 |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Catholic Church |
|---|
 St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City |
| Overview |
Miscellaneous |
Links and resources |
 Catholic Church portal |
Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizesbeliefs, practices, customs, traditions,liturgical forms,devotions and presentations ofteaching associated with theCatholic Church before theSecond Vatican Council (1962–1965).[1][2] Traditionalist Catholics particularly emphasize theTridentine Mass, theRoman Rite liturgy largely replaced in general use by the post-Second Vatican CouncilMass of Paul VI.
Many traditionalist Catholics disliked the liturgical changes that followed the Second Vatican Council, and prefer to continue to practice pre-Second Vatican Council traditions and forms. Some also see present teachings onecumenism as blurring the distinction between Catholics and otherChristians. Traditional Catholicism is often moreconservative in its philosophy and worldview, promoting a modest style of dressing and teaching acomplementarian view ofgender roles.[3]
Some traditionalist Catholics reject the current papacy of the Catholic Church and follow positions ofsedevacantism,sedeprivationism, orconclavism. As these groups are no longer incommunion with thepope and theHoly See, they are not regarded by the Holy See to be members of the Catholic Church.[4][2] A distinction is often made between these groups (sometimes calledradical traditionalists) and those who adhere to current papal authority but prefer traditional practices.[2]
Toward the end of the Second Vatican Council, FatherGommar DePauw came into conflict with CardinalLawrence Shehan, Archbishop of Baltimore, over the interpretation of the council's teachings, particularly on liturgical matters. In January 1965, DePauw incorporated an organization called the Catholic Traditionalist Movement in New York State, purportedly with the support of CardinalFrancis Spellman, Archbishop of New York.[5]
By the late 1960s and early 1970s, conservative Catholics opposed to or uncomfortable with the theological, social and liturgical developments brought about by theSecond Vatican Council began to coalesce.[6] In 1973, theOrthodox Roman Catholic Movement (ORCM) was founded by two priests, Francis E. Fenton andRobert McKenna, and set up chapels in many parts of North America to preserve the Tridentine Mass.[6] Priests who participated in this were listed as being on a leave of absence by their bishops, who disapproved of their actions.[6]
In 1970, French ArchbishopMarcel Lefebvre founded theSociety of Saint Pius X (SSPX), made up of priests who would say only theTraditional Latin Mass and who opposed what he saw as excessive liberal influences in the Church after Vatican II. In 1988,Lefebvre and another bishop consecrated four men as bishops without papal permission, resulting inexcommunicationlatae sententiae for all six men directly involved. Some members of the SSPX, unwilling to participate in what they consideredschism, left and founded thePriestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP), which celebrates the Tridentine Mass and is infull communion with the Holy See. In 2009,Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of the four surviving bishops, but clarified that the society had "no canonical status within the Catholic Church."[7]
TheIstituto Mater Boni Consilii (IMBC) was founded in 1985. It is asedeprivationist religious congregation of clergy who were dissatisfied with the SSPX's position on the Pope, i.e., acknowledgingJohn Paul II as pope but disobeying him. Sedeprivationists hold that the current occupant of the papal office is a duly electedpope but lacks the authority and ability to teach or govern unless he recants the changes brought by the Second Vatican Council.[8]
Some Catholics took the position ofsedevacantism, which teachesPope John XXIII and his successors are heretics and therefore cannot be considered popes, and that the Catholic Church's sacraments are notvalid. One sedevacantist group, theSociety of Saint Pius V (SSPV), broke off from the SSPX in 1983, due to liturgical disputes. Another sedevacantist group, theCongregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI), formed spontaneously among the followers ofFrancis Schuckardt, but he was later expelled due to scandals and CMRI is now more aligned with other sedevacantist groups.
Other groups known asConclavists have elected their own popes in opposition to thepost-Vatican II pontiffs. They are not considered serious claimants except by their very few followers.
