New to the Traditional Latin Mass?
The traditional Latin Mass, which Holy Cross Chaplaincy provides, was the standard form of Mass throughout most of the Roman Catholic Church until the 1960’s. It is almost identical to the form of Mass codified in the year 1570 following the Council of Trent–this is why our Mass is often called the Mass of the Council of Trent, or the “Tridentine Mass.” But it is much older than that–in fact, some of the central texts and prayers of this Mass have remained substantially unchanged since the 4th Century. The Mass we celebrate at St. Anthony’s is the same Mass where countless great and holy saints were nourished to holiness. It is incredible to think that St. Ambrose and St. Augustine were praying some of these same prayers–all the way back in the 4th Century!
If you are new to our community we encourage you to pick up one of the little red books in the vestibule of the church. The booklets have the prayers in Latin on one side, and an English translation on the other to help you. The Mass makes present in our midst the greatest mysteries of our redemption: Christ’s Incarnation, His Passion, His Death, His Resurrection, and His Ascension into Heaven.
All are welcome to join us for coffee and doughnuts after Sunday Mass at the St. Francis of Assisi conference room and we’d be happy to talk with you about the Mass, and how to learn more about it.
Holy Cross Chaplaincy
Holy Cross Chaplaincy provides for Catholics of Fresno the Mass and Sacraments in the ancient, traditional rite. The Chaplaincy was established in 2017 through the cooperation of the Diocese of Fresno and the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. We are under the leadership of our chaplain, Fr. Jose Zepeda, of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. The chaplaincy currently operates out of Saint Anthony of Padua Parish in Fresno, where Mass and Sacraments are offered. All collections at our Sunday Masses are used to support the work of the Chaplaincy.
Holy Cross Chaplaincy is in full and visible communion with the Diocese of Fresno and with the Roman Church.
Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a Clerical Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right, that is, a community of Roman Catholic priests who do not take religious vows, but who work together for a common mission in the world. The mission of the Fraternity is two-fold: first, the formation and sanctification of priests in the cadre of the traditional liturgy of the Roman rite, and secondly, the pastoral deployment of the priests in the service of the Church.
The Fraternity was founded on July 18, 1988 at the Abbey of Hauterive (Switzerland) by a dozen priests and a score of seminarians. Shortly after the Fraternity’s foundation and following upon a request by Cardinal Ratzinger, Bishop Joseph Stimpfle of Augsburg, Germany granted the Fraternity a home in Wigratzbad, a Marian shrine in Bavaria that now lodges the Fraternity’s European seminary. In the same month of October there arrived a handful of priests and some thirty seminarians ready to start “from scratch”. There are currently almost 200 priests and 110 seminarians in the Fraternity.
