Westminster Record - April 2016

Westminster Record

April 2016 | 20p

Benedict XVI Lecture

Solemn Vespers celebrated at Hampton Court

Training Tomorrow’s Priests

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The Mercy of the Risen Lord

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by Mgr Mark Langham Easter, always at the heart of our Christian gospel, this year has an especial lustre: it takes place within the Year of Mercy.

Pope Francis has strongly linked the theme of mercy to the Paschal mystery, the death and resurrection of our Saviour. While our Lord took upon himself the consequences of sin in his passion and death, as a sign of his great mercy for

us, the resurrection is the Father’s work whereby he makes known to us his power and love. At Easter, God destroys death and sin, not just in this one instance but for all of us, for ever. Through the Easter mystery, we know that we too are saved, that our estrangement with God is ended, that we are made whole again.

So great is God’s mercy, that we are no longer characterised by sin or death. Although we endure these things, we are not enslaved by them, in the words of St Paul, they have ‘lost their sting’.

This message is so central to our Christian faith that it is essential to remind ourselves of it again and again. How easy it is to characterise others as bad,

condemned, irredeemable. How often we banish our inner lives, considering ourselves beyond help. Inwardly, we become both the Pharisees and the Woman in Adultery, ready to throw stones at ourselves for sins and crimes for which we cannot forgive ourselves.

It takes something extraordinary to make us new, to

bring us to a new life. That is why the Holy Doors in this Year of Mercy are powerful symbols: they mark a threshold between one space and another, between where we are now and what we can become, have become, in the risen Christ. What we were lies in the grave. What we will be stands in glory with Jesus on Easter morning.

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Westminster Record | April 2016

Praying for Vocations

Editor Mgr Mark Langham Archbishop’s House, Ambrosden Avenue SW1P 1QJ Managing Editor Marie Saba 020 7798 9031 Inhouse writers Hannah Woolley and John Scott 020 7798 9178, and Martha Behan 020 7798 9030 Design Julian Game To order copies contact Andrea Black 0161 214 1216 or email andrea.black@thecatholicuniverse.com Print management and distribution by The Universe Media Group Ltd.

May publication dates Editorial deadline: 8 April 2016 Listings email: communications@rcdow.org.uk News and stories call 020 7798 9030 Email: communications@rcdow.org.uk Advertising deadline: 15 April 2016 To advertise contact Carol Malpass 0161 214 1244 or email carol.malpass@thecatholicuniverse.com Produced by the Communications Office of the Diocese of Westminster. News and articles published in the Westminster Record do not necessarily represent the views of the Diocese of Westminster, unless specifically stated otherwise.

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The outpouring of God’s mercy, according to Pope Francis, makes the Church a House of Mercy in which vocations are nourished. The mercy of God, lavished upon us, forgives our sins and enables us to enter a new life, a life which takes shape in the call to discipleship.

This month we will celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, and, as ever, pray for vocations to priesthood and religious life.

While each of us has a vocation, and every one of us is called to live out his or her life to the full in the service of God, there is always a special need to pray for particular vocations to ministry and service in the Church. It is appropriate that this month’s issue of Westminster Record features the Sisters of Charity, who are celebrating their bicentenary,

and whose great apostolate includes St Joseph’s Hospice.

Their work here has been groundbreaking, and has encompassed the development of the hospice movement and MacMillan Cancer Care.

We also focus on the team that raises funds for our seminarians; training for priesthood usually lasts six or seven years, and we perhaps do not realise the practical support that necessarily lies behind this.

We are fortunate in Westminster to possess our own seminary, Allen Hall, and its contribution to the diocese goes well beyond the training of future priests, but such things do not come cheaply.

It was in 1866, when teaching at the diocesan seminary, that the future Cardinal Vaughan conceived the idea of a missionary order. This year, the Mill Hill Missionaries, whose history is so closely entwined with that of the diocese, are celebrating their 150th anniversary. Their missionary vocation reminds us that all vocation is ‘con-vocation’: a call to build up the Church of Christ, whether abroad, in our diocese, or in our homes.

For more news from around the diocese throughout the month, please see

www.rcdow.org.uk where new stories are posted daily.

A Memorial to St Joan of Arc St Joan of Arc (1412-1431) is considered a French heroine as well as a saint. She lived just nineteen years. She is thought to have been born into a peasant family. She travelled to the uncrowned Dauphin of France, advising him to reclaim his French throne and defeat the English. Joan of Arc fought alongside French troops at the siege of Orleans and rose to prominence once the siege was lifted after nine days. She was later captured and burned at the stake for heresy. However, as she predicted, seven years after her death, France was reunited, the English defeated and Charles crowned King.

In May 1909 the Catholic Women’s League organised a penny collection from Catholic women and girls to create a memorial to Joan of Arc as ‘an expression of reparation for the wrong done to Joan and to

France’. Spare a prayer for the women who had to count all those pennies and bank them; they would have been very heavy. William Christian Symons, who also created the Holy Souls Chapel, designed the panel. It depicts Joan as a holy warrior. The original mosaic itself was done by George Bridge but Osmond Bentley was not happy with it and wrote to William Christian Symons suggesting that the panel was reworked. This was done and the mosaic you can see today was unveiled in November 1910.

The panel is 3 feet by 7 feet and can be found near the Ambrosden Avenue door in the Cathedral. The members of the Guild of Saint John Southworth (with red cloaks) are often asked why the panel refers to Joan as Blessed (Beata). This is because she was not canonised, made a Saint, until 1920, a decade after the mosaic was unveiled.

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Westminster Record | April 2016

Cardinal Sends Condolences to Brussels

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Following the terrorist attacks on Brussels on Tuesday, 22 March, Cardinal Vincent has sent condolences to Archbishop Jozef de Kesel of Mechelen-Brussels, and Belgian Ambassador Guy Trouveroy.

In the letter to Archbishop de Kesel, the Cardinal writes: 'The news of terrorist attacks in Brussels has shocked and dismayed us all. I write to assure you and all in your diocese of the prayers and support of the Catholics in England and Wales. Many others, too, will be joining in these prayers.

'May God grant strength and enduring faith to all who are bereaved, injured and traumatised. May God welcome into his merciful presence all who have died.

May God turn the hearts of all

who commit evil to a true understanding of his desire and intention for humanity.

'May Jesus, whose death and resurrection we are celebrating, be the face and presence of the mercy of the Father and the light of eternal life for us all.'

In this message to Ambassador Trouveroy, the Cardinal adds: ‘These explosions have shocked the world and all who

hold that respect for human life is an essential foundation for every society.

'I would like to assure you that the victims, their families and the wider society are very much in my prayers. I assure you, too, of the prayers and condolences of the Catholic community in England and Wales. We, too, mourn this loss of life. We pray for the eternal repose of all who have died.'

Cardinal Vincent Prays for Victims of Lahore Attack

Feast of St John Ogilvie SJ On 10 March Bishop Nicholas celebrated Mass at Heythrop College for the feast of St John Ogilvie SJ. Ogilvie was a Reformation martyr who travelled to Scotland to bring people back to the faith. He was betrayed and arrested by someone who posed as a Catholic. During his arrest he was tortured in an effort to extract the names of other Catholics from him. Ogilvie was convicted of high treason for converting Protestants to the Catholic faith and was hanged in Glasgow in 1615.

In his homily, Bishop Nicholas reflected on the contribution of the Reformation martyrs to the Catholic community in Britain: ‘they embraced the call to make the supreme sacrifice of their lives’.

The reading for the day, from St Paul’s Letter to the Romans, stated that: ‘It is by faith we are judged’. Reflecting on this Bishop Nicholas said: ‘Browne [a friend of Ogilvie] testified that even on the scaffold Ogilvie was offered his freedom

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and a fat living if he would only deny the Catholic faith. He and Campion died in order that the Catholic faith should not die out in these islands. It would surely give them great joy to see us celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass here in this place 401 years after Ogilvie made the supreme sacrifice.’

90th Anniversary Celebrations at St Bonaventure On 10 March Cardinal Vincent celebrated Mass at St Bonaventure in Welwyn Garden City for the 90th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone for the church, which took place in 1926.

The first Mass was celebrated in the church on 14 September of that year. St Bonaventure was the first

Catholic Church to be built in Welwyn Garden City, which was founded by the Quakers in 1920. The beautiful sunny weather added to the celebratory mood and exemplified the ideals and lifestyle that the Quakers aspired to when they founded the Garden City. Following the Mass, parishioners continued the celebrations with a lunch hosted in the Focolare Centre.

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Following the suicide bomb attack on Christians celebrating Easter in Lahore, in which both Christians and Muslims were killed, Cardinal Vincent issued the following statement:

‘The perversity of evil knows no bounds. It sinks to a new low of hatred in deliberately targeting women and children celebrating their Easter Day in peace. This despicable act, aimed at Christians, is utterly contemptible and condemned

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just as we fervently pray for those who have died and been wounded. Evil will never defeat goodness, as has been demonstrated, once and for all, in the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ, our Lord.’

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Westminster Record September 20112016 Westminster Record | April © Communion and Liberation Archives

Inspiring Handmaids of Charity On the evening of 4 March, a Mass of thanksgiving was held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock Church in Kensington to commemorate the 150th anniversary of St Maria Micaela, foundress of the Adorers, Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament and of Charity.

The principal celebrant was Cardinal Vincent who paid tribute to Mother Sacramento, as she chose to be known, and her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Recalling her words that the ‘Holy Sacrament is my life and my element’, he explained that at ‘a time when the priest wanted to take away from her Centre the Blessed Sacrament, she said “If the Lord goes away from this house, I will go with him; nothing will make we leave the work…But without him I will not stay here, not even for an hour!”’

He said that ‘her actions are even more eloquent, giving up her own considerable share of “the world’s goods” to open her heart completely to the needs of the little ones, of the lost and abandoned.’

Speaking about her work, the Cardinal said: ‘From her first meeting, whilst still a youngster, with poor and uneducated girls through her first meeting with a victim of prostitution who was the

Mgr Luigi Giussani: A Personal Encounter with Christ daughter of a prominent banker, Maria Micaela sought out the lost and brought them compassion, love and true light.

‘In our world today we are surrounded by people who are lost and abandoned. Today we think especially of women trafficked into prostitution, here in this city and all around the world. It is, in the words of Pope Francis, “a great wound in the flesh of humanity, in the Body of Christ.”’

The Cardinal also spoke of his ‘sense of wonder’ when he first met the Adoratrices and ‘learned that the healing of this wound has been their charism for 150 years!’

He paid tribute to the sisters who are ‘inspiring handmaids of charity, responding with intelligence, experience, skill and compassion to the plight of

the poorest in 162 Houses spread across four continents’.

He called them ‘missioners of mercy of the first order’.

Looking at the source of this mercy, the Cardinal said: ‘It is, of course, in their love of Jesus, constantly present to us in the Blessed Sacrament. It is in his company that we will find the true and living mercy with which he can fill our hearts and which we then hold out to others. We love because he first loves us. We are merciful because we first receive mercy.

We are servants because he is first our Servant King.’

He thanked the sisters, saying, ‘May God bless the Adoratrices, in every part of the world. May they provoke in us all a great love of God and a more effective service in our world.’

On Tuesday 23 February, Bishop John Wilson celebrated Mass to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the death of Mgr Luigi Giussani, founder of Communion and Liberation, at Ealing Abbey. The Mass was attended by members of the movement who came to remember the life and work of Mgr Giussani.

In his homily Bishop John explained, 'The legacy of his remarkable life is seen today in you, his spiritual children, who, together with your brothers and sisters across ninety different countries, form the living Fraternity of Communion and Liberation.'

He paid tribute to 'Fr Giussani’s persistent invitation to discover Christ; not as some vague spiritual ideal, but to encounter him personally "… as the complete and definitive answer to the deepest expectations of the human heart."’

