Westminster Record - November 2015 by RCWestminster

Saints & Obituaries St Hugh of Lincoln: 17 November years of leadership. Such success brought further attention from the king, who had asked for Hugh to come to Witham in the first place, and in 1186 he was elected as Bishop of Lincoln. It says much for Hugh’s conscience that he insisted on a second and private election by the canons of Lincoln, away from the pressures of the king’s court. Thereafter we find Hugh simply being exemplary in performance of his duties, using both charm and diplomacy to achieve his ends. In particular he was strong in defence of Lincoln’s Jewish community against popular hatred and violence. Twice, also, he found himself being sent by successive kings on missions to France. In this country we have a reminder of the then size of Lincoln diocese in St Giles Church, Oxford. This was dedicated by the saint in 1200 and the St Giles Fair, which takes over all the surrounding roads each September, commemorates the occasion. That must have been one of Hugh’s last acts, since he died that year; only 20 years later he was canonized. The fragmentary remains of his shrine can be seen at the east end of the northern choir aisle in Lincoln Cathedral, surmounted by an unusual modern work of art. It may say something about Hugh’s contemplative spirit that he was noted for his easy relationship with animals. In particular he had a tame swan

which accompanied him and which features in artistic representations of the saint. Few of us would be able to sustain the conflicting demands which the Carthusian way and a bishopric imposed. St Hugh, then, is one of the glories of our Church’s history. Fun Fact: St Hugh began the re-building of Lincoln Cathedral, after it was damaged by an earthquake in 1185. Although only the Choir was begun in his lifetime, the building was the tallest manmade structure in the world from 1300 until the spire blew down in 1549 (the year of the suppression of the Mass in England and imposition of the Church of England’s first Book of Common Prayer). The original height of the Cathedral was not surpassed until 1890, with the completion of Ulm Minster in Germany, which was six feet higher.

In Memoriam: November 1 Fr Horace Tennant (2000) 2 Mgr Canon George Tomlinson (1985) Fr Terence Brady (1989) 5 Fr Eric Chadwick (1993) 6 Fr Peter Geraerts (1980) 7 Cardinal John Heenan (1975) Canon Charles Carr (1985) Fr Raymond Geraerts (1995) 8 Fr Jeremiah Ryan (2001) 9 Fr George Barringer (1978) Fr James Ethrington (1981) 10 Fr Richard M Sutherland (1974) Fr John Spencer (1980) 11 Fr Gerald Freely (2013) 12 Fr James R Coughlan (1974) Fr Peter Johnson (2000)

St Hugh is one of those saints whose career embraced two apparently opposed ways of life, being both a Carthusian monk and the bishop of a diocese which covered large tracts of this country. Born in France sometime in the late 1130s, he lost his mother at an early age, meaning that his education took place within a monastic environment to which his father, previously a soldier, retired in due course. Here his progress was swift, becoming a novice at 15, being ordained Deacon at 19 and presumably Priest shortly afterwards, since we find him being sent to another Benedictine monastery as Prior in his early 20s. But he must have felt a vocation towards a more solitary and contemplative form of religious life, since he soon transferred to the recently established Carthusian house of the Grande Chartreuse, following its famously austere rule, which combines elements both of community and solitary life. Once he had entered we largely lose sight of him, although he did become Procurator of the house. However, around the age of 40 he was sent to Witham in Somerset, where the first English Charterhouse had been established. Sadly little had been done beyond sending a few monks there, so Hugh’s task was to build a proper house and secure the foundation, in which he was successful during his seven

Westminster Record | November 2015

14 Fr Maurice Ryan (1983) Canon Louis Marteau (2002) 15 Fr James Stephenson (1970) 16 Fr Ian Dommerson (1996) 17 Fr Samuel Steer (1996) 22 Mgr Reginald Butcher (1976)

Free Catholic Tours ‘Saints and Scholars’ walk first Sunday of the month, including Mass. Contact Peter on 07913 904997 or circlingthesquaretours@ hotmail.co.uk.

Fr Christopher Fullerton (1980) 24 Canon Edmund Hadfield (1982) 25 Fr Joseph Doyle (1978) Canon Joseph Geraerts (1979) Fr John Galvin (2010) 26 Fr James Woodward (1976) Fr William Wood (1986) Fr Anthony John Cooke (2007) 27 Fr Joseph Scally (1995) Fr Peter O’Reilly (2005) 29 Fr Christopher Hamilton-Gray (2012) 30 Canon Arthur Welland (1978)

Fr Pat Lyons RIP Fr Pat Lyons died peacefully on 19 September aged 94 in Orione House Care Home in Hampton Wick. Born in February 1921 in Athlone, County Westmeath in Ireland, Fr Pat trained for the priesthood at St Edmund’s College, Ware, and was ordained by Cardinal Griffin in June 1954. Fr Pat’s first appointment as an Assistant Priest was to Lincoln’s Inn fields where he remained until 1959. He then went to Shepherds Bush, the parish of The Holy Ghost and St Stephen. After 10 years Fr Pat was appointed Assistant Priest at Harrow South and then to the parish of St Catherine, West Drayton as Parish Priest in 1972. From there he was appointed to Sacred Heart parish, Teddington in 1983. He retired as Parish Priest in 1996, nearly twenty years ago. On his 75th birthday, he wrote to Cardinal Hume to offer his resignation as Parish Priest but insisted that he remain of service to the diocese. He wrote, ‘…a switch-off from priestly activity of any kind seems to me an absurd idea. I have no desire for a feetup or SAGA-style type of retirement…I’m available for continuing work as a priest consonant with my new circumstances...’ Fr Pat will be remembered for his kindness, thoughtfulness and his sense of humour. May he rest in peace. Page 18