A Televised Time Capsule for Tradition

The Brothers of the Little Oratory in San Diego have been meeting again on Friday nights during this holy season of Lent to pray the Exercises and enjoy supper with one another. Our first meeting was the Friday after Ash Wednesday at Fratellino's house, and I believe that there were around ten Chorus Breviarii members in attendance that night. The following week, about seven of us met at the house of Marlon Munguia, our newest San Diego Brother. Supper that night included vegetable soup and two loaves of homemade sourdough bread.

Crucifix, candles, and pax-bredes prepared for Exercises.

Our next host was Brother David Latorre, though Brother Rich Dawes served as our cook for the night, preparing cream of mushroom soup for us in David's kitchen. Rich also provided other foods such as pumpernickel and assorted panes dulces. It would have been fitting to have Exercises in David's private chapel, but squeezing seven men into a room the size of a walk-in pantry would have been a difficult feat, so we opted for the more spacious living room. Following Exercises that night, the younger guests visited the barn and fed David's horse, while the older Chorus Breviarii members reminisced about previous years getting lost while trying to access David's property in the San Diego backcountry. We also looked at various mementos organized in David's shelves; some parish anniversary books provided some interesting information, such as that the relics in the main altar at St. Anne are those of the obscure martyrs Ss. Gratus and Beatus, or that the vestments in vogue in the 1990s were indeed quite hideous.

David's mantle includes a illuminated sticker depicting
the stained glass window above the high altar of St. Anne.

The most interesting memento from David's archives was a recording of a Spanish-language news segment on the Traditional Latin Mass that aired on Univision around November 2006. The late Carl Horst, sacristan of San Diego's original TLM congregation at Holy Cross Cemetery, likely distributed the DVD copies of this recording to various members of the Holy Cross TLM as a keepsake, since the majority of the Univision segment consisted of footage from the usual Sunday TLM at Holy Cross alongside interviews with various members of the congregation. Many of the faces in the news segment are familiar since they still attend Mass at St. Anne. David himself was interviewed for the segment, with Brothers Tom Gray and Ron Clemente standing behind him.

Fr. Victor Szczurek, O.Praem. and Archbishop Cordileone were also interviewed in English and Spanish respectively. Following the days of Holy Cross, Fr. Victor served as a regular chaplain to the Traditional Latin Mass communities in North County before they were exiled to Pala, and his chaplaincy was from there succeeded by the chaplaincy of Fr. Peter Adrian Miller, O.Praem. Fr. Victor was also often the celebrant or hebdomadary for many of our events, including Missa Cantatas at St. John the Evangelist in Encinitas and All Hallows Vespers at the Serra Chapel at Mission San Juan Capistrano. During his interview, Archbishop Cordileone (who was at that time still an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of San Diego and the Titular Bishop of Natchez, Mississippi) made references to the liturgical conservatism of then-Pope Benedict XVI. The opinions on reverence, beauty, and tradition expressed by His Excellency today seem to have remained unchanged since this interview from nearly two decades ago, when Summorum Pontificum had yet to be published. We pray that we may be able to celebrate Mass or Vespers with His Excellency again in the future, and we hope that whoever is appointed to our diocese to succeed McElroy is gracious enough to permit His Excellency to celebrate the Traditional Rite whenever he comes through town.

A White Elephant for D.C.

Whether Cardinal McElroy's promotion from the humble Diocese of San Diego to the prestigious Archdiocese of Washington leads to greater liberties for Chorus Breviarii and even better prospects for the foundation of an Oratory in San Diego remains to be seen.

A blessed Epiphany to all, especially the Brothers of the Little Oratory in D.C.

Deo Gratias to 2024 (Pt. 2)

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

to all of our supporters!

An All Hallows After-Party

Photos and Comment from Fratellino:

"First Vespers was followed by some high-calorie festivities... and the evening ended with sung Compline. Now THAT was an All Hallows Eve!"

Vespers of the Dead from Megan

Thank you to Megan Palihnich for providing photos and videos of our Chorus Breviarii members (sans Brothers) singing Vespers of the Dead to gain indulgences for the souls in Purgatory at Old Calvary Cemetery.