Since theSecond Vatican Council, several traditionalist organizations have been started with or have subsequently obtained approval from theCatholic Church. These organizations accept the documents of the Second Vatican Council and regard the changes associated with the Council (such as the revision of the Mass) as legitimate, but celebrate the older forms with the approval of the Holy See.
There are also multiple monastic communities, including
SeeCommunities using the Tridentine Mass for a more detailed list.
TheSociety of Saint Pius X (SSPX) was founded in 1970, with the authorization of the bishop ofLausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, by ArchbishopMarcel Lefebvre. Lefebvre wasdeclared to have incurred automatic excommunication in 1988, afterillicit consecrations. In January 2009 the Prefect of theCongregation for Bishops remitted the excommunications the Congregation had declared to have been incurred by the Society's bishops in 1988.[9]
More recently, the Vatican has granted SSPX priests the authority to hearconfessions and has authorized localordinaries, in certain circumstances, to grant delegation to SSPX priests to act as the qualified witness required forvalid celebration ofmarriage.[10] The Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery inSilver City, New Mexico, which is affiliated with the SSPX, is seeking Vatican approval through the society.[11]
In 2017, a statement from the Holy See said the SSPX had an irregular canonical status "for the time being".[12]
Sedeprivationists hold the view that the current occupant of the papal office is a duly electedpope but lacks the authority and ability to teach or govern unless he recants the changes brought by theSecond Vatican Council. Sedeprivationists teach that the popes fromPope John XXIII onward fall into this category.[8] Sedeprivationism is currently endorsed by two groups:
Sedevacantists hold the view that the Vatican II popes have forfeited their position through their acceptance ofheretical teachings connected with the Second Vatican Council and consequently there is at present no true pope.[13] This constitutes an act ofschism and is an offense which can result inexcommunication.[14][15] They conclude, on the basis of their rejection of the revised rite of Mass and of certain aspects of postconciliar Church teaching as false, that the popes involved are also false.[16] This is a minority position among traditionalist Catholics[13][17] and a highly divisive one,[16][17] so that many who hold it prefer to say nothing of their view,[16] while other sedevacantists have accepted episcopalordination from sources such as ArchbishopPierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục.[17]
The termssedevacantist andsedevacantism derive from the Latin phrasesede vacante ("while the chair/see [ofSaint Peter] is vacant").[13] Sedevacantist groups include:
Conclavism is the belief and practice of some who, claiming that all recent occupants of thepapal see are not true popes, elect someone else and propose him as the true pope to whom the allegiance of Catholics is due.
Pope Benedict XVI contrasted the "hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture" that some apply to the Council (an interpretation adopted both by certain traditionalists and by certain "progressives")[20] with the "hermeneutic of reform, as it was presented first by PopeJohn XXIII in his Speech inaugurating the Council on 11 October 1962 and later by PopePaul VI in his Discourse for the Council's conclusion on 7 December 1965."[21] He made a similar point in a speech to the bishops of Chile in 1988, when he was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger:
Archbishop Lefebvre declared that he has finally understood that the agreement he signed aimed only at integrating his foundation into the "Conciliar Church". The Catholic Church in union with the Pope is, according to him, the 'Conciliar Church' which has broken with its own past. It seems indeed that he is no longer able to see that we are dealing with the Catholic Church in the totality of its Tradition, and that Vatican II belongs to that.[22]
Responding to a comment that some consider tradition in a rigid way,Pope Francis remarked in 2016, "there's a traditionalism that is a rigid fundamentalism; this is not good. Fidelity on the other hand implies growth. In transmitting the deposit of faith from one epoch to another, tradition grows and consolidates itself with the passing of time, as StVincent of Lérins said [...] 'The dogma of the Christian religion too must follow these laws. It progresses, consolidates itself with the years, developing itself with time, deepening itself with age'."[23]
Radical Traditionalists' claims that substantive changes have taken place in Catholic teaching and practice since the Council often crystallize around the following specific alleged examples:
