‘No alternative’ as Latin Mass moves to parish hall under Pope’s crackdown

Hundreds of Brisbane Catholics, at one of the city’s most beautiful heritage churches, have been ordered to vacate the church and worship in the parish hall.

Hundreds of Mass-goers from one of Brisbane's busiest and most beautiful Catholic churches – Mary Immaculate Church at Annerley – are to be forced to leave the church and worship in the hall under the Pope's crackdown against the traditional Latin Mass. Picture: Facebook

Hundreds of Brisbane Catholics, at one of the city’s most beautiful heritage churches, have been ordered to vacate the church and worship in the parish hall.

The decision, described as petty and spiteful by disgruntled Mass-goers, comes from the crackdown on the centuries-old traditional Latin Mass by Pope Francis and his liturgical henchman, English Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship. The change is expected to take place next month.

Mary Immaculate Church, Annerley, run by the priests of the Brisbane Oratory, was full to its capacity of about 600 for Solemn Mass at 10am on Sunday, with crowds of teenagers, 20-somethings and young families. About 30 people unable to find seats were standing. Other Latin Masses were also well-attended at 7am and 4pm, and at least one Latin Mass is offered every weekday. The parish, which has four priests, also provides new rite (ordinary form) Masses in English.

Only the traditional Masses will be moved, which comes after a major refurbishment of the church, which was built in the 1930s as earlier generations struggled through the depression. At a time when many churches are worried about ­ageing congregations, the old form of the Mass, counter-culturally perhaps, is thriving with increasing numbers of converts, especially young people with no previous religious backgrounds.

The trend is also strong in Sydney, Melbourne and other centres.

Catholic Arch Diocese of Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge. Picture: David Clark

Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said the new arrangement was “not ideal pastorally’’, but there was no alternative. As the parish newsletter explains: “In 2021, Pope Francis announced several restrictions on the use of the older Liturgy in his apostolic letter Traditiones Custodes.’’ That allowed bishops to designate one or more locations for the traditional Latin Mass, with the exception that those venues could not be “parochial churches’’. But many bishops continued to use their powers under church law to allow parochial churches to be used. But under a Vatican rescript in February this year, bishops were told not to invoke that power and to refer cases to Rome.

“In light of this and following discussions with the Archbishop, we now have to make arrangements to move our Latin Masses out of Mary Immaculate church … We realise that this news will be a shock and disappointment to many, and the Fathers and Brother share those feelings,’’ the newsletter said.

Latin Mass-goer David Goodwin said the city’s most beautiful churches “were all bequeathed by the Latin Mass of the ages’’. Its beauty and transcendence were “a magnet for the young, the intellectual and the convert’’.

Annerley Parishioner Kate Hobbs said the adversity of being in the hall, would strengthen commitments to the old Mass, including among the young. At a time when the Pope wanted the Church to “go out to those on the margins’’, his decision, ironically had relegated his own people to the margins, Ms Hobbs said.

Fellow parishioner Tony Bergin said the Latin Mass would stand the test of time.

“In 100 years it won’t matter that we spent a few of them in the hall,’’ Mr Bergin said.

He said parishioners were “grateful for the Archbishop’s support” (in 2013, Archbishop Coleridge encouraged the establishment of the Oratory, famous for traditional Bells and Smells liturgies and decorative churches in London and other centres).