Echoing Fr Giussani, Bishop John said ’In love with Christ, we freely embrace God as our Father and Master; in love with Christ we willingly submit to him as our true and only Teacher; in love with Christ we humbly seek to serve him on the peripheries, in the needy and the poorest. Our personal relationship with the Lord shapes us to cease from evil as we learn to do good; it stirs us to search for justice and to help the oppressed; it moves us to be just to the orphan and the widow, in whatever guise we might meet them. In love with Christ we know that by his cross and resurrection our sins are washed clean in his blood; and this can only ever prompt us to be merciful, like the Father.'

Bishop John concluded his homily by praying that Fr Giussani may 'continue to inspire us to seek the merciful face of Jesus, as companions with him and with each other'.

A Civic Service of Thanksgiving in Hillingdon On Laetare Sunday, 6 March 2016, a civic service of thanksgiving was celebrated by Fr Nicholas Schofield at Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael's Church in Uxbridge.

The service was attended by Cllr George Cooper, Mayor of Hillingdon, along with other civic representatives.

Preaching the homily was Bishop John Wilson who gave 'thanks to Almighty God for our shared and mutually enriching experience of what it means to live together, in both our unity and in our diversity'.

He acknowledged the vocation of those who serve in civic life 'to promote and secure a more habitable world, a good and wholesome environment where every person can flourish'.

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He said that it was essential to establish 'a culture of solidarity' where 'justice and social charity are interwoven so that no person (whoever they are, whatever their age, or wherever they are from) ever becomes a number or is caricatured as a competitor whose rights and dignity can be ignored'.

He explained that this can be accomplished through a 'dynamic of friendship especially when the accent is on its capacity for compassion, self-sacrifice and mercy'.

He thanked those present for their 'service and commitment to the people and institutions' in the community and encouraged them through these words: 'We need your expertise and vision, your enthusiasm and dedication.

We need your friendship.'

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Westminster Record | April 2016

‘Living as a Creative Minority in the UK’ On Tuesday 8 March Cardinal Vincent hosted the annual Pope Benedict XVI lecture at Archbishop’s House. He was joined by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Maulana Syed Ali Raza Rizvi who discussed the theme: ‘Living as a creative minority in the UK.’ In his address, the Chief Rabbi began by focusing on the first Biblical account of a creative minority: the Hebrews in Egypt.

He recounted the story of Joseph, who integrated himself into Egyptian society, and contributed his talents and abilities with others.

Creative Minorities He went on to outline two conditions needed for creative minorities to flourish within our society. The first, he explained, relates to the host society.

‘Society must provide opportunities for minorities to flourish, to grow and to develop.

They must give self-confidence to those minorities to enable them to bring the best out of themselves, not only for their own sakes but for the sake of all of society.’

Explaining the second condition, he recalled the blessing that Jacob gave to Ephraim and Manasseh: ‘May the angel who has redeemed me from all evil bless these lads and may they be called after my name and the name of my father and grandfather, Isaac and Abraham, and may they prosper and expand in the midst of the land.’ Jacob delivers a dual imperative to ‘be proud of where you come from, be true to your faith…believe in God and follow him loyally.’ He went on: ‘but in terms of society, you will be a part of your society…integrate but don’t assimilate’.

The Chief Rabbi concluded by stating that society and minorities have a responsibility.

Society must ‘recognise and empower minorities’, whilst minorities must grasp opportunities to grow and flourish. They should not make excuses, but to ‘utilise every possible opportunity to work hard and diligently in order to provide a contribution of great value to our societies’.

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Equal in Humanity Following the Chief Rabbi, Maulana Syed Ali Raza Rizvi opened his address by quoting from the Qur’an at the creation of mankind. We may be from different groups or races, but ‘we belong to one father and one mother: Adam and Eve’. He continued, saying: ‘We are all men created by God, hence we should not be proud and arrogant sometimes of our identities, but should be contributing to the wider community. Everyone is either your brother in faith or your equal in humanity, and that’s what we strongly believe in.’

He focused on the importance of community building, recognising that the Muslim population in the UK is very young in comparison to the Jewish and Catholic communities. Maulana Rizvi

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explained that, as a minority, they must contribute to the wider community: ‘Many times we underestimate our own abilities and our contributions to the larger society.’

Although recognising that there is much to be learnt, since the Muslim community is still young in comparison to other minorities in the UK, Maulana Rizvi explained: ‘I feel that London has more Islamic values than many of the Muslim countries put together. Many Muslims say it is unfortunate, and it is. But there are many different communities living together in peace and harmony, giving respect to the others, and loving others. And that is what Islam is all about.’

In the final formal address, Cardinal Vincent began by reflecting on the recent service of Vespers celebrated at Hampton

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Court Palace. The Catholic Church became a minority during the Reformation, and was not re-established in society until 1850. He explained: ‘Our journey from that time, as a religious minority, has been remarkable, meeting both hostility and friendship…while staying faithful to our central beliefs and teaching.’

Faith and Rationality Education was at the heart of this journey; it was decided that ‘before any church building was to be constructed, a school was to be established. The school, said the bishops, would form and support the living stones of the Church.’

He recalled Pope Benedict XVI’s speech given in Westminster Hall, in which the Pope argued that there is a complementarity of faith and reason in addressing the

challenge of ‘What are the requirements that governments may reasonably impose upon citizens, and how far do they extend? By appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved?’ Education is a place where this dialogue between faith and rationality can take place: ‘In our task of integration, knowing that in Britain today we have a truly respectful, pluralist society, sound and lasting education is an important pathway.’

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Westminster Record September 20112016 Westminster Record | April

St Benedict’s Tell Timeless Story St Benedict’s Senior School students staged a dazzling production of West Side Story with four performances from 3 to 6 February. It showcased the breadth and depth of talent in the school community inspired by the encouragement and vision of Ms Katie Ravenscroft, Head of Drama.

Dr Hilary Harper (English teacher) reviews the play: It is a sadly relevant choice given the current antiimmigrant rhetoric but it also owes a literary debt to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This combination of antiimmigrant gang warfare and doomed first love is as potent today as ever.

The two lead roles were taken by Sam Lubkowski as Tony and Siofra Boyle as Maria.

Sam’s strong, expressive voice was compelling and his Tony was sweet and sincere, a perfect match for Siofra’s innocent and delicate Maria. Their duets ‘Tonight’ and ‘Somewhere’ were emotionally as well as musically striking. Siofra achieved a lucidity and clarity of voice both when speaking and singing whilst maintaining an authentic sounding accent.

James Porter as an arrogant Bernardo and Lola Stewart a feisty Anita also made a powerful couple. James was like a peacock displaying Bernardo’s sense of pride and

his seething anger at the racism experienced by his community.

Lola was a sassy figure delivering her lines in ‘America’ with humorous sarcasm. They were ably assisted by Robbie Renna’s Chino who was touching as a rather hapless suitor to Maria in the first half before the tragic events of the second half turned him into a frighteningly murderous and vengeful figure.

Conor O’Hara’s excellent Riff took charge of his Jets helped by Matthew Carr’s memorable performance as Action, which was an unnerving portrait of simmering violence which kept erupting into brutal frenzied

acts of hormonal aggression.

The choreography of the warfare between the Jets and the Sharks, in the first half’s ‘The Dance at the Gym’ and in the second half’s ‘The Rumble’, brilliantly captured the urban

swagger of the gangs. Leonard Bernstein’s visceral score was dynamically delivered by Mr Eastwood, Director of Music, and his orchestra, made up of pupils as well as of professional musicians.

More Meet US Ambassador St Thomas More Catholic School was delighted to receive the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Matthew Barzun, on 22 February. The Ambassador held a workshop with the Sixth Form in which they discussed and debated a wide variety of current affairs topics. Students also had the opportunity to comment on

what confused them about America: guns, universities, Donald Trump, as well as what inspires them: food, movies, and the great outdoors.

The discussion was lively and positive and the Ambassador commented that the students were a ‘very smart group who are a credit to the school’.

St Paul’s Welcomes Explore Marriage Workshop On Monday 8 February St Paul’s Catholic College in Sunbury-on-Thames was delighted to welcome Explore.

Three volunteer married couples came to the school with the educational charity Explore and answered questions from Year 11 students about what makes their marriage work. St Paul’s is the 11th school in the diocese that Explore has worked with since November 2014. In that time, just over 1,000 students have had a chance to consider what the essential elements and values are that make the life-long commitment of marriage possible and to discover for Page 6

themselves what the marriage vows look like in real life.

Before the dialogue began, students spent time thinking and discussing what their hopes and fears for the future were regarding marriage. These ideas formed the basis of the questions they then put to the couples. The resulting conversations covered many topics including the challenges of love and forgiveness, the pressures of time, children and work, and the need for honesty and communication to keep their relationship alive and well.

This ‘remote marriage preparation’ is at the heart of what Explore is about,

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equipping and empowering young people to make positive relationship choices in their future. St Paul’s Year 11 students responded to this opportunity with great maturity and enthusiasm. One student wrote: ‘I now know that you can overcome anything in a relationship if you truly love each other and want to try’. Another wrote: ‘I will definitely think more positively about marriage than I used to’, and many others expressed gratitude for the experience.

Mary McGhee from Explore commented: ‘We hope and pray that this experience will provide much food for thought and prayer in the future.’

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Westminster Record | April 2016

From Trash to Treasure Over the last few weeks children from St Joseph’s School Council have organised a collection of unwanted or broken jewellery for The Jewellery Project at St Elizabeth’s Centre.

St Elizabeth’s is a social enterprise project that provides a realistic working environment for adults with epilepsy and other complex needs. Working can help reduce seizures, so projects like this can make a huge difference to residents who may be having as many as 30 seizures a day.

Pupils, staff, parents and governors were encouraged to donate any unwanted items and collected six bags of lovely jewellery in total. Four of the children took the jewellery down to the Cross Gallery in Bishop’s Stortford and met Wendy who runs the Jewellery

Project for St Elizabeth’s Centre.

The children were told how the items they had collected would be used to make new and exciting jewellery which could be then sold in the Cross Gallery shop. The Jewellery Project, along with three other social enterprises, has a huge impact on the quality of life for the residents.

The School Councillors have decided to continue to collect unwanted jewellery items and hope to be able to donate on a regular basis.

Kate Pulford from St Elizabeth’s said: ‘The residents love to see new faces and feel very grateful to the children of St Joseph’s as they can now continue with the work they love.’

If you would like to help or support St Elizabeth’s in some way, please email fundraising@stelizabeths.org.uk or call 01279 843451.

Year of Mercy Primary Schools’ Mass On 2 March, Cardinal Vincent celebrated Mass for primary school pupils who had made a Year of Mercy pilgrimage to the Cathedral. 900 primary school pupils, who had entered through the Holy Door, were gathered for the lively and beautiful Mass.

In his homily, the Cardinal asked the children to re-read the

words of the gospel which encourage them to ‘be compassionate…do not judge…do not condemn…give, and there will be gifts poured into your lap.’ He explained that the mercy of Jesus is what helps us to pick ourselves up again when we have done something wrong: to start afresh and to go forth and try again.

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David Dein at St Thomas More David Dein, former chairman of Arsenal and the Football Association, came to speak to Sixth Form students at St Thomas More on 7 March.

Introduced by Head Boy David Anosike, Mr Dein covered a broad range of topics from the success of the Premier League to the rise of the women's game.

Within each anecdote, such as hiring Arsene Wenger, leading England's World Cup bid, teaching Patrick Vieira English, was a hidden motivational message.

Students left with a renewed sense of focus and belief, qualities that will come in handy as they prepare for the summer exams.

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School Students Sleep out On 4 March, four students from Newman Catholic College joined students from Twyford School and William Perkin School in a sleepout at the City Mission in Harlesden. Nadine, Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/RCWestminster

Samiya, Luke and João took part in the sleep out which was intended to encourage students to think about the housing crisis and the issue of homelessness in London.

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Westminster Record | April 2016

Bishop Challoner on Location Bishop Challoner Students exhibited work last month at Four Corners Gallery in Bethnal Green, with the opening night on the 1 March.

This was the first time many students had exhibited in a public gallery; it gave them a useful introduction into showing their work.

