Westminster Cathedral Magazine
‘Do not falter, little donkey there’s a star ahead it will guide you, little donkey to a cattle shed.’
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Oremus
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Oremus, the magazine of Westminster Cathedral, reflects the life of the Cathedral and the lives of those who make it a place of faith in central London. If you think that you would like to contribute an article or an item of news, please contact the Editor.
Patron
The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster
Chairman
Fr Sławomir Witon´
Editor
Lorcán Keller
Oremus Team
Tony Banks – Distribution
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Design and Art Direction
Julian Game
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Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor or the Oremus Team. Neither are they the official views of Westminster Cathedral. The Editor reserves the right to edit all contributions. Publication of advertisements does not imply any form of recommendation or endorsement. Unless otherwise stated, photographs are published under a creative commons or similar licence. Every effort is made to credit all images. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
Inside Oremus
Homily: Jubilee Year Pilgrim Mass by Canon Shaun Lennard 6 & 7
Cathedral History in Pictures: The closing of the Holy Year of Jubilee 2000 13
Features
Restoration of the Hierarchy by the Editor 8 & 9
An English Doctor of the Church by Cardinal Vincent Nichols 10 & 11
Centenary of the First Saturdays of Reparation by Antonia Moffat 16 & 17
Sankta Lucia by Fredrik Karlson 18
Winter at The Passage by Anna Church 19
Supporting the Archbishops of Westminster for over 100 years by Geraldine Kay 20 & 21
Every year Hackney City Farm send a donkey and either a sheep or a goat for the Catholic Children’s Society Advent Service held in Westminster Cathedral for the school children of the Diocese. Pictured here, stage right, is Clover the donkey, waiting for the journey from Nazareth (West Door) to Bethlehem (Sanctuary steps) at the 2024 service. Unlike Lily the goat, Clover was quite happy to pose for the camera and even took an interest in the Oremus stand.
Oremus
Cardinal’s Message
For most people, the Christmas holiday starts a few days before the feast of Christmas itself. Not so for all who minister here at Westminster Cathedral. For all of us, the days of rest do not begin until the evening of Christmas Day and even the following days have duties that are both welcome and demanding. On 28 December, for example, we formally celebrate the closing of the Jubilee Year of Hope.
In this edition of Oremus we bring together Christmas and the New Year. We hold the old and the new in one embrace. We do not reject the year that is closing, no matter its painful moments or disasters that we might wish to forget. We look forward to the coming year, not with a naive optimism that imagines everything will change for the better, that all is going to be just fine.
No. We bring to the crib of Jesus the whole of our lives, just as they are, with neither pretence nor daydreams. We simply place ourselves before him, humbly, trustingly, knowing that he is closer to us than our own hearts, that he knows all our secrets, that he wants to draw us into his love and mercy.
From the crib we also look forward to the coming year, not trying to second guess what might come about, but simply accepting that it will be part of God’s providence for us, challenging our trust in him, drawing us closer to him, if we permit it to do so. Of course, our new year resolutions can help, especially if they take their shape from the most important part of our life: our relationship with our Blessed Lord.
In these precious days, then, we do well to deepen our family bonds, celebrate our friendships, be honest about our failings and look forward to the future with the virtue of hope.
Now I add: the virtue of hope is not simply optimism that everything will, eventually, work out well. Rather it is a gift of faith that knows, without doubting, that we are in the hands of God and that God’s plan for us is one of lasting joy and fulfilment, in heaven. This is the virtue of hope. By this alone can we navigate our passage on earth. Without the virtue of hope we are easily dismayed and perturbed. But with this virtue in our hearts we enter the New Year with a quiet confidence in the mercy and providence of our loving God.
So I wish a happy Christmas to you all, and, indeed, a happy New Year!
Westminster Cathedral
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Cathedral Chaplains
Fr Sławomir Witoń, Dean
Fr Patrick van der Vorst, Precentor
Fr Michael Guthrie
Fr Vincent Mbu’i SVD
Fr Paul Zhao SVD
Fr Hugh MacKenzie
Fr Javier Ruiz-Ortiz (priest in residence)
Also in residence
Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories: Sr Jesuina and Sr Angelina
Music Department
Simon Johnson, Master of Music
Peter Stevens Obl. OSB, Assistant Master of Music
Alexander Robson, Organ Scholar
Cathedral Manager
Peter McNulty
Parish Safeguarding Representative
Trevor Koschalka westcathsg2@safeguardrcdow.org.uk
Cathedral Fundraising Manager
Laura Dudhee
Chapel of Ease
Sacred Heart Church Horseferry Road SW1P 2EF
Jubilee Year Pilgrim Mass
Shaun Lennard, Provost of the Metropolitan Chapter and Episcopal Vicar for the Northern Area
‘Spes non confundit’ (‘Hope does not disappoint’). With these words, from St Paul’s letter to the Romans, Pope Francis inaugurated the Jubilee Year of Hope, addressing all those Pilgrims of Hope who will travel to Rome or their local churches to celebrate the Jubilee. He wrote:
‘For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope”.’
We live in a world where war, conflict, division, discrimination and hatred seem to be everywhere. This is a world in desperate need of the hope that Jesus Christ brings. And we are called to show that hope to others. But what is hope? Well, our Deaf pilgrims can help us here. In British Sign Language, the sign for hope is crossed fingers, as in ‘I hope Arsenal win the match.’ But there is another sign for hope which we use in a theological context; a grabbing gesture in front of the mouth. This comes from two terms; ‘catching’ and the ‘Holy Spirit’. So, the hope that St Paul and Pope Francis speak of is not just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best, it is discerning the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is the hope of which St Paul speaks in our first reading. Our hope is based on that experience of ‘encounters with Jesus’.
Pope Francis continued:
‘Often we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness. For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope. God’s word helps us find reasons for that hope.’
So, for Pope Francis, the Jubilee Year is about travelling together as pilgrims and encountering Jesus Christ. This is
what we see in the Gospel this afternoon. The two disciples are full of grief and disappointment at the death of Jesus. Their dreams of a bright and just future are shattered. They are so low that they fail to recognise Jesus as he walks alongside them. Notice that Jesus does not say ‘You stupid men! It’s me! Did you not learn anything during those three years we were together?’ No, he respects their grief and their dignity and gradually explains the scriptures to them as they walk along together. He patiently takes them from where they are and explains how his death and resurrection are predicted in the scriptures.
The hope that Jesus brings gradually warms their hearts and, when they reach Emmaus, they want him to stay with them. That which he had to say, and the way in which he said it, enkindled hope in their hearts and they wanted to hear more, even though they still did not recognise him. He sat down to eat with them, to share a meal, as he had done when he fed the 5,000; as he had done at the house of Zacchaeus and, most importantly, as he had done at the Last Supper. And suddenly that hope, which had grown on the pilgrimage together, was rewarded and their eyes were opened. Everything made sense.
During this Jubilee Year for Pilgrims of Hope, Pope Francis and Pope Leo have written two encyclicals. Pope Francis wrote Dilexit nos (‘He loved us’), on the human and divine love in the heart of Jesus Christ. Pope Leo recently finished his first encyclical Dilexi te (‘I have loved you’) on love for the poor. This encyclical was started by Pope Francis and completed by Pope Leo and, as they say, you can’t see the join! They make excellent Advent reading as we come to the close of the Jubilee Year. They have a lot to teach us about encountering Jesus and being Pilgrims of Hope. In his reflection on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Francis writes:
‘Jesus is calling you and sending you forth to spread goodness in our world. His call is one of service, a summons to do good, perhaps as a physician, a mother, a teacher or a priest. Wherever you may be, you can hear his call and realize that he is sending you forth to carry out that mission. He himself told us, “I am sending you out”. It is part of our being friends with him. For this friendship to mature, however, it is up to you to let him send you forth on a mission in this world, and to carry it out confidently, generously, freely and fearlessly. If you stay trapped in your own comfort zone, you will never really find security; doubts and fears, sorrow and anxiety will always loom on the horizon.’
