Florida Catholic | Tridentine Liturgists’ Superior Visits Area

Tridentine liturgists’ Superior visits area

Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter Superior General John Berg promotes the traditional Mass.

BOB REDDY | FLORIDA CATHOLIC VENICE BUREAU EDITOR

Published: 06.20.08

Peter Superior General Father John Berg speaks June 2 to a group gathered in the parish hall of Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Fort Myers

Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter Superior General Father John Berg speaks June 2 to a group gathered in the parish hall of Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Fort Myers about the history of the Fraternity and its activities in the Diocese of Venice.
BOB REDDY | FC

FORT MYERS | It has been about a year since the Mass was celebrated in the extraordinary, or Tridentine, form for the first time in the Diocese of Venice after a pause of nearly 40 years.

Father John Berg, Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter superior general, visited the diocese to find out how those Masses are being received, and if there is anything he can do to encourage more people to attend and have a parish set up for the fraternity.

Father Berg spoke to a group June 2 at Resurrection of Our Lord Parish as just one stop on his visit to southwest Florida. He also visited St. Martha Parish in Sarasota and St. Agnes Parish in Naples, where the use of the “traditional” Roman rite (or Tridentine), or the Mass prior to the Vatican II reform of 1969, is specific to the Fraternity of St. Peter.

At Resurrection, where the Mass is celebrated twice a month, Father Berg said the basic reason the Fraternity celebrates the liturgy in the extraordinary form is that “we’re trying to answer the question of how can we contribute to the life of the church. We’ve seen a loss of the relationship with God and we’ve seen a loss in the relationship with other things, such as marriage and family.”

Using the older form of the Roman rite, he said, provides for some Catholics a stronger connection to the Mass and the church.

Chris and Lori Braham of St. Raphael Parish in Lehigh Acres came to hear Father Berg speak about his order.

“This was such a wonderful opportunity,” Lori Braham said. “To learn more about what they do and why, is great. We are so happy we have this special Mass here.”

Father Berg provided a brief history about the Fraternity and about what their mission is.

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a Clerical Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right; that is, a community of Roman Catholic priests who do not take religious vows, but who work together for a common mission in the world. The mission of the Fraternity is two-fold: first, the formation and sanctification of priests in the cadre of the traditional liturgy of the Roman rite, and secondly, the pastoral deployment of the priests in the service of the church.

The Fraternity was founded in 1988 in Switzerland, by a dozen priests and a score of seminarians. There are currently almost 200 priests and 110 seminarians in the Fraternity.

Father Berg also met with Bishop Frank J. Dewane to discuss the status of the Fraternity in the diocese and if their presence can be expanded. Bishop Dewane and Father Berg will speak again in the future to discuss the opportunities to expand the Fraternity’s presence, but no changes will take place right away.

Father John Fryar is currently the only visiting Fraternity member who celebrates Mass in the diocese and he is based at St. Martha Parish. He often needs to be relieved by other members when he needs to be out of the area.

For more information about the Fraternity, visit www.fssp.org/en/index.htm.

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