CHAPLAINCY REPORT 2022

Mass, Prayer, Lectio Divina and the Communities of Saints John, Luke, Teresa of Calcutta and Francis of Assisi The Abbey Church has once again become the focal point for pupils at the start of the academic year. It was wonderful to be able to begin the academic year with Mass in the Abbey Church on the first day and a short service the night before for new pupils who were accompanied by the senior pupils in their House.

It has been a challenge for the choir, servers, and readers after a long absence. The pupils have responded well and it’s encouraging to see their commitment and their desire to get involved in the singing, reading, serving and organization of the Sunday Mass. Jennifer Rainey, the Head of English, has helped with the training of the readers. All the Houses have had their House Mass and Reconciliation Service. The different House Masses have been strong moments in the life of the House, with the St Luke’s Community taking a lead role in the organisation.

The time of the Tuesday morning Old Chapel Mass has been moved to 5.10pm in the evening in the hope that it would attract more. We had a Mass for the Chileans around their National Day (18th September) and a mass on 11th November for the Polish.

All Souls Day, 2nd November, was marked with a moving Prayer Service in the Abbey Church in the evening. We prepared for the service by having an altar in the Main Hall, making it possible for pupils and staff to leave a note with names of deceased relatives and friends. These names were read out and prayed for. At the end of the service a number stayed to pray silently and to light a candle in St Oliver’s Chapel. St John’s Community The members of St John’s Community are the pupil Lectio leaders. They meet every week for Lectio under the direction of the St Scholastica Community. Vicente Tagle from the St Scholastica Community writes:

The St John’s Community has kept strong in terms of motivation from the students. In total there are 19 leaders. Before half term, they delivered a very powerful Hymn Practice talk, prepared by the whole community, but delivered by two Lower Sixth Formers. The attendance has been variable as they face many academic and other pressures. We have Lectio groups running in all year groups of boys, but we haven’t managed to find groups for the First Form, Fifth Form and Sixth Form girls. By this date there will be two more members in the St Scholastica Community to assist with this.

We currently have around 60 students involved in weekly Lectio groups across the School. Generally speaking, the groups are working well and have a strong community

aspect, but we need to strengthen the prayer aspect (Lectio Divina), that is an ongoing aspect of the formation with St John’s Lectio group.

St Luke’s Community The St Luke’s Community has embraced the challenges of the new academic year organizing the Sunday Mass, House Masses, House Reconciliation Services, as well as the prayers in Houses. The Community is made up of three pupils from the Upper Sixth Form – The Leader of the Community and the two joint Head Servers who have helped with the training of the new Fourth Form servers. Each house has a Lower Sixth Form representative. The community meets every week and always begins with a short lectio session, a reading from St Luke’s Gospel. I’ve been touched by the deep and prayerful echoes from some of the members. The Church in this country kept Red Wednesday on 24th November, organised by Aid to the Church in Need. It is a day of prayer for Christians who are suffering in the world for their belief and practice of Christianity. Paul Andrewartha helped with the organisation of the day, working hard to make pupils and staff aware of the horrendous suffering that Christians undergo in many parts of the world. Special prayers were said in the Houses on the mornings of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The day concluded with a short and moving prayer service in the evening in the Old Chapel. The prayer service was led by the members of St Luke’s.

St Teresa of Calcutta’s Community The Community gathers each Tuesday evening and always begins its meeting with Lectio, to inspire and spiritually nourish its members with the Word of God. This is followed by three weekly rotations of Mission, Community and Discipleship to encourage and foster the idea of missionary discipleship within the community. Eight new members from the Lower Sixth Form have joined the community. There are now 20 pupils, with each House represented. The objective of the community is to foster and encourage Christian service in the life of the School.

Activities this term have included: A Christmas Message of Hope. Starfish boxes, boxes of toys for children, boxes, and gloves for adults. These

will be given to the Sisters of the Church in Bristol and St Nicholas of Tolentino Church in Bristol. The community has provided help to Iona White’s charity, Help for the Homeless, on Thursday evenings. Two pupils go to Bath to assist in the giving out of food and clothes; they are accompanied by either Paul Andrewartha or Conor O’Rourke who run the community with Vicente Tagle. This has been an enriching experience for the pupils and has replaced the Friday evening Soup Run previously organized by the Bath Catholic Churches. One of the evenings was recorded on our Spotify Community Podcast. The community has plans to develop this in the coming months.

The annual month of service will take place at the start of next term from 6th January to 18th February. Each house will be asked to run a service project and there will be an address on service at the Friday Hymn Practice. The annual sleepout for Help for the Homeless will take place on the 5th / 6th February, and the Roses and Rolos on the 14th of February.

A new group within the St Teresa Community has been started by Paul Andrewartha called the St Teresa Young Leaders. It is open to members of the Fourth Form and its aim is to foster Christian/ Benedictine service and charity within the School and the wider community; the group focuses on a charity and a particular theme. Our focus this term has been on Poverty and Climate Change with CAFOD. Our aim for the Lent Term is Volunteering for others, the Lourdes OMV Pilgrimage and Disability Awareness. The Summer Term will be Peace and Justice with Pax Christi. The group have investigated CAFOD’s work and their campaigns, promoting CAFOD’s ‘World Gifts’ for Christmas, with an Assembly at St Benedict’s Catholic Primary School in Midsomer Norton; they will run a ‘World Gifts’ stall at the School’s Christmas Fair.

