Cathedral Record

by Neil Sayer, Archdiocesan Archivist

The names in the Ormskirk graveyard gave me pause for thought: Korzeniowski, Terlecki, Pichlinski. Poles, clearly, the memorial stones adorned with the national eagle, but how had they come to rest here in the well-tended graves at an ancient Benedictine church? It was the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939 that tipped the United Kingdom into conflict with Hitler’s Germany. Fine words butter no parsnips and given the constraints of time and distance neither we nor our French allies were able to give much assistance to Poland’s defence; quite the contrary, as it turned out. With the Soviet Union also invading Poland from the east, the country’s armed forces were unable to resist for longer than a few weeks. Nevertheless, their faith and courage were widely admired. Both before and after the Polish surrender, Poles in large numbers were fleeing abroad to continue the fight. Circuitous journeys through Romania and around the Mediterranean led many, especially airmen, to France, where they were often co-opted into ad hoc units to face further German aggression. Several ships of the Polish Navy sailed to find sanctuary in British ports, where they too made valuable contributions to the Allied war effort. Following the fall of France in June 1940, many Poles found their way to relative safety in Britain. The Polish government in exile in London agreed to form a Polish army, navy and air force under British operational command. Polish forces then took part in the Battle of Britain, the Atlantic convoys, and were in combat in north Africa and Italy, in north west Europe from Dieppe to D-Day, at Arnhem and in the march on Germany that helped to end the war. By 1944 there were almost 200,000 men serving in the Polish armed forces in the west, and the Poles overall would have formed the fourth-largest Allied army of the war. Nearly 27,000 of them lost their lives in action. And in Ormskirk, from late 1944 into the post-war summer of 1945, the Polish 4th Military Hospital occupied the teacher training college. Edge Hill College had been evacuated to Yorkshire early in the war, and the site was requisitioned for military use. On the site of what is now Edge Hill University, Polish troops who were wounded or ill were treated by their own doctors and nurses. Some died there, and the graveyard of St Anne’s Church includes 26 Polish Catholics ranging in age from 22 to 56. They might not have seen their homeland in 5 or 6 years. They are all together in a group, a corner of an English field that is forever Poland.

Canon Anthony O’Brien –Cathedral Dean

November is our traditional time for praying for the dead and this year we will have a number of memorial Masses to remember all those who died over the last 18 months. We are conscious that many people will not have been able to mourn the passing of loved ones and friends with the usual funeral rites – November offers us an opportunity to come together to pray for and remember them. Following the Feast of All Saints on the first weekend of November we will have a number of Masses on the Feast of all Souls. The evening Mass on 2nd November at 5.00 pm will be celebrated at the High Altar with the Cathedral Choir singing music from Faure’s Requiem. Those attending are welcome to bring photos of loved ones who they wish to pray for which can be placed on the sanctuary during Mass. Archbishop Malcolm will offer Mass at 11.00 am in the Cathedral the following Sunday for all who died throughout the Covid Pandemic. We will also have a special Mass for Bishop Malone and the other diocesan and religious priests who died during this period on Friday 12 November at 7.00 pm – all priests who wish to attend are welcome to concelebrate. The Cathedral along with many of our parishes have been working in partnership with other churches and our local communities running food banks and local community food markets. On Wednesday 10 November from 7.00 to 8.30 pm at the Cathedral there will be a Conference on Food Insecurity and the launch of the ‘Good Food Plan’ for Merseyside. The keynote speaker will be Emma Revie, Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust. Tickets are free through Eventbrite. The Chapter of Canons will be meeting for the first time in two years on 16 November and will concelebrate Mass at 12.15pm in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Archbishop Malcolm will be joining us for our Feast Day of Christ the King on Sunday 21st and for the First Sunday of Advent on 28th November.