Per non dimenticare (sul rifiuto della nuova Messa)

Per non dimenticare

di Don Pierpaolo Petrucci

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Don Pierpaolo Petrucci è il Superiore del Distretto italiano

della Fraternità Sacerdotale San Pio X.

L'articolo è sato pubblicato sul sito italiano della Fraternità

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I 6 pastori protestanti che aiutarono a inventare la nuova Messa: fotografati in Vaticano il 10 aprile 1970, accanto a Paolo VI (a destra); da sinistra: Dott. George; Canon Jasper; Dott. Shephard; Dott. Konneth; Dott. Eugene Brand e Padre Max Thurian; in rappresentanza del Consiglio Mondiale delle Chiese, della chiesa d'Inghilterra, della chiesa luterana e della comunità di Taize.

Il solo motivo che può autorizzare un cattolico a resistere all’autorità nella Chiesa è la fede. In particolare, per quel che riguarda la liturgia, solo la fede può motivare il rifiuto del nuovo rito della messa ed il motivo fondamentale per cui ogni sacerdote e fedele non può accettare il Novus ordo è proprio perché «rappresenta, sia nel suo insieme come nei particolari, un impressionante allontanamento dalla teologia cattolica» [1]

 

Tale allontanamento dalla teologia cattolica è conseguenze di un avvicinamento, voluto e consentito, alla dottrina ed alla liturgia protestante come ha dichiarato lo stesso Paolo VI stesso che ha introdotto il nuovo rito: «Allo sforzo richiesto ai fratelli separati perché si riuniscano, deve corrispondere lo sforzo, altrettanto mortificante per noi, di purificare la Chiesa romana nei suoi riti, perché diventi desiderabile e abitabile» [2].

Di fatto, come è risaputo, Paolo VI domandò a sei pastori protestanti di prendere parte alla commissione incaricata di realizzare la nuova Messa. Uno di essi, Max Thurian, della comunità di Taizé, in occasione della pubblicazione del nuovo messale, potrà dichiarare: «In questa Messa rinnovata, non c’è niente che possa veramente disturbare i protestanti evangelici» [3].

Padre Bugnini non ha mai nascosto le sue intenzioni ecumeniche. Sulle colonne dell’ Osservatore Romano, dichiarò che la riforma liturgica è stata improntata al «desiderio di scartare ogni pietra che potesse costituire anche solo l’ombra di un rischio di inciampo o di dispiacere per i fratelli separati» [4]. Per questo ha ammesso riguardo alla nuova messa che si tratta «in certi punti, di una vera nuova creazione, dato che l’immagine della liturgia data dal Concilio Vaticano II è completamente differente da quella che la Chiesa cattolica ha avuto finora» [5].

Molti esponenti di rilievo del mondo protestante – che naturalmente avevano sempre rifiutato la Messa tradizionale – hanno affermato che vi è più nessuna difficoltà nell’utilizzare il nuovo rito per celebrare la cena protestante. Oltre al già citato Max Thurian, si possono menzionare, tra gli altri, G. Siegwalt (in Le Monde del 22 novembre 1970); O. Jordahn (conferenza del 15 giugno 1975 nell’abbazia di santa Maria Laach); infine, la Dichiarazione ufficiale del «Concistoro superiore della Chiesa della Confessione di Augusta, di Alsazia e di Lorena» dell’8 dicembre 1973 [6].

 

A nuova liturgia corrisponde una nuova fede per il rapporto intimo che vi è fra la lex orandi e la lex credendi [7] e la nuova architettura delle Chiese post-conciliari, ispirate e volute da questo cambiamento lo manifestano in maniera eclatante. Per questo la nuova messa è pericolosa per la fede e induce i fedeli che vi assistono a una professione esterna contraria alla fede.

La nostra fedeltà al rito tradizionale quindi non è motivata da un attaccamento nostalgico al latino, all’incenso, ai pizzi e merletti e neppure ad un certo rituale ma essenzialmente dal dovere di conservare la fede ed aiutare i fedeli a fare altrettanto.

