Spring Donation Blitz To Seminaries, Oratory and Parish By TLM-Friends
- May 14
- 5 min read
Spring has sprung and so has TLM-Friends, dispensing donations to the Oratory of Saint Anthony of Padua, West Orange, New Jersey, and Saint Anne's Church in San Diego, California.
TLM-Friends has donated $600 to each apostolate with parts of the donations
Saint Anne Pastor Father John Lyons, FSSP, (center) accepts donation from TLM-Friends chairman Holy Romo with Treasurer James Romo (left)
earmarked for a building fund, seminaries and general expenses. And more donations will follow as TLM-Friends continues to fundraise throughs its various projects.
The Oratory is run by Canon Adrian Sequeira with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ISKSP) while St Anne is under the leadership of Father John Lyons, Fraternal Society of Saint Peter (FSSP). These apostolates support and train men in the vetus order , the old mass. They are a very pious traditional orders, with close to 700 priests ordained worldwide.
The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest — usually called the ICKSP--is a traditional Catholic society of apostolic life founded in 1990 by Monsignor Gilles Wach and Father Philippe Mora. It was canonically established in Gabon, West Africa, under the authority of Bishop Obamba of Mouila.
The founders had been strongly influenced by Giuseppe Siri, one of the major conservative cardinals of the post–Vatican II era. During the confusion and liturgical upheaval of the 1970s and 1980s, they wished to preserve the Church’s traditional liturgy, spirituality, sacred music, and priestly formation while remaining fully under Rome and in communion with the Holy See.
Unlike the Society of Saint Pius X, which had an "irregular canonical situation" for many years, the Institute was founded with diocesan approval and always maintained official canonical recognition from Church authorities.
A few important milestones in their history:
1990 — Canonically founded in Gabon.
Early 1990s — The Institute established its motherhouse and seminary at Gricigliano, near Florence, Italy, with support from Cardinal Piovanelli and Cardinal Augustin Mayer.
1996 — Invited to the United States by Raymond Leo Burke when he was bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
2001 — The female branch, the Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Sovereign Priest, was founded.
2007 — Pope Benedict XVI issued Summorum Pontificum, greatly expanding permission for the traditional Latin Mass, which helped the Institute grow rapidly.
2008 — Rome granted the Institute the status of a “society of pontifical right,” meaning it came directly under the Holy See rather than a local bishop.
The Institute celebrates the traditional Roman liturgy according to the 1962 Missal of Pope John XXIII. Their spirituality strongly emphasizes:
solemn liturgy,
sacred music,
Thomistic theology,
Eucharistic devotion,
and what they call “the reign of Christ the King in all areas of life.”
Their motto is Veritatem facientes in caritate — “Living the truth in charity.”
They’ve also become known for restoring old or abandoned churches. One famous example is the Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago, which the Institute helped rescue and restore, after the church had been slated for demolition. Unfortunately with thE advent of the motu proprio Traditonis Custodes, the mass was suspended by Cardinal Blaise Cupich, August 2022.
Today the Institute operates 27 apostolates in the United States, with more in France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Africa, and elsewhere. Their seminary in Gricigliano, Italy, has continued attracting vocations, especially among younger Catholics interested in the traditional liturgy. The Latin Mass Community in Pala, California, (Our Lady of the Peripheries) has a IKSP seminarian attending Sacred Heart in Detroit.
HISTORY OF THE FRATERNAL SOCIETY OF SAINT PETER
TLM Chairman Holly Romo said that presenting the donation to Father John Lyons "is a continuous call for our apostolate's mission to support those who say, pray and chant the TLM."
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter — usually called the FSSP — was founded in 1988 in the aftermath of one of the biggest traditionalist crises in the modern Catholic Church. The order has been in the Barrio Logan district at St. Anne's in San Diego since 2008, following Pope Benedict XIV's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which allowed the TLM to be said in parishes worldwide.
The FSSP grew out of the Society of Saint Pius X founded by Marcel Lefebvre in 1970. Lefebvre opposed many post–Vatican II reforms, especially the new Mass and changes in Church discipline.
By the 1980s, tensions with Rome had become severe. Lefebvre believed tradition was in danger and wanted bishops consecrated to continue the SSPX order. After negotiations with Rome led mainly by Joseph Ratzinger, an agreement was briefly signed in May 1988.
But Lefebvre later rejected the deal, based on the caveat that the order fully accepts all the documents of Vatican II. Bishop Lefebvre, in ill health and upset by the persistent postponements of ordinations by the Holy See, took matters into his own hands.
Declaring the a state of emergency in the church on June 30, 1988, he consecrated four bishops at Écône, Switzerland, without papal approval. Pope John Paul II declared the act schismatic in the document Ecclesia Dei adflicta.
Founding of the FSSP
A group of about twelve SSPX priests and several seminarians disagreed with Lefebvre’s unauthorized consecrations. They wanted to preserve the traditional Latin Mass while remaining fully obedient to Rome.
So on July 18, 1988, at Hauterive Abbey in Switzerland, they founded the FSSP. Rome officially erected it as a clerical society of apostolic life on October 18, 1988.
The Fraternity was placed under the protection of St. Peter — symbolizing loyalty to the Pope. That is why the name is “Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.”
Mission and Charism
The FSSP’s mission is:
formation of priests
pastoral work
preservation of the traditional Roman liturgy using the 1962 liturgical books
They celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass exclusively. Unlike religious orders, FSSP priests do not take vows like Franciscans or Benedictines. They are a “society of apostolic life,” meaning they live in community and serve apostolates under Church authority.
Seminaries and Growth
Very quickly the new fraternity established a seminary at Wigratzbad in Bavaria, Germany. Later they opened their North American seminary, Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, in Nebraska.
Today the FSSP has:
nearly 400 priests
over 180 seminarians
apostolates across North America, Europe, Oceania, and elsewhere
Relationship With Rome
One of the defining marks of the FSSP is that it has always remained in full canonical communion with Rome. That distinguishes it from the SSPX, whose canonical status has long been irregular.
During the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, the FSSP expanded significantly after Summorum Pontificum in 2007 gave broader permission for the traditional Mass.
In 2022, after concerns caused by Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis issued a decree confirming the FSSP’s right to continue using the 1962 liturgical books according to its founding charism.
"TLM-Friends will continue to support the seminaries, parishes, shrines and oratories with donations and prayerful support," Holly Romo explained. " And we urge our benefactors to to help us achieve this goal."
It’s wonderful to be able to donate to these organizations that are keeping our beloved Mass alive. Thank you so much to our supporters for you generous support which allows us to do so.