Westminster Cathedral Magazine
If you can, please make a donation for your copy to cover its production cost. Thank you.
Join the Companions
... and help us to keep publishing Oremus free of charge
Although we earn income from the advertising which we carry, Oremus relies on donations from readers to cover its production costs.
The Companions of Oremus was established to recognise those who give generously to support us. Open exclusively to individuals, Companions’ names are published in the magazine each month (see page 7). All members are invited to one or more social events during the year and Mass is offered for their intentions from time to time.
If you would like to support us by joining the Companions, please write to Oremus, Cathedral Clergy House, 42 Francis Street, London SW1P 1QW or email oremuscomps@rcdow.org.uk with your contact details, including postcode. Members are asked to give a minimum of £100 annually. Please mention how you would like your name to appear in our membership list and if you are eligible to Gift Aid your donation. Postal subscriptions to Oremus may be purchased by completing and sending to the office the coupon printed in the magazine. Subscriptions to receive Oremus either by email (free) or as hard copy by post (p & p payable) can also be entered by visiting https://westminstercathedral.org.uk/the-cathedral-community/about-oremus/ and completing the form there.
Thank you for your support.
Oremus
Cathedral Clergy House
42 Francis Street
London SW1P 1QW
T 020 7798 9055
E oremus@westminstercathedral.org.uk
W www.westminstercathedral.org.uk
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
Zoe Goodway – Marketing & Finance
Paul Moynihan – Proofreading Manel Silva – Subscriptions
Design and Art Direction
Julian Game
Registered Charity Number 233699 ISSN 1366-7203
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.
thin end of the wedge; daring attempt to break into a church’ from Mr Punch’s History of Modern England, Vol. I 1841-1857, by Charles L. Graves, 1921.
In the aftermath of Pope Pius IX’s bull Universalis Ecclesiæ, and Cardinal Wiseman’s triumphalist response ‘From without the Flaminian Gate’, there was a frenzy of anti-Catholic sentiment. One such example can be seen on the cover of this magazine, from an 1850 edition of Punch, depicting Pope Pius breaking into a church (in full tiara) with a wedge-shaped ‘Archbishopric of Westminster’, as Cardinal Wiseman keeps watch. Amusingly, the tassels on Wiseman’s galero hat correspond to the number used for an archbishop, but they are missing the final row of five used by cardinals.
Inside Oremus
Cathedral Life: Comings and Goings
Cathedral History in Pictures: Cathedral Treasures Exhibition by Paul Tobin 11
25 Years Volunteering at Westminster Cathedral by Julie Hanssen 18
Features:
Homily: 175th Anniversary of St Mary’s University, Twickenham by Cardinal Vincent Nichols 6 & 7
Restoration of the Hierarchy by the Editor 8 & 9
Evangelisation, one click at a time by Ashley Carlo Avery-Bennett 12 & 13
London to Walsingham Camino by Antonia Moffat 14 & 15
WeBelieve Festival and Newman by Joanna Bogle
and 70 years ago
‘The
Lorcán writes
Earlier this summer, it appeared as if the September edition of Oremus would resemble an appendix to the Book of Exodus, rather than a celebration of the Restoration anniversary.
Each August, we bid farewell to the Organ Scholar and welcome their successor. We may even see an occasional change to the College of Chaplains. However, this year, the West Doors have parted and a number of our community have passed dry shod to pastures new. These include Sub-Dean Fr Brian O’Mahony, who has taken up residence in Allen Hall Seminary as the Dean of Studies, and Editor Emeritus Fr John Scott, who has retired to Farnborough Abbey due to ill health. We will have the opportunity to wish them well at the 6pm Vigil Mass on Saturday 27 September, followed by a reception in Cathedral Hall. All are welcome to attend.
Additionally, Christopher Moraes has left his position in the Sacristy to discern a vocation in the Royal English College, Valladolid, and Sr Fatima has been recalled to Portugal by the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories. We wish them every blessing in their new ministries. Later this month, our Fundraising Officer Edward Kendall will take up a position in the Diocese of Nottingham to be closer to his new bride, and Andrew Grange will revisit his old stomping ground at the National History Museum. Thankfully, we will also be joined by some new faces in the fullness of time.
But, of course, September marks the 175th anniversary of the Restoration of the Hierarchy in England and Wales. On the feast of the Archangels, Michaelmas, 29 September 1850, Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman became the first Archbishop of Westminster, joining the ranks of 12 other fledgling dioceses, in what Newman would later term the ‘Second Spring’. Indeed, earlier this summer, Pope Leo XIV announced that he will soon declare Newman as ‘Doctor of the Church’ along with his fellow-countryman St Bede the Venerable.
Looking ahead, London-born Bl Carlo Acutis will be canonised along with Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati on Sunday 7 September. Although his feast day, 12 October, is a Sunday, and therefore will not be celebrated. An exhibition will be arranged in the side chapels from 2 to 14 October. This will coincide with Quarant’ore, the Forty Hours’ Devotion. More details to follow in the next edition.
Finally, the refurbishment of the parquet flooring is set to resume, in stages, from early September and the Grand Organ Festival will take place each Wednesday from 17 September. This will include recitals from Simon Johnson, Peter Stevens, Jonathan Scott, and Peter King. More information is available on the Cathedral website.
Westminster Cathedral
Cathedral Clergy House
42 Francis Street
London SW1P 1QW
Telephone 020 7798 9055
Email chreception@rcdow.org.uk www.westminstercathedral.org.uk
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
Cathedral Fundraising Manager
Laura Dudhee
Chapel of Ease
Sacred Heart Church
Horseferry Road SW1P 2EF
175th Anniversary of St Mary’s University, Twickenham
St Mary’s University has a long and complex history. Its very first steps were in Brittany in 1848 with six students, destined for religious life. But then, in 1850, Cardinal Wiseman and the Catholic Poor School Committee opened the College in Brook Green with a capacity for 40 male students. The legal trust, created ‘in perpetuity’, was formally established on 16 July 1851.
Then came the great contribution of the Vincentian Fathers, taking on the leadership of the College in 1899 and to whom we owe such an immense debt. In 1924, they moved the College here, to Twickenham, with a capacity for 150 students, even though the buildings were still incomplete. Since then, St Mary’s has kept pace with the developing systems of education and its necessary supervision until full university status was granted on 23 January 2014.
Today, we reflect on this history both in terms of its educational vision and of our Catholic faith.
Everyone who goes to university does so, in the end, to seek to better themselves. Perhaps they may have a thirst for knowledge; they may have a love of learning; they may be wanting to extend their social networks or improve their career prospects. All of these are good reasons to invest – these days, quite literally – in a university education.
But more is to be said. In 1852, St John Henry Newman wrote The Idea of a University. There is so much that could be quoted from it, but here is just one example: ‘A university training is the great ordinary means to a great but ordinary end; it aims at raising the intellectual tone of society.’ In an era of individualism, the university is a powerful tool for the good of the broader community. And here that great aim is suffused with the fuller Catholic vision of the university.
A Catholic University is a place where an individual does not, and cannot, exist in a vacuum. At a Catholic University, the growth of the whole person is far more than his or her own benefit. It is a matter
of pride to us all that St Mary’s is so well regarded for the pastoral care it offers to its students. It is a matter of fact that St Mary’s has made an immeasurable contribution to society and to the Church, from its earlier days when the training of teachers was to the fore, to the present time.
We can go further. Pope Benedict XVI did so at his historic visit here in 2010. Remembering his visit to this chapel, a little later he said these words:
‘Catholic universities, with their specific identity and their openness to the “totality” of the human being, can carry out a valuable task to further the unity of knowledge, guiding students and teachers to the Light of the world, “the true light that enlightens every man” (John 1:9).’