Per questo non accetteremo mai il nuovo rito riformato, così vicino alla “messa” di Lutero, e per questo incoraggiamo i fedeli a fare tutti i sacrifici per assistere alla Messa di sempre e fuggire le nuove celebrazioni, incoraggiando i sacerdoti a celebrare unicamente secondo il rito tradizionale.

 

NOTE

1 - A. Ottaviani – A. Bacci, op. cit.,Vaduz (Liechtenstein) 1970, p. 23 [Lettera dei cardinali Ottaviani e Bacci a Paolo VI, di presentazione del Breve esame critico del “Novus Ordo Missae”]

2 - Citato in J. Guitton, Paolo VI segreto, San Paolo, Milano 1985 (quarta edizione 2002), p. 59.

3 - M. Thurian, in La Croix del 30 maggio 1969.

4 - Cfr. La Documentation Catholique, n. 1445 (1965), col. 604. In questo quadro appare del tutto verosimile, anche se non verificabile con assoluta certezza, l’informazione che mons. Bugnini (divenuto vescovo nel 1972) appartenesse alla massoneria: la massoneria, infatti, ha sempre predicato la parità di tutte le religioni, e dunque per un massone il nuovo rito della Messa si presenta molto meno sgradevole, sotto questo profilo, rispetto a quello tradizionale. I fatti sarebbero questi: nel 1975 mons. Bugnini fu denunciato come massone a Paolo VI; l’ecclesiastico che lo accusava forniva delle prove e minacciava di rendere la cosa pubblica. Paolo VI prese la cosa molto sul serio: per evitare lo scandalo sollevò immediatamente mons. Bugnini dalle sue funzioni di segretario della Congregazione per il culto divino e, nel gennaio 1976, lo nominò pronunzio a Teheran. Successivamente il nome di Annibale Bugnini è comparso nelle liste di prelati massoni pubblicate dalla stampa (liste pubblicate da Panorama, n. 538 del 10 agosto 1976, e poi nell’Osservatore Politico di Mino Pecorelli il 12 settembre 1978). Su questo caso, si può consultare l’inchiesta del dott. C. A. Agnoli, La massoneria alla conquista della Chiesa, ed. Eiles, Roma 1996.

5 - A. Bugnini, Dichiarazione alla stampa (4 gennaio 1967), in La Documentation Catholique, n. 1491 (1967), col. 824.

6 - Catéchisme catholique de la crise dans l’Eglise, Mathias Gaudron, Le Sel 2007 p. 178

7 - La legge della preghiera è quella della fede.

The Holy Souls of Purgatory

"There is no doubt," says the devout Father Rossignoli, "that on their entrance into eternal glory the first favours which they ask of the Divine Mercy are for those who have opened to them the gates of Paradise, and they will never fail to pray for their benefactors, whenever they see them in any necessity or danger. In reverses of fortune, sicknesses, and accidents of all kinds they will be their protectors. Their zeal will increase when the interests of the soul are at stake; they will powerfully assist them to vanquish temptation, to practise good works, to die a Christian death, and to escape the sufferings of the other life." 

Cardinal Baronius, whose authority as historian is well known, relates that a person who was very charitable towards the holy souls was afflicted with a terrible agony when on her deathbed. The spirit of darkness suggested to her the most gloomy fears, and veiled from her sight the sweet light of Divine Mercy, endeavouring to drive her into despair; when suddenly Heaven seemed to open before her eyes, and she saw thousands of defenders fly to her aid, reanimating her courage, and promising her the victory. Comforted by this unexpected assistance, she asked who were her defenders? "We are," they replied, " the souls which you have delivered from Purgatory; we, in our turn, come to help you, and very soon we shall conduct you to Paradise." At these consoling words the sick person felt that her fears were changed into the sweetest confidence. A short time afterwards she tranquilly expired, her countenance serene and her heart filled with joy.

