A parishioner of Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Parish in New Bedford, Motta said he came to the Mass
because he wanted to attend the Mass I attended as a
child. It's the continuity with the ages, the Mass of my
ancestors.

September 14 is the day on which Pope Benedict XVI's
Motu Proprio authorizing priests to celebrate Mass in
Latin according to the 1962 Roman Missal went into
effect. Benedict encouraged pastors to accommodate
the request of stable groups of the faithful for such a Mass
in Latin, which he established as the extraordinary form
of the Latin rite.

About 150 people, the majority from the New Bedford area,
but some coming from as far as New Hampshire, Rhode
Island and Cape Cod, attended the Solemn High Mass
celebrated by the pastor of St. Anthony of Padua, Fr. Roger
Landry. Msgr. Gerard O'Connor served as deacon of the
Mass and newly ordained Fr. Jay Mello ministered as
subdeacon.

The large number of people who attended the Mass
surprised Fr. Landry.

After the publication of the Motu Proprio, 23 parishioners
approached me requesting the celebration of the 1962
Mass. I was hoping that at least a few of them would
come on a Friday night. I never anticipated to see
such a huge, prayerful and enthusiastic group of
people of every generation.

Several seniors in attendance said that the celebration
of the Mass brought them back to the joy of their youth,
as the introibo prayers of the foot of the altar at the
beginning of Mass ask of God.

I felt like I was 13 again, said Jacqueline Lira, 64, of
Acushnet.

Lira described how as a young girl she used to sing
in the Gregorian Choir. All the words, notes, and
emotions from her youth all came back. I loved it. It
was so beautiful and spiritual.

Her sentiments were echoed by Janet Ouellet, 73,
of New Bedford, likewise an ex-chorister. I loved
the singing of the Gregorian Chant and the whole
experience of the Mass. It was really beautiful.

Al Cartier, 70, made the trek from SS. Peter and
Paul Parish in Fall River to attend the Mass. I saw
the notice in the Anchor about the Tridentine Mass.
I was very spiritually moved. I think this is something
long overdue. I am also so happy to see so many
young people attending this Mass.

Among those youngsters was Thomas Da Costa,
12, one of a corps of six altar boys trained by
Msgr. O'Connor to serve the Mass. It is a challenge
to learn the prayers in Latin, he said, but I liked the
Mass very much. Da Costa serves daily Mass at
St. Anthony's, and said that his first impression
of the Mass with which his grandparents grew
up is that it is more prayerful.

I really liked it, piped in Brianna Daponte, 13.

Her nine-year-old sister, Mikayla, added that she
loved the golden vestments worn by Fathers Landry,
O'Connor and Mello.

The vestments were used by the priests of St. Anthony
in former years for Solemn High Masses. The priest's
fiddle-back chasuble features a beautifully embroidered
vision of St. Anthony on the back. Despite the
passage of years, Fr. Landry said, they remain in
pristine condition and are as beautiful as the Church.

Several young adults in attendance described what it was
like attending the Tridentine Mass for the first time.

Twenty-two year old Peter Josefek of New Bedford said the
experience was ineffable, as the experience of the
transcendent through the Mass should be.

I have no words right now. It was sublime and truly
the most reverent experience of my life. It was heaven on earth.

Steven Guillotte, 43, of Fairhaven, said it was amazing.

I wanted to experience the old Latin Mass, and I
thought it was beautiful. I was able to see the symbolism
behind the reality that the priest ministers on behalf of the
Church to God. Even though I didn't understand the Latin
words, I understood what the actions and words meant.
It brought me back to the truth that through the Mass
we enter the Holy of Holies.

Marijanna Lokitis, 29, a pre-school teacher at Holy
Family Holy Name School in New Bedford, said that
she was always interested in seeing how the Old Mass was.

She added that even though she was unfamiliar with
the Latin prayers, I loved the silence so that I could
prayerfully unite myself step-by-step to what was going on.
She says she looks forward to attending again.

Fr. Landry announced that St. Anthony's will hold a
Latin Mass according to the 1962 Latin Missal on the first
Saturday of each month at 8 am, beginning on October 6.

The youngest priest of the diocese, Fr. Jay Mello, 27,
said he was happy that he was only responsible for the
duties of the subdeacon rather than having to learn all
the rubrics and Latin prayers for which Fr. Landry was
responsible. Unlike Fr. Roger, I haven't had 14 years of
Latin.

Yet serving at the altar was an opportunity for someone
ordained only two months, he said, to unite himself with
the saintly priests and people who worshipped God in that
form of the Mass for centuries.

The priesthood is not a reality stretching back only 37 years
with the new Mass, but something that reaches back
across the centuries.

"This article appeared in the September 21, 2007
edition of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the
Diocese of Fall River."