American cardinal celebrates old Latin Mass at Vatican

In a break from his predecessor, Pope Leo XIV gave permission for the ancient liturgy.

- BY NICOLE WINFIELD

CARDINAL Raymond Burke led the two-hour Mass at St. Peter's Basilica.

(ALESSANDRA TARANTINO Associated Press)

A top American cardinal celebrated a traditional Latin Mass this weekend in St. Peter's Basilica with the explicit permission of Pope Leo XIV, thrilling traditionalist Catholics who felt abandoned after Pope Francis sharply restricted the ancient liturgy.

A few thousand pilgrims, many of them young families with multiple children and the women covering their heads with lace veils, packed the altar area of the basilica to standing-room-only capacity Saturday.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, the conservative American figurehead, presided over the two-hour liturgy, which was rich in hymn, incense and priests bowing to the altar, their backs to the faithful in the pews.

For many traditionalists, the moment was a tangible sign that Leo might be more sympathetic to their plight, after they felt rejected by Francis and his 2021 crackdown on the old liturgy.

Francis had taken action after the spread of the ancient liturgy, especially in the United States, dovetailed with the rise of religiously inspired political conservatism and decline in church attendance at more progressive parishes.

"I'm very hopeful," said Rubén Peretó Rivas, an Argentine organizer of the pilgrimage. "The first signs of Pope Leo are those of dialogue and listening, truly listening to everyone."

Liturgy wars a long time brewing

The latest rounds in the liturgy wars date back to the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings that modernized the church. Among the reforms was the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular, rather than Latin.