The Pope had already celebrated Mass in his residence very early that morning and had gone to the tomb of his predecessor to pray for catechists.

When the celebrant of the Mass at St Pius X's tomb, Msgr Lucio Bonora, arrived at the altar, he looked at the Pope, who nodded, as if to encourage him to continue.

About 70 people were sitting or kneeling in pews in front of the tomb when the Pope joined them.

Msgr Bonora went down to the Pope during the sign of peace.

For Communion, the Pope stood in line with others from the small congregation, L'Osservatore Romano reported.

After Mass, outside the basilica, Pope Francis told the monsignor that he went to St Pius's tomb "to pray for all catechists, entrusting them to his protection as I did every year in Argentina".

"I came to say a private prayer," Francis said, "because I celebrated Mass early, but then I saw you coming to the altar to celebrate and I decided to stay . . . I told you I'm a devotee of St Pius X."

As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, on the feast of St Pius X, Jorge Mario Bergoglio would meet catechists from the diocese.

Early in his pontificate, Pope Francis ordered that the preparation of the basilica's nativity scene be moved away from the Chapel of St Pius X, as it blocked people from praying at the saint's tomb.

St Pius X wrote a catechism in 1908 and is also remembered for his promotion of Communion for children.

In the first few months of his pontificate he began a deep reform of the Roman Curia and he wanted priests to be shepherds of souls, paying particular attention to the poor.

He presented the Eucharist not as a prize for those who are already perfect, but as a daily support for people to get closer to God.

He was also uncomfortable with many of the trappings of papal office.

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• Vatican Insider
• Image: Lifesitenews

Father Paul Morgan, a district head in Britain, said in a November newsletter that despite recent talks between society leaders and Vatican officials, the group is far from agreeing to Rome's proposal.

On September 14 at the Vatican presented SSPX General, Bishop Bernard Fellay, points of doctrine that the Vatican needed clarified before finally healing the decades-long rift between the two sides.

Initial talks left reconciliation open, however Fr. Morgan's recent comments showed their dissatisfaction with the Vatican's preamble.

The main issues with the document is it "contained all those elements which the society has consistently rejected, including acceptance of the new Mass and of Vatican II as expressed in the new catechism."

Morgan wrote in his newsletter that "the document itself conveys the impression that there is no crisis in the church and those at the meeting were of the view the preamble was clearly unacceptable.

"Time has certainly not come to pursue any practical agreement as long as the doctrinal issues remain outstanding," Morgan said.

Fr. Morgan said the group agreed at the meeting that the society should continue pressing its doctrinal stance in talks with the Vatican due to "Rome's persistence in the modern errors."

Morgan also also took issue with Pope Benedict's recent interfaith prayer gathering in Assisi. He called the event a "scandal" which "replaces faith with religious liberty as the means to obtain world peace."

Society leaders, however, were quick to distance themselves from Fr. Morgan's remarks and the newsletter was removed from the group's website.

The Society of St. Pius X was founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebrve in 1970 as a response to what he described as errors that had crept into the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council.

Source

• CNA
• Image: Sancte Pater