Oremus September 2019

September 2019 | Edition Number 250 | FREE

Westminster Cathedral Magazine

January 1997 – September 2019 250 editions of Oremus, continuing the publication of magazines

by Westminster Cathedral since 1907 Ad multos annos!

THE CHRISTIAN HOPE

Resurrection – Part I Fr Christopher Clohessy

‘I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come ...’

But we believe in the resurrection. From the beginning those eyewitnesses, ordinary fishermen and housewives, insisted they had seen Jesus risen from the dead, and they clung to that conviction for the rest of their years, never backtracking: through prison, torture and for many of them, death, but never backtracking. They could not have endured that, not all of that, if it were a story they had created around the fire together one evening to fool their friends. In June 1972 a scandal called ‘Watergate’ broke. It ensnared some of the most powerful men in the world, and yet with all their resources and skill, they could not keep the lie going for more than three weeks. The housewives and fishermen, hardly the world’s most powerful or resourceful, eyewitnesses to the resurrection, were still going strong 40 years after it had happened.

It is utterly crucial: if Jesus rose from the dead, then we must accept everything that he said. If he did not rise from the dead, then he lied and we should not take seriously anything he said. The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not people like his teaching, or even like Jesus: it is whether or not he rose from the dead. I believe it.

Paul believed it too: ‘If Christ has not been raised from the dead,’ he insisted, ‘if this life is all we have to hope in, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in the world’. We believe in the resurrection; not a hazy, woolly optimism that somehow things may work out in the end, but a sure and certain hope in the resurrection of the dead.

We believe in the resurrection because we believe those eyewitnesses. And because God has promised it, and God’s word is true. In a sentence, buried deep in the Old Testament 2

© Convent of St Agnes in Prague

It is always worth listening carefully to the things people say at funerals, because there are some words that grief forbids, others that grief pulls into service. People say that they are gathering ‘to celebrate the life’ of a loved one, but in fact that’s not chiefly what a funeral is – it is a profoundly religious moment in which we mark the death of someone and accompany their transition into eternity with prayer.

It is just that nobody wants to use the word ‘death’. They say that their loved ones have gone to a ‘better place’, but a better place could just as well be anywhere on earth: a tax-free haven would surely always be a better place? It is just that nobody wants to use the word ‘heaven’. People say that their loved ones ‘live on in our memories’, but that is not where they live on, because it means that those who have no one to remember them do not live on: and anyway, memories fade. No, they live on in God. It is just that nobody wants to use the word ‘resurrection’. How odd, at a funeral, not be able to mention ‘death’, or ‘heaven’ or ‘resurrection’.

The Resurrection, from the Trebon Altarpiece

book of Ecclesiastes, the bible says that: ‘God has planted eternity in the human heart’. That means that God made us to live forever. That’s why we have an inborn instinct that longs to live. Because God designed us like that, wired us that way, in the likeness of God, the bible says, to live for eternity. That is why death is always so abhorrent to us. With a gut instinct, we know we are not wired to live a few years and then become extinct. We know this life is not all there is. Like the nine months we spent in our mother’s womb: we had no idea during those nine months that there was more to come, something bigger, something greater, something unimaginable. These years here and now, in these bodies of ours, may seem like the ultimate life to us, but God’s word says there’s more to come and our gut instinct says the same, assuring us we were not created to live a few years and then disappear. Religious ‘professionals’ like clergy are invited to prove these things, but we cannot prove them anymore than we can cut an orange open and show people what Vitamin C looks like. We believe them because our gut instinct confirms the promise of a God, and we can stake our lives on God’s every promise.

Fr Christopher is a well-known summer supply priest, who teaches Arabic Studies in Rome.

Oremus

September 2019

CONTENTS

Inside Oremus

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

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Cathedral Life: Past & Present David Gully Retires

by Nathaniel Scott Cree

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John Bradburne – Progress in His Cause

by Professor David Crystal 6&7 On Pilgrimage to South Wales (Part I)

by Louise Sage 14 & 15 Cathedral History: Let There be Light

by Patrick Rogers 16 & 17

Chairman Canon Christopher Tuckwell Editor Fr John Scott Oremus Team Tony Banks – Distribution Zoe Goodway – Marketing Manel Silva – Subscriptions Berenice Roetheli – Proofreading Ellen Gomes – Archives 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.