Those who in response to these criticisms by certain traditionalists defend the decisions of the Second Vatican Council and the subsequent changes made by the Holy See make the following counterclaims:
Integrism is traditionalist Catholicism that integrates social and political contexts. Kay Chadwick described Catholic integrism as a holding "anti-Masonic,anti-liberal andanti-Communist" political objectives. She also noted its alignment with theright-wing press and an annual ParisianJoan of Arc procession with participation by both integrists andNational Front supporters. A Tridentine Mass was celebrated before the annualNational Front party meeting. Lefebvre was fined in France for "racial defamation" and "incitement to racial hatred" for proposing the removal of immigrants – particularlyMuslims – from Europe. Lefebvre also supported Latin American dictatorships,Charles Maurras,Philippe Pétain, and the continued occupation ofFrench Algeria.[31]
TheSouthern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) used the termradical traditionalist Catholics to refer to those who "may make up the largest single group of seriousanti-Semites in America, subscribe to an ideology that is rejected by theVatican and some 70 million mainstream American Catholics. Many of their leaders have been condemned and evenexcommunicated by the official church."[2] The SPLC claims that adherents of radical traditional Catholicism "routinely pillory Jews as 'the perpetual enemy of Christ'",[2][32] reject theecumenical efforts of the Vatican, and sometimes assert that all recent Popes are illegitimate.[2] The SPLC says that adherents are "incensed by the liberalizing reforms" of theSecond Vatican Council (1962–1965) which condemnedhatred for Jewish people and "rejected theaccusation that Jews are collectively responsible for deicide in the form of thecrucifixion of Christ"[2] and that "Radical traditional Catholics" also embrace "extremelyconservative social ideals with respect to women."[2]
The SPLC clarifies: "Radical traditionalist Catholics differ from traditionalist Catholics. The latter embrace the traditions and practices of the preconciliar church while rejecting theNovus Ordo Missae, which updated the Catholic Mass by, among other changes, replacing Latin with vernacular languages. Though they may be critical of the Vatican, the organizations listed here do not represent all those Catholics who call themselves “traditionalists” or prefer the Latin Mass"[2]
In the early 2020s, individuals and organizations associated with the Traditionalist Catholic movement came under scrutiny from U.S. law enforcement and advocacy groups. This attention centered on alleged extremist rhetoric and of traditionalist groups that reject the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.[33] Advocacy organizations monitoring extremism, including the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), had identified a number of groups they describe as promoting antisemitic or conspiratorial views. The FBI cited reports from the SPLC that often employed the label “radical-traditionalist Catholic,” though the majority of Traditionalist Catholic communities are not linked to extremist activity.[33]
Catholic leaders, including theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, criticized the leakedRichmond memorandum, arguing that it was questionably-sourced and risked religious profiling of Catholics.[34] Legal analyses have distinguished between targeted law enforcement investigations and broader claims of deliberate discrimination. Commentators generally concluded that while the Richmond memo contained methodological flaws and raised legitimate questions about terminology, records do not show evidence of a coordinated program directed against Traditionalist Catholics as a whole.[35]
In January 2023, the FBI;s Richmond Field Office circulated aninternal memorandum noting that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists had expressed interest in “radical-traditionalist Catholic” ideology. The document was withdrawn after it became public.[36] A subsequent review by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General concluded that the memo did not meet "analytic tradecraft standards" and reflected "errors in professional judgment". The report also stated it found no evidence of malicious intent or of a policy to investigate Catholics on the basis of religion alone.[35]
Congressional Republicans disputed those findings, arguing that the incident pointed to broader problems within the Bureau’s internal products. Staff reports from the House Judiciary Committee and correspondence from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee criticized the Richmond memo as evidence of inadequate safeguards on religious liberty.[37][38] FBI Director Christopher Wray later confirmed that employees had been disciplined or terminated in relation to the memo’s creation.[39] In October 2025, the FBI ended its formal relationship with the SPLC and the Anti-Defamation League, following a reassessment of the Bureau’s reliance on external advocacy groups under FBI Director Kash Patel.[40]