Adrian Tobin, an art teacher at Bishop Challoner and one of the show’s organisers says: ‘This was an interim show consisting primarily of the

work of Year 12 photography students; art students also took part using photography either implicitly or explicitly in their submitted work. ‘“Urban environmen” was the departure point which evolved into a rich variety of responses with students experimenting in a range of techniques and processes.

A common thread was the link to their lives as young Londoners living in the East end.

‘All our photography/art students are Londoners and yet their family heritage stems from a kaleidoscope of different cultures: Vietnamese, Filipino, Indian, Bangladeshi, Lithuanian, Irish and Colombian. This is something which is unique to Bishop Challoner within the borough of Tower Hamlets and is reflected in the diverse and exceptional work created by our young artists.’

St Michael’s Leads the Way St Michael’s Catholic High School in Garston, Watford has celebrated a momentous week during the school’s 60th anniversary year. Firstly, Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools, sent a letter of congratulations to St Michael’s for its very high standard of achievement in GCSE examination results in 2015.

This means St Michael’s is one of the top 100 non-selective state-funded schools in England.

Following Mr Gibb’s letter St Michael’s Catholic High

School was informed that it has been selected to become a National Teaching School.

Edward Conway, Headteacher of St Michael’s said: ‘We are all delighted with the news that we have been designated a Teaching School. We will look forward to training the next generation of teachers and supporting schools in their quest to improve. We will be working closely with our partner schools in the Herts Bucks Teaching School Alliance to serve and support the local community.’

St Benedict’s Appoints New Deputy Heads St Benedict’s School in Ealing is pleased to announce the appointments of Luke Ramsden and Fiona Allen as Deputy Heads. They will be taking up post in September 2016 and will join the Headmaster Designate, Andrew Johnson, in a new partnership at the head of the school.

Luke Ramsden already has a long association with Benedictine education, having been both a school boy and most recently a housemaster at Ampleforth College. He went on from Ampleforth to read History as an undergraduate and then postgraduate at University College, Oxford, specialising particularly in the Page 8

history of the Mediterranean in the early Middle Ages. Luke explains that he is pleased to be retaining a connection with the Benedictine community of schools: ‘The rule of St Benedict has proved a successful way of organising communal life for around 1500 years. Its emphasis on kindness, service and putting the needs of others first is as important to a school in 21st century London as it was to a monastery in 6th century Italy.’

Fiona Allen started her teaching career at the Godolphin and Latymer School where she taught Biology for nine years, before going part time to complete a Diploma and then a Masters in

Occupational Psychology. She took a break from education, and became a consultant Occupational Psychologist for nine years, working with a range of businesses and organisations in the field of recruitment, training and development.

When her daughters were coming up to school age she decided to return to teaching: ‘I realised I missed the continuity, interacting with lively young minds, and being a permanent part of a community. I was lucky enough to be appointed as Head of Biology at University College School in 2009. I am now very much looking forward to joining the St Benedict’s community.’

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Westminster Record | April 2016

St Benedict’s Tackle Rugby Safety

Amid the current discussions on tackling in rugby played at school, Sky News visited St Benedict’s School on 1 March to get some opinions on the subject and catch the boys training on the rugby field.

They were making a short film about the issue after a recent press statement by doctors calling for a ban on tackling in school rugby matches.

Director of Sport Nikki Woodroffe said: ‘Sky approached St Benedict’s as a school with a strong tradition of rugby to comment on this recent issue of tackling in junior rugby, which is classed as under 18. Rugby is one of our core sports so naturally Director of Rugby Mr James Coles and the boys were happy to comment.’

The boys were not in favour of the proposed changes: ‘Without the physicality rugby would change to a different sport,’ one of the boys said.

Another added: ‘We are taught to tackle safely and safety always comes first, so I don’t think it’s an issue.’ James Coles conceded that there is always the risk of injury but believed that the positives outweigh the negatives.

More than 70 doctors and academics are calling for a ban on tackling in rugby matches played in UK and Irish schools.

In a letter, they say injuries from this ‘high-impact collision sport’ can have lifelong health effects for children. They argue that the majority of injuries in youth rugby are down to tackles and they want schools to move to touch and noncontact rugby. Supporters say rugby builds character and other forms are less challenging.

You can watch the video of St Benedict’s here: http://news.sky.com/story/16 51698/stop-tackling-in-schoolrugby-doctors-say

Catholic Students Speak Up On Friday 26 February 2016, Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School in St Albans hosted the final of the Three Catholic Schools Public Speaking Challenge, a new and exciting initiative. Teams from John Henry Newman Catholic School in Stevenage and St Michael’s Catholic High School in Watford were invited to compete. Three talented Sixth Form students were selected from each school and each had four minutes to speak on a topic of their choice in front of an audience of Year 12 students from Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School. Topics ranged from Donald Trump to racism, from the European Union referendum to social media.

Three local luminaries were invited to judge the competition: Member of Parliament for St Albans Anne Main; Monsignor Canon Harry Turner, Dean of St Albans; and Eve Millman, Director at recruitment company Tate and current Hertfordshire Business Person of the Year. The judges gave constructive feedback to each contestant, in

what was an extremely high calibre field, and also scored them independently.

After all contestants had delivered their speeches, judges were asked to combine their scores to decide the overall winning team. In a fantastic result, Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School and John Henry Newman School came joint first, with the same number of points from the three judges. The overall winning team was decided by a tie breaker and the judges chose to award the Three Catholic Schools Public Speaking Challenge Shield to the team that included their overall favourite speaker: the John Henry Newman Catholic School.

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It was an amazing competition which was supported by the Catenian Association and highlighted the talents of many of the young people in our schools today. The students from the three schools all spoke clearly and confidently about topics they felt passionate about. Staff and students from the respective schools were extremely proud of their achievement.

Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School is now developing public speaking throughout the younger years in the school with internal competitions as well as challenging other local schools.

We are also looking forward to the second Three Catholic Schools Public Speaking Challenge next year.

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St Augustine’s Languages Day As part of their on-going programme of partnership with local schools, St Augustine’s Priory welcomed Year 5 from North Ealing Primary School on 2 March for a day of modern languages. The day included learning Cyrillic script,

Japanese, and Arabic as well as games and quizzes.

All students involved commented on what a success the day had been, and how much they had enjoyed the interactive nature of the activities and the opportunity to learn with others.

Top Recognition for Gunnersbury Gunnersbury Catholic School in West London have been confirmed by the recently published Department for Education performance tables as the leading boys’ comprehensive school in the country. In the public examinations, 90% of Gunnersbury boys attained five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Mathematics.. Headteacher Kevin Burke commented, ‘These results are a testament to the hard work, endeavour and ambition of our students. As headteacher I am humbled by the efforts of our staff that have

enabled such fantastic learning to take place within our school.

It is certainly not hyperbole to state that both pupils and staff are a credit to our Catholic Community.’

To add to the joy Gunnersbury Catholic School has recently received a letter from the right honourable Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools. The minister wrote to congratulate Gunnersbury for being one of the nation’s top 100 schools in three different categories: GCSE attainment, achievement of the English Baccalaureate, Value-added from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4.

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Westminster Record | April 2016

Chaplain’s Corner

Fr David Reilly, Diocesan Youth Chaplain At the Rio World Youth Day in 2013 the central location to be used for Mass was a vast area specially christened as Campus Fidei. Back then we were in the middle of the Year of Faith, and Campus Fidei means ‘Field of Faith’. Now we are approaching another World Youth Day, this time in the Holy Year dedicated to mercy, so it comes as no surprise that the central location at Krakow 2016 will be Campus Misericordiae: ‘Field of Mercy’.

Pope Francis has described the Church as being like a ‘field hospital’ where the many injured and suffering can come

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to have their wounds treated. In the field hospital, there is not always time for a lengthy diagnosis and profound judgement of a person’s condition. You simply have to do what you can in what precious moments you have.

The initial encounter is what really counts. Isn’t that exactly the same with the people who come today looking for welcome, help or healing from Christians?

Perhaps the Field of Mercy extends far out from Krakow, not in geographical terms, but in a mysterious way. Perhaps there is a place of mercy within each of us? If so, that should be a place we visited not just from time to time but often: a place to inhabit and know well. Just as the next World Youth Day in Krakow follows naturally from the amazing experience in Rio, I am sure that the field of faith within each of us must lead directly to the field of mercy.

The challenge for each of us is to become representatives of the Church, and Christ, who are able to reach and welcome those who come searching for forgiveness and a place of welcome.

To find out more about the Youth Ministry and experiences of our young people at: dowym.com

Director’s Spotlight Phil Ross

Youth Worker Training Day On Saturday 12 March a large group of Youth Workers from across the diocese gathered at Newman House for the Youth Service’s inaugural training day.

The training day forms a part of a much larger support programme being developed for this important community and it is wonderful that the work is being actively taken up.

Topics covered during the day included behaviour management, games, and recruiting and supporting volunteers.

Much healthy debate took place and it was clear that there is plenty of experience in place in our diocese and encouraging that everyone was prepared to share their knowledge and experience.

The next training day is on Saturday 16 April, again at Newman House, from 12.45pm to 4.30pm. Topics to be discussed include safeguarding, prayer and practical necessities for a youth group. More information can be found at youth@rcdow.org.uk or by calling 0207 387 1972.

It’s wonderful that a large group of our young adult and youth communities from across the diocese will be journeying with us to Krakow in July. We must, though, reflect that not everyone has the time or financial capacity to make the journey with us, and it is important to provide alternative signposting.

Cardinal Vincent, in his ‘A Pilgrimage Companion for the Year of Mercy’, reflects on Pope Francis’ desire that we should recognise that the Jubilee Year is a fresh opportunity to experience the great mercy of God. Cardinal Vincent reminds us that Pope Francis also wrote ‘Mercy: the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life.’

(Misericordiae Vultus 2).

The Cardinal says that, ‘to go through this door and experience the mercy of God everyone has to make a journey, a pilgrimage’.

Beyond World Youth Day, I would suggest that you consider joining up with the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham on 9 July. Most parishes or deaneries are arranging coaches and the day will be another real opportunity to witness to your faith alongside thousands of other pilgrims, all on the same journey.

Of course, there will be parish pilgrimages to Westminster Cathedral, to enable you to walk through the Door of Mercy; and there are Doors of Mercy in each deanery for you to visit.

The opportunities to undertake a pilgrimage in the Year of Mercy are endless; please seize them!

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Westminster Record | April 2016

In the Footsteps of St John Paul

Preparations for World Youth Day are now reaching their final stages in Poland and London. In Westminster bookings are coming in fast for places on the diocesan pilgrimage. Across Poland, young people from parishes and youth movements are waiting to welcome the youth of the world. The climax of World Youth Day will take place in the historic city of Krakow, home of Karol Wojtyła, who would go on to become Archbishop of Krakow and eventually Pope (and Saint) John Paul II. In February, Diocesan Youth Chaplain Fr David Reilly and Director of Youth Ministry Phil Ross made a visit to Poland to check arrangements for the Westminster diocesan pilgrimage and to greet those who will welcome us to their country from 18 July to 1 August 2016. ‘Everyone has been so kind and hospitable,’ said Phil, ‘the welcome they are preparing for World Youth Day will be amazing. They are really looking forward to hosting pilgrims from Westminster.’

In particular, they brought Westminster’s greetings to the current Archbishop of Kraków, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, who received them at the Archbishop’s Palace in Krakow’s Old Town. Near the ancient Wawal Castle and Cathedral, the archbishop’s house is associated with the tumultuous stories of both the city of Krakow and its most famous son, St John Paul II. It was here that the young Karol, as he was then known, studied secretly in the clandestine seminary, protected by the highly regarded bishop, Prince Adam Sapieha. It was also here that Karol worked during his own years as auxiliary bishop and then archbishop, and from where he left for Rome in 1978 to be elected Pope. From the window of this palace, John Paul would always appear to the crowds of young people during his many visits home as Pope. Fr David says, ‘It was a special privilege for us to visit and pray in the archbishop’s private chapel, where John Paul himself spent many hours in prayer. It was here in this small place, in 1946, that he became a priest.’