Westminster to Southwell Minster

by Jonathan Allsopp

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Cathedral History in Pictures: An Exhibition in the Sacristy

by Paul Tobin

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The Incoming Organ Scholar – Callum Alger

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Discovered in the Workshop

by Fr John Scott

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14

Features Believing in the Resurrection (Part I)

by Fr Christopher Clohessy

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St Edith of Kemsing by Antony Tyler

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In Honour of Secret Scottish Seminarians 9 Catholicism and Public Life in Scotland (Part I)

by Patrick Grady MP 10 & 11 The Assumptiontide Vow in Paris

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Don’t Demolish Richmond House!

by SAVE Britain’s Heritage

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Chaos and Beauty: An October Conference on the Legacy of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh 27 A Statue of Tyburn’s Last Martyr

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Film notice – Les Soeurs de Nagasaki

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The Trivulzio Madonna, by Andrea Mantegna, depicts Our Lady and the Christ Child with, left to right, St John the Baptist, Pope St Gregory the Great (feast day 3 September), St Benedict (in monastic habit) and St Jerome (in scarlet, holding a model of the church). Originally the painting formed part of the high altar of Santa Maria in Oargano, Verona. © Sforza Castle, Milan

Printed by Premier Print Group 020 7987 0604

September 2019

Oremus

Regulars From the Editor

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Monthly Album

18 & 19 23

In Retrospect Cathedral Diary and Notices

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24 & 25

Crossword and Poem of the Month

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Friends of the Cathedral

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St Vincent de Paul Primary School

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FOUR DECADES OF R.E.

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 through the Cathedral Gift Shop’s website or by using the coupon printed in the magazine.

Thank you for your support.

Retirement from Remarkable Service Nathaniel Scott Cree, Headteacher, St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School At the end of the Summer Term, the community of St Vincent de Paul School joined together to wish Mr David Gully a happy and healthy retirement, after 29 years in the school and 40 years altogether in Catholic education.

A week of special events was held to mark the occasion, including a coffee morning for parents, a special Mass with the staff and governors in the school chapel and a wholeschool Mass on the final day of term led by our school chaplain, Fr Julio.

also the traditions of the school’s founders, the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, a legacy that he was keen to preserve and pass on to the children. This included the annual conferment of the Miraculous Medal, the reverse of which is displayed proudly as the school’s badge. It was partly due to his personal dedication and commitment over the years that the Catholic life of the school was, and continues to be, a considerable strength; for this we are very grateful.

As a class teacher, David taught many children during this period, including the children of some of his former pupils, such was his length of service! In later years, he led the school on Religious Education and dedicated himself to preparing interesting, varied and spiritual liturgies for the children, both in school and in the Cathedral, following not only the Church’s calendar but

As well as being a dedicated teacher and RE subject leader, David has also been a very proud Welshman, who made sure every year that the feast of St David was celebrated on 1 March in school. With this in mind, our final words to him were: Diolch, pob lwc a Duw yn bendithi, David! [Goodbye, good luck and God bless, David!]

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(Mr Gully is pictured on the right in the school chapel with a group of pupil representatives and Mr Kenny, the Year 6 teacher, following the Adoremus Mass which took place on 18 June in the Cathedral.)

David may not be widely known in the Cathedral congregation, but his committed work of teaching the Faith to generations of children means that we join SVP School in offering our warmest thanks and best wishes to him.

Oremus

September 2019

ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRMAN

The Editor writes There has been some comment in the Catholic press and on the internet about a recent survey in the United States which showed that over twothirds of Catholics there do not believe the Church’s teaching about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, seeing the Eucharistic elements as merely symbolic of the Lord. Worse is the realisation that hidden within that survey is the higher figure of 80% ‘non-believers’ among young Catholics.

At present, at least, there is no equivalent survey for this country, but it is not clear that the statistics would necessarily be radically different, England now counting as one of the most secularised countries in Europe. It is worthwhile watching the comments of Bishop Robert Barron, an Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, on this survey, since he is a respected commentator on religious affairs as well as an effective apologist and evangelist through his ‘Word on Fire’ internet ministry: look for his video ‘The Eucharist Problem’ on YouTube. Readers may also remember that he was a keynote speaker at last year’s Adoremus Eucharistic Congress in Liverpool.

