Summer 2012 - Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

Christ the King across America
Members and friends of the Society
of the Sacred Heart, lay branch of
the Institute, gathered at the Shriane
of Christ the King in Chicago
for the annual National Retreat
preached by Monsignor Wach.
Tel 773-363-7409
Fax 773-363-7824
info@institute-christ-king.org
www.institute-christ-king.org
Summer 2012
Christus Regnat
Provincial Superior for the U.S.
Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
Institute of
Christ the King
Sovereign Priest
U.S. Provincial Headquarters
6415 S. Woodlawn Ave
Msgr. R. Michael Schmitz
Vicar General
Annual Visit of Prior General to USA Apostolates
Monsignor preaches retreat
for Canons at St. Francis de
Sales; St. Louis, Missouri.
and the sanctification of priests in the service
of the Church and souls.
Priest is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical
Right whose goal is the honor of God
In the weeks of early summer, the Founder and Prior General of the Institute, Monsignor
The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign
Gilles Wach, visited all of the apostolates of the Institute across the US. Monsignor expressed
time and time again his gratitude to the faithful for their continual prayers and generous
support of the Institute priests and seminarians.
Chicago, IL 60637-3817
Solemn High Mass at St. Mary’s ,
Wausau, Wisconsin.
First Communion at St. Margaret Mary,
Oakland, California.
Summer
Camps for
Boys and
for Girls
Solemn High Mass at Old St. Patrick’s,
Kansas City, Missouri.
About 180 children attended both the boys’ and also the girls’ summer camps in Wisconsin
under the guidance of Institute priests, oblates, and seminarians, as well as many
parents and adult volunteers. The five days of each camp were full of many activities:
Holy Mass and Rosary walks, sports and archery, nature hunt and cooking contests,
spiritual talks & singing around the campfire.
I NSTITUTE OF
C HRIST THE KING
S OVEREIGN PRIEST
Cardinal Burke
Ordains
Five New Priests
The Newly Ordained
Thank You
For Your Support!
5 Priests, 5 Deacons
10 Subdeacons, 50 Seminarians
Step By Step to the Priesthood
Dear friends of the Institute of Christ the King,
Alter Christus! The Priest is another Christ! Our patron St. Thomas Aquinas says that this
priestly dignity is so great that a man can only come to understand its excellence gradually over
time. The sublime duties and responsibilities of the priesthood must be realized one step at a time.
This is why the Church has established from its earliest centuries various steps, so that a man can
mount the steps one by one to the altar and thus become a priest. These steps are called the Minor and Major Orders.
His Excellency, the Most Reverend J. Basil Meeking, Bishop Emeritus of Christchurch,
New Zealand, (left below) conferred the tonsure & various Minor Orders in the
seminary chapel on July 3 to over 40 seminarians, including 16 Americans.
In the first step called tonsure a man receives
Institute Choir Camp for Children
the first step toward the clerical state. In the
tonsure ceremony a man receives a surplice,
Thirty-six children coming from all over the country devoted a
week to improving their musical skills and deepening their
Faith. An intense musical environment, fun outdoor activities,
in addition to daily Mass and prayer, gave not only a splendid
result artistically, but inspired these young Catholics with an
ever greater love for the beauty of Sacred Music.
WWW.INSTITUTE-CHRIST-KING.ORG
the white garment which symbolizes the purity
his soul ought to have (right above). The bishop cuts five locks of his hair in
the form of a cross. After the second year, the seminarian is called by the
Bishop to the next step: the Minor Order of Porter. The duties of the porter
are to ring the bells and to open the church and sacristy . A man learns
responsibility for the care of the house of God.

The next step is the Order of Lector. The lector chants certain lessons and epistles at the Mass and Divine
Office. The lector begins to learn how to practice in his life the sacred truths which he declares with his mouth.
The third step on the altar of the priesthood is ordination in the Order of Exorcist (left). In the early Church,
the duty of the exorcist was to cast out demons. Now that duty belongs alone to the priest who has received
Summer with
Seminarians
Summer with Seminarians
American seminarians serve in US apostolates
New Oblates of
the Institute
Monsignor Wach
confers the cassock
the bishop’s delegation. Today the Order of Exorcist gives the seminarian the grace to overcome the devil’s
temptations in his own life and thus to persevere on his way up the steps to the altar.
The fourth Minor Order is that of Acolyte. The acolyte’s duties are
to serve at Mass by carrying candles and presenting the wine and
water which are to be used at Mass.
Every summer American seminarians return to the
United States. In addition to several weeks of vacation
with their families, the seminarians also serve
for one month in an apostolate in order to help the
Canons and the faithful, as well as to gain valuable
The Institute has
been blessed with
an increasing number
of vocations to
the oblatehood.
