The TLM Between the 1960's and Ecclesia Dei

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Seamus_L

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This is a topic which doesn’t receive much attention, so I thought it would be interesting to hear your stories of what it was like in the days before the TLM became more readily available. I can’t relate any stories first hand myself, but I remember some from my Mom and Aunt.
 
I think the title would have been better written using Summorum Pontificum. In the days of the “indult” the availability of the EF was so restricted that it was laughable. For those who happened to be near an “indult church” (rare as they were) the “indult” may have been welcome, but for the vast majority who were not, the “indult” made no practical difference.
 
We had at least one priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago who was saying the TLM during that period. For awhile he was at Assumption at 60th-Marshfield in the West Englewood area of Chicago, but later on was saying mass at various locations in the Greater Chicago area.
 
My uncle was a Dominican Priest. He always said the new mass in his parish but when saying a private mass either on vacation in a bungalow or at a side altar in a proper church he usually said the old mass with his nephews acting as altar boys. Eventually his ordinary ordered him to stop and even took away his permission to celebrate mass outside a church. (he used to celebrate the mass on my grandmother’s kitchen table) In fact thats where my aunt recived her first communion. But oh well he took a vow of obedence and that was that.🤷
 
Well, in the Boston area, Fr John Keane at one time had 4 chapels running, starting off in W Roxbury right from when the NO came out. Also in the Boston area, from the early 70’s till his death last year, an Fr Vincent Bowes, O.C.D. said the Mass where he could.
In the Danbury, CT/NY line a few priests had Mass centers going. One of them from way back who is still going in the area is Fr(now bishop) Robert Mckenna, O.P. who says the Dominican rite in Monroe, CT. He has been there since 1973.
In the Chicago area(I don’t know if it is the same priest mentioned in the above post) Fr Martin Stepanich, O.F.M. never stopped saying it and is still with us, well into his 90’s.
Fr Brey said it up in Minnesota. I know there are many others, some who said the NO for a bit before going back to it, others who stayed with the TLM, as well as some who did both.

Joe
 
Joe
Code: 
                            I was referring to Father Michael Cepon, who passed away in the 1990's.

                            Do you know what parish in Chicago, Father Stepanich was at ? I could look it up during the week. Name sounds Croatian. Father Cepon was of Slovenian ancestry, but this parish was Croatian for many years.
 
We found a parish in Post Falls, ID, in the early 70’s that had an old retired priest who had permission to celebrate the 1962 Mass. We went to his basemant chapel every Sunday for a couple of years. He then got hooked up with a group that asked him to celebrate Mass for them. One of the group found an old church for sale and bought it. They did many improvements and began holding Masses every Sunday with this same old priest. So we continued going. In the latter part of 1979 this old priest was concerned that when he passed on there would not be a replacement for him so he invited SSPX to come in. Remember this was before the 1988 problems. I was fortunate to have the privilege of meeting the Archbishop before he passed away. All during the 70’s and 80’s the local Bishops (Idaho and Spokane, Wa) were ranting on about how we were going to hell. These prelates were almost foaming at the mouth. But we kept on. Then in 1988 the Archbishop consecrated the four Bishops without permission of JPII, siting extraordinary circumstances. Whether right or wrong I don’t know but to be safe we left and came back to the NO Mass.

I’ve been sorry for the last 32 years.
 
I forgot to mention, but during those difficult times, it was not uncommon for priests to tell people inquiring about the Latin Mass, that it had been supressed and that those looking to attend a TLM were defying the Pope.
 
bmccpy78 said:
My uncle was a Dominican Priest. He always said the new mass in his parish but when saying a private mass either on vacation in a bungalow or at a side altar in a proper church he usually said the old mass with his nephews acting as altar boys. Eventually his ordinary ordered him to stop and even took away his permission to celebrate mass outside a church. (he used to celebrate the mass on my grandmother’s kitchen table) In fact thats where my aunt recived her first communion. But oh well he took a vow of obedence and that was that.🤷
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It sounds like he passed away unto the Lord before SP … my first reaction was sadness (if he could have lived to see today and celebrate the Traditional Mass again). But what a silly error on my part … he has been celebrating it in Paradise all along, I am sure.
 
corsair said:
We found a parish in Post Falls, ID, in the early 70’s that had an old retired priest who had permission to celebrate the 1962 Mass. We went to his basemant chapel every Sunday for a couple of years. He then got hooked up with a group that asked him to celebrate Mass for them. One of the group found an old church for sale and bought it. They did many improvements and began holding Masses every Sunday with this same old priest. So we continued going. In the latter part of 1979 this old priest was concerned that when he passed on there would not be a replacement for him so he invited SSPX to come in. Remember this was before the 1988 problems. I was fortunate to have the privilege of meeting the Archbishop before he passed away. All during the 70’s and 80’s the local Bishops (Idaho and Spokane, Wa) were ranting on about how we were going to hell. These prelates were almost foaming at the mouth. But we kept on. Then in 1988 the Archbishop consecrated the four Bishops without permission of JPII, siting extraordinary circumstances. Whether right or wrong I don’t know but to be safe we left and came back to the NO Mass.

I’ve been sorry for the last 32 years.
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What a blessing those “old retired priests” have been! My parents were fortunate enough to know one who celebrated the TLM for us and other families in the area. He traveled many miles twice a month to offer the Latin Mass for us in one of the family’s living room.
As a child, I knew how truly blessed we were to have this priest say the TLM for us and never knew until recently how much uncharity was hurled at all those that attended. There really was nothing wrong done, as our priest had permission from his Bishop to say the TLM.

He is still living today, but resides in a monastery, completely blind but still saying the TLM each and every day in his room!
 
Seamus_L said:
I forgot to mention, but during those difficult times, it was not uncommon for priests to tell people inquiring about the Latin Mass, that it had been supressed and that those looking to attend a TLM were defying the Pope.
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Yup, and this was one of the nicer things we were told. We were also told that folks who desired the TLM were really Protestant, since the TLM was no longer Catholic.
We were also told that the Pope and Vatican II had outlawed Latin period and had ordered Communion rails and high altars to be removed.
 
And they were also told that by getting rid of statues, paintings, stained glass windows, communion rails, ornate altars etc, they were returning to there ancient traditions. Some folks took that message to it’s natural end and became Protestants.
 
Seamus_L said:
And they were also told that by getting rid of statues, paintings, stained glass windows, communion rails, ornate altars etc, they were returning to there ancient traditions. Some folks took that message to it’s natural end and became Protestants.
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Yup,
Big time.
And the Protestant and Protestant type music which took over after the trashing of traditionally Catholic music helped to instill Protestant belief and reinforce that trend.
 
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