How does this affect us in the Cathedral? Well, the congregation changes from week to week as visitors come and go. Chaplains and our Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist face a variety of situations, discerning as best we may those who are or are not Catholics or even Christians as people present themselves in the queue for Holy Communion. Very often there is no problem; people bow or genuflect before receiving the Blessed Sacrament and respond with ‘Amen’ to the words ‘The Body of Christ’; that ‘Amen’ is an act of faith in the presence of the Lord whom we are receiving. Please do not omit that ‘Amen’; it is one of the ways in which we can recognise you as a Catholic Christian believing that you have come to meet, welcome and receive your Lord and God.

Westminster Cathedral Cathedral Clergy House 42 Francis Street London SW1P 1QW Telephone 020 7798 9055 Service times 020 7798 9097 Email chreception@rcdow.org.uk www.westminstercathedral.org.uk Cathedral Chaplains Canon Christopher Tuckwell, Administrator Fr Daniel Humphreys, Sub-Administrator Fr Julio Albornoz Fr Michael Donaghy Fr Andrew Gallagher, Precentor Fr Rajiv Michael Fr John Scott, Registrar Sub-Administrator’s Assistant James Coeur de Lion Also in residence Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories Music Department Martin Baker, Master of Music Peter Stevens Obl. OSB, Assistant Master of Music Callum Alger, Organ Scholar Cathedral Manager Peter McNulty Estates Manager Neil Fairbairn Chapel of Ease Sacred Heart Church Horseferry Road SW1P 2EF

However, one thing is very noticeable on Sundays.

When Holy Communion has been given to all who present themselves, and the Chaplains and Ministers return to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel carrying ciboria containing the presence of the Eucharistic Lord, there are often numbers of people standing by, but it is sadly rare to see anyone make a gesture of reverence. Perhaps people would if the context were Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament enthroned on the high altar? Yet it is the same Lord in both cases, the One who is to be worshipped and adored. Westminster Cathedral is often noted for the quality of its liturgy; let us all seek to ensure that it is also noted for the depth of devotion that is displayed here towards the Blessed Sacrament, in which the Lord Jesus chooses to be truly present among us.

September 2019

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A CAUSE GOES FORWARD

John Bradburne: the Turning Point David Crystal Back in August 2018, the cover of the Catholic Herald showed some of the front runners in a race to be 'the next English saint'. In his article, K V Turley reviewed them, pointing out that canonization is a slow and expensive process, requiring lots of patience. And then things suddenly happen. This has been the case with John Bradburne, one of the amazing people described in the article. This Third Order Franciscan missionary was killed in what was then named Rhodesia in 1979 for refusing to abandon the lepers he had looked after for many years. Since his death, Mutemwa, the leprosy settlement where he worked, has become a popular pilgrimage centre. Each year on 5 September, the anniversary of his death, thousands gather to hear Mass and process up the mountain where he walked and prayed. Mutemwa has also been blessed with the phenomenon of the spinning sun - uniquely and fortuitously recorded on video by a passing pilgrimage cameraman.

The John Bradburne Memorial Society (JBMS) was established in 1995 by Celia Brigstocke, John's niece, to do two things: to continue his legacy by providing perpetual financial support for Mutemwa, desperately in need of help, and to promote his cause for beatification, given the widespread belief in his sanctity expressed by all who met him. The first aim has been - and continues to be - met. The second seemed to be getting nowhere, until now. September 2019 is a turning point in his story.

The new momentum began in March 2017, when there was a conference at the University for Foreigners in Perugia.

The theme was John's poetry. He was the most prolific poet the English language has ever seen, with over 5,000 poems in his oeuvre, totalling over 170,000 lines (by way of comparison, Wordsworth wrote around 50,000 lines, and Shakespeare around 90,000). Guinness World Records has recognized the feat. The Perugia conference explored the question of how some of his poems might be translated, and there were sample translations there into French, Italian, Spanish, Amharic, Xhose, and Afrikaans. The English texts are all now freely available online at www.johnbradburnepoems.com, and several anthologies have been published by the JBMS. Participants at the conference, including many young students, enthusiastically signed the petition being circulated at the time for John's cause to proceed, and in the audience were several leading Italian clergy. Through their contacts with the Vatican, in 2018 a postulator was appointed to investigate the cause - Dr Enrico Solinas, a lay judge at the Umbrian Interdiocesan Ecclesiastical Court of Perugia. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints also asked for an administrator to be appointed - the secretary to the cardinal for the Perugia area. Both men spent several weeks in England in July 2018 meeting as many people as they could who knew John - either personally or through his work.

