The Basilica of Saint Peter has scheduled for next Saturday, October 24 a Lectio Francisci at 3:30 p.m. and a Mass at 6:00 p.m. at the Altar of the Chair, the same place where the international pilgrimage Summorum Pontificum had requested to celebrate its pontifical Mass that day according to the traditional rite. Permission was not granted and the celebration, presided over by Msgr. Athanasius Schneider, will finally take place at 3:00 p.m. in Santa Maria Maggiore.
Although no official explanation has been offered to date regarding the reasons for the refusal, the basilica’s announcement, published on September 23, does confirm that the Altar of the Chair will be used that same afternoon for an event and, subsequently, for a eucharistic celebration.
An afternoon dedicated to Saint Francis
The Lectio Francisci will begin at 3:30 p.m. and will be dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi, within the framework of the VIII centenary of his death, as reported by the official website of the Basilica.
Speakers will include Davide Rondoni, with a reflection on “Saint Francis in Rome”; Sister Simona Paolini, on “Francis’s Bond with the See of Peter”; and Sister Simona Brambilla, who will address “Fraternity and the Challenge of Multiculturality in Society and in Religious Communities.”
The gathering will also feature musical interventions by the Giulia Musical Chapel and will conclude with the Mass at 6:00 p.m. at the Altar of the Chair.
The pilgrimage maintains its passage through Saint Peter
The XV International Pilgrimage Summorum Pontificum Ad Petri Sedem will be held in Rome from October 23 to 25. Although its main Mass had to be moved to Santa Maria Maggiore, the pilgrims will still visit Saint Peter’s Basilica during Saturday’s schedule.
The program includes a procession departing at 11:00 a.m. from the basilica of Saints Celsus and Julian and a moment of prayer in Saint Peter’s at 1:00 p.m. Two hours later, Schneider will celebrate the pontifical Mass according to the 1962 Missal in Santa Maria Maggiore.
Read more: Rome vetoes the traditional Mass at Saint Peter’s and forces its transfer to Santa Maria Maggiore