Group says pope has authorized a traditional Latin Mass in St. Peter’s September 10, 2025By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service Filed Under: News, Vatican, World News, Worship & Sacraments VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Leo XIV has given permission for U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica during a pilgrimage in October. Una Voce International, a federation of groups of Catholics attached to the pre-Vatican II liturgy, announced the pope’s decision in a press statement Sept. 8. Cardinal Burke is scheduled to celebrate the Mass Oct. 25 at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica with people attending the annual Ad Petri Sedem “Summorum Pontificum” Pilgrimage to Rome, the group said. Neither Cardinal Burke nor the Vatican press office responded to a request for comment. During the group’s pilgrimages in 2023 and 2024, the Vatican did not allow the celebration of the old Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. In the statement, Joseph Shaw, president of the federation, said, “We are grateful to Pope Leo for his pastoral response to the request for a Traditional Mass in St. Peter’s. This celebration symbolizes the unity with the Holy Father so desired by Catholics attached to the ancient rite of Mass.” In 2021, Pope Francis issued “Traditionis Custodes” (“Guardians of the Tradition”), which significantly limited celebrations of the traditional Latin Mass using the 1962 Roman Missal. Permission for Cardinal Burke to preside over the liturgy “is the first concrete indication of the attitude of Pope Leo XIV to the Traditional Mass,” the federation said. “In the latter years of Pope Francis, the official view was that this form of the Mass, while not completely prohibited, should not be ‘promoted’ or given prominence, with high-profile celebrants in important churches.” Shaw told Catholic News Service Sept. 10 that while the annual pilgrimage had grown to close to 1,000 participants, “I am sure that the Holy Father’s permission for Mass in St. Peter’s with Cardinal Burke will boost (the numbers) significantly.” Read More Vatican News Pope Leo on his ancestry, and how he’s a ‘pope who happens to be American’ Pope Leo XIV to offer public Masses and audiences every week of August Pope Leo XIV at Andrea Bocelli concert: Music’s beauty points us to God Pope Leo to youth: Jesus doesn’t want you to be couch potatoes Pope prays for victims of deadly wildfires in Spain, France Pope Leo appeals for dialogue, diplomacy, prayers for just peace in Holy Land, Middle East Copyright © 2025 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Print
