Tuesday, July 7, 2026

It is the 7th of July 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

I love it when multiple streams come together… thanks to Ryan in Quincy, Illinois and the late Pope Benedict for arranging today’s mitzvah of both a regular show and a mailbag.

 

Ryan.. Quincy, Illinois…. Ryan is especially proud of Quincy for its 2010 entry as the eighth-place winner in the category: ”Best Small City To Raise A Family”. Also, home of James Scott- if you don’t know about the Great Flood of 1993 and the controversy around his role in it… ooh boy…

 

Ok- Ryan writes in over the weekend asking me for an “introduction to the SSPX, or Society of St. Pius X” to “explain what’s been happening in the news recently”. I’ve got that floating around in my head as I also read that it was on this, the 7th of July in 2007, that Pope Benedict issued his Summorum Pontificum… well, that relates to the SSPX… let’s tell the story…

 

It is hard to overstate how significant the Second Vatican Council was for the Roman Catholic Church. Held between 1962 and 1965, it saw the Roman church turn towards ecumenism and modernization- the most obvious change was the changing of the old Latin Mass for worship in the vernacular.

 

A Catholic’s opinion of “Vatican II” became something of a litmus test- conservative and traditionalist Catholics tending to be wary of the “spirit of Vatican II”. The most obvious change for the laity was the introduction of the Novus Ordo Missae- the “New Order”- which replaced the Tridentine Mass from the Roman Missal of 1962. It was in Latin as opposed to the New Order, which was a simplified order with the priest also celebrating the Mass while facing the parishioners.

You could imagine with that big a change there would be some who would oppose it.

 

One such group formed in 1970- the SSPX or the “Society of St. Pius X”- named after the fiercely anti-modernist Pope Pius X, they retained the 1962 Mass, along with traditions that include the veiling of women in church. It should be noted that not all traditionalists are SSPX- in fact, they represent a small fraction that might be getting even smaller after the events of the past few days.

 

The SSPX was officially “Canonically Irregular” as they ordained priests without proper authorization. By the 1980s, many were excommunicated after they ordained four bishops against the warnings from Pope John Paul II. They remained “Canonically Irregular,” but Catholics could attend the old masses held by the SSPX. What happened on this day in 2007 was a move from Pope Benedict to ease up restrictions that affected the likes of the SSPX. Before he was Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Ratzinger had worked with the SSPX to work towards regular status and ordinations.

 

And so, in 2007, as a nod to the conservatives, Pope Benedict’s Summorum Pontificum allowed for the regular use of the Latin Mass- no special permission needed. Pope Francis, a pope of a different political persuasion, would reverse this and require special permission for groups using the old Mass- which included the SSPX.

 

Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall with Pope Leo, the SSPX recently decided to ordain more Bishops. Pope Leo warned the group against the irregular ordination of Bishops, and if they proceeded, that would move them from “Canonically Irregular” to “In Schism”. On July 1st in Switzerland, the SSPX went through with the ‘illicit consecration’ and is now formally in Schism with the Roman Catholic Church.

 

We here at 1517 could get cheeky and say “welcome… fellow ' illicits '- you get used to it after a while”.

 

The take-home point, I believe, is the issue of authority and worship style as indicative of theology. Non-Catholics can look at these stories and ask about the rights of the church to ordain leadership and what rights these leaders have with regard to forms of worship…. And it’s worth noting, even in a church like the Roman Catholic Church, there are questions about the limits of authority and if schism can be healed with greater freedom or restrictions.

 

Today we remember Benedict's overture towards openness to the Latin Mass in 2007, its backlash, and the recent events with the Society of St. Pius X.

 

The Last word for today comes from Psalm 65:

Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
 to you our vows will be fulfilled.

2 You who answer prayer,
 to you all people will come.

3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,
 you forgave our transgressions.

4 Blessed are those you choose
 and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
 of your holy temple.

5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
 God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
 and of the farthest seas,

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 7th of July 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who once played Bass in the death metal band “Illicit Consecration”- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who only uses SSPX spark plugs for my… race car? Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.