When I was finally able to return, I found the most beautiful church filled with character and history I'd ever experienced. Celebrating the Latin Mass was Monsignor Arthur Bastress, the longest-serving priest in the diocese of Baltimore until his retirement in 2017. For several years I came for feast days and First Saturday devotions on the train from Washington, D.C., and saw Monsignor for spiritual direction.
Saint Alphonsus was where I was 'raised' as a traditional Catholic, with Monsignor telling me the stories of the 'way things were' to fill the hunger I had for tradition. I knew that if I was to be married, it would be in this church.
When Monsignor retired, I worried that Saint Alphonsus would lose its traditional identity. I prayed for a traditional order such as the FSSP to take charge, and lo and behold my prayers (and the prayers of many others at St. Alphonsus!) were answered. I arrived for Father Kiefer's first public Mass, appropriately held on the Feast of Saint Peter in Chains.
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