From Beltran, Edgar, “Is Pope Leo Maintaining a TLM ‘gray area'”? The Pillar ( August 3, 2026)

This article comments on the obvious fact that Pope Leo has taken no official steps reducing restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass ( the “TLM”). Indeed, in one significant church a TLM he himself had authorized last year may not be repeated:

Meanwhile, organizers of the traditionalist Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage told The Pillar that they have asked permission to celebrate a TLM in Saint Peter’s Basilica this year, but haven’t received a response.

One of Leo’s concrete gestures towards traditionalist communities last year was allowing the celebration of a TLM during the pilgrimage in Saint Peter’s Basilica after not being allowed to do so in 2023 and 2024.

One source said organizers of the pilgrimage intend to ask again after the summer.

“The problem is that in the pope’s close circle, they saw that the Mass helped a lot of people but was also used as propaganda and they didn’t like that,” the source said.

If Pope Leo declines to allow the pilgrimage to celebrate the TLM in St. Peter’s, that could be seen by many observers as a sign that he has grown cold to the idea of abrogating, reforming or even loosening the application Traditiones custodes.

However, it is also possible that the lack of a response is a matter of personnel connected with the basilica.

There is growing speculation that Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of Saint Peter’s Basilica, is due to be replaced soon. Rumors in Rome indicate that Gambetti’s replacement might be Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, or Bishop Guido Marini, who are all thought to be friendlier to the TLM than Gambetti.

It is possible that a forthcoming transition in archpriest could be delaying a response about the celebration of a TLM in the basilica.

Therefore, silence should not be understood as rejection — at least not yet.

Several Vatican sources told The Pillar the decision to allow the Mass last year happened after Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke asked the pope in an Aug. 22 audience to allow the Mass to be celebrated there.

I was aware of this for a number of months now – a while back the organizers of the pilgrimage on its official website had recharacterized the service taking place in St. Peter’s as a “pontifical ceremony.” Now they have evidently decided to go public with the issue. I don’t know about the speculation regarding the changing of the guard at St. Peter’s (which, like many other alleged personnel moves of Pope Leo, has not yet happened). But that there is opposition to a TLM in St. Peter’s from what is called here “the pope’s close circle” indeed is exceedingly plausible.

(Above) Martin Mosebach explaining things to an American visitor a few weeks ago in Kiedrich, near his home town of Frankfurt.

Today, Martin Mosebach celebrates his 75th birthday. The online publication of the German Catholic Church, oddly enough, commemorates the occasion by publishing an article from the Katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA).  The interviewer characterizes Mosebach as a provokateur (an enfant terrible or, putting it more pejoratively, an “extremist”) yet acknowledges that he “speaks up, as always, forcefully and eloquently.”  But then katholisch.de has never been as one-sidedly propagandistic as the corresponding establishment Catholic media at the Vatican, in France,  the UK or the United States.

Demuth, Norbert, „Der Literat und katholische Provokateur Martin Mosebach wird 75,“  katholisch.de (7/31/2026) 

Below are excerpts from the article. In quotation marks are statements the interviewer directly attributes to Mosebach.

Regarding the liturgy, Mosebach is clear. In his view,  the Church at the end of the 1960s divested itself of its substance  by rejecting the old form of worship. What Paul VI initiated through the reform of the liturgy  ”in reality weakened to an appalling  extent –  or even brought to a standstill  – the transmission of the faith.”

….

Above all, Mosebach  is disturbed by the practical implementation of the reform of the liturgical life of the Catholic Church. “The few Catholics that still go to Mass on Sunday have largely lost the knowledge of what the Eucharistic sacrifice is.” “Through the reform of the liturgy (the Church) has been grievously wounded in her appearance and in her substance.”

….

Regarding Pope Leo, Mosebach is clear: “I urgently hope that Pope Leo will do away with Pope Francis’s new methods of ‘decision-making.’ Especially with ‘synods’ which break with the entire synodal tradition of Church history.” Leo, however, wants to avoid a sharp break with the pontificate of his predecessor and “has apparently resolved for the time being to more or less freeze the status quo.”

…..

In today’s Catholic Church traditionalist thought is in a difficult situation. That’s demonstrated by the action taken by Pope Leo against the FSSPX….

“I am unhappy regarding these excommunications, for they approach the great problem of the Church’s liturgy on a lower, disciplinary level instead of attempting to fundamentally remedy the damage that has arisen in a spiritual and theological manner.”  A state of total disorder “cannot be healed by such administrative acts. ”

(Above ) Guiding a visitor though the extraordinary medieval parish church of Kiedrich.

