‘We’re just interested in being Catholic’: Faithful defend independent Latin Mass
Pittsburgh’s bishop claims a Latin Mass unauthorized by the diocese does not fulfill the Sunday obligation, but a TLM advocate argues that clergy should foster the faith and not suppress it.
Traditional Latin MassChristopher Sanchez
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Thu Oct 8, 2026 - 6:05 pm EDT
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(LifeSiteNews) — An advocate for the traditional liturgy defended a Latin Mass celebrated independently of the Diocese of Pittsburgh after the bishop claimed that a local Mass does “not fulfill the Sunday obligation.”
In a Tuesday statement, the diocese said that a traditional Latin Mass (TLM) offered at Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel in Conway had not been authorized and that “the faithful are therefore advised not to attend these celebrations, which do not fulfill the Sunday obligation.”
A Latin Mass advocate who wishes to remain anonymous and is associated with the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel told LifeSiteNews that a Latin Mass was recently held there by a priest from another diocese to help attract support for renovation efforts. Further Latin Masses will not be held until the church is remodeled.
He explained that the purchase of the chapel, which was converted from a Protestant church, was the result of an effort of the “faithful of Beaver County looking for a long-range plan for our spiritual nourishment” after it became clear, post-Traditionis Custodes, that a nearby Latin Mass would be suppressed.
“We knew it was only a matter of time before the St. Titus Mass would be eliminated,” he said. And indeed, Latin Masses were suppressed this year at nearby St. Titus, where the Tridentine Mass had been offered for nearly 20 years, and more recently was offered on the third Sunday of each month (excluding Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost) and every First Friday.
In August, Bishop Mark Eckman announced that he would “not be seeking a renewal of permission to use the 1962 Roman Missal at Mary, Queen of Saints Parish,” also known as St. Titus Church, axing the only remaining diocesan traditional Latin Mass.
Now, the only traditional Latin Mass authorized by the diocese is offered daily at Most Precious Blood of Jesus Parish in Pittsburgh by priests from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.
The TLM advocate known to LifeSiteNews objected to the bishop’s denunciation of any Latin Masses held independently of the diocese.
“All of these people in authority are supposed to be using their authority to foster their faith and not using their authority to suppress the faith,” he said. He stressed the importance of the traditional Latin Mass as “the embodiment” and “catechism” of the faith.
“It passes on the faith in a way that the Novus Ordo does not,” he said, adding that its availability is “necessary.”
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In fact, the proclamation of the bishop and all those who dare to suppress traditional Latin Masses defy the permanent authorization of the traditional Mass confirmed by St. Pius V’s 1570 bull Quo Primum, which declared that this Mass may be used “freely and lawfully” in “perpetuity,” and that “this Missal is hereafter to be followed absolutely, without any scruple of conscience or fear of incurring any penalty, judgment, or censure, and may freely and lawfully be used.”
“Nor are superiors, administrators, canons, chaplains, and other secular priests, or religious, of whatever title designated, obliged to celebrate the Mass otherwise than as enjoined by Us. We likewise declare and ordain … that this present document cannot be revoked or modified, but remains always valid and retains its full force,” the bull states.
Regarding future priest options for Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel, the TLM advocate said, “We’re not interested in a Sedevecantist chapel.”
“We’re not interested in starting a new church, a new religion. We’re just interested in being Catholic,” he added.
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