VATICAN CITY – Pilgrims attending the 15th annual Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage in Rome were reportedly prohibited from entering St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, October 24, despite the visit being included in the original program. The decision followed an earlier refusal to permit Bishop Athanasius Schneider to celebrate the pilgrimage’s Pontifical Mass inside the basilica.
Vatican journalist Diane Montagna reported the development on Friday, citing Christian Marquant, the pilgrimage’s chief organizer. According to Montagna, the Vatican Secretariat of State informed the organizers in a letter:
“Your procession is not allowed to enter into St. Peter’s Basilica.”
Marquant subsequently informed the pilgrims that the procession would not enter the basilica as planned. He also indicated that accusations had been made that the Mass celebrated at St. Peter’s in 2025 had been “instrumentalized.”
Earlier Restrictions on the Pontifical Mass #
The latest decision follows the Vatican’s earlier refusal to grant Bishop Schneider permission to celebrate the pilgrimage’s Pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
As previously reported by LifeSiteNews, a source close to the organizers said last month that the Secretariat of State had sent a letter explaining that permission for the Mass would not be granted “at least for this year.” The source added that the reasons for the decision remained unclear.
Instead, Bishop Schneider celebrated the Pontifical Mass at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the high altar of the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major.
The choice of venue was particularly noteworthy because Pope Francis, who promulgated the 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, which introduced further restrictions on the celebration of the traditional Roman liturgy, is buried in St. Mary Major.
A Procession Cancelled #
The pilgrimage’s original program had included a procession into St. Peter’s Basilica, where participants were to pray and venerate the tomb of the Apostle Peter at the Altar of the Confession. The visit had been scheduled for Saturday afternoon, before the Pontifical Mass at St. Mary Major.
The reported prohibition meant that the planned visit could not proceed as advertised, depriving pilgrims of the opportunity to carry out this part of the pilgrimage.
The Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage #
The annual Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage brings together clergy, religious, and lay faithful devoted to the traditional Roman liturgy. Its name recalls Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which broadened access to the celebration of the Mass according to the Roman Missal of 1962.
This year’s pilgrimage thus encountered two significant restrictions: the refusal to permit Bishop Schneider to celebrate the Pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and the subsequent prohibition of the planned procession into the basilica.
Both decisions have raised further questions about the place of the traditional Roman liturgy within the life of the Church and the practical opportunities available to the faithful who attend this annual pilgrimage in Rome.