Here at St Mary’s, then, our intention is clear: that hearts and minds are to be shaped in the light of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Here, we pray, many may grow in their journey of faith, and in the knowledge and love of God.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols
© Sarah McKenna-Ayres and St Mary's University, Twickenham
In thanksgiving for the anniversary, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV bestowed his Apostolic Blessing on the University.
It is, therefore, so right that at the heart of this day of celebration, we come to this beautiful chapel to offer our prayer to God in its highest form: in the celebration of the Mass. Here we make an offering to God of all that has been achieved. Here we heed God’s holy Word so that our onward journey in the life of this University may be soundly rooted in the wondrous depth of all that God gives.
As each of the readings we have heard makes clear, the Lord offers us sustenance, food for the journey we share.
In the First Reading, the care of a Father who keeps his promises comes to the fore. The 40 years endured by the People of Israel in the desert make the longest of degree courses seem short in comparison. If some do indeed endure ‘wilderness moments’ of struggling to meet deadlines for assessments, publications, or administrative difficulties of one sort or another, we remember that in their wilderness, God’s chosen people encountered everything from drought to serpents and scorpions. Yet in the midst of it all, they were saved from hunger by the lifeimparting manna; from thirst by the water streaming from the rock struck by Moses at Meribah. They were not abandoned; neither are we. Then as now, God is a Father of great faithfulness.
The Gospel reading, the Feeding of the Five Thousand, needs little comment.
Companions of Oremus
Sustenance is offered to the crowd on a grand scale. We might reflect that the miracle came about in response to a very human reluctance on the part of the disciples. They had had enough; they didn’t have the strength, as they thought, to supply the needs of so many. Without Jesus, that may indeed have been so. But Our Lord is taking the disciples on a journey of their own, into greater trust in the power of God, and of his care for his people. It’s a road on which we too are invited to travel, in enduring faith and love.
But it is in the Second Reading that we find the depths of the faithfulness of God. For here is the earliest of the four accounts in the New Testament of the Institution of the holy Eucharist, probably written less than 30 years after the Last Supper. Here, we are assured that the nourishment we receive is not given in response to a one-off situation of crisis or hunger, but it is given as constant nourishment for body and soul, offered throughout our lives of faith. The Mass is, indeed, a sacred banquet in which we receive Christ in the holy Eucharist; we recall his Passion, our minds are filled with grace, and we are given a pledge of the glory that is to be ours. What a food that is for the journey, a journey into hope, a journey towards the fulfilment of the eternal happiness of heaven, opened to us by the saving sacrifice of Christ, made present at every altar whenever the
We are very grateful for the support of the following:
Leticia Dominguez Abada
Lally Ambatali
Leonila V Bennabe
Keith Best
Dr Stuart Blackie
Anne Veronica Bond
Lolita Botanes
Richard Bremer
Hajnalka Burai
Lorenzo Cabrelli
Mrs Erlinda Chin
Francis George Clark
R & L Collyer-Hamlin
Daniel Crowley
Angelita Caronan Duran
Cora Emflorgo
Ms Georgina Enang
Fr Joseph Farrell K.H.S.
Ruby & Joseph Farrell in memoriam
Fred Gardiner
William Gardner-Hunter
Connie Gibbes
Zoe & Nick Goodway
Rosalinda Grimaldo
Agnes Haein Kim
Mrs Valerie Hamblen in memoriam
Amanda Hill
Jithro and Ira Nadine Hangad
Bernadette Hau
Mrs Cliona Howell
Alice M Jones & Jacob F Jones
Poppy K
Rosanne Kay
Mary Thérèse Kelly
John Langan
David Lawton
Raymund Livesey
Alan Lloyd in memoriam
Clare and John Lusby
Linda McHugh
Christiana Thérèse Macarthy-Woods
Ms Ludivina Mangmang
James Maple
Paul Marsden
Mary Maxwell
Dr Denis Moloney
Dr George Morris
Abundia Toledo Munar
Euphrasie Mundele Kilolo
Chris Stewart Munro
Eucharist is celebrated.
And this is how we best celebrate our anniversary today, thanking God for the marvelous achievements of this University, the service given to so many, and asking that as our journey continues, so, too, will the Mass remain at its centre.
Throughout these 175 years, St Mary’s has been under the special patronage of Our Lady. The University bears her name, and its motto ‘Monstra te esse matrem’ (show yourself to be a mother), comes from the Marian hymn Ave Maris Stella, written more than a millennium ago. I am delighted that these words are to be heard at Mass today, set to music in a new piece by Sir James MacMillan.
So, I conclude with some words from this hymn. In the penultimate verse, we ask Our Lady ‘iter para tutum, ut videntes Jesum semper collætemur’ (prepare a safe journey, so that, seeing Jesus, we may rejoice forever). We give thanks that the journey of St Mary’s has, over all these years, been safely navigated. We ask Our Lady’s prayers that our journeys, individual, corporate, ecclesial, may continue in faithfulness and come to a safe conclusion. That is, we pray for the fulfilment of our hope of heaven, the ending of our journey, and the eternal enjoyment of the happiness of the presence of God for all eternity. Amen.
Mrs Brigid Murphy
Kate Nealon
Cordelia Onodu
Nigel Parker
Cris Ragonton
Alan Rainer
Clementina Rokosu
Precy Salvador
John Scanlan
Veronica Scrope
Sonja Soper
Tessa and Ben Strickland
Yollie Sumayod
Julia Sutherland
Eileen Terry
Robin Michael Tinsley
Lucila Torrefiel
Peter W Wilson
Dr Timothy I Young in memoriam
Peter and Teresa Zurenkas and of our anonymous Companions
If you would like to become a Companion of Oremus, see page 2
Restoration of the Hierarchy: The Mission to the Angles
Lorcán Keller
Much of what we know about the founding of the Church in England and Wales is recounted in the eighth century writings of St Bede the Venerable. In his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, he relates the story of the future Pope St Gregory I, then Abbot of St Andrew’s Abbey on the Cælian Hill in Rome, coming across a group of fair-haired boys being sold into slavery. He was informed that they were Angles, from the province of Deira (York), whose king was Ælle. This scene is depicted in opus sectile in the Chapel of St Gregory and St Augustine in Westminster Cathedral, quoting ‘Non Angli sed angeli, si Christiani’, ‘not Angles but angels, if they be Christian.’ Indeed, he was fond of puns noting that the province of Deira will be ‘rescued de ira – from wrath’ and that, under King Ælle, ‘it is right that their land should echo the praise of God our Creator in the word Alleluia.’
Before Gregory could realise his dream of manning a mission to Britain, he was duly elected Pope Gregory I. As Supreme Pontiff he sent Augustine, his Prior at St Andrew’s, along with 40 companions to convert the pagan Anglo Saxons, landing on the Isle of Thanet in 597. Believing London to still be the metropolis it was under the Roman Empire, Gregory instructed Augustine to establish a metropolitan see there and in York, each with twelve suffragan dioceses, thus dividing the territory into a northern and southern province. Having found the lay of the land to be very different to what was believed in Rome, Augustine arranged for Canterbury to become the southern metropolitan see. This arrangement suited Ethelbert, King of Kent, quite well as the Saxon invaders who had taken London claimed supremacy over the Kingdom of Kent.
It would appear that, with the exception of the strong Christian communities in Wales, Augustine’s arrival and the newly implemented diocesan system marked a strong break from what had become a dispersed and quasi-Celtic system of monastic governance after the fall of Rome. Christianity continued to grow throughout the various kingdoms of Britain but, following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Church in England took on a decidedly French appearance under King William I.
