Owensboro Bishop ends only Traditional Latin Mass in western Kentucky
The only weekly celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in western Kentucky will come to an end this weekend, following an order from Diocese of Owensboro Bishop William Medley , who says he is enforcing Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes . Immaculate Conception Parish in Earlington — the oldest Catholic church in Hopkins County, established in 1886 — has offered the TLM for nearly a decade, and will have its final Mass in the extraordinary form at 12:30 p.m. CT on June 28. It is the only parish offering the TLM in the diocese, which covers the 32 westernmost counties in Kentucky. The closest options available will be east in the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky; north in the Diocese of Evansville, Indiana; and south in the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee. Penny Giardinella, administrative assistant for the small parish, told EWTN News the church is “pretty full” during the TLM, as it is during all Sunday Masses. She said a large portion of TLM worshipers travel from outside parish lines to attend. On May 18, the bishop sent a letter to the parish priest, Father David Kennedy, instructing him to halt all celebrations of the TLM after June 30. Although he initially secured a dispensation for the parish to continue its weekly celebration amid the 2021 Vatican restrictions, Medley did not seek an extension into the latter half of 2026. The issue, Medley said in his letter, is that he lacked standing to seek an extension because the parish did not submit a report to the bishop, which the Holy See required for an extension to be granted. The bishop said this requirement was based on his 2023 correspondence with the Holy See. The report, he wrote, needed to provide the TLM attendance and explain what steps were taken to lead the faithful toward the Novus Ordo Mass — the ordinary form of the liturgy adopted in 1969 by the Catholic Church in reforms following the Second Vatican Council. “As I am unable to demonstrate that this condition has been met, I have no standing to request an extension of the Holy See,” Medley wrote. Medley said the parish can instead celebrate the novus ordo Mass in accordance with the 1969 reforms in the Latin language and ad orientem, with the priest facing toward the tabernacle and away from the people. “I know in some dioceses, the faithful who have shown a preference for the Mass celebrated in Latin have accepted the Novus Ordo Mass celebrated in the Latin language,” Medley said. The bishop added that he postponed halting the Mass upon the death of Francis to see whether Pope Leo XIV would alter the restrictions. Because Leo has not — and because the January Consistory of the College of Cardinals explicitly opted not to review Traditionis Custodes — the bishop said he “felt obligated to act in accord with the direction of the Holy See.” “For the faithful who may object to this directive, you may certainly refer them to me, but please make clear that I am acting in accord with my promise to the pope, the Bishop of Rome,” Medley said. “I am grateful for your ministry to this small and unique community. And I assure you of my prayers for them and for you and I kindly ask that you all pray for me.” Rachel Hall, director of communications for the diocese, told EWTN News that “the parish will transition to the scheduled details in the correspondence” after June 30. “As the parish navigates this transition with their faithful pastor Father Kennedy, the diocese asks for prayers to the Holy Spirit in guidance, with unity and peace,” she said. Leo has not taken any official steps to amend Francis’s TLM restrictions, but has offered a conciliatory tone toward those attached to the older form of the liturgy. In March, Leo described liturgical divisions as a “painful wound” in a communication with French bishops , and encouraged solutions that allow “the generous inclusion” of Catholics who choose to worship at the TLM “in respect for the directions desired by the Second Vatican Council in matters of liturgy.” Last year, Leo approved Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke’s celebration of the TLM at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
3 months ago
The Diocese of Owensboro has ordered the cessation of its weekly Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at Immaculate Conception Parish in Earlington, ending the only extraordinary‑form celebration in western Kentucky after June 28, 2026. The bishop’s directive follows the 2021 Vatican motu proprio Traditionis Custodes and a lack of required reporting that would have allowed an extension, while offering the parish the option to celebrate the Novus Ordo Mass in Latin and ad orientem. 1
Immaculate Conception Parish, founded in 1886, has offered the TLM for nearly a decade, drawing worshippers from beyond its parish boundaries. It is the sole parish in the Diocese of Owensboro that provides the extraordinary form, with the nearest alternatives located in Louisville, Evansville, and Nashville. 1
Bishop William Medley sent a letter on May 18 directing the parish priest, Fr. David Kennedy, to stop celebrating the TLM after June 30 because the parish failed to submit the attendance and integration report required by the Holy See for an extension. Medley said he lacked standing to request an extension without that report, which he cited as a 2023 correspondence with the Vatican. 1
Traditionis Custodes restricts the extraordinary form unless a diocesan bishop grants a dispensation and receives periodic reports. Medley noted that the parish may continue the ordinary form (Novus Ordo) in Latin and ad orientem, a practice accepted in some dioceses for faithful who prefer Latin. The bishop postponed the decision after Pope Francis’s death, awaiting any potential changes from his successor, Pope Leo XIV, who has not altered the restrictions. 1
Parish administrative assistant Penny Giardinella reported that the TLM services are “pretty full” and attract attendees from outside the parish. Diocesan communications director Rachel Hall asked for prayers for unity and peace as the transition proceeds. No formal objection from the faithful has been reported, though the bishop invited those who disagree to contact him. 1
The nearest TLM options remain in neighboring dioceses, and the parish will shift to the Latin‑language Novus Ordo Mass. Pope Leo XIV has expressed a conciliatory tone toward those attached to the older liturgy but has not issued new directives, suggesting the current restrictions will stay in place for the foreseeable future. 1*
Evaluate Traditionis Custodes’ impact on Latin Mass availability
Traditionis custodes (2021) changes Latin Mass availability in the Latin Church chiefly by moving authorization to the diocesan bishop with tighter conditions, limiting where and how the 1962 Missal can be used, and making several practical permissions require approval/dispensation reserved to the Holy See. In practice, this tends to reduce the number of places and the regularity with which the 1962 Missal can be offered, while still allowing it as a regulated “concession” for certain groups in certain dioceses.
