A Tribute to Father Yves Normandin (1925 – 2020), Hero of the Traditional Mass in Canada: “We ought to obey God, rather than men.”

 A Tribute to Father Normandin (1925 – 2020) 

by Jean-Claude Dupuis, PhD 

 Father Yves Normandin died on December 30, 2020. He left his mark on the history of the Church in Quebec. In 1975, the humble parish priest of Sainte-Yvette in Montreal became famous for continuing to celebrate the traditional Mass in Latin. Archbishop Paul Grégoire relieved him of his duties for “disobedience.” Fr. Normandin and his traditionalist supporters occupied the church of Sainte-Yvette illegally for six months. In the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965), Fr. Normandin celebrated the Mass of Paul VI like every other priest. 

But he began to question it when he learned that Protestant pastors had participated in the planning of the liturgical reform. He was shaken by such texts as the encyclical Pascendi, Pius X’s letter on the Sillon, Louis Salleron’s study La nouvelle messe [The new Mass], the works of Léon de Poncins and Pierre Virion on Freemasonry, and all the writings of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. His conversations with Fathers Noël Barbara and Réal Bleau convinced him. 

Quebec: accelerated closure of churches and parishes

Saint John the Baptist Church, Quebec

From Catholic News Service (via The Catholic Register). Emphases are Rorate's.

Historic Quebec churches no longer untouchable
BY  PHILIPPE VAILLANCOURT, CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

QUEBEC CITY - With the decision to close one of its largest and most important churches, the Archdiocese of Quebec is sending a clear message: The future of even the most majestic churches cannot be guaranteed any more. 

June 13, 2015: First Traditional Priestly Ordinations in Quebec in Decades

Right before the storm: Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal, Montreal - October 13, 1960

The Rev. Deacons Alexandre Marchand (from Gatineau) and Jacques Breton (from St-Hyancinthe) will be ordained to the most sacred priesthood on June 13, 2015 - the ordination will take place in the Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe, and will be celebrated by the Abp. of Ottawa, the Most Rev. Terrence Prendergast.

These will be the first priestly ordinations according to the Traditional Roman Rite in Quebec since the alteration of the rites, in the late 1960s.

Congratulations to both, to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, and to the formerly Catholic lands of Quebec!

(Tip: Notions Romaines)

Cardinal Lacroix to celebrate Confirmations in the Traditional Rite for Quebec parish

 Cardinal  Lacroix during the pastoral visit on March 9                                                             Photo: Jacinthe Soulard

His Eminence Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec, will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite at St. Zéphirin, a parish of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) in Quebec on Saturday, May 31 at 5:00 pm. It will be the first time since the introduction of the Pauline reform during Advent of 1969 that an archbishop of Quebec will administer this sacrament in the traditional rite.

His Eminence made ​​a pastoral visit to the parish on March 9. He attended Mass celebrated by Fr Gouy, FSSP assisted by Frs. Deprey, FSSP (Ottawa) and Huang, FSSP (Montreal) who served as deacon and sub-deacon respectively and he gave a sermon. The Mass was followed by a reception then a Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament by the Cardinal. Pictures of the pastoral visit are available on the website of the parish.

[Source: Notions Romaines, May 19, 2014]

Congratulations to Canadian and Brazilian Catholics!

Pope Francis signed earlier today the canonization decrees (by equipollent canonization) of three major figures of the greatest religious enterprise in history, the (old-style) evangelization of the Americas:

- two whose lives were entirely given over to the evangelization of Canada (Québec):

François de Montmorency-Laval, of the illustrious house of Montmorency, first Bishop of Québec and founder of the renowned Séminaire de Québec;

Marie de l'Incarnation (Guyart), born in Tours, founder of the Ursuline convent of Québec.

- one whose life was entirely given over to the evangelization of Brazil:

José de Anchieta, S.J., Spaniard (the Canarian son of a Basque family), called the "Apostle of Brazil" and founder, along with Portuguese Fr. Manuel da Nobrega, S.J., of several cities, including Sao Paulo.

You report: Mary Queen of Canada Pilgrimage, Quebec

The 9th edition of the Marie Reine du Canada pilgrimage, which took place on September 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2012, was a success. The 80+ pilgrims, coming from all over Ontario and Quebec, and even from the United States of America, were able to walk the 104 kilometers between St-Joseph-de-Lanoraie and Cap-de-la-Madeleine without receiving even a single raindrop.   Blisters, sore muscles, a very warm sun, roadwork, and even the forest that the pilgrims walked through on Monday morning did not prevent the two chapters (English and French) from moving forward at a good speed, nor did it keep them from praying and singing loud and clear along the way!