(Above and below) A hike led by Martin Mosebach among the vineyards and estates of the Rheingau, source of some of the best German wine.

We encounter the art of Hildreth Meiere (1892-1961), the “mistress of Art Deco,” all over New York City: at Rockefeller Center, at St Bartholomew’s, at Fordham University Chapel – among many other sites. But her most elabotrate work is far away in Lincoln, Nebraska, For it was here, in partnership with architect Bertram Goodhue (St.Vincent Ferrer, St. Thomas Fifth Avenue (the latter with Ralph Adams Cram)) and sculptor Lew Laurie (St. Vincent Ferrer, Rockefeller Center) that she helped create one of the first and most amazing Art Deco buldings: the Nebraska State Capitol. It is only matched in its decorative fullness and complexity by the later and larger Rockefeller Center.

The somewhat incongruous skyscraper of the Nebraska Capitol makes even today an amazing impression. Bertram Goodhue died in 1924 and did not live to see its completion.

The artistic “dream team” come all the way from New York City. The “thematic consultant” Hartley B. Alexander (a professor of philosophy)is responsible for the fantastically elaborate iconography of the Capitol, uniting everything from Classical antiquity to American Indian art, from planetary images to dinosaur fossils, all setting forth the history and ideals of Nebraska.

Lew Laurie is ressonsible for the sculptural decoration of the Capitol both on the exterior (above) and in the interior ( below – the decoration of a door).

(Below) Hildreth Meiere designed ceiling roundels in ceramic tile showing various historical aspects of Man’s economic life.

Hilderth Meiere’s main contribution to the Capitol was a vast sequence of floor mosaics such as (below) the “Genius of Creative Energy.”

(Above) The “Spirit of the Soil.”

(Above) The “Spirit of Vegetation.” (Below) The “Spirit of Animal Life.”

(Above) For the main rotunda Meiere executed these images of the “virtues” in glazed ceramic tile. (Below) The largest expanse of floor mosaics is below this dome.

Surounding the central figures is an amazing collection of images of prehistoric creatures based on fossils found in the American Midwest and West.

Completing the program, images of classical Athens and Rome serve as salutary examples for the Nebraska government and legislature.

(Above) Rome ( with the god Jupiter).

(above and below) Athens (Athena and Cecrops).

(Above) Nothing was spared on the other elements of the decoration.

The Nebraska Capitol Art Experience site provides exhaustive descriptions of all these works. For Hildreth Meiere see hildrethmeiere.org or for a briefer account focusing on her Catholic works, “Hildreth Meiere: Mistress of Art Deco,” The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny (3/3/2010)

Cologne Cathedral (and tourists). To see this view an admission ticket is now required.

You may have heard that Cologne cathedral, the largest and most prominent Catholic church in Germany, has introduced an admission charge as of July 1.  Despite the funding available to the German Catholic Church, the cathedral has been running an increasing deficit in recent years. As the provost of the cathedral is reprted to have candidly admitted, 99% of the visitors to the cathedral today are tourists. 1) 

We recently had a chance to experience the new system at work. The admission fee, at 12 euros (approximately $13.64 as of 7/24/2026), is not insignificant. Payment of the fee is necessary to see almost all of the cathedral interior. Moreover, supplementary charges apply for tours of the chancel and other restricted parts of the building. Entry for ticketed holders is through the main (western) portal of the cathedral

But what if one wishes to visit the cathedral for prayer? In that case,  a visitor has to enter through a separate entrance ( the north portal) leading to a side chapel within the cathedral featuring a statue of the Virgin Mary and some banks of votive candles. This space, however, does not extend very far into the cathedral and is carefully blocked off from the rest of the interior. If a not very honest person enters this chapel not to pray but to get a glimpse of the cathedral interior, he will be very disappointed: visibility is exceedingly limited and there is no access from the side chapel to the rest of the cathedral. 

(Above) The “hidden” entrance to the Blessed Sacrament chapel on the cathedral’s north side. This is advertised as the entrance to the cathedral treasury.

But what if our visitor wants to spend some time before the Blessed Sacrament? (“Eucharistic adoration” is treated by the cathedral staff as distinct from “prayer.”)  Such a visitor has to use a separate, inconspicuous entrance, also on the north side of the cathedral. This primary purpose of this entrance is to give access to the cathedral treasury and, at least as of now,  a visit to the Blessed Sacrament may require a discussion with the cathedral staff.  After the visitor enters,  an attendant unlocks a door which springs open like an airlock. Inside a chapel,  the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in a monstrance. I believe this used to be the place of reservation of the Blessed Sacrament for the entire cathedral but now the nave is neither visible nor accesible from this chapel.  Thus, the Blessed Sacrament is effectively reserved outside the cathedral proper. 2) 

We saw relatively few people praying before the Madonna in that section of the cathedral reserved for “prayer.” Far fewer were kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament. “Admission” both for prayer and for visiting the Blessed Sacrament is free of charge. There are also services in the morning and evening – outside of normal “visiting hours” –  for which free access is presumably available.