Traditionalist Catholicism has been described as "a self-conscious revival of the liturgies, practices, and trappings of an earlier time in the Catholic Church" and this manifests in a number of ways.[41]
The best-known and most visible sign of Catholic traditionalism is an attachment to the form that theRoman Rite liturgy of theMass had before theliturgical reform of 1969–1970, in the various editions of theRoman Missal published between 1570 and 1962. This form is generally known as theTridentine Mass, though traditionalists usually prefer to call it theTraditional Mass. Many refer to it as theLatin Mass, thoughLatin is the language also of the official text of thepost-Vatican II Mass, to which vernacular translations are obliged to conform, andcanon law states that "the eucharistic celebration is to be carried outin the Latin language or in another language provided that the liturgical texts have been legitimately approved."[42] In his 2007motu proprioSummorum PontificumPope Benedict XVI relaxed the regulations on use of the1962 Missel [fr], designating it "an" extraordinary form of theRoman Rite, as opposed to "the" ordinary or normal form, as revised successively byPope Paul VI andPope John Paul II.[43][44]
The Pope ruled that priests of theLatin Church can freely choose between the 1962 Roman Missal and thelater edition "in Masses celebrated without the people".[45] Such celebrations may be attended by those who spontaneously ask to be allowed.[46] Priests in charge of churches can permit stable groups of laypeople attached to the earlier form to have Mass celebrated for them in that form, provided that the celebrating priest is "qualified to [celebrate] and not juridically impeded".[47] TheSociety of Saint Pius X welcomed the document, but referred to "difficulties that still remain", including "disputed doctrinal issues" and the notice of excommunication that still affected its bishops.[48]
In 2021, Pope Francis promulgatedTraditionis custodes, amending and abrogating parts ofSummorum Pontificum.[49]
Some traditionalist Catholics stress on following customs prevailing immediately before the Second Vatican Council, such as the following:
Traditional Catholics, with respect to male and female gender roles, often adhere to the doctrine ofcomplementarianism.[60]
The standards of clothing among Traditional Catholics, based on instructions given byPope Pius XI and consequently promoted by the Purity Crusade ofMary Immaculate, is referred to as "Mary-like Modesty", which includes for women, wearing sleeves "extending at least to the elbows" and "skirts reaching below the knees", as well as having a neckline no more than two inches with the rest of the bodice fully covered.[61][62]
It is commonplace for women who identify as traditionalist Catholics to wear ahead covering (veil) while praying at home and attending celebrations of theMass.[58]
Since the Second Vatican Council, variousEastern Catholic Churches have removed some practices and emphases that were derived from those of theLatin Church. Opposition to this has been given relatively high publicity with regard to theUkrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).
Even before the Second Vatican Council, theHoly See declared it important to guard and preserve whole and entire forever the customs and distinct forms for administering the sacraments in use in the Eastern Catholic Churches (Pope Leo XIII, encyclicalOrientalium Dignitas).[63] Leo's successorPope Pius X said that the priests of the newly createdRussian Catholic Church should offer theDivine LiturgyNec Plus, Nec Minus, Nec Aliter ("No more, No Less, No Different") than priests of theRussian Orthodox Church and theOld Believers.[64][65]
In the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,liturgical de-latinization began with the 1930s corrections of the liturgical books by MetropolitanAndrey Sheptytsky. According to his biographerCyril Korolevsky [fr], Metropolitan Andrey opposed use of coercion against those who remained attached to Latin liturgical practices, fearing that any attempt to do so would lead to a Greek Catholic equivalent of the1666 Schism within theRussian Orthodox Church.[66]
De-latinization in the UGCC gained further momentum with the 1964 decreeOrientalium Ecclesiarum of theSecond Vatican Council) and several subsequent documents. Latinizations were discarded within theUkrainian diaspora, while among Byzantine Catholics in Western Ukraine, forced into a clandestine existence following the Soviet ban on the UGCC, the latinizations remained, "an important component of their underground practices".[67] In response, some priests, nuns, and candidates for the priesthood found themselves, "forced towards the periphery of the church since 1989 because of their wish to 'keep the tradition'." In some eparchies, particularly those ofIvano-Frankivsk andTernopil-Zboriv, the bishops would immediately suspend any priest who, "displayed his inclination toward 'traditionalist' practices".[68]
