Vatican Bars TLM Pilgrims From St. Peter's Basilica

The fifteenth annual Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, known as Ad Petri Sedem, will not be allowed to enter St. Peter's Basilica as a group on October 24. Organizers received a letter from the Secretariat of State and made its contents public on October 23, the first day of the three-day gathering in Rome, which runs through October 25.

The letter states: "Your procession is not allowed to enter into St. Peter's Basilica." The group had intended to proceed into the basilica to pray at the tomb of St. Peter, a customary act of the pilgrimage for priests and lay faithful attached to the Traditional Latin Mass.

The refusal of group entry extends a prior decision denying celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica for this edition of the pilgrimage. The main liturgy has been moved outside the Vatican basilica.

Last year, Pope Leo XIV authorized Cardinal Raymond Burke to celebrate a Traditional Latin Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica during the pilgrimage. That celebration inside the Vatican basilica is not being repeated in the same form this year. Organizers underlined on October 23 that the restriction applies specifically to the pilgrimage group for the 2026 edition.

The program continues in Rome through October 25. Pilgrims will assemble for the pontifical Mass at St. Mary Major at the hour set by the organizers, with the rest of their schedule of prayer maintained in the city.