The chaplain, Fr. Huang, F.S.S.P., was available to hear confessions during all three days. He also gave a few talks and meditations to the pilgrims of the two chapters. He was assisted by Mr. Breton and Mr. Marchand, who are both F.S.S.P. seminarians; the future priests walked with the French Chapter the length of the pilgrimage. Two Low Masses were celebrated by Fr. Huang: the first one, on Saturday morning, in the lovely church of St-Joseph-de-Lanoraie, and the second one, on Sunday morning, in the beautiful church of Maskinongé. The closing Solemn High Mass was celebrated on Monday afternoon at Cap-de-la-Madeleine, in the wonderful little shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Cape, by Fr. Gouy, F.S.S.P., with Fr. Huang serving as deacon and Fr. Nsengiyumva, O.P. serving as sub-deacon.

(Image and source: Jacinthe Soulard)

Events: Mary Queen of Canada pilgrimage - September 2012

The Marie Reine du Canada (Mary Queen of Canada) Pilgrimage to the Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-du-Cap (Shrine of Our Lady of the Cape) in Quebec is one of the foremost traditional Catholic pilgrimage in all of North America: it will happen this year on September 1-3.

Mass is celebrated each day of the pilgrimage in the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite, the traditional liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church.  Our chaplains are priests of the Fraternity of St. Peter ... . Two priests are normally available to hear confessions in French and English, throughout the pilgrimage, en route, in camp or before mass.

More information in English and French here: www.marie-reine.ca

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Reine-du-Canada/147694421912135 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/MarieReineduCanada

Twitter: NDduCap

Two cardinalatial sees filled in North America

The Most Rev. William Edward Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, and the Most Rev. Christian Lépine, Archbishop of Montreal

(Bolettino of the Holy See Press Office)

Ireland, Quebec, Portugal, Spain: not "modern enough" to take Vatican II

For someone who actually thinks that the solution for the Irish Church is to be found in Canadian bishops, well... this article ("Erin go bonkers", George Weigel) is not that surprising. And the lumping of what were essentially liberal representative governments (Quebec, Ireland) with one peculiar regime that came about almost peacefully and came down in flames (Portugal) and another one that was forged in war and peacefully transitioned to constitutional monarchy (Spain) is absurd; not only that, but, as critical as we have been of the Portuguese situation (and, less so, of the Spanish situation, whose prelates are in general better than those of their smaller neighbor), there has surely been no child abuse "crisis" in these two nations.

Now, it is quite good to see walking (and writing) contradictions such as Weigel admit that the Second Vatican Council was a "deluge".

Le nouveau primat du Canada

The new Metropolitan Archbishop of Québec and Primate of Canada, Abp. Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, is a member of the I.S.P.X. The I.S.P.X. (the Pius X Secular Institute), do not let that letter get you confused... Félicitations, Monseigneur!

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Below, the current Director-General of the I.S.P.X., Father Christian Beaulieu.

Settled: It's Ouellet

After the problems that stood in the way of the designation of Cardinal Pell (Sydney), the Pope seems to have settled on the Primate of Canada, Cardinal Ouellet, as new Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops - one of the most consequential of all Roman Dicasteries. Vaticanist Andrea Tornielli reports (Il Giornale):

The change at the helm of the Congregation for Bishops has finally been decided: in the next few weeks, the name of the successor of Brescian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, [who has been] at the leadership of the "factory" of Bishops for a decade. Unless there are improbable - though always possible - last minute surprises, the choice of the Pope is settled on Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Archbishop of Québec.

The continuing decline of Catholic Quebec and France

From DICI:

Following the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s , a movement of massive secularisation emptied the churches in Quebec. Religious weddings, however, remained common practice until recent times. But even this sacrament has suffered a huge diminution in the Belle Province, as the recent statistics published by the diocese of Valleyfield, South-West of Montreal, attest. In the diocesan newsletter Cœur et âme for January 2010, it is claimed that religious weddings have diminished by 30% in barely six years, despite the fact that nearly 80% of the population call themselves Catholics. In 2003, 344 religious weddings were celebrated; six years later, there were only 242. From year to year the trend continues: last year, in twenty-five out of the fifty-nine dioceses in Quebec, no religious weddings were recorded at all. (Source : apic – DICI n°211 du 06/03/10) (CAP note: I think there is a mistake in this statistic, and I'm still checking various articles for the more accurate figures.)

Meanwhile, French churches continue to be desecrated (click on this link for the story and photo; see also this and this) while not a few French bishops seem more interested in defending other religions. (A more complete version of Fr. Cacqueray's remarks can be found here.)