In his reflection on love for the poor, Pope Leo writes of the Good Samaritan, who was surely a pilgrim of hope;
‘It is important for us to realize that the story of the Good Samaritan remains timely even today. “If I encounter a person sleeping outdoors on a cold night, I can view him or her as an annoyance, an idler, an obstacle in my path, a troubling sight, a problem for politicians to sort out, or even a piece of refuse cluttering a public space. Or I can respond with faith and charity, and see in this person a human being with a dignity identical to my own, a creature infinitely loved by the Father, an image of God, a brother or sister redeemed by Jesus Christ. That is what it is to be a Christian! Can holiness somehow be understood apart from this lively recognition of the dignity of each human being? What did the Good Samaritan do?’
Whether helping an assisted pilgrim in Lourdes, a pilgrim with blisters on the road to Compostela, or with someone who gets lost on the Barbican Service Road on the Westminster Way, we know that we often come away from
Canon
the encounter feeling richer for the experience. This is something that Pope Leo writes about in Dilexi te; reminding us that the poor are subjects with experience to enrich our lives, not objects of our pity.
So, as we near the end of this Jubilee, let us reflect on our pilgrimages this year. We reflect, not only on the destination, but on the journey that got us there and, most importantly, our fellow-pilgrims or those we met along the way. In that reflection let us ask the Lord to help us be better examples of his hope, love and justice to the world.
I finish with the prayer of Pope Francis at the end of Dilexit nos;
‘Lord Jesus Christ grant that your Sacred Heart may continue to pour forth the streams of living water that can heal the hurt we have caused, strengthen our ability to love and serve others, and inspire us to journey together towards a just, solidary and fraternal world. Until that day when we will rejoice in celebrating together the banquet of the heavenly kingdom in the presence of the risen Lord, who harmonizes all our differences in the light that radiates perpetually from his open heart. May he be blessed forever.’
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Oremus
Restoration of the Hierarchy: Concluded
In 1439, Pope Eugene IV published the Papal Bull Non mediocri, declaring the precedence of cardinals over all prelates, particularly primates and archbishops, as had been the custom in many places. It would appear that this particular declaration was in response to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry Chichele’s deference to the royal-born Henry Beaufort, Cardinal Bishop of Winchester, but not to John Kemp, the Cardinal Archbishop of York.
Only seven Archbishops of Canterbury were raised to the cardinalate, beginning in 1206 with Stephen Langton, of Magna Carta fame, who divided the Bible into the chapters still used today. He received the red hat in recognition of his teaching in Paris, before being offered the See of Canterbury in 1207. This nomination was not without controversy as King John was adamantly against the appointment, but was later forced to back down. It is interesting to note, that the ancient See of London, dating back in various forms to the Roman Occupation of Britain, has never had a Cardinal Bishop. The red hat was, however, offered to Bishop William Courtenay, by Pope Urban VI in 1379, but the offer was refused. Regardless, his successor, Richard Clifford, along with five other English bishops, voted in the 1417 Papal Conclave, during the Council of Constance, ending the Western Schism. Clifford was even named as a contender for the Papacy.
In 1911, Archbishop Francis Bourne was raised to the cardinalate, to correspond with the newly formed Metropolitan Archdioceses of Birmingham and Liverpool, thus dividing the Province of Westminster (England and Wales) in three. Although Cardinal Bourne’s request for the title of Primate of England and Wales had been denied, he was bestowed with a number of primatial privileges. In addition to the political tension such a title
would have afforded, it no longer held any real significance, for example Coronations, following the break between the Monarch and the Holy See. The attitude of the Holy See also reflected a cultural shift away from the traditional European model of a confessional state, following the turmoil of the previous century in the aftermath of the French Revolution.
In 1912, Bourne was invited to Buckingham Palace, and a point of precedence arose. In a letter to his Chancellor, Mgr Manuel Bidwell, he instructed him:
‘Would you kindly go without delay to Buckingham Palace with (enclosed) reply and ask to see the Master of the Household and if necessary the Lord Steward. Please explain that I much appreciate the invitation and desire to
obey it, but that I am now not free in the matter of precedence and have asked you to ascertain what is proposed. […] Our position is that the Holy See has, even in the eyes of the Foreign Office, the rank of a Sovereign Power and that the Cardinals are Princes of that Power. […] The proper precedence was, I know, given to Cardinal Logue in Ireland when he dined with Queen Victoria.’
Once again, in 1920, another point of precedence arose when the nonestablished Church in Wales came into being. It had been the custom for the Archbishop of Westminster to sign joint appeals to the nation, immediately after the incumbents of Canterbury and York. The new Archbishop of Wales was now given the third line which, after some polite protest from Bourne, was restored to Westminster.
Following his death on New Year’s Day 1935, it fell to the Cathedral Chapter in Westminster to draw up a terna of names, a list of possible successors to submit to Rome. As senior suffragan of Westminster, Archbishop Amigo of Southwark presided at the meeting and later informed Cardinal Rossi of the Sacred Consistorial Congregation, now the Dicastery for Bishops, that the terna arrangements were complete. Rossi was adamant that all bishops in England and Wales should also have a say. The Vatican was likely aware that the bishops resented Bourne’s autocratic methods, and that there was an acute sense of local diocesan independence.
None of the names put forward for Archbishop were selected, suggesting that the Pope chose Mgr Arthur Hinsley himself. He even personally conferred the woollen pallium on Hinsley, on 3 April, an unusual mark of respect. The following day Hinsley attended the last public consistory for the canonisation of St Thomas More and St John Fisher, whom the Pope
Lorcán Keller
Francis Alphonsus Bourne by Sir Leslie Ward, 1910 © National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 4592)
gave to Hinsley as his special patrons in Westminster; More as the model of laymen and Fisher as the model of pastors. He even chose for his motto Tales ambio defensores, ‘I gird myself with such defenders’. The Tablet declared, Habemus Ducem, in their gushing description of Hinsley’s career in diplomacy, on the Missions in Africa, and as Rector of the Venerable English College. They also described the hierarchical relationship between Westminster and the other dioceses of England and Wales under Cardinal Bourne. The Archbishop may not be a ‘High King’ they argued, but Catholics in this country have come to ascribe immense authority and importance to the Metropolitan of Westminster, during the incumbency of Bourne, noting the size and importance of Westminster Cathedral. It should be noted here, however, that The Tablet, at that time, was still under the control of the Archbishop of Westminster, which Hinsley relinquished to a lay editorial board. Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, welcomed him on behalf of
the Anglican Communion, and expressed his wish that the ‘cordial’ relations he had with Bourne would continue ‘despite our differences.’
In June 1935, Archbishop Downey accused Hinsley of ignoring metropolitan protocol by granting an indulgence to the people of Hexham and Newcastle, a suffragan of Liverpool. He sent a memorandum to a group of canonists in Hexham and Newcastle, to enquire as to the relative claims of each metropolitan see. The canonists sided with Downey, who informed Hinsley that he could not grant the indulgence. Hinsley carefully pointed out that, by the authority granted to him in the Apostolic Letter, Si qua est, October 1911, he held constitutional precedence over the other metropolitans. As Præses perpetuus Angliæ et Cambriæ, he held certain privileges and distinctions, and could wear the pallium anywhere in England and Wales. By responding publicly in such a manner, Hinsley left no one in any doubt of his position among the hierarchy. He would later become a
national figure, through his patriotic radio broadcasts, both within Great Britain and to Catholic countries abroad.
As hierarchical structures within the Church were changing, due to the Second Vatican Council, much more emphasis was being placed on the collaboration of bishops in the form of national conferences. Pre-empting Pope Paul VI’s August 1966 Motu proprio, Ecclesiæ sanctæ, Cardinal John Carmel Heenan petitioned Rome on 12 March 1966 to rescind his title as Præses Perpetuus, laying down the perpetual presidency of the English and Welsh Hierarchy, as granted in 1911, in in favour of an elective office with a fixed duration, ‘elettiva e “ad tempus”’. It would appear that the annual Low Week and Autumn plenary meetings were still being held in Archbishop’s House, Westminster, but, precedence was to be regulated solely by canon law, rather than invested privileges and, ever since, ‘the Plenary Assembly shall elect the President and the Vice-President.’