We might add that charging an admission fee is of course not at all unique to Cologne cathedral. Well known examples in the Catholic world include the cathedrals of Seville and Milan. And in the Church of England, substantial admission fees are assessed in almost all the great cathedrals and churches.

The official site of Cologne cathedral states that:

This cathedral was built to the glory of God and is to this day, above all, a house of prayer and worship. 3)

As of today, the financial policies of the cathedral directly contradict this assertion.  Prayer and worship are limited to specific times and restricted spaces. In their defense, the cathedral authorities speak of most visitors being tourists and of the problems and additional costs they create. The underlying, unmentioned issue, however, is that very few Catholics in Germany practice their religion. This has been true for decades. That is why almost all the visitors to the cathedral are tourists. 

Furthermore,  the Catholic Church of Germany shows a complete misunderstanding of the purpose of buildings such as Cologne cathedral. Medieval cathedrals are not utilitarian “worship spaces,” the seat of a bureaucratic clerical authority, or museums. As Marcel Proust remarked,  the great cathedrals are “sermons in stone.”  Yes, many, even most, visitors come as tourists. But a minority of these will be touched by what they see (or hear in the case of music) and be led to God. Charging admission deadens and distorts the voice of this preaching.

Does not JD Vance in his recent book Communion speak of an “epiphany” upon finding himself, seemingly alone, in a great French cathedral? Of experiencing both the beauty of the architecture and stained-glass windows and the sense of Europe’s cultural decline, seeing that cathedral deserted by the faithful. Yet that cathedral had endured through the ages – and Vance found that one other person – a worshipper – had indeed been present in a chapel all along. For him it was a revelation leading to his baptism. Like this unnamed cathedral in France, Cologne cathedral today illustrates both the spiritual legacy of the Church and its current desolate condition. 

1. “Kölner Dom kostet künftig für Touristen Eintritt” dw.com (3/5/2026)
2. There appears to be a similar, even more restrictive arrangement at the church of St. Joseph (in the Village) in New York City.
3. „Important Notices,“ koelner-dom.de.
4. Vance, JD, Communion : Finding my way back to Faith at 170-72 (Harper, New York, 2026)

(All accessed 7/24/2026)

Due to travel we regettably could not be present at the Traditional pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in East Harlem last Saturday. We have covered this pilgrimage since its inception in 2012. For the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel had become dear to CatholicTraditionalists. Did they somehow sense that Pope Francis would promulgate Traditionis Custodes – aiming at their destruction – on that feast in 2021?

I heard a favorable report from someone present, even though publicity for the pilgrimage (see the flyer resproduced above) had been limited. Let me add a few details. Members of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George helped to organize the event. And the Society of St Hugh of Cluny funded the excellent music, which included:

Byrd’s Mass for Three Voices.

Offertory Motet Quam pulchra es by John Dunstaple (Song of Songs 7).

Communion Motet Flos florum by Guillaume Dufay

Charles Weaver ( the music director of St. Mary’s, Norwalk) led the music.

Starting this Sunday, July 5, there will be a regularly scheduled Low Mass at 7:30 am at the Georgetown Oratory of the Sacred Heart in Redding, CT. This is in addition to the Missa Cantata every Sunday at noon.

Dutilliet, Abbe Henri. Little Liturgical Catechism.  With a foreword by Joris-Karl Huysmans (Os Justi Press, Lincoln NE, 2026)

A Benedictine Oblate, Lumen Christi: Defending the Use of the pre-1955 Roman Rite. With a foreword by Peter Kwasniewski (Os Justi,  2025)

The Masses of Holy Week & Tenebrae: Latin-English texts for the pre-1955 Palm Sunday, Tenebrae & Sacred Triduum (Os Justi, 2025)

Os Justi press has now published three books on the pre-1955 version of the traditional Mass. For years now, elements of the pre-55  liturgy have been widely used in Catholic traditionalist circles. It has been a true example of  “organic development!”  Nevertheless,  a great need still exists for an intellectual understanding of the pre-55 rite and also for descriptions of the rituals themselves. That is where these three volumes are most helpful. 

