Vatican bars traditional Latin Mass pilgrims from entering St. Peter's Basilica
Illustration: Press Pass USAThe Vatican has barred participants in the annual Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage — the traditional Latin Mass pilgrimage to Rome — from entering St. Peter's Basilica in procession, according to a Vatican letter published by Vatican journalist Diane Montagna.
The letter, dated September 30 and signed by Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, Substitute for General Affairs at the Secretariat of State, was addressed to the pilgrimage's chaplain, Abbé Claude Barthe. In reply to a September 8 request, it said it was “not possible to respond favorably” to the request to enter the basilica in procession to pray at the tomb of St. Peter and adore the Blessed Sacrament.
The pilgrimage, now in its fifteenth year, gathers Catholics attached to the traditional Latin liturgy in Rome each year on the weekend of the Feast of Christ the King as observed in the traditional calendar. Organizers had already been denied permission to celebrate a solemn Mass in the basilica, Montagna reported, and then sought permission for the procession instead.
On October 24, the pilgrims were stopped in St. Peter's Square, according to the National Catholic Register's senior Vatican correspondent Ed Pentin, who reported the procession was halted at the obelisk in the square. A planned Pontifical Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major was replaced with a liturgy lasting no more than one hour, according to contemporaneous Catholic press reports of the weekend.
Montagna reported that the official reason given for the refusal was that last year's event had been “instrumentalized.” The Vatican has not published a separate public explanation beyond the letter in the reporting reviewed.
Sources: Diane Montagna, Substack (Oct 23–25, 2026), publishing the Sept 30 Secretariat of State letter; National Catholic Register reporting by Ed Pentin (Oct 24–25, 2026); Catholic press reports of the Oct 24–25 pilgrimage weekend.
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