St Francis’ Community The St Francis community is a group of like-minded staff and students who have an interest in combatting climate change and strengthening the natural environment at Downside School and beyond. Led by Jess Doherty (Artist in Residence), the group are encouraged to learn that no one is too small to make a difference, and that every little sustainable act can make a positive influence. Moreover, it goes without saying, that the community’s patron is Francis of Assisi, the patron Saint of animals, merchants and ecology. Inspired and educated by the message of his teachings, the group endeavour to make Downside School a greener place, where students and staff respect and nurture our common home, the Earth. Saint Francis once quoted “If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men”.

RETREATS The following year groups traditionally have their retreat in the Michaelmas Term: Upper Sixth Form, Fourth Form, and the Third Form. In recent years, we’ve also had part of a morning for a ‘Whole School Retreat’ and a Community Leaders’ Retreat. The Upper Sixth Form, Fourth Form, Third Form and Community Leaders retreats have all taken place. As I write, we’re busy working on the fine detail for the short Whole School Retreat. The theme will be Light and Darkness in My Life.

The Upper Sixth Form The Upper Sixth Form Retreat took place in October at the Ammerdown Retreat Centre. Following last year’s success, we once again invited Fr Toby Lees OP to lead the day. The theme of the day was the Virtue of Courage and Jesus, Man, of Courage. The pupils responded well to the challenges and participated well in the discussion in the small groups. Fr Toby is an illuminating speaker who knows how to communicate to the young. The retreat was a rather eye-opening experience for me. Father Toby outlined the different types of courage. He illustrated this with a story of a man who saved the life of someone who had

fallen onto the train tracks at a station by lying on top of him and letting the train pass over them. A great act of courage. Another story was about a man who decided to overcome his fear of rejection by spending 100 days overcoming larger and larger rejections, for example asking a stranger for ridiculous sums of money. Perhaps not as courageous as the man who risked his life, but still an act of courage was the story of an elderly man and his wife. They had been married for over 50 years and the point had reached that the husband had to look after his wife and do everything for her. This man dedicated his life to his wife; at times this was very difficult. Father Toby explained the great act of courage of this man. As human beings we are often afraid of commitment, displaying courage in the ordinary everyday things of life.

By only dating and never getting married we are acting out of fear. We fear that if we fully commit to someone, we might get bored or when things get too difficult, we can no longer walk away freely. This fear often controls our lives and stops us from doing acts of true courage and doing difficult things to change our lives for the better. But to have the courage to commit your whole life on this Earth to something or someone despite this fear is truly special.

Roman Majendie Roberts Upper Sixth Form

The retreat was an eye-opening experience for me. The day was led by Father Toby who gave us an insight into how people from different religious communities live; he was incredibly open with us and told us about his life as a Dominican Friar. We were given the opportunity to sit down together as a tutor group and have talks that we would never get the chance to have; we all opened up about things and gave each other advice about our worries. We were so engrossed in the discussion that we almost missed our tea and biscuit break! Ammerdown is a beautiful and tranquil place that really enforced a calming spiritual atmosphere amongst everyone in the year. Walking around the grounds in pairs gave us time to think and talk deeply about the set of prompted questions we were given. After our walk around the grounds, we headed to the Chapel for a Mass; it was a lovely experience to have a Mass in a different setting.

The chapel was beautiful and singing with the group was very enjoyable. Overall, the day was a learning curve and something that I believe we all needed before our return to school.

Amelia Evans Isabella Upper Sixth Form

Fourth Form The Fourth Form Retreat took place in the early part of the term and followed much the same pattern as the last two years. The whole year started the day with Mass in the Old Chapel and then split up into House groups. The focus of the day was on being together, learning to live with one another, strengthening community life. All five houses went out for the day and some of the groups reflected on Gospel and Benedictine values. Below are comments from two Houses.

A few weeks ago, my year were taken on a religious retreat in our Houses. I really enjoyed it as it helped us strengthen our relationships with one another and build our community while working together as a team. We went with our tutor Mr Barrett and Nicolas who is part of the Chaplaincy Team but sadly is leaving. We took part in several activities that resulted in us learning new things about each other that otherwise would go unspoken.

One of my favourite activities was where we had a very roughly cut out cross made of wood and we had to sand down each of ours until it was really smooth. We spent over half an hour doing this and even though we did not speak much throughout it was very peaceful to do it together and look at the beautiful views in Stourhead.

The impact this had on me was that I realised something so simple and lovely to go somewhere with my friends made me closer with them and now I realise that I have built relationships with them that will last a lifetime. I have told them personal details about my life and this retreat made me realise that many think that life is about something you need to get through, but it is so much more than that. With the support of the people around you and most importantly, God and prayer, you can get through anything and come out the other side finding that you have enjoyed yourself.