To find out more about the Youth Ministry and experiences of our young people at: dowym.com

Cardinal Dziwisz has spent his life closely associated with St John Paul, serving as his Private Secretary for many years. He recently opened an awe-inspiring shrine in honour of the saintly Pope. There are many artefacts here associated with Pope John Paul, including the blood-stained cassock he was wearing when he was shot in St Peter’s Square in 1981.

They also visited sites in the city of Łódź where Westminster will spend their Mission Week (or ‘Days in the Diocese’) hosted by partners from the Chemin Neuf Community. The Westminster Pilgrimage will be part of the ‘Paradise in the City’ youth festival organised between the Archdiocese of Łódź and Chemin Neuf. These days promise to open up the beauty of Poland’s culture, as well as the hearts of pilgrims before they leave for the final days in Krakow.

Poland is a remarkable country with a rich history of faithfulness to the Gospel and turbulent periods of great suffering. Thirty years after the first definitive World Youth Day celebrated by St John Paul II, it will be a special privilege to return to his home city. In the Holy Year dedicated to mercy, we are invited to be pilgrims to the country of St Faustina and the land of the Divine Mercy devotion.

Please see our website dowym.com for further details on how to register for a place on the World Youth Day pilgrimage.

Meeting Fellow WYD Pilgrims Alex Pizzoni Preparations for World Youth Day are now well underway.

I’m excited and can’t wait for the week in Poland to start; it is going to be an incredible adventure. The first information evening at the Centre for Youth Ministry was enlightening. I was able to meet up with other young people from parishes around the diocese and to understand how they are feeling about the trip to Poland. I found out that this was the first World Youth Day for many, like myself, and there was a real excitement and buzz about it!

I will be joining the Youth Ministry pilgrimage for the final week in Krakow. This will be a great spiritual opportunity for young people to practice

their faith and become closer to God. It will essentially be a ‘journey through faith’ for a week. Moreover, the chance to meet young people from all over the world and represent the Diocese of Westminster and the UK, will make it a once in a lifetime event and an unmissable occasion.

It is a particular privilege that this year World Youth Day is being held in Poland, the birthplace of Pope St John Paul II and St Faustina. I have previously been on pilgrimage from Lindisfarne to Holy Island whilst at school, and also saw Pope Benedict XVI visit London in 2010. I believe that World Youth Day in Krakow will further deepen my faith and take me closer to the path of Christ!

SPEC Volunteer Missionaries SPEC is the diocese’s youth and children’s retreat centre based at in Waxwell House in Pinner.

At the heart of SPEC’s ministry are the young people aged 1825 who volunteer to live with us in community for a year as volunteer missionaries. If you feel called to this year of formation and mission, visit http://dowym.com/spec for more information, or contact Jon Rogers (jonrogers@rcdow.org.uk, 020 3757 2502).

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Westminster Record | April 2016

Westminster Record | April 2016

Holy Week: Journeying with Jesus in the Year of Mercy ©Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

©Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

Palm Sunday, 21 March, marked the beginning of Holy Week. At Westminster Cathedral Cardinal Vincent presided over the Blessing of Palms, Procession and Mass.

On Tuesday 23 March, the Chrism Mass took place at the Cathedral. The three Holy Oils, the Oil of Catechumens, the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of Chrism which are used during the sacraments, were blessed in one of the most ancient ceremonies of the Church. The Cardinal celebrated the Mass with bishops, priests and lay people from the diocese all in attendance. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor was also in attendance, as was Papal Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Mennini. During his homily Cardinal Vincent reflected on the Year of Mercy and the renewed eagerness for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

He also thanked priests for

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©Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

their generous service. The Chrism Mass is normally celebrated on Maundy Thursday, but in this diocese it has been moved to Tuesday to enable priests, who are usually busy preparing for the Triduum in their parishes, to attend.

On Maundy Thursday the Mass of the Lord’s Supper was celebrated, recalling Christ’s institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper and the washing of his disciples’ feet.

In commemoration of Jesus’s act, Cardinal Vincent washed the feet of 12 Chelsea Pensioners, including for the first time two women. During his homily, which continued the theme of mercy, the Cardinal reflected on the washing of the feet, describing it as ‘a vivid picture of mercy in action’, a symbolic action which ‘is, perhaps, the perfect Instagram’, alluding to Pope Francis recently joining the social media platform.

On Friday 25 March, Good Friday, Cardinal Vincent marked the Lord’s Passion in central London by attending the Walk of Witness in Westminster and the Wintershall Passion Play in Trafalgar Square. The Walk of Witness involves many Christian groups, walking through central London to mark the Passion of Christ, and arriving in Trafalgar Square for the Passion Play.

At 3pm, the Cardinal led the Solemn Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord in Westminster Cathedral, along with the Cathedral chaplains, the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop, and Bishop Mark Jabalé, Bishop Emeritus of Menevia.

During his homily Cardinal Vincent remarked that Good Friday this year has a particular poignancy ‘Today is 25 March, usually the Feast of the Annunciation, of the Follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/diocese.westminster

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conception of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.

There was an ancient tradition according to which Jesus dies on the Cross on the same day as his conception, his incarnation.

These mysteries, his Incarnation, the Cross, the Resurrection are inseparably connected.’

On Saturday 26 March, the Easter Vigil began with the Cardinal entering the darkened Cathedral with the light of the Paschal candle. The flame of the candle was shared with everyone to spread light across the Cathedral, symbolising the light Christ brings by his Resurrection after the darkness of the Crucifixion. In addition to the six people who were baptised, another six were received into full communion with the Church, and a further six, along with those baptised and received, made their confirmation.

Cardinal Vincent reflected on the light of Christ explaining that, ‘the darkness is real, this week shown most emphatically on the streets of Brussels. The light is strong, overcoming all darkness, as our ceremony has portrayed in light which flooded the darkened Cathedral.’

He went on to say, ‘It is the light of the risen Christ who, still bearing the wounds of his suffering, comes to us in glory.

And this light, passed in faith from hand to hand, has the power to overcome all darkness, all sin.’

The full text of the Cardinal’s homilies from Holy Week are available on rcdow.org.uk/cardinal/homilies Photos from these events are available at www.flickr.com/ photos/catholicwestminster/ Page 13

Westminster Record | April 2016

Westminster Record | April 2016

Holy Week: Journeying with Jesus in the Year of Mercy ©Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

©Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

Palm Sunday, 21 March, marked the beginning of Holy Week. At Westminster Cathedral Cardinal Vincent presided over the Blessing of Palms, Procession and Mass.

On Tuesday 23 March, the Chrism Mass took place at the Cathedral. The three Holy Oils, the Oil of Catechumens, the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of Chrism which are used during the sacraments, were blessed in one of the most ancient ceremonies of the Church. The Cardinal celebrated the Mass with bishops, priests and lay people from the diocese all in attendance. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor was also in attendance, as was Papal Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Mennini. During his homily Cardinal Vincent reflected on the Year of Mercy and the renewed eagerness for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

He also thanked priests for

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©Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

their generous service. The Chrism Mass is normally celebrated on Maundy Thursday, but in this diocese it has been moved to Tuesday to enable priests, who are usually busy preparing for the Triduum in their parishes, to attend.

On Maundy Thursday the Mass of the Lord’s Supper was celebrated, recalling Christ’s institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper and the washing of his disciples’ feet.

In commemoration of Jesus’s act, Cardinal Vincent washed the feet of 12 Chelsea Pensioners, including for the first time two women. During his homily, which continued the theme of mercy, the Cardinal reflected on the washing of the feet, describing it as ‘a vivid picture of mercy in action’, a symbolic action which ‘is, perhaps, the perfect Instagram’, alluding to Pope Francis recently joining the social media platform.

On Friday 25 March, Good Friday, Cardinal Vincent marked the Lord’s Passion in central London by attending the Walk of Witness in Westminster and the Wintershall Passion Play in Trafalgar Square. The Walk of Witness involves many Christian groups, walking through central London to mark the Passion of Christ, and arriving in Trafalgar Square for the Passion Play.

At 3pm, the Cardinal led the Solemn Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord in Westminster Cathedral, along with the Cathedral chaplains, the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop, and Bishop Mark Jabalé, Bishop Emeritus of Menevia.

During his homily Cardinal Vincent remarked that Good Friday this year has a particular poignancy ‘Today is 25 March, usually the Feast of the Annunciation, of the Follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/diocese.westminster

©Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/RCWestminster

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Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/RCWestminster

©Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

conception of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.

There was an ancient tradition according to which Jesus dies on the Cross on the same day as his conception, his incarnation.

These mysteries, his Incarnation, the Cross, the Resurrection are inseparably connected.’

On Saturday 26 March, the Easter Vigil began with the Cardinal entering the darkened Cathedral with the light of the Paschal candle. The flame of the candle was shared with everyone to spread light across the Cathedral, symbolising the light Christ brings by his Resurrection after the darkness of the Crucifixion. In addition to the six people who were baptised, another six were received into full communion with the Church, and a further six, along with those baptised and received, made their confirmation.

Cardinal Vincent reflected on the light of Christ explaining that, ‘the darkness is real, this week shown most emphatically on the streets of Brussels. The light is strong, overcoming all darkness, as our ceremony has portrayed in light which flooded the darkened Cathedral.’

He went on to say, ‘It is the light of the risen Christ who, still bearing the wounds of his suffering, comes to us in glory.

And this light, passed in faith from hand to hand, has the power to overcome all darkness, all sin.’

The full text of the Cardinal’s homilies from Holy Week are available on rcdow.org.uk/cardinal/homilies Photos from these events are available at www.flickr.com/ photos/catholicwestminster/ Page 13

Westminster Record | April 2016

Pilgrimage to Walsingham: Be Part of Something

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by Fr Chris Vipers Saturday 9 July promises to be a day to remember. For the first time in many years the Diocese of Westminster, led

by Cardinal Vincent, are going on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham. For those who

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have never travelled there and for those who are regular visitors, we are in for quite an experience.

Why Walsingham?

Walsingham is our principal National Shrine of Our Lady,

and has recently been granted the status of a Minor Basilica

by Pope Francis. It all started in 1061, five years before the Battle of Hastings, when Our Lady appeared to a local woman, Richeldis, and asked her to build a little shrine, a Holy House, to remind pilgrims of the Holy Family’s own home at Nazareth. As Our Lady said to her: ‘O you who are in any way distressed or in need, come to that little house that you have built in Walsingham.’ Walsingham soon became known as England’s Nazareth and pilgrims flocked there from far and wide. It was the Lourdes or Fatima or Medjugorje of its day! Even King Henry VIII was a pilgrim there, like every King before him, before allowing the shrine and Holy House to be destroyed by Thomas Cromwell and the beautiful original image of Our Lady of Walsingham to be burnt at Chelsea. Walsingham today is like a phoenix risen from the ashes and shines with another kind of glory, the glory of being a place of welcome, a spiritual home in the heart of England, a place to experience for ourselves the love at the heart of the Holy Family. This little village in Norfolk, in Bishop Alan Hopes’ Diocese of East Anglia, is waiting to welcome us again.

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What and how?

The invitation is simply to be part of something big and beautiful as our diocesan family travels and prays and celebrates together. There will be an opportunity during our pilgrimage day to visit the Slipper Chapel Basilica, to pass through the Holy Door of Mercy, to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to light candles and take holy water, to celebrate Mass with the Cardinal, to pray the

Rosary as we walk the Holy Mile in procession to the site of the original Holy House, and to be sent on our way ‘to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord’ as we receive the Lord’s blessing in Solemn Benediction. So look out for a coach leaving from your parish or deanery and book early, and I look forward to welcoming you there.

Fr Chris Vipers is the Walsingham Pilgrimage Director

Fundraising in Disguise On Thursday 23 March members of the community at St Dominic's Sixth Form College took part in a fancy dress day organised by the Lourdes group. The day was part of our fundraising drive to raise money to help the Westminster Lourdes Pilgrimage fund. Many students came as characters from books and films and in many other guises, with staff getting involved alongside too.

The group also made cakes to sell and organised an Easter Egg hunt which proved very popular. It was a good day and after it we are now over half way to our initial £800 target.

