The last diocesan Latin Mass in the Diocese of Pittsburgh will be celebrated on Friday, September 4, 2026, after the bishop decided not to petition the Vatican for continued permission to celebrate the Mass in this manner.
“Throughout my ministry as your bishop, I have sought to encourage the unity of our local Church and to help all of us grow ever more deeply in our love for the Eucharist and the sacred liturgy,” said Bishop Mark Eckman of Pittsburgh in an August 7 letter to Mary, Queen of Saints Parish in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. Eckman was installed as the bishop of Pittsburgh on July 14, 2025.
The letter was read from the pulpit at Saint Titus Church, one of the four churches that make up Mary, Queen of Saints Parish, following the celebration of the First Friday Traditional Latin Mass.
Bishop Eckman noted that after the apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes, his predecessor, Bishop David Zubik, had requested and been granted permission for Mass to be celebrated according to the 1962 Roman Missal at Saint Titus Church of Mary, Queen of Saints Parish on the third Sunday of each month and on the first Friday of the month.
While this permission was granted, it was “only given for a limited time – a period of two years,” said Bishop Eckman. “Bishop Zubik thereafter asked for an extension of the permission, which was granted on September 3, 2024, for an additional period of two years.”
When the extension to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass in a parish church was granted, said Bishop Eckman, it was “only ever meant to be temporary”.
“The expectation of the Holy See has been that the continued need for the permission would eventually come to an end and that the faithful would be brought towards the celebration of the post-conciliar ritual,” he said.
After consulting with experts and “with much time spent in prayer and discernment”, Bishop Eckman said that he would not request another renewal of the permissions, and would “allow the current permission to cease as the allotted time period runs out”.
“To that end, the final Mass celebrated according to the older ritual at Saint Titus Church will be on Friday, September 4, 2026,” he said.
Those who wish to still attend the Latin Mass are welcomed and encouraged to do so at Most Precious Blood of Jesus Parish, which is administered by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP), said Bishop Eckman. This parish is about a 30-minute drive from Saint Titus and has a daily Tridentine Mass.
“I know this decision will be difficult for some members of the faithful who have found spiritual nourishment in these celebrations,” said the bishop, adding that he was “sincerely grateful for your love of the Eucharist, your devotion to the Church, and your desire to worship God faithfully”.
“It is my hope that, as we continue to walk together in communion with the Church, we will all continue to grow in faith, charity, and unity,” he said.
The Traditional Latin Mass at Saint Titus Church is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Woodlawn Council 2161. The council’s Traditional Latin Mass Guild was founded on November 12, 2007, just over a month after the first Traditional Latin Mass was celebrated at the parish.
During the “age of Summorum Pontificum” – from September 14, 2007, until the release of Traditionis Custodes on July 16, 2021 – there were 188 traditional Masses celebrated at Saint Titus Church, says the council’s website.
Celebrants included three bishops and 33 priests during that time.
