This Catholic family was canceled by their archbishop, but God had other plans

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(LifeSiteNews) — Joining me on this episode of The John Henry Westen Show is Dan Sevigny, founder of the family-owned Sanctus Ranch Retreat Center, to discuss how the ranch has miraculously managed to survive after Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller issued a directive last year prohibiting the faithful from visiting its retreat center, school, bakery, and other properties.

We also discussed Archbishop Gustavo’s controversial social media posts, his restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) and other traditional Catholic practices, and more.

Sevigny began the episode by briefly recapping how the archbishop, without notice, barred all Catholics in the archdiocese from coming to the Sanctus Ranch Retreat Center and canceled all the archdiocese’s retreat contracts with the ranch.  

Then he dove into how priests who worked at the ranch celebrated private TLMs on the property, which may have led to the directive, given Gustavo’s disdain for traditional liturgy.

“I think that there was something he didn’t like that the priests that were here would say the Latin Mass. Which, we were very happy to have them say their private Mass, and he didn’t seem to like that,” Sevigny said.

A bit later, I noted how stunning it is that Archbishop Gustavo forbade Catholics in his diocese from patronizing a private business.

“Yeah, that’s one of the things that just seems insane, quite frankly. Imagine that we had ordinaries all over the country saying you could no longer go to McDonald’s or to Chick-fil-A. They don’t even say you can no longer go to Planned Parenthood,” Sevigny said.

“But yet this bishop thought he could tell all Catholics that they could not come to our property, not set foot on our property, or attend any of the activities we have, whether they have anything to do with the faith or they’re simply a dinner, they’ve been told that they could not come,” he added.

Later in the episode, I asked Sevigny about how the ranch has almost miraculously managed to survive and even expanded despite the archbishop’s cancellation. He emphasized that they’ve received tremendous financial support by the grace of God, including from one of our LifeFunders.  

“There have been benefactors that have stepped up, and quite frankly, it’s been from all over the country and all over the world. People have stepped up and said, ’This isn’t right, what you’re doing is good and holy,’” Sevigny said.

“So the Lord keeps giving us the next step forward. But it’s really been by His grace and the generosity of so many people that we’re still here today,” he added.

To hear more from Sanctus Ranch founder Dan Sevigny, watch or listen to the full episode. Donate to the ranch’s LifeFunder here.

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Support Sanctus Ranch Retreat Center: LifeFunder