They want no ties to your past.
HELSINKI, Finland (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican has ordered the only Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in Finland to be moved from the main Cathedral in the capital city of Helsinki to a smaller, more modern church.
The Diocese of Helsinki announced on August 9 that the TLM will be moved from St. Henry’s Cathedral to St. Mary’s Church in September “in accordance with the Vatican’s wish.”
The diocese quotes the Dicastery for Divine Worship, which said that St. Henry’s Cathedral was a “model of the entire local church” and “a sign of unity,” and the TLM should, therefore, not be celebrated there anymore.
The diocese noted that the TLM had been celebrated in the cathedral since Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the use of the ancient Latin Rite with his 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.
St. Henry’s Cathedral was built between 1858 and 1860, mainly to serve Catholics working in the Russian Imperial Army, as the Lutheran country of Finland only had a very small population of Catholics. The church’s architecture is Gothic Revival, and the exterior shows statues of St. Henry, the patron saint of Finland, as well as Sts. Peter and Paul.
St. Mary’s Church, more than 5 kilometers (3 miles) away from the Cathedral, was built in the 1950s in a modern architectural style.
According to the Latin Mass Directory, this is the only TLM offered in a country with fewer than 20,000 Catholics.
Since the publication of Pope Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis Custodes in 2021, which restricted the use of the TLM, the Vatican has been cracking down on diocesan Latin Masses. Statistics from the Vatican’s liturgy office revealed that just 57 parishes worldwide were granted permission to offer the traditional Mass in 2022.
The Vatican’s justification for removing the TLM, namely that St. Henry’s Cathedral is a “sign of unity,” reveals the negative sentiment in Pope Francis’ Vatican against Catholics who prefer the traditional liturgy. Theology professor Andrea Grillo, reported to be the mastermind behind Pope Francis’ Latin Mass restrictions, has claimed that Catholics who attend the TLM are unfaithful to the Church and referred to participants of the traditional Chartres pilgrimage as a “sect.”
