SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Celebrating a Traditional Latin Mass on the steps of a Planned Parenthood facility was a natural expression of Catholic witness, said Father Javier Olivera Ravasi, an Argentine priest who serves at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in San Francisco, who said he hopes to encourage priests and laity to proclaim the faith publicly without fear.<\/p>\n
About 50 members of the parish recently joined Ravasi on a rainy Sunday, Feb. 15, for a Mass of reparation for sinners.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m surprised it went so viral,\u201d he said, referring to media attention surrounding the event. While Masses have been celebrated in the past at the Planned Parenthood location, the 48-year-old priest said he believes it was the first Traditional Latin Mass celebrated there. \u201cIt was a chance to give Christian witness,\u201d he told EWTN News.<\/p>\n
The desire to bear witness, Ravasi told EWTN News, grew out of an unexpected vocation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a university student, just the thought of becoming a priest was repellent,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I met a Catholic girl, and we started to date. She was devout, and got me to question my lack of faith. I explored the idea of the priesthood and, over time, discovered a vocation. We broke off the engagement. She is now a religious sister, and here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ordained in 2008, Ravasi holds a law degree and doctorates in philosophy and history. He is the co-founder of the Order of St. Elias<\/a>, dedicated to the evangelization of all nations, as commanded in the Ad Gentes<\/a> decree of the Second Vatican Council. The order has missions in Malawi and Pakistan and a seminary in Ecuador. Ravasi is the author of 12 books, the most recent of which in English is \u201cThe Cristero Counterrevolution and the Battle for the Soul of Mexico<\/a>,\u201d and other writings and videos appear on his website, quenotelacuenten.org <\/a>(\u201cDon\u2019t Let Them Fool You\u201d) and his YouTube channe<\/a>l.<\/p>\n Living in the United States since April 2025, Ravasi serves at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish and at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Cardinal Raymond Burke named him a chaplain of the shrine, which he visits monthly to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, and offer seminars in Spanish. The two met after Ravasi interviewed the cardinal on his YouTube channel in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cI am grateful for his support and prayers,\u201d the priest said. \u201cIt is a joy to be at the shrine,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n In the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Ravasi said he has received encouragement from Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. He described the city as a true mission territory. \u201cIt has had decades longer in promoting the LGBTQ lifestyle and modernism than Argentina,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Explaining his decision to celebrate Mass outside the abortion facility, he said: \u201cPart of why I had the Mass at the abortuary is to encourage priests. We have to live without fear. Too many priests practice a kind of self-censorship out of fear of reaction.\u201d Referring to abortion, he added: \u201cIf there is freedom of speech in the U.S., and freedom to make human sacrifices to Baal, why shouldn\u2019t priests proclaim the true God?\u201d<\/p>\n That self-censorship, he said, also affects lay Catholics. \u201cIt\u2019s true among lay Catholics. Some are afraid to be identified as Catholics in public. It\u2019s a liberal Catholicism to practice the faith only in private life, but not in public. That\u2019s a huge doctrinal error.\u201d<\/p>\n By contrast, he said, \u201cnon-Catholics, LGBTQ advocates, and abortionists openly declare who they are. Why should we be ashamed to have the truth?\u201d Laughing, he added: \u201cWe need to leave behind the Catholic closet!\u201d<\/p>\n