More Scenes from Martinmas

Our photographer for our celebration of Martinmas at Walsingham Burrow, Frater Jon T. Velasco, has provided us with these images from both the Vespers service and the splendid supper, which included goose, stuffing, and spätzle, alongside other wonderful dishes!

Still more photos from 2024 to come!

Deo Gratias to 2024 (Pt. 1)

Frater Jon T's picture of us at Martinmas supper

For our American readers keeping up with our blog, we hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we pray for your acclimation to whatever penances you have planned for the rest of St. Martin's Lent and Advent. The Brothers and Chorus Breviarii give thanks to God for their ability to continue their activities, both liturgical and recreational, throughout the liturgical year. To commemorate the end of the 2024 liturgical year, we present some photos from events much earlier in the year that we were unable to post earlier. We have a large backlog of photos from earlier in the year and from years past, so stay tuned for more.

First Visit to the Chaldean Cross

Our poster designer Martin helped to organize the St. Anne Young Adult Group's first hike up to the Chaldean Holy Cross in Jamul, CA on Passion Saturday. Fr. Jesus Valenzuela, F.S.S.P. led the young adults in praying the Stations of the Cross while climbing to the summit of the hill, which was about 900 feet above sea level. We were joined by Mr. Peter O'Connor, F.S.S.P., a seminarian at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, NE. Mr. Grant Dunn, who was leading the young adult group at the time of the hike and has sung in choir with the Brothers for a few Vespers events in the past, is also currently enrolled in his first year at the Denton seminary. Our climb to the top was very penitential, as aside from the steep incline and loose dirt, we also had to deal with a cold drizzle that eventually intensified into windy rain. The rainy conditions died down when we were halfway down the mountain. 

Set on private land between rural and suburban East County, this cross commemorates the persecuted Christian communities of the Middle East, many of whom have been martyred for their embrace of the faith. Many persecuted Middle Eastern Christians have come to the United States, with a large percentage of them being Chaldean Catholics such as the family who installed this cross last December, the Attishas. Counting the Catholic communities alone, there are also Melkites, Maronites, and Syriacs. The Chaldeans have established a large presence in El Cajon and adjacent communities, with a monastery located just east of Montgomery Field. The prominent placement of the Chaldean Cross makes it visible from the southern edge of Rancho San Diego, a community located just south of El Cajon proper which is home to St. Peter's Chaldean Cathedral and an adjacent convent. The future site of an expanded St. Anne Catholic Church is located on the northern edge of Rancho San Diego, only a brief walk from the Chaldeans' seminary in El Cajon. 

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Interestingly, the unity between the Chaldean communities of El Cajon and Rancho San Diego was the subject of a lawsuit filed a couple years ago by LiMandri & Jonna LLP that disputed the legality of the new San Diego County Supervisorial District boundaries. As business-oriented Catholics who have suffered at the hands of Muslims, the Chaldeans have generally voted along conservative lines like the rest of East County. Both the Chaldean community and the County's Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) admitted that the redraws were made in the interest of "BIPOC" activism, with the Chaldean Coalition claiming that "BIPOC" / BLM / anti-conservative interests motivated the push to dilute the Chaldean vote. Meanwhile, the County claims that the IRC was acting in the interest of immigrant and refugee communities, which may highlight that Arab Muslim communities in East County are politically closer to fellow Muslim refugees in San Diego's Mid-City neighborhoods than Chaldeans in East County. Regardless of the validity of the IRC's justification, the lawsuit was rejected in 2023, leaving Rancho San Diego's Chaldean community in the county's most diverse Supervisorial District, with some of the areas represented including immigrant neighborhoods, Black communities, and homosexual enclaves. In general, the District votes solidly liberal.

Many of our younger Chorus Breviarii members are familiar with both Fr. Andrew "Andy" Younan, chorbishop and seminary rector, and Fr. Ankido (Enkidu) Sipo, abbot, due to their positions as professors at JPCatholic University in Escondido. Fr. Andy also offers the Sunday Divine Mysteries in the Chaldean Rite ad orientem at Mar Narsai Chaldean Catholic Mission, which shares facilities with Holy Martyrs of England and Wales Anglican Ordinariate Parish, the home parish of our Chorus Breviarii brethren in Murrieta.

