Leo XIV-Appointed Bishop Ends Diocese’s Only Latin Mass After 20 Years
Bishop Mark A. Eckman, 67, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will bring an end to the traditional Latin Mass at St. Titus Church in Aliquippa after nearly 20-years.
Bishop Eckman was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh in 2021. In June 2025, Leo XIV promoted him to Bishop of Pittsburgh.
In a letter dated 7 August (see below), Monsignor Eckman announced that the final Mass to be held at St. Titus using the 1962 Missal is scheduled for 4 September.
The remaining two traditional Latin Masses in Pittsburgh are offered by the Institute Christ the King in Brighton Heights and by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X in the West End.
Bishop Eckman said his predecessor, Bishop David A. Zubik, received Vatican permission in 2022 to continue the Mass at St. Titus. The initial two-year authorization was extended in September 2024 for another two years.
The Bishop didn't seek another extension, “The permission to celebrate …More
He really does not think that the Novus Ordo Mass is better and more Catholic. He is afraid of competition. He thinks the NOM can't compete. If he really thought that the NOM was better and more adapted to the modern mentality he would want everybody to experience the TLM so they could see how inferior it is compared to the NOM. It seem that he thinks that the NOM is an inferior product that needs protection from competition. Having 60 years of almost complete Novus Ordo monopoly is not enough? Monopolies create weakness. Competition makes men and institutions strong.