Aless Majendie Caverel Fourth Form

All the Fourth Form Retreat gathered for Mass in the Old Chapel at the start of the day; we then split into House groups. Smythe were dropped off in the Withan Woods. We walked to the little church at Withan Friary, about four miles. During the walk we stopped off at different places for reflection and discussion. We learnt about our patron, Sir Edward Smythe, who was a family man, and welcomed the exiled Monks of St Gregory’s to his home at Acton Burnell for 19 years in gratitude. We also reflected on themes about community life: leadership, stewardship, and envy. Along the route, we encountered some lively cows and crossed the trainline before reaching our lunch stop by the fishponds. We brought our thoughts together in the little church at Withan, whist reflecting on a passage from St Mark’s gospel on leadership. Our day finished with an exciting, enjoyable, and very competitive frisbee competition which was won by Jonah McGarry.

Caspar Hayhurst Smythe Fourth Form

Third Form The Third Form retreat took place early in the term as this is a way of getting the year group together to pray and reflect on important issues. They were reminded about the importance of having the Gospel at the centre of their lives with a strong community. The Heads of School, Joseph Day and Stephanie Jedy-Agba, shared their experiences. Angus Christie and Lily Garrett, the Head of Powell and Head of Third Form Girls, gave an impressive explanation of Chapter 72 of

the Rule of St Benedict – The Good Zeal. In the afternoon we had our traditional pilgrimage walk to the small Plague Church at Holcombe, sharing the CAFOD journey reflections.

Mr Pollard’s Tutor Group The day of the Third Form Retreat was a day of learning: how to serve at mass, to be grateful for the many things I have and enjoy. We learnt about the work of CAFOD and its mission. In the afternoon we had a long walk to the Plague Church at Holcombe.

During the day we learnt about the Catholic faith. It was fun getting to know the others in the tutor group. We spoke about the Gospel and the Rule of St Benedict and were given a presentation on how to take up the opportunities offered to us. We visited the little Plague Church at Holcombe, and on the way, we learnt about refugees in the world.

Dr Tahin’s Group We think the retreat was very enjoyable and we should have another one as we had the opportunity to make contact with the religious side of our lives and learned to appreciate God. It was a peaceful day.

A few general comments from the groups Relaxing Reflective Interesting Educational Peaceful Fun Break from work Bonding with others Exercise

The Three Communities Retreat This retreat for the Communities of St John’s, St Luke’s and St Teresa of Calcutta took place on Sunday 10th October. The aim of the retreat was to reflect on being a missionary disciple in today’s world. Time was spent thinking and praying about discipleship, using Pope Benedict’s words from his encyclical - Deus Caritas Est.- and Pope Francis’ words from Evangelii Gaudium. The session was led by Nicolas Meneghello from the St Scholastica Community. Vicente Tagle led the Lectio session from chapter 15 of St John’s Gospel- verses 9 –17. The day began with community exercises and ended with a barbeque. All were given much to reflect on but also had the opportunity of being together and strengthening friendships.

The Whole School Retreat The plan is to have a 20-minute retreat at the start of the day on Thursday 2nd December in the Houses. Houses will be divided in vertical groups and will reflect the theme of Light and Darkness in My Life and Heart, using a few verses from the psalms to guide thoughts and prayers. It will be an opportunity for prefects and community leaders to guide and lead the groups, in the hope that all may experience the peace, and the light, and the beauty of Christ’s love in the season of Advent.

Chaplaincy Sessions The Chaplaincy sessions for the First, Second and Third Form have been running on Saturday mornings form 11.25am to midday. The sessions have been led by Paul Andrewartha and myself, with the tutors in attendance. We’ve covered the following: Visits to the Abbey Church, the Rosary, the Mass, Prayer – Lectio Divina, Red Wednesday and the work of Aid to the Church in Need.

Confirmation and other Sacraments At the time of writing, we’re still in the process of gathering names of pupils who wish to be con-firmed, with the hope of starting preparation classes at the beginning of the Lent term. Paul An-drewartha has prepared a Fifth Form boy for the reception of the sacraments of confession and Holy Communion. It is hoped that he will make his first Holy Communion at Mass on the last Sunday of Term. I continue to instruct a Lower Sixth Form pupil from Hong Kong for the reception of the Sac-raments of Initiation – Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion. We’ll also be preparing some for first confession and Holy Communion.

Dom James Hood Priest Chaplain

SCHOOL RETREATS 2021 - 2022

With Covid-19 becoming less of a risk to school life this year, the Chaplaincy was able to implement our full retreat programme for each year group. Each retreat always involves times of prayer, Lectio and if possible, Mass together. Like St Benedict and his time of withdrawing, we encourage each year group to step back and discover Christ at the centre in their own lives. The Chaplaincy thank the work and effort of Fr James Hood, Fr Michael Patey, Mr Andrewartha, the St Scholastica Community, Cristobal, Vicente, Nicolas, and Rodrigo for making these retreats take place. The department thanks all School staff who have supported the pupils on their retreat days. These days continue to be important for the pupils in their yearly calendar, allowing them to understand the School’s vision, a Catholic and Benedictine school with Christ at its centre.