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John at Mutemwa

As the editor of John's poetry, I was one of those interviewed. It was fascinating, being questioned by a postulator - not something that happens every day! I had to describe everything I knew about John in a detailed questionnaire, and my thoughts and feelings about the poetry were then thoroughly probed over several hours. Difficult questions, indeed. Why should John Bradburne be made a saint? What is his significance for the Church? How is his spirituality expressed in his poetry? The last time anybody questioned me so intensively was in my university finals!

And everyone gets the same treatment, both in the UK and in Zimbabwe. When the postulator has finished his work, his dossier will be huge.

The next task for me was to prepare the poetic evidence.

As part of the investigative process, everything John wrote has to be read by three theologians specially appointed to verify that the content is in tune with Catholic thinking. That meant scanning every page of every poem and every letter, so that they can be circulated. At the same time, other people were collecting the evidence of testimonies from the many people who have prayed to John and received help. There have to be attested miracles. Some had already been reported in the JBMS Newsletters, but by no means all, so another dossier had to be compiled. The process is ongoing: the Society is always on the look-out for new evidence of graces received through John's intercession. An address to send such testimony is given below.

No cause can proceed until it is taken up by a diocese.

This is normally the place where the putative saint died in this case, Zimbabwe. But the political and economic circumstances there had made it difficult for the Catholic hierarchy in Harare to progress it. For a while it seemed like a better idea to approach the Westminster diocese, given John's close connections with it. During the 1950s he was an assistant sacristan at the Cathedral and caretaker of the Archbishop's house in Hertfordshire, where Cardinal Godfrey got to know him well. But in the end Archbishop Ndlovu of Harare agreed to take it on, and in March of this year the bishops of Zimbabwe unanimously approved the proposal.

The excitement in the country was immense, for many there already view the man as a saint-in-waiting. Then in July the Congregation issued its nihil obstat to the Archbishop. At last the formal process can begin.

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September 2019

A CAUSE GOES FORWARD/COMPANIONS So, on 5 September, the 40th anniversary of John's assassination, there will be a special ceremony at Mutemwa, where the cause will be officially launched. Thousands of people are expected to be there, including many from outside Zimbabwe. It should be a spectacular occasion, as well as a hugely emotional one, and a rare spiritual experience. A fortnight later, in the afternoon of the 21st, the celebrations will continue in London, with a Mass at the Cathedral, followed by an exhibition in Cathedral Hall about John's life, along with a talk and Zimbabwean music. John's Franciscan habit will be one of the things on display, as will his beloved typewriter, and some of his manuscripts. This will be the first time John's relics have been displayed publicly.

The news that a second English saint is on the horizon, following Cardinal Newman, has begun to generate interest around the UK. In June there was a weekend devoted to him at the Augustinian Sisters' centre at Boarbank Hall in Cumbria.

Why there? Because John was born at Skirwith, just a few miles away. In July, the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University held a conference on Catholicism, Literature, and the Arts, and devoted a session to his poetry. Following the September events, I have no doubt that more such meetings will follow, and the name of John Bradburne will come to be increasingly known. The next stage in the story begins this month.

His sonnet, 'The Thought Expressed', written in 1974, brings together three of his favourite themes: the Holy Trinity, Mary, and the natural world.

The Word of God is valleys, woods and hills, Mountains and streams and rivers running broad Towards the seas ... at ease the book refills With bees in clover, swallows over sward; The Word of God expressing God The Thought Plays with the dolphins, crests the restless waves, Goes surf-riding in idle man for sport, Walks with the kings and saunters with the knaves; Talks with the swifts concerning their migrations And tells the storks which chimneys to select. ...

In all of this He couples ministrations With God The Voice, The Paraclete elect: Myriad sights, myriad sounds, I AM, But best expressed as born of Miriam.