After these four Minor Orders, the seminarian prepares for the definitive
step which will permanently make him a member of the clergy. These definitive
steps on his way to the altar are called the Major Orders. The first
Major step is the Subdeaconate. A man promises celibacy and to serve as a
minister of the altar for life. As a sign of his
pledge, the subdeacon has the duty to pray
the Divine Office, the liturgical prayer of
the Church every day. The second major
step is the Diaconate. The deacon announces
the Gospel and preaches it. The
deacon can baptize, administer blessings,
and distribute Holy Communion. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Alexander
K. Sample, Bishop of Marquette, Michigan, ordained five deacons (above right) and
ten subdeacons, including 5 Americans. Finally, the deacon is called to priestly ordination.
The seminarian has now been brought up all the steps to the altar of God as a
Priest. He becomes one with Christ Priest and Victim—Alter Christus! His Eminence,
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic
Signatura, ordained five priests for the Institute on July 5 (above left).
Today, you have the opportunity to help these seminarians reach
the altar. Every day of their seminary formation, they pray for you
their benefactors. They desire to repay your generosity today,
with their future priestly service. Your generous gift of $40 can
sponsor a seminarian for a day. A donation of $300 would pay for
7 days of priestly formation. For the honor and glory of Christ
our High Priest, please help these seminarians to reach the altar.
May God reward you!
Yours very truly in Christ the King,
experience and insight into the life and duties of the
Institute priests. From camps to catechism classes,
from altar serving training to choir lessons, from
picnics and games to family events, the seminarians
are actively involved in assisting the Canons in the
care of souls.
The international seminary may seem far away; and
the seven year seminarian program may seem long.
However, summer offers the faithful the opportunity
to benefit from these seminarians in formation.
They see firsthand the seminarians as they grow
from year to year. They begin to understand that
before long these seminarians will be ordained
priests in their local apostolates. Thank you to our
seminarians for their work! Thank you to the faithful
who so warmly welcome and support these
future priests!
Bishop Alexander Sample ordained five American subdeacons
Abbé Ben Norman teaches servers at
St. Gianna Oratory in Tucson, AZ.
Abbé Matthew Walter at Choir Camp.
Abbé David Silvey speaks on the seminary at
St. Anthony’s West Orange, New Jersy.
Abbé Matthew Lancaster & Abbé Anthony Almeter give a
vocational talk at Boy’s Summer Camp, Wausau, Wisconsin.
“What is an Abbé?”
By receiving the sacred tonsure and the
cassock, a man enters into the clerical state.
Unlike such languages as French and Italian,
English does not have a specific title
for a cleric, such as a seminarian or oblate,
who has not yet received the diaconate.
The lay faithful felt that they should have
a title of some sort… “Mister” just did not
seem to fit someone in Roman collar and
cassock! Thus it has become customary in
the apostolates of the Institute to adopt the
French word “Abbe” for such clerics.
Abbé Joel Estrada & Abbé Francis Bennell at
St. Mary’s, Rockford, Illnois.
Abbé Ben Norman teaches Confirmation Class at
St. Gianna, Tucson.
Abbé Ed Gardner helps at provincial offices at
Shrine of Christ the King, Chicago.
Recently, on the
External Solemnity
of the Sacred Heart
(June 17, 2012) celebrated at the Shrine of
Christ the King in Chicago, two young men
were received as oblates by Monsignor Gilles
Wach, Prior General of the Institute. Having
completed a preliminary formation which included
basic introduction
to
the liturgy, Salesian
spirituality,
Latin, and Gregorian
Chant,
these candidates
were presented
with their new
cassocks in a
solemn ceremony.
Donning
these black cassocks, Mr. Colin Brown of Kalamazoo,
MI, and Mr. Matthew Serafino
of New Haven, MO, became the newest oblates
of the Institute. In a public and solemn
manner, these men manifested their generosity
in offering their lives for the benefit of Holy
Mother Church.
Msgr. R. Michael Schmitz
Vicar General in the Institute
Provincial Superior for the United States
Cardinal Burke receives the first priestly
blessing of newly ordained Canon Jorge
Arrasate (Spain)
BILD fehlt!
Abbé Matthew Weaver presents Ordination photos at
St. Francis de Sales Oratory.
BILD fehlt!
Abbé Matthew Weaver won
homerun derby at St. Francis
de Sales Oratory, St. Louis.
Abbé Jonathon Fehrenbacher
speaks on African
missions at St. Margaret
Mary, Oakland, CA.
Abbé Daniel Kotsko teaches altar boys at
St. Stanislaus, Milwaukee.