In 1070, William installed his friend Bl Lanfranc, Abbot of his Benedictine foundation St Étienne in Caen, as Archbishop of Canterbury. When the newly appointed Archbishop of York, Thomas of Bayeux, sought to arrange his consecration with Lanfranc he was refused, unless Thomas made a profession of obedience that the See of York was subordinate to that of Canterbury. Thomas did so begrudgingly, at the king’s command, although there was nothing to suggest that this would be a permanent arrangement for their successors. The two archbishops sought advice from the Pope, who arranged an English synod of bishops and abbots. This became the Synod of Winchester, who met to discuss the issue during Whitsuntide 1072. After Lanfranc’s death, however, Thomas did not continue the arrangement, citing a lack of basis for the decision.
Issues of precedence raged on for centuries between Canterbury and York, and also the Irish Archdioceses of Armagh, the seat of St Patrick, and Dublin, the seat of secular power and English control on the island. King Edward III negotiated an identical compromise on both sides of the Irish Sea. The Archbishop of Canterbury would be titled the ‘Primate of all England’ with York as the ‘Primate of England’. In Ireland, the Archbishop of Armagh
would be the ‘Primate of all Ireland’, with Dublin as ‘Primate of Ireland’. All four titles remain today, although in Ireland both the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Church lay claim to the succession. For Dublin, this was a win, as they had no real claims to primacy, but had accrued a list of papal privileges over the years. This, unfortunately, did not solve the issue in Ireland, and the dispute raged on through the Reformation, in both denominations, well into the 17th century.
Following the English Reformation, the Catholic hierarchy came to an end with the death of Thomas Watson, Bishop of Lincoln, who died in October 1584, after 25 years in prison. With the death of fellow Englishman William Allen, Cardinal Protector of England, in 1594, all truly seemed lost. In 1597, Cardinal Enrico Caetani, Allen’s successor, appointed Dr George Blackwell as archpriest of the country. It was decided that, rather than endanger the faithful and offend Queen Elizabeth I, Blackwell would act as first among the priests of England and Wales, without the authority of a bishop. His reaction to the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 landed him in hot water with both the Pope and the Crown and he was stripped of his office, dying in the Clink in 1613.
The situation was by no means ideal and subsequent archpriests, and the national clergy, sought a bishop with ordinary power. Meanwhile, the French bishops were threatening to restore the English hierarchy themselves. Word of this reached King James I, who had also heard a rumour that English Catholics were planning to resume using the titles of ancient sees, now in use by the Church of England. James summoned the Spanish Ambassador to convey a message to Rome that, if such bishops were appointed, he would ‘pursue them to death.’ If, however, a bishop without pretensions, intent on
spiritual desires alone, no notice would be taken by the Crown. In June 1623, Dr William Bishop was consecrated as Bishop of Chalcedon, and appointed as Vicar Apostolic for the country. Although not a diocesan bishop, he was granted the powers that belong to an ordinary.
Persecution ebbed and flowed and, as late as 1769, Bishop James Talbott, Vicar Apostolic of the London District, was tried at the Old Bailey for saying Mass. The Papists Act of 1778 was the first of a series of bills chipping away at the Penal Laws against Catholics. It passed
swiftly through the House of Commons and, with some slight amendments, through the House of Lords. However, it garnered considerable, violent backlash on the streets, known as the ‘Gordon Riots’, led by Lord George Gordon. Bishop Challoner of the London District had a small part to play in the wording, and narrowly escaped the mob violence which descended on embassy chapels and Catholic homes. Various emancipation bills had been put forward and defeated, but it was not until Daniel O’Connell was elected to Westminster for County Clare that progress began apace. O’Connell,
as a Catholic, could not take his seat, convincing the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, that action would need to be taken to avoid serious trouble in Ireland. The bill passed through both houses and received Royal Assent on 13 April 1829, thus allowing Catholics the right to civil and military offices, with some caveats.
In the decades that followed, industrialisation, poverty, and the Irish Famine led to enormous urban growth, placing ever greater pressures on the newly emancipated Catholic Church.
Our Newest Chaplain
Fr Mike Guthrie
I was both surprised and delighted when Cardinal Vincent appointed me to the College of Chaplains here at Westminster Cathedral, beginning this September. Throughout my priestly formation and ministry, the Cathedral has always been a focal point for me, at the heart of our Diocese.
Although I am originally from New Zealand, the Lord called me to the priesthood while living here in London. Being a priest of Jesus Christ is a continual adventure, despite the crosses common to all Christian vocations. Over the past three years, since Ordination, I have served as the diocesan Youth Chaplain, a role that has brought me into close contact with Fr Witoń and the many people who serve here. So thankfully, it feels a little bit like coming home.
One of the great freedoms I have found, in trying my best to say my daily ‘yes’ to the Lord, is entrusting the Archbishop to decide where he will assign me. And so, I come to the Cathedral assured that this is God’s plan for me in this season of my life. Indeed, the Lord continually teaches me that his plans are always greater than my own.
Please keep me in your prayers as I settle in and begin serving the people of the Cathedral parish, and please do come and say hello.
From Sacristy to Seminary
As I prepare to leave my role in the Sacristy, my heart is filled with gratitude. Serving at Westminster Cathedral has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. Your prayers, friendship, and faithfulness have sustained me. From the very beginning, I was warmly welcomed here, and I will always cherish the wonderful times shared with all of you.
With my acceptance to begin seminary formation for the Diocese of Westminster, one of the most difficult parts is having to say goodbye. Yet, it is not goodbye forever, I hope. If it is God’s will for me one day to be ordained a priest, I am certain I will return to visit you here, in our Mother Church.
A special word of thanks to our Cathedral Chaplains, my fellow Sacristans, the staff, volunteers, and every soul who makes this place so unique. Please be assured of my prayers, and I humbly ask you to keep me in yours. May the Lord continue to bless and guide us all. With gratitude and hope in Christ, Christopher.
Christopher Moraes
CATHEDRAL HISTORY A PICTORIAL RECORD
Opening of the Cathedral Treasures Exhibition, August 1955
In 1955 the ‘Million Crown Fund’ (a crown being five shillings in predecimal money, now 25p) was established to raise funds ‘for the fulfilment of John Francis Bentley’s plans for [the Cathedral’s] interior embellishment’.
The Art and Architecture Committee, chaired by the Administrator, Mgr Gordon Wheeler, had been established two years earlier, approving plans to cover the Blessed Sacrament Chapel ceiling, as a matter of priority. The renowned mosaicist Boris Anrep was thus commissioned to carry out the work. Around the same time, work began on the galleries above the nave, replacing the wooden balustrades with marble.
1955 also saw the opening of the Cathedral Treasures Exhibition in the Sacristy, in the shallow cupboards on either side of the Archbishop’s vesting table.
The wooden doors were replaced with glass to showcase and house the exhibits. Many items had been relocated from the vault, but others included artefacts from Catholic recusant families, who had been able to safely hide them during penal times.
Pictured here, some highlights of the exhibition are displayed on the vesting table. Fr John Adam, Prefect of the Sacristy, known as ‘Père Adam’ on account of Mauritian background, is seen holding the metal mitre of Bishop Richard Challoner (1691-1781), Vicar Apostolic of the London District. This mitre is now housed at St Edmund’s College, Ware. Next to the mitre stands the Queen Mary Manual, used by Mary I for royal blessings.
