This Sunday was the first that Catharina Oxoniensis and I had been to the indult in Syracuse since the Sunday when we learned that St. Stephen of Hungary’s church would be closing in August. But we pick newsworthy Sundays on which to attend: this Sunday we learned - again, from Msgr. Gleba, who is also rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart - that the indult in Syracuse will continue, once St. Stephen’s has closed, at the Basilica. Confessions will be heard from 3:30PM and the Mass will be at 4PM beginning August 19.

A letter from Bishop Moynihan was also distributed, which letter the bishop had written in response a letter from the Holy Name Society of St. Stephen’s asking the bishop to revoke his decision to close St. Stephen’s. In this letter from Bishop Moynihan we read: “I regret that I did not state explicitly enough that the Latin Mass will continue to be celebrated at Sacred Heart Basilica; that was my clear intent.”

I don’t know to whom this intent was clear - it wasn’t clear at least to Msgr. Gleba who told us all that there wasn’t room for the old rite at Sacred Heart. I will abstain from my usual habit of suspecting conniving against the old Mass and conclude that this was all miscommunication. In any case, the old Mass will continue in Syracuse after August 16th (when St. Stephen’s is officially closed). This is good news.

Moreover, it seems to me that this move will, if anything, benefit the old rite community at St. Stephen’s. Though the time on Sunday isn’t auspicious in some respects, I think that there’s a silver lining in this particular cloud: if people get up late or are traveling through town and in need of an afternoon/early evening Mass, they may well stumble upon the old rite for the first time by accident. Others will prefer the time later in the day and take this Mass by choice, even if they don’t have any particular interest in the old rite. On the whole, I think this time (coupled with the new location) will tend to increase rather than lessen the numbers in attendance.

And speaking of the location, I think that will help things, too. It will certainly set the stage for more grand liturgical old rite celebrations in the future: I mean, literally, there will be a better and larger stage for such things at the Basilica. This may help to boost numbers, too, if the external beauty of the ceremony is improved. Also, the resources of the Basilica may help attract a more proficient musical contingent for those Sundays designated for the Missa Cantata.

I’m sure that many people at St. Stephen’s are not happy that they’re being “merged” with Sacred Heart, but the buy out, if you will, will bring with it the resources and advantages of the larger “company”. The primary loss, as I see it, is a certain degree of autonomy which comes with having one’s own church building. It’s also a blow to the hopes of converting St. Stephen’s into an parish of the F.S.S.P. Perhaps, for reasons I don’t know, that was never going to happen in that particular church, but it sure seems like it might have.

Hopefully, the move to Sacred Heart will also make it more likely that some young blood, in terms of diocesan priests; for the time being, Bishop Moynihan says in his letter: “The three priests who are known to you will continue to serve the community, as they are able. I am certain each of them will continue to minister beyond the canonical age of 75, and I know that you will show them appropriate gratitude for their ministry.”

This is great, but it’s also sad that there aren’t some younger priests in Syracuse to help out; around the country, as far as I can tell, it’s the younger priests, on the whole, with an interest in the old rite, not the older ones. When the motu proprio comes out - oh, and it will! - hopefully some younger priests in Syracuse will get involved, if not in offering a daily old rite Mass, at least in helping to sustain and improve the weekly Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart.