Pope Leo XIV meets FSSP leaders in a significant bid to ease tensions and show openness amid ongoing scrutiny after Traditionis Custodes.
Newsroom (21/01/2026 Gaudium Press ) In what many observers are calling a turning point in the Vatican’s relationship with traditionalist communities, Pope Leo XIV held a private audience on January 19 with leaders of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP)—the first such meeting of his pontificate. The half-hour encounter at the apostolic palace signaled both a delicate moment of dialogue and a meaningful gesture toward healing tensions in the wake of Traditionis Custodes, the 2021 decree restricting the use of the traditional Latin Mass.
The FSSP, a community dedicated to the traditional Roman Rite, announced the meeting in a January 20 statement. Present at the audience were Father John Berg, the fraternity’s superior general and a native of Minneapolis, along with Father Josef Bisig, one of the fraternity’s co-founders and its first superior general. Father Bisig currently serves as rector of the FSSP’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska.
Founded in 1988 by priests who sought to remain in full communion with Rome after Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s schismatic consecrations, the FSSP has long positioned itself as a bridge between tradition and obedience. Its mission centers on preserving the liturgical forms and spirituality of the pre-1970 Roman Rite while remaining loyal to the pope—a balance that has not always been easy to maintain in the years since Traditionis Custodes dramatically reshaped the Church’s policy toward traditional worship.
A Meeting Amid Uncertainty
The FSSP described the audience as “an opportunity to present to the Holy Father in greater detail the foundation and history of the fraternity as well as the various forms of apostolate that it has been offering to the faithful for almost 38 years.” The leaders said they were also able to discuss misunderstandings and obstacles the community faces, answering questions directly from the pope.
The timing of the meeting is particularly notable. Since late 2024, the fraternity has been undergoing an apostolic visitation ordered by the Holy See. The process, according to both the fraternity and the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life, is not punitive but rather a regular assessment to understand how the FSSP lives its charism and what support it might need. A similar visitation took place in 2014.
Still, the visitations and ongoing scrutiny are viewed in the wider context of Traditionis Custodes, which placed all groups celebrating the traditional rite under tighter Vatican oversight. Though Pope Francis exempted the FSSP from some of the decree’s most sweeping restrictions in 2022, the community found itself under closer structural control than in earlier years, particularly under the more accommodating policies of Benedict XVI.
Continuity and Cautious Hope
Monday’s audience represents Pope Leo XIV’s first direct contact with the FSSP’s leadership since his election, and its tone was described as “cordial.” The meeting echoes the new pope’s emerging style of governance—one that combines fidelity to his predecessor’s liturgical framework with a pragmatic willingness to engage those most affected by it.
This latest encounter follows Pope Leo XIV’s decision last October to allow Cardinal Raymond Burke to celebrate a pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, an act many interpreted as a quiet overture to traditionalist Catholics. Vatican observers describe his approach as one of “pragmatic leniency”—maintaining the essential features of Traditionis Custodes while applying them with far greater flexibility.
For Father Berg, who previously led the FSSP from 2006 to 2018 before being re-elected in 2024, the audience also represented a reunion of sorts between two American churchmen. One insider noted, “The waters are rough, but the Holy Father is showing he’s willing to listen.”
A Growing and Faithful Community
The fraternity remains a flourishing presence in the Church, boasting several hundred priests and seminarians around the world. Its seminaries, parishes, and apostolates draw consistent vocations and faithful attendance, even amid uncertainty about the future of the traditional liturgy’s place within the Church’s structure.
In its communique following the audience, the FSSP reported that Pope Leo XIV “gave his blessing, which he extended to all members of the fraternity.” The statement closed with an invitation for the faithful to continue praying during the community’s 30-day novena leading up to the renewal of its consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on February 11.
While no official Vatican readout of the meeting has been released, Monday’s audience is widely seen as an encouraging sign from a new pontiff working to navigate the balance between tradition and unity—listening to voices once on the periphery while keeping one hand firmly on the Church’s shared tiller.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from NC Register
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