From Diane Montagna‘s substack:
Vatican Bars Annual TLM Pilgrimage from Entering St. Peter’s Basilica
According to organizers, the decision was communicated in a letter from the Vatican Secretariat of State.VATICAN CITY, 23 October 2026 — The Vatican will bar priests, religious and lay faithful participating in the annual Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage from entering St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, Oct. 24, extending restrictions beyond the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass to the pilgrims’ customary gathering for prayer at the tomb of St. Peter.
According to the organizers, the decision was communicated in recent days in a letter from the Vatican Secretariat of State. “Your procession is not allowed to enter into St. Peter’s Basilica,” the letter stated, according to Christian Marquant, the pilgrimage’s chief organizer.
[…]
We’ve heard about various shrine and churches barring SSPX members…. but this isn’t an SSPX venture.
Or… we are all…. SSPX?….now?
Remember: It’s not just that they don’t like the traditional Roman Rite. They don’t like the people who want it.
Anyone who stands in line and is remotely appropriately dressed gets in, thousands and thousands of them every day. How is telling one group they can’t come in supposed to work, even on a practical, logistical level?
The LGBTQ+ Activist pilgrimage during the Jubilee got to enter St. Peter’s, with banners waving and proudly wearing vulgar t-shirts.
Even the Anglicans were allowed to offer their prayer service in St. Peter’s.
But TLM Catholics aren’t even allowed to enter the building.
And there are folks who still, somehow, can’t see that there’s a crisis in the Church of unprecedented proportions.
Now cue the mental gymnasts who will explain how, actually, this shows how Pope Leo is in reality a staunch supporter of Traditional Catholics and a sign that he’s about to replace Cardinal Roche with a newly minted Cardinal Schneider. I hope these types do some kind of warm ups before they launch into their routine, or they’re liable to get a serious sprain.
Good ol’ trad double standard. Usquequo, Domine?
So sad! And moments before reading this I read elsewhere that the Irish synod folks are looking at women deacons despite what the Vatican has said.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… people need to stop financial giving. Period. That *might* force some hands.
Heretics (Anglicans) and schismatics (Orthodox) get treated more generously. The beatings will continue…
Another case for SSPX necessity. They all add up.
They really do hate us. Where is our Holy Father in this? Is he knowingly allowing this cruelty? I can’t believe that he doesn’t know and that is very depressing.
Boy, certain folks REALLY hate Pope Benedict XVI… They must try to erase anything to do with Summorum Pontificum.
Maybe the organizers can offer to bring their boyfriends.
Ubi caritas…. So much mercy since 2013.
I used to get outraged when I’d see stories like this. Now I just laugh. This is what they take time to sanction?
We should stop being outraged. We should just shrug. I think these public rejections are designed to outrage those of us who still hold the Apostolic Faith, hoping we’ll all stomp out and head over to the SSPX. Not gonna happen. I’m staying put. This is MY Church. I’m a permanent member by baptism. I’m not leaving, and I’m not giving up the Apostolic Faith. And if they throw me out I’ll be proud, and rejoice, because Our Lord said that kind of treatment is a sign my reward will be great in heaven.
I’m just wondering what the plan is to eventually expunge all of us who haven’t left voluntarily. A loyalty oath? A decree that all Latin in banned, all piety is banned, all rosaries are banned, all kneeling is banned, all silent prayer is banned, and anyone trying to pray this way in a church will be forceably removed by the police, and banned from Catholic churches everywhere?
Or maybe they’ll just scan the Mark of the Beast on your right hand or forehead as verification you’re okay to come in. :-)
And their language…The Vatican will BAR…nice strong language which shows how they truly feel. It’s a different level of opposition then if they said…Vatican politely declines – or- is sadly unable to accommodate.
Well, I am outraged. These are Roman Catholics. They attend the TLM in places approved by their respective bishops. They cannot morally be told NO you can’t enter the basilica. Where is Leo? He must have known.. or at least he knows now.
This should be reversed and those responsible be reprimanded.
The pope of unity needs to stand up and show that the moniker is not a joke.
This is sinful.
@mickeyfitz,
Per Rorate, per Messa in Latino, the prohibition came from the Pope, who criticized that the Mass was “instrumentalized.”
So… yeah.
I’m Spartacus SSPX!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4NKu-KFIuMI
“Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.” (Matt. 5:11-12)
This is the only response I can think of.
