The
Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri or
Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, is a specialized
institute of
Roman Catholic priests whose
mission is the preservation of the
Latin Tridentine liturgy according to the
liturgical books of
1962, the last edition published for this
rite. They have recieved special license (
indult) from
Rome to celebrate the
Eucharist,
wed,
bury,
heal, and
baptize exclusively in the ancient format. Their primary function is in running
parishes that cater to the exclusive needs of
Catholics still attached to the older ways.
Founded in
1988, the FSSP grew from a division within the
Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (
SSPX). The SSPX, under the leadership of
renegade French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, established
seminaries without
Vatican approval. Preaching that the
Novus Ordo or new
vernacular Mass is
heretical, Lefebrve ordained his own bishops to protect his
lineage. Shocked by this development, SSPX priests loyal to Rome petitioned
John Paul II directly and recieved a
charter for a new
order.
The Fraternity runs four seminaries, one of which is in southern
France, one in
Bavaria in
Germany, and two in the
United States. The FSSP also runs a
boarding school in
Pennsylvania. In contrast to modern seminaries that have begged for
entrants, the FSSP has 140
seminarians in total, with a very extensive
waiting list.
The only apparent controversy within the FSSP ranks is the question of
birituality. Some FSSP priests have suggested that the members of the society say Mass in the new
vernacular style when
pastorally necessary. In cases where modern priests share a parish with a FSSP priest, it would be advantageous for the FSSP priest to take up some of the vernacular Masses.
Conservative members of the movement have declared this destructive to the charter of the organization, and have vowed to maintain their Latin-only status as long as possible.