An English Doctor of the Church
Cardinal Vincent Nichols
On 13 October 2010, in a damp Cofton Park in Birmingham, Pope Benedict XVI declared Cardinal John Henry Newman to be Blessed. On 19 September 2019, at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope Francis declared him to be a Saint. On 1 November 2025, at Mass in front of the same Basilica, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed, in Latin, these words:
‘We, having obtained the opinions of numerous Brothers in the Episcopate and many of Christ’s faithful throughout the world, having consulted the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, after mature deliberation and with certain knowledge, and by the fullness of the apostolic power, declare St John Henry Newman, Doctor of the Church. In the name of the Father and of the Holy Spirit.’
And thus St John Henry Newman, for 40 years a parish priest in Birmingham, became only the third Doctor of the Church from England! Unexpectedly, I found my eyes filling with tears of gratitude and sheer amazement.
It is difficult to find words to convey the immensity of this moment. We are being told beyond doubt that this man, in his life and all that he wrote, both as a priest of the Church of England and as a Catholic, is a sure guide and teacher of the true faith of the Catholic Church. I rejoice that in a man described as ‘an essentially English figure’ is to be found, without dissonance or discomfort, a full expression of Catholic faith. At that moment I also remembered the words of Prince Charles, published on 12 October 2019, that John Henry Newman ‘stood for the life of the spirit against the forces that
would debase human dignity and human destiny.’
In his homily Pope Leo proclaimed:
‘Newman’s impressive spiritual and cultural stature will surely serve as an inspiration to new generations whose hearts thirst for the infinite, and who, through research and knowledge, are willing to undertake that journey which, as the ancients said, takes us per aspera ad astra, through difficulties to the stars.’
He echoed Prince Charles’ words when he also said, quoting Pope Francis, ‘that we must work together to set humanity free from the encircling gloom of nihilism, which is perhaps the most dangerous malady of contemporary culture, since it threatens to “cancel”
hope.’ He continued by quoting the famous words of St John Henry Newman, words that I have sung since childhood: ‘Lead Kindly Light’.
Pope Leo said:
‘In that beautiful prayer, we come to realise that we are far from home, our feet are unsteady, we cannot interpret clearly the way ahead. Yet none of this impedes us, since we have found our Guide: “Lead, Kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on;” “Lead, Kindly Light, The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on.”’
On that morning not only did we receive this great gift of a new Doctor of the Church, but Pope Leo also declared St John Henry Newman to be the Co-Patron of Catholic Education throughout the world, together with St Thomas Aquinas. For us, in England, where Catholic education has long been our priority, this is a moment of huge potential renewal. For this reason, I am sending this simple reflection to every Catholic school in the Diocese, so that we can all rejoice in this remarkable moment. The words of Pope Leo are addressed to you:
‘On this solemn occasion, I wish to say to teachers and educational institutions: “Shine today like stars in the world” through your authentic commitment to the collective search for truth and to sharing it with generosity and integrity. Indeed, you do so through your service to young people, especially the poor, and your daily witness to the fact that “Christian love is prophetic: it works miracles”’ (Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te, 120).
Then he said:
‘the Lord Jesus is not just one of many teachers, he is the Master par excellence. Moreover, he is the Educator par excellence. We are his disciples and are in his “school.” We learn how to discover in his life, namely in the path he has travelled, a horizon of meaning capable of shining a light on all forms of knowledge. May our schools and universities always be places of listening to the Gospel and putting it into practice!’
And finally, reminding us of the saying of St John Henry Newman that ‘God has created me to do Him some definite service’ he said:
‘I pray that Catholic education will help each person to discover their own call to holiness. St Augustine, whom St John Henry Newman greatly admired, once said that we are fellow students who have one Teacher, whose school is on earth and whose chair is in heaven’ (cf. Serm. 292,1).
I came away from St Peter’s on Saturday 1 November 2025 with a depth of emotion which served to strengthen and expand my sense of wonder and promise evoked by the Visit of our King and Queen to Pope Leo just a few days earlier. These are blessed days for us all. Not only do they promise greater
cooperation between all the followers of Jesus, but they also refresh in us an urgency about the key role that faith in God must play in our wider society. Today, in the words of Prince Charles in 2019, we urgently need to be able ‘to advocate without accusation, disagree without disrespect, and see difference as a place of encounter rather than exclusion’.
May this new and holy Doctor of the Church, a man of great intellect, of every English sensibility, of broad and courageous pastoral dedication, intercede for us that the Lord may guide us with his kindly light.
Westminster Cathedral Hall Window Refurbishment: Progress Update
Last Easter we raised almost £50,000 towards the first phase of refurbishing the windows of Westminster Cathedral Hall. The work completed over the summer has already made a remarkable difference. Not only have we fully achieved the goal of eliminating drafts and preventing moisture penetration, but the restored glass is also noticeably clearer. On sunny days the Hall is significantly brighter. We are, however, only partway through the full project. Several windows still require refurbishment, and to experience the complete benefit we must continue fundraising so that the remaining work can be completed in summer 2026.
The Big Give Christmas Challenge
We are taking part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge, aiming to raise £40,000 before Gift Aid, which will hopefully bring us closer to £50,000. These funds will allow for the 2026 phase of refurbishments and partly cover the remaining costs accrued in 2025.
All online donations made between 12 noon on Tuesday 2 December and 12 noon on Tuesday 9 December will be doubled, and Gift Aid can also be applied. A donation of £100 is doubled to £200 by matched funding. For taxpayers, this increases again to £225 with Gift Aid.
To donate, visit: tinyurl.com/FriendsBG2025 . Please do not donate before 12 noon on 2 December, as early donations cannot be doubled.
For more information, contact: friends@rcdow.org.uk
Upcoming Events
We have a number of events planned and warmly encourage you to support us by attending.
Friends’ Quiz
Thursday 11 December 2025, 6.30pm
Westminster Cathedral Hall
Quizmaster: Fr Hugh McKenzie
Tickets £20, including fish and chip supper: tinyurl.com/Quiz11122025
Quizzes: January–March 2026
All quizzes begin at 6.30pm in Westminster Cathedral Hall. Tickets are £20, including a fish and chip supper. Drinks available to purchase.
Wednesday 14 January 2026
Quizmaster: Deacon Paul Christian Tickets: tinyurl.com/Quiz-14012026
Thursday 5 February 2026
Quizmaster: Fr Mike Guthrie
Tickets: tinyurl.com/Quiz-05022026
Thursday 12 March 2026
Quizmaster: Fr Patrick van der Vorst
Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/Quiz-12-03-26
Talk by Fr Patrick van der Vorst
Thursday 19 February 2026
‘Is there such a thing as objective beauty — or is beauty simply in the eye of the beholder?’
Fr Patrick will explore how true beauty is not merely subjective but objective— reflecting God himself. Drawing on Scripture, theology, and art, he will show how beauty originates in God, speaks to the human heart, and ultimately leads us back to him.
Tickets, £10: tinyurl.com/Talk-19022026
Orion Symphony Orchestra –Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Wednesday 25 February 2026
We are delighted to welcome the Orion Symphony Orchestra, which offers exceptional young musicians the experience and mentorship needed to transition from conservatoire to professional careers. Please join us to support these rising artists while enjoying Vivaldi’s beloved masterpiece.
Tickets £20, including post-concert refreshments: tinyurl.com/Concert-25022026
For further information about any event, or if you are unable to book online, please contact us at: friends@rcdow.org.uk
Membership
We can only maintain the Friends through members’ subscriptions. Please help the Friends by considering joining. Details at tinyurl.com/ CathedralFriendsMembership
If anyone has any suggestions for future events or to grow the Friends or would like to help then do get in touch.
Andrew Hollingsworth
The closing of the Holy Year of Jubilee 2000 –
Saturday 6 January 2001
The Holy Year for the New Millennium was formally opened on Christmas Eve 1999, and closed on the feast of the Epiphany 2001. Throughout the world, many cathedrals and churches with more than one entrance designated a Pilgrim Door for those unable to travel to one of the four papal basilicas in Rome for the Jubilee Indulgence.
