Trip to Brazil, no EF sacrifice of the mass

[lrcatholic95]

I am going on a trip to Brazil and whole researching on where I could go for a Latin mass to go to while I’m there (it is best for my spirituality, no problem with OF) I found only a few churches in the entire country! And upon further research there are some countries in South America that don’t even have the Latin Mass. Also, I have many friends from Brazil and South America and the Church there (to my understanding) is very much influenced by the Pentecostal “church.” Very much a focus on songs and the people, and from the pictures I’ve seen there are white plastic deck chairs in the sanctuary and the other things that disturbed me a bit. Is there a reason for this, is it the bishops, or just the spirituality of the people there. I just find it hard to believe that in the largest Catholic country there are only a handful of parishes that offer the EF to the >100,000,000 Catholics there. Thoughts on this guys?

 

[acarlson]

I am going on a trip to Brazil and whole researching on where I could go for a Latin mass to go to while I’m there (it is best for my spirituality, no problem with OF) I found only a few churches in the entire country! And upon further research there are some countries in South America that don’t even have the Latin Mass. Also, I have many friends from Brazil and South America and the Church there (to my understanding) is very much influenced by the Pentecostal “church.” Very much a focus on songs and the people, and from the pictures I’ve seen there are white plastic deck chairs in the sanctuary and the other things that disturbed me a bit. Is there a reason for this, is it the bishops, or just the spirituality of the people there. I just find it hard to believe that in the largest Catholic country there are only a handful of parishes that offer the EF to the >100,000,000 Catholics there. Thoughts on this guys?

I don’t think it’s so impossible. The Extraordinary Form is just that: “beyond the ordinary.” It’s not the “normal” way of celebrating Mass, but an additional form. It doesn’t take a great leap to assume that a society’s culture will have a large influence on just how popular this additional form of the Mass is.

Besides, don’t forget: there is a large difference between being culturally Catholic and being a faithful Catholic. We (sadly) cannot assume that all 100 million+ Catholics in Brazil are devout and truly understand what it is to be Catholic. You see the same thing in European countries like France, where one may identify himself as Catholic because he was baptized/grew up Catholic and attends Mass on occasion (when culturally expected of him), but truly does not believe in or understand his faith.

 

[His_helpmeet]

I lived in Brazil for 10 months when I was 12. We lived near Sao Carlos, a small city (town by their standards) about 200 km from Sao Paulo city. We went to Mass in a beautiful cathedral - gorgeous stained glass windows, altars to St. Charles, Nossa Senhora Aparacida (Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Who Appeared; she is the national patroness of Brazil), etc. NO deck chairs in the sanctuary - just a beautiful, beautiful church. We travelled a fair bit and went to Mass in other places, as well. If you go to Piracaia (sp?) which is not far from Sao Paulo city, they have a STUNNING church - altars to St. Sebastian, Christ carrying the cross, a HUGE statue of St. Anthony behind the altar (the town is dedicated to him), TONS of gold, side chapels, and, on the ceiling, pictures of all of the Popes, with a large one of the current Pope. The Basilica of Aparacida (near Sao Paulo city) is also gorgeous. So, from what I’ve seen, no, this is not typical. You will find a South American influence in the music, but it is not the complete focus of the Mass.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I assume you’ll be in more urban areas so this doesn’t apply, but it sounds like priests in Brazil may be spread rather thin. From this article: ncronline.org/news/theology/are-married-priests-next-pope-francis-reform-agenda

During the meeting, Krautler [Bishop Erwin Krautler from Brazil] and [Pope] Francis compared notes on how much the priest shortage affects the church, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. Krautler’s diocese, geographically the largest in Brazil, has just 27 priests for 700,000 Catholics, most of whom might attend Mass a couple of times a year.

 

[ProVobis]

Krautler’s diocese, geographically the largest in Brazil, has just 27 priests for 700,000 Catholics, most of whom might attend Mass a couple of times a year.[/INDENT]

It would seem that if no one wants to attend Mass, no one would be interested in becoming a priest. Or if they were to become priests, to prepare to find work in hospitals or in schools or the like. Just my observation.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I guess my assumption what that 27 priests could offer only a small number of Masses, so they simply weren’t available for people to attend. Looking at the area of the diocese in Wikipedia (137,000 square miles), each priest needs to cover an area of about 5,000 square miles. How far can people reasonably travel to attend Mass?

And we complain!

 

[OraLabora]

I guess my assumption what that 27 priests could offer only a small number of Masses, so they simply weren’t available for people to attend. Looking at the area of the diocese in Wikipedia (137,000 square miles), each priest needs to cover an area of about 5,000 square miles. How far can people reasonably travel to attend Mass?

And we complain!

That was my assessment as well. They don’t attend Mass frequently because there frequently isn’t a Mass to attend!

It doesn’t mean that there aren’t lay-led communion services or simply a Liturgy of the Word if there are no pre-consecrated hosts (which I also suspect would be the case if there’s only a Mass every couple of months).

 

[ProVobis]

I guess my assumption what that 27 priests could offer only a small number of Masses, so they simply weren’t available for people to attend. Looking at the area of the diocese in Wikipedia (137,000 square miles), each priest needs to cover an area of about 5,000 square miles. How far can people reasonably travel to attend Mass?

And we complain!

But this development didn’t happen overnight. It seems that the law of supply and demand should have been applied all along. Or maybe Mass demand isn’t the only consideration in pursuing the priesthood, especially when the laity are encouraged to get more involved in liturgical affairs.

 

[MikeDunphy]

Have you contacted the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney? The organization is based in Campos, but I understand that they provide priests for other dioceses as well. Maybe they will be able to help you find a TLM close to where you’ll be visiting.

I am going on a trip to Brazil and whole researching on where I could go for a Latin mass to go to while I’m there (it is best for my spirituality, no problem with OF) I found only a few churches in the entire country! And upon further research there are some countries in South America that don’t even have the Latin Mass. Also, I have many friends from Brazil and South America and the Church there (to my understanding) is very much influenced by the Pentecostal “church.” Very much a focus on songs and the people, and from the pictures I’ve seen there are white plastic deck chairs in the sanctuary and the other things that disturbed me a bit. Is there a reason for this, is it the bishops, or just the spirituality of the people there. I just find it hard to believe that in the largest Catholic country there are only a handful of parishes that offer the EF to the >100,000,000 Catholics there. Thoughts on this guys?

 

[40Days]

Campos