Welcome to St. Pius V Shrine, where you will only find the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. If you are thinking about coming back to the Traditional Latin Mass, or if you have attended it for the first time, you probably have a number of questions. We have remained faithful to the Traditional Mass not out of stubbornness, disobedience, matter of preference, or nostalgia but because of TRUTH. Our true Faith, no matter the circumstances, is immutable and must never be compromised. The true Faith never changes.
The Traditional Latin Mass is a perfect expression of the unchanging and immutable Catholic teaching on the nature of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. It is also a refuge from the many false teachings and sacrilegious practices which have found their way into our parish churches as a result of the New Order Mass (Novus Ordo) and the changes within the Church. We have a traditional right to attend the Traditional Latin Mass, guaranteed forever by our patron saint, Pope St. Pius V, through his formal papal document, Quo Primum. This right cannot be taken away from us and attendance at this Mass is an instrumental means in attaining the salvation of one's soul.
Many people seek out the Traditional Latin Mass because some things just don't "seem right" at their local Novus Ordo Mass parish. Most of these problems can be traced to changes which started to appear in the Church shortly after the close of the Second Vatican Council (1962 - 1965). These changes culminated in the Novus Ordo Mass.
In 1969, most of the Mass liturgy was rewritten by a Vatican commission whose membership included six Protestant ministers. The very nature of the Mass was changed: the altar was replaced with a table; the sacrificing priest became the "President of the Assembly"; the traditional Offertory prayers, so suggestive of the Catholic theology of sacrifice, were discarded and replaced with a Jewish grace before meals; the actual words of the Consecration used by Our Lord at the Last Supper were changed and perverted; the altar rail was removed; the true Body of Christ, during Holy Communion, was allowed and encouraged to be distributed and received by non-consecrated hands; the reverential act of receiving the Holy Eucharist while kneeling was replaced with standing. In fact, many of the changes seen in the Novus Ordo Mass are the exact same changes made by the Protestants in the 16th century when they broke away from the Holy Catholic Church. The Novus Ordo Mass today shares many similarities with Protestant worship services.
When people attend the Traditional Latin Mass, their first impression is that the priest's actions and the Mass prayers are very different compared to those in the Novus Ordo Mass. These most notably are the Mass prayers in Latin (Note that the missals in the pews have the Mass prayers written in English and Latin.) and having the priest's attention face God while his back is toward the congregation. As obvious as these differences are, there are other differences which apply to the congregation. These differences include:

When and how Holy Communion is received
Consideration of the clothing style worn to Mass
Conduct before, during and after Mass

We seek to welcome newcomers to the ways of the Traditional Latin Mass as Christ sought to bring a lost sheep back to His flock. It is our intention to inform and show by example how to express reverence to the Blessed Sacrament and to pray the Mass, and certainly to avoid any discomfort on a newcomer's part. Please feel welcome to grow here in the ways of the Traditional Catholic Faith as we all strive to further our knowledge of the same.
Many years have passed since the changes in the Church began. We have found that the few simple guidelines which were known and followed by the youngest school child a few decades ago are often forgotten or not known by today's Catholics, young and old alike. Please explore the other newcomer links for guidelines that a Catholic attending the Traditional Latin Mass should adhere to.