Cardinal Burke celebrates traditional Latin Mass in St. Peter's Basilica

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In the presence of hundreds of priests and with lay faithful packed into the pews and standing along the walls, U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke celebrated the traditional Latin Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica.

The Vatican said Pope Leo XIV had authorized the cardinal to celebrate the pre-Vatican II liturgy Oct. 25 with people attending the annual Ad Petri Sedem "Summorum Pontificum" Pilgrimage to Rome.

"Summorum Pontificum" was Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 document that expanded access to the old liturgy, giving priests discretion over whether to celebrate it and asserting that the faithful had a right to ask for it.

But citing concerns about church unity and about a lack of acceptance of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis issued "Traditionis Custodes" ("Guardians of the Tradition") in 2021, which significantly limited celebrations of the traditional Latin Mass using the 1962 Roman Missal.

Still, the Ad Petri Sedem "Summorum Pontificum" pilgrimages in October 2021 and 2022 -- after "Traditionis Custodes" -- were allowed to have the old Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. Pope Francis gave the permission, according to Andrea Tornielli, editorial director at the Dicastery for Communication.

When the 2025 pilgrimage Mass was announced, Joseph Shaw, president of Una Voce International, a federation of groups of Catholics attached to the pre-Vatican II liturgy, 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."