The first book, the Little Liturgical Catechism, originally published in 1860/1896, obviously does not deal with the differences between the pre-55 version of the Roman Rite and subsequent developments. On the one hand, at the time this book was written,  the Roman Rite of 1570 as subsequently modified still generally applied. On the other hand, many local liturgical variants could still be encountered, some unique to France,with features in some cases dating back to medieval uses. This book is a clear and well-organized guide to the various elements of the traditional rite – the Mass,  the sacraments, the ceremonies, sacred vessels and vestments. Utilizing a question-and-answer format,  it does address many curious features of the rite as to which even veteran traditionalists might be perplexed  – such as the reasons for the elaborate ceremonies at a solemn Mass involving the subdeacon and the paten. 

None other than Joris-Karl Huysmans wrote the foreword to the Little Liturgical Catechism.  In his “conversion cycle” of novels (En Route, The Cathedral and The Oblate)Huysmans considered at length liturgical and musical issues in the Roman Rite of his day – which he did not find flourishing everywhere. For example, he strongly advocated the return to chant as the normative Roman Catholic music.  I’m not sure if I agree with him, however, when in the foreword to this book he laments the supposed utter ignorance of the laity at liturgical services at that time.  That sounds like the first warning shots of developments to come.

My only reservation regarding this book is that I fear some people would take it as an absolute, comprehensive and exclusive set of rules. That could not be the case, because, as this book itself takes pains to describe, absolute uniformity did not prevail in the Roman Rite, especially in France, and there was still an abundance of local customs and rubrics.  Some of these customs remind me of the Eastern Rites, such as the distribution of blessed bread (not the Eucharist!) at the conclusion of the liturgy. Others seem to derive ultimately from medieval uses. Indeed, some of these seem to have been resuscitated for the Novus Ordo, such as an offertory procession with gifts (in the 19^th century apparently mostly money), a kind of “kiss of peace” and  “bidding prayers.” All of these items existed in one place or another in France at that time.  If these facts are understood – namely, that circa 1900 there was a degree of liturgical variety still remaining among dioceses and nations – this book is an extremely valuable resource. 

For the Little Liturgical Catechism  is a remarkable work – not just as a historical document  but as a guide to understanding  the main elements of the traditional Mass even today. In that regard, the translator, Steven M. Soldi, Jr, has not only produced a very readable text but has added valuable footnotes, which help explain the relationship of this book to more recent developments. I would have liked to have had this book in my hands many years ago!

Lumen Christi, the next volume we will consider, deals much more directly with the question of choosing – somewhat oversimplifying –  between the pre-55 and the 1962 versions of the traditional Mass. It sets out  in great detail all the changes between the various forms of the liturgy: not just the major ceremonial differences for Holy Week but also the arbitrary changes to (usually a reduction in) the feasts of saints,  the octaves and in general all the small details that actually added great meaning to the rite. Paul Cavendish is responsible for an important appendix with charts summarizing the changes to the Roman missal and breviary between 1955 and 1962. I probably don’t need to tell the reader that the “Benedictine oblate’ thinks the changes to the liturgy made in 1955 and later were unnecessary, even ”catastrophic.”

The “Benedictine oblate,”  in the course of his book, clarifies a number of misunderstandings – or putting it more bluntly,  outright lies – concerning the liturgy, such as the claim that the so-called Tridentine Mass was an entirely new creation by Pope Pius V that abolished prior rituals. Similarly, the author is forced to correct the conservative view of the age of Pius XII as a time of security and solidity. For it was under Pius XII  that the beginnings of the liturgical revolution took concrete form, started with the changes to Holy Week that he promulgated. The author frankly acknowledges that from the 1950s the liturgical avant-guard was looking to totally deconstruct the Roman Rite. From the changes to Holy Week,  the course to the Novus Ordo, while not inevitable, was an increasingly likely outcome.

The author of this book writes as a committed advocate of the pre-55 rite. Although I agree with the substance of his conclusions, I have reservations about the tactics. It doesn’t seem very politically prudent to launch a public debate on the merits of the pre-55 rite with those who use the 1962 missal or to analyze the authority for returning to the earlier practices.  For Pope Francis early on established (or more accurately, confirmed) the new liturgical style with his performance of the Mandatum on Holy Thursday. At  the very beginning of his papacy, Francis disregarded the Novus Ordo rubrics. And certainly, Francis’s strongest fanboys in Chicago, Detroit, Charlotte, etcetera have since emulated him in this. I don’t see why others should be more papal than the Pope. So,  I think the new principle in traditionalism should be to “do the right thing”  – instead of following rules and rubrics that those in authority themselves completely disregard.  In a sense, anyone who supports the traditional Latin Mass or even a conservative Novus Ordo is acting against authority,  so I find elaborate arguments supporting or defending moving to the pre-55 or earlier to be  somewhat moot. In an appendix, the “Benedictine oblate” also outlines a gradual, non-confrontational approach to restoring the pre-55 rite.

