A statement from Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce (FIUV) following the Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage over the weekend --- Many members and supporters take part in the pilgrimage and we as an organisation are a member of the Caetus Internationalis Summorum Pontificum; we regard the annual pilgrimage as having great significance for the movement for the Traditional Mass. We would like to correct some misunderstandings which have arisen over the organisation of the pilgrimage this year. The authorities (through the Secretariat of State) declined the Coetus’ request for the celebration of Mass in St Peter’s, in August. At that point it was hoped and assumed that it would nevertheless be possible to have a collective devotion of some kind for the pilgrims, in St Peter’s, as happened in 2023 and 2024 when permission for Mass was refused. The August letter did not rule this out, so the Coetus requested it. This request was refused in a letter dated 30th September, which was however not received by the organisers until well into October. In the meantime permission was sought and gained for a Prelatial (Pontifical) Low Mass in St Mary Major. The Coetus was privileged to be allowed a Mass there on a Saturday, which is not normally allowed for pilgrim groups. A very reasonable time slot was allocated for this, and Mass ended at about 4:15, as would be expected. The Cardinal Archpriest, the sacristans, and the Basilica security were all very helpful, and we are very grateful to them. The Dominican priests whose role is to hear confessions in the Basilica made themselves available to the pilgrims. We are also grateful to the Lissom Grove choir and to the 1,500 pilgrims who filled this ancient Basilica. Joseph Shaw, President Monika Rheinschmitt, Treasurer

Today, at the meeting of the organizers of the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage, Christian Marquant commented on the controversy stirred up on social media by people who wish to sow confusion: 1. The request to use the altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica was made on the day of Bishop Athanasius Schneider’s audience with Pope Leo at the Vatican, on 18 December 2025, ten months and one week before the Pilgrimage. 2. On 7 August, eight months after the request, a negative response arrived from the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. No alternative date was suggested for the Mass, contrary to what's claimed by those people hungry for the limelight. 3. On 8 September, Father Claude Barthe, chaplain of the Pilgrimage, sent a request to the Secretariat of State asking whether the Pilgrimage might enter the Basilica to pray at the tomb of St. Peter, as had happened in the fourteen previous years, even when no Mass was celebrated there: “May we nevertheless, on the coming 24 October, enter the Basilica in procession, pray for the Pope at the Confession, and adore the Blessed Sacrament at the Altar of the Chair? The Basilica’s sacristy informs us that this would be possible at 1 p.m., should Your Excellency grant us the necessary permission.” 4. On 30 September, the response was sent by post, delivered a few days later to the Apostolic Nunciature in Paris, and only reached Father Barthe on 12 October, less than two weeks before the Pilgrimage. The response was negative. The pilgrims would not even be allowed to enter the Basilica to pray. 5. This was not disclosed immediately at that time because the organizers still tried to obtain permission for the group to enter the Basilica, given the importance of that gesture and the scandal it would represent for the pilgrims, and for Catholics in general, to be denied entry in the context of a pilgrimage. Since these efforts were unsuccessful, the announcement was made one day before the procession that led the pilgrims to St. Peter’s Square. 6. Christian Marquant lamented the confusion stirred up by people who have no connection whatsoever with this initiative of Catholic faithful, and he emphasized that the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage has at its heart love for the Pope and for the Catholic Church. Long live Christ the King! Viva Cristo-Rei!