Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Arlington, announced the establishment, beginning July 1, 2026, of a chaplaincy under the patronage of Our Lady of Victory, as a special ministry led by priests of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) to serve the needs of those who attend Mass and desire to receive other sacraments in the Extraordinary Form.
Father Jonathan Romanoski, FSSP, and Father John Audino, FSSP, have been appointed to the chaplaincy. The FSSP is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right, erected by the Holy See and in full communion with the Church, in contrast to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), which remains in a state of irregular communion.
As a chaplaincy, rather than a parish, this agreement allows for Father Romanoski and Father Audino to live the fraternity that is part of the FSSP charism and to serve primarily in Front Royal while periodically assisting elsewhere in the diocese. Since the priests of the FSSP have the faculty, granted them by a decree of Pope Francis Feb. 11, 2022, to celebrate the Mass and the sacraments in the Extraordinary Form with the consent of the ordinary of the place, this arrangement enables the faithful, in keeping with “Traditionis Custodes,” to be able to participate in the celebration of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Diocesan policy about such celebrations remains in effect. The celebration of Baptism, Confirmation, and Matrimony in the Extraordinary Form is for those individuals/families who have a particular pastoral connection to the community and who participate regularly in this form of the liturgy with the consent of the local pastor and the local ordinary.
This arrangement between the Catholic Diocese of Arlington and the FSSP formalizes an arrangement that had already been in place unofficially for some time. For several years, an FSSP priest had been assisting the clergy of the Diocese of Arlington in the care of those attached to the Extraordinary Form.
This arrangement does not affect the celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form which continues at three parishes and five non-parish church locations according to diocesan policy and the permission of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