Nine months before the start of the Holy Year, on 25 March 1999, Cardinal Basil Hume formally closed the door to the right of the West Door of the Cathedral. He did not survive to see its reopening, dying less than three months later. The solemn opening fell to Bishop (now Cardinal) Vincent Nichols, as Diocesan Administrator during the interregnum, on Christmas Eve 1999. In early 2000 Bishop Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Arundel and Brighton was appointed and, as Pope St John Paul II closed the Holy Door at
St Peter’s on the feast of the Epiphany 2001, Archbishop Murphy O’Connor did likewise here at Westminster by leading a congregation of over 1,000 people to a gathering around the Jubilee Cross on the Piazza. After a brief introduction the Archbishop marked the logo on the Pilgrim Door with the powerful words:
‘Jesus Christ, Yesterday and Today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega, all time belongs to him and all the ages, to him be glory and power through every age and for ever. Amen.’
The people, whose candles had been lit from the Jubilee Candle followed the Archbishop through the main door into the Cathedral where Mass continued. Finally, one of the Cathedral Chaplains, Fr (now Canon) Kevin Jordan sang the Solemn Proclamation of the Closure of the Great Jubilee and Announcement of Easter.
Paul Tobin
Archbishop Murphy-O’Connor leads the congregation to the Piazza for the closure of the Holy Door, followed by Master of Ceremonies Fr (now Canon) Danny Cronin.
Remembrance Sunday
On Remembrance Sunday we were joined by all three Services of the Armed Forces, including the Scots Guards who provided a bugler for the 11am Act of Remembrance.
Caption in here
A Peruvian Connection
In mid-October, we were delighted to welcome Fr Michael Garnett back to his Mother Church for a Mass with the Peruvian Consulate in London. Fr Michael is a priest of the Diocese of Westminster who has been ‘on loan’ in Peru since 1967. Pictured here, Fr Michael is joined by Fr Patrick, the Precentor, and Dáel Carlos Dávila Elguera, Deputy Consul of Peru in London.
Deceased Clergy Requiem
On 18 November, Cardinal Nichols celebrated Mass for the deceased clergy in the Diocese of Westminster, including 10 priests who have died since last November. May they rest in eternal peace. We were also joined by the Most Rev Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, who had addressed the clergy earlier that day.
A New Bishop of Plymouth
Ahead of his installation as Bishop of Plymouth, we bid farewell to Bishop Nicholas Hudson after 11 years as Auxiliary of Westminster, at a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Nichols. We wish every blessing to Bishop Hudson and the people of Plymouth Diocese.
Farewell to our Editor Emeritus
Having retired to Farnborough Abbey, due to poor health, Fr John Scott was unable to join Fr Brian O’Mahony for a farewell Mass and party in September. Instead, he returned in November with Br Ælred (Richard) Hawker OSB, for his own farewell. Pictured with the Dean and Deacon Paul, Fr John is joined by Head Sacristans past and present.
Thank you to our Volunteers!
Westminster Cathedral could not exist without the extraordinary effort and dedication of her volunteers, led by Volunteer Coordinator Mary Maxwell. In thanksgiving for their service, the Cathedral Dean celebrated Mass followed by a party in Cathedral Hall.
Oremus
Centenary of the First Saturdays of Reparation, 10 December 1925
Antonia Moffat
By 1917, as the world continued to be savaged by war, millions had needlessly perished and the endless slaughter seemed unstoppable. Russia had suffered devastating defeats, which ultimately sparked a revolution led by militant atheists, whose avowed goal was world domination under communism. Between March and November that year they annihilated the Russian Royal Family and all resistance to the Soviet totalitarian state. The age of the greatest number of martyrs in the history of the Church was inaugurated.
Pope Benedict XV (1914-22) described the First World War as ‘the suicide of civilised Europe’, and spent his Pontificate working tirelessly to end the war on diplomatic grounds. However, his efforts were met with indifference on all sides. Beginning on 5 May 1917, the Pope promulgated a Novena of Rosaries to plead the intercession of Our Lady Queen of Peace. Nine days later, on 13 May, Our Lady appeared in Fatima to three shepherd children, as if directly answering the Holy Father’s plea for peace. Heaven had listened, when no one else would!
Our Lady appeared in Fatima six times, from 13 May to 13 October 1917, requesting daily Rosaries for peace and an end to the war. She asked that sacrifices be offered for the conversion of sinners and for the establishment of devotion to her Immaculate Heart, indicating that this would obtain peace in the world and the conversion of Russia. In June, Our Lady told Jacinta and Francisco that they would soon go to heaven. Lucia, however, would stay longer, as God would use her to make his Mother more known and loved, and to help establish devotion to her Immaculate Heart. Naturally Lucia was upset to hear this, and asked: ‘Am I to stay here alone?’ Our Lady replied: ‘No, my daughter. Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.’
Our Lady appeared holding her Heart, encircled by piercing thorns, demonstrating her deep suffering for the sins of each of her beloved children, and her desire for their salvation. Reparation for sin is owed in justice to God and neighbour and, after the Most Holy Trinity, the Mother of God is most deserving of this reparation. The greater the sin, the greater the need for reparation. While we confess our sins and receive a penance in the Sacrament of Confession, reparation complements this, healing the wounds of sin and division. In July 1917, Our Lady once again urged the daily Rosary for peace and the end of the war, and showed the shepherds a terrifying vision of hell. She then said:
‘You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.
Sr Lucia’s cell where the apparitions took place, now a chapel
To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.’
100 years ago, on 10 December 1925, Jesus and Mary appeared to Lucia who was now a postulant in the Dorothean Convent in Pontevedra, Spain, having joined the convent six weeks earlier (26 October 1925). She described it thus:
‘It was December 10, 1925. I was in my room, when suddenly the room lit up and it was the light of my dear Mother in heaven who came with the Child Jesus on a luminous cloud. Our Lady as if wanting to install courage, rested her hand on my shoulder, and as she did so, showed me her Immaculate Heart encircled by thorns, which she was holding in her other hand.’
The Child Jesus said to her:
‘Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother covered with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an Act of Reparation to remove them.’
Then Our Lady continued:
‘Look, my daughter, at my Heart surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me, and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.’
Our Lady presented ‘Heaven’s Peace Plan’, for the Church, families and nations. It is a humble plea; to pray the Rosary daily, and to practice the monthly First Saturdays of Reparation, both of which are the great desire of Jesus and Mary for these dangerous times—heaven pleading with sinful earth. Each First Saturday we are asked to go to Confession (on the day, or as soon as possible before or after within the month), to receive Holy Communion in a state of grace as a Communion of Reparation, to pray the Rosary daily and to meditate on the scriptures with Mary for 15 minutes, as a reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which are so offensive to God. Immediately after the apparitions at Pontevedra, Sr Lucia communicated Our Lady’s request to her confessor and to the Bishop of Leiria (Fatima), so that the devotion could be approved by the Church. This approval was only given in 1939 shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War. That same year, Sr Lucia said:
‘War or Peace in the world depends on the celebration of [the First Saturdays] devotion, and the Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary connected to it.’
On 15 February 1926, Jesus appeared again to Lucia as she was taking out the rubbish, and strongly rebuked her for not promoting the First Saturdays. Poor Sr Lucia, as a postulant she
was not exactly free to actively action the request! In all Jesus came three times asking for this devotion to be spread. 100 years later, we in the Church have hardly started this great work. Jesus might ask us ‘have you spread through the world what our heavenly Mother requested of you?’
On the feast of the Annunciation, 25 March 1984, Pope St John Paul II made the Solemn Collegial Act of Consecration of Russia, in communion with every bishop in the world, before the renowned image of Our Lady of Fatima, which was sent to Rome at his own personal request. The statue was placed near the papal altar directly above the tomb of St Peter. This is the only time in the history of the Church that a full, collegial Act of Consecration has ever taken place. This was the moment of grace which heaven fully accepted. Sr Lucia endorsed this with gratitude and thanksgiving. The other request for the First Saturdays of Reparation remains in the main unheard, unpractised and hardly known!
