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Shrewsbury: Bishop establishes Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest


An institute of priests who celebrate Mass and liturgies according to traditional Latin rites has been formally established in the Cathedral Parish of Shrewsbury. The Rt Rev Mark Davies, Bishop of Shrewsbury, celebrated Pontifical High Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite to mark the new foundation of the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest in Shrewsbury on Sunday February 10.

During the Mass in Shrewsbury Cathedral, Bishop Davies reminded the congregation of the teaching of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI that there can be no contradiction between the two forms of the Roman Rite. "For at the heart of both forms of the Roman Rite there is the same Jesus Christ, before whom we fall to our knees in wonder and recognition of His Sacrifice perpetuated in the Mass and His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar," said Bishop Davies in his homily.

"We do so today in the usage of the Roman Rite as it was celebrated in this Cathedral for more than a century."

Pope Benedict, continued Bishop Davies, encouraged us to see how the "two forms of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching" for all of the faithful.

Bishop Davies said: "It is with this conviction, and with this same desire to turn all eyes to Our Lord Jesus Christ, that I have invited the Institute of Christ the King, the Sovereign Priest to establish a new foundation in Shrewsbury.

"It is a foundation that will provide for the pastoral care of the faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in this part of England. It is a foundation which will also form an integral part of the life and mission of this Cathedral Church."

The Shrewsbury community has become the second foundation of the Institute of Christ the King in the Diocese in just eight years.

In 2011, the Institute took over Ss Peter, Paul and St Philomena in New Brighton, the Wirral, when Bishop Davies designated the church as a shrine with the specific mission of fostering Eucharistic Adoration.

Canon Scott Smith, an American, has become the first member of the Institute to move to Shrewsbury at the invitation of Bishop Davies. He has been joined by Abbé Ashley Ritchie, a seminarian from South Africa, to form the new community based at St Winefride's Presbytery, Monkmoor.

Ordained on July 6th, 2017 by Cardinal Raymond Burke, Canon Scott Smith, 40, was previously a member of an oratory run by the Institute in St Louis, Missouri. He has become part of the clergy team of Shrewsbury Cathedral. He has already begun celebrating a Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in the Cathedral each weekday at 7.30am. On Saturdays, Canon Smith celebrates Mass in Latin at St Winefride's at 11am and on Sundays celebrates Mass there at 12.15pm.

The homily of the Bishop of Shrewsbury follows in full:

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and for ever" (Heb. 13:8)

These words from the Letter to the Hebrews echo for us in the Cathedral Church of Shrewsbury as we celebrate a new foundation of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. At the heart of its mission will be to celebrate the Church's Sacred Liturgy in the Extraordinary Form. Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that there can be no contradiction between the two forms of the Roman Rite. In a Letter to Bishops (7th July 2007), the Emeritus Pope wrote,

"What earlier generations held as sacred and great remains sacred and great for us, too".

For at the heart of both forms of the Roman Rite is the same Jesus Christ, before whom we fall to our knees in wonder and recognition of His Sacrifice perpetuated in the Mass and His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. We do so today in the usage of the Roman Rite as it was celebrated in this Cathedral for more than a century. In this way, we accept the invitation in the Letter to Hebrews to imitate the faith of those gone before us, to "Remember your leaders who preached the word of God to you; and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith" (Heb. 13:7).

Among my earliest memories is of my mother patiently pointing her restless child toward the Altar and the Tabernacle, giving her gentle, maternal witness to the Real and Abiding Presence of Jesus Christ. Her efforts might remind how, through the beauty of the sacred rites, our Mother, the Church, tirelessly calls us - we who remain as restless children! - to this same recognition by which we can truly say, in the words of the Apostle Peter, "It is the Lord!" (Jn. 21:7). As she does so, the Church allows all Catholics to recognise in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite her one, unchanging faith.

We too share a renewed determination to "...preserve the riches which have developed in the Church's faith and prayer", as the Emeritus Pope said (ibid). We thereby avoid the ultimate folly of losing sight of Jesus Christ Himself in one or other usage of the Roman Rite. On the contrary, Pope Benedict invited us to discover how "...the two forms of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching" for all of the faithful (ibid).

It is with this conviction, and with this same desire to turn all eyes to Our Lord Jesus Christ, that I have invited the Institute of Christ the King, the Sovereign Priest to establish a new foundation in Shrewsbury. It is a foundation that will provide for the pastoral care of the faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in this part of England. It is a foundation which will also form an integral part of the life and mission of this Cathedral Church. I am grateful to Monsignor Wach, the Prior General, for his generous response to my request; and to both Canon Smith and Abbe Ritchie who have come from the United States of America and the Republic of South Africa to serve this new mission.

Insofar as we keep our gaze fixed on Jesus Christ, the King and Sovereign Priest, who is "the same yesterday, today and for ever", then the Lord will surely bless this initiative in all of the years to come. To the prayers of Our Lady, the Help of Christians, we entrust this mission and foundation.

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