Bishop of Avila forbids chaplain to offer Latin Mass for American pilgrimage group
The Latin Mass has been ‘prohibited’ in the Diocese of Ávila, Spain, by a Francis-appointed bishop, in contradiction to Summorum Pontificum and Quo Primum.
(LifeSiteNews) — The bishop of Ávila in Spain forbid a chaplain from offering the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) for an American pilgrimage group.
Father João Silveira, a missionary priest who helps to establish Latin Mass communities all over the world, shared in an X post on Monday that he and a group of pilgrims had already booked a chapel in the city of Ávila in Spain when they were told that the Latin Mass “required authorization from the bishop.”
When Silveira approached the Episcopal Curia to ask permission to offer the TLM, the vicar general reportedly said, “That Mass is prohibited in this diocese.” He was referring to the order of Bishop Jesús Rico García, who was appointed by Pope Francis in 2023.
“Prohibited why? And by what authority? Has this rite been abrogated?” Silveira questioned.
“I was going to celebrate it in a chapel with the group of pilgrims. What harm could possibly come to the world? The rite is exactly the same one used in the convents of the Discalced Carmelites, stemming from the reform of Saint Teresa of Ávila and Saint John of the Cross. The rite was good for those great saints, but now it is bad for us?”
Silveira went on to imply that he was forced to offer the TLM in a hotel room instead of a chapel as planned, citing canon law, which he noted “prohibits Masses outside of sacred places except in cases of necessity.”
“Who benefited from the Mass being celebrated in a profane place? Was Our Lord more praised in a hotel room than He would have been in a church? Were the souls of the faithful more edified by seeing a table serving as an altar?” he continued.
“It is normal for people to be scandalized by these tyrannical and anti-pastoral decisions, especially from those who claim that everyone is welcome in the Church. But not everyone is. That is quite clear,” Silveira said.
“I have gone through several similar episodes before and remained silent. But this must be denounced, this cannot be the normal state of the Church. Pope Leo must act quickly to put an end to these abuses of authority.”
Pope Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis Custodes gives latitude to bishops to ban the Latin Mass, claiming that it is the “exclusive competence” of the bishop to “authorize the use of the 1962 Roman Missal in his diocese.”
This contradicts Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which affirmed that priests do not need the permission of their bishop to offer the TLM and that the 1962 missal was “never abrogated.”
Traditionis Custodes and Bishop Garcia’s TLM ban also defy Quo Primum, which permanently authorized the traditional Mass, declaring that it may be used “freely and lawfully” in “perpetuity.” The 1570 bull further declares, regarding the “Tridentine” rite:
This Missal is hereafter to be followed absolutely, without any scruple of conscience or fear of incurring any penalty, judgment, or censure, and may freely and lawfully be used. Nor are superiors, administrators, canons, chaplains, and other secular priests, or religious, of whatever title designated, obliged to celebrate the Mass otherwise than as enjoined by Us. We likewise declare and ordain … that this present document cannot be revoked or modified but remains always valid and retains its full force.
Pleas from lay Catholics and clergy, including Bishop Athanasius Schneider, to restore the rights of the Latin Mass have been formally submitted to Pope Leo XIV since at least July 2025. In January, a letter campaign was launched to ask Pope Leo to revoke the Traditional Latin Mass-suppressing Traditionis Custodes. Last year, Leo had called the Latin Mass question “very complicated” and admitted to Cardinal Robert Sarah that he was aware of the battle over the TLM.
However, Leo has remained silent as bishops around the world have continued to suppress and ban the Latin Mass, leaving the faithful devastated. In late April, a biographer of Pope Leo said he is in the “listening phase” regarding the TLM, not wanting to rush his decision on the important issue.