DETROIT (LifeSiteNews) — The Archdiocese of Detroit has issued a sweeping directive, confirming announcements in April that nearly all public celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) are to be eliminated.

Published on June 12, the newly issued Traditionis Custodes Implementation Norms from Archbishop Edward Weisenburger bring Detroit into strict alignment with Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio.

The decree ends permissions for TLMs at all but one parish church and confines public celebration of the 1962 Missal to just four non-parish locations across the archdiocese. St. Joseph Shrine, a personal parish run by the Institute of Christ the King, remains the only parish allowed to continue.

TLMs outside these four designated sites must cease by June 30, 2025. Priests not assigned to those sites must apply for personal, limited-use permissions – restricted to weekdays, non-parish settings, and without any lay attendance.

In a separate letter to the faithful dated June 13, Archbishop Weisenburger framed the decision as a response to the Vatican’s call for the Novus Ordo “to become the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.” He said the new arrangement preserves pastoral care while affirming liturgical unity.

The decree also bans the use of the ad orientem posture in the Novus Ordo and requires the installation of freestanding altars in all parish churches within six months, unless an extension is granted. It further mandates strict adherence to the reformed liturgical books.

Shortly after publication, the archdiocese removed the full text of the implementation norms from public access. Independent sites, including Rorate Caeli, reported archiving the documents after diocesan links became inaccessible.

For some reason, access to the Implementation Norms of Detroit’s restrictions on TLM (including banning of traditional practices in the mass of Paul VI) keeps disappearing, so these are the images of the six pages.

Just to be clear: it was THE DIOCESE that published this in its… pic.twitter.com/85GPfgOGbk

— Rorate Caeli (@RorateCaeli) June 14, 2025

In April, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski called the now-confirmed changes “by far the bloodiest reduction I am aware of since TC came into force almost four years ago.” Since the confirmation, he has noted that the affected parishes were “powerhouses” sustained by thriving traditional communities and warned that the closures cause “long-term damage to parishes.”

Kwasniewski himself has spoken at liturgical conferences in the Detroit area.

Archbishop Weisenburger was appointed by Pope Francis in February 2025, during the tenure of Cardinal Robert Prevost (now Pope Leo XIV) as head of the Dicastery for Bishops.

While bishop of Tucson, Arizona, he supported COVID-era restrictions and vaccine mandates, forbidding priests from issuing religious exemptions.

The move places Detroit alongside other dioceses like Charlotte, where Bishop Michael Martin — another recent appointee — implemented similar directives. Both reflect an emerging trend strictly enforcing Traditionis Custodes, aimed at curtailing not only traditional liturgical forms but their broader spiritual ethos.

The traditional Latin Mass continues to be available at St Anne’s Church, served by the SSPX.