The “Benedictine oblate,”  the author of Lumen Christi, of course is anonymous. The advocates of the synodal path, of the LGBT movement and of Catholic leftist political progressivism are not at all so constrained. I think this illustrates well the relative standing of the two “movements” (to use that term) in the Catholic Church today.

Lumen Christi provides a very handy compendium of how we got from1954 to the various stages of liturgical change in the 1960s. If you need arguments in favor of the pre-55 rite, you will find them here. Finally,  I admired the author’s exhortation to traditionalists to stand fast whatever may come their way. For the traditional rite of the Church in whatever version has indeed been “revived” and is very much alive!

The third volume,  at 488 pages substantially longer than the other two, is The Masses of Holy Week and Tenebrae: Latin-English texts for the pre-55 Palm Sunday Tenebrae and Sacred Triduum.  The Little Liturgical Catechism is a handbook and dictionary of the various elements of liturgical tradition as it was lived in France in 1896; Lumen Christi tells of how the Roman Rite was transformed out of recognition and makes the case for fully restoring it. The Masses of Holy Week & Tenebrae, however,  is a practical guide to actually do this rite – or, at least, “actively participate” in it  – by providing the texts and music for Holy Week in one complete volume. It seems  to me a very complete collection including all the relevant liturgical texts for Holy Week. Chant notation is provided throughout. Moreover, this book is illustrated with beautiful reproductions from medieval illuminated manuscripts  – almost like a fine missal.

My only reservation regarding this fine publication is similar to what I expressed regarding the Little Liturgical Catechism. Some readers may assume it is a fixed and complete guide to the pre-55. But I believe that in actual pastoral use, elements of the pre-55 rite may be only partially and gradually incorporated into the Holy Week services and elsewhere in the liturgical year.  Someone who does not understand this might be confused if he expected the services in his parish or chapel to reproduce exactly what is set forth in this book.  But, as I said, “organic development” does not work that way.

Taken together these three works provide an accessible set of resources for the pre-55 rite. What you will actually see done  – or can do  – may be only a partial version of what you read here. The recovery of the Sacred will take time – generations even. It is still impressive, however, that such works are now available  – the progress the traditionalist cause has made is truly remarkable.

All Available from Os Justi Press.

Saint Francis Xavier’s, previously described,  has been in the hands of the Jesuits since its foundation in the 1840s. Other churches in Manhattan that have remained under the control of the same religious order from their origins include: Saint Ignatius Loyola (after a very early archdiocesan phase!) (also the Jesuits), Saint Paul the Apostle (Paulists), Our Lady of Pompeii(Scalabrinians). But a whole series of other parishes, formerly archdiocesan, have more recently been transferred to religious orders.  This has become especially common as clerical manpower in the archdiocese has grown scarcer and scarcer. The most egregious example is not in Manhattan but in Westchester, where the whole town of Port Chester (formerly four parishes) has been entrusted to the Salesians.

Saint Paul’s in East Harlem is one of these newer religious order parishes. 1) Originally an archdiocesan parish of the first magnitude,  its founding Irish population disappeared generations ago,  In 1998 the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) assumed direction of the parish. By that year Spanish or, formerly, Italian, Harlem was, at least in the eyes of the Archdiocese, mission territory. The IVE is a new institution founded in Argentina in 1984. It has spread throughout  the world and seems to specialize in the more exotic “peripheries” like Tadjikistan (“Tachikistan,” as a sign here used to inform us)or Gaza.  The chapter at Saint Paul’s is the Ven. Pierre Toussaint Community. In 2015 St. Paul’s was combined with the closed parish of the Holy Rosary (East 119^th Street).

I regret to report, however,  that the IVE has had issues similar to those faced by all too many recent foundations of charismatic leaders and which Celine Hoyau has chronicled in her book The Betrayal of the Fathers. 2) The founder of the IVE, Fr. Carlos Buela, was removed from office. It seems that many of his disciples at the IVE cannot reconcile themselves to that treatment of their founder. 3) The troubles of the IVE, however, have continued even into this year, with Rome intervening and new issues arising in Chicago. 4) 

(Above) From the facade.

.

Saint Paul’s, built in 1907-08, is indeed a very large church. Once one gets beyond the grandiose facade, however, the architecture and furnishings of the church are less distinguished. The interior resembles a very large lecture hall – some post-Conciliar iconoclasm in the sanctuary reenforces that impression. Some items of the décor, like the stained-glass windows, are of lower quality than those found in other churches contemporary with this one. Not everything that was created in the golden age of the architecture of the Archdiocese of New York is absolutely first class!

