Consecration of Our Lady of the Angels Chapel 125th Anniversary Celebration
Chief Celebrant: Fr Joe McGee, MSC Provincial Leader
Friday 8 May 2026 6.00pm to 8.30pm
Welcome to our Chapel 125th Anniversary Celebration
A very warm welcome to Princethorpe on this most special of occasions, the 125th Anniversary of the Consecration of Our Lady of the Angels.
It is a real pleasure for us to welcome the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, led by Fr Joe McGee, MSC Provincial, to celebrate Mass in thanksgiving for 125 years of worship in this beautiful Chapel designed by Peter Paul Pugin for the Benedictine nuns of St Mary’s Priory.
We are particularly delighted to welcome Sr Mary Lucy from the Benedictine order and other special guests including Dr Gerard Hyland of the Pugin Society, the Right Rev. Geoffrey Scott OSB, Librarian and Archivist of Douai Abbey, and Tim Cox, the Lord-Lieutenant of Warwickshire.
We also extend a special welcome to all our guests, past and present trustees, members of staff, parents, pupils, members of the parish, the Archdiocese of Birmingham and other friends of the Chapel and College.
Many thanks go to our Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw, Organist, Chris Beaumont, members of the College Choir and Dekk Brain and our College Bell Ringers.
Additional thanks to Jo Wong, our Archivist, and former member of staff, Peter Griffin, for their presentation on the fascinating history of this spectacular building, which is dear to so many of us.
We hope this evening’s celebration is one of prayer, joy and thanksgiving.
Ed Hester Grove du Toit
Foundation Principal Headmaster
Dedication Ceremony: 8 May 1901
125th Anniversary Celebration: 8 May 2026
Entrance
Bells - Princethorpe (1871) by William PittsBell Ringers
Entrance Hymn - Be Still
Choir: Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the holy one, is here: come bow before him now with reverence and fear. In him no sin is found, we stand on holy ground. Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the holy one, is here.
All: Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the holy one, is here: come bow before him now with reverence and fear. In him no sin is found, we stand on holy ground.
Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the holy one, is here.
2 Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around: he burns with holy fire, with splendour he is crowned: how awesome is the sight, our radiant king of light!
Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around.
3 Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place: he comes to cleanse and heal, to minister his grace, no work too hard for him, in faith receive from him.
Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place.
Collect
Liturgy of the Word
First reading: Ephesians 2: 19 – 22
You are no longer strangers and foreigners. Rather, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
Through him the entire structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.
The Word of the Lord: R: Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm
Response: I rejoiced when they said, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’.
I rejoiced when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” And finally our feet are standing at your gates, O Jerusalem.
Response: I rejoiced when they said, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’.
Jerusalem is built as a city that is firmly bound together in unity. There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord.
Response: I rejoiced when they said, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’.
As it was decreed for Israel to celebrate the name of the Lord.
For there the thrones of judgment were established, the thrones of the house of David.
Response: I rejoiced when they said, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’.
Out of love for my relatives and friends, I will say, “May peace be within you.”
Out of love for the house of the Lord, our God, I will pray for your well-being.
Response: I rejoiced when they said, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’.
Gospel Acclamation
P: The Lord be with you
R: And with your spirit
P: A reading for the holy Gospel according to Luke
R: Glory to you Lord
In the course of their journey, Jesus and the disciples came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks.
So she came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me.”
The Lord answered her: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset about many things, when only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”
P: The Gospel of the Lord
R: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Homily: Fr Joe McGee, MSC Provincial Leader
Prayers of Intercession
R: Lord, hear our prayer.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Offertory Hymn
Holy, Holy, Holy (Sung)
Lamb of God (Sung)
Music during and after Communion
Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart - Choir
Anthem: The Mercies of the Lord
Music: Gil Cowlishaw, Director of Music
Text: Moira Weir, former member of staff
This anthem, performed by our Choir, has been specially created for our celebration this evening.
In the muscles of the mountains,
As the streams are forced through earth,
May we find regeneration in the cycles of new birth.
May the swelling seas remind us.
Faith is endlessly restored,
As we lay our many burdens at the feet of our dear Lord.
In the silence of the spirit
And the dark night of the soul,
When the heart can find no comfort
As the winds of night blow cold,
May the brimming skies remind us of renewal in our tears
As the soft warm light of morning brings redemption from our fears.
In the wretched arms of suffering,
In the lost, the weak, the frail
May we learn deep compassion
Of a love that cannot fail.
May we hear the tender cadence of the song redemption sings
In the sweet, the still, sad music hear the promise our Lord brings.
In the wisdom of the ages
Echoing in song and prayer,
Touch our souls with benediction
Through the graces that we share.
In those lovely swelling rhythms
Bless us with the word restored
And confirm our true conviction
In the mercies of our Lord.
Final Prayer and Blessing
College Hymn: Here I am, Lord
I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry. All who dwell in dark and sin, My hand will save. I, who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright. Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
(Chorus)
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.
