Scenes from Requiem Week in San Diego (Pt. 1)

Sunday Training and Exercises

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On the occasion of two Solemn High Requiems, the chanting of the Office of the Dead, and the recent admission of two new Brothers from San Diego, Brother Ashley Paver, a great help to the Oratorian community in Cincinnati, flew out to visit us and fulfill his office as Ceremoniere for the San Diego Brothers. In preparation for a triduum of liturgical events, the Brothers and Chorus Breviarii met on Sunday afternoon for server training. 

This was followed by Laetare Sunday Vespers recto tono with the priests of St. Anne, as well as the Exercises of Sunday Afternoon according to the Manual, the latter of which included an exhortation to persevere in our decades-long efforts to establish the Oratory in San Diego. The details for the rest of the week were also sorted out.

The Monday Night Requiem

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Since Brother Steven Holc directs the choir at the Pala TLM, the chaplain to Pala, Fr. Peter Adrian Miller, O.Praem, was celebrant for Monday night's Solemn High Requiem Mass for Maria Holc. Fr. John Lyons, F.S.S.P. was the deacon for the Mass, and Fr. Earl Eggleston served as subdeacon. Aside from the Brothers and Chorus Breviarii San Diego, those in the loft that night included members of Chorus Breviarii Murrieta, the choir at Holy Martyrs Anglican Ordinariate Parish, and Fr. Eggleston's acolyte schola. The motet during Communion was Jacquet of Mantua's O Jesu Christe. Since the burial was not to take place that day, the Benedictus with antiphon Ego sum was sung between the absolution of the catafalque and the In paradisum. It was the first liturgical service at which newly-admitted Brother Adrian Ople wore his Oratorian collar.

Fr. Eggleston chants the Epistle.

Fr. Lyons chants the Gospel.

Fr. Peter Adrian preaches on the
charity of a mother.

Brother Tom Gray fulfills his usual role
of ringing the bell at the consecration.

The servers and clerics
process to the catafalque.

Welcome, Brothers!

Warm congratulations to Adrian and Marlon, who traveled to London to become the latest (but hopefully not the last) Brothers of the Little Oratory in San Diego!

A Recently Painted St. Philip Statuette

During his visit to London around St. Philip's Day this past spring, Frater David Latorre purchased a statuette of St. Philip at the Oratory gift shop. As can be seen in the photo below, it initially came unpainted. As Fratellino pointed out, besides some details in the cassock, this gift shop statuette is a very faithful depiction of St. Philip. Paintwork was done by a friend of Frater Roberto Lionello and his wife Grace.

During our usual conclusion of Monday night practice with Compline, Frater David placed the statuette on the mantle next to the crucifix. This recently painted statuette makes a wonderful addition to the Brothers' devotional objects, and it was recommended to the San Diego Brothers' current postulants that they themselves should obtain something similar during their visit to London for admissions.

(Courtesy: David)

Throwback to a 2008 San Diego Brother

Those who keep up with New Liturgical Movement may have seen that our Brother Robert Keim has been welcomed as a new member of NLM's writing staff. Congratulations to him!

Frater Robert was part of the group of Brothers admitted to the Oratory in 2008, the others being the late John J. Velasco, his son Christopher, Wayne Lam, Richard Dawes, and George Pecoraro. 

Frater Robert reading from
Fr. Bacci's life of St. Philip in a
 Precious Blood robe.

It seems that all our articles that mention him are nearly 15 years old or older! There are some great photos included, so we encourage you to take a look.

• 23 Jan. 2008 - "New Oratorian Brothers for San Diego"
  
• 23 Jan. 2008 - "Six new San Diego Brothers admitted in London"
  
• 27 May 2008 - "Brothers in our Prayers and General Intentions this Philiptide"
  
• 8 Jun. 2009 - "St. Philip's Celebrations 2009"
  

Additionally, Frater Robert accompanied Fratellino and Frater Richard to sing for a Solemn High Mass in Orange County over a decade ago.

St. John the Evangelist, Costa Mesa, 2013

For those interested in Mr. Keim's first few articles from New Liturgical Movement, we have them linked below.

• The Exsultet, The Happy Fault, and the Queen of Heaven
  
• The Bells of Easter, Part 1: The Golden Bells of the High Priest
• The Bells of Easter, Part 2: Bell-Song of the Risen Christ
  

Additionally, he is one of the twenty-six authors included in Dr. Peter Kwasniewski's book Ultramontanism and Tradition: The Role of Papal Authority in the Catholic Faith, with some of the other authors including Cardinal Burke, Bishop Schneider, and Dr. Joseph Shaw of the Latin Mass Society, as well as fellow Southern Californians Dr. Ed Feser and Charles A. Coulombe. Dr. Kwasniewski has information on the book here.

Valē, Marlōnī

Marlon serving Mass at St. Augustine of Canterbury (right)

One of our young Chorus Breviarii members from the Imperial Valley, Marlon Munguia, will be starting a period of discernment at the Pharr Oratory in March. We pray that his postulancy will be fruitful and that the Fathers in Texas will find him well-suited for the Oratorian life. 

Marlon graduated from JPCatholic University in Escondido in 2023. During his time as a student, he led the school's Divine Office Ministry (now called Pelicanes Traditiones) and even attended some classes taught by Fratellino. Through his involvement in promoting the Traditional Divine Office at JPCatholic, the Brothers have been able to celebrate Vespers for and with the students. JPCatholic students have also been able to attend our Tenebrae services through carpools organized through the ministry. We hope that we will continue to see them attending or serving at our events.

Frater Ron's picture of Marlon serving as thurifer

Up until Fr. Samuel Keyes' departure from San Diego to a new assignment in Connecticut, Marlon also served at Holy Mass with Frater Ron Clemente at the Ordinariate Parish of St. Augustine of Canterbury.

Before becoming a Chorus Breviarii member in 2021, Marlon and his group of friends were active in trying to promote the Traditional Mass and Divine Office in the Imperial Valley. This was the cause of our visit to celebrate Sunday Vespers in El Centro in September 2021. We hope that his friends will continue to promote these sacred and ancient rites, and we may pay a visit again if time permits. 

We will certainly miss Marlon for Tenebrae this year. However, if God wills it, we may see him again with the Oratorian collar! May St. Philip pray for him!

More Photographs from London Admissions Day for San Diego Brothers 20/1/08

During the nine day trip to London, each of the nine persons in the group took somewhere around 300 photographs, for a grand total of approximately 2700 trip photos...which are going to take some time to sort out! So Brothers, and reader, bear with us while they trickle in (it is hoped to have the group picture party on the 2nd Monday after Easter, 31/3/08 - stay tuned for more information).

But for now a couple of more pictures from our glorious San Diego Admissions Day. In the first photo, taken (unusually) during Brother's Exercizes in the Little Oratory, the new brothers are blessed with the relic of St. Philip by Fr. Ronald Creighton Jobe, reverently assisted by London Brother James Cross. In the second, father-and-son Brothers John and Christopher Velasco stand for a portrait in the ornate nave of the Little Oratory, following their admission. Well done, John and Chris!

Brompton's "Little Oratory" (across the courtyard from the main church) has just undergone a complete cleaning and restoration, and is truly one of London's special interiors, the more so for being much less seen than other churches, and will be the subject of a photo-essay at a future date.