Extract from Purgatory Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints, by Fr. F.X. Schouppe, S.j., Tan Books 1986, pp. 317-320

The end of Tridentine Mass in Malta? (Apostolic Letter Desiderio Desideravi)

An urgent meeting of the newly-elected Committee of Pro Tridentina (Malta) discussed the latest document issued by Pope Francis, namely Desiderio Desideravi. It is our understanding that based upon p. 61 of this document, the Tridentine Mass currently being celebrated at the Jesuit Church in Valletta  / St. Paul Church, Valletta might soon not be allowed anymore. The reason being that it is a Diocesan Mass. Thankfully, the previous Committee of Pro Tridentina (Malta) has ensured that Tridentine Mass can continue to be celebrated by Fr Anthony, outside diocesan restrictions. still, it is painful for us to read such a document, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Following is the afore-mentioned p. 61 of Desiderio Desideravi:

61. In this letter I have wanted simply to share some reflections which most certainly do not exhaust the immense treasure of the celebration of the holy mysteries. I ask all the bishops, priests, and deacons, the formators in seminaries, the instructors in theological faculties and schools of theology, and all catechists to help the holy people of God to draw from what is the first wellspring of Christian spirituality. We are called continually to rediscover the richness of the general principles exposed in the first numbers of Sacrosanctum Concilium, grasping the intimate bond between this first of the Council’s constitutions and all the others.  For this reason we cannot go back to that ritual form which the Council fathers, cum Petro et sub Petro, felt the need to reform, approving, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and following their conscience as pastors, the principles from which was born the reform. The holy pontiffs St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II, approving the reformed liturgical books ex decreto Sacrosancti OEcumenici Concilii Vaticani II, have guaranteed the fidelity of the reform of the Council.  For this reason I wrote Traditionis custodes, so that the Church may lift up, in the variety of so many languages, one and the same prayer capable of expressing her unity.[23 Cf. Paulus VI, Constitutio apostolica Missale Romanum (3 Aprilis 1969) in AAS 61 (1969) 222.] 

Quotes to reflect upon (24)

From the encyclical Mediator Dei of Pope Pius XII (1947). 

23. The worship rendered by the Church to God must be, in its entirety, interior as well as exterior. It is exterior because the nature of man as a composite of body and soul requires it to be so. Likewise, because divine Providence has disposed that “while we recognize God visibly, we may be drawn by Him to love of things unseen.”[26 – Roman Missal, Preface for Christmas.] Every impulse of the human heart, besides, expresses itself naturally through the senses; and the worship of God, being the concern not merely of individuals but of the whole community of mankind, must therefore be social as well. This obviously it cannot be unless religious activity is also organized and manifested outwardly. Exterior worship, finally, reveals and emphasizes the unity of the mystical Body, feeds new fuel to its holy zeal, fortifies its energy, intensifies its action day by day: “for although the ceremonies themselves can claim no perfection or sanctity in their won right, they are, nevertheless, the outward acts of religion, designed to rouse the heart, like signals of a sort, to veneration of the sacred realities, and to raise the mind to meditation on the supernatural. They serve to foster piety, to kindle the flame of charity, to increase our faith and deepen our devotion. They provide instruction for simple folk, decoration for divine worship, continuity of religious practice. They make it possible to tell genuine Christians from their false or heretical counterparts.”[27]

24. But the chief element of divine worship must be interior. For we must always live in Christ and give ourselves to Him completely, so that in Him, with Him and through Him the heavenly Father may be duly glorified. The sacred liturgy requires, however, that both of these elements be intimately linked with each another. This recommendation the liturgy itself is careful to repeat, as often as it prescribes an exterior act of worship. Thus we are urged, when there is question of fasting, for example, “to give interior effect to our outward observance.”[28 – Roman Missal, Secret for Thursday after the Second Sunday of Lent.] Otherwise religion clearly amounts to mere formalism, without meaning and without content.  You recall, Venerable Brethren, how the divine Master expels from the sacred temple, as unworthily to worship there, people who pretend to honor God with nothing but neat and well-turned phrases, like actors in a theater, and think themselves perfectly capable of working out their eternal salvation without plucking their inveterate vices from their hearts.[29]  It is, therefore, the keen desire of the Church that all of the faithful kneel at the feet of the Redeemer to tell Him how much they venerate and love Him. She wants them present in crowds – like the children whose joyous cries accompanied His entry into Jerusalem – to sing their hymns and chant their song of praise and thanksgiving to Him who is King of Kings and Source of every blessing. She would have them move their lips in prayer, sometimes in petition, sometimes in joy and gratitude, and in this way experience His merciful aid and power like the apostles at the lakeside of Tiberias, or abandon themselves totally, like Peter on Mount Tabor, to mystic union with the eternal God in contemplation.

