HOLLISTER – In the 5 October 2025 edition of the Sacred Heart & Saint Benedict parish bulletin, Fr Stephen Akers, pastor of the parish, announced that the celebration of what the late Pope Benedict XVI called the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite at the parish church of the Sacred Heart in Hollister will come to an end on Sunday, 12 October 2025. For nearly eight years, the parish has been home to a vibrant traditional Latin Mass community, until the Most Rev. Daniel E. Garcia, former Bishop of Monterey in California and current Bishop of Austin, Texas, issued a decree shutting down the diocese’s last remaining traditional Latin Mass.
Fr Akers emphasized that while the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite will no longer be celebrated, the parish remains committed to liturgically rich worship. “Although the celebration according to the 1962 Missal will end, the options for celebrating Mass in the current Roman Missal include many traditional elements, including the use of Latin and Gregorian Chant”, he said.
Many of these “traditional elements” should never have become so rare at Mass. For example, the Second Vatican Council stated clearly that “the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 36.1); that “steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 54); and that Gregorian Chant “should be given pride of place in liturgical services” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 116).
Looking ahead, Fr Akers will collaborate with members of the former traditional Latin Mass community and with Fr Carlos Warfield, one of the parish’s parochial vicars, to develop a celebration of the Mass that incorporates these traditional elements. “I do see a need in our community to have a celebration of the Mass along these lines,” he said. “We will be working together over the next few weeks to get something going that honors our parishioners’ attachment to these traditions”.
UPDATE: In the 12 October 2025 parish bulletin, Fr Akers said that beginning on Sunday, 19 October 2025, a “Novus Ordo Gregorian Chant Mass” will be celebrated at Sacred Heart, 520 College Street, at 10am.
SCHEDULE OF FINAL TRADITIONAL LATIN MASSES
- External Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary, 5 October 2025 – 10am (celebrant: Fr Stephen Akers)
- 18th Sunday after Pentecost, 12 October 2025 – 10am (celebrant: Fr Stephen Akers)
