” mission.

 

Mr. Michael J. Miller, M.A. Theology, earned his degree in moral theology from Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Conn. He translates books on theology and hagiography for Ignatius Press and Loreto Publications. Other articles that he has written about liturgical music appeared in the March 1999 and July 2000 issues of HPR. His last article in HPR appeared in February 2004.