Pray for the leaders of the Church that they will find their way back to the narrow path.
I think a proper response would be “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“I believe it is urgent to establish a pastoral approach that is supportive, empathic, discreet, non-judgmental, welcoming to all, and offering paths that are as personalised as possible… we must try to accompany them without replacing them, becoming companions along the way…” – Pope Leo
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/09/19/250919e.html
If they are barred from entering as a procession, I cannot see how they would be prevented from entering as individual pilgrims, then – flashmob! Meet up and chant the “Oremus pro Pontifices” fervently… behave properly, nothing they can point to and say: “see, disrespectful!”; but it would certainly make the point… bonus points if the Swiss Guards or “Vinnie’s Special Event Security” tries to escort them out – for praying for the Pope in St. Peter’s!
I noted from some photographs that the Vatican actually put up a wall in the square to keep them out! Just like Trump did at the southern USA border! You know . . . to keep people out. So . . . I guess some walls are good after all.
Pope Benedict XVI, pray for us.
They really do hate us or, at least, firmly believe that we are ignorant and misled. That is what our Bishop told us when he met with him in a futile attempt to save our parish TLM. I mentioned to him that before instituting the TLM in our Parish our Pastor had conducted a wonderful full ten weeks of classes explaining the history, development, prayers, and rituals of the TLM in detail since very few of our parishioners had any memory or knowledge of the TLM, but the Bishop said that the time would have been better spent teaching the parish how the Novus Ordo is actually a superior development of the Mass. In his view if we had been properly educated about the Novus Ordo by our Pastor and if fully understood the Vatican II documents as he does we would then appreciate the reality that the Novus Ordo Mass is actually superior and give up our sadly mistaken devotion to the TLM. In his view, Pope Benedict made a serious mistake in Summorum Pontificum and Pope Francis simply corrected that mistake in Traditionis Custodes. His view is that prohibition of our TLM is not cruel or without mercy. In fact, we are either too ignorant or misled to understand that the prohibition is actually for own good.
But seriously… while I assume this decision was not made personally by Pope Leo, there have been enough “insults” lately that one can no longer assume that they are occurring against his will. This is not just about the celebration of Mass, as Father notes: this is about “the people who want it.” Unfortunately, although we have some friends in Rome, we do not have any powerful advocates at this time; at least as far as I can see. Those who’ve reported that the publicity around Cardinal Burke’s Mass was seen in a decidedly negative light appear to be correct… so, where do we go from here?
Prior to Francis, the thinking in the Vatican seemed to be: “let’s try and accommodate these folks so they don’t fly to the SSPX”. Indeed, much of the progress between 2000-07 seemed to be a sort of “reward” to us for being loyal sons (and daughters) of the Church… Nobody really knows what Francis’s “long game” was, but at this time the compass has turned 180° and it seems as though we are now being punished by the “sons of Francis” for the “sins of the SSPX”!
Of course, the Vatican/Pope is well aware of the message being sent. They apparently think it’s their club and we aren’t in it. Well, I don’t think it’s going to work out too well for them.
Perhaps in the future, groups need to just quietly end up in the same place, at the same time.
I’d to see prayer vigils pop up in front of churches in response to some of these decrees around the world.
Every Catholic who loves the patrimony of the Roman Catholic Church is not really wanted in the new ‘synodal direction’. Those who keep hoping for a lessening of restrictions need to realize this. Tradition does not fit in the new direction where something called ‘lived experiences’ seems to be taken into account. It is not just the SSPX, the eye of Souron will turn to the Ecclesia Dei communities in time.
In all due respect to @JamesM I don’t think the quotation from Pope Leo has anything to do with liturgy. You just have to read the parts he leaves out:
“. . . welcoming to all, and offering paths that are as personalised as possible, tailored to the different life situations of those involved. Since families struggle to transmit faith, and may be tempted to shrink from this task, we must try to accompany them without replacing them, becoming companions along the way and offering tools in the search for God. We must honestly say that this is a pastoral approach that does not repeat the same old things, . . .”
What does the Pope mean by “different life situations?” What does he mean by “does not repeat the same old things?”