To the left of the crucifix stands the Victorian silver-gilt monstrance. Made in 1899 by S B Harman, it was a gift of the
Weld-Blundell family. For many years this was used for the Forty Hours Devotion, which began on the First Sunday of Advent, being the start of the liturgical year. In order that the altar could still be used for the Capitular High Mass and Vespers, the Forty Hours Devotion took place in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.
At the base of the monstrance is the Henry VIII chalice, dated 1529. By tradition it is used on Maundy Thursday at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. In the centre of the display a gold, Spanish monstrance can be seen with enamel and jewels. Dating from c.1620 it was only ever used on the feast of Corpus Christi. To the right is the highly embellished Flemish monstrance in silver-gilt, dating from 1669. Finally, at the base of the monstrance, is a solid gold pyx dating from c.1620. It is the only known piece of Catholic plate dating from the reign of Charles I.
Paul Tobin
Picture: Sport & General Press Agency Ltd, London EC4
Evangelisation, one click at a time
Ashley Carlo Avery-Bennett
As I write this from the familiar comforts of Chester, my hometown, where I’m (allegedly) on a summer break, inevitably, the conversation with my mother turns to that great British obsession; the next holiday. ‘Planning to go away?’ she asks, with all the optimism of someone hoping I might finally do something sensible. ‘A week in Rhodes? A long weekend somewhere civilised with croissants?’ I hesitate. I know what’s coming. ‘Well, actually,’ I begin, ‘I’m thinking of going to Rome, for the canonisation of Carlo Acutis.’
There it is. The look. That unmistakable mix of confusion and concern that only a non-Catholic parent can muster when their offspring announces a pilgrimage involving saints, lots of queuing, and the Vatican. She rallies gamely, trying to find a point of discussion. ‘His mother will be there, I suppose?’ Now, at this point I’m poised to nod confidently; ‘Yes, I’m sure she will!’, before I pause, realising quite how unusual this actually is. A mother, attending her own son’s canonisation? A Google search (albeit brief) reveals little precedent. But that, I think, highlights the point. This soon-to-be saint didn’t die 400 years ago in a Spanish monastery, nor was he martyred in some gruesome early-Christian manner. He lived recently, died young, and is now on the fast-track to sainthood, with his mother still very much alive to see it.
When I was baptised and confirmed this Easter, I chose Carlo Acutis as my Confirmation saint. People still ask me why, in a Church not exactly lacking in heavyweight options, I picked an Italian teenager. Well, of course, we’re of the same generation, born only a few years apart. When the news broke of his second miracle and impending canonisation, I’d just unpacked my bags, and declared myself, rather boldly, ‘settled’ in London, the city of his birth. His name landed on my desk in the early days of my new role as a Communications Officer for the Diocese. It was one of my first big stories.
At the time, I wasn’t Catholic. I wasn’t entirely sure I believed in miracles, at least not the water-into-wine kind. But Carlo’s story stuck with me. It had a hook and, perhaps more importantly, it had hope. He made sainthood feel remarkably achievable. Unlike the colossal heroism of St Maximilian Kolbe or the more ethereal simplicity of St Thérèse of Lisieux, Carlo’s path is deceptively and groundedly simple, one we can all follow.
There are people far more qualified than I am to dissect his life and legacy: his devotion to the Eucharist, his quiet holiness, his remarkable maturity. Where I can, perhaps, add something meaningful to the conversation is that I see Carlo Acutis as a
St Carlo Acutis’ mother Antonia in the baptistery of Our Lady of Dolours, Fulham Road, where Carlo was baptised.
saint tailor-made for this strange, noisy, digital age. While most of us are busy doomscrolling and despairing over the state of the internet, Carlo, even in an age of digital infancy, saw its potential. Long before any parish had a Facebook page, Carlo was building a website documenting Eucharistic miracles, sharing his faith online, using the tools of his time with quiet brilliance.
Since his death in 2006, the online world has become, let’s be honest, a bit of a moral landfill, a place where vanity, cruelty and conspiracy theories rub shoulders with cat videos and discount codes. And yet, as odd as it sounds, it’s also now a space where many people, especially the young, are beginning to rediscover the Church. Ask around, and you’ll hear the same story from converts to the faith, again and again. ‘I saw a video.’ ‘I read something online.’ ‘I stumbled across a podcast.’ Something simple. Something true. Something that lit a spark. Carlo understood that spark. He helped to light it. And in doing so, he reminded us that even in the most unlikely places (even, dare I say it on TikTok) we can encounter Christ.
Personally, I see this play out every day at work. Take, for example, a little video we made of the Corpus Christi procession; monstrance glinting along Oxford Street. To date, it has been watched over 120,000 times. Now, you could chalk that up to the mysterious sorcery of the algorithm, or perhaps to some accident of timing. But I don’t buy it. I think there’s something deeper going on. When someone stumbles across the Real Presence of Christ (or any well-made religious content for that matter) in their social feed, I suspect it’s not dissimilar to the startled expressions we saw across Trafalgar Square when the procession went past. Completely unexpected, but no less awe inspiring.
When you see these eye-watering viewing figures, it’s hard to imagine the scale and easier still to forget that every single one is a person, with a history, a heart, and a whole raft of hopes and sorrows. I often wonder about the effect that these encounters may have practically; did just one of those thousands see that video at precisely the moment they needed it? Someone who’d drifted away from the Church, who hadn’t darkened the confessional door in years and was suddenly nudged, however faintly, back towards the pews on a Sunday?
The Vatican, it turns out, has clocked this too. Just a few weeks ago, in Rome, they held the first ever Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers. Which brings me back to Blessed Carlo. Does his example mean we should hurl ourselves headlong trying to sanctify the swampy lagoons of social media, conducting our spiritual lives entirely through pixels and posts? No. I think his life says quite the opposite.
Here was a teenager who could code a website to document Eucharistic miracles, yet rationed himself to an hour of Mario Kart a week. A master of self-discipline, he made sure nothing, not even a three-lap dash round Bowser’s Castle, came before his love of Christ. In an age where most of us can lose an entire afternoon to scrolling without even noticing, that sort of discipline is startling. Carlo used the internet brilliantly, but he never let it use him. His online work flowed from his life with Christ, it didn’t replace it.
That’s the real lesson for us. We all know how easy it is to get swept up in the darker side of social media, the anonymity, the off-hand comment, the casual unkindness. Even the more positive face can be just as dangerously distracting. The internet is merely a tool, a fishing net, a universal platform for a Universal Church. When used to promote faith, it should always lead people towards the Eucharist, the confessional, and real encounters with Christ. Without that destination clearly in your mind, it is not a mission, but a murmur, another ripple in an ocean already loud with pointless noise.
And so, with his canonisation on the horizon, it feels only right (somewhat prematurely, but no less overdue) to ask this young saint of the digital age to guide us in our own online life.
Saint Carlo Acutis, you showed that even in the chaos of the digital world, grace can take root. Help us to use social media wisely, to spark faith, to offer hope, and to draw others to Christ.
And yet, teach us also to find time to step away from the screen, to meet Christ in the Eucharist and to live with the joy and discipline that marked your life.
St Carlo Acutis, pray for us.
Blisters and Blessings, a pilgrimage to Walsingham!
I remain in astonishment that I was able to complete the 180-mile Walsingham Camino, a pilgrim route from London to England’s greatest Holy Shrine in Walsingham, back in April 2023. The grace of God was with me, and the prayers and encouragement of countless family, friends and colleagues. As I reflect on the gift of this new Camino, I get the sense that it is integral, in some way, to the realisation of the great prophecy of Pope Leo XIII in 1897 when he signed the rescript for the restoration of Our Lady of Walsingham’s Shrine:
‘When England goes back to Walsingham, Our Lady will come back to England.’
