Bishop Robert Brennan of Brooklyn has ordered an end to the Traditional Latin Mass at St Cecilia Church in New York.
The announcement was delivered to parishioners after Mass on 28 September and will take effect on 12 October.
The decision was presented as an enforcement of Traditionis custodes, the decree issued by Pope Francis in 2021 which placed the celebration of the older liturgy under the direct regulation of diocesan bishops.
No further explanation was given at the parish, but sources confirmed that the prohibition applies specifically to St Cecilia’s. Reports of the decision were first carried by Rorate Caeli. Neither the diocese nor the parish has yet issued a statement.
St Cecilia’s, situated in the Greenpoint district of Brooklyn, has for years been a focal point for Catholics attached to the pre-conciliar liturgy. Its congregation includes worshippers who travel across boroughs to attend the Mass.
The move comes as bishops across the United States continue to interpret and apply Traditionis custodes in different ways. While some dioceses have permitted existing celebrations to continue under tightly defined conditions, others have curtailed them entirely, pointing to the need to comply with the Holy See’s directive.
The measures have resulted in a patchwork of practices, with Catholics in some parts of the country retaining regular access to the older form of the Roman Rite, while others see it restricted or abolished.
In Brooklyn, the change is likely to affect a significant number of the faithful who have relied on St Cecilia’s as their parish for the traditional liturgy. The Latin Mass has been present in New York for decades and gained wider availability after Pope Benedict XVI issued Summorum Pontificum in 2007, granting broad permission for its celebration.
Many of the communities that grew up under those provisions are now facing new uncertainty in light of Pope Francis’s subsequent restrictions.
The situation in Brooklyn will be watched closely, given both the prominence of the area and the size of its community.
The Diocese of Brooklyn contacted the Catholic Herald to state: "Bishop Robert Brennan very much wants to meet the needs of the people, and has developed an approach that will be more sustainable."
As a result, the diocese – which encompasses two boroughs of New York City: Brooklyn and Queens – will have two sites that will offer the TLM: one site in Brooklyn and one site in Queens.
The official site in Brooklyn will be Our Lady of Peace which has celebrated the TLM for more than 25 years.
The official site in Queens will be at St. Josaphat’s in Bayside, which has celebrated the TLM for years and will now be taken over by The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP).
The diocese highlights that the TLM at St. Cecilia's was averaging an attendance of between 25 and 35 people, and was being served by a rotation of priests, "which can no longer continue because of the number of priests."
It adds: "That is why Bishop Brennan is moving to this site model of one in each borough of the Diocese: one in Brooklyn and one in Queens."
The developing situation in the Diocese of Brooklyn is likely to be watched closely, given both the prominence of the area and the size of its community.
Photo credit: Society of St Hugh of Cluny