My suspicion is that “different life situations” means homosexual relationships and/or those divorced and remarried (or whatever the term irregular marriages comprises) with children, etc. I can have no idea what he means by “the same old things” and have no suspicions other than he does not mean allowing the use of the VO to attract people who find the NO Mass empty (in the sense that the tone of the celebration does not match the majesty of the event it commemorates).
As time passes, the more and more I think about it, it seems to me that our recent popes (other than Benedict XVI and he is to a certain extent) are not what Adam Smith called men “whose public spirit is prompted altogether by humanity and benevolence”, rather they are examples of a “man of system” who “is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it.” Their own plan of government is to impose a particular liturgy on the faithful come hell or high water not because they have anything near a good reason for this imposition, rather it is because they are enarmoured by what they think is the beauty of their plan and so are not able to even conceive of the possibility that it has been and will continue to be harmful.
I cannot help but recall that Father Hunwicke pointed out that the rural Catholics who revolted in response to having the Anglican Mass imposed upon them, never were concerned about Henry VIII making himself supreme regarding the Church, rather they were upset about the loss of their local monasteries and the loss of their manner of worship and a few other things. And the result was widespread bloodshed.
Months ago there was a huge event announced for the same day, almost at the same time, in St. Peter’s Basilica, “Lectio Francisci, organizzata in occasione dell’VIII Centenario della morte di San Francesco D’Assisi. L’incontro in oggetto si terrà presso l’Altare della Cattedra sabato 24 ottobre 2026, alle ore 15:30”, tickets via eventbrite – so clearly there was a scheduling conflict. But nowhere this easily to be obtained information is taken into account. Only rage about a “last minute cancellation” – that certainly wasn’t a last minute surprise but officially communicated to the organisers in mid September.
The attitude of the Ecclesia Dei groups (I don’t know how they are referred to now) is puzzling to me. I have attended and registered with a ICKSP oratory for 30+ years. Last couple years I have really become concerned with them. They seem to be adapting more and more to the Novus Ordo.
A couple of examples is to allow the NO mass to be read at certain locations Saturday night. I assume mass in anticipation. Just my oratory last Easter Low Sunday was billed as “Low Sunday/Divine Mercy Sunday” and had a public recitation of the divine Mercy chaplet after the high mass. I know a lot of this is done to be able to read Latin mass and have traditional sacraments. I get it when your in bed with Rome its best not to snore too loud.
The breaking point for me came the Sunday after the episcopal consecrations in Enone. From the podium our canon announced that “after the sad events in Encone anyone relishing in the consecrations should be ashamed and guilty of sin”. Well I stayed up till 5am that day watching the live stream and loved it so I guess he meant me. The writing was on the wall so the next Sunday I was up in Mukwongo Wi. at Pius V chapel run by the SSPX. I am now registered there and never felt more at home.
The institute seems to have a split personality. I do not get that with the society just meat and potato Catholicism and a steady line of focus. Why doesn’t the institute realize that they are next in line for the firing squad. All Leo needs to do is forbid any Novus ordo bishop from ordaining their seminarians in Florence unless they adapt to the Vatican 2 liturgy. That would kill the roots. That is their problem. For me I am on cloud 9 right now. At last I feel Catholic again.
BTW before mass we pray the rosary and do a litany of St. Joseph with the usual prayers added at the end for the intentions of the pope. Not very schismatic is it?
Okay, let’s presume for a moment that the spin being put on this is correct – it was a scheduling conflict, no slight was intended, the Summorum people were offered another day, blah, blah, blah. Let’s presume that’s all true for a moment.
Then let’s change it from the Summorum Pontificum crowd to a LGBTQRIASVMY crowd. Or even less inflammatory, let’s simply change it to some random ethnicity – the People in Support of Wendish Culture.
Does anyone think for a moment that if the Wends had asked for a Mass, or even a procession into St. Peter’s Basilica at a time when there was some other REALLY IMPORTANT EVENT going on, that the Secretariat of State would issue a diktat saying, “You’re not allowed to enter here!”?? C’mon. Other provisions would be made – Cardinal Parolin will meet you in the Square where you can pray a rosary around the obelisk; Cardinal Roche will stand for two hours and shake everyone’s hand; the Pope will send a video message to you broadcast at St. Mary Major; the Pope will meet in the morning for a handshake and a photo op with the organizers. The Pope will make a major shoutout tomorrow during the Angelus. ANYTHING so as not to appear offending the Wends.