In evangelization, however, the parish of Saint Paul is much more successful. For starters, the church is open – on my recent visit I had first stopped at three or four (archdiocesan) parishes all of which were closed. Second, the cavernous interior of this church provides sufficient space for is a vast array of “Hispanic” devotions. Seemingly every nationality is catered to! And these shrines are clearly still objects of continuing devotion.

(Above and below) Two of the devotional images at St. Paul’s.

While I was visiting the church,  a sister of the order affiliated with the IVE – dressed in religious habit – was instructing a group of school children. For there is still an active school associated with this parish (the “Academy of St. Paul and St. Ann School”).

In the vestibule is a chapel that I assume originally was the baptistery. When I was last here in 2012 it had been converted into a shrine of Our Lady of Lujan ( a devotion in the Argentinian home of the IVE). It has since been “repurposed”  for eucharistic adoration.  A number of people were quietly praying before the Eucharist. A desk in the vestibule is staffed to supervise the situation. 

(Above and below) Perpetual adoration.

(Above) Photo of the same shrine taken 7/2/2011.

Thus, “flying below the radar,” St. Paul’s is exercising an apostolate in some respects similar to the highly publicized developments so many blocks to the south at Saint Joseph’s in the Village or Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral. Of course, the Hispanic working class or poor of St. Paul’s are not as interesting to the media as NYU students! It is a shame that the troubles of the IVE cast a shadow over the good that is being done.

1. For our prior article on this church see “First in Harlem,” The Society of St Hugh of Cluny (2/12/2012). The website of “St. Paul & Holy Rosary Church “ is stpaulchurchive.org; that of the IVE America is iveamerica.org. NB: St. Paul’s (East 117^th Street) is not to be confused with the church of St. Paul the Apostle on the West Side!
2. See our review, “The Betrayal of the Fathers.”
3.  Carlos Miguel Buela, en.wikipedia.org. 
4. “Pope Francis Intervenes in Two of the Most Vocationally Flourishing Congregations: The Incarnate Word and the Women’s Branch,“ Zenit 1/11/2025; Payne, Daniel, Chicago priest removed after ‘inappropriate conversations’ with children, women, EWTN News  (5/12/2026). Association of the IVE with Cardinal Theodore McCarrick didn’t help: McCarrick gave $1, million to scandal-hit religious order, Angelusnews.com (from CNA, 2/17/2020).

All sites accessed 6/26/2026.

It was reported that an exhibition (“Twilight of the Idols”) that had been scheduled for the Sheen Center had been cancelled at the last minute and relocated to Saint Francis Xavier parish. The artist in question, Fr. Nick Leeper SJ, is a member of the Jesuit community there and a teacher at Xavier high school next door. I accordingly set off an early June to take a look at what was going on. You could imagine my disappointment when I found the exhibition had closed at the end of May after a run of only a few  weeks. But my visit gave me the opportunity to reacquaint myself with this parish.

As to the exhibition,  I provide some links to enable the reader to assess this art for himself.

Barone, Camillo, “Controversial art show canceled at NY archdiocese venue finds home at Jesuit parish,”  National Catholic Reporter (5/20/2026)

Leeper, Nicholas Kerestan,  “Twilight of the Idols,” www.nkleeperssj.com (05/2026)

I cannot say I find this show impressive– a tired imitation of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol.  In the best case, it’s like a National Lampoon satire of the 1970s. And, speaking ecumenically,  I wonder what the Orthodox or the Copts think of such a direct parody of their traditions (Roman Catholics have long since lost any such sensibilities). By the way, a perceptive observer wondered whether the Sheen Center cancelled the exhibition not because of any offense it might have given to the pious, but rather for the clearly perceptible misogyny of many of the show’s images.

Yet, I thought to myself, could there indeed be – cached subconsciously perhaps – an angle of liturgical and cultural self-criticism present here that a traditionalist can sense ? Fr. Leeper’s pictures seem to equate Catholic religious art with secular advertising. Now, already in 1981, Alfred Lorenzer associated the introduction of the Novus Ordo and the associated “massacre” (Cristina Campo)of Catholic symbols with our age’s all-encompassing dominance of the images of the advertising industry.  And another commentator – whose name escapes me – compared the Novus Ordo itself with a television show, with the priest as moderator. Perhaps “Twilight of the Idols” was too self-revealing for the Church today!