25. It is an error, consequently, and a mistake to think of the sacred liturgy as merely the outward or visible part of divine worship or as an ornamental ceremonial. No less erroneous is the notion that it consists solely in a list of laws and prescriptions according to which the ecclesiastical hierarchy orders the sacred rites to be performed.  

26. It should be clear to all, then, that God cannot be honoured worthily unless the mind and heart turn to Him in quest of the perfect life, and that the worship rendered to God by the Church in union with her divine Head is the most efficacious means of achieving sanctity.

10 Reasons to be a Traditional Catholic and 10 Ways to Stay a Traditional Catholic

BY FATHER CAROTA

One of the dangers of being a traditional Catholic is getting stuck on the superficial (exterior) elements of our Catholic faith and worship.  Another danger is getting caught up in the polemic battles with those who are out to destroy us.  For this reason, each one of us needs to have a life centered on God through prayer.  We love and fight for everything traditional because it protects the divine presence of God in our souls, our families and in our Church.

Here are 10 reminders why to be a traditional Catholics, (lest we forget);

1) To adore, love and serve God in the most dignified way possible in this life on earth.  The primary reason we were created was to adore, love and serve God, in this life and in the life to come in heaven.  This is what gives meaning to this life and our eternal life.

2) To defend and preserve the Catholic faith in its Ancient Liturgy and Teachings.  Lex Orandi (How we pray.) protects Lex credendi (What we believe), that leads to Lex Vivendi (How we live our lives).  And this is why we are giving our lives to defend and preserve what was passed on to us from before our time.

3) To obtain a personal union with God through the practice of this ancient Catholic faith.  In living a orthodox life and praying in a manner that pleases God, graces are given to us to obtain our final goal, a loving union with God in this life and in the one to come.

4) To grow in holiness in our ordinary daily lives.  No matter what we may believe and know about our Catholic faith, what is of paramount importance, is that it will effect our daily lives and how we live it in union with God.

5) To obtaining the graces necessary to fight the devil and our daily temptations.  We live in a constant spiritual battle for our own souls, and those around us, against the forces of evil.  God has given us the graces necessary through the traditional Latin Mass, Rites and prayers to avail ourselves with great power against the devil and his minions.  The devil hates Latin and all that is sacred.

6) To defend Catholic Dogma against heresies and false worship.  From the beginning of Christianity there has always been error introduced into the Church.  St. Paul writes about the false apostles and those who are against truth in his epistles.  And this has been part of the Church’s struggle down to today.  We need to realize that heresy will have to be fought up to the last second before Jesus’ return in Glory.

7) To obtain the graces given by God that we need for the salvation of our eternal souls.  At every Holy Mass, every Holy Communion, every confession, every time we go to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, we receive divine graces.   Every time we read the Bible, pray the Holy Rosary, we receive more graces (supernatural help from God) to not fall in sin and loose our souls forever in hell.

8) To avoid separation from God, which means eternal damnation and all of its horror.  The greatest horror is to be eternally separated from our loving union with God.  In living the traditional Catholic life there are many aids to help us on our way to avoid the pits of damnation and to find the spiritual ladders to climb out of the well, if for some terrible reason we may fall into the well of sin.

9) To help as many persons a possible to be saved through Jesus’ redeeming sacrifice.  We love God, and we love our neighbor.  Out of love, we want to share the tools that God has given to His Church, for salvation of souls.  So by preserving and sharing traditional faith, we love our neighbors as ourselves and help them get to heaven.

10) To make it easy to be holy through the natural grandeur and beauty of the Latin Mass, churches, altars and art.  The Holy Latin Mass is the “Most Beautiful Thing This Side of Heaven”.  When the solemn High Mass is offered, in its beauty, it speaks beyond what human words can express.  All over Europe, people from all over the world are awe struck at the grandeur and beauty of the Catholic churches and art. Millions of people wait hours in line just to be able to visit the traditional Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in Rome.  Divine liturgy, art and music speak on their own.

