Which US State has the most Traditional Catholicism?

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alcuin18

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Hello. I am hoping to move to a new state (from Georgia) at some point in the next year or so, and I was wondering which state, or city/region of a state, has the most traditional Catholicism. I am not specifically a traditionalist and certainly not SSPX, but in Georgia there are practically no Latin Masses, and our former bishop permitted very little traditional liturgical practices, so I would like to experience it more wherever I move. Thank you for your help.

God bless
 
If you include SSPX . . . parishes–. . . as well as sedevacantist cults of all sorts–. . . it’s hard to beat the area from Spokane, Washington to Couer d’Alene, Idaho. But be prepared because the various sects don’t get along too well. And they are generally not popular with the local communities at large. Plenty to read on the net about the various groups. Just Google away.
 
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TheLittleLady said:
Would you kindly expound on this?
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Sure. My pastor told me that, per my request, he would have liked to add more Latin to the Mass (or have full Latin Masses), have ad orientem Masses, add an altar rail, etc., but he was not given permission to do so by the bishop.
 
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I think it is unwise to characterise any diocese as being more traditional.

We are not like the Anglicans. All our bishops uphold the same Apostolic Faith.
 
alcuin18 said:
Hello. I am hoping to move to a new state (from Georgia) at some point in the next year or so, and I was wondering which state, or city/region of a state, has the most traditional Catholicism. I am not specifically a traditionalist and certainly not SSPX, but in Georgia there are practically no Latin Masses, and our former bishop permitted very little traditional liturgical practices, so I would like to experience it more wherever I move. Thank you for your help.

God bless
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Philadelphia:
  • FSSP Parish - very easy to get to, in the geographic center of the diocese, and easy to get to from all the major interstates.
  • Carmelite Monastery with a FSSP chaplain who lives with the nuns there. They only celebrate the Latin Mass.
  • A pretty traditional, territorial parish with one Latin Mass each Sunday, which is home to the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, better known as the Mercedarian Friars.
  • The National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa has a Latin Mass one Sunday a month
  • Two other diocesan priests have weekly Latin Masses at two other parishes every Sunday
  • Plus, one other parish always celebrates First Friday & First Saturday masses with the Latin Mass.
  • Finally, several other parishes (including our Cathedral Basilica of Sts Peter & Paul and Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel) often host Latin Masses for select holy days and other Liturgical celebrations.
  • Plus, we have the tombs of two Saints that you can visit!
  • if you include other local dioceses, there are arguably 6-7 more when including surrounding dioceses (include 3 more in true suburbs of the city)
  • Finally, we have a number of Liturgical societies/institutes. One just hosted a beautiful Vespers in the Sarum Rite. Most likely the first time it was ever celebrated in the Americas.
 
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I live near Augusta, there are too Latin Masses in Georgia.
 
alcuin18 said:
Sure. My pastor told me that, per my request, he would have liked to add more Latin to the Mass (or have full Latin Masses), have ad orientem Masses, add an altar rail, etc., but he was not given permission to do so by the bishop.
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Right or wrong, some Bishops who have created Latin Mass Personal Parishes are sometimes reluctant to allow other priests to offer the Latin mass.

The reasoning of some of these bishops is because they don’t want to hurt the personal parish they created. They would rather create 1 or more regional parishes dedicated to the Latin Mass so robust communities can develop.

They don’t want situations where they have several Latin Masses with 20 -50 people per mass. They would rather have fewer locations with several hundred at each mass, and where they can have a true parish community.

Keep in mind: this is not just the Latin Mass. There are some priests/bishops who don’t like the Spanish Mass either. The local parish near me only offers the Spanish mass once a month because the Monsignor doesn’t like the “parish within a parish” thing that happens when you have a weekly Spanish Mass (or Latin Mass). So he only offers the Spanish Mass once a month, and encourages the parishioners to attend in English the rest of the Sundays. But they do have a spanish prayer ministry once a week.

So sometimes, it’s not anti-Latin mass, but rather trying to promote the existing Latin Mass communities to thrive first.
 
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alcuin18 said:
add an altar rail
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BTW - I doubt he needs permission to install an altar rail.

The real question is whether the local parish would support him spending that money without complaining to the local bishop? If the parish complains to the bishop about him spending that money, then the bishop might say something like: “why are you spending parish money on something like this when you don’t have parish support?”

It is the same thing with ad orientem Masses. He doesn’t need permission to do it. But if the parish doesn’t support it and complains to the bishop, the bishop is going to respond with “why are doing this without the support of the parish?”
 
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Nebraska is one state that comes to mind (diocese of Lincoln is very traditional).
 
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phil19034 said:
The real question is whether the local parish would support him spending that money without complaining to the local bishop? If the parish complains to the bishop about him spending that money, then the bishop might say something like: “why are you spending parish money on something like this when you don’t have parish support?”
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Each Diocese has their own level, however, there is a threshold where expenditures must have Diocesan approval, even for repairs or cosmetic renovations, even if one parishioner promises to give all the money to cover it.

The Bishops are also working to make church buildings more accessible for those with disabilities, a handrail, ramp, etc would get approved in most places before something that may make the participation of the disabled faithful more difficult.
phil19034 said:
It is the same thing with ad orientem Masses. He doesn’t need permission to do it
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Here he would. I remember when our Bishop sent out the blanket disapproval for the Ordinary Form to be celebrated AO. He issues us a one time per year permission, because we have one Mass at the Cemetery where the altar is built for AO Mass.

We have a few priests in the Diocese who are trained to celebrate the OF, however, in many places here it is that adding another Mass on the weekend would be nigh impossible. Priests are already celebrating English and Spanish Masses, often at more than one parish (I know one priest who covers 5 churches!)
 
I understand that the OP is annoyed that they don’t have the Latin Mass.

I do think that we shouldn’t necessarily move somewhere because the diocese is ‘more traditional’.

Our bishops share the same faith - whether it be Cardinal Dolan, Bishop Bruskewitz, Bishop Strickland, or Cardinal Cupich, they all uphold the Faith of our Fathers.

I do not think it’s right to list dioceses on a liberal to conservative scale. As I said, we aren’t Anglican. All our bishops uphold the True Faith.
 
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Not to mention our Bishop could be transferred to another Diocese, or our favorite Priest to another Parish, at any time.
 
Yes, and that’s a really good point.

Our Church is Universal. If we looked at dioceses through the ‘liberal-conservative’ lense then we are missing the point of the word ‘Catholic’ - universal.
 
This thread was not intended to discuss traditionalism or my local parish. I do not believe the Latin Mass is superior, or ‘conservative’, or a separate faith. For me it is no different than attending an Eastern liturgy, just to experience the unique rite and history of it, just as if I moved to a Spanish-speaking area to experience Spanish Catholic culture. If anyone has any ideas for my original question please feel free to answer.
 
Where do you have job prospects? What about family nearby?

Do you like humid hot weather like in GA or do you love super cold like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maine? Hilly, Desert, plains or mountains?
 
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