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Westminster Record | April 2016

‘Welcome home, Cardinal’: A Journey through History A personal reflection by Cardinal Vincent Nichols on the historic Solemn Vespers celebrated in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace on 9 February.

Weight of History

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Solemn Vespers were celebrated in the Chapel Royal in Hampton Court Palace on Tuesday 9 February 2016, in all probability for the first time in 450 years.

There were many news reports about this event, concentrating largely on the history of the Chapel and the Palace and reporting details of its musical content. These reflections are more personal.

It was a remarkable event, not because in Vespers I was together with the Bishop of London (who is Dean of the Chapels Royal) or because we were praying together. That is quite ordinary. It was remarkable because of the location.

I felt this most profoundly as we waited for our entrance procession to begin. I was taken aback to realise that I was at the end of the procession, in the place of the celebrant, dressed in cope and mitre, while in front of me in the procession was the Bishop of London in Convocation robes, 'choir dress'. This brought home the historical nature of the moment.

It reminded me of an early suggestion that the whole event be entitled 'The return of the Cardinal’. I had objected to that.

Yet, at the end of our public discussion, Bishop Richard had spoken the final words: 'Welcome home, Cardinal!' He was so gracious.

So here was a Cardinal about to enter this Royal Chapel as the presiding celebrant!

As we waited, I thought about all the people who, over the centuries, had entered through this same doorway into the Chapel. There were many who preceded the turmoil of the Reformation: members of the Knights Hospitaller of St John and, of course, Cardinal Wolsey.

Catherine of Aragon and other wives of Henry VIII prayed there, as did Cardinal Pole, at the time of Queen Mary. So many dramatic and intense moments of our history have taken place here, or are symbolised by this Chapel.

The weight of history was tangible and heavy.

I thought of Henry's angst and anger and how he had brought such energy to the destruction of all that represented Rome. Earlier I had walked past the painting of the four evangelists hurling great stones down onto the figure of the prostrate Pope! It was painted in 1540 and replicated the cover of the first editions of the Coverdale Bible. It is unambiguous.

Yet there were other figures who had entered this chapel for whom life was more ambivalent. I thought of Thomas Tallis who served as musician under at least three monarchs and managed to bridge expectations without falling fowl of threats and laws. Then there was the remarkable William Byrd who had served in this chapel, too, especially for Elizabeth I. She wanted him there. She even helped to pay his recusancy fine, which without her help would have been crippling!

Her personal desire was for a rich and full liturgy, and she resisted the Puritan pressures of the time. But she also used him and the Chapel as a significant factor in her foreign policy, bringing ambassadors to its liturgies so that they might send back favourable reports to the Catholic monarchs of Europe.

These were the footsteps I was following as we entered the chapel.

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The music was, of course, sublime. And music carries such evocative power. It carries us where otherwise we might not go.

And this was true of the music of Vespers. After the ceremony, many spoke to me of the effect of the Latin psalmody on their spirits.

They had experienced a spiritual calm and uplift which was fresh to them. For my part the most remarkable piece of music was the 'Salve Regina'

by William Cornysh which was sung at the end of Vespers, during which I incensed the statue of our Blessed Lady. That piece of music was sung at the famous and extravagant meeting between the kings of England and France in 1520, known as 'The Field of the Cloth of Gold'. I could not help remembering that St John Fisher was present at that event. He would have heard this music, just as I was listening to it in the Chapel Royal.

Our Blessed Lady Our Vespers were in honour of our Blessed Lady. And so was the sermon preached by Bishop Richard. Referring to the title of Mary as 'Theotokos', he told us of a letter he had received describing a statue of Mary, seen in a Spanish church and bearing the title 'Nuestra Senora la Inglesa' because it had been bought by Spanish merchants in London after it had been thrown out of St Paul's by Bishop Ridley. He then said: 'My correspondent expressed the hope that "the awareness and subsequent veneration of the statue, a common heritage of Anglicans and Catholics, might serve to encourage with her intercession, better understanding between the two churches."'

Bishop Richard then added: 'But for the future, the way to enter into our common heritage is by humility and a diminution of egotism in the power of the Holy Spirit who initiates us into the love which

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passes eternally between the Father and the beloved Son. In other words we should follow the way of Our Lady herself.'

Such beautiful words were then tempered with the reality to which the Chapel itself bears testimony. Looking round he said, 'But if we are caught up into the love of God for the world, we are also caught up into the agony of God as he contemplates the world he has made torn apart by the ravages of sin.' For just as with Mary we become ready to respond to God's call, 'we see in Christ how we have disfigured the earth and ourselves...But the first and last word is that "God so loved the world..." and every evening we sing with joy with the Blessed Virgin, "my soul doth magnify the Lord."'

The moving and eloquent way in which Bishop Richard gently placed Mary at the centre of our ecumenical quest touched me deeply. My thoughts flashed back to

Walsingham and the impassioned plea that I had heard from the 100 year-old Mgr Augustine Hoey that we must pray, pray, pray with Mary for the healing of ancient wounds.

There was something immensely profound, and almost tangible, about this evening in Hampton Court. As I left, I knew my life had been touched and a light had shone on that entire period of our history, which shapes us all so radically.

May Mary's prayers, and our prayers offered in every Marian shrine and chapel in the land, move our hearts to shift through the wreckage of the Reformation and find these golden threads of profound faith which, if we are humble and receptive as she was, can be woven afresh by the Lord into the banner of Christ's Gospel to be carried together with confidence and joy in our society today.

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Westminster Record | April 2016

A Way of Mercy in Westminster Cathedral

Fr Alexander Master explains the stations arranged in the Cathedral to help us as we enter the Holy Door and follow the Way of Mercy.

A Way of Mercy has been arranged along the right-hand side of the Cathedral, as an opportunity for us to reflect on aspects of the mercy of God. The Holy Door itself is the first station: not the newlyinstalled glass doors in the large central porch, but the smaller door on the right as you face the Cathedral from the piazza.

The beautiful lettering has already received much positive comment, and the five diamonds painted around the door represent the five wounds of Christ.

The second and third stations, the Seat of Mercy and the Divine Mercy respectively,

are in the two porches immediately beyond the door.

The fourth station is the Baptistry: the artwork is on a striking scale here, and depicts the baptism of Christ.

The fifth station, in the

Chapel of St Gregory and St Augustine, is devoted to the mercy of God the Father: a painting of the parable of the Prodigal Son is set over the altar.

In the Chapel of St Patrick we find the sixth station: God the Son, Mercy Incarnate.

The seventh station, in St Andrew’s Chapel, focuses on the Holy Spirit, and the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy, which are depicted on the side wall.

Given his own dramatic conversion, which is the subject of the artwork of the eighth station, it is appropriate that the Chapel of St Paul is the one where we are invited to think on the call to conversion. It may also be a suitable place to

By passing through the Holy Door and fulfilling a number of other conditions, it is possible to gain the Jubilee Indulgence.

More information about this, and about the Way of Mercy itself, is available in the simple guide to the Way of Mercy available in the Cathedral. Do take a copy to help you walk the Way of Mercy, keeping in mind as you do the hope expressed by Pope Francis that we may ‘experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things’.

prepare to make a Confession: leaflets are available to offer assistance to those who may be a little unsure about what to say or do.

The ninth station is the Lady Chapel: it would be an appropriate place to pray, for example, the Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) in honour of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy.

A tenth and final station is in the porch opposite that leading from the Holy Door: a simple poster invites us to put into practice the things on which we have reflected, and ‘to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful’.

24 Hours for the Lord

by Fr Alexander Sherbrooke Central London is a building site. Wherever you look, edifices come crashing to the ground and new ones rise. The area around Tottenham Court Road exemplifies this not just above ground, but also below with Crossrail which continues to rock the foundations of Saint Patrick’s, Soho.

The march of commercial progress and financial power can often have its consequences. Loneliness, spiritual disembodiment, homelessness and addiction continue their march into our society and our conscience. The Church is called as the Body of Page 16

Christ to be the antidote, healing balm and presence of Christ to challenge the powers and potentates of our world and to proclaim and exhort God’s mercy and forgiveness not least in this Holy Year. Pope Francis sees this conflict in dramatic way and is pleading with the Church to be a sign of God’s love, tenderness and justice to the broken hearted, destitute and spiritually lost. It is not for us to be revolutionaries of politics but to be revolutionaries of the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Cardinal Vincent asked St Patrick’s two years ago to host

‘Day for the Lord’: 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration with an opportunity to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We have carried it on monthly ever since and this Third Sunday of Lent the Cardinal kindly designated us again. What marked this year was that the day before we brought our Open House (twice a week a meal for homeless and vulnerable and a Friday Night Shelter) guests, singing and praying, through the church’s Holy Door down to their dinner. It was an extraordinary 48 hours in which the Church continued her tender and loving outreach

to the broken, poor and marginalised and then invited them and others to encounter the sacramental mercy and restorative love of Jesus in Confession and Adoration.

The buildings grow ever higher and pockets become

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ever more full but the broken and the poor, both spiritually and materially, continue to knock on our doors. The Holy Year of Mercy and the Day for the Lord in God’s mysterious plan is our halting but faith filled response to that.

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Westminster Record | April 2016

Inside the Hospice

©Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

by Fr Peter–Michael Scott Of late I have been recovering from surgery. It has been the first time, since I was eight that I have been a patient.

Although the surgery was fairly minor, I found myself reviewing my life before the operation.

We all have faults and failings, but sometimes it is good to think beyond the obvious and to become attentive of those which appear less direct. My time as hospice chaplain at St Joseph’s has made me aware of the ‘treasure hunt’ patients often undergo when reviewing their lives.

Their treasure is the faults or weaknesses, or neglect that they wish to give to God. The hunt is the search they make in their consciousness to see if they

could have done more for others, for instance giving more generously to charity, being more patient and guiding for those who have been vulnerable, devoting more prayer to those beyond their sphere of contact who they know are in need. These are not scruples, but an awareness of the beautiful gift of free will that God gives us, and how we use it. The Year of Mercy makes us mindful that being a follower of Jesus is not just about caring for our own souls, but the practical responsibility we have to care for others too.

As Pope Francis states: ‘We cannot escape the Lord’s words to us, and they will serve as the criteria upon which we will be judged: whether we have fed the hungry and given drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger and clothed the naked, or spent time with the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-45).

Let us not forget the words of Saint John of the Cross: “as we prepare to leave this life, we will be judged on the basis of love”.’ (Misericordiae Vultus, 15) These patients have no fear of God. They know that they can exchange one treasure for another, the diamonds of faults for the gemstones of God’s forgiveness and mercy. What is so beautiful is when a patient realises it is never too late to offer care for others, and what is humbling is to see them put it into action.

Please pray for the patients, staff and volunteers of St Joseph’s Hospice.

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OLV St Patrick’s Charity Night Over 200 people attended the early St Patrick’s Night Party at Our Lady of Victories Church on High Street Kensington on 12 March.

The hall was awash with green and the Guinness flowed as everyone enjoyed the traditional Irish music provided by the Sean Brady duo.

And, although it was Ireland’s night, this was an international gathering. The Filipino community were present as were others from around the world. For this special night they were all wearing green in honour of St Patrick (who is also the Patron Saint of Nigeria).

The Delaney Academy of Irish Dance entertained guests

with a display of Irish Dancing.

14-year-old Louis Cuddy stole the show with an impressively skilled solo performance. The talented youngster was a contestant in last month’s World Irish Dancing Championships held in Glasgow.

The party was organised by Kensington Friends of the Holy Land and raised £2,700 for this charity.

LONDON SHRINES Carmelite Convent, St Charles Square, London, W10.

Holy Mary appeared to a nun there in 1915, she said it would be a great shrine for the conversion of England back to the Catholic faith! She told the nun, Mother Mary of Jesus, to draw a picture of the apparition – ‘Our Lady of Notting Hill’ (1) – now a famous picture worldwide.

Tube: Ladbroke Grove. Buses: 52, 452, 23, 7, 70.