As we approach the centenary of the request for the practice of the First Saturdays, and their establishment in the heart of the Church, may we use this time to ponder the request, and respond as individuals, parishes, and as a wider Church. Are you willing to help change the world by implementing Heaven’s Peace Plan through the practice of the First Saturdays of Reparation?
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us, pray for the Church, pray for the peace of the world. Amen.
Sankta Lucia
In 1927, the Stockholms Dagblad newspaper arranged a competition among its readers, to find and crown ‘Lucia’ in Sweden’s first public Lucia procession. This tradition quickly spread to other newspapers and cities across Sweden. Indeed, the candle-lit processions are now held in pre-schools, retirement homes, schools, offices, shops and churches around the world. But who was Lucia, and how did this third century Sicilian martyr, and the iconic song, come to dominate Swedish tradition? In order to answer this, we have to delve a little deeper into early Christian and pagan history!
Lucia was born around 285 in Syracuse, Sicily, to a wealthy noble family. Her father died when she was only a child, leaving her with her mother Eutychia. According to legend, Lucia was a courageous young woman, who went against the wishes of her mother and society at the time. She was secretly a Christian, who had vowed to remain a virgin and devote her life to help others. Her mother, however, was not aware of Lucia’s vow to God and arranged a marriage to a wealthy pagan man, obviously wanting to secure her daughter’s future.
In 304, Lucia declined the pagan nobleman, gave her dowry to the poor, and refused to make a sacrifice to the Emperor Diocletian who, according to Roman Imperial law, was declared a ‘god’ and thus divine. In doing so, she exposed her illegal Christian faith to the Roman officials, who promptly arrested Lucia and sentenced her to death. A pyre was built, so that she could be burned at the stake and, although there are different versions of what happened next—either the wood would not burn, or she escaped the flames unscathed—she remained alive.
In a vision, Lucia had told Paschasius, the Governor of Syracuse, that it was the beginning of the end for him and for Diocletian, and for the persecution of Christians. Paschasius ordered that her eyes should be removed from their sockets before execution and she was finally killed when a sword pierced her throat.
In a different version, Lucia removed her own eyes to discourage a suitor, but met the same grizzly fate. When her body was prepared for burial in the family mausoleum, her eyes appeared fully intact and back in their sockets. As such, Lucia is considered the patron saint of the blind and of those with eye illnesses.
In 1852, Gunnar Wennerberg (18171901), a Swedish civil servant, politician, poet, composer and member of the Svenska Akademin (Swedish Academy), was on a journey to Rome and wrote in a letter home:
‘I have found a Neapolitan barcarole with charming words. The melody itself is quite weak, but it has a certain natural freshness.’
The song and the lyrics are thought to be written, or at least noted down, by the Italian composer Teodor Cottrau (1827 79), who translated it from Neapolitan to Italian and had it published in 1849. It tells the story of the beauty of Santa Lucia, a historical neighbourhood in Naples. Wennerberg obviously found the tune charming enough to bring back to Sweden, despite its ‘weak melody’, and it gained wide popularity in the early 20th Century, thus becoming the Luciasång, or ‘Lucia Song’. Initially the translation was based on the Italian original but, as the Sankta Lucia celebrations took off towards the end of the 1920s, Arvid Rosen (1895-1973), a Swedish educator, wrote the words in Swedish which are very familiar to most Swedes and still used today.
In the Julian calendar, which was used in Sweden until 1753, the winter solstice fell on 13 December and coincided with the longest night between 12 and 13 December. According to ancient Viking tradition, the longest night was filled with all sorts of evil spirits, trolls and other supernatural forces. Legend has it that even animals had the ability to speak for one night only. People did their best to stay awake by lighting a fire to keep evil forces at bay, and by eating and indulging somewhat, perhaps with a tipple of something. When Christianity arrived, 13 December fell on the day before the Nativity Fast. All Christmas preparations including baking, brewing and butchery preparations before Christmas, the feast of the Nativity of our Lord, were to be completed. To celebrate and to prepare for the fast, people would then indulge in a couple of breakfasts throughout the night; the first in the middle of the night, the second just before dawn with sweet pastries. The earliest recorded proof of a Lucia celebration is from 1764, in a place called Horn in Skövde in the county of Västergötland, but the more modern Lucia celebrations were initially started by the upper classes in the mid to late 1800s. In a white cotton nightgown, with a crown of candles, Lucia would emerge from the dark in the very early morning, singing and carrying a tray of coffee, pastries or ‘lussebulle’ and spiced ginger biscuits, ‘pepparkakor’. According to tradition, St Lucia would visit the early Christians hiding in the catacombs, bringing trays of food and drink. As her hands were so full, she could not hold a candle and so fashioned a crown of candles to light the way.
Lucia, whose name means ‘light’, or ‘light carrier’, became the one who brought light in the darkest of nights. Her life, confession of faith, and martyrdom shone the light of the Gospel in the darkness of infidelity. Her white gown serves as a symbol of purity, the red girdle a symbol of the blood she spilled for Christ, and the crown of candles a symbol of her saintly glory.
Fredrik Karlson, Director of Music at Ulrika Eleonora Swedish Church
Winter at The Passage
Anna Church, Community and Events Fundraising Manager
Founded in 1980 by Cardinal Basil Hume and the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, The Passage is a 45-year-old charity located on Carlisle Place, just steps from Westminster Cathedral. Our mission is threefold: to prevent homelessness by intervening quickly before people reach crisis point; to end homelessness by providing innovative and tailor-made services that act with compassion and urgency; and to advocate for, and with, those who feel they are not heard by amplifying their voice, to bring about real systemic change.
Donations this winter
As temperatures start to drop and the winter nights set in, here at The Passage we are focusing our minds on the mounting challenges to come. Latest reports found 4,392 people (Source: CHAIN Data, Q1 April – June 2025) sleeping rough in London. Of that heartbreakingly outsized number, over 800 people were found in Westminster alone. Every day, our experiences reinforce the essential truth that homelessness is a societal issue. We know that it can be prevented and ended, but only when we work together can we deliver lasting, meaningful change.
Donating to The Passage this winter can make a huge difference and will help to keep our vital services running, here are some of the ways your support can help:
£5 could fund a hot and nutritious meal for a client visiting our Resource Centre.
£25a week to fund bespoke resettlement support for a person using our Housing Solutions Service to prevent them from experiencing homelessness.
£75 could pay for emergency accommodation to prevent someone from rough sleeping.
Events
Throughout the year, we host a variety of events that offer wonderful opportunities to connect with your local community while helping to raise vital funds for The Passage. In December, join us for our Christmas Carol Service at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey. Over the summer, enjoy our annual Garden Party, and for those seeking an adventure, take on one of our challenge events from climbing Snowdon to running marathons. There’s something for everyone to get involved in! For more information on our events, go to passage.org.uk/get-involved/ fundraising-and-events.
Find out more/Donate
If you would like to donate please either scan the QR code or call us on 020 7592 1856.
Supporting the Archbishops of Westminster for over 100 years
The Society of St Augustine of Canterbury was founded in 1922 following a chance remark by Cardinal Bourne who, in his Silver Jubilee celebration, commented on the ever-increasing cost of maintaining Archbishop’s House in Westminster, which previously had no specific provision for maintenance.
Located behind Westminster Cathedral, Archbishop’s House is the residence of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster. It is a Grade II listed building of historical and architectural importance. The history of the House is interwoven with that of Westminster Cathedral. Cardinal
Vaughan commissioned John Francis Bentley to design Westminster Cathedral, Clergy House and Archbishop’s House and adjoining buildings. Construction work was completed in 1903 and the House has since played host to numerous important events, including the visits of Pope St John Paul II in 1982 (the first such visit by a reigning Pope) during Cardinal Basil Hume’s term of office as Archbishop and later Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.
