A community of priests who celebrate Mass and liturgies according to traditional Latin rites has been formally established in the Cathedral Parish of Shrewsbury.

The Rt Rev. Mark Davies, the Bishop of Shrewsbury, celebrated Pontifical High Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite to mark the new foundation of the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest in Shrewsbury on Sunday February 10.

During the Mass in Shrewsbury Cathedral, Bishop Davies reminded the congregation of the teaching of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI that there can be no contradiction between the two forms of the Roman Rite. “For at the heart of both forms of the Roman Rite there is the same Jesus Christ, before whom we fall to our knees in wonder and recognition of His Sacrifice perpetuated in the Mass and His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar,” said Bishop Davies in his homily.

“We do so today in the usage of the Roman Rite as it was celebrated in this Cathedral for more than a century.”

Pope Benedict, continued Bishop Davies, encouraged us to see how the “two forms of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching” for all of the faithful.

Bishop Davies said: “It is with this conviction, and with this same desire to turn all eyes to Our Lord Jesus Christ, that I have invited the Institute of Christ the King, the Sovereign Priest to establish a new foundation in Shrewsbury.

“It is a foundation that will provide for the pastoral care of the faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in this part of England. It is a foundation which will also form an integral part of the life and mission of this Cathedral Church.”

The Shrewsbury community has become the second foundation of the Institute of Christ the King in the Diocese in just eight years.

In 2011, the Institute took over Ss Peter, Paul and St Philomena in New Brighton, the Wirral, when Bishop Davies designated the church as a shrine with the specific mission of fostering Eucharistic Adoration.

Canon Scott Smith, an American, has become the first member of the Institute to move to Shrewsbury at the invitation of Bishop Davies.

He has been joined by Abbé Ashley Ritchie, a seminarian from South Africa, to form the new community based at St Winefride’s Presbytery, Monkmoor.

Canon Smith, 40, was previously a member of an oratory run by the Institute in St Louis, Missouri. He has become part of the clergy team of Shrewsbury Cathedral.

He has already begun celebrating a Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in the Cathedral each weekday at 7.30am.

On Saturdays, Canon Smith celebrates Mass in Latin at St Winefride’s at 11am and on Sundays celebrates Mass there at 12.15pm.

(Photos by Simon Caldwell)