(2) Our Lady of Assumption & St Gregory Church, Warwick St, Piccadilly Circus, London, W1.

Tube: Piccadilly Circus.

2 Buses: 23, 12, 38, 22,19.

A famous shrine where hundreds of miracles were worked.

Grateful people donated many silver hearts in thanksgiving for cures.

The church is run by the Ordinariate, former Anglican vicars who became Catholic priests. Mass 12.45 Mon­Fri.

1

(3) Carmelite Church, Kensington Church Street, London, W8.

Tube: Kensington High Street. Buses: 52, 452, 328, 70, 27, 28.

Venerable Herman Cohen was a Jewish convert who became a Carmelite priest at this church and started the church.

Pray for his speedy canonisation – a big boost for London!

Mass 8am, 12.15pm and 6pm weekdays.

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(4) Our Lady of Muswell Church, 1 Colney Hatch Lane, N10 1PN. Tel. 020 8883 5607. Famous Shrine for hundreds of years, until Protestant ‘Reformation’ stopped it!

It was the most famous Marian shrine in Europe!

4

(5) Our Lady of Willesden Shrine, 1 Nicoll Rd, NW10 9AX. Tel. 020 8965 4935. Famous Shrine for hundreds of years, until Protestant ‘Reformation’ stopped it!

St King Edward the Confessor and King Richard the Lion Heart consecrated England as the “Dowry of Mary”.

England was covered with Holy Shrines to Mary.

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Westminster Record | April 2016

Seminarians Instituted to the Office of Lector

150 Years of Missionary Outreach On 19 March St Joseph’s Missionary Society, commonly known as the Mill Hill Missionaries, celebrated their 150th anniversary with a Jubilee Mass at Westminster Cathedral with Cardinal Vincent.

The society was originally set up by Fr Herbert Vaughan who would go on to be Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster.

The Mill Hill Society now has formation centres in Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, Philippines, Congo and India as well as four in the UK. The Mass was celebrated on the Solemnity of St Joseph, the patron of the missionary society. In his homily the

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Cardinal acknowledged that Archbishops of Westminster ‘have both encouraged and been blessed by the Mill Hill Fathers’. He went on to praise their far-reaching mission work, as well as the contribution of women to the mission.

Fr Michael Corcoran MHM, General superior of the Mill Hill Missionaries gave a short address in which he thanked everyone in the diocese for their support, saying that we must acknowledge that we are all connected and that ‘mission is not somebody else’s job’. In lieu of a reception the Mill Hill Missionaries made a donation to the Jesuit Refugee Service.

On Saturday 5 March, six seminarians were instituted to the Office of Lector at a Mass celebrated

by Bishop Alan Hopes at Allen Hall. Julio Albornoz, Daniel Herrero, David Knight and Carlos Quito, who are in formation for priesthood for the diocese, Anthony Asomugha, for East Anglia, and Joseph McCay, for Nottingham, were instituted to the Office of Lector, which is one of the stages of formation for ordination to the priesthood.

Training Tomorrow’s Priests The Priest Training Fund (PTF) is the Diocese of Westminster fund to help develop men into priests and to grow in their priestly lives. It accomplishes this through supporting the formation of men in seminary leading to ordination and placement in ministry.

The diocesan seminary, Allen Hall in Chelsea, is a leading centre of priestly formation. Additionally, the diocese has seminarians in formation at the Pontifical Beda College and the Venerable English College in Rome, and at the Royal English College in Valladolid, Spain. The diocese pays the cost of men in formation wherever they attend which is a significant but essential financial commitment.

In 2015, the cost of the formation programme was £1.26 million. Fundraising and legacies from generous benefactors provided £875,000 to help meet the costs. In addition, the diocese needs

funding for its vocations programme and for the maintenance of Allen Hall Seminary itself. Thanks to the generosity of parishioners in the recent Growing in Faith campaign, the diocese was able to dedicate approximately £900,000 from that campaign to refurbish the seminary’s chapel, and to repair damage in the library.

Being such a diverse diocese, we are challenged to prepare men to serve the many different needs of people.

Ministering to the poor, to children and young adults, to those in prison or out on parole, to the ethnic congregations,visitors and working families as well as ecumenical projects, all require additional pre- and postordination formation.

It costs an average of £25,000 per year to form a seminarian, that’s more than £125,000 over the rigorous six-year formation programme. There is

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continuing education for priests including further studies and workshops to further their skills and deepen their faith.

Please help us help them, in turn, ensuring the handing on of our Catholic faith. Support the Priest Training Fund during the annual collection, or anytime of year by visiting rcdow.org.uk/donations.

Thank you.

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Westminster Record | April 2016

Sisters of Charity: Radiating God’s Merciful Love

The Religious Congregation of the Sisters of Charity who founded St Joseph's Hospice in Hackney marked the bicentenary of the foundation of their order by the Venerable Mary Aikenhead with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Vincent at the hospice on 10 March 2016.

Cardinal Vincent, in his homily, reflected on the Catholic faith which motivates the good work of the hospice: 'Having a Catholic heart, St Joseph’s readily welcomes people of all religions or none. The presence in this chapel of the Risen Jesus, radiating God’s merciful love, surely touches all of you too and so comes to be bestowed upon us through you.'

The Cardinal also paid tribute to the work of Mary Aikenhead and the Sisters, saying, 'You know, what really strikes me about Mary Aikenhead and the Congregation she founded is just how marvellously you show what the Year of Mercy is about.

You follow faithfully Mary’s dedication to corporal and spiritual works of mercy, not least by your abiding commitment to hospice care, care needed just as much today, if not more. To care for the sick and the dying, to console those who are suffering and to comfort those who are spiritually distressed are all at the heart of the works of mercy.'

He went on to say, 'The Religious Sisters of Charity remain true to [Mary Aikenhead's] witness. As did she, you faithfully proclaim Gospel joy. Thank you. Thank you especially for this hospice.

May it continue to realise that burning desire of Mothers Charles, Philip and Mary: for those judged ‘beyond hope’, may it ever be a haven of sure and certain hope.'

St Joseph’s Hospice: Pioneering Care with a Catholic Heart This is an abridged version of the address given by the Provincial of the Religious Sisters of Charity, Sr Rita Dawson RSC MBE at the Bicentenary Mass.

Five Religious Sisters of Charity arrived in Hackney on 2 July 1900 and by 1901 a convent had been opened.

The winter of 1901 was particularly bitter and there was terrible unemployment.

Mothers and their children arrived at the convent doors, cold and hungry. Nobody was turned away.

After much hard work, and exhausting the money which the sisters did have, St Joseph’s Hospice was opened, quietly, and with no fuss in January 1905. Indeed, the hospice actually received its first patient the day before it opened. The next 35 years witnessed a steady, but relentless expansion of the facilities and services at St Joseph’s.

Groundbreaking Achievements In 1958 Cicely Saunders joined the staff at St Joseph’s where she began her clinical research. The sisters provided the resources and platform upon which she built her framework for modern palliative medicine.

Macmillan Cancer Support was launched from St Joseph’s in 1975 and the cofounder of Help the Hospices was St Joseph’s first Medical Director in 1979.

One truth which cannot be denied is that the list of groundbreaking achievements of this hospice of ours is truly inspiring and is the tangible legacy of those five fearless and pioneering sisters.

The ethos and core values of this hospice are the same today as they were back in 1900 and are shared

throughout the world, connecting us all internationally. These values can be seen as old fashioned and out of touch but the charism of our faith is what is required in such a troubled world. We live in times where it is all too common to attempt to airbrush out achievement, history, and the religious underpinning of the ethos and core values of organisations which contribute so much to the wellbeing of our society.

It is therefore part of my vocation, and it should be our universal responsibility, to protect, preserve and cherish that ethos and those core values which were laid down two hundred years ago by a woman of revolutionary vision, Mary Aikenhead.

This is a Catholic hospice but, right from the very beginning, the hospice welcomed patients of all faiths and none. Beside the care of the very ill and terminally ill people, St Joseph’s also provided care for older people.

Over the past 100 years the hospice has grown and developed and now provides a full range of community and inpatient services to the people of Hackney and surrounding areas. With a new CEO coming on board, this will be an opportunity to re-establish and reinvigorate the mission laid down by those sisters in 1905.

It is important to recognise the contribution made by our present Chair, Chris Bourne, who has given so much time over such a difficult period. He can be assured his successor will drive this hospice forward, always having at the heart of it, our mission and core values.

We thank all staff past and present and all volunteers and our supporters for their continued commitment and service.

Outstanding Commitment This Mass celebrates the 200 years of the formation of the Religious Sisters of Charity by their Foundress Mary Aikenhead. It was a fitting tribute to her that during the bicentenary year, she was declared Venerable

by Pope Francis.

Perhaps a final thought on the Venerable Mary Aikenhead. Our world seems entirely dominated by celebrity culture where people come and go so fast.

Mary Aikenhead and her Sisters of Charity have stood the test of time. The Sisters were, and are, women of astounding commitment, steadfast courage and supreme dedication.

They changed the world, challenging inequality and oppression, changing the lives of ordinary men, women and children, whilst always preserving justice and the dignity of the individual.

We have a determined will to continue our foundress’ work. As she said: ‘Our work would be overpowering were we to view all in any other light than as God’s own work and entirely depending on the miraculous aid of his Almighty Providence’ The last thing I wish to say here today is always remember why we are here.

We are here for the patients and their families and we must never forget this.

For more information on vocations please contact Fr Richard Nesbitt richardnesbitt@rcdow.org.uk or 020 7349 5624 If you have a story or an event you would like to have featured on this page, please contact communications@rcdow.org.uk or 020 7798 9030

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Page 19

Westminster Record | April 2016

NDF Refugee Centre: Respect and Dignity

On Friday 26 February, over a hundred people gathered in central London to celebrate the work of the Notre Dame Refugee Centre. Established

by Notre Dame de France Church in the 1990s as a response to a Francophone refugee crisis, the Centre today is an independent charity, in the heart of Westminster, offering support, training, advice and welcome to refugees and asylum seekers from all over Africa and the Middle East.

A panel of experts addressed the gathering.

Introducing the panel, Martin McAnaney SM, the Marist Provincial for Europe and Chair of the Centre's trustees said: ‘There is so much fear around, so many myths and scare stories, and such a lack of balanced, responsible,

compassionate conversation.

We have come to realise that we are a forum for such conversations, as well as doing our core job of supporting individuals and families.’

The panel included Don Flynn, director of Migrants' Rights Network, Solicitor Mark Scott and barrister John Walsh. Commenting on the presentations, Sarah Hughes, Director of the Notre Dame Refugee Centre, said: ‘This evening has demonstrated how many people are deeply committed to achieving respect and dignity for refugees and asylum seekers in London. Our Centre has vital evidence to bring to the table and we are exploring new ways of doing this.’

‘A Shining Example of Humanity’ St James Theatre and Cardinal Hume Centre are delighted to announce that an incredible £18,667.66 has been raised during the sell-out five week run of The Pianist of Willesden Lane. The money will support the Cardinal Hume Centre’s work, enabling people to gain the skills they need to overcome poverty and homelessness.

The Pianist of Willesden Lane tells the true story of Lisa Jura, who fled her native Vienna in 1938 on the Kindertransport, the rescue effort which brought approximately 10,000 Jewish children to Britain. Almost 80 years later, Lisa’s daughter

Mona Golabek has brought the story of her mother’s experience to London.

Mona commented, ‘It has been the greatest privilege to share the story of my mother.

And what has made it even more meaningful is having the opportunity to tell the audience about the Cardinal Hume Centre, a centre just like the one where my mother, as a young, frightened teenage refugee, found herself upon arriving in London prior to the start of the Second World War…Now more than ever, we must never forget our humanity, and the Cardinal Hume Centre is such a shining example of that humanity.’

Sr Graca: Inspiring Witness Sr Graca Almeida, a member of the Comboni Missionary Sisters and CAFOD schools and confirmation volunteer talks about her life as a missionary and her work as a CAFOD youth volunteer.

I was out doing my shopping when one of the many children who attended one of my recent school assemblies excitedly squealed ‘It’s the CAFOD lady’.