Over the past 103 years, the Society has been instrumental in helping to keep Archbishop’s House in good working and living order. The contributions made go towards maintaining the building as the
official residence of the Archbishop of Westminster and as a meeting place for the Catholic ecclesiastical authorities in England and Wales. His Grace, the Duke of Norfolk is President of the Society, which is a registered charity (no. 249033) with approximately 400 members. The Archbishop of Westminster offers Mass each month for the intentions of the Society’s members past and present.
The Society maintains regular annual events for members and their guests. In addition to the AGM, held around the feast of St Augustine of Canterbury on 27 May, there is usually an Autumn Reception held at Archbishop’s House at the kind invitation of the Archbishop,
Geraldine Kay, Secretary to the Society of St Augustine of Canterbury
which includes a guest speaker; and a summer outing to a place of contemporary or historical Catholic interest. Those attending the AGM and Autumn Reception also attend the 5.30pm Mass in Westminster Cathedral, celebrated for the intention of the Society and its members, living and deceased.
The minimum Annual Subscriptions are £35 (Individual) and £60 (JointWith-Spouse). Life Membership is also welcome at a minimum of £500 (Individual) and £800 (Joint-WithSpouse).
Autumn Reception 2025
This year, 88 members and their guests attended the Autumn Reception on Tuesday 28 October, when we were graciously welcomed by Cardinal Vincent Nichols in the Throne Room.
The guest speaker was Councillor Robert Rigby KSG, a life member and former Council member of the Society, who spoke about his year in office as Lord Mayor of Westminster 2024/25 and the role of the Catholic Faith in his public life. Recounting his year as Lord Mayor, which involved some 800 engagements as well as two state visits by the Emperor and Empress of Japan and the Emir of Qatar, Cllr Rigby’s Catholic faith and Benedictine education have been his guiding light throughout, which he in turn strives to reflect by means of a listening approach and a focus on humility. Sharing his faith during his time as Lord Mayor, Cllr Rigby said that he had received support from many in this, including his family, friends, the Catenians and his Catholic chaplain, Rev Christopher Colven. One of his two chosen charities was the Cardinal Hume Centre, for which he has a special fondness:
‘I was at Ampleforth when the great bell tolled in 1976 to announce that Abbot Hume had been appointed Archbishop of Westminster by Pope Paul VI, later Cardinal.’
Cllr Rigby also played a key role in the restoration—after a gap of more than 20 years—of a civic service at Westminster Cathedral to parallel that held at Westminster Abbey. The Lord Mayor of Westminster has his own seat in Westminster Abbey and tradition dictates that everyone rises when he enters. Cllr Rigby had suggested there could be a Catholic equivalent in Westminster Cathedral. ‘That suggestion fell on deaf ears!’ In March 2025 Cllr Rigby was bestowed with a Papal Knighthood of St Gregory the Great in Westminster Cathedral.
Following Cllr Rigby’s talk, Cardinal Vincent shared a few brief words with members on recent events in the life of the Church, including the State Visit by Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla to the Vatican, as well as the Holy Father’s proclamation of St John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church and co-patron of the Church’s educational mission. The gathering then continued with a convivial reception in the presence of His Eminence until the close of the evening.
To learn more about the Society of St Augustine of Canterbury and to join with a membership subscription, email membership.ssac@gmail.com or visit staugustineofcanterbury.org.uk.
1 Linking together like role of centre of rugby front-row pack? (7)
Twelfth man under prefix! (3) 8 Not ready to perform (5)
9 Any of numerous contributing to Old Testament (7)
10 Type of lake (5)
11 Annoy or provide sewer’s item (6)
13 Hero of Trojan War, son of Aphrodite (6)
15 ------ Simpson, American wife of former King Edward VIII (6)
17 Monkshood or arsenic for example (6)
20 Famous Wine Lodge in Blackpool closed in 2022 (5)
21 Famous oil refinery (Essar company) in Cheshire (7)
23 Female relative (5)
24 & 2 Down: Beaming bit of optimism (3,2,4)
25 City whose cathedral is the fourth tallest church in England (7)
Clues Down
1 & 20 Down: Seasonal greeting! (5,3,4)
2 See 24 Across
3 One-twelfth of a foot (4)
4 Exuberant expressiveness (5)
5 See 16 Down
6 Basic building in Bethlehem that gave us Christmas (6)
7 ‘---- the Wind Southerly’, famous Northumberland song (4)
12 One of the Provinces of Ireland (8)
14 Kent town for a quick bite to eat? (8)
16 & 5 Down: Traditional Prayer honouring the BVM with a series of titles (6,2,6)
18 Seasoned sausage (6)
19 A tremulous poplar as in Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott (5)
20 See 1 Down
22 Jelly-like substance used in soups and desserts (4)
St John the Evangelist Benjamin Takavarasha
‘There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear.’ (1 John 4.18)
Not by foolhardy courage was he driven Nor for fame hereafter in heroic martyrdom: In the face of Roman might and wrath of local elite Only in love for Love, unnerved, stood he beneath the Cross.
Open Their Hearts Up for Me
Kafui Adjaye-Gbewonyo, 1999, aged 13
Once there was a prophet—a prophet, a man, a god as people say. He travelled the streets of Israel to preach and then to pray
“Those who have ears, let them hear,” he said.
“Those who have eyes, let them see.”
“Those who have hearts, let them open— let them open their hearts up for me.”
“I am the Lord, the Messiah. I come not to take but to give.”
“Drink from me, rest in me, trust in me, and live.”
“I come to save your souls,” he said, “to save you all from sin.”
“To take you away to my kingdom, to take you to my Heaven.”
“Those who have ears, let them hear,” he said.
“Those who have eyes, let them see.”
“Those who have hearts, let them open— let them open their hearts up for me.”
To submit a poem whether by yourself or another for consideration, please contact the Editor – details on page 3.
Alan Frost: November 2025
In retrospect: from the Cathedral Chronicle
Westminster Cathedral Chronicle, December 1925
The above picture shows the late Queen Alexandra at St Andrew’s Hospital, Dollis Hill, which she graciously consented to visit on Founders’ Day in May 1918, ready, as always, to help and encourage all good work. The Cardinal Archbishop was present to receive her, in company with the Princess Royal, at the Hospital.
It was on this occasion that the Queen Mother expressed her wish to the Cardinal to visit Westminster Cathedral, a wish she fulfilled shortly afterwards, and was greatly delighted and interested by all she saw.
The nation mourns the passing of a noble life and of a great example of charity, and of devotion to an exalted life involving much selfdenial. We pray for the Royal Family during life, so should we remember them in death; and undoubtedly Queen Alexandra will have a frequent memento in those prayers throughout the Empire.
Westminster Cathedral Chronicle, December 1955
The Madonna and Child Enthroned
It is with great joy that the Chronicle is able to present to its readers this month as a frontispiece a coloured reproduction of the alabaster Madonna and Child Enthroned which has been presented to the Cathedral through the munificence of an anonymous benefactor. Through this the beautiful image of Our Lady will be solemnly blessed by His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, immediately before the evening High Mass at 6pm.
In the devotional life of most cathedrals and great churches there seems to be a wayward law, deeply rooted in human nature, that however carefully planned and elaborately decorated the Lady Chapel may be, sooner or later a shrine, an ‘informal’ focus of devotion, will spring up on some pillar or pier and become, in defiance of all architectural principles, a beloved spot of pilgrimage and prayer: a warning to planners, but a joy to the faithful.
Our own Cathedral might have been thought to be well defended against pious invasions of this kind. The cut of our devotions being formal and liturgical, and our aesthetic welfare guarded by the solid bastion of an Art Committee! But who could have foreseen the exquisite skill of the attack? The sudden appearance of a superb English fifteenth-century Madonna and Child, as near-byzantine as anything English could be; a munificent donor, and an age-old tradition, long sede vacante, of a specifically Westminster pilgrimage-shrine of ‘Our Lady of Pewe’.
This English Madonna comes to take her place in the Cathedral with the same benign right of entry as that which secured the enthronement in St Mark’s of Our Lady of Nicopeia and the Madonna of the Kiss forgotten centuries ago.