The silence of the powers that be in the Vatican is deafening. Regardless of whatever conflict there may have been, the absence of any clear statement of support, or paternal blessing, or… anything shows the hand as clear as day. The hatred is palpable and the offense is not hiding.
Pray for better days, but do not despair, the Victory has already been won, and the future is indeed bright. It just hurts that we have to still go through this boomer magisterial temper tantrum
Respect to all, and could somebody make a t shirt? The three crosses on a hill, and then the logo: Instrumentalizing since 33 AD. Thanks.
How about a People’s Invasion of the Vatican City and installing a People’s Committee to rule the Vatican. Nice commie move—in line with much of the Church hierarchy. I know the Swiss Guard is well armed—I’ve seen the gun rack in the guard booths—but they aren’t THAT many…
The refusal to hold Leo accountable for the relentless and ongoing abuses toward the people of God has grown intolerable. It is Leo. It is nobody but Leo. These are Leo’s decisions. Yes Fernandez is an odious poof pornographer who has no business being anything but a creepy projectionist in a seedy San Fran theater but he is not doing anything without Leo’s full permission. These are Leo’s calls. All of it. For heaven’s sake lets at least state the obvious. It is too much at this point to insult persecuted catholics by prancing around truth. They deserve at least that much. The abuse is cruel and flagrant. To keep giving Leo a pass should be over.
We are witnessing unprecedented evil in the church. God help us.
@gaudete – give me a break. The pilgrimage has been done for 15 years. It’s always on the same date. The request for this year was personally handed in a letter to Pope Leo by Bishop Schneider LAST December. The Vatican first told them they could not have a Mass in St. Peter’s, unlike the year before, in August, but they were told they could process into the Vatican and then go to St. Mary Major for a Pontifical High Mass in the afternoon. It wasn’t until this last week (long after flights were booked and plans were made) that the pilgrimage was told they’re not allowed to even enter the Vatican. They’ve also been very recently been told that they are no longer allowed to use St. Mary Major’s for a Pontifical High Mass (they had to change plans to just a low Mass because they were now told they could only be in St. Mary Major’s for one hour).
This is reprehensible. Pretending it’s “just a little scheduling conflict” is an attempt to defend the indefensible my downplaying an intentional act of mean-spirited bigotry.
If it wasn’t for double-standards, the Vatican (and those who defend the persecution of Traditional Catholics) wouldn’t have any standards at all.
There was great hope by many of us on the trad side that Pope Leo would either undo or scale back Traditionis Custodes. And initially it seemed like the Holy Father didn’t come in with an agenda on the issue. Sadly, now it seems like Team Francis has successfully recruited him to their side… and persuaded him that trads are his enemies, that he should double or triple down on TC, that the TLM should be abolished or severely restricted, diocesan TLMs and Ecclesia Dei groups are the gateway drugs and/or training wheels for the SSPX… and that this is a war that he can and will win. It’s all very sad and dispiriting. But we have no choice but to resist, and resist we will. BTW, someone above mentioned Henry VIII… but our situation now is more comparable to Catholics under James I. After the long period of Elizabethan oppression, Catholics had great hope for tolerance under the Stuarts. They celebrated James as their liberator. But the protestant establishment had badly underestimated how many crypto-Catholics were still left in the country, and when the papists started to come out of the woodwork under James’ initial tolerance, the C of E panicked and the crackdown began anew. The Gunpowder Plot sealed the deal… and Catholics were once again sent back into hiding.
The ironic thing – if Pope Leo was so worried that allowing another Latin Mass in St. Peter’s would be “instrumentalized” – by so shamefully and callously barring the pilgrims from even entering St. Peter’s he’s created a far, far bigger PR Disaster than if he’s just allowed them to offering Mass.
https://x.com/MountainButorac/status/2114352253251297776?s=20
They can just enter individually, at the same time to st Peters, without the banners. “We are not a pilgrimage, we just happen to be here at the same time.”
@RichR
The article on X that you cite is disingenuous at best.
It speaks as though the September 8 request had been the first communication about the _ad petri_ pilgrimage. This is simply not the case.
Further, it challenges traditionalists to give evidence of earlier communications.