Traditionis custodes declares that the 1962 Missal’s use is something the bishop must authorize in his diocese:
“Therefore, it is his exclusive competence to authorize the use of the 1962 Roman Missal in his diocese…”
Impact on availability: rather than a more uniform permissiveness, Latin Mass access becomes more dependent on local episcopal decisions (how quickly and generously a bishop authorizes sites, priests, and schedules).
For dioceses that already have groups using the 1962 Missal, the bishop must:
Most directly for availability, the text states:
“to take care not to authorize the establishment of new groups.”
Impact on availability: even where demand is strong, Traditionis custodes structurally limits Latin Mass growth—fewer dioceses/communities can begin offering the 1962 Missal, because new groups cannot be established under these norms.
In the relevant provision, the bishop must designate locations where the faithful may gather but not in parochial churches, and without erecting new personal parishes:
“designate one or more locations… (not however in the parochial churches and without the erection of new personal parishes)”
Impact on availability: limiting the venue type usually means fewer convenient or central locations, which can reduce regular attendance and reduce diocesan willingness to “scale up” Latin Mass offerings.
The bishop must appoint a suitable priest (delegate of the bishop) who is:
Also, clergy rules change:
Impact on availability: even when a diocese permits the 1962 Missal, it may be harder to maintain long-term scheduling—especially as clergy are replaced over time or when new priests are sought.
The Responsa ad dubia clarify that the bishop may ask for permission to use a parish church only if it is impossible to use another church, oratory, or chapel—and the assessment must be done with “utmost care.”
It further requires:
This also states the purpose:
“The exclusion of the parish church is intended to affirm…” and such use is “only… a concession… and not an opportunity to promote the previous rite.”
Impact on availability: this makes “regular Latin Mass in parish churches” much less likely. Even where Latin Mass is permitted, the Church’s intent is to keep it from becoming part of the ordinary parish timetable.
The Responsa also answer negatively about using the Pontificale Romanum and only allow limited permissions for certain sacramental rites, linking these to the same regulated ecosystem of personal parishes using the 1962 Missal.
Impact on availability: while your question is about Latin Mass specifically, this matters because it can limit how fully a community’s sacramental life is organized around the older rites.
In 2023, a rescript confirms that certain dispensations are reserved specially to the Apostolic See (not merely left to a diocesan bishop):
It also confirms the Holy See’s oversight role in these cases.
Impact on availability: reserved dispensations mean that for the most practically “expansive” scenarios—using parish churches and bringing in newly ordained clergy—the bottleneck is higher, reducing how quickly dioceses can expand or stabilize Latin Mass provision.
From the norms and their official clarifications, Traditionis custodes impacts Latin Mass availability in three concrete ways:
Nothing in these texts says the Church intends to abolish Latin Mass outright; rather, the intention is to maintain it within ecclesial communion and under strict regulation—explicitly to preserve unity of worship (“lex orandi”) as expressed in the post–Vatican II Roman Rite books.
Traditionis custodes tends to reduce and stabilize Latin Mass availability by requiring bishop-controlled authorization, limiting venue types and the creation of new groups, and by routing the most expansion-friendly permissions through Holy See–reserved dispensations—especially concerning parish churches and newly ordained priests.