In a long article in The Tablet, Mr Gillett has told the story, so far as it is known, or may be surmised, of this alabaster relief, analysing in great detail the iconographical significance of the garments and postures of the figures. One may not entirely agree with him in seeing the divine Child represented as an ‘adult’ (the face seems to us to resemble, to a remarkable degree, the boy Richard II in the Wilton Diptych); but Mr Gillett is surely correct in seeing Christ here portrayed as the divine Logos in the act of blessing the orb of the world on the knees of his Mother. There is a seriousness about the composition of the two figures, a complete absence, almost a denial, of sentimentality which shows forth, in all its awe and mystery, the tremendous doctrine of the Word made Flesh.
No photograph can do [justice] to this ancient sculpture; there is a week to pass before it may be seen publicly enshrined for the veneration of the faithful. When that day comes, on December 8, it will at once be apparent that this Madonna and Child possesses that most rare quality which, in defiance of the pathetic fallacy and for want of a better word, we are compelled to call holiness. But what a treasure, and what a surprise to have been reserved by Time for His Eminence the Cardinal to bless as Our Lady of Westminster!
Benefactors’ Masses
On the first Sunday of each month, a Mass is celebrated for the benefactors of Westminster Cathedral, living and dead. Sunday 7 December 2025, 8am, Sunday 4 January 2026, 8am, Sunday 1 February 2026, 7pm Sunday 1 March 2026, 5.30pm, Sunday 5 April 2026, 12 noon (Easter Day)
2025
The Month of December
The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention For Christians in areas of conflict
Let us pray that Christians living in areas of war or conflict, especially in the Middle East, might be seeds of peace, reconciliation and hope.
Monday 1 December
Advent Feria
7pm Institution of Civil Engineers’ Carol Service
Tuesday 2 December
Advent Feria
2pm Woldingham School Carol Service
5.30pm Chapter Mass
Wednesday 3 December
St Francis Xavier, Priest COP Migrants’ Day
10.30am Catholic Children’s Society Advent Service
2pm Catholic Children’s Society Advent Service
Thursday 4 December
Advent Feria
(St John Damascene, Priest & Doctor)
Friday 5 December Friday abstinence
Advent Feria
7pm Sankta Lucia Service
For more information, contact Laura Dudhee, at 020 7798 9058 or email cathedralgiving@rcdow.org.uk
The Cathedral is open from 7.30am and closes in time for 7pm.
Monday to Friday: Morning Prayer 7.35am, Mass 8am, Mass (Latin, unless there is a Funeral) 10.30am, Confessions 11.30-12.30pm, Mass 12.30pm *, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 1.15-4.30pm, Benediction 4.30pm, Confessions 4.30-5.30pm, Sung Vespers 5pm (Latin, Choir, except Tuesday, English, Cantor), Solemn Mass 5.30pm (Choir, Tuesday: Boys’ voices, Wednesday: Men’s voices)
Saturday: Mass 8am, Morning Prayer 10am, Mass 10.30am (Latin, Choir,) Confessions 11.30-12.30pm, Mass 12.30pm *, Confessions 5-6pm, Sung Vespers 5.30pm (English, Cantor), Sung Mass 6pm.
Sunday: Mass 8am, Sung Morning Prayer 9.30am, Sung Mass 10am, Confessions 10.30-12.30pm; Solemn Mass (Choir) 12noon *, Solemn Vespers (Choir) and Benediction 4pm, Confessions 5-6.45pm, Sung Mass 5.30pm, Mass 7pm.
For full opening and closure times of the Cathedral and for confession and service times please consult the Cathedral diary on the website.
* Live streamed via the Cathedral website
Saturday 6 December
Advent Feria
(St Nicolas, Bishop)
2pm Polish Carol Service
Sunday 7 December
2nd SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Ps Week 2
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Vaughan Williams – Mass in G minor Esquivel – Vox clamantis in deserto
Organ: Evocation II – Escaich
4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction
Bevan – Magnificat octavi toni
Byrd – Vigilate
Organ: Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (BWV 659) – J.S.Bach
4.30pm Mass for the Deaf Community (Cathedral Hall)
Monday 8 December
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, Patroness of the Diocese
5pm Solemn Second Vespers
5.30pm Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Victoria – Missa Alma redemptoris mater Tavener – Hymn to the Mother of God Britten – A Hymn to the Virgin Organ: Paraphrase-Carillon (L’Orgue mystique XXXV) – Tournemire
Tuesday 9 December
Advent Feria
(St Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin) 7pm HCPT Carol Service (Archbishop Cushley)
Wednesday 10 December
Our Lady of Loreto 11am WCCS Pre-Prep Nativity I 1.15pm Lunchtime Concert
Thursday 11 December
Advent Feria (St Damasus I, Pope) 11am WCCS Pre-Prep Nativity II 2pm SVP School Nativity
Friday 12 December Friday abstinence
Our Lady of Guadalupe
2pm Westminster Cathedral Choir School Carol Service
Saturday 13 December
St Lucy, Virgin & Martyr
2.30pm National Schools Singing Programme Christmas Extravaganza
St Lucy
St Francis Xavier
Sunday 14 December Ps Week 3
3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT
10am – 2pm Parish Christmas Fair (Cathedral Hall)
12 noon Solemn Mass (Men’s voices)
Palestrina – Missa Alma redemptoris mater
Victoria – Ecce Dominus veniet
Organ: March on a theme of Handel –Guilmant
4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction
Victoria – Magnificat septimi toni
Handel – And the glory of the Lord Organ: Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (BWV 661) – J.S. Bach
Monday 15 December
Advent Feria
5.30pm Mass attended by Diocesan Staff
Tuesday 16 December Advent Feria
Wednesday 17 December Advent Feria
Morning liturgies in Crypt Afternoon & evening liturgies in Cathedral Hall
7.30pm Christmas Celebration I
Thursday 18 December
Advent Feria
Morning liturgies in Crypt Afternoon & evening liturgies in Cathedral Hall
7.30pm Christmas Celebration II
Friday 19 December Friday abstinence Advent Feria
Saturday 20 December
Advent Feria
6pm Visiting Choir sings at Mass
Sunday 21 December Ps Week 4
4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Jubilee Icon on display until 27 December
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Victoria – Missa Ave maris stella Brucker – Ave Maria
Organ: Litanies – Alain
4pm Parish Carol Service Organ: In dulci iubilo (BWV 729) – J.S. Bach
Monday 22 December Advent Feria
Tuesday 23 December Advent Feria (St John Kanty, Priest)
Wednesday 24 December
Advent Feria (Christmas Eve)
8am, 10.30am, 12.30pm Mass
3pm Organ Recital: Messiaen, La Nativité
4pm Pontifical Solemn First Vespers of Christmas (Cardinal Nichols)
Buxtehude – Magnificat in D Victoria – O magnum mysterium
Organ: Dieu parmi nous (La Nativité du Seigneur) – Messiaen
6pm Vigil Mass of Christmas 11.15pm Vigils and Solemn Pontifical Mass During the Night (Cardinal Nichols)
Midnight Mass:
Malcolm – Missa ad præsepe
Howells – A spotless rose
Pearsall – In dulci iubilo
Organ: Sinfonia to Cantata 29 – Bach (arr. Dupré)
Cathedral closes after the 6pm Mass and reopens at 10pm
Thursday 25 December
THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD
8am Mass of the dawn
10am Sung Mass of the day
12noon Solemn Pontifical Mass of the day (Cardinal Nichols)
Victoria – Missa O magnum mysterium Sweelinck – Hodie Christus natus est Darke – In the bleak mid-winter Organ: Toccata (Symphonie V) – Widor
4pm Solemn Second Vespers and Benediction
Palestrina – Magnificat primi toni
Perotin – Viderunt omnes
Organ: Quand Jésus naquit à noël – Balbastre 5.30pm Mass of the day
On weekdays until 2 January (inclusive) Cathedral opens at 9.30am and closes after the 5.30pm Mass
Friday 26 December No Friday abstinence
St STEPHEN, The First Martyr
Saturday 27 December
St JOHN, Apostle & Evangelist
Sunday 28 December Ps Week 1
THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH
12 noon Closing Mass of the Jubilee Year (Cardinal Nichols)
4pm Vespers
5.30pm Mass with Cantor 7pm Mass
Monday 29 December
St THOMAS BECKET, Bishop & Martyr
Tuesday 30 December
6th DAY IN THE OCTAVE OF THE NATIVITY
Wednesday 31 December
7th DAY IN THE OCTAVE OF THE NATIVITY
(St Sylvester I, Pope) 6pm Vigil Mass of the Solemnity
2026
The Month of January
The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention For prayer with the Word of God
Let us pray that praying with the Word of God be nourishment for our lives and a source of hope in our communities, helping us to build a more fraternal and missionary Church.