There are many more reasons why to choose to be traditional Catholics. But these are some of the essential ones. So, this being stated, the next question is how do we live this traditional Catholic life every day.

1) Love God and Neighbor.  Love of God helps us avoid what offends Him.  Love of neighbor helps us grow in virtue and is indispensable. Every day we need to work on loving God and asking Him to help us love our family, our friends, strangers and our enemies.

2) Put God first in our personal lives, our family and our work.  Priorities, priorities, priorities.  Great people always know how to prioritize.  We too need to be reminded every day to put God first.  With God in the first place, the rest seems to fit together naturally.

3) Put prayer as the most important activity in your daily routine. Living in this fast pace life, we get caught up in the stream of rushing.  We try to keep up with everything that needs to be done everyday.  Prayer, then gets put off because it takes discipline and does not come naturally. It is much easier to just go along with the flow, than to put prayer first in our day and our lives.  A day that is not started with prayer does not go that well.  We always want to put prayer as the most important activity we can do every day.  Fight the temptation to put it off till later.  Later usually never comes.

4) Be around holy people who support, challenge us and council us on how to be holy.  As we see in the Bible, Jesus gathered the apostles, disciples and friends around Him.  It is wonderful to know that Jesus knows we need Him, and other holy people, to grow spiritually.  We were not meant to be lone rangers.  Let us be humbly open to other’s suggestions and constructive criticism, especially from holy priests and religious.

5) Read the Bible and other spiritual classics written by the saints. We have a great guide to help us on our way to heaven, called the Bible. All we have to do is sit down and open it and read it.  We have thousands of older brothers and sisters (the saints) who have gone before us and cleared the path to heaven for us.  We can walk in their foot prints or try to clear the path on our own.  It is a lot safer and easier to follow their path than to re invent the wheel and highway over again.  But it will take discipline to read their writings.

6) Attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as often as possible during the week.  Graces and encouragement is available at the Holy Mass everyday.  If we can only organize our day so that we can make time for this great help, we will be happier and holier for it.

7) Be attentive to the action of God in our ordinary lives as priests, religious and laity.  Most of us are just ordinary people trying to be good. The daily life of St. Joseph and Mary in Nazareth was ordinary like ours. We learn from them that the ordinary life is the ordinary way to heaven. So we want to be extraordinary saints through the ordinary life God has given us.

8) Ask God for more faith and a deeper love for Him.  Faith and love are supernatural virtues that comes from God that need to be developed. We all need more faith and love.  When we have more faith and love, we are able to put our lives (with all its difficulties) in the hands of Our Loving God.  So to grow in the virtue of faith, we need to exercise blind believing that God is behind everything that is happening to us (other than sinful actions).  To grow in Love we daily ask for the grace to do things out of love and to put love into even the tiniest event and action of our daily routine.

9) Have gratitude for the graces already present in our lives.  “The Attitude of Gratitude” is so important to keep us cheerful and steadfast on the way to holiness.  Taking time to reflect on what God has done, is doing and will continue to do in the future, helps us in the dry times of our spiritual lives.

10) Have a hatred for sin and anything that would in the slightest way offend God. Loving what God loves and hating what God hates, is a help to stay close to Him.  It is very salutary to meditate on the terrible consequences of sin in our past and in the world around us right now.  Sin is poison, a virus that kills the body and the soul.   

God has been so good to help us live holy, happy and healthy lives.  We are so blessed to have these divine treasures in the traditional Catholic Church.  Let us protect them and share them with all those who have good will.

We traditionalists know who is in charge after all; God.  And for that reason we can relax about all that is going on in the Church and in the world.  So, we enjoy each day, loving, adoring, praising and thanking God for His love, protection and goodness.

The original author of this blog passed away in July of 2016. RIP Father Carota.

FIUV Heroes (1): Elisabeth de Saventhem

 

We intend to start a series of laypeople who contributed a lot to the aims of the Traditional Latin Mass. We start with an article about Elisabeth de Saventhem who died 22 years ago this month. She was the wife of the first President of FIUV. The article was written some time after her death by the second President of FIUV, the late Michael Davies.

