California Catholic Daily Online News Story

The following is a news story regarding the move of the Monterey Bay Area Latin Mass community to our new home at Queen of Heaven Mausoleum. Thank you California Catholic Daily for posting this story~

“A more normal parish life”

Latin Mass community in Monterey Diocese moving to ‘stable home’ on cemetery grounds

Less than a year after relocating to the Shrine of St. Joseph in Santa Cruz, members of a Traditional Latin Mass community in the Diocese of Monterey are moving again -- this time to a location they hope will be their permanent home.

Last year, Monterey Bishop Richard Garcia asked the Traditional Latin Mass Community, which had been celebrating the Extraordinary Rite at Mission San Juan Bautista since 2008, to move to the Santa Cruz shrine. The first Traditional Latin Mass was celebrated there on July 3, 2011.

“It is Bishop Garcia’s intention that we find a church for ourselves, a church for the Traditional Latin Mass, our own parish,” Father Nicholas Milich said in a message to the Latin Mass Community at the time.

The last TLM at the Shrine of St. Joseph was celebrated on Sunday, June 10. Beginning next Sunday, June 17, the Extraordinary Rite will be celebrated at Queen of Heaven mausoleum, located between Prunedale and Salinas.

“Established in 1964 by Monsignor Thomas Earley, this cemetery was originally opened as the parish cemetery for Sacred Heart Church in Salinas,” says an entry on the cemetery’s website. “The 30-acre site, with approximately 12 developed acres, offers a majestic view of the Salinas Valley. With its beautifully landscaped environment and recent plant renovations, Queen of Heaven is the most attractive cemetery in the county.”

“The reason we are moving is that our Mass site in Santa Cruz was a temporary one,” explained June Ely, secretary of the Monterey Bay Area Latin Mass Community, in an email to California Catholic Daily. “The Oblates of St. Joseph had generously allowed us use of their Shrine in Santa Cruz while we were searching for a more permanent home. Our chaplain and other members of our community had been looking for a home the past year, when we finally found out about the Queen of Heaven Mausoleum between Prunedale and Salinas, right off of Hwy. 101. The Mausoleum church there was only used once a month on Saturday's for a memorial Mass, and very occasionally for funerals.”

“This beautiful location, overlooking the Monterey Bay Area, is about as central as possible for our spread out community,” Ely continued. “When we approached our Bishop about using it, he said it was a great idea. The director of Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Mr. Charles Fowler, has been very welcoming to our Traditional Latin Mass community, and is working closely with us to get it ready for our intended move date of June 17th. We will be having High Mass at 10:30 every Sunday, and will be able to observe all the Holy Days of Obligation.”

“Our parishioners are very grateful to our Bishop and the cemetery directors, and are excited about having a stable home where they can have a more normal parish life,” Ely said.

The mausoleum chapel at Queen of Heaven Cemetery is located at 18200 Damian Way, Salinas. For a map to the new location, Click Here.

A second Traditional Latin Mass in the Monterey diocese is offered at 12:30 p.m. on Sundays at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Pismo Beach.

To visit the website of the Monterey Bay Area Latin Mass Community, Click Here.

Welcome to the Monterey Bay Area Latin Mass Community

Welcome to the Monterey Bay Area Traditional Latin Mass. On Sundays and Holy Days we have the privilege of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in what is known as the Traditional Latin or Tridentine form. The Mass is normally a High or “sung” Mass with the schola singing the ordinary and the propers. The readings from the Epistle and Gospel are read also in English, and the sermon is in English. Other differences you may observe: All kneel (unless a physical handicap prevents them from doing so) and receive Holy Communion on the tongue. Only the sacred Host is given at Communion. Mantillas are available at the rear of the church for those wishing to pray the Mass this way, as are missals translating the Latin into English or Spanish. We hope that you will feel, in a way that may surprise you, that you are “at home” in what was the Mass of most of our ancestors. For directions or more information please email Latin Mass secretary June Ely.