Strong words from the Pope to the Church in Quebec

The Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, in the Montreal region, is divided into four great "pastoral regions": the "Anglophone" region, which covers the whole diocese and oversees English-speaking communities; and the geographical "Centre", "Sud-Ouest", and "Longueuil Nord" regions. Each of these "Pastoral regions" is guided by a "Regional Animator" -- in all cases, laywomen. This is just an extreme sign of a common practice throughout Quebec (as in most dioceses in North America), in all levels of Church government, especially in parish churches.


Today, in his speech to the bishops of Quebec, who, in the past couple of weeks, have been making their "Ad Limina" visits to the Pope and to the Roman Dicasteries, the Pope had some strong words regarding the irreplaceable position of priests in the government of the Church:

Meanwhile, the reduction of the number of priests, which makes at times impossible the celebration of Sunday Mass in certain locations, puts in doubt in a disturbing way the place of sacramentality in the life of the Church.

The needs of pastoral organization should not compromise the authenticity of the ecclesiology which is expressed. The central position of the priest who, in persona Christi capitis, teaches, sanctifies, and governs the community, cannot be minimized.

The ministerial priesthood is indispensable for the existence of an ecclesial community. The importance of the position of lay people, whose generosity in the service of the Christian communities I salute, can never hide the absolutely irreplaceable ministry of priests for the life of the Church. Therefore, the ministry of the priest cannot be entrusted to others without truly hurting the authenticity of the Church's own self.

Furthermore, how may young men wish to become priests if the position of the ordained ministry is not clearly defined and recognized?

The outrageous letter of the Canadian Religious Conference, openly defending anti-Catholic principles and practices, is probably related to another of the pope's warnings in his speech:

I therefore invite consecrated people, male and female, to grow in their ecclesial sentiment and in their need to work in an always closer relationship with their Pastors, welcoming and spreading the doctrine of the Church in its integrity and in its integrality.

Finally, the Holy Father recalled the most important speech of his pontificate, the epoch-making Christmas Speech to the Curia, of December 22, 2005:

Ecclesial communion, founded on the very person of Jesus Christ, demands fidelity to the doctrine of the Church, notably by a just interpretation of the Vatican II Council, that is, as I have had the occasion to say, "the 'hermeneutic of reform', of renewal in the continuity of the one subject-Church which the Lord has given to us" (Speech to the Roman Curia, December 22, 2005) In fact, if we thus read and receive the Council, "it can be and can become increasingly powerful for the ever necessary renewal of the Church." (ibid.)

A Map of Episcopal Ineptitude

This is not a map of the dioceses of Québec. This is a map of the foremost sign of the post-Conciliar age: the complete ineptitude of bishops.

Last Sunday, the most influential newspaper in the French-speaking province, once the most Traditional area of North America, La Presse, published a letter signed by 19 priests, titled "Enough is enough", denouncing the Church's teaching on the disordered condition of homosexuality. These are the names of the priests:

Archdiocese of Montréal:

1. Fr. André Anctil
2. Fr. José V. Arruda
3. Fr. Jean-Pierre Langlois
4. Fr. Claude Lefebvre
5. Fr. Claude Lussier.

Diocese of Joliette:

6. Fr. Raymond Gravel (leader of the group)
7. Fr. Eric Généreux
8. Fr. Bernard Houle
9. Fr. Pierre-Gervais Majeau
10. Fr. Guylain Prince
11.Fr. Claude Ritchie

Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil:

12. Fr. Jean-Yves Cedilot
13. Fr. Jocelyn Jobin
14. Fr. Alain Léonard
15. Fr. Lucien Lemieux (professor at the University of Montréal and also a Regional Vicar for the Diocese; one of the most influential priests in Québec)

Archdiocese of Gatineau:

16. Fr. Benoît Fortin
17. Fr. Michel Lacroix
18. Fr. Claude St-Laurent

Diocese of Gaspé:

19. Fr. Jacques Pelletier

The letter affirms that the Church does not possess "the truth on human beings". "We wish that Christians listen to the life experience of their homosexual brothers and sisters". Regarding the bishops' opposition to the iniquitous "same-sex marriage" legislation approved last year in Canada, the priests asked: "Was there any trace of the compassion that marked Jesus's passage on Earth? Not a paragraph, not a sentence in your brief that takes into account the historical discrimination against homosexuals and the tragedy of their social and ecclesial exclusion."

All 19 priests were immediate suspended from their positions, right? Well, not exactly:

On Sunday, no official response was forthcoming from the Vatican or the Canadian Conference of Bishops. The Montreal diocese office was similarly quiet. Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte is out of the country, in Peru.

At Montreal's Cathedral Mary Queen of the World, however, worshippers were instructed to inform themselves and to make up their own minds on the issue.

During the 5 p.m. mass, Rev. Michel de la Chevrotiere mentioned the letter and told people it is up to them to make up their own minds. (Source)

Since the bishops won't, can you do something about it? A lay canon lawyer believes so. Read more here.