"Trad Seats": A Tribute to the Faithful Who Embrace the Traditional Roman Rite

Though Jodi had been raised Methodist and Presbyterian, she agreed to a Catholic wedding—where her husband John, a fallen-away Catholic, returned to the Church on their wedding day.

Two years later, Jodi heard the story of Our Lady of Fatima. She describes it as a “Marian kidnapping”—Our Lady had claimed her heart. In 1988, she joyfully entered the Catholic Church.

John had served as an altar boy in the 1960s and deeply missed the Latin Mass. So when the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) arrived in Denver in 1996 to offer the Traditional Mass, they were among the first 16 attendees—seated on barstools in someone’s basement. Through Gregorian Chant and sacred hymns, Jodi soon fell in love with the Mass.

Read Jodi's full story and how she treasures the Latin Mass as a source of beauty, clarity, and strength.

What does it take to rediscover the sacred? For Christopher Hatfield, it began with a cassock, a faithful priest, and a question: Why has so much changed?

In his moving article "Seeds on the Road to Tradition", Chris reflects on his experiences as an altar boy, a college student, a military member, and a husband—all while unknowingly being drawn back to the Traditional Roman Rite. 

His story is full of the little “seeds” God plants along the way—seeds that, in time, lead to clarity, conviction, and an eventual home in Tradition. If you’ve ever wrestled with the changes in the Church or longed for something more reverent and rooted, this testimony will speak to your soul.

Read Christopher Hatfield’s full article and be encouraged by his humble, heartfelt road to Tradition.

Sometimes the greatest discoveries happen when you're not looking for them. In his article, author James Fitzhenry shares his powerful and unexpected journey to the Traditional Latin Mass—beginning in the most unlikely of places: a church parking lot during a private investigation.

What started as a stakeout in Colton, California, quickly turned into a providential encounter with a priest from the Society of St. Pius X, whose clarity and conviction sparked a transformation that would change the course of Mr. Fitzhenry's spiritual life. This story is one of those rare moments where faith and God’s grace intersect in a way that’s both gripping and truly inspiring.

Read James Fitzhenry's full story in his article here.

The Traditionalist movement addresses the ugly painting over the mantelpiece that everyone is too polite to notice: That life is suffering and we will die. One might think this is a morbid and sad reality, and it can be.

But since it is reality, one must face it.

Admittedly, some may dwell on this to the point where they eclipse the joys in life. But if one is sane about it, accepting this reality can lead to making the most good out of it. That is the Traditionalist movement at its best, approaching suffering in such a way that it leads one to Jesus, the greatest joy in life.

No one can escape suffering, but when one accepts its existence it can begin to bear fruit.

Sometimes the road home is long, winding, and completely unexpected.

That was certainly the case for Matthew and Gabriella Prescott. Raised Catholic but feeling spiritually adrift, they left everything familiar behind—both physically and spiritually—in search of truth. What they found was far more than they expected.

In "Finding Our Home in Tradition", they share their honest and inspiring journey from confusion to clarity, from compromise to conviction. If you’ve ever felt alone in your faith or questioned what it truly means to be Catholic, their story will resonate deeply.

Read their full testimony and be encouraged by their rediscovery of Tradition.