Thursday 1 January
MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD (Bank holiday timetable: Masses at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 5.30pm)
Friday 2 January Friday abstinence Ss Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops & Doctors
Saturday 3 January
Christmas Feria (The Most Holy Name of Jesus)
Sunday 4 January Ps Week 2 2nd SUNDAY AFTER THE NATIVITY 12 noon Solemn Mass 4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction 4.30pm Mass for the Deaf Community (Cathedral Hall)
Monday 5 January
Christmas Feria 5pm First Vespers of the Epiphany 5.30pm Vigil Mass of the Epiphany
Tuesday 6 January
THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD 5pm Second Vespers of the Epiphany 5.30pm Solemn Mass (Men’s voices) Palestrina – Missa O magnum mysterium Palestrina – Surge illuminare Ierusalem Palestrina – Et ambulabant gentes Organ: Finale (Symphonie II) – Widor
Wednesday 7 January
Christmas Feria (St Raymond of Penyafort, Priest) 1.15pm Lunchtime Concert
Thursday 8 January
Christmas Feria
Friday 9 January Friday abstinence
Christmas Feria
Saturday 10 January
Christmas Feria
St Stephen the Martyr by Carlo Crivelli
Sunday 11 January
THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Mozart – Missa brevis in F major (K.192)
Palestrina – Tribus miraculis
Organ: Toccata ‘Marche de Rois’ – Cochereau
4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction
Suriano – Magnificat primi toni
Byrd – Rorate cæli
Organ: Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (BWV 661) – J.S. Bach
Monday 12 January Ps Week 1 Feria (St Ælred of Rievaulx, Abbot)
Tuesday 13 January Feria (St Hilary, Bishop)
Wednesday 14 January Feria
1.15pm Lunchtime Concert
Thursday 15 January Feria
Friday 16 January Friday abstinence Feria
Saturday 17 January
St Anthony, Abbot
6pm Westminster Cathedral Junior Voices sings at Mass
Sunday 18 January Ps Week 2
2nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir) de Padilla – Missa Ego flos campi (K.192)
Marenzio – Tribus miraculis
Palestrina – Ego sum panis vivus
Organ: Toccata & Fugue in D (Op.59, vii/ix) – Reger
4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction
Palestrina – Magnificat primi toni
Victoria – Alma redemptoris mater a 5
Organ: Les Mages (La Nativité) – Messiaen
Monday 19 January Feria (St Wulstan, Bishop)
Tuesday 20 January Feria
(St Fabian, Pope & Martyr; St Sebastian, Martyr)
5pm The Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral sings Evensong 6pm Said Mass
Wednesday 21 January
St Agnes, Virgin & Martyr
1.15pm Lunchtime Concert
Thursday 22 January Feria (St Vincent, Deacon & Martyr)
Friday 23 January
Feria
Friday abstinence
5pm The Choir sings Solemn Vespers in St Paul’s Cathedral
5.30pm Said Mass
Saturday 24 January
St Francis de Sales, Bishop & Doctor 6pm Visiting Choir sings at Vigil Mass with Adult Confirmations (Bishop Curry)
Sunday 25 January
Ps Week 3
3rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (OF THE WORD OF GOD)
* Openness to the Word of God
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Victoria – Missa Alma redemptoria mater Palestrina – Dextera Domini
Mozart – Ave verum corpus
Organ: Offertoire sur les grand jeux (Messe pour les Couvents) – Couperin 4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction
Victoria – Magnificat primi toni
Victoria – Alma redemptoris mater a 8 Organ: Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Her (BWV 664) – J.S. Bach
Monday 26 January
Ss Timothy and Titus, Bishops
Tuesday 27 January
Feria (St Angela Merici, Virgin)
Wednesday 28 January
St Thomas Aquinas, Priest & Doctor 1.15pm Lunchtime Concert
Thursday 29 January Feria
Friday 30 January Friday abstinence Feria
Saturday 31 January
St John Bosco, Priest
Key to the Diary: Saints’ days and holy days written in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS denote Sundays and Solemnities, CAPITAL LETTERS denote Feasts, and those not in capitals denote Memorials, whether optional or otherwise. Memorials in brackets are not celebrated liturgically.
What Happens and When
Catholic Evidence Guild
Clergy House Room 2, Tuesdays 7pm
Catholic Grandparents’ Association
Hinsley Room,
Second Sundays 12-3.30pm
Charismatic Prayer Group
Cathedral Hall, Fridays 6.30-9pm
Divine Mercy Prayer Group
St Patrick’s Chapel, Sundays 1.30-2.30pm
Filipino Club
Cathedral Hall,
Second Sunday 1-5pm
Guild of the Blessed Sacrament
Blessed Sacrament Chapel, Mondays 6.15pm
Guild of St Anthony Lady Chapel, Tuesdays 6.15pm
Interfaith Group Hinsley Room, Third Wednesdays 1.30 -3pm
Legion of Mary Hinsley Room, Monday 1.30-3.30pm
Nigerian Catholic Association Hinsley Room, Fourth Sundays 1.30-2.30pm
Oblates of Westminster Cathedral Hinsley Room, Fourth Sundays 2.30-4pm
Padre Pio Prayer Group
Sacred Heart Church, First Thursdays 1.30-3.30pm
Rosary Group
Lady Chapel, Saturdays 11.15-12.00noon
Walsingham Prayer Group
St George’s Chapel, First Tuesdays 2.30-4pm
Yoruba Association
Hinsley Room, Third Sundays 1.30-3pm
Public Domain
St Francis de Sales
Being a Mini Vinnie at St Vincent de Paul Catholic School
Princess Victoria
At St Vincent de Paul Catholic School in London, being a Mini Vinnie is about living out my faith. Every week, I get to meet with other children who care about making a difference, and together we pray, reflect and take action to help others. Every week when we meet, we don’t just talk—we’ve collected for families in need, helped at school events, and worked together on special projects that make a difference. We try to follow Catholic Social Teachings, especially the preferential option for the poor, which means we put the needs of the most vulnerable first in everything we do. It reminds us that helping others isn’t just something we say, it’s something we do.
Our motto is ‘See, Think, Do’ and I love it! It helps me to remember to notice when somebody needs help, think about what I can do, and then go and do it! We also say ‘To the heights’, which means we try to be the best we can be, just like St Pier Giorgio Frassati. St Pier Giorgio Frassati is a really good saint because he showed what it means to live your faith every day. He didn’t just talk about helping others, he actually did it. He spent his time visiting the poor, helping people who were sick, and giving away his own money to those who needed it more. He loved the outdoors and often said ‘To the heights!’ which meant
not just climbing mountains, but always trying to be closer to God. He reminds us that being holy isn’t boring, it’s about being joyful, kind, and brave enough to do what’s right. Even though he was young, he made a big difference in the world. St Pier Giorgio Frassati inspires me to be generous, to stand up for others, and to use my faith to bring hope wherever I go.
I feel proud when I wear my Mini Vinnies badge. It’s not just a badge, it’s a promise to be kind, brave and full of love. We get lots of fun ideas from the SVP, like special projects for Christmas, and we always try to make them extra thoughtful. Being a Mini Vinnie makes me feel closer to God. It’s not just about being good, it’s about doing good. Even though we’re children, we can make a big difference through our actions. I think Jesus would be really happy with what we’re doing. Remember, we turn concern into action—and you can do the same!
