Has anyone had any experience with the ICKSP?

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bardegaulois

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Or Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest?

I’m finding myself really drawn there for a number of reasons. First and foremost would obviously be that I hear the Traditional Latin Mass nearly exclusively. But what makes the Institute stand out over to me over and above the other Latin-Mass groups would be its “culturedness,” for lack of a better term, and the bent of its priests toward mysticism.

So does anyone have any experience with them? Or does anyone know of any other institutes or societies (including vowed orders) that are quite similar in charism and spirit?

Thanks for your time.
 
Well, they’re very French, aren’t they? Look at the traditional religious orders in France - one of the shining examples is the Benedictine Abbey of Fontgombault. Sorry I can’t help you any more than that.
 
They are quite French, indeed. As am I.

Surely my username has not been lost on this forum.🙂
 
bardegaulois said:
Or Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest?

I’m finding myself really drawn there for a number of reasons. First and foremost would obviously be that I hear the Traditional Latin Mass nearly exclusively. But what makes the Institute stand out over to me over and above the other Latin-Mass groups would be its “culturedness,” for lack of a better term, and the bent of its priests toward mysticism.

So does anyone have any experience with them? Or does anyone know of any other institutes or societies (including vowed orders) that are quite similar in charism and spirit?

Thanks for your time.
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*Malheureusment, je ne les connais pas tres bien, mais permettez-moi de vous poser une question un peu nulle: 😃

Comme barde gaulois, que pensez-vous du grand Assurancetourix? J’aime bien ses chansons, surtout “Ca se balance, oh oui!” 😉
*
Okay, now a serious answer: there’s the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), which is quite similar to what you seek. There’s also the Saint Benedict Centre (formed by followers of Fr. Leonard Feeney) which is also traditional, and apparently in good standing with the Church.
 
Has anyone had any experience with the ICKSP?
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What do you mean by “experience”? I attend Mass at the local ICRSS oratory once a month (would like to actually make it my parish but can’t right now—long story), go to Adoration there from time to time and have confessed there once when my regular confessor was on vacation. I have not had any deep, meaningful exchanges with any of the canons, but they all appear to be hard-working, serious, devout young men who are nonetheless also kind and approachable. More than this I cannot tell you, nor can I compare them to, let’s say, the FSSP mentioned above since I have never been to any of their Houses (the closest one is a 45-minute drive away and in another country).
 
Their use of French culture is what I would say their most dominant trait. Not a charism or mission or anything like that, but if you don’t like how [French] they do things, then you probably won’t fit in. Look at the ordination photos, seminary photos, visit the house in Chicago if you can. Mysticism? Perhaps, but don’t forget that the vast majority of the work is parish work, and that changes very little from order to order, even compared with a diocese.

Are you actually French? See, I too am French…French who moved to Acadia, then English Canada, and then the US, not teaching any of their kids (my grandparents) the language. So yeah, French in name only…as in my mother’s maiden name only. My point is the Institute will be a culture shock to Americans and Canadians to some degree or another. If you grew up on the bayou, probably more so. If you are from France, my apologies, but the fact that you started this thread leads me to believe you aren’t.
 
Thank you all for your replies.

Bert, my ancestry is almost completely French, by way of Québec, where my great-grandparents were born and where I summered as a child. I went to university in Québec City, and must admit I had more of a culture shock coming back to the States, even such a lovely part of them as New England, than I did going to Québec. As yet, the motherland has eluded me, but I’m hopeful, God willing, that I’ll make it there at some point.

So I’m quite connected to my ancestry, being of “the eldest daughter of the Church,” and it could very well be that “Frenchness” that is a big part of the allure of the Institute to me. It’s funny how I only think of it in those terms after others present me with them, and I have that eureka moment and say, “That’s it!”
 
Hmmm. Perhaps oddly, I had not noticed the “Frenchness” others speak of. That might be due to the fact I’m actually in France and have been for years. Maybe I’m just used to it. On the other hand, as a head sacristan in my OF parish and having several priests of other OF parishes as friends I have much hands-on, close-up-and-personal experience with the manner of OF liturgical celebration in France, and from what I have seen EF (ICRSS) and OF (diocesan) are two entirely different worlds here, with entirely different approaches. I can’t find a single cultural trait common to both forms.

Could someone give an example of the “Frenchness” you’ve observed in the ICRSS? Maybe that would help me to understand better what y’all mean. :o
 
The ICKSP was started in France? I thought that this group had something to do with the late Cardinal Siri and had begun in Italy?
 
From what I understand, the Institute was founded by two Frenchmen who had studied under Cardinal Siri while they were on mission in Gabon, West Africa.

As to how to define “Frenchness” in the Church, one has to understand that this can mean many things. France has always been profoundly divided, politically as well as ecclesiastically. We can take, for instance, the Wars of Religion: pro-Habsburg, pro-Papal nobles against pro-Bourbon forces who were friendly to the Protestants, the Huguenots themselves being something of an afterthought. Likewise, the controversy between the Jansenists, the Gallicans, and the Jesuits deserves some mention.

Face it, France is the country that gave us both the “worker-priest” and Archbishop Lefebvre, both around roughly the same time as well. Perhaps we can define the two “Frenches” as “Royal French” and “Republican French.” I’d think that the Institute falls clearly among the “Royal French.”
 
From what I read on their official web site, Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in Gricigliano Italy, they state that they are secular canons, they are not religious priests. I am a traditionalist, so it makes a huge difference to me, The fact that they say the Traditional Latin Mass does not make a difference to me. I prefer attending mass by a religious priest who has taken religious vows. Their web site also states, secular canons are distinguished by their choir dress. They do not belong to a religious order, and they do not take religious vows. The nuns that they align themselves with, the Sisters of the Adorers, are members of their religious order, and the nuns take solemn religious vows.
 
bardegaulois said:
…my ancestry is almost completely French, by way of Québec.
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That’s actually where I thought you were coming from. I’m in Buffalo, so I have a rather decent knowledge of the English/French divide in Canada.
 
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