Third Form – 15th September The Third Form continued with the theme of ‘Building Community’ for their retreat with Lectio, Mass, and discovering St Benedict’s Rule 72 – The Good Zeal. In the afternoon they walked to the Holcombe Plague Church reading stories of refugees through CAFOD’s Share the Journey reflections. The day was helped by Lower Sixth Formers who took on the responsibility as Pupil Leaders.

Fourth Form – 22nd September Each of the Fourth Form House groups enjoyed a day off site, with a member of House staff and Chaplaincy staff. Each group focused on the different aspects of their House Patron. Some of the places visited were Lytes Cary Manor National Trust, Stourhead National Trust, Witham Friary, Lamyatt Village and walking to St Aldhelm’s Well in Doulting. again invited back to speak to the Upper Sixth about the virtue of courage. The year group was split in half with each going on one day to Ammerdown. The day has times of reflection and concluding with Mass in the chapel. Our thanks go to Fr Toby for sharing his wisdom with the pupils.

Fifth Form – 25th and 26th – January This year the Fifth Form did not have their usual overnight retreat. This year they were split in half and each group went to Ammerdown for a day. We invited Dr Maureen Glackin, the Secretariat for CISC (Catholic Independent Schools’ Conference). She spoke to the pupils about the question ‘Who am I?’ and integrated this into the person that they are becoming and how God sees them. Our thanks go to Dr Maureen for sharing her wisdom and many life stories with the pupils.

On the first Tuesday after we had finished our mock GCSE exams, the Fifth Form were fortunate enough to be given a relaxing and reflective retreat to the beautiful Ammerdown estate. We went to the conference centre there and heard a trilogy of engaging and interactive talks by Dr Mo. In between these three talks, titled ‘Who Am I?’, ‘Who Do Others Think I Am?’ and ‘Who Does God Want Me to Be?’ respectively, we split into smaller groups and had time to reflect on what had been said. For example, after one of the talks, each group was presented with a bowl of clementine’s. An odd sight at first, we were instructed to pick a clementine and study all its defining features. We then put our clementine’s back into the bowl, and the duty to mix all of them up was allotted to me – I wasn’t, however, a particularly good bowl-mixer and was accused of keeping my eye on my clementine so that I knew where it was. To neutralize the threat of my cheating, our group leader, Father James, very thoroughly re-shook the clementines so that I had no idea where mine lay. Once the ordeal of the bowl-shaking was over

Upper Sixth Form – 13th and 14th October This year, the Dominican Priest, Fr Toby Lees was

with, we were told to locate our clementines. All of us managed to find them. In addition to this rather fun activity to demonstrate the idea of authenticity which had been discussed by Dr Mo, there were more reflective activities too, such as writing on a sheet of paper what significant moments in our lives we thought had defined us; I thought that this mix of activities requiring more pensive thought with rather more light-hearted ones, combined with Dr Mo’s passionate and interesting talks, made for an excellent day of reflection. I think that the most important thing that I took away with me from the talks and our group activities was the concept of authenticity and being oneself. It was said that we should each stay faithful to our rudimentary moral principles and act accordingly but be able to adapt our characters to certain situations; something I occasionally grapple with, being a bit of a people-pleaser, is sticking to what I believe is right at all times. The day really gave me a full insight into the importance of ‘knowing thyself’, and so I thank all the people who made this wonderful day possible!

Jessie von der Schulenburg

I really enjoyed our retreat at Ammerdown; it was a pleasure to get away from School following the mocks. During the retreat, we had three talks with Dr Mo. Her talk on her significant life moments was particularly poignant– learning how moments in our lives can lead us to different paths. We were then asked to reflect on some of the most significant moments in our own lives. Following this, we also had a game in our groups recognising a tangerine from a group of them. We all managed to do this by recognising specific features that our own tangerine had that the others did not. To finish the retreat off, we had Mass in a beautiful chapel at Ammerdown – it was a relaxing and peaceful way to end a meaningful day off.

Lucia McNally Lower Sixth Form – 21st and 22nd June After a large break due to the pandemic, we were glad that the Lower Sixth Form retreat in Bristol was able to take place again. The Chaplaincy renamed the retreat as Reaching Out to Others with the hope to help go against what Pope Francis named the ‘virus of indifference’ (General audience, Oct. 12, 2016). On the 21st of June we were based at St James’ Priory and on the 22nd June we were based at St Nicholas of Tolentino Church. In the morning, pupils in small groups, accompanied by staff, visited charities in Bristol who are reaching out to others in the way of foodbanks, soup kitchens, emergency housing and refugee support. In the afternoon they heard talks on Addiction and the 12 Step Program, then, in small groups, heard the testimony of someone who is in recovery. The retreat ended with a prayer liturgy in each of the churches. This retreat makes an impact not only on the pupils, but on the support staff accompanying the pupils. We give thanks all the charities for allowing us to visit them, St James and St Nicholas for hosting us and for St James providing us with those who were able to give inspirational testimonies of courage in addiction recovery.

