Port Richmond Welcomes Latin Mass at Nativity BVM

The Latin Liturgy Association wishes to extend its thanks to Father Dennis Fedak, pastor of Nativity BVM in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, for granting the first Traditional Latin Mass at the church since the Second Vatican Council. The First Saturday Mass was held at 11:30am and was celebrated by Father Harold McKale, resident at Nativity BVM. The Mass was attended by an estimated 90 people, roughly half of that were from one of the local parishes in Port Richmond and had not attended a Latin Mass since the council.

We wish to make one important note here: While the Archdiocese has been generous in granting several sites for the TLM on a regular basis, many of the local residents who attended this Mass are unable to reach the other sites because they lack a car and public transportation is not a viable option. In this particular case, the high attendance at Mass demonstrates the potential for planting the seeds of a new TLM site if resources became available, and to reinvigorate the faith in a community that has seen a widespread decline in Mass attendance since Vatican II. In 2015, the Archdiocese will be conducting a study of this cluster and take recommendations for consolidation or closure of parishes, including the beautiful Nativity BVM Church. The Association hopes this first TLM at Nativity BVM will serve as an opportunity to reverse the decline in a once stronghold of Catholicism.

Future announcements regarding Latin Masses at Nativity BVM will be posted on this website.