Vlad Naumescu reports that an article in the February 2003 issue ofPatriayarkhat, the official journal of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, written by a student of theUkrainian Catholic University, which since its 1994 foundation has been, "the strongest progressive voice within the Church". The article named priests and parishes in everyeparchy in Ukraine as being involved in "a well-organized movement" and who described themselves as "traditionalists". According to the article, they constituted "a parallel structure" with connections with theSociety of St. Pius X and with a charismatic leader in Fr.Basil Kovpak, the Pastor of St. Peter and Paul's Church in thesuburb ofLviv-Riasne.[69]
According to Vlad Naumescu, "Religious life in a traditionalist parish followed the model of the 'underground church.' Devotions were more intense, with each priest promoting his parish as a 'place of pilgrimage' for the neighboring areas, thus drawing larger crowds on Sunday than his local parish could provide. On Sundays and feast days, religious services took place three times a day (in Riasne), and the Sunday liturgy lasted for two and a half to three hours. The main religious celebrations took place outside the church in the middle of the neighborhood, and on every occasion traditionalists organized long processions through the entire locality. The community was strongly united by its common opponent, re-enacting the model of the 'defender of faith' common to times of repression. This model, which presupposes clear-cut attitudes and a firm moral stance, mobilized the community and reproduced the former determination of the 'underground' believers."[70]
ThePriestly Society of Saint Josaphat (SSJK), which operates a seminary,Basilian convent, and numerous parishes, receives priestly orders from the bishops of the SSPX. Its superior, FatherBasil Kovpak, has accused the UGCC hierarchy of using intense psychological pressure against priests who are reluctant or unwilling to de-Latinise.
In 2003, CardinalLiubomyr Huzar, Major Archbishops of Kyiv-Galicia, excommunicated Father Kovpak, but this act was later declared null and void by theRoman Rota due to lack of canonical form.
On 22 November 2006,BishopRichard Williamson, who was then a member of theSociety of St. Pius X (SSPX), ordained two priests and seven deacons inWarsaw, Poland, for the SSJK. Fr. John Jenkins, an SSPX priest who was present, later remarked, "We were all very edified by their piety, and I myself was astonished by the resemblance of the atmosphere amongst the seminarians with that which I knew in the seminary – this in spite of the difference of language, nationality and even rite."[71]
ArcheparchIhor Vozniak of Lviv, the Archeparchy in which the PSSJ is most active, denounced the ordinations as a "criminal act", and condemned Fr. Kovpak's participation in the ceremony. He stressed that the two priests whom Bishop Williamson had ordained would not receive faculties within the Archeparchy.[72] Officials of the Lviv archdiocese said that Kovpak could faceexcommunication, and that"'he deceives the church by declaring that he is a Greek (Byzantine) Catholic priest,' while supporting a group[SSPX] that uses the old Latin liturgy exclusively, eschewing the Byzantine tradition, and does not maintain allegiance to the Holy See."[73]
Father Kovpak's excommunication process was restarted by the hierarchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and was confirmed by theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 23 November 2007.[74]
In March 2008 a group ofBasilian priests inPidhirtsi, Ukraine, announced that four of them had been consecrated as bishops in order to save the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) from heresy and apostasy and in August 2009, they announced the formation of theUkrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church.[75] Having electedCzech Basilian priest Fr. Anthony Elias Dohnal as "Patriarch Elijah", they declaredthat the Holy See was vacant, establishing theUkrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church (UOGCC).[76][77]
The group was promptly excommunicated by the UGCC,[78] an act that was later confirmed by theApostolic Signatura[79] and theCongregation for the Doctrine of Faith.[80]
The UOGCC later"elected" a new Pope, ArchbishopCarlo Maria Viganò the formerApostolic Nuncio to the United States, in October 2019. Whether Viganò accepted this "election" is unclear.[81]
There have been allegations in bothThe New York Times and the Lviv-based newspaperExpres that the church leadership is linked to theRussian intelligence services.[82]