Delayed Tenebrae Scenes

We currently have multiple days of Tenebrae videos from both 2023 and 2024 that we plan on uploading to YouTube around Ash Wednesday of 2025. We also have a large collection of photos from both St. Anne and Holy Martyrs. As at last year's Tenebrae services at St. Anne, Fr. Valenzuela was our hebdomadary. Mr. Peter O'Connor, F.S.S.P. and Mr. Grant Dunn also joined us for Tenebrae, each one reading a Lesson. Since 2022, a few of us have made it a custom to visit the Ruthenians at Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church following Tenebrae of Holy Saturday for the celebration of Jerusalem Matins, where we always see Chorus Breviarii associate Gary Huber leading as cantor.

Courtesy: Bert Porciuncula

The Crown Point Country Club

Our annual Paschal Gaudeamus took place on April 22 at the highly-exclusive and extremely secretive Crown Point Country Club. Chorus Breviarii members from down near the Mexican border all the way up to Murrieta gathered to enjoy the end of Lenten fasting to engage in Paschaltide feasting. Our potluck dinner, which included bratwurst, "Tasting is Believing" chicken, and various other dishes was delicious. Highlights at the club that night included an outdoor grill and tiki bar, heated and unheated saltwater pools, and live coverage of the San Diego Padres. My own dip in the pool was followed by some cozying-up by the fire-ring. Considering the cold air that often passes over Crown Point, some modest drinking also aided in warming up the body. For information about the club's history, membership dues, and actual existence, please contact Mr. John B. Polhamus.

Ecce quam bonum et quam jucundum, habitare fratres in unum!

Photos from St. Didacus 2024

Last week, we sang for the Feast of our Diocesan Patron, St. Didacus, according to his feast day in the Universal Calendar. Our chants selections included Mass VI, Credo IV, Iste confessor Domini sacratus (the pre-1632 hymn of a Confessor), and Dulce lignum. Following Mass, the Brothers and Chorus Breviarii continued the tradition of enjoying dinner at Rudford's Diner on Old Highway 80 (El Cajon Boulevard). As a Solemn Feast that would have been considered a Holy Day of Obligation for our diocese centuries ago, we found it fitting to feast rather than fast despite it being a mere day after the beginning of St. Martin's Lent!

Vespers at Old Calvary Cemetery 2024

A small group of Chorus Breviarii members sang Vespers of the Dead for the repose of the souls in Pioneer Park, formerly known as Calvary Catholic Cemetery, San Diego's second Catholic cemetery. Following the chanting of Vespers under the large eucalyptus trees, we processed with the crucifix down the hill to the collection of gravestones at the edge of the park overlooking Washington Street / Old Highway 80. The full story of Calvary Cemetery's abandonment is too messy to detail here, but to summarize, it appears that the Diocese under Bishop Buddy and the City of San Diego couldn't agree on who should be in charge of maintaining the cemetery following the establishment of Holy Cross. The City owned the land, but City Council expected the Diocese to maintain the grounds. Vandalism and plant overgrowth worsened over the years, and the City soon decided to take advantage of a newly-passed California law that allowed abandoned cemeteries to be converted into parks. Overall, it seems that while the individuals buried in El Campo Santo in Old Town have fallen victim to secular revelries and distorted views of the afterlife divorced from the Catholic heritage of San Diego's first cemetery, the individuals buried in Calvary Cemetery have fallen victim to apathy. There are still tacky ghost tours that occur at Pioneer Park during October and November, but because the cemetery site is located in a residential area rather than a popular tourist destination like Old Town, it's more likely for visitors to Old Calvary to be interested in physical activity or a relaxing outing, rather than ghost hunts.

For further reading, there is plenty of information online about the founding and eventual abandonment of Calvary Cemetery on various websites about San Diego's local history and unique sites.

For the holy souls buried in this park, may they find eternal rest.

Courtesy: Victoria Martino