Today is the Feast Day of St Felix of Valois. He is not a well known Saint, but I have a reason to remember him each year.
It was on his Feast Day, in either 1999 or 2000, that I first attended Mass at what was to become my Parish home in Kansas City. Saint Philippine Duchesne Latin Mass Community, an apostolate of the FSSP, met at that time in Blessed Sacrament Church in Kansas City, KS.
A friend, with whom I'd been at university, was home visiting, and her family were Traditionalists, with her parents attending St Philippine's. She invited me to a weekday Mass with them, and I jumped at the opportunity. Since the destruction of the Roman Rite after the Council I had only attended four Masses in the old Rite, so finding a functioning Parish community dedicated to it was a godsend.
The Pastor at the time was a Frenchman. In his sermon, he related the probably apocryphal story of St Felix's connection to the French Royal House of Valois. After Mass, my friend introduced me as a monarchist with an interest in France.
As we chatted, I mentioned that on 14 July 1989, the bicentennial of the Satanic Revolution, I had been subjected to a sermon praising it. Rather sharply, he replied, 'You'll hear none of that here'!
I attended St Philippine's until I went to Canada. I was privileged to visit it last year. In the intervening years, the Parish had purchased an old Lutheran Church in Westwood, KS and remodeled it. It is a beautiful little Church, but already too small. There are three Masses on Sunday, two low and one sung, and a friend has told me that there is virtually no seating room for the congregation at all three.
There are also eleven weekday Masses, and an active Parish life, including 'play days' for homeschooled children on the Church grounds.
I miss it, but I hope to make it to Mass there the next time we visit the kids and grandkids in KC.
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