(We are most grateful to all those who contributed to the completion and translation of this text)

Elisabeth de Saventhem was born in Bremen in 1911 as the eldest of seven children, five daughters and two sons, to Walther Clemens, Reichsgraf von Plettenberg-Lenhausen and his wife, Carmen Guillermina.  Her spiritual formation was strongly influenced by an aunt, and her father's cousin was Blessèd Maria Droste zu Vischering of the Divine Heart, who had entered the Order of the Good Shepherd in Munster in 1885.

 

The economic crisis in Germany forced Elisabeth to give up her language studies (French and Russian) in Leipzig and she found work in an office in Berlin, quickly being promoted to senior secretary and purchasing manager (the company produced silk for parachutes).

 

The publication, in March 1937, of Pius XI's Encyclica Mit brennender Sorge saw the first public confrontations between the National-socialist regime and the Catholic Church.  Contrary to the concordat which had been signed four years before, the government forbade any distribution of the Pope's text.  Nevertheless it was copied and circulated by the Plettenberg family and Elisabeth's parents were arrested and imprisoned in Bremen, accused of "malicious gossip endangering the State".  Elisabeth, as eldest child, undertook successfully the defence of her parents before the minions of the Gestapo, so that they were released three weeks later.  The Gestapo in Berlin continued to keep an eye on this courageous daughter and shortly afterwards, following a series of anonymous letters accusing Elisabeth herself of spying, they tried to incriminate her - after more than 20 cross-examinations.  The efforts came to nothing of course, for the whole scandal had come from the unfounded, sickly jealousy of the wife of Elisabeth's employer.  The affair reached the highest levels of the Gestapo and came to a conclusion only in December 1938 with Elisabeth's brilliant rehabilitation by the regular courts.

 

During these years Elisabeth was much sought after in Berlin society.  She impressed those who met her not only by her beauty, her great intelligence, her natural charm and her "Catholic at its best" humour, but also because of her extraordinary ability to listen.  She understood especially how to recognise the problems lying deeper than the questions actually raised, and would then reply with great conceptual precision.  Behind this unusual ability lay a faith matured by interior struggles, paired with the fruit of superb religious teaching which Elisabeth had received at school from a gifted priest, Pastor Franz Moschner.  Later, at his request, she translated Moschner's most important book "Christliches Gebetsleben" into English.  The MS was published in 1962 as "Christian Prayer" by Herder Book Co in the USA.

 

Elisabeth's knowledge of doctrine and theology was so extensive and sound that her bishop authorised her to instruct and prepare converts for reception.  The time that she devoted to this instruction, and she had many pupils, was never less than a year.    She once remarked that although God had not blessed her with children of her own, she considered these converts to be her children.

 

The fact that Elisabeth  believed in God  as the "iustus iudex"  (the « just judge ») , to whom,  throughout her life, she would address the question of the meaning or unavoidability of suffering and death, lent to her own witness that convincing, many-layered depth which rendered silent every sceptic.

 

It was during the Berlin years that the momentous meeting with Isa Vermehren and her younger brother Eric took place, as they sought the Truth, which led to their conversions in 1938 and 1939 respectively.  Early in 1939 Elisabeth returned to Bremen to help look after her youngest brother and sister, and in March 1941 she became engaged to Eric Vermehren.  A few weeks later, Elisabeth's eldest brother was killed in Russia whilst carrying a badly-injured soldier from his company back to their trenches.  Elisabeth's parents persuaded the young couple not to wait until the year of mourning was over and so, in October 1941, they were married quietly in the presence of the closest family members, at Schloss Hovestadt, the Plettenberg family seat.

 

Because of a childhood injury, Eric was exempt from frontline service and served at first as a "Welfare Officer" in several camps for English and French prisoners of war.  In 1942 he was transferred to the Intelligence Service and sent to Istanbul as aide to the German military attaché there.  In this position he became aware, through freely available neutral reports, of the true extent of the dreadful deeds being done, especially in the occupied areas about which scarcely anything was known back in Germany.  This knowledge made him realise that, even as a subordinate,  his conscience would not allow him to serve the régime any longer.  During his first home leave in December 1943, Eric informed Elisabeth of his decision,  She was immediately ready to follow him into foreign exile.  In January 1944 they were "kidnapped" by the English Secret Services, in an action organised in the hope of protecting their families back in Germany.  English officers accompanied them via Izmir and Aleppo to Cairo and thence, via Gibraltar, to England.

