[Question:]{.underline} Are the prayers after Low Mass to be recited for the conversion of Russia, and if so why is this rarely announced?
[Answer:]{.underline} It was Pope Leo XIII who prescribed the recitation of prayers after private Low Masses, by a decree dated January 6, 1884. This included all the prayers that are customarily said after private Low Masses, with the exception of the prayer Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. The three-fold repetition of this prayer was strongly recommended by St. Pius X on August 19, 1904. Benedict XV requested that these prayers continue to be said, but it was only Pius XI, who in a consistorial allocution of June 30, 1930, requested that these prayers be said for the freedom of the Church in Russia. At the same time, he urged priests and bishops to remind the faithful frequently of this intention.
As is well known, atheism reigns supreme in Russia, despite the apparent fall of communism. The Church continues to be persecuted, despite the attempts of Cardinal Kasper to promote ecumenism with the Orthodox, and the Catholic Church is not one of the four religions that enjoys freedom of religion in Russia. Furthermore, we are very far from the conversion of Russia, that Our Lady of Fatima asked us to pray for, as a sign of the triumph of her Immaculate Heart. Consequently, it is eminently appropriate for us to often renew this intention given by Pope Pius XI. If priests rarely announce this special intention, it is probably because they presume that the faithful are aware of it. However, it would not be at all out of place to renew this reminder more often.
Answered by Father Peter Scott, SSPX.