(Catholic Herald) — Members of the organising body have issued clarifications about the annual Latin Mass pilgrimage to Rome this weekend, after news of the restrictions it faced from the Vatican garnered widespread traction.
As has been the annual tradition for the past 15 years, this last weekend in October saw devotees of the traditional Mass descend upon the Eternal City for a three-day pilgrimage of great significance for the traditional communities and lay faithful. The Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage sees thousands of Catholics partake in a number of liturgies across the city, with a highlight normally being the procession to the Vatican and Mass inside the basilica of St. Peter’s.
This year, as Catholic Herald readers will have read, that did not happen. Permission for the Mass was refused, as also was permission for the procession to enter the Basilica of St. Peter’s. In the face of this stark contrast with the 2025 pilgrimage and the many before that, much discussion has proliferated online regarding the cause of the restrictions faced by the pilgrimage.
Restrictions faced by the pilgrimage did indeed include a ban on the procession entering the Vatican, such that a common walk was held through the streets but was stopped at the Vatican obelisk by Vatican security. Given that permission was also refused for Mass, the pilgrimage Mass was held in St Mary Major’s instead of St. Peter’s. … … …
The rest of this correspondent’s report, originally published on the Catholic Herald, is found at this link.