Mr. Fake

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From: http://www.traditio.com/stjohn.htm

Society of St. John the Apostle St. John the Apostle Oratory Offering the Only Fully Traditional Pre-Vatican II Traditional Latin Mass in the Bay Area (since 1992) Not the New Order Service of 1969 Not the Half New Order Vatican II Service of 1962+ But the Fully Traditional Roman Catholic Latin Mass (1950) At the Fishermen's & Seamen's Memorial Chapel Pier 45-B, Next to the Bell-tower One Block Northeast of Jefferson & Taylor Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco You can take a virtual tour of the chapel and its surroundings on Pier 45-B adjoining the picturesque Fisherman's Grotto by clicking on Pier 45 Virtual Tour. Campanile and Carillon Directions to the Oratory History of the Oratory Introduction to the Traditional Latin Mass Rubrics for the Traditional Latin Mass St. John Schola for Gregorian Chant Services at the Oratory Society of St. John the Apostle Society's Art Postcards Sodality of Mary Immaculate

CELEBRATING IN 2013 OUR TWENTY-FIRST YEAR
OF OFFERING THE ONLY FULLY TRADITIONAL PRE-VATICAN II LATIN MASS AND CHANT
IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

St. John's Oratory
At the Historic Fishermen's & Seamen's Memorial Chapel
And Its Campanile (Bell-tower)
The Bells Are Rung Traditionally for the Angelus of the Blessed Virgin Mary
And for the Consecration of Holy Mass

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NOT THE NEW ORDER SERVICE OF 1969
NOT THE HALF NEW ORDER VATICAN II SERVICE OF 1962+
BUT THE FULLY TRADITIONAL ROMAN CATHOLIC LATIN MASS (1950)

"Some Things in Life Should Never Change"

St. John's oratory is the only location in the Bay Area that has preserved the real, valid, Traditional Latin Mass (1950) and Roman Catholic rites before they were changed into a Half New Order (Novus Ordo) service in 1962, when Vatican Council II began, and into an invalid Full New Order service in 1969. A couple of new "Latin Masses" have popped up recently, but these are associated with Half Novus Ordo Vatican II service of 1962+ or the Full Novus Ordo service of 1969. They are most assuredly NOT the Traditional Latin Mass, even though they may be falsely advertised as such.
St. John's Oratory did not come only recently to this Apostolate, but has offered, with experience, knowledge, and commitment, the Traditional Latin Mass and Divine Office every Sunday and Holyday since 1992. St. John's Oratory is also known as a center for promoting the traditional Latin Gregorian chant of the traditional Roman rite. Gregorian chant is sung every Sunday and Holyday by the St. John Gregorian Schola of San Francisco.
For general information about the times and nature of the Society's services, click on Services at the Oratory.
For the Society's current schedule of fully Traditional Latin Masses and other traditional services, click on Current Mass Schedule Bulletin. (Be sure that you have the Adobe Reader [PDF] plug-in installed for your internet browser.)
For general information about traditional Roman Catholicism, click Traditional Roman Catholicism.
If you wish to receive our weekly E-mail bulletin containing information on Oratory schedules and activities, please send your name, mailing address, and E-mail address to the Society. If you have any questions, you may send them as well.

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Amateurs Wanted to Sing Gregorian Chant

Additional men are invited to add their voices to the St. John Schola Cantorum (small choir) to sing Gregorian plainchant in an authentic setting. No previous knowledge of the chant or musical notation is required; most of our participants have had little or no music background. We can teach you all that you need to know by ear if you have just a basic ability to sing. No auditions. You do not have to be Catholic. We are a small, friendly group, no pressure, just enjoyment, but we are led by a highly-experienced praecentor (leader).
For sixteen years our group has been chanting in the intimate setting of St. John's Oratory at the historic Fishermen's & Seamen's Memorial Chapel at Fishermen's Wharf in San Francisco. We practice 9:00-9:30 a.m. Sundays and then chant the traditional Catholic Hour of Terce 9:30-10:00 a.m and chant monthly for the only fully traditional Missae Cantatae (Sung Masses) in the Bay Area.
We are currently producing live recordings of our chant for the ChantCD label. You will receive a free copy for family and friends of any CD in which you participate. We make no pretense to being anything but amateurs (lovers of the chant) and to demonstrating merely what is achievable over time by an amateur small chant choir.
For further information about the St. John Schola for Gregorian Chant, click on St. John Schola for Gregorian Chant. If you have any questions, you may address them to the Society.

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Altar Server Needed for Traditional Latin Mass

An additional altar server is needed to serve the Traditional Catholic Latin Mass. No experience or knowledge of Latin is necessary. We will teach you what you need to know. If you would like to serve at the altar or have any questions, you may address the Society.