The 1973 book, Highway to Walsingham, by Mgr Leonard Whatmore was the foundational piece which partly inspired author Andy Bull to create the present-day London to Walsingham Camino, in a format that would inspire 21st century pilgrims. Mgr Whatmore provided much of the research needed to ensure that the modern Camino is as close to the original route, as trodden by pilgrims of antiquity before the Shrine was destroyed in 1538, as possible. Using modern technological means, Andy then created online navigational maps, directions and up-to-date information, taking into consideration the varied needs of modern-day pilgrims. This included pilgrim safety, facilities and interest, historical and spiritual heritage.
Preparations took weeks, including wearing-in my walking boots and walking as much as possible. I also needed to pack a rucksack, with all I would need for two weeks. We were advised to carry no more than 10% of our body weight, and how wise that advice was! Booking accommodation in advance was also necessary, as the English Camino does not have the pilgrim infrastructure of Santiago. Finding accommodation in some of the villages was quite difficult, and we often
had to stay further out. On occasions local people kindly put us up, or provided us with much appreciated sustenance.
The route was physically tough, as we undertook the entire Camino in two weeks, with one rest day in Bury St Edmunds. Andy Bull led our merrie band of pilgrims as per his London to Walsingham Camino: The Pilgrimage Guide. It was a grace to have the actual author of the route lead us. Three of us completed the entire route, with others joining us for various stages. In the main we had good weather; a mixture of glorious sun, calm dry winds, and many April showers, occasionally accompanied by strong winds, powerful rain and sleet. Typical English weather for an English Camino.
The daily mileage was usually between 14 and 17 miles, walking alongside rivers and canals, through fields full of crops, lambs, piglets, calves and bullocks. Through forest, woodland
and dale, quiet blossom lined lanes through sleepy villages, and rarely the shock of a busy road. ‘England’s green and pleasant land’ was before us, mile after mile, leading us onwards to the holy land of England’s Nazareth.
I was the least experienced walker among the pilgrims, and usually the youngest. The exhaustion I experienced each afternoon was great. Once I arrived at the accommodation, all I wanted to do was bathe and tend my feet, shower, eat and sleep. The mileage each day was beyond anything I had ever attempted before. I marvelled at how the body regenerates itself following such exhaustion but, most days, I was almost at the limit of my physical endurance!
We each carried our own rucksacks, with no opportunity of backup. This meant that you endeavoured to keep up, no matter what. Additionally, I had the misfortune of three serious blisters, which caused much pain and discomfort
Antonia Moffat
throughout the first 90 miles. Thankfully, in Bury St Edmunds, I had time to arrange a podiatry appointment. They dressed the blisters and restructured the insides of my boots, ensuring that the final 90 miles were much more comfortable than the first. They do say that the Camino provides, but I would say God’s great providence provided! He was indeed walking with me, and wanted me to succeed. I found I prayed well first thing in the morning, when I would often contemplate and pray the Rosary as I walked. On occasions
we would join various congregations for Morning or Evening Prayer. At times, we agreed to be silent in the morning, to give the first fruits of our day to God but, by around 3.30pm each day, my whole mind was focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
‘Blessed are you, pilgrim, if you find that the Camino is rich with silence, and the silence is rich with prayers, and the prayers are encounters with the Father who awaits you.’
I found the Camino spiritually enriching; an experience of communing with the Lord. It was an experience of inner peace and of letting go, and of letting God be God with me. It was a liberation to let go of everything in daily life, and to walk hand in hand with the Lord, his Blessed Mother, St Joseph, and the saints. I had a great awareness of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, as we passed by countless thousands of graves and war memorials in remembrance of the Fallen. I prayed much for them and for the many intentions entrusted to me before, and during the pilgrimage.
Indeed, the Camino was full of surprises; fascinating, challenging, beautiful, and spiritually profound. It was a walk through England’s ancient, glorious faith. The beautiful medieval churches, tributes to centuries of prayer, devotion and love of God, along with the sadness and devastation of the Reformation, which attempted to liquify Catholic faith and practice. This would herald the end of ‘Merrie England’, a society where the infrastructure of the monasteries and nunneries cared for all.
We arrived at Our Lady’s Shrine in Walsingham on the solemnity of St George, Patron and Protector of England. So appropriate, spiritually speaking as the key intentions of my Camino (among many) were to pray for our Nation’s conversion to Christ. We were greeted with a beautiful ‘welcome home’ from Sr Jane Louise and the staff of the Basilica & National Shrine of Our Lady. The bells of the Slipper Chapel chimed in agreement, as we received our long-awaited pilgrimage stamp. After Solemn Holy Mass for the solemnity we received a welcome lunch in the Slipper Chapel cafe before walking onwards along the Holy Mile to the ancient priory grounds, the final destination of our momentous Camino. For here lie the ruins of the ancient Priory of the Annunciation
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, site of the Holy House of the Annunciation, which housed the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham. Having received two further stamps from the Walsingham Estate and the Anglican Shrine, we ended our day at the Anglican Shrine with celebratory drinks and supper. ‘Blessed are you, pilgrim, because you have discovered that the true Camino begins at its end!’
Before arriving home, I called in at my local parish church. I was drenched, ruck sack and all, from the pouring rain. As I entered the church, the organist was playing at full volume – Jerusalem! Having arrived at Walsingham on the Solemnity of St George, within two weeks of the Coronation of King Charles III, I thought this was an incredible sign from the Lord and his Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Walsingham, that my pleas and prayers are being heard.
Author, Andy Bull recorded a short video of each day’s highlights, so that many might experience the joys and realities of each day’s Camino Walk. Perhaps one day you will have the opportunity to undertake this London to Walsingham Camino: youtube.com/@LWCandybull/videos.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To follow on YouTube or Facebook, visit @LondonToWalsinghamCamino
Andy’s book London to Walsingham Camino: The Pilgrimage Guide is also available from the Slipper Chapel Shop: shop.walsingham.org.uk.
WeBelieve Festival and Newman
Joanna Bogle
It is agreeably appropriate that, just days after one of the most significant gatherings of Catholic laity in England in recent years, Pope Leo XIV announced that he will bestow the title of Doctor of the Church on our very own St John Henry Newman.
Prior to this, some 2,000 people, the majority of whom were young families, had gathered at St Mary’s College, Oscott for the WeBelieve Festival. It was here in Oscott that St John Henry Newman preached his famous ‘Second Spring’ sermon at the Westminster Synod in 1852, following the Restoration of the Hierarchy in 1850. The college is a seminary currently training some 50 men for the priesthood, and is only a few miles from Birmingham, where Newman had established his Oratory, which is still a thriving and busy parish today.
With the seminarians away for the summer, the wide green lawns became the centre of the WeBelieve Festival, to celebrate the Restoration anniversary and to engage in active participation for evangelisation. This festival, led by Mgr John Armitage and sponsored by the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom, was the first of its kind, bringing together groups such as Radio Maria, Divine Renovation, the Catholic Student Network, and Youth 2000.
Glorious liturgies in the massive marquee dubbed ‘St Peter’s’ for the weekend, talks, lectures, quizzes, hours of prayerful Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and great numbers of Confessions. All this, and more, filled a magnificent weekend that started on Friday, the feast of St James, and concluded on Monday morning.
St John Henry Newman had famously urged, rather against the thinking of some of his contemporaries, that the laity must be well informed and capable of active involvement in spreading the Faith:
‘I want a laity, not arrogant, not rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it.’
