Franciscan University has released a statement and Associate Director of Public Relations, Tom Sofio, emailed it to many bloggers including myself.
Regarding the Traditional Latin Mass and Franciscan University of
Steubenville
As a Catholic university with a long history of faithfulness to the
magisterium of the Catholic Church, Franciscan University of
Steubenville fully supports Pope Benedict XVI’s recent Motu Proprio,
Summorum Pontificum, which expands the use of the Traditional Latin
Mass.
Franciscan University fully supports the plans for the celebration of
the extraordinary form of the Latin rite Mass at St. Peter Church in
Steubenville. Franciscan University is located within the boundaries of
St. Peter Parish, making it the official parish for the University and
the repository for the records of any sacraments celebrated on the
campus.
Summorum Pontificum indicates that it is the parish priest who is to
accede to the requests of those attached to the previous liturgical
tradition. The pastor of St. Peter Parish, Monsignor George Yontz, with
the full support of Steubenville Bishop R. Daniel Conlon, has met with
St. Peter parishioners, including Franciscan University students, and
people from other parishes in the area. He is working with them to
prepare for the proper celebration of Mass in the extraordinary form,
and the University will remain in communication with him throughout
this unfolding process.
The University is pleased that St. Peter’s will be the site for this,
as it is easily accessible to our University members, being just one
mile from campus. The University will provide transportation for
students who need it to and from St. Peter’s Church for the traditional
Latin rite Masses. The first traditional Latin rite Mass will be
celebrated at St. Peter’s on Sunday, November 25, the Feast of Christ
the King. The dates of future Masses will be announced later by the
parish office.
As the oldest Catholic church in the Steubenville diocese, St. Peter’s
has the high altar, communion railing, and other requirements to
celebrate the extraordinary form of the Latin rite, which are not found
in many area churches. It will provide a beautiful and fitting setting
in which interested students can enter more fully into this ancient
liturgy.
Franciscan University will continue to offer its monthly Latin Novus
Ordo Mass. In October, the University expanded the Sunday Mass
offerings from three to four, with Sunday Mass now offered at 8:30
a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Two points that I pray FUS will consider:
Hopefully, this will not be a monthly deal like the Latin N.O. Making it generously available would mean weekly. If the problem is a priest shortage, have the FSSP or the ICK been contacted to provide temporary assistance? Are there other priests in the area qualified who would be willing to do the Mass on a rotational basis?
Secondly, while it is nice to have the Mass near campus in a suitable church, having it on campus would make it even more readily available and visible. If FUS thinks it will be difficult to have on campus because there is no Tridentine-ready chapel, perhaps this video will give them ideas. Here, the FSSP shows how to alter an altar quickly (15 minutes - accelerated in video to just over 5 minutes) and cheaply for the TLM. I'm willing to bet that among the 155 who signed the request would be willing to set up an altar like this.
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