Archdiocese bans Pius X Society pilgrims from Denver churches

Denver, Colo., Aug 27, 2007 / 08:38 am

Members of the break-away Society of St. Pius X complied with directives from the Archdiocese of Denver on Saturday, banning them from praying in two Denver churches.

Since 1999, members of St. Isidore the Farmer Church in Watkins, Colorado have embarked on a 50-mile walking pilgrimage to Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, Colorado to thank God for the completion of their church.

In the past, the pilgrims stopped along the route to pray and rest in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception or Holy Ghost Church, both in downtown Denver.

However, the last several years, parishioners from the two churches complained that the pilgrims were leaving behind Pius X literature and trying to recruit members, communications director Jeanette DeMelo told Rocky Mountain News.

In 2002, Archbishop Charles Chaput put an end to these pilgrims celebrating their Mass at the Cabrini shrine because of the group has split from the Roman Catholic Church. Since then, the pilgrims have celebrated their Mass at the highway turnout below the shrine.

The Vatican has determined that the Society of St. Pius X is schismatic based on its adherence to a 16th-century version of the Latin Mass, its rejection of the Second Vatican Council, and in some cases, their rejection of the authority of the Pope.