By LifeSiteNews (Politics) | Created at 2026-06-11 13:26:45 | Updated at 2026-06-12 06:32:13
17 hours ago
Thu Jun 11, 2026 - 9:18 am EDT
(LifeSiteNews) — The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) will ordain 25 new priests this year.
This is the same number as all the diocesan priests ordained in Germany in 2025, according to official Church statistics. Germany has 27 dioceses, meaning that less than one priest was ordained per diocese, representing a new all-time low.
On May 28, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami ordained 12 men to the priesthood at St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska.
“No one wants you to burn out – a candle that burns out leaves a sooty mess. A burned-out priest is a mess too,” Wenski said in his homily. “But you are expected to work hard: you are not to burn out, but you are supposed to burn yourself up, to consume yourself in the service of Christ and His Church.”
The priests ordained on that day completed their formation at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska, the fraternity’s North American seminary.
The FSSP, which exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), has its second international seminary in Wigratzbad, Bavaria, Germany. Thirteen of the deacons trained at this seminary will be ordained on June 20 at the church of St. Peter and Paul in Lindenberg, bringing the total FSSP ordinations to 25 this year.
While the Catholic Church in most Western countries has been shrinking, the fraternity has seen a steady growth since its founding in 1988. Today, the FSSP has 579 members, of which 387 are priests. The average age of its members (which includes deacons and seminarians) is 39 years.
While the FSSP upholds traditional Church teaching and liturgy, the majority of the bishops in Germany are extremely liberal and have supported the heretical Synodal Way, which seeks to change Church doctrine on questions of sexual morality and anthropology.
The Church in Germany has been in decline for decades. Last year, the Catholic Church in Germany lost over 500,000 of its members and hit an all-time low of only 25 priestly ordinations in its 27 dioceses in 2025, even though there are still over 19 million Catholics in Germany today.
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