Such a small day-to-day occurrence would usually not be enough to brighten up my Page 20

Monday. However, this tiny thing surely meant children were interested in CAFOD and their work.

It is little things like this, being able to teach younger people how to give something back themselves and to be the best person they can be, that brings me great joy in what I choose to do.

CAFOD’s Lent appeal this year focused on clean water, and having seen and lived through the effects of this in Ethiopia, it is a campaign I fully supported.

Something that will always resonate with me is when I

attended an Ethiopian mother whose young son who was sick.

Giving her clean water, she responded with, ‘and this is?’ questioningly. She had never seen clean water; at the age of 33 the only water she had seen was dirty, brown, sludge.

It is these memories and experiences I take with me when I talk to schools or confirmation groups to let them know that I’m not exaggerating. When I moved to the UK, I wanted to volunteer with CAFOD after seeing their work with partners in Ethiopia and because of their ability to inspire young people.

Cathy Corcoran, CEO of the Cardinal Hume Centre, is moved by the support and what is represents. ‘The response from audiences at The Pianist of Willesden Lane has been incredible. It is testament to the fact that the story of people being forced to flee their country of birth to find safety is as relevant today as it was in the 1930s. The generous donations mean the Cardinal Hume Centre will be able to be there for even more of the people who come to our door in need of welcome and support to turn their lives around.’

J&P: Past, Present and Future Pope Francis tells us, ‘We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family. There are no frontiers or barriers, political or social, behind which we can hide; still less is there room for the globalisation of indifference.’

For me, this is what CAFOD is about; no matter where you are from we all come together to work for a fairer and better world.

To find out more about becoming a youth volunteer, contact CAFOD Westminster on 0208 449 6970 or westminster@cafod.org.uk

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10 years in Tottenham Westminster Justice and Peace celebrated a decade of Justice and Peace in Tottenham this month. Mass was celebrated on 19 February with a meal afterwards to discuss past and future Justice and Peace.

New Youth Worker Westminster Justice and Peace are delighted to welcome Edmund Dean as the new Justice and Peace Youth worker.

He can be contacted at the Justice and Peace office from Monday to Wednesday.

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Westminster Record | April 2016

Adult Faith Sessions For all events, please book your place by emailing livingfaith@rcdow.org.uk. If you do not have access to the internet, please call 0207 931 6078 and leave your name, contact phone number and the date(s).

Unless specified otherwise, all events are held at The Niland Centre, Scripture from Scratch 93 Elstree Rd, Bushey, Hertfordshire WD23 4EE. Making the Bible come alive There is a suggested donation Mindfulness in the Christian Tradition (Retreat) of £5.00.

This is a retreat open to anyone who would like to learn more about their faith, themselves and how to be more effective in their parish ministries, particularly Parish Adult Faith Formation/Small Communities leaders and members, catechists, Parish Pastoral Council members, readers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, volunteers and parents in sacramental preparation programmes. It will be facilitated by Mgr Malachy Keegan. There is a suggested donation £14.00. Tea and coffee will be provided, but please bring your own lunch. It will be held on 27 April from 10am to 2pm.

Communication, Listening Skills, Conflict Management This workshop is open to anyone who would like to learn more about their faith, themselves and how to be more effective in their parish ministries, particularly Parish Adult Faith Formation/Small Communities leaders and members, catechists, Parish Pastoral Council members, readers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, volunteers and parents in sacramental preparation programmes. There is a suggested donation of £14.00. Tea and coffee will be provided, but please bring your own lunch. It will be held on 14 May at 10am to 2pm and will be facilitated by Mgr Malachy Keegan.

To All God’s Saints: New Testament Epistles 14 April – Is the End Nigh?

1 Thessalonians 28 Apr – You stupid people!

Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 12 May – Philippians: A Love Letter to a Christian Community The following events are all held at: Vaughan House, 46 Francis Street SW1P 1QN Biblical Models of Discipleship There is a suggested donation of £4.00. All talks are audio recorded and uploaded on the rcdow.org.uk website. All talks run from 7 to 8.30pm.

12 April – Mary Magdalen: The Witnessing Disciple

by Brian Purfield 9 May – Paul: The Missionary Disciple, How Paul helps people live out their Christian vocation in differing circumstances

by Fr John Hemer

Faith Sharing Resource

Cardinal Vincent, in his foreword to Lift Up Your Hearts, the latest diocesan faith-sharing resource, commends it to the diocese saying it: ‘encourages us to consider the mystery and beauty of God’s mercy together with the reality of our lives marked, so often, by sin. We will all have experienced, in our closest relationships, times of entanglement and brokenness, and the desire to start again.

This is very much the pattern of the unfolding of God’s mercy.

The challenge for us all is to imitate Jesus Christ, the face of God’s mercy, and to render incarnate the mercy and love we ourselves have received.’

The booklet is comprised of six sessions offering reflections on three parables devoted to mercy as well as three Gospel accounts of personal encounters with Jesus, who embodies Divine Mercy. Each session includes prayers, a passage of Holy Scripture, a reflection and questions for discussion or sharing. Lifting up the beauty of our faith, a work of art is a key feature of each session. The booklets also include children’s pages that simplify the theme of each session for children and/or grandchildren and other supplementary materials.

Over the course of six weeks, participants will explore the nature of mercy and its roots in the love of the Father, Christ’s crucifixion and the work of the Holy Spirit in each one of us.

Together, group members and individuals will consider how Jesus Christ modeled mercy and invites us to turn to him with a contrite heart and be healed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Week One begins with the offer of salvation (Jesus and the repentant thief). Week Two then looks at the contrite heart of the Prodigal Son. Week Three explores St Paul’s encounter with

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God’s mercy and is followed by Week Four, which shows us God’s infinite mercy through the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Week Five considers repentance and transformation shown to us

by Zacchaeus and Week Six looks at God’s call to follow him and to be merciful (the Rich Man and Lazarus).

A short E-Newsletter entitled Further Thoughts is available for group leaders and those interested. Besides additional thoughts on the session’s theme, there is a short commentary on that session’s artwork.

If you would like to order copies of Lift Up Your Hearts, sign up for the E-Newsletter, or arrange a visit from a member of the writing team, please email (smallgroups@rcdow.org.uk) or call the Agency for Evangelisation (020 7798 9152).

Booklets are also available at bookshops near the Cathedral.

Lift Up Your Hearts is not specific to Lent and can be used at other times of the year, by groups as well as individuals.

Some parishes have already expressed a desire to follow the booklet later on in the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

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Page 21

Westminster Record | April 2016

Saint of the Month: St Alphege (19 April)

Fr Lawrence Lew OP

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St Alphege is a Kentish saint from the West Country who has become a South Londoner through the expansion of London and boundary changes. Born around 953 AD, he became a monk at Deerhurst in Gloucester, but seems quickly to have moved to embrace a more solitary life in association with the Abbey at Bath. Here he built up a reputation for holiness, since word about his life went around, and we hear of him becoming the Abbot of Bath, probably before he was 30 years old (but remember that the life spans of most people were much shorter then than we are accustomed to now).

One monastic chronicler even records him as Prior of Glastonbury, but this is not generally accepted. Certainly one aspect of Bath’s history influenced Alphege, as the abbey had been founded by St Dunstan, who went on to become Archbishop of Canterbury; and in turn Alphege would follow him and encourage devotion to Dunstan in that city.

After a couple of years as Abbot we find Alphege becoming Bishop of Winchester in 984, a diocese which he served for just over 20 years.

We hear that he built up the cults of St Swithun and his own immediate predecessor, AEthelwold, and that he constructed a famous organ, claimed to be audible at a mile’s distance (and a subject of fascinated speculation by organists ever since). Perhaps more importantly, in 994, one of the leaders of a Viking raid on this country, Olaf Tryggvason, was converted to the Christian faith and received into the Church by Alphege, together with a valuable promise never to invade again.

At the age of 52 Alphege was translated to become Archbishop of Canterbury and so head of the Church in England. With him he took the head of St Swithun from Winchester and, having deposited it as a relic in Canterbury, set off to Rome to receive the pallium, symbol of his jurisdiction, from the Pope.

Sadly the journey was not wholly successful, as he was robbed on the way.

Nonetheless Alphege set about his work of organising and renewing, until interrupted by a Danish invasion in September 1011, at the end of which he was taken captive and put up for ransom, whilst Canterbury itself was sacked and the cathedral burned.

For the next six months the Archbishop was held captive, whilst refusing to let anyone ransom him. However, the sources tell us that on the Saturday in the Easter octave his captors got very drunk and pelted him with animal bones, until one of them (reportedly friendly) finished Alphege off with a blow from an axe handle; all this occurred at Greenwich, where he was being detained and where a church remains dedicated in his honour on the presumed site. Burial followed in St Paul’s Cathedral, with translation of his relics a few years later to Canterbury, where they remain on the north side of the sanctuary, opposite those of his great mentor St Dunstan on the south side.

St Alphege thus became the first martyr Archbishop of Canterbury; and it would not be many years before the next, St Thomas Becket, went to pray at St Alphege’s tomb before going to his own death. Martyr Archbishop of Canterbury, pray for us.

In Memoriam: April 3 4 5 7 9

10

11 13 14 16

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 29

Fr Francis Kenney (1987) Fr Robert Holmes-Walker (2010) Fr David Evans (1989) Fr John Keep (2002) Fr Thomas Hookham (1998) Fr Ronald Cox (1994) Fr James Wooloughan (2003) Fr Gerard Meaney (2010) Mgr Canon John MT Barton (1977) Fr Brian Laycock (2004) Bishop James O’Brien (2007) Fr Albert Davey (1987) Fr Michael Hendry (1994) Mgr Canon Lancelot Long (1978) Fr Clement Tigar (1976) Fr Bernard McGuinness (1978) Fr Joseph McEntee (1978) Canon Harold Winstone (1987) Fr Patrick Smyth (1978) Canon Reginald Fuller (2011) Fr Robert Tollemach (1998) Fr John Robson (2000) Canon Frank Martin (2002) Canon Clement Rochford (1978) Fr Derek McClughen (1991) Canon Francis Hegarty (2004) Mgr John F McDonald (1992) Canon John Longstaff (1986) Fr Michael Moriarty (1996)

Come and see day for the Permanent Diaconate Men wanting to know more about the permanent diaconate are invited to come to a meeting from 10am to 12 noon at Ealing Abbey on Saturday 16th April, or St Augustines, Hoddesdon 21 May. No booking needed.

Wives welcome. Contact details Deacon Adrian Cullen 07961 594725 or Deacon Anthony Clark 07545 373548.

Are you interested in teaching English in China?

Do you have a Bachelor’s degree or a teaching diploma?

Are you able to teach English to third level students?

Mission dimension: ‘I try to live by Gospel values and to be led by God.’ Basics: accommodation ­ usually free on campus; salary ­ adequate for a simple lifestyle; upper age limit – 65; TEFL ­ essential for those without teaching experience.

Contact: Cultural Exchange with China, St Joseph’s, Hendon, London NW4 4TY. Tel: 0208 202 2555.

Email: cec.uk@btconnect.com

www.cecchina.co.uk

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Events & Calendar

Westminster Record | April 2016

REGULAR EVENTS

Liturgical Calendar - April

If you have an event, please email: communications@rcdow.org.uk

Prayer Groups SUNDAYS Taizé at St James, Piccadilly W1J 9LL every third Sunday 5pm.

Call 020 7503 5128 for details.

Tyburn Benedictines Monastic afternoon Every first Sunday 2-5pm Martyrs’ Crypt, Tyburn Convent, 8 Hyde Park Place W2 2LJ. Westminster Cathedral Young Adults meet socially after the 7pm Mass on Sundays and then at the nearby Windsor Castle pub.

For further details please contact: westminsteryoungadults@gmail.com

MONDAYS Mothers’ Prayers at St Dominic’s Priory, Haverstock Hill NW5 4LB Mondays 2.30-3.30pm in the Lourdes Chapel.

All are welcome.