To read more about John Bradburne, see the award-winning biography, translated from the French, by Didier Rance, The Vagabond of God (Darton Longman and Todd, 2017). For his poetry, there is my A Life Made of Words: the Poetry and Thought of John Bradburne (2018, available from the JBMS or through www.davidcrystal.com).

And a range of other pamphlets and books can be seen at the JBMS website (www.johnbradburne.com), including a CD of John reading some of his poems and a DVD made in Zimbabwe about his time there. For further information, contact the administrator of the JBMS, Kate Macpherson by email at info@johnbradburne.com or by post to P O Box 32, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 0YB. Professor David Crystal has pursued a distinguished academic career teaching Linguistics, exploring and explaining the English language in more than 100 books as well as through other media.

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Companions of Oremus We are very grateful for the support of the following: Mrs Mary Barsh Mrs Else Benson RIP Dr Stuart Blackie Anne Veronica Bond Richard Bremer Francis George Clark Daniel Crowley Ms Georgina Enang Alfredo Fernandez Fred Gardiner Connie Gibbes Zoe & Nick Goodway Mrs Valerie Hamblen Bernadette Hau Mrs Henry Hely-Hutchinson Mrs Cliona Howell Alice M Jones & Jacob F Jones Poppy K Mary Thérèse Kelly Florence M G Koroma Raymund Livesey Barry Lock Alan Lloyd in memoriam Clare and John Lusby Christiana Thérèse Macarthy-Woods Paul Marsden Pamela McGrath Linda McHugh Peter McNelly in memoriam James Maple Mary Maxwell Mrs C Mitchell-Gotell RIP Abundia Toledo Munar Chris Stewart Munro Mrs Brigid Murphy Kate Nealon Cordelia Onodu Emel Rochat Berenice Roetheli John Scanlan Mr Luke Simpson Sonja Soper Tessa and Ben Strickland Eileen Terry Robin Michael Tinsley Mr Alex Walker Jacqueline Worth Patricia M Wright and of our anonymous Companions If you would like to become a Companion of Oremus, see page 4

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SANCTITY, ANGLO-SAXON STYLE young daughter, offered to bring her to court and bestow on her jewels and fine clothes fit for a princess. But she decided to follow her mother and took the veil at the Abbey. The King accepted this and was present at her clothing.

Despite the irregularity of his early life, King Edgar was deeply pious, and supported monasteries and lay religious observance. After his death his reign was considered to be a golden age of religion in England. When Edgar’s son, Edward, who succeeded Edgar, was murdered, Edith was offered the crown of England by the leading men of the kingdom. But she declined this, saying that she had already consecrated herself to God as a nun.

While at Kemsing and Wilton, St Edith showed her concern for the poor, and those with diseases, particularly lepers, and sympathy for wild animals.

When she died in 984 AD at the early age of 23 many miracles were reported at her tomb. The people of Kemsing also remembered her, and built a chapel with a shrine in her honour next to the church of St Mary the Virgin. Prayers to her, and the water from the well, hallowed by her childhood presence, were considered particularly effective for diseases of the eyes. Her cult as a saint was quickly accepted, and she was also invoked for the protection of the harvest from blight.

St Edith of Kemsing Antony Tyler St Edith (Eadgyth In Anglo-Saxon) was the daughter of King Edgar. He had become king of much of England two years before St Edith’s birth in 961 AD. Her mother, the lady Wulfryth, was a novice at Wilton Abbey near Salisbury. Their daughter, Edith, was born in Kemsing, Kent. Since the King was already married, St Dunstan, who became Archbishop of Canterbury soon after Edith’s birth, imposed on the king, as a penance, a requirement to build a 8

convent at Kemsing. Wulfryth and her child Edith went to live there. A well, which was then in the convent grounds, still exists in the old part of Kemsing.

Before mains water arrived, it was the main source of water for the village.

When his legitimate wife died, King Edgar sought to marry Wulfryth, but she had already decided to be a professed nun. Eventually Wulfryth returned to Wilton Abbey with Edith. When she was about 16 the King came to visit his

The chapel and shrine were destroyed at the Reformation. However, there has been an annual pilgrimage to her well in Kemsing on or about her feast day on 26 September since the 1930s. The village also has had a St Edith Village Festival every 10 years since the millennium celebrations of her birth in 1961. A bronze statue of the saint was commissioned by parishioners of Holy Trinity Church, Otford to commemorate the year 2000, and is now located in that church. Her well in Kemsing was refurbished by the Parish Council as a millennium project.

In recent years St Edith has been associated with a number of cures and with several religious conversions.

St Edith is also honoured as one of the royals saints of the world in the Chapel of the Three Kings in the Cathedral in Mexico City. She is there in the company of St Isabella of Spain, St Elizabeth of Hungary, St Margaret of Scotland, St Helena of Constantinople, St Edward the Confessor and St Louis of France. It is interesting that she seems to have rather greater honour there than in her native land.

Oremus

September 2019

NEWS FROM CARFIN

How the Faith was Handed On Just as Oremus was being put together, and Patrick Grady’s piece (pages 10 and 11) included, this news arrived from Scotland, so it seems appropriate to record here how the Scots are honouring their martyrs.

The new Scalan Altar in the Carfin Grotto

Fr Michael Briody, President of the Scalan Association said: ‘There are several shrines at Carfin Grotto honouring the Irish, Polish, Lithuanian and Ukrainian immigrants who brought their own contribution and strength to the Catholic Community in Scotland. The Scalan altar pays tribute to those native-born Scots who kept the Faith through centuries of persecution, especially in The Enzie of Banffshire, Lochaber, Strathglass, “Blessed Morar”, the Southern Hebrides and Galloway. The Scalan altar is a worthy representative of them all’.

Bishop Joseph Toal, Bishop of Motherwell commented: ‘The new Scalan altar recognises the courage of the men and women who gave witness to their Faith in the darkest and most testing of times. It reminds us that we must never take for granted the freedom we have to practise our faith in public and in private, and our responsibility to stand up for our fellow Christians around the world who face severe hardship, discrimination and persecution for professing belief in the one God and his holy religion’.

September 2019

Oremus

© Scottish Catholic Media Office

A new altar has been installed at Carfin Grotto in Motherwell to honour the Scots forced to practise their Catholic faith clandestinely through two and a half centuries of persecution, from 1560 onwards. The Scalan altar is named after the secret seminary in the Braes of Glenlivet which operated from 1716 to 1799 in contravention of the Penal Laws against Catholicism. The laws forbade the celebration of Mass in Scotland; priests were prohibited from being in Scotland at all.

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FAITH NORTH OF THE BORDER

Catholicism and Public Life in Scotland Patrick Grady MP

when a reception was being hosted in Westminster to mark the 50th anniversary of SCIAF, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, which I worked with at the time.

Little was I to know then that what I thought might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience would become a regular and hugely important part of weekly routine at my place of work!

There’s a joke in SNP circles, and perhaps more widely in Scotland, that there are already two international institutions that recognise Scotland as a country in its own right. One is FIFA; Scotland’s football team competes, or tries to compete, internationally, and perhaps one day will once again reach the finals of the World Cup. The other is the Catholic Church, for the whole history of Christianity and Catholicism in Scotland is different to that elsewhere in the British Isles.

The Catholic Union kindly invited me to speak to a group of its members at an event in the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday 12 June about Catholicism and Public Life in Scotland. The text that follows is based on my speaking notes for that talk, and on a report of the event by Jo Siedlecka of the Independent Catholic News website.

Before the talk, many of the Catholic Union members had been able to join in the celebration of Mass in the crypt chapel of St Mary Undercroft off Westminster Hall.

This is celebrated weekly by Canon Pat Browne, whom Catholics in Parliament think of as their Chaplain, although his title (for now at least) is ‘Roman Catholic Duty Priest’ at the Houses of Parliament. The service is always a highlight of the week, providing a moment of calm reflection and perspective amongst whatever else is going on upstairs. Fr Pat also has a beautiful singing voice, which was appreciated by everyone present, as always. Attending Mass in Westminster is always a privilege, and one that I first experienced some time before my election in 2015, 10