I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain. I have wept for love of them. They turn away. I will break their hearts of stone, Give them hearts for love alone. I will speak my words to them. Whom shall I send?
(Chorus)
I, the Lord of wind and flame, I will send the poor and lame. I will set a feast for them. My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide, till their hearts be satisfied. I will give my life to them. Whom shall I send?
(Chorus)
Foundation Principal’s Address: Ed Hester
Archive Presentation: Jo Wong and Peter Griffin
Please join us for light refreshments in the Sixth Form Atrium
College Choir
Flossy Adams
Patrick Beecham
Victoria Benbow
Tansie Bett
Zara Bushell
Darcey Carroll
Lottie Corbin
Noah Cowlishaw
Theo Cowlishaw
Bell Ringers
Dekk Brain
Zara Bushell
Gil Cowlishaw
Noah Cowlishaw
Liv Davey
Freya Eldred
Naomi Embrey
Clara Fawcett
Sophie Gower
Charlotte Heckford
Emilia Hone
Evie Kettle
Diya Kharbanda
Millie Lammas
Matthew Lee
Monty Lester
Sam McCormick
Sophie McCormick
Henrietta McVeigh
Jasper Nicholls
Toni Oshungbohun
Jorja Parris
Theo Cowlishaw
Liv Davey
Naomi Embrey
Millie Lammas
Monty Lester
Sophie McCormick
Jasper Nicholls
Stephanie Perkins
Stephanie Perkins
Isabella Price
Elijah Raiseborough
Sophia Taffs
Delilah Teeton
Evie Tomkinson
Elwin Williams
Elwin Williams
History of The Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels, Princethorpe
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels was built for the Benedictine nuns of St Mary’s Priory, Princethorpe, over the period 1898-1901. It was the second main chapel to be built at the Priory; the first, which had been consecrated in 1843, had become too small for the community’s needs by the 1890s.
The new Chapel was the vision of Mother Marie Evangelista du Breuil, 15th Prioress of the community, who had long wished to build a larger, more elaborate Gothic church to celebrate the glory of God. Thanks to a substantial dowry from Hilda de Trafford, a wealthy young woman who entered the Priory in 1896, the community found itself in a position to undertake this work.
Peter Paul Pugin, a member of the celebrated family of architects, was appointed to design the new Chapel.
Like his father Augustus Welby Pugin, Peter Paul was both a devout Catholic and an acclaimed architect in the Gothic Revival style, and through his expertise was able to turn Mother Marie Evangelista’s dream into reality.
The foundation stone was laid on 24 May 1898 by the Right Reverend Dr Ilsley, Bishop of Birmingham, attended by the community and numerous invited guests. The building work was undertaken by the Rugby firm Foster and Dicksee, and the new Chapel, with its distinctive tower, soon started to take shape.
The building of the Chapel and associated works cost in the region of £58,000 – over £6m in today’s money. The expense of building materials led to the tower’s height being reduced from Pugin’s original design; nevertheless, at 130 feet (39.6 metres) tall, it became an impressive new addition to the Priory which also served practical functions. As well as housing the Chapel’s bells, the tower contains a large water tank which originally served to power the organ.
Thanks to generous contributions from local donors and former pupils of the Priory’s school, no expense was spared in furnishing the Chapel. The stained glass windows and rood screen were created by renowned Birmingham firm John Hardman and Company, while skilled artist Joseph Aloysius Pippet, whose six daughters attended the Priory school, undertook the decorative work including the gilded baldachin above the altar.
The Chapel was dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels, just as the chapel of the community’s original priory in Montargis, France, had been at the community’s foundation in 1630. The Virgin Mary had been elected Perpetual Abbess of the community in 1630 by a unanimous vote. In the Princethorpe Chapel, her statue was accordingly placed between the seats of the Prioress and Subprioress, and still holds this place today.
After three years of work on the building, the consecration of the Chapel took place on 8 May 1901. The Rugby Advertiser of 18 May 1901 noted that ‘The interior is not yet finished; carpenters and decorators are still busy, but it was sufficiently far advanced to allow of the consecration service.’ Bishop Ilsley returned to perform the ceremony, witnessed by the community, schoolgirls and local clergy; Peter Paul Pugin was among the guests in attendance.
Once it had been officially opened, the Chapel was reserved for the use of the enclosed community of St Mary’s Priory and the Priory schoolgirls; however, the adjacent Strangers’ Chapel with its carefully arranged screens allowed local parishioners and visitors to participate in Mass without being in view of the community.
In 1966, following the departure of the community and the purchase of the Priory site by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, the Chapel became part of Princethorpe College and was also made available for parish worship.
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels remains at the heart of College life with daily assemblies and celebrations, and is regularly used for Sunday Mass by the local parish of St Anne’s, Wappenbury.
The Princethorpe Foundation, Company registered in England & Wales and Limited by Guarantee Number 04177718. Registered Charity Number 1087124. Registered Office: Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby CV23 9PX. © The Princethorpe Foundation 2026.