 

The British Foreign Office had at that time adopted the Morgenthau-Plan.  Eric and Elisabeth tried, in many letters and interviews, to impress on the Foreign Office the advisability of allowing leading members of the inner German Opposition to help with the rebuilding of their ruined country, but to no avail.  They then asked that their status as "Guests of the Foreign Office" be annulled and they began to earn an independent living as assistant teachers in Worth Priory, a Benedictine preparatory school.  Elisabeth straightaway won the hearts of her pupils, despite, or perhaps precisely because of her original strictness in questions of discipline.   Among the anecdotes that she would relate of her time at Worth was that of finding one of her eight year old pupils crying bitterly one day.  She asked him the reason and he explained that it was because he liked her very much, so much in fact that he felt that she deserved to be English, and it was unfair that she was not.

For an "ex-enemy alien" it was well-nigh impossible to find a decent job in post-war England.  Eric founded a small export company  and Elisabeth helped in this effort despite her delicate health.  The early (unfortunately not long-lasting) success  of the company allowed them to leave Worth and move to the shadow of Brompton Oratory and a flat which was furnished with articles donated by friends.  Some five years passed before Eric found regular employment with a firm of Lloyds brokers.  He had by then adopted the surname Vermeeren de Saventhem, mainly for genealogical reasons.  In 1964 Eric became Director for Europe of the London firm.  The couple spent two years in Paris and in 1966 moved back to Switzerland, to settle in Clarens by Montreux.

 

From the moment that  Pope John XXIII's announced that he was con]vening a General Council of the Church,  all eyes were fixed upon that spectacular event - those of the de Saventhems with growing concern.  Elisabeth's religious life had always had its focus in Holy Mass which she attended daily with her husband.  In the accomplishment of the Sacrifice of the Mass she saw the definitive identity of the true Church of Christ and at the same time the reason for and the justification of the Catholic priesthood.  She knew - with all the Tradition of the Church - of the essential connexion between the Faith of the Church and its prayers:  as the Church prays, so it believes.  Thus it seemed to her presumptuous, nay dangerous, to question, even in Council, those forms of liturgy which have grown and proved themselves over the centuries.  The maintenance of the Mass as codified by St Pius V "with equal rights and equal honour" alongside any new forms became the main theme of her prayer, her thought and her actions, in close co-operation  with her husband, long-time President of the international Una Voce movement.

 

A first meeting with Monseigneur Lefebvre in Rome in 1962 sowed the seeds for over 25 years of cooperation, particularly vis-à-vis the Holy See.  This became intensified after the foundation of the Archbishop’s  International Seminary in Ecône, an hour's drive away from Clarens.  The Archbishop appreciated more than anything Elisabeth's ever acute sensus fidei et ecclesiae and her moral courage.  For over ten years the de Saventhems daily made the long drive from Clarens to Ecône to attend early Mass.  Later they were able to continue daily Mass attendance at a chapel in Lausanne and at the tiny Carmel of Marie Reine des Anges,  both served by priests from Ecône priests. The latter was situated on the slopes of the aptly-named Mont-Pèlerin just a short drive from home.

 

Elisabeth's life was filled with conscious and radiant gratitude towards the Church for the gift of faith.  It was however permanently overshadowed by a never-ending chain of physical suffering.  She accepted this with admirable discipline from her iron will which seemed to gain new strength at Mass each morning.

 

The end was not easy.  As the petals begin to curl inwards when a precious flower fades, so Elisabeth's mental elasticity, which had always been admired by all who met her, slowly diminished.  The interest was there, but ever more frequently the helpful replies did not  come.  Her physical frailty increased visibly, and for her  last journey from Switzerland to Bonn (the newly-chosen home, to be near the family again) a flying ambulance was necessary.  Elisabeth died a few weeks later in Cologne, in her sister's house, surrounded and comforted by the deep love of her husband and the devoted care of her sister and family. R.I.P.