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Newest Gregorian Chant CD Issued in Our St. John Schola Series

Volume X: Feast of the Precious Blood, Issued January 2013

Support This Effort by Making Each Volume of This Unique Traditional Set Part of Your Personal CD Library

Our traditional Catholic schola answers the peal of the call to prayer from the bell-tower to chant the Hour of Terce, followed by the chanting of the Angelus to the traditional eighteen strikes of the bells. Then follows the Asperges, or lustral sprinkling of the congregation with Holy Water, which takes place before the principal Mass on Sundays. After the Asperges, the Sung Mass begins.
The Hour of Terce of the Divine Office is the third Hour of the day, the one traditionally appointed to be chanted immediately before Holy Mass. The majority of this recording covers the Mass for the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This feast, assigned to July 1, celebrates the redemptive power of the Blood of Christ shed upon the Cross for mankind. The Ordinary chants here are taken entirely from Mass VIII De Angelis of the Kyriale, supplemented by three traditional motets: one Gregorian, one by the sublime polyphonist Palestrina, and one by St. Thomas Aquinas. The ancient French melody Christus Vincit constitutes the recessional. The recording is 57 minutes long. The beauty of the devotional images on the cover artwork of these CDs, designed by a leading traditional Catholic graphic artist, is stunning and makes owning the CDs a treasure for the cover images alone.
Our St. John Schola is recording this CD series entitled A Traditional Chapel Sings Gregorian Chant. For descriptive and ordering information on our CD series and to hear excerpts of our Gregorian chant, click on St. John Schola for Gregorian Chant.

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Donations to the Society

If you wish to support the work of the Society, click on the box above to make a donation easily, securely, and confidentially by bank account or credit card through PayPal (note in the PayPal message field: "Donation to SSJA"). By doing so, you will be part of the habitual intentions of Benefactors specially commemorated at Traditional Latin Masses. Using PayPal reduces our administrative burden considerably, but if you need to use a paper check, E-mail the Society for a mailing address.

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Society's Visitor Counter

Since July 8, 2001, the Society's ninth anniversary, you are site visitor number:
From August 23, 1992, through March 31, 2013, the Oratory of St. John has experienced Traditional Latin Mass visits totaling:
25,821

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Copyright © 1991-2013. Publication of any material from this site without explicit written permission is strictly prohibited. The Society of St. John the Apostle operates independently of any diocese or other religious society. The information and materials contained in this web site are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation any warranty of accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of the information and materials, title, non-infringement, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and freedom from computer viruses.

St. John the Apostle Oratory (Fishermen's & Seamen's Memorial Chapel)

From: http://www.traditio.com/stjohn/memorial.htm

St. John the Apostle Oratory
(Fishermen's & Seamen's Memorial Chapel)

The Chapel before Installation of the Campanile

The Chapel with Campanile Installed October 1, 2006

The History of the Chapel

Since the early centuries of Christianity, it has been common for a community, or a wealthy local family, to fund a fishermen's chapel. Here a priest would conduct services for the repose of the souls of the deceased fishermen. Well-known chapels of this type are to be found in Boston, Massachusetts, a favorite of Richard Cardinal Cushing, chaplain to the Kennedys; on Jersey in the British Channel Islands; and at Grimbsy, Lincolnshire, in the U.K.
Here in San Francisco, nestled between the inner harbor and Pier 45 among the piers and boats, is the Fishermen's and Seamen's Memorial Chapel, a small wood-framed chapel, brown and unimposing from a distance, but close up displaying beautiful glass windows. Built in 1979 and dedicated on May 21, 1981, as a memorial to the memory of fishermen who have lost their lives at sea, the modest building honors with memorial plaques about 200 fishermen who died while pursuing their ancient trade in the predominantly Catholic fishing community.
The memorial chapel was built on the site of the old Coast Guard building, from which rescue missions to foundering vessels were dispatched. The chapel together with its campanile, or bell-tower, built in 2006, are the only wharf buildings added since 1950. It stands as a vibrant structure that will weather with time, as the fishermen themselves, reminding and inspiring San Franciscans and visitors alike of the rich legacy the fishermen have given us.
On July 29, 1989, the Italian American Community of Northern California was honored by the visit of Salvatore Cardinal Pappalardo, Archbishop of Palermo, Italy, to San Francisco. During his visit the cardinal blessed this chapel and participated in a memorial service in memory of those who lost their lives at sea.
Since August 1992 the chapel has been the home of St. John's Oratory of the Society of St. John the Apostle, a traditional Roman Catholic organization that offers the Traditional Roman Catholic Latin Mass, Divine Office, and Gregorian Chant, and other traditional services on Sundays and Holydays.

The Antique Banner of the Madonna del Lume
Patron Saint of Fishermen
Hangs above the Chapel Altar

An antique banner above the altar depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is venerated at the chapel under her title Maria Santissima del Lume (Most Holy Mary of Light), also known as the Madonna del Lume (Madonna of the Light), the patron saint of fishermen. In Sicily, some time during the 1700s, when a group of fishermen from the small village of Ponticello lost their way at sea and prayed to the Madonna to help them find their way home, the fishermen's prayers were answered when a light suddenly appeared in the sky and guided them safely back to shore.
Ever since, the Madonna del Lume has been regarded as the patron Saint of fishermen and Sicilians have gathered every October to pay homage to her and to honor the lives of fishermen who were lost at sea. This Catholic tradition was brought to San Francisco's North Beach by Sicilian immigrants, who arrived in the Bay Area in droves, beginning in the mid 1800s. In 1935 the Madonna del Lume Society was organized, and the first official Madonna del Lume celebration took place in 1936.
On the first Saturday in October, the day before Rosary Sunday, in a ritual practiced since mediæval times, the words of the Blessing of Ships are intoned over the boats of San Francisco's fishing fleet, as they process out the Golden Gate:

Benedic naves istas dextera tua sancta.... [Bless by Thy holy right hand these ships ... and protect them always from every danger....]