After many years of the First and Second Form being together for their retreat. This year we split them into their separate groups.

First Form – 24th June This year the First Form stayed with the theme of Friendship in Christ. We were again based at Witham Friary for the day. The day involved Lectio, Mass in the Parish Church, games, and activities. The day ended with group games in the recreation field and ice cream! We thank the four Lower Sixth Form who gave up their time to be with and help lead the First Form on their retreat. We thank the parish of Witham Friary for letting us use their Hall and Parish Church.

Second Form – 27th June The Second Form went to Lamyatt Village Hall, a small village not far from Bruton. There the day was about ‘Voices’. Specifically focused on hearing God’s voice in their lives. After working through the back roads to get away from the departing Glastonbury festival traffic we arrived, not too late, at the hall. In the morning smaller groups were formed to help them think about the positive and negative voices in their lives. The idea that there is a marketplace of stalls trying to get their attention and influence them was explored. The groups then walked up to Creech Hill, which gave amazing views of Somerset all around us, and we stopped three times for Lectio passages about those in the bible listening to God. As part of the walk, we had Mass in the local church. At the end Mr Andrewartha spoke about Christ’s voice in their lives, saying ‘that they are the best of the best’, they don’t have to listen to the voices that say that they are ‘not good enough’. We thank the parish of Lamyatt for letting us use their Hall and Parish Church.

St Teresa Community St Teresa Community continued with its weekly Tuesday evening meetings and taking on new Lower Sixth Form at the beginning of the year. Taking the size of the community to 19 pupils, this academic year. The staff supporting continued to be Paul Andrewartha (Lay Chaplain), Conor O’Rourke (Head of Tennis Development and Lead Coach) and Vicente Tagle (Manquehue Apostolic Movement). Weekly meetings would always be accompanied by Lectio and food along with what service work needed to be started or be involved with. The community were involved in a number of service activities and fundraisers. ‘Christmas Jumper Day’ for Mary’s Meals. ‘Roses and Rolos’ for the Heart Foundation. ‘Sleepout’ for HelpForHomeless, based at the Abbey Church visitor centre and their own Spotify Podcast. There were two new initiatives for the community this year: Thursday Bath Soup Run In previous years, the Bath Soup Run was organised by Fr James on a Friday evening. In September, the St Teresa Community joined with Iona White’s Somerset charity, HelpForHomeless for her Thursday evening SoupRuns, based in the Old Market Car Park, Bath. The St Teresa Community were able to attend the Bath Soup Run throughout the Michaelmas Term, however, as the Lent Term began all members of the Sixth Form were invited. For many of the pupils, this trip provides an opportunity to meet those who need, not just food and clothing, but someone to talk to.

Maria (Upper Sixth Form) said, The soup run was an eye-opening experience that I hope more pupils can experience. Seeing how the charity runs to support these people on a weekly basis and how the people rely on their aid shows how important this charity is to them to provide them with their weekly food source. Being there, helping to hand out drinks and clothes, made me acknowledge how thankful we all should be with the small privileges we have in our day-to-day life.

St Teresa’s young Leaders This year saw the first Fourth Form St Teresa’s Young Leaders group. Two pupils dedicated their Thursday tea breaks to discover two charities over the course of the year, CAFOD and OMV. They created two fundraisers; CAFOD World Gifts at the end of Michaelmas, making £61 to buy five CAFOD World Gifts for the School. A Charity Bake sale at the end of Lent Term for Aid to the Church in Need’s Ukraine emergency appeal, making £92.35, plus more online donations. The pupils also created a CAFOD World Gifts Assembly for the local Catholic primary school St Benedict’s and contacted Billy Monger the F4 driver who is a double amputee, with the hope he would be able to talk with pupils at the School. Sadly, we have had no reply from Billy.

Paul Andrewartha Lay Chaplain

NEW SCHOOL PRIEST CHAPLAIN

The first day in post for the new School Priest Chaplain coincided with Shrove Tuesday and St David’s Day. A first Mass was celebrated at 5.10pm in the Old Chapel; until now, Mass had been celebrated twice weekly by Fr Boniface, a pattern that continues in addition to House Masses (in the Old Chapel) and on Sundays and holy days in the Abbey Church. Then in the evening of March 1st, a visit to Powell House to reflect on St David, the first of many such visits.

The next day was Ash Wednesday, meaning an afternoon Mass in the Abbey Church. The new celebrant, unaccustomed to celebrating Mass with such solemnity, was carried through with the help of Fr Boniface and a well-trained team of altar servers. It is quite something to hear Allegri’s Miserere whilst imposing ashes on the foreheads of the whole School for the first time.