The Holy See recognises as fully legitimate the preference that many Catholics have for the earlier forms of worship. This was stated in PopeJohn Paul II's 1988 apostolic letterEcclesia Dei and PopeBenedict XVI's 2007motu proprioSummorum Pontificum. The Holy See does not extend its approval to those who oppose the present-day Church leadership, which is reiterated inTraditionis Custodes.[83]
ThePontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei was founded in July 1988 in the wake of John Paul II's apostolic letterEcclesia Dei. Benedict XVI was a member of the Commission during his tenure as Cardinal Prefect of theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Speaking on 16 May 2007 to the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, Cardinal Castrillón, the current head of the Commission, said his department had been founded for the care of those "traditionalist Catholics" who, while discontented with the liturgical reform of theSecond Vatican Council, had broken with ArchbishopMarcel Lefebvre "because they disagreed with his schismatic action in ordaining Bishops without the required papal mandate". He added that at present the Commission's activity is not limited to the service of those Catholics, nor to "the efforts undertaken to end the regrettable schismatic situation and secure the return of those brethren belonging to theFraternity of Saint Pius X tofull communion." It extends also, he said, to "satisfying the just aspirations of people, unrelated to the two aforementioned groups, who, because of their specific sensitiveness, wish to keep alive the earlierLatin liturgy in the celebration of theEucharist and the othersacraments."[84]
In 2019,Pope Francis suppressed this commission and transferred its responsibilities directly to theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.[85]
According to the Catholic Church, the conferring ofholy orders may bevalid but illicit.[86] The Catholic Church considers the orders of traditionalist clergy who are in good standing with the Holy See, such as the clergy of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter or theInstitute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, to be both valid and licit. It sees as valid but illicit the orders of the bishops and priests of theSociety of Saint Pius X, and accordingly considers them to be forbidden by law to exercise priestly offices, but still technically priests.[87]
The Holy See declared devoid of canonical effect the consecration ceremony conducted by ArchbishopPierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục for theCarmelite Order of the Holy Face group on December 31,1975, while expressly refraining from pronouncing on its validity. It made the same statement with regard also to any later ordinations that those bishops might confer, saying that:
as for those who have already thus unlawfully received ordination or any who may yet accept ordination from these, whatever may be the validity of the orders (quidquid sit de ordinum validitate), the Church does not and will not recognise their ordination (ipsorum ordinationem), and will consider them, for all legal effects, as still in the state in which they were before, except that the [...] penalties remain until they repent.[88]
In 2005,Catholic World News reported that "the Vatican" estimated the number of those served by the Fraternity of St Peter, theSociety of St Pius X and similar groups at "close to 1 million".[89]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(June 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
This is a list of notable traditionalist Catholic groups. Some are in full communion with theHoly See; some have irregular status according to doctrines and disciplines of the Catholic Church.
As of 2023, largest priestly communities described as traditionalist areSociety of Saint Pius X (SSPX) with 707 priests,Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) with 368 priests,Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP) with 147 priests andInstitute of the Good Shepherd (IBP) with 61 priests.
3. All Catholics may receive Holy Communion after fasting three hours from food and alcoholic drinks and one hour from non-alcoholic drinks. This rule applies to Holy Communion at midnight Mass as well as at Masses celebrated in the morning, afternoon or evening. A priest's permission is not needed. 4. Catholics are urged to observe the eucharistic fast from midnight as formerly, and also to compensate for the use of the new privileges by works of charity and penance, but these practices are not obligatory.
| Documents |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People |
| ||||||||||
| General | |||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||
| Criticism | |||||||||||
| History |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| People |
| |
| General | ||
| SSPX-affiliated religious orders | ||
| Derivatives |
| |
| Related | ||
| History |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Popes |
| |
| See also | ||