Christianity came to Scotland from Ireland, brought by saints like Columba and Ninian. The Reformation in Scotland was Presbyterian in nature and then the restoration of the hierarchy came late, in 1887, nearly 30 years after that in England and Wales. And after the restoration, church populations were sustained even more so than south of the border by immigration from Ireland and elsewhere. So the governance and character of the Church has always been distinct - incidentally, that’s also true of the liturgical tradition, which has a much ‘lower’ style than our brethren in England and Wales. Within walking distance, certainly within a short tube journey of the Houses of Parliament, it’s easy to find half a dozen Solemn Choral Masses every Sunday. In Scotland, it’s difficult to think of any that can be categorised as such, beyond those celebrated in the Jesuits’ church of St Aloysius in Glasgow (which was the first parish I belonged to in the city), and St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh. I stand to be corrected, but think it’s true to say that the only place that regularly celebrates the Novus Ordo Mass in Latin is Pluscarden Abbey in Elgin. What the roots and reasons, and relative merits, of such varying liturgical styles are is not really for reflection at this point.

But it has always struck me as a noticeable difference.

Perhaps it does come back to something to do with the different nature of the reformations and restorations in the two countries.

One of the effects of the Irish immigration, although it also reflects the general spread of demographics, is that it has led to a significant concentration of the Catholic population in the ‘central belt’, and especially the westcentral areas, of Scotland. In some of the more northern areas, the Church is spread incredibly thin. In early June, I attended a wedding of close friends in the remote west Oremus

September 2019

FAITH NORTH OF THE BORDER

(Part I) highland village of Torridon. There wasn’t a Sunday Mass available within less than a three-hour drive. According to the 2011 census, 841,000 people identify as Catholics in Scotland, around 15.9% of the population, although the Bishops’ Conference estimates regular Sunday Mass attendance is considerably less than this, perhaps around 175-180,000.

So the Church is definitely a minority – but not an invisible minority. Very few people in public life would say the Catholic community was irrelevant or could safely be ignored. It’s also fair to say that’s true of the Christian population more generally. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has sometimes been said to have acted as a kind of shadow ‘parliament’ for the country in the years before devolution, providing a platform and voice for many of those opposed to the social and economic reforms driven through by a government supported by only a minority of voters in Scotland during the 1980s.

The Constitutional Convention, which paved the way for Scotland’s Parliament to be reconvened in 1999, was chaired by Canon Kenyon Wright, a priest of the Scottish Episcopal Church. And indeed, the General Assembly building on the Mound in Edinburgh hosted the Scottish Parliament in its early years. On a recent visit to the Assembly, the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, remarked that one of the legacies of that tenancy was that delegates to the Assembly now had considerably more comfortable seating than the pews which were used before the Parliament arrived.

I’ve been asked a few times since being elected to speak to groups of young Catholics – at high school prizegivings, at the Glasgow University Chaplaincy (of which more later), and in 2016 to the Faith Movement summer sessions. In those, and in other situations, I’m fond of using the saying attributed to St Francis that we should preach the Gospel at all times, using words only if necessary. It was always an important concept for us when I worked for SCIAF (SCIAF, of course, being an agency of Scotland’s Bishops’ Conference much as its sister organisation, CAFOD, is an agency of the CBCEW). I think it’s a very useful frame of mind for any individual Catholic, and the Church as an institution, when interacting with the public square and public life. The Church in Scotland has a good long history of this. In early June, I visited the offices of Justice & Peace Scotland – the Scottish Catholic Justice & Peace Commission - which is marking its 40th anniversary.

The Commission, with the Bishops’ Conference, has been outspoken throughout its history on some of the major social justice issues of the day. It has consistently and courageously opposed the housing of nuclear weapons in Scotland. In this, it is aligned with mainstream public September 2019

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opinion in Scotland, where the reality of living with a nuclear weapons installation less than 40 miles from our biggest population centre has always made for a more sobering debate about the reality of weapons of mass destruction.

Another long-standing J&P campaign has been for reform of the immigration and asylum system, and in particular for the closure – or at least the very significant reform – of the Dungavel detention centre in Lanarkshire.