St.  Francis Xavier parish otherwise is relatively unchanged from some six years ago. Only the political and “woke” aspects, already present everywhere then, have become ever more dominant and pervasive. All is politics, race, LGBT, feminism, migrants, yoga, Zen, etc. Perhaps the only discordant element is this parish’s attempt to throw fragments of traditional art into the “mix”:  the architecture and paintings of the church (except for the sanctuary), the covers of the bulletins…. It’s a change from the aggressive iconoclasm of the 1960’s and 70’s.

As always seems to be the case, the church is empty except for one or two individuals. The only sound heard in the vast space is the tinkling of a fountain emptying into the baptismal pool set before the former high altar. The parish website shows us that the parish yoga group spreads their mats out here in the “sanctuary.”

(Above) In the narthex hang tapestries commemorating advocates of economic, racial and sexual politics.

(Above and below)A set of paintings has been distributed around the church embodying a program that appears to be unique in Catholicism:  figures of the Catholic faith selected on racial grounds (they are not white). Well, you could argue about the inclusion of Oscar Romero or Rose of Lima  – but as “Hispanics” they qualify as “people of color.”

(above)The side altar/memorial to the victims of AIDS seems to have been expanded with elements taken from the closed church of St. Veronica where the original AIDS memorial was located. 

As always,  the bulletin of St. Francis Xavier parish is memorable –  here are some recent selections:

Bulletin of 6/21/2026:

Intercessions:

For all who live in our country: that the anniversary of Juneteenth on June 19 that we observed at our 11:30am Sunday mass will help us honor the proclamation of the full emancipation of 1865 of enslaved people in our country, we pray…

For all who live in our country: that the 105th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Riots will help us remember that we have not eliminated racism in our culture and society, we pray…

Bulletin of 6/07/2026: 

Happy Pride Month! …. will start the meeting for queer womyn with a presentation covering a combination of the history of drag in New York City and some gender performance theory. This presentation will culminate in practical application and exploration—the first ever Catholic Lesbians Drag Night, featuring performances from your lesbians truly! Regardless of whether you are performing, you are invited to play around with your gender expression and attend dressed with that in mind. We also will participate in Dyke March as a ministry and NYC Pride March as a parish. 

Pride March

Sunday June 28 – Church of St. Francis Xavier will continue our tradition of partaking in the Pride March. We will begin with a blessing of our Marchers at our 11:30 AM Mass. A gathering to view the Pride March is in the works. More details to come. If you would liketo join us for viewing or (to) march…..

Juneteenth Liturgy

Sunday, June 14 | 11:30AM Mass

The eleventh Sunday of Ordinary time will see our parish honoring Juneteenth. The service will feature liturgical dance, a special music program, and a reflection by parishioner, ……, Organized by Racial Justice Group

Some religious aspects do remain: 

A few years ago, as part of the Eucharistic Revival called by Pope Francis, we organized presentations from leading experts on various aspects of the Eucharist. At core, we believe that Jesus is present in the bread and wine consecrated through the prayer of the community lead (sic) by a priest at the mass. (Bulletin 6/7/2026)

I also see that there is still loyalty being shown to a certain former Jesuit artist who achieved notoriety in recent years: Bulletin 1/4/2026

The influence of the culture of St. Francis Xavier parish is not at all confined to its parish boundaries or to the Chelsea neighborhood. It sits next to Xavier high school (for males) also administered by the Jesuit order. It has connections with the theology department of Fordham University. And, for Pride month, it publishes a newsletter in collaboration with like-minded institutions:

This newsletter is the result of a collaborative effort bringing together LGBTQ+ ministries and leaders from Catholic parishes seeking to build relationships, strengthen communication, and share ideas and opportunities for community across parish lines. Participating parishes currently include Church of St. Francis Xavier, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, Saint Paul the Apostle Church, and The Church of the Ascension.

(For some reason St. Francis of Assisi, NYC, didn’t make the cut-SC)

Traditionalist readers of this blog should further consider that all these parish activities are more aligned with the Roman Catholic hierarchy than are their own. All is open and on the record. The bulletins and other publications of St. Francis Xavier parish are often signed and, as far as I can see, not subject to any ecclesiastical censorship. Whereas traditional masses often cannot be disclosed in parish bulletins, when they are permitted at all.  Just in the last couple of weeks, I have looked at several books and articles advocating aspects of traditional culture that are anonymous or pseudonymous. Yes, the art exhibition scheduled for the Sheen Center was cancelled by the Archdiocese at the last minute –  but then it was relocated to St. Francis Xavier,  which is a parish in good standing with the Archdiocese of New York. Like his predecessor, Archbishop Hicks must be fully aware of what is going on (as are the papal nuncio and the Vatican) but does nothing.

