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It is now public knowledge that as of August 2024, the traditional Latin Mass (TLM) will no longer be permitted at St. Mary’s Church in Hagerstown, MD, where The Collegium is located. We are greatly saddened by this action.
We recognize that this mandate is being implemented by a direct order from Rome. It was not initiated by the archbishop, who has been supportive of the TLM and The Collegium.
Regardless, The Collegium remains fully and steadfastly committed to tradition: providing access to the TLM and the traditional Divine Office to our students and faculty, providing a curriculum that is grounded in the unchanging teaching of the Church, and providing a culture that grows from and supports our spiritual and academic life.
To that end, there are several TLMs that continue to be celebrated in the area. They are as near as a 45-minute drive and as far away as an 85-minute drive. Three of these Masses are in different dioceses, but both the archbishop and our pastor have encouraged us to attend these Masses. While this arrangement is not ideal, it is not any different from what many families must do every weekend in order to attend the TLM.
The Collegium will also continue to hope, watch for, and take advantage of opportunities to make the TLM more readily available to our students and faculty. We are confident that God will not allow the TLM to disappear. In addition, for the sake of the faithful who rightfully seek the TLM, we are confident that in time the archbishop will return the TLM to Hagerstown, where it serves a 125-mile stretch of the archdiocese in western Maryland, and we pray that he will be successful in this endeavor soon.
The Collegium will have a more detailed position paper published as part of the forthcoming book, A Simple Man’s Case for Tradition. Publication date is on or about 1 June 2024.
