Resistance is never futile: An interview with Christian Marquant, founder of Paix Liturgique

We are pleased to present the text of an interview we recently conducted with Monsieur Christian Marquant of Paix Liturgique (“Liturgical Peace”). He belongs to the generation of extraordinary people who, as young men, acted decisively when their elders shrank from doing so: they resisted the imposition of liturgical novelty upon the people of God. Here, for the first time online, Christian recounts his adventures and misadventures from the mid-1960s to the present—above all, the establishment and work of Paix Liturgique, a multilingual, data-driven enterprise for the restoration of the usus antiquior all around the world. We are grateful for the many historic photos Mr. Marquant shared with us, most of which appear here for the first time. Dr. John Pepino kindly translated the interview from French into English.

 

Christian Marquant, Summorum Pontificum Conference, October 2020, Rome

The “Long March” of Paix Liturgique

Rorate Caeli: Dear Christian, you are the man who orchestrates Oremus-Paix Liturgique. Could you tell us about this movements and its activities?

 

Christian Marquant: It would hard to tell you what we are today without telling you at least some of our history as Catholic activists. It all began in the mid-1960s.

URGENT: Ecclesia Dei Commission for the Latin Mass to be extinguished?

Messa in Latino reports (and the information is also relayed by Vaticanist Marco Tosatti) that the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" (PCED), the Vatican body in charge of matters related to the Traditional Latin Mass and of negotiations with traditional groups (in particular the Society of Saint Pius X), is set to be abolished shortly, according to highly credible sources

Its functions would be completely amalgamated and absorbed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), to which it has been closely linked since the beginning, and in particular since July 2008, when the Prefect of CDF was made head "ex officio" of Ecclesia Dei.

Despite the close links, the limited structural autonomy of PCED had proven extremely beneficial to the integrity of the Traditional Latin Mass, especially since the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, of July 7, 2007, had given PCED important functions regarding the Traditional Roman Rite.

Is it a first step in the dismantlement of Summorum Pontificum?

Watch and See: Beautiful Video and Images from the 2018 "Ars Celebrandi" Latin Mass Workshop - Poland

The largest workshop for the Traditional Latin Mass in the world, Ars Celebrandi, concluded last July 18 in Licheń, Poland, with a visit by Archbishop Guido Pozzo.

Archbishop Guido Pozzo, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (the Holy See office for Catholics attached to the traditional Roman liturgy) had this message to the workshops’ participants and organizers: "I would like to thank God for this active presence of the Ars Celebrandi community, committed to the promotion of the ancient Roman liturgy and thus giving glory to God for the sake of the Church and all mankind... I encourage you to continue and go forth, in trust in the grace of God."

Archbishop Guido Pozzo celebrated the Pontifical Mass in the Licheń Basilica and presided over Pontifical vespers. The faithful taking part in these celebrations and receiving the Papal blessing could receive a plenary indulgence under ordinary conditions by the decision of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

(Video of the Pontifical Mass below)

PCED permission for pre-1955 Holy Week, photos

As some readers may know, the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" has given new permission to a handful of traditional priestly societies to offer Holy Week liturgies this month as they existed before the massive Pius XII / Archbishop Bugnini reforms of 1955.

The permission, confirmed by Rorate via several sources at the priestly societies, is for a limited time on an experimental basis.  In other words, if the Masses are offered well, with proper education and preparation beforehand, then perhaps this indult could lead to something larger in the future.

Traditional (and conservative) Catholic blogs were asked to hold off on reporting this until after Palm Sunday. (You may have noticed, however, several posts on the pre-1955 Holy Week in general.) The main goal, it seems, from the priests organizing this week's liturgies is to do them well -- and not necessarily cause too much of a global media fuss. Pastoral decisions were also made, and compromises such as using Pope Benedict's reformed Prayer for the Jews were decided upon, to avoid liberal advocacy group-driven complaints that caused a media stir in 2008 following Summorum Pontificum.

Early reports show things went well two days ago. We are pleased to publish a selection of photos from Palm Sunday 2018:

Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter; Kansas City, Kansas

FSSP; Los Angeles, California

FSSP; Los Angeles, California

Dubia answered: Warning for priests treating afflicted souls, guidance on blessings by deacons

The following responses to dubia by the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" (PCED) was provided to Rorate by a source with a deep concern for the spiritual welfare of priests. We post the responses below, with an explanatory note following it, written by our source. There's also an interesting response from the PCED to whether deacons can bless using the traditional Rituale. We have edited the document only to protect the privacy of the priest who submitted the dubia:

Note from our source:

Priests that pray over afflicted souls should be aware of a potential open door.

Important clarification from PCED on Sung Masses offered by Bishops

In recent years it has become more common for bishops to celebrate Sung Mass more sacerdotali, that is, just as priests do and without the sacred ministers (subdeacon, deacon and assistant priest) and ceremonies peculiar to a Solemn Pontifical Mass. This has to do with the difficulty in most places of having enough sacred ministers, and the desire to have something like a Solemn Pontifical Mass whenever there is a bishop available to celebrate Mass according to the 1962 Missal. Unfortunately, the "Pontifical Sung Mass" was not foreseen in the rubrics of the liturgical books in force by the end of 1962, raising endless questions about the licitness of the practice. In response to a dubium from a Traditional Catholic choir in the Philippines, the PCED has now responded with a clarification on Pontifical Sung Masses.

In summary: bishops who wish to celebrate according to the 1962 Missal are to choose between Low and Solemn Pontifical Mass. The "Pontifical Sung Mass" is not among the choices.

Conclusion of the Apostolic Visitation of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter

Communiqué published by the General House of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, Fribourg, Switzerland, September 17, 2015:

Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei's Ordo for 2015 now available

The Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", charged with the promotion and interpretation of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, has announced the publication of the 2015 Liturgical Ordo for the Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.

The Ordo (16 euros) is published by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana and it may be found in different online retailers, including IBS (currently for 13.60 euros).