(LifeSiteNews) — The Diocese of Pittsburgh, under Bishop Mark Eckman, one of Pope Leo XIV’s earliest appointments, has declined to request a two-year extension to an indult allowing the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) to be celebrated at St. Titus Church, Mary Queen of Saints Parish in Aliquippa, ending the last celebration of the ancient liturgy at a diocesan parish.
In a letter dated August 7, first published by the Mason-Dixon Latin Mass Society via X, Eckman stressed that his predecessor, Bishop David Zubik, had previously requested two-year extensions from the Dicastery for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments for the TLM to be celebrated at St. Titus in 2022 and again in 2024.
However, the bishop added that this was only a “temporary” measure, called the Novus Ordo Missae the “unique expression of the Roman rite,” and emphasized his belief that now was the appropriate time for the faithful to “be brought toward the celebration of the post-conciliar rite.”
🚨 The Diocese of Pittsburgh has CANCELLED its only remaining diocesan indult Latin Mass, at St Titus in Aliquippa, about to enter its 20th consecutive year, because according to Bishop Eckman, *checks notes*.. it “was only ever meant to be temporary”. The treachery continues. https://t.co/iK6Ivaypv9 pic.twitter.com/ySfpQLayRc
— Mason-Dixon Latin Mass Society (@MDLatinMass) August 8, 2026
“In granting (previous) permission, the Dicastery reminded us that the current Roman Missal promulgated by Popes Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II is the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite, and that the faithful must therefore grow in their appreciation thereof,” the bishop wrote in the letter.
“To that end, the permission to celebrate according to the older ritual in a parish church was only ever meant to be temporary,” he added. “The expectation of the Holy See has been that the continued need for the permission would eventually come to an end and that the faithful would be brought toward the celebration of the post conciliar ritual.”
Eckmann continued:
With all of this in mind, after consultation with experts on the matter, and with much time spent in prayer and discernment, I have decided that I will not be seeking a renewal of permission to use the 1962 Roman Missal at Mary, Queen of Saints Parish. Rather, I will allow the current permission to cease as the allotted time period runs out.
Under the current expiring permissions, St. Titus, where the Tridentine Mass has been offered for nearly 20 years, is allowed to celebrate the TLM on the third Sunday of each month (excluding Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost) and every First Friday. The parish’s final Latin Mass will be celebrated on Friday, September 4, the First Friday of September.
The Latin Mass will continue to be offered at Most Precious Blood of Jesus Parish, staffed by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP), a roughly 30-minute drive from St. Titus.
While Bishop Zubick had applied for extensions for St. Titus’s Latin Mass after Pope Francis promulgated Traditionis Custodes, he also required diocesan priests to ask permission to celebrate Novus Ordo Masses in the ad orientem (meaning “to the east”) posture.
READ: Texas bishop begins monthly Latin Mass right next to SSPX chapel
Zubick also made notable personnel changes to the St. Titus parish against the wishes of parishioners. Nearly a year ago, during the final months of Zubik’s tenure as ordinary, Father Canice McMullen, OSB, the beloved, more traditional parish pastor, was suddenly removed without much explanation.
“I cried,” a parishioner named Emilie Hovanec Kisan told CBS News at the time. “It’s unjust, it’s not right. It’s time for us to fight and stand up for this. It’s horrible.”
“He’s relatable,” Hovanec Kisan, another parishioner, told the outlet. “He has done nothing but revitalize our parish, revitalize the community, and our area.”
Three years earlier, the parish’s previous pastor, Father Jean-Luc Zadroga, OSB, also beloved by the community and known for being more traditional, was similarly removed.
It’s also worth noting that Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the disgraced former archbishop of Washington, D.C., who was also the bishop of Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2006, attended Eckman’s installation Mass last year. At the beginning of his homily, Eckman specifically thanked Wuerl by name for his attendance, adding that the prelate, who is notorious for his mishandling of sex abuse cases, was “always welcome” in the diocese.
Since the promulgation of Traditionis Custodes, numerous bishops worldwide have cracked down on the celebration of the Latin Mass to varying degrees.
Within the last year alone, Bishop Michael Martin, OFM, of Charlotte, North Carolina, suppressed the TLM at all four diocesan parishes and merged them into one small chapel that was not meant to hold all the faithful who wish to attend. Martin even banned the use of altar rails and kneelers for receiving Holy Communion.
READ: Faithful pack Charlotte Latin Mass on first Sunday since restrictions took effect
Bishop Mark Beckman of Knoxville, Tennessee, similarly ordered all three parishes that had offered the Mass celebrated according to the 1962 missal to transition to Masses celebrated in Latin according to the 2002 Roman Missal.
Beckman has allowed a Latin Mass to be celebrated once a month at a small retreat center.
Several prominent Catholic clerics and writers have been critical of Traditionis Custodes‘ restrictions.
Cardinal Raymond Burke has stressed that the Latin Mass was “never juridically abrogated” and that it is not permissible for a Pope to pretend to wield “absolute power” to “eradicate a liturgical discipline.”
The Latin Mass thus “cannot be changed by a mere act of the will of even the highest ecclesiastical authority,” the cardinal wrote in 2021.
Liturgical scholar Dr. Peter Kwasniewski has also implored priests to resist the Latin Mass-throttling of Traditionis Custodes and its accompanying Responsa ad dubia “regardless of threats or penalties” because obedience to these documents would undermine the very mission of the holy Catholic Church.
The Diocese of Pittsburgh did not respond to LifeSiteNews’ request for comment by publication time.
Contact information for respectful communication:
Bishop Mark Eckman
Office phone: 412-456-3010
Email: meckman@diopitt.org
This story is developing…