The reality of life without the Monastic Community on site hit home on the second weekend of Lent, beginning with the solemn Mass of St Gregory the Great on Saturday 12th March. In anticipation of the poignant occasion, the whole School had prayed a novena of St Gregory for the intentions of our Downside Monks. The novena included the Collect for the Mass, making the prayer all the more resonant when Abbot Nicholas celebrated the Mass that day. Guests assembled from far and wide, including Bishop Declan, a number of Abbots and an Abbess, and the whole School community. In his homily, Abbot Nicholas reflected on the first reading from the Wisdom of Solomon. He said that understanding comes through prayer, and as the first reading explains we need wisdom not wealth, because wisdom reveals the most important values in life. Such wisdom is real wealth, and the key to happiness and security. The community are putting aside so many treasures to discern the will of God, to seek a new understanding of their monastic mission. Like the missionaries sent to this land by St Gregory the Great, he prayed that, on his feast, we might be sent forth from Mass to share the faith by word and example. The Community must move forward with all their heart, whilst many hearts will be heavy. They do so with purpose, faith and resolution. He asked for our prayers for the Community, as they will undoubtedly be praying for us.

During Lent, each House took a turn to celebrate a reconciliation service. Given that the number of available confessors had diminished, the service took a different form with the Senior Houses. A short service in the Old Chapel before prep began each evening, reflecting Hon scripture and undertaking an examination of conscience; individual confessions then were available in the office of each House throughout prep time. For the service with the First, Second and Third Forms, we were joined by Old Gregorian Fr Thomas Athill (S59), and Fr Matt Anscombe. Both found the experience uplifting as the pupils engaged with the sacrament.

Stations of the Cross were prayed in the Abbey Church, with five stations prayed at 9:10pm by each House in turn. Whilst the stations in the Abbey Church are marked simply, our way of the cross began at the West end with the first station. We processed to the sanctuary steps to remember the second station. At this point, a pupil took up the cross, and other candles. Cantors sang verses of the Stabat Mater, with all processing to the Lady Chapel for “Jesus meets his mother.” The large crucifix near the confessional boxes provided a focus to recall the moment of Jesus’ death. Stations concluded with a visit to St Oliver’s chapel, to light candles at the Lord’s tomb.

Later in the Lent Term, Mr Andrewartha organised a Walk Against Hunger, starting beneath Roberts Tower, encompassing the Fleischner Theatre and central Quads. The aim was for 200km to be reached; three laps of the Quads amounting to 1km. During break times and lunch, pupils and staff participated keenly. In the end an

impressive 341km was walked, amounting to 1024 laps around the Quad.

After Easter, a first task for the School Priest Chaplain was to bless each House and room with holy water. Whilst generous quantities of holy water were sprinkled, it was only fair and right that the opportunity was given to sprinkle Fr Michael, a chance keenly taken by pupils.

Bishop Declan visited Downside on Friday 13th May for the Confirmation Mass. 29 candidates received the sacrament, and it was good to have Fr James with us again. On Saturday 18th June, Abbot Nicholas baptised two pupils in St Benedict’s Parish Church. On Sunday 19th June, six pupils received Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time.

Fr Michael Patey School Priest Chaplain

ST OLIVER PLUNKET HOMILY FRIDAY 1ST JULY 2022 Barlow, Caverel, Isabella, Roberts, Smythe. Powell and Plunkett. Those are the names of six men and one woman. St Ambrose Barlow, Abbot Philip de Caverel, Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia, St John Roberts, Sir Edward Smythe. Blessed Philip Powell and Archbishop St Oliver Plunkett.

They are all people of God who are remembered, especially here for the right reasons. These seven bright lights shine on the Downside horizon because of their generosity of spirit. They each gave their time, talent, and treasure for the greater glory of God, and for our benefit too. Our leavers and all of you have lived and worked in the Houses named after them. Our benefactors are remembered not least because we use their names so often. As House communities, we identify with them.

On the 1st of July we must especially mention St Oliver Plunkett on his saint’s day. Plunkett is the only House not continuously occupied at our school, but those who couldn’t get home for half term formed community there; and Plunkett House has served as the Downside House for lockdown and quarantine in recent times. A stay in Plunkett may have felt like suffering, especially if you were ill with Covid-19, but remember that St Oliver Plunkett shared in Christ’s sufferings, and made the ultimate sacrifice with his life. He wrote in a letter about his experience of isolation at a time of Irish famine and persecution in 1674: ‘For months and months we were in attics without a fire… the poor Catholic leaseholders cannot give us even a piece of bread… Milk is unobtainable since all the cows have died’. It puts into perspective a short stay in Plunkett house. St Oliver Plunkett trained to be a priest in Rome and ended up staying there to minister and teach for over 20 years. At that time, it was risky to be a Catholic priest in Ireland. Oliver bravely accepted the Pope’s decision to be sent back to Ireland to become Archbishop of Armagh, in the same century as the martyrdoms of St John Roberts, St Ambrose Barlow and Blessed Philip Powell over here in England. St Oliver’s prolific ministry in Ireland, including clearing a generation-long backlog of 10,000 confirmations within six months, may have helped the authorities to decide that all Catholic bishops and priests must leave the country under pain of death. Like the good shepherd and unlike the hired man of today’s gospel, St Oliver did not abandon the sheep and run away when the wolf came. St Oliver wrote: ‘We shall not abandon our flock… we shall try out the prisons and other torments, already we have suffered so much on the mountains, in huts and in caves, and have acquired the habit of suffering to the extent that it will be less inconvenient in the future’. Like the good shepherd, he laid down his life for his sheep. On the 1st of July 1681, his last words at the scaffold, following a sham trial – and within earshot of the bells of Westminster – were words of forgiveness: ‘I do heartily forgive them, and also the judges… I do also forgive all those who had a hand in bringing me from Ireland to be tried here… I ask forgiveness of all those whom I ever offended by thought word and deed’. It is a privilege for us that most of St Oliver’s body is here as we hear him speak. He is

housed in the large casket by the original altar of the Abbey Church on the north side. We will be able to light a candle and say a prayer for the Saint’s prayerful assistance after Mass.