TUESDAYS Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Tuesdays 6-9pm concluding with Benediction at Newman House, 111 Gower Street WC1E 6AR. Details 020 7387 6370.

Prayers for London at the Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden Tuesdays 7.30pm. Organised by the Guild of Our Lady of Willesden, Nicoll Road NW10 9AX. Vocations Prayer Group Second Tuesday of the month 8pm at 47C Gaisford Street NW5 2EB. Taizé at St James’, Spanish Place, W1U 3UY every first Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Email: penny28hb@aol.com or just come along.

WEDNESDAYS Wednesdays on the Wall (WOTW) Every first Wednesday of the month. 6pm at All Hallows on the Wall, 83 London Wall EC2M 5ND. A short service of prayer and reflection at 6pm, coffee at 6.45pm followed by discussion.

Corpus Christi Contemplative Prayer Group for Young Adults Wednesdays from 7pm at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane WC2E 7NB. For further details please contact corpuschristipg@yahoogroups. co.uk.

1 Fri

FRIDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER; No Friday abstinence

2 Sat

SATURDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER

Evangelisation Prayer Group for young adults meets from 7pm on Wednesdays at Notre Dame de France, 5 Leicester Place WC2H 7BX. For further details please contact Armel at apostles.jesus@yahoo.co.uk.

Our Lady, Untier of Knots, Prayer Group of Intercession meets every third Wednesday at St Anselm & St Cecilia, Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

Parish Mass at 6pm followed by Prayer Group until 8.45pm. Rosary, Adoration, Silent prayer and Divine Mercy Chaplet. Email: Antonia antonia4161@gmail.com.

3 Sun

+ SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

4 Mon

THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD

5 Tue

Easter feria, Second Week of Easter or St Vincent Ferrer, Priest

6 Wed

Easter feria

7 Thu

St John Baptist de la Salle, Religious

8 Fri

Easter feria; Friday abstinence

9 Sat

Easter feria

THURSDAYS Jesus Christ the Fullness of Life provides a space for Christians of different traditions to share time together in prayer and friendship.

Details at www.jcfl.org.uk.

Soul Food A Catholic charismatic prayer group for young adults meets Thursdays 7-9pm at St Charles Borromeo, Ogle Street W1W 6HS. Details at www.soulfoodgroup.org.

St John Paul II Prayer Group Every second Thursday of the month 7-8pm, Mass, Adoration and Prayer at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane WC2E 7NB.

FRIDAYS Divine Mercy Prayers and Mass Every first Friday 2.30-4.30pm at Our Lady, Mother of the Church, 2 Windsor Road W5 5PD. Westminster Cathedral Charismatic Prayer Group meet every Friday 7.30pm Prayer, Praise and Teaching.

First Friday is a healing Mass. For details, please call 020 8748 2632.

SATURDAYS Taizé at Notre Dame de France 5 Leicester Place WC2H 7BX at 7.15pm. Call 020 7437 9363.

St Francis of Assisi Catholic Ramblers’ Club meets every Sunday for walks around London and the Home Counties.

Contact by email: antoinette_adkins2000@yahoo .co.uk, call 020 8769 3643 or check out the website: www.stfrancisramblers. ukwalkers.com

10 Sun

+ 3rd SUNDAY OF EASTER

11 Mon

St Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr

12 Tue

Easter feria, Third Week of Easter

13 Wed

Easter feria or St Martin I, Pope & Martyr

14 Thu

Easter feria

15 Fri

Easter feria; Friday abstinence

16 Sat

Easter feria

17 Sun

+ 4th SUNDAY OF EASTER

18 Mon

Easter feria, Fourth Week of Easter

19 Tue

St Alphege, Bishop & Martyr

20 Wed

Easter feria

21 Thu

Easter feria or St Anselm, Bishop & Doctor

22 Fri

Easter feria; Friday abstinence

23 Sat

ST GEORGE, Martyr, Patron of England

24 Sun

+ 5th SUNDAY OF EASTER

25 Mon

ST MARK, Evangelist

26 Tue

Easter feria, Fifth Week of Easter

27 Wed

Easter feria

28 Thu

Easter feria or St Peter Chanel, Priest & Martyr or St Louis Grignion de Montfort, Priest

29 Fri

ST CATHERINE OF SIENA, Virgin & Doctor, Patron of Europe; Friday abstinence

30 Sat

Easter feria or St Pius V, Pope

Deaf Community Mass First Sunday of the month 4.30pm at Westminster Cathedral Hall, Ambrosden Avenue SW1P 1QW. Young Adults Mass Held every Sunday at Church of the Immaculate Conception, 114 Mount Street W1K 3AH. Quiet prayer 7.15pm, Mass 7.30pm.

Social gathering afterwards.

Contact: team@fsplus.info or visit www.fsplus.info.

Mass at Canary Wharf Held on Tuesdays at 12.30pm at 2 Churchill Place E14 5RB. Organised by Mgr Vladimir Felzmann, Chaplain to Canary Wharf Communities. Details www.cwcc.org.uk.

St Albans Abbey Fridays at 12 noon. Mass in the Lady Chapel of St Albans Abbey AL1 1BY. LGBT Catholics Westminster Mass 2nd & 4th Sundays 6.15pm, Church of the Immaculate Conception, 114 Mount Street, W1K 3AH. Contact: lgbtcatholicswestminster@gmail. com

Praying with Pope Francis - April 2016 Universal Intention:That small farmers may receive a just reward for their precious labour.

For Evangelisation: That Christians in Africa may give witness to love and faith in Jesus Christ amid political-religious conflict.

EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASSES Sundays: Low Mass 9.30am, St James Spanish Place W1U 3QY. Low Mass 9am, The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP. Low Mass 5pm, St Bartholomew, St Albans AL1 2PE. Low Mass 5.30pm, Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden, NW10 9AX. Mondays: Low Mass 8am The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP Mass 6.30pm Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane WC2E 7NB. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays: Low Mass, 8am The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP. Fridays: Low Mass 7.45am St Mary Moorfields, 4/5 Eldon Street EC2N 7LS. Low Mass 8am The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP. Low Mass 6pm St Etheldreda, Ely Place EC1N 6RY. First Friday only.

Low Mass 6pm St John the Baptist Church, King Edward's Road E9 7SF. First Friday only.

Low Mass 6.30pm Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane WC2E 7NB. Second Friday only.

Saturdays: Low Mass 12.15pm, St Wilfrid’s Chapel, The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP. Low Mass 4.30pm, Side Chapel, Westminster Cathedral SW1P 1QW. Second Saturday only.

Ealing Abbey Events

Beginning Experience.

At Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Acton, the Queen of Peace prayer group meets every Friday evening after 7pm Mass.

The evening consists of Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, a homily, recitation of the Holy Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. All welcome.

Summer Term at the Liturgy Institute During July and August the Liturgy Institute will give 10 day courses in Liturgy and Latin, accredited by KU Leuven and in collaboration with Pontifical Institute of Liturgy, Rome.

For more information, visit: http://liturgyinstitute.org/cour ses-summer-2016/ Follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/diocese.westminster

Other regular Masses

Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/RCWestminster

Ealing Abbey Lay Plainchant Choir New members are always welcome. Workshops take place on Wednesdays from 6.40pm to 8pm.

Contact Dom Peter on 07474515365 for more details.

There will be a healing weekend for men and women who find themselves single again following divorce, separation or the death of a partner from 15 to 17 April 2016 at the Emmaus Centre, West Wickham, Kent.

For details please call Sandra 01293 783965, Freda 01322 838415 or John 01992 642443 or email johnabrotherton@hotmail.co.uk Page 23

Westminster Record | April 2016

Bow Foodbank: Nourishing People

by Martha Behan The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has the second highest average salary in the UK, after the City of London.

The Borough also has the highest rate of child poverty in the UK and routinely tops lists for high unemployment, high rents and high levels of inequality. Even without knowing the statistics, standing outside Bow Foodbank in the heart of the area and looking at Canary Wharf looming in the distance, it is easy to make your own judgements.

Foodbank use has increased in the past year; no doubt you will have seen collections in your parish or in the local supermarket. In the foodbank’s first working year they helped 800 people. In the diocese it is hard to ignore the growing effect of food poverty on our communities. According to figures by the Trussell Trust, the number of people using foodbanks has risen by 19% and the number of foodbanks by 5%. The independent foodbank was set up in 2014 by a coalition of community organisations and faith groups.

I visited Bow Foodbank to see how they feed and care for the needs of many of the people who struggle to make ends meet.

Walking along the busy Bow Road, I am comforted when I see two churches across the

Page 24

road from each other, not just because it means I have reached my destination, but because there is something beautiful about stained glass on one side of the road and a bell tower on the other. The stained glass belongs to Our Lady and St Catherine of Siena Church, the bell tower to the Anglican church of St Mary, and home to Bow Foodbank.

The foodbank manager Lynn invites me in with a smile and explains how the foodbank started. Faith leaders are often faced with the vulnerable, but increasingly Fr Michael Dunne parish priest of Our Lady and St Catherine of Siena and Rev Debbie Frazer of St Mary’s were being asked for food. Deciding there was a great need for action, they got together with other faith and community leaders to set up the foodbank.

That was two years ago now and they continue to care for the needs of the community, opening for clients every Monday. Lynn takes me on the journey those clients take when they visit right from when they are welcomed through the door to when they leave with bags of shopping. She explains that volunteers try to create a welcoming atmosphere, as it is hard enough already for someone to walk through the doors of a foodbank for the first time. At the heart of this strategy is addressing the needs

of whole person; they know that the most important thing is that they have enough food for them and their family, but the centre has done its best to tackle the roots of the problems that bring them here. A crucial part of this is a legal adviser from the Legal Advice Centre down the road available for clients to consult. I spoke to him about how he addresses the needs of the community with such limited resources. I was surprised to learn that the lack of resources is not the biggest problem. He is often able to sort out their problems in the fortnight between their visits to the foodbank, either by referring them to the Legal Advice Centre down the road or by providing reliable information on what help they are entitled to. This lack of knowledge is the biggest problem, along with the unwillingness of some people to claim the help they are entitled to.

When arriving at the foodbank clients are invited in and have their name taken so staff can retrieve their records.

The first time people visit they are asked to fill in a simple form, indicating how many children they have, which benefits they are receiving and, crucially, what extra help they need. The volunteers were all keen to point out that anyone

Published by The Diocese of Westminster, Archbishop’s House, Ambrosden Avenue, London SW1P 1QJ. Printed by Trinity Mirror, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 8EP. All rights reserved.

who can’t afford to feed themselves or their family is welcome here. This is largely where the paperwork ends; clients only have to sign in on subsequent visits. When I spoke to volunteer Joy, who was working on the registration desk, she explained to me how they regulate use of the foodbank. Clients are allowed 10 visits, and they can come once a fortnight or can space visits over longer. This is to make sure there is enough food for everyone. However, regardless of whether they collect food that week, clients are always welcome to come in and have a cup of tea, fruit and cake, and a chat. Volunteers know the value of simply reaching out to someone and offering them some refreshment. This simple act of kindness reassures people that they are in a safe place. This is at the heart of what the foodbank has to offer: the blending of the practical and pastoral elements of community and friendship.

They do not deny that the provision of food is the most important part of what they offer, but they understand that that cannot be their only focus.

To provide a real welcome, they offer much more.

During the visit, clients are taken round the ‘shop’, where they choose up to 10 items from

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a variety of food and toiletries.

Stock is stored across the road in the organ loft of the Catholic church and is brought across to the foodbank and stored in a smaller room until opening on Monday.

Fr Michael tells me that this is a major difficulty, as it requires people to move a lot of heavy goods around sometimes during opening hours on a Monday. Fr Michael is familiar with the practical side of his role as a parish priest. He is not just a spiritual leader, but a community leader, and one who is working towards finding practical solutions for the problems facing our society.

A part of that solution seems to be keeping lots of tins of spaghetti in his organ loft.

On the day I visit the foodbank is celebrating its second anniversary. Celebrate is perhaps a strong word. There is no party, just a quiet pride that they have helped people for two years and a determination to continue for much longer.

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