COLLEGE STATION, Texas (LifeSiteNews) — Catholic students at Texas A&M University in College Station will not have the opportunity to attend a planned Traditional Latin Mass after the Diocese of Austin ordered its cancellation.
A press release issued on September 24 by the student chapter of Juventutem International explains that an official from the Diocese of Austin, led by newly-installed Bishop Daniel Garcia, informed them they would not be allowed to bring in a priest from outside the diocese to offer the liturgy.
“The Mass was to be celebrated by a chaplain traveling from the Diocese of Victoria. On the evening before the liturgy, this priest was told by his Victoria bishop that he had received a directive from the Chancellor of the Diocese of Austin expressly forbidding him from traveling to College Station. This came after the pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Center, Fr. Will Straten, reported the Latin Mass to the Diocese of Austin,” the group said.
The Diocese of Victoria, Texas, was established in 1982. It is currently overseen by Bishop Brendan J. Cahill. Its chancellor is Msgr. Matthew Huehlefeld, J.C.L.
News of the cancelation is likely to increase the criticism currently being leveled against Garcia, who was named bishop of the Diocese of Austin on July 2, though he did not officially transfer to his new role until earlier this month.
Garcia made headlines last week when he announced in one of his final acts as bishop of Monterrey, California, that he would be shutting down the only Latin Mass available in the diocese in order to promote “unity” with Catholics who attend the Novus Ordo Mass. Garcia justified his efforts by citing Pope Francis’ 2021 document Traditionis Custodes, which greatly restricted the Latin Mass’ availability throughout the world.
“I invite you all to join in unity with the parish of Sacred Heart and St. Benedict, and in cooperation with your pastor, as they gather around the Table of the Lord celebrating the rich Eucharistic Sacrifice, each Sunday, which has been a great fruit of the Council,” Garcia said.
Juventutem International is a grassroots organization of young Catholics founded in 2004. It seeks to promote traditional liturgy, prayer, and community life. Sophomore Nick Cardone is the group’s president at Texas A&M. A convert to Catholicism, he did not mince words in his response to the diocese’s decision.
“At a time when so many young people are leaving the Church, and at the same time countless more are being attracted to the TLM, it is tragic that students who long for reverence and continuity with the past are being discriminated against. The Latin Mass is not a rebellion — it is the Mass of our ancestors, a treasure of the universal Church, and is currently the most productive source of vocations and conversions. To tyrannically restrict our right to it is to close the door on the very future of the Church, and on the impact it has on the world,” he said.
Cardone informed Catholic News Agency (CNA) that the group holds the Latin Mass once a month and that more than 100 A&M students attend the liturgy, which often takes place in students’ homes. Cardone also revealed that he repeatedly reached out to priests in College Station to offer the Mass but that former Bishop Joe Vasquez’s office informed them their requests couldn’t be fulfilled “because of Church law and a vague situation in the diocese.”
The Diocese of Austin issued a statement to CNA as well. Communications Director Camille Garcia said that Cardone’s group did not reach out to incoming Bishop Garcia for his approval, which she said is required for Masses held “outside of a sacred space on the university campus.”
Juventutum said in its press release that it is not discouraged over the news and that it will seek to resolve the matter with Garcia in the future.
‘The group remains fully committed to working with supportive clergy and students to restore reverent liturgy on campus and to defend the right of young Catholics to access the treasures of their own Church. We urge Bishop Daniel Garcia to reconsider this unjust decision and to allow the Traditional Latin Mass to flourish at Texas A&M, for the good of souls and the future of the Church.”
