The Institute of Christ the King in Oakland

They're Nosebleed High Church, But Much More

Where Christ is King and Priest in Oakland

BY CHRISTOPHER ZEHNDER

"The numbers of the faithful are constantly growing, and the Mass is rather packed." Would that all Catholics could say this of their parishes. That an Oakland priest, Father Michael Wiener, can say it of his parish suggests that something rather right is going on there. That he can say it, given that he celebrates Mass in Latin and teaches the perennial Catholic doctrine, might be a surprise to many.

But in a conversation I had with him in late summer, Father Wiener (pronounced VEE-nayr) added, "we are convinced -- we are very much in the middle of the Church; we are not on the peripheries." Perhaps not at first thought, but at second, or (for some folks) even third, it may seem strange that Father Wiener need make this disclaimer. By all accounts he and his congregation, the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest, are attentive to their duties and vocation, teach orthodox Catholic doctrine, and are (as someone expressed it to me) "nosebleed high church" -- devoted to smells and bells and chant. It is for none of these, however, that Father Wiener and the institute may be suspect in some circles, but for the fact that they celebrate, exclusively, the pre-conciliar (Vatican II, that is) Latin Mass.

More here.