WeBelieve responded exactly to this. There were talks on just about every aspect of the Faith, from the Nicene Creed with Mgr Michael Nazir-Ali, to beauty and Christian art with Fr Patrick van der Vorst. The Dominican Sisters of St Joseph led sessions on innovative ways to teach the Faith, with fantastical titles such as ‘Keys to Unlocking Catechetical Firepower!’ and ‘Unleash the Power of your Baptism’. There were talks on C S Lewis and on Tolkien, on parish renewal and on the Theology of the Body. There was singing with modern songwriters, a poetry workshop, a whole programme of activities for children of different age-groups, and oh so much more!
A wide scope of the Church’s liturgical traditions were also represented, including Vespers with the Syro Malabar Eparchy, and an early morning Mass in the Extraordinary Form. This was accompanied by a feast of good music, ranging from Byrd to Ukrainian sacred song. There was much cheerful conviviality, priests and laity, monks and nuns, teenagers and toddlers,
all ages, talking and enjoying each other’s company. In a style Newman could certainly never have imagined, the vast majority of attendees were camped out in tents, enjoying snack meals with names unknown in Victorian England: pizzas and burgers, and fries and milkshakes. There were also many excellent home-made pastries in the café tent in a quality and quantity that any hearty Victorian would have relished.
Above all, it was the great Masses celebrated in St Peter’s tent that will linger most in my memory; the hearty singing of popular hymns, the roar of voices for the Lord’s Prayer, and the golden silence at the Consecration. Also, Archbishop John Wilson’s stirring words at the Mass of Thanksgiving for the Restoration of the Hierarchy in 1850. This was liturgy that draws souls to God and nourishes the call to evangelise.
In due course, we made our way home via a vast concrete Birmingham, unimaginable to Newman, with a consciousness of having been part of something bigger than just another Catholic gathering. This had somehow broken new ground, empowering the laity in a new way and a new dynamism. ‘Ever ancient, ever new’ had been something of a theme all weekend and, pleasingly, this was echoed in the Pope’s announcement.
An unfinished painting of Wiseman and Newman at the Westminster Synod, Oscott, 1852'
In retrospect: from the Cathedral Chronicle
Westminster Cathedral Chronicle, September 1925
General Calendar: Notes Ecclesiastical and General (excerpts)
19. According to the Summer Time Act of 1922, ‘summer’ time should end tomorrow morning at 2am, but on 17 July last the House of Commons passed a new Summer Time Bill, after a very chequered career, extending ‘summer’ till the first Saturday in October. Accordingly, this new regulation will come into operation and extend summer time this year to the early morning of 4 October.
29. On this day seventy-five years ago the English (Latin) Hierarchy was re-established in this country by Letters Apostolic of Pius IX (it had become extinct on the death of the last of the Marian bishops in the reign of Elizabeth).
Before the Reformation in England [the feast of St Michael the Archangel] was kept, in common with the rest of Christendom, with great solemnity. Although it is chiefly devoted to St Michael—the day being known as Michaelmas, one of the quarter days of the year, and an unlucky day for geese—it is also meant to include the holy choirs of Angels. St Thomas teaches that the number of Angels ‘exceeds all material multitude,’ and the Prophet Daniel (vii, 9, 10) says:
‘I beheld till thrones were placed and the Ancient of Days sat. His garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool; his throne like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire. A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him.’
It is the teaching of the Church that an angel is set aside to watch over at least every baptised person.
Westminster Cathedral Chronicle, September 1955
The Cathedral Treasures
Less fortunate than a church on the island of Murano near Venice which boasts a set of dragon’s bones, or Durham Cathedral which, in the middle ages, could show to pilgrims a gigantic gryphon’s claw (now tamely labelled in the British Museum), Westminster Cathedral possesses nevertheless a small collection of rare and beautiful objects. These have now been placed by gracious permission of His Eminence the Cardinal on permanent exhibition in the Sacristy.
Showcases have been contrived in the shallow cupboards which were already part of the furnishings of the Sacristy. Above these cases, to right and left, hang the great ‘Westminster Paintings’, the organ doors from San Bartolomeo at Vicenza, which came from Norfolk House. These majestic representations of St Bartholomew and St Augustine fill the Sacristy with the authentic glory of great painting.
Among the articles of plate in the showcases, two have, so to speak, embedded themselves in the very heart of the sacred annual functions of the liturgy. The English-made chalice (No. 2) of the year 1529 (a notable example of the very few preReformation chalices to have survived) is used, and used only, to contain the host placed in the urn on the altar of Repose on Maundy Thursday. The exquisite gold Spanish monstrance (No. 31) is used only for the procession of the Blessed Sacrament on the Feast of Corpus Christi. This last is the finest piece in the collection. Of most rare craftsmanship and bold imagination is the Spanish chalice (No. 26) on to which the artist has encrusted in high relief a whole world of tiny sculptures in scenes ranging from a complete Last Supper to a circle of holy souls in purgatory.
No. 24, a solid gold pyx, the only known piece of Catholic plate of the reign of Charles I, is a very precious and evocative object; for whom could so costly an article have been made? Among these rare examples of English Catholic hallmarked plate, No. 28, a cruet set of 1822, shows the very finest design and feeling for its period.
Nearly all the plate exhibited, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, shows in its design the affatus of the CounterReformation. It is interesting to compare the gigantic proportions of the later chalices with the earliest specimen shown, No. 3, the lower part of which is English fifteenth century; the early nineteenth century bowl is much too large for this delicate vessel.
Undoubtedly the most interesting historical exhibit is the manual used by Queen Mary Tudor for the royal blessing (No. 1). It is surely profoundly moving that the one royal manuscript in the Cathedral’s possession should be dedicated to the exercise of the quasi-sacerdotal powers attributed in ancient days to the sovereigns of England. The blessing of Cramp Rings as a protection against the ‘falling sickness’ (epilepsy) seems to have originated from the holy ring of Edward the Confessor; the ‘Touching for the King’s evil’ (scrofula) appears to have been passed on from St Louis of France through Isabella of Valois, the wife of Edward II of England, to Edward III who ordered the first public display of this royal prerogative.
25 Years Volunteering at Westminster Cathedral
Julie Hanssen has worked to support the various catechetical programmes here in Westminster Cathedral for a number of years, as a catechist and Administrative Coordinator. It is quite fitting that, as she marks her Silver Jubilee of volunteering in the Cathedral, the Universal Church will celebrate the Jubilee of Catechists from 26-28 September.
It all began 25 years ago, when my husband attended the Cathedral RCIA course and I accompanied him as his sponsor. My predecessor, Sr Barbara, invited me to help out with the tea and coffee. She then asked me to return the following year to assist, and to be one of her Cathedral sponsors. Before I knew it, I was taking on a number of responsibilities, eventually becoming the Administrative Coordinator for Sacramental programmes.
It was through Sr Maureen, who worked in Clergy House Reception, that I also found myself covering the reception desk, which I did for some time. This led to other opportunities, such as helping in the Friend’s office and the finance office, where I helped to formalise the Gift Aid system. I even helped in the Oremus office with then Editor Fr Tim Dean. Even as the years have flown by, I am always happy to lend a hand.
In a previous life I was a medical secretary and research assistant in cardio-thoracic departments and, as such, I am most comfortable in organisational and administrative roles. As the Coordinator, I help to run (and teach) the annual RCIA, Marriage Preparation, Youth Confirmation and First Holy Communion courses, under the leadership of the Chaplains. This requires being present at every session for each of the courses offered, and at the weekend Masses. When I am not physically present in the Cathedral, I
am at home on my computer answering or sending emails, preparing talks, application forms, course programmes, etc. Thankfully, I love what I do!