Today is a valedictory occasion, because words of farewell are said to our leavers, and there is a valedictory vibe in our reading from St Peter’s first letter. Peter exhorts his readers to ‘always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience’. Oliver Plunkett did express his hope like that: ‘I suffer for a good cause, he wrote, and this will have its result, so I hope in the Divine Mercy, for an eternal reward’.

We do not yearn for suffering, especially needlessly, it would be masochistic to do so. But for a good cause, would you be willing to give everything, without counting the cost, like St Oliver Plunkett was so willing? We may not be sure about this, but among those who were quite sure, were our sister and brothers named Barlow, Caverel, Isabella, Roberts, Smythe, Powell and Plunkett, who paid back with blessings. As St Peter says, it is better not to pay back with an angry word, but with a blessing; it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.

There are so many valedictory values and virtues encouraged in the first reading today. Be sympathetic. Love your brothers and sisters. Have Compassion. Be self-effacing. Practise good. Seek peace. Do what is right. Have hope. Be courteous, respectful and conscientious. Who could dispute any of St Peter’s exhortations, all contained within only 11 verses? They are a recipe for happiness and a blessed life. Peter tells us today that ‘anyone who wants to have a happy life and to enjoy prosperity must banish malice from their tongue, deceitful conversation from their lips’. With Benedict, we prefer Benediction. To speak well of God and each other in our daily prayer.

The following sentence from the first reading provides the last verse I would like to share with our leavers. According to St Peter: no one can hurt you if you are determined to do only what is right. During your time here, you have learned of the rule of St Benedict, have prayed with him, and have striven to do what is right by living Benedictine values. But what will be your rule of life moving forward? What values will you live your life by as adults? No one can hurt you if you are determined to do only what is right. Be so determined to do what is right in the immediate future. You have each been formed by a Benedictine education. Benedict says: prefer nothing than the love of Christ. Gregory espouses service as servus servorum Dei, servant of the servants of God. Be blessed like Benedict. Be great like Gregory. Remember the Benedictine staples of prayer and work. And carry with you the generosity of your House patron, the example of the shepherd St Oliver Plunkett and the fervent prayers of the Church assembled both here and in heaven. All who leave, Upper Sixth and others, will be remembered here for the right reasons.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Fr Michael Patey School Priest Chaplain

LOURDES 2022

It was touch and go that the Order of Malta Volunteers Lourdes pilgrimage would take place and that it would be possible to take guests. The young and enthusiastic OMV Leaders: Chairman – Cecilia Vorfeld; Pilgrimage Director – Tom Chance, and Volunteer Coordinator – Kate Hamilton worked hard for several months visiting schools to get volunteers, negotiated with the Lourdes authorities, appointed the Head Nurses, the Head Chaplain, and the Pilgrimage Master of Ceremonies in order to make it possible for the pilgrimage to go ahead. The pilgrimage took place but, sadly it was two days shorter than in the past and smaller in size. However, a sizable number of volunteers from different schools were able to come; they were helped and supported by experienced past members.

It was a privilege to be the Head Chaplain. My first job was to appoint a team of Chaplains. I was fortunate to have a very experienced group of OMV chaplains: Fr George Bowen (B74) from the London Oratory. Fr George was the Head OMV Chaplain for many years and has been instrumental in encouraging pupils from the London Oratory School. Fr Raglan Hay-Will (S73), another OG, is a priest of the Arundel and Brighton diocese and is also an experienced OMV chaplain, as is Fr Luke Jolly of Worth. The Chaplaincy Team would not be complete without Sister Gemma Simmonds who knows everybody and has been taking part in the pilgrimage for many years.

During our brief time in Lourdes, we celebrated Mass every day. We accompanied different equipes for an evening meal and their mini retreat. We spent time with them, led the night prayers by the Grotto, the Blessing of the Water and were available for the sacrament of confession, as well as leading the Reconciliation Service.

Every year the Shrine of Lourdes has a particular theme for the pilgrimages. This year’s theme was “Go and tell the priests that people are to come here in procession and to build a chapel here.” The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the young Bernadette Soubirous 18 times from February to July of 1858 at the Grotto of Massabielle, just outside the little Pyrenees town of Lourdes. On

2nd March the Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, told Bernadette, “Go and tell the priests that people are to come here in procession and to build a chapel here.” Our Lady’s message to the young Bernadette helped inform and guide our thoughts and prayers during our time in Lourdes. Bernadette was given a mission: she was instrumental in passing on this message to the priests that the dirty rubbish dump outside the small town of Lourdes was to become a place of prayer. Pilgrims were invited to come to this obscure, unknown place to pray and to build a chapel.

