Priests pray on the floor during an ordination ceremony in Econe, southwest Switzerland, June 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Keystone, Olivier Maire)
The Priestly Society of St. Pius X, a traditionalist Catholic society that has experienced a troubled relationship with the church hierarchy since the 1970s, has been approved for a pilgrimage to the Vatican later this month.
The society’s pilgrimage has been added to the Vatican’s calendar in the ongoing jubilee year, a time of celebration and forgiveness of sins held in the Catholic Church every 25 years. SSPX’s inclusion is notable due to the society’s irregular canonical status, a designation that signifies a lack of full communion with the Catholic Church.
“Following in the footsteps of its founder, Archbishop Lefebvre, the Society of St. Pius X is making its third Jubilee pilgrimage to the Eternal City,” James Vogel, the society’s director of communications, told the Washington Examiner.
He continued, “As Catholics, it is equal parts penance, to obtain the indulgence, to proclaim our attachment to the Holy Father, and in a special way, for the Church to ‘regain Her splendor’ for the salvation of souls.”
However, approval to participate in the pilgrimage does not signify endorsement or sponsorship from the Vatican. Church leaders previously clarified this stance regarding a pro-LGBT Catholic group that received approval for a prayer vigil in 2024.
While the presence of a new pope has drawn speculation about whether the pilgrimage will open doors for dialogue, SSPX has been preparing for the trip since before Pope Francis’s death in April.
“We are going to Rome to purify ourselves of our sins, to obtain indulgences for our sins and to sanctify our souls in this city of grace,” the SSPX said of the pilgrimage in a letter published in February. “We will go to Rome to proclaim and manifest our unwavering attachment to the Apostolic See, to the Pope, successor of Peter and Vicar of Christ, to the bishops, successors of the Apostles, to the priests, their collaborators, and to the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church.”
“We will go to Rome, simply because we are Catholics, children of the Church, and because we want to remain Catholics no matter what happens,” it added.
More: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/3500162/traditionalist-catholic-society-vatican-pilgrimage-despite-canonical-irregularity/
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