PS: Perhaps I should summarize my impressions of this parish. There are few churches where the triumph of Catholic progressivism – and therefore of the liberal civil society it represents – is as complete as in this parish. Uniquely, at St. Francis Xavier, the dominance of the progressive agenda in all its aspects also assumes visual form: not just in a gutted sanctuary, but in shrines, banners, tapestries, and paintings. At St. Francis Xavier, though, this culture of Catholic progressivism still coexists with elements of the past which have been retained and even restored: elaborate neo-baroque  stucco decoration, Tiffany stained-glass windows, and large-scale pictorial cycles  of the stations of the Cross and of Jesuit history. Thus, the clash between the culture of Vatican II, taken to its extreme, and the past of the Catholic Church and of the Jesuit order is nowhere else in New York as clear as here.

PS #2. I had mentioned the neighboring high school, Xavier. What has been the interaction of the high school with the parish? Looking at the school’s publicity, we see very nice pictures of boys and men  in ties,  jackets or sweaters, athletes and military cadets – all just like in the good old days! Yet, if we consult the online presence of the school, we see influences at work similar to those governing the parish –  if not as exclusively and aggressively:

Xavier Magazine: Winter 2026 Edition

Examples taken from the above publication:

-Criticism of the immigration policies of the Trump administration (by the school’s president) pp. 2-3

– The art of Fr. Nicholas Leeper SJ (including one particularly controversial image from his recent exhibition) is prominently featured and commended.  (p.6 and elsewhere in this issue)

-James Martin SJ addressed students.(p. 6)

-Students participated in a Catholic social justice conference  in Washington, and spoke  on “lessons from the Holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism” based on their experiences in Xavier’s Holocaust Studies program. (p.6). Students in the Holocaust Studies program had previously traveled to Poland. (p. 7)

-Xavier’s Gay-Straight Alliance sponsored a successful “Ally Week.” Former US Representative Mondaire Jones, at a “fireside chat” moderated by the president of Xavier, “spoke about his time in Congress, the intersectionality of being Black and gay, and the role politics plays in that experience.” (p.7)

-On the school’s list of prominent initiatives over the last 25 years  are the founding of the Gay-Straight Alliance in 2014 (of course, favorably mentioned by the New York Times) and of the Holocaust Studies Program in 2023. The same list does take note of the fact that the leadership (and most of the faculty) of Xavier has transitioned to the laity.  (article starting on pp. 22-23)

In conclusion, I would find it hard to distinguish Xavier from your average expensive private secondary school, whether religious or not. 

(Above) An engraving of a censer by Martin Schongauer (15th century).

A most unusual exhibition can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until July 19th. It displays medieval and early renaissance designs for works of Gothic architecture and art. Many of these architectural drawings are actual working documents for the creators of the Gothic cathedrals.  Some of them are of considerable size. The condition of the drawings is astoundingly good, the penmanship incredibly precise. 

What is noteworthy is the unity in Gothic art of aesthetics, mathematics and engineering. In the age of the Gothic there was no separation of these elements. There was no contrast, as in modernity, between the “decorative” and the “structural,”  between the “symbolic” and the “functional.”  And of course, each Gothic cathedral also “preached” in a mystic, liturgical and symbolic language – sophisticated, but nevertheless accessible to those who shared the religion and culture of  that time .   

But the genius of the Gothic was not confined solely to ecclesiastical architecture. This exhibition displays drawings of secular buildings, outdoor shrines, tabernacles and liturgical vessels. And in addition to drawings, we see examples of early engravings produced by artists in collaboration with the artisans and cathedral builders. In all these cases the same design principles governed. 

The overwhelming majority of the exhibits comes from the German world, as it was then organized in the Holy Roman Empire. There are also major objects on display from France, England and the Low Countries. The relative  lack of examples for these regions has to do, I would guess, with losses due to centralized destructive campaigns  as in case of   the English reformation or the French Revolution. In the more diffuse political and religious environment of the Holy Roman Empire much more survived. 

(Above) Drawing of a crozier by Hans Holbem the Elder – perhaps in collaboration with a goldsmith..

For starting from Strasbourg, Cologne and Mainz in the West  to Freiburg, Ulm, Regensburg and on to Vienna the various lodges of masons within the Empire exchanged ideas and developed creative “solutions” (as we would say today)to the design challenges of their projects. For the construction of a Gothic cathedral proceeded for generations, even centuries. So, we can see in the exhibition early versions of such masterpieces as the facade of Strasbourg cathedral or the tower of the minster of Freiburg-im-Breisgau. Inevitably, much remained unrealized. 

(Above) Design for a since-destroyed outdoor shrine in Ulm.

I can only give this exhibition my highest recommendation!

(Description of the Exhibition – with many photographs)