Over the years many, from all parts of the world, have responded to this invitation to come to this holy place for a few days to pray and to look after hospital pilgrims. Our Lady’s message urges us to pray. During our pilgrimage we gathered at different times and in different places to pray: to celebrate the Mass and to take part in the two processions that are characteristic of Lourdes: The Blessed Sacrament Procession in the afternoon and the Torchlight Marian Procession; these were special moments of prayer in our pilgrimage. In the afternoon procession we sang hymns, said prayers

and adored the Blessed Sacrament in silent prayer. In the Torchlight Procession we recited the rosary, focusing our hearts and minds on the mysteries of Jesus’ and Our Lady’s lives. Processing with lit candles that reminded us that we’re part of the Church and that each one of us has a mission: the message is to build a chapel here.

The challenge for all who took part in these intense days of prayer, care for the guests and the social interaction is to see how we can build a chapel and make space in our hearts for the presence of God to dwell there during our busy everyday lives. Our Lady urges us to persevere and to turn to God in prayer and in the reception of the sacraments. Filled with the Holy Spirit, we’re able to go out and share the Good News of Jesus with others – To build a Chapel.

Every pilgrim will have returned home renewed and strengthened by the Lourdes experience. Let us show the same care and concern that we had for our guests to all we encounter and to open our hearts to God’s love in our daily life of prayer. My prayer is for the wonderful guests we took with us, who inspired us with their good humour and friendship. I pray also for the volunteers, many who were first timers, who put so much energy into everything they did. A special thank you to the Pilgrimage Leaders – Cecilia, Tom, Kate and Hugo, and the wonderful medical team and my fellow chaplains.

May Our Lady of Lourdes and St Bernadette protect and guide you all.

Dom James Hood B72

The Weave group at Downside during the Holy Triduum 2022

ST SCHOLASTICA COMMUNITY

St Scholastica is a community of the Manquehue Apostolic Movement that has lived and worked at Downside since 2015. Manquehue is a lay Benedictine community based in Chile whose life springs from Lectio Divina- the prayerful reading of Scriptures- and friendship. Manquehue runs three schools in Santiago, with a total of 4500 pupils, and a Formation House in Chilean Patagonia.

At Downside School, St Scholastica develops a program of tutoría and Lectio Divina among the pupils. Tutoría is a way of encouraging older pupils to engage pastorally with younger pupils, cultivating friendships and sharing their own experience of prayer and service. Beyond Downside, St Scholastica is at the heart of The Weave of Manquehue Prayer, a network of friends who seek to help one another to pray and to share with many the Good News of the Gospel.

Cristóbal Valdés, Rodrigo Vidal and Vicente Tagle are the permanent members of St Scholastica. Nicolás Meneghello went back to Chile at the end of 2021 and Rodrigo came shortly afterwards. All of them are Manquehue Oblates which means that they have a life-long commitment to Manquehue. St Scholastica would normally include young people living and working alongside the Oblates. Though this has not been possible during this academic year, we look forward to welcoming Chilean or British young men to join our life and mission in the near future. 2022 for St Scholastica is marked deeply by the departure of the Monastic Community with whom we share friendship, liturgy, a common mission and the Benedictine charism. We have, however, kept in close contact and have been blessed both by visiting them at Southgate House, Buckfast Abbey

and welcoming them at Downside. Their departure has prompted us to cultivate our relationship with St Benedict Parish and the Clifton Diocese. At the same time, communication with the Head and the Chair of Governors has become even more crucial. Dr Giles Mercer was always extremely supportive of our work and we have received fresh encouragement from Mr Michael Bernard, the new Chair.

St Scholastica works at Downside School as part of the Chaplaincy Team, in collaboration with the School Priest Chaplain, Fr Michael Patey, and the Lay Chaplain, Mr Paul Andrewartha. The easing of the pandemic restrictions has allowed us to slowly rebuild the tutoría relationships between older and younger pupils. About 25% of the pupils took part in Lectio during this academic year, led by 19 pupil leaders. Two Lectio times were available for staff every week. St Scholastica has also enriched other Chaplaincy and school activities, like St Teresa Community, St Francis Community, the year group retreats, Tree Week, Bread Week and others.

The Weave of Manquehue Prayer is also in the process of rebuilding links and friendship throughout the country, with a focus of welcoming young people at Downside for a time of prayer and community life. Young OGs are very present in the Weave: a group of former St John’s members visited for a weekend, Alex Harwood (B21) and Louis Lesault (B21) are out in Chile for their gap year, and Owain Daley (R22) has become part of the Weave Commission and is leading the Bristol University Lectio Group. In Advent 2021, the Weave published Pathways to Lectio Divina as a way to share widely the precious gift of Lectio. The Weave is also inviting for a first post pandemic in person retreat, in late September at Buckfast Abbey, and looking forward to resuming pilgrimages, visits and other activities.

Cristobal Valdes Manquehue Apostolic Movement