Fr. Z. posted pictures on his blog and his Latin Mass Society site, noting:
His Excellency Most Reverend Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison, graciously consented to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation on 102 young Catholics on Thursday evening, 27 August 2020. The rite of Confirmation was followed by Solemn Mass in coram episcopo. The celebrant of the Mass was the President of the TMSM, Fr. Zuhlsdorf. The deacon and subdeacon were, respectively, Fr. Alex Navarro and Fr. Brian Dulli, both of whom, as pastors of parishes, had subjects beings confirmed.
The TMSM is deeply grateful to Fr. Scott Emerson, pastor of St. Mary Goretti parish, where the rites took place. He was great.
Check out more pictures here.
The bishop announced he was doing this earlier in August in a letter:
At the request of many faithful families and priests from various parishes around the diocese, I will continue the practice of my predecessor, Bishop Robert C. Morlino, and confer the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
He invited families from outside the diocese to take part, and spelled out the requirements.
I’m not familiar with the protocols in the Diocese of Madison — the website doesn’t have much recent information beyond the suspension of Masses in April — but it doesn’t appear from the pictures that masks or social distancing were involved.
We’re having confirmations at my parish, in the more familiar Ordinary Form, the last week of September (rescheduled from the spring because of the lockdown in New York). The plan right now is to have two celebrations of the sacrament, back-to-back, on a Sunday afternoon because of restrictions on the number of people who can be in the church at one time. Following local protocols, masks will be required for admission to the church. The celebrant will be my pastor, Bishop Paul Sanchez, auxiliary of Brooklyn.
UPDATE: Speaking of Wisconsin, there’s this news, from CNA:
Catholics living in Wisconsin will once again be required to go to Mass on Sunday, provided they are healthy and not at risk for coronavirus.
“With new measures now firmly in place to promote and preserve the safety of those attending public Mass, it is with elation that the bishops of Wisconsin have announced plans to end the dispensation from the Sunday Mass obligation in September 2020,” said a statement from the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, released August 31.
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference speaks on behalf of the 10 current and retired bishops, auxiliary bishops, and archbishops of the state’s five Catholic dioceses.
he bishops noted that “in recent months, dioceses and parishes throughout the state have been able to resume public worship by adhering to strict safety standards and by restricting access to services for those who are symptomatic, sick, or at risk of serious illness,” yet there was still no obligation in place to actually go to Mass.
Despite the restored obligation, not everyone will be required to go to Mass, and who is still exempt from the obligation will be up to the individual dioceses.