This article can be found on Rorate Caeli among other things:
https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2026/10/there-was-no-room-for-them-in-inn.html
An update from Michael Haynes after some tried to defend the Vatican’s outrageous actions:
Some theories are circulating online about the Latin Mass pilgrimage, spread by people unconnected with it.
Some clarity below —
Organisers asked for permission for the Vatican Mass, via a letter delivered directly to Pope Leo by Bishop Schneider in December. The pilgrimage is in its 15th year, and is always held on the same date.
Organisers received no answer about the Mass until August, when the Secretariat of State replied to say they could not have Mass in the Vatican. Pilgrimage organisers then announced publicly that no Mass would take place in the Vatican. Instead, pilgrims would process into the Vatican at 1pm on the Saturday, and then go to St Mary Major for a 3pm Mass.
Permission for the procession into the Vatican was granted in April 2026.
Weeks after this, in September, St Peter’s announced an event taking place at 3:30pm at the Altar of the Chair (used by the pilgrimage last year for Mass).
Then this week – just yesterday I am told – organisers received another letter from the Secretariat of State informing them they could not even process into the Vatican as planned, and as permitted since April. Basilica events are not the prerogative of the Secretariat but of the Archpriest & the Fabric of St Peter’s: hence why the Secretariat of State’s involvement is so strange.
On Saturday, pilgrims walked through the streets up to the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square – accompanied by Italian state police – where they were stopped by the Vatican as this was the limit of the Italian police’s jurisdiction. Then they were informed that their usage of St Mary Major’s had changed: they could only be inside for an hour. Thus meaning that the planned and authorised pontifical solemn Mass would have to be a low Mass.
Also St Mary Major’s informed pilgrimage that no official photos could be taken
To add to Fr. Kelly’s post, Diane Montagna has posted even more information. Trying to blame the pilgrims and the pilgrimage organizers for the Vatican barring them from entering St. Peter’s is a new low, even for anti-Traditionalist Vatican apologists.
https://dianemontagna.substack.com/p/newly-published-letters-refute-vatican
I think the traditional movement in the Church needs a new image. I’m tired of Catholics behaving like underdogs. That’s not a helpful image and that mentality can start becoming reality. Tradition-loving Catholics are not second-class Catholics. No. They are virtue-loving people who have understanding when events don’t go as planned. They are adaptable, charitable, social, kind, and faithful. They excel in the little known virtue: Eutrapelia. Everyone wonders what they have and how they can get it, too.
Sometimes there is a wall up for whatever reason. Schedule conflicts, denied permissions, whatever the reason. Sometimes pilgrim organizers do not inform pilgrims in a timely manner that their permission to enter a place has been denied. It happens.
I like to know what’s going on. I like clear boundaries as they help people feel safe and it gives them an understanding of just how far they can roam. The Vatican has a right to put up a fence. Think about it. Do you really hold that every pilgrim group can always just parade on in, carrying whatever banners and flags they wish, wearing whatever graphics and words they like on their shirts? The traditional pilgrim group is fine, but what about other groups that you don’t like going in the Vatican? My point is obvious: it’s all fine until it becomes completely unacceptable.
It’s the same situation in a country. We should not confuse prudence with a lack of charity. Leaders of a country have a supreme duty to keep their country safe before any charity can possibly be shown to others. We live in a world where it’s still legal to kill human infants in their mother’s womb. That is barbaric and should be punished for what it is: murder of innocent life. I’m not even talking about the other unknown illegal activity that also goes on within the borders of a country. How can we begin to help other countries when our own country has so many urgent needs? Guidelines, rules, laws, borders, and boundaries are needed now more than ever. Immigration is fine if it is done correctly: following all the laws of the country a person wishes to enter. Once in that country, the new person should grow in the virtue of patriotism: love of (their new) country.
The Vatican, just like a country, has traditions and values. It needs to have standards. I’m tired of the place being treated like it’s a public square. It’s a Catholic place of prayer where people can come to better know Jesus and the Catholic faith. Upon entry, you should assimilate to the environment and adopt an attitude of respect for others who are already there. If you come to visit the Vatican, you must dress appropriately. You need to behave respectfully and not be a distraction to others. Leave your flags and banners outside. Don’t waltz in like you own the place. A Catholic Church is God’s house. I don’t care what country you are coming from, when you come to the Vatican, you are in a Catholic space. Catholics believe in one God, so we only pray to one God. God knows what country you come from and why you are present.