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The Diocese of Cleveland has confirmed that the Vatican has granted permission for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass at two diocesan churches for a further two years.
The extension applies to St Mary’s Church on South Main Street in Akron and St Stephen’s in Cleveland, both of which had previously been granted limited approval to continue celebrating the liturgy according to the 1962 Roman Missal.
In an email to the Catholic Herald, Nancy Fishburne, Head of Communications for the diocese, said: “Yes, the Holy See granted a two-year extension of permission for the two remaining diocesan celebrations of the Latin Mass within the Diocese of Cleveland.”
Reports of the extension began circulating among parishioners after Sunday Mass, prompting quiet relief among the faithful who have attended the traditional liturgies for many years.
The decision follows the restrictions imposed by Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis’s 2021 motu proprio regulating the use of the pre-Vatican II Mass, which placed oversight of such celebrations directly under the Holy See.
Bishops now require Vatican authorisation to permit the older form of the Roman Rite in parish churches, and many dioceses in the United States have since curtailed or withdrawn permissions entirely.
Cleveland’s renewal therefore represents a limited but meaningful continuation for local Catholics attached to the traditional liturgy. Both St Mary’s and St Stephen’s have long been centres for those devoted to the Latin Mass, offering it regularly under diocesan auspices rather than through priestly societies such as the Fraternity of St Peter or the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.
Observers have noted that the two-year extension does not alter the wider policy of the Holy See, which continues to promote the post-Conciliar liturgy as the ordinary expression of the Roman Rite while allowing exceptions under careful regulation. It nonetheless ensures that Cleveland’s two remaining diocesan celebrations may continue without interruption until at least 2027, pending further review.
While the confirmation secures the future of these communities in the short term, it carries no guarantee of renewal beyond the current period. Since the introduction of Traditionis Custodes, such permissions have become increasingly uncommon.
Even so, Cleveland’s case shows that extensions can still be granted when pastoral circumstances justify them. In similar situations, such as in the Diocese of San Angelo in the United States, bishops have quietly sought to preserve the traditional liturgy as part of their wider mission to foster reverence and unity within their dioceses.
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