I have also made many mistakes along the way, but the late Canon Christopher Tuckwell was always generous with his time and advice when I needed it. The current Dean, Fr Witoń, is equally generous with his time and support. Not many people can say they have great ‘bosses’, but I am the product of all the sisters and priests who had a hand in guiding me, to whom I am truly grateful.
Of course, I cannot do all this alone. I am helped by a team of other dedicated volunteers who give their time selflessly and with such good cheer. Thank you to all volunteers, catechists and clergy; but especially to Villet Alvarado, Mercy Mendiola, Rosalinda Grimaldo and Oliver Aiken, for their assistance, and for the joy, love and laughs we share.
Despite the ups and downs of being a Cathedral volunteer, the 25 years have enriched me and I look forward to many more years of service. If you have the time to offer, please do consider joining the dedicated team of volunteers and catechists at the Cathedral.
Julie Hanssen
Volunteers Oliver, Villet, Rosalinda, Julie and Mercy
2025 Interfaith Group Programme
John Woodhouse
17 September, 1.30pm
Meet at the Aga Khan Centre (King’s Cross), 10 Handyside Street, N1C 4DN for a tour of the Islamic gardens and a climate crisis discussion.
15 October, 1.30pm to 3pm
Dame Fotiny Gudela speaks on human trafficking.
28 October, 7pm to 9pm
A Celebration of 60 Years of Nostra ætate, the watershed ‘Declaration on the Relation of the Church with NonChristian Religions’. Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, W1K 3AH.
19 November 1.30pm to 3pm
Relevant sections of the final Synod document.
We normally meet in the Hinsley Room, Morpeth Terrace, SW1P 3EP on the third Wednesday from 1.30pm to 3pm.
Refreshments are provided and all are welcome.
Please contact John Woodhouse at woodhousesopten@btinternet. com, if you intend to join the above events.
West Midlands to Westminster
On Monday 25 August, Martin Bradley cycled a 175-mile pilgrimage from his home in Bloxwich, West Midlands, to Westminster Cathedral, arriving late afternoon on Wednesday 27. Thankfully, the route was almost exclusively canal towpaths and Thames pathways.
‘I love cycling and regard it as a blessing from God. It has been invaluable for good physical and mental health. Despite all my cycling experience I know this venture will be challenging but with prayer and the knowledge of support they can be readily overcome.’
Having stopped to greet Canon Brian McGinley, the Dean of St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham, and paid his respects to St Thomas More at Chelsea Old Church, he was greeted by the Editor of Oremus, and given a brief tour of Westminster Cathedral, before making the journey back to the West Midlands by train.
Martin undertook this endeavour to raise £1,000 for his parish church, St Peter’s, Bloxwich, to offset the cost of a new organ. As Fr David Doran, parish priest, noted:
‘The old organ is over 30 years old and the technology is no longer supported. It was using floppy discs as part of the playback system! The new organ is an Allen GX-215 and the purpose is to have a fully functioning organ for worship of God for another 30 years.’
Find out more
If you would like to support Martin, scan the QR code to visit his JustGiving page.
Archbishop Sherrington receives the Pallium
On the solemnity of Ss Peter and Paul, 29 June, Pope Leo XIV blessed and imposed the pallium on 54 new metropolitan archbishops, including Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool and Archbishop Mark O’Toole of the newlyformed Cardiff-Menevia.
Farewell to Fr John Scott
In July, a small number of staff and volunteers gathered in the porch to bid a fond farewell to Fr John Scott, Editor Emeritus of Oremus Magazine. Following a number of health issues, Fr John has retired to Farnborough Abbey, Hampshire, where our former Head Sacristan (Richard Hawker) now resides as Br Ælred.
A decade of Bakhita House
On Monday 30 June, the Vigil of the Dedication of the Cathedral, Cardinal Vincent Nichols celebrated Mass for the 10-year anniversary of Caritas Bakhita House, the diocesan safe house for women escaping human trafficking and modern slavery.
© Mazur/CBCEW.org.uk
Ordinations to the Priesthood
Congratulations to Fr James Boyle and Fr Sean Power who were ordained to the Priesthood by Cardinal Nichols on the solemnity of St John Southworth, Patron of Westminster Clergy. Ad multos annos!
Ordinations to the Diaconate
Congratulations to Rev Paul Christian, Rev Hervé Boisson, Rev Anthony Cecile, and Rev Michael Larmer who were ordained to the (Permanent) Diaconate at the hands of Bishop Paul McAleenan. Deacon Paul Christian has been an altar server in Westminster Cathedral for some time and will serve his ministry here in our parish.
Festival of Hope
In late June, we welcomed 130 schools from across the Diocese for a Jubilee Festival of Hope, presided over by Cardinal Vincent Nichols. Organised by a number of organisations, including the Agency for Evangelisation and CAFOD, the festival included stalls, workshops, drama and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Wedding bells
Congratulations to Sam Holloway, our Maintenance Team Leader, and his new bride Rebecca (not pictured). We wish them every blessing and many happy years.
The Shroud of Turin
Before breaking for the summer, the boys in Years 4-8 of WCCS were privileged to hear from Fr Andrew Dalton, a leading expert on the Turin Shroud, explain what he called ‘the most researched artefact in the history of the world’. They learnt that all the scientific research of recent years appear to make it highly likely that the Shroud is the actual burial cloth of Christ. Judging by the queue to ask further questions after the talk had finished, Fr Dalton succeeded in fostering an interest in both faith and reason.
An Organ Scholar in the Tower
Congratulations to Daniel Greenway, our former Organ Scholar, who has been offered a position in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London. Among his new congregation are the bodies of Ss John Fisher and Thomas More.
Obrigado Irmã
In gratitude, after two years of quiet, devoted service to the community here in Clergy House, we bid farewell to Sr Fatima, as she and the sisters left for their annual break at the Motherhouse in Portugal. We wish her every blessing in her new ministry.
2025
The Month of September
The Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions
For our relationship with all of creation. Let us pray that, inspired by St Francis, we might experience our interdependence with all creatures who are loved by God and worthy of love and respect.
