Mater Ecclesiae Mission concluded its year-long 10th anniversary celebration with Mass Oct. 16 at at St. Mary’s Church, Our Lady of Peace Parish, in Willliamstown. Bishop Joseph A. Galante presided. In the photo, clergy, Knights of Columbus, altar servers and others gather for a photo.
Mater Ecclesiae Mission, the first diocesan-run Tridentine parish in the United States, held the closing celebration of its 10th anniversary on Sunday, Oct. 16, at St. Mary’s Church, Our Lady of Peace Parish, in Willliamstown.
Bishop Joseph A. Galante presided at the solemn Mass. Father Robert Pasley, Mater Ecclesiae rector, was the celebrant. Also participating were Father James Bartoloma; seminarian Joseph Heffernan, FSSP; and Father Glenn Hartman, In-Residence at Mater Ecclesiae and chaplain at Virtua Hospital, Berlin and Lakeland Hospital in Blackwood.
In his homily, Bishop Galante reflected on the mission’s history and its service to the Diocese of Camden.
Located in Berlin, Mater Ecclesiae Mission was established on Oct. 13, 2000, the anniversary of the final apparition of Our Lady of Fatima.
Mater Ecclesiae has no regional boundaries. It serves Catholics who feel an attachment to the Traditional Latin Mass and sacraments according to the Roman Missal of 1962.
In 1988, Pope John Paul II in Motu Proprio “Ecclesia Dei” encouraged a wide and generous application of the Traditional Latin Mass.
After the Mass, attended by 500 faithful, there was a gala banquet at Brigalias in Sicklerville.