Bishop Athanasius Schneider delivers homily at Santa Maria Maggiore

Bishop Athanasius Schneider delivered a homily during the 15th Peregrinatio ad Petri Sedem on Saturday, October 24, at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The Mass for the pilgrims was celebrated in the traditional Roman Rite.

During the homily, Bishop Schneider stated that Saint Pius V canonized the traditional rite of the Mass in a certain sense. He noted that the pontiff guaranteed the perpetual use of the traditional form of the Mass for all priests of the Roman Rite through the apostolic constitution Quo Primum. Schneider also spoke of the feelings of traditional Catholics, describing them as people who feel treated like second-class Catholics and feel misunderstood by the Church in Rome, though they do not hold resentment.

The celebration took place at Santa Maria Maggiore because the Secretariat of State did not authorize the pilgrimage Mass to be held at Saint Peter's Basilica this year. The Secretariat also prohibited a procession in Saint Peter's Basilica on that same Saturday. Schneider referenced the basilica as the house of Mary and noted that saints and popes, including Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Pope Pius XII, celebrated Mass there. He concluded by asking the Virgin Mary to grant the Church liturgical peace.