Monday 1 September
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation Feria
Tuesday 2 September Feria
Wednesday 3 September
St GREGORY THE GREAT, Pope & Doctor
Thursday 4 September Feria (St Cuthbert, Bishop)
Friday 5 September Friday abstinence Feria
Saturday 6 September
Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday 10.30am Mass attended by the March for Life (Bishop MacDonald)
Each month, a Mass is celebrated for the benefactors of Westminster Cathedral, living and dead Sunday 7 September 2025, 10am, Sunday 5 October 2025, 5.30pm Sunday 2 November 2025, 7pm, Sunday 7 December 2025, 8am
For more information, contact Laura Dudhee, on 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
Sunday 7 September Ps Week 3
23rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir) Palestrina – Missa brevis Sweelinck – Qui vult venire post me
Organ: J.S. Bach – Prelude and Fugue in E major (BWV 566) 4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Victoria – Magnificat septimi toni Dupré – O salutaris hostia Organ: Franck – Cantabile 4.30pm Mass for the Deaf Community (Cathedral Hall)
Monday 8 September
THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Tuesday 9 September Feria
(St Peter Claver, Priest)
Wednesday 10 September Feria
Thursday 11 September Feria
Friday 12 September Friday abstinence
The Most Holy Name of Mary
Saturday 13 September
St John Chrysostom, Bishop & Doctor 2pm Mass attended by the John Bradburne Memorial Society
Sunday 14 September Ps Week 4
Education Day
THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
12 noon Solemn Mass attended by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (Full Choir)
Byrd – Mass for four voices Bruckner – Christus factus est Mawby – Ave verum corpus
Organ: Reger – Introduction & Passacaglia in D minor 4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Victoria – Magnificat primi toni Tallis – Salvator mundi
Organ: Messiaen – Jésus accepte la souffrance (La Nativité)
Monday 15 September
Our Lady of Sorrows
Tuesday 16 September
Ss Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs
Wednesday 17 September Feria
(St Robert Bellarmine, Bishop & Doctor; St Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin & Doctor)
7.30pm Grand Organ Festival (Jonathan Scott)
Thursday 18 September Feria
Friday 19 September Friday abstinence Feria
(St Januarius, Bishop & Martyr)
2pm Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School Foundation Day Mass
Saturday 20 September
Ss Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang and Companions, Martyrs
6pm Visiting Choir sings at Mass
Sunday 21 September Ps Week 1
Evangelii Gaudium Day
25th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Magnus Williamson –Missa tertia
Palestrina – Si ambulavero in medio
Organ: Franck – Fantaisie in A major
4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction
Palestrina – Magnificat quarti toni
Howells – Salve Regina
Organ: Willan – Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue in E flat minor
Monday 22 September Feria
Tuesday 23 September
St Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
Wednesday 24 September
OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM
7.30pm Grand Organ Festival (Peter Stevens)
Thursday 25 September Feria
Friday 26 September Friday abstinence Feria
(Ss Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs)
Saturday 27 September
St Vincent de Paul, Priest
6pm Farewell Mass for Fr Brian O’Mahony & Fr John Scott, followed by a Reception in Cathedral Hall
Sunday 28 September Ps Week 2
26th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Mozart – Missa brevis in F major (K.192)
Palestrina – Super flumina Babylonis
Mawby – Ave verum corpus
Organ: Vierne – Allegro (Symphonie II
4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction
Bevan – Magnificat septimi toni
Matthew Martin – Sicut cervus
Organ: Buxtehude – Magnificat primi toni (BuxWV 203)
Monday 29 September
175th Anniversary of Westminster Diocese (1850)
Ss MICHAEL, GABRIEL AND RAPHAEL, Archangels
Tuesday 30 September
St Jerome, Priest & Doctor
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
1 & 5 Down: The Lord be with you (8,8)
6 & 24 Across: Period of great cold in the evolution of the
8 Reference to golf clubs (5)
9 St Teresa (2,5)
10 Tucked up at night-time! (2,3)
11 St ------ Plunkett, last martyr to suffer the Tyburn tortures (6)
13 Mythological youth who died flying too close to the Sun (6)
15 Household soldier of the Guard (6)
17 Badge or logo (6)
20 Type of African antelope (5)
21 ‘Sic ------- gloria mundi’ (7)
23 Good News brought from here to Aix in the Browning poem (5)
24 See 6 Across (3)
25 Irish girl’s name meaning ‘liberty’ (7)
Clues Down
1 Hymn ascribing glory to God (8)
2 Republican State in Africa (6)
3 St Philip, founder of the Oratorians (4)
4 Musical instrument associated with India (5)
5 See 1 Down
6 Line on a weather chart (6)
7 Miss Blyton of the ‘Noddy’ children’s books (4)
12 Person setting tests (8)
14 As and when (8)
16 Colour in the Irish flag (6)
18 Pioneer of antiseptic medicine (6)
19 Numbers in palindrome (5)
20 Border King with Dyke (4)
22 River linking Pisa and Florence (4)
An excerpt from The Dream of Gerontius
St John Henry Newman
Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus, De profundis oro te, Miserere, Judex meus, Parce mihi, Domine. Firmly I believe and truly God is three, and God is One; And I next acknowledge duly Manhood taken by the Son. And I trust and hope most fully In that Manhood crucified; And each thought and deed unruly Do to death, as He has died. Simply to His grace and wholly Light and life and strength belong, And I love, supremely, solely, Him the holy, Him the strong.
Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus, De profundis oro te, Miserere, Judex meus, Parce mihi, Domine. And I hold in veneration, For the love of Him alone, Holy Church, as His creation, And her teachings, as His own. And I take with joy whatever Now besets me, pain or fear, And with a strong will I sever All the ties which bind me here.
Adoration aye be given, With and through the angelic host, To the God of earth and heaven, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus, De profundis oro te, Miserere, Judex meus, Mortis in discrimine. To submit a poem whether by yourself or another for consideration, please contact the Editor – details on page 3.
Alan Frost September 2025 – No. 135
The Restoration of the Hierarchy: An Overview
1850 Pope Pius IX issues Apostolic Letter Universalis Ecclesiæ, restoring the hierarchy in England and Wales.
The metropolitan see at Westminster, with 12 suffragan sees at Beverley, Birmingham, Clifton, Hexham, Liverpool, Newport and Menevia, Northampton, Nottingham, Plymouth, Salford, Shrewsbury, and Southwark.
1851 Ecclesiastical Titles Act prohibiting Catholic use of existing ecclesiastical titles. Westminster predates this Act and Southwark predates the Anglican diocese of the same name.
1852 The Synod of Westminster held at Oscott College where the ‘Second Spring’ homily was preached.
1854 Pope Pius IX proclaims the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as depicted in the Lady Chapel.
1861 Diocese of Hexham retitled Hexham and Newcastle.
1865 Death of Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman, first Archbishop of Westminster.
1869-70 First Vatican Council.
1878 Diocese of Beverly divided into Dioceses of Leeds and Middlesbrough. Pope Leo XIII restores the hierarchy in Scotland.
1882 Diocese of Portsmouth formed out of Southwark.
1889 Dock Strike mediated by Cardinal Manning.
1895 Cardinal Vaughan lays the foundation stone of Westminster Cathedral.
Principality of Wales (except Glamorganshire) made a separate Vicariate attached to the Province of Westminster.
1896 Diocese of Newport and Menevia retitled to Newport.
1898 Vicariate of Wales becomes the Diocese of Menevia.
1903 Westminster Cathedral opens for regular worship.
1908 England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland removed from the jurisdiction of the Propaganda Fide and placed under the common law of the Church, thereby losing mission status
International Eucharistic Congress held in Westminster. Blessed Sacrament removed from final procession after pressure from Parliament.
1911 Province of Westminster split into three provinces: Westminster, Birmingham, and Liverpool.
1916 Province of Cardiff (renamed from Newport) established with suffragan see of Menevia.
1917 Brentwood Diocese formed out of Westminster.
1924 Diocese of Lancaster formed out of Hexham and Newcastle, and Liverpool.
1926 Catholic Relief Act repealed most remaining legal disabilities of Catholics.
1950 Pope Pius XII proclaims the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1962-1965 Second Vatican Council.
1965 Province of Southwark established, including the newly formed see of Arundel and Brighton.
1967 Establishment of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
1970 Pope Paul VI canonises the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, including St John Southworth.
1976 Diocese of East Anglia formed out of Northampton.
1980 Diocese of Hallam formed out of Leeds and Nottingham.
1982 Visit of Pope St John Paul II.
1987 Diocese of Wrexham formed out of Menevia.
1999 Cardinal Hume awarded the Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II.
2010 Visit of Pope Benedict XVI and beatification of John Henry Newman.
2019 Pope Francis canonises St John Henry Newman
2024 Archdiocese of Cardiff and Diocese of Menevia joined to form the metropolitan see of Cardiff-Menevia.
2025 Pope Leo XIV declares St John Henry Newman as Doctor of the Church.
