On the eve of the extraordinary consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV for January 7 and 8, in which the liturgy is explicitly included among the agenda items, a French priest has addressed a letter to numerous cardinals of the College of Cardinals proposing an institutional path for the future of the traditional Roman rite in the Church.
The author of the text is Father Louis-Marie de Blignières, founder of the Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer, a priestly community that arose in France and is fully in communion with the Holy See. The letter, dated December 24, was sent in printed copy to fifteen cardenals and electronically to nearly a hundred more. The document was disseminated exclusively in French and translated into English by journalist Diane Montagna.
The missive presents itself as a working proposal addressed to the cardinals, not as a demand or a direct request to the Pope, with the aim of opening a serene dialogue before the consistory.
A reference figure in the traditional sphere
Father de Blignières, 76 years old, is a figure with historical weight within the traditionalist world. After the illicit episcopal consecrations carried out by Monsignor Marcel Lefebvre in 1988, he participated in the dialogue with Saint John Paul II that led to the creation of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, intended to facilitate the reconciliation of communities linked to the liturgy prior to the post-conciliar reform.
Founded in 1979, the Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer was under his priorship for more than three decades, in two distinct stages, until 2011 and again between 2017 and 2023. His trajectory has granted him extensive pastoral and institutional experience in the field of traditional liturgy.
The proposal: a personal ecclesiastical jurisdiction
The proposal consists of the creation of a specific personal ecclesiastical jurisdiction for the ancient Roman rite (vetus ordo). According to the author, this structure would allow offering a stable canonical framework to priests and faithful linked to traditional liturgy, while respecting the authority of the Holy See and diocesan bishops.
The proposed jurisdiction would not have a territorial character, but personal, and could adopt canonical forms already existing in the Church, such as a Personal Apostolic Administration or an Ordinariate, inspired by the model of military ordinariates.
Response to the pastoral blockade after Traditionis custodes
The background of the initiative is the situation created after the publication of the motu proprio Traditionis custodes in 2021. According to de Blignières, the uneven application of its provisions has generated legal uncertainty, recurrent tensions, and pastoral conflicts in various dioceses.
The creation of a personal jurisdiction would, in his opinion, guarantee pastoral stability, offer continuity to existing communities, and avoid liturgical life depending on precarious permissions or changing decisions.
Precedents and purpose
The letter recalls that the Church has resorted on other occasions to specific canonical structures to safeguard unity while respecting legitimate diversity. Among the cited precedents is the Personal Apostolic Administration Saint John Mary Vianney, erected in 2002 in the Brazilian diocese of Campos, as well as the functioning of military ordinariates.
The text concludes by emphasizing that the proposal does not intend to impose a unique solution or reopen a liturgical controversy, but to offer a possible institutional path to reduce tensions and favor peaceful coexistence within the Church.