It is still used to detain children and young people in the asylum system, and people are still detained for indefinite periods of time, both of which are breaches of basic human rights and human dignity. Successive Bishops have visited the centre and witnessed the situation of the detainees, and made it clear that the policies the centre represents are not acceptable. Again, they are strongly supported not only by their agencies, but also by their congregations and the wider community. Scotland – as I said at the start – has always benefitted from immigration and has provided a place of refuge for those seeking safety; just as Scots have benefitted from the opportunity to travel and live throughout the world. Indeed, the Catholic community has been enhanced by immigration, especially from Poland and eastern Europe, and now relies on priests willing to travel from Africa to serve in our parishes and churches.

Catholic Social Teaching is sometimes described as the Church’s ‘best-kept secret’ – but it has formed the basis and inspiration for organisations like SCIAF, Justice and Peace, and their counterparts in other countries all around the world. As we know, of course, Catholicism is - by definition - universal, and the Church presents a holistic, universal vision of the world and understanding of the dignity of the human being created by God. It can be difficult for the public – and indeed politicians – to realise that the Church, by and large, doesn’t have a series of ‘policies’, or a manifesto that chops and changes over an electoral or historical cycle. So the social teaching and the moral teaching of the Church are two sides of the same coin.

And I would argue that in the modern world, emphasising the social teaching is vital if the moral teaching is to be properly heard and understood, and to be contextualised in a way the secular world can begin to understand and engage with.

Patrick Grady is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Glasgow North and is the Chief Whip of the Scottish National Party at Westminster; he also worships at the Cathedral.

The second part of this talk will appear in the October Oremus.

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SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS

Sycamore and Westminster Cathedral

© Sycamore

Fr Stephen Wang

An Introductory Image

Sycamore is a programme of evangelisation and catechesis that relaunched this summer. We hope it will be used in parishes, chaplaincies and schools across Westminster Diocese and throughout the wider Church. There has been a very special connection between Sycamore and Westminster Cathedral, both for personal reasons, and because of the filming we have done in recent months.

The Early Days I work as a full-time chaplain to university students in central London, and Sycamore began at Newman House University Chaplaincy. I remember a meeting we had in June 2014 as if it were yesterday. There were six students and myself sitting in my office. We were planning our outreach to the new students and our evangelisation programme for the coming academic year, with the idea of writing a new course. It would explain the basics of the Christian faith, from a Catholic perspective, to those who knew little or nothing about Christianity. It would help create a welcoming atmosphere where people could relax and feel at home – something that is so important for students living away from their families.

And then someone said: ‘Well, if we are writing it, we might as well film it!’

Three months later, after a mad team effort and some help from a willing film-maker, we had the first set of films ready to share with people. The initial strapline was ‘Sycamore: Thinking about Life and Faith’. We put the films and training materials online and left the rest to God. Why the name Sycamore?

In the gospel, Jesus comes to the town of Jericho. A man called Zacchaeus is so curious about Jesus that he climbs a sycamore tree to get a better view.

When he finally meets him, they begin a conversation, and his life is changed forever. That sycamore tree seemed to be the perfect image of something that helps others to get a wider perspective on life and faith.

New Beginnings It soon became clear that many others were using the resources, not only those in university chaplaincy.

Sycamore seemed to resonate not just with young adults, but with people of every age. It was being used in parishes, chaplaincies and schools across the UK and beyond. This came home to me when I was in Poland for World Youth Day in 2016. A random stranger came up to me and said: ‘Oh, you’re Fr Stephen, aren’t you? We have been using Sycamore in our parish in Australia!’ In 2018, in response to this wider demand, the team decided to rewrite the course and remake the films,

this time with much higher production values, and taking into account all the experience and feedback that had been shared from groups across the world.

We widened the team to include catechists, teachers, priests, parents, theologians and people with expertise in media and communications. We set up a UK charity and developed a new logo and a new strapline: ‘Sycamore: What do you believe?’ And we discovered an amazing film production company called Higham & Co. After some significant fundraising, the new resources and website were developed.

We launched this June. We are grateful to the many groups and individuals who have helped fund this relaunch, including the Cardinal’s Appeal in Westminster diocese, the Assumption Legacy Fund, the Sisters of the Holy Cross Charitable Trust, and dioceses across the UK. Sycamore Today Sycamore is an informal course about the Christian faith and its relevance for life today. It gives people space to meet others, share ideas, explore their beliefs, and think about questions that really matter. One of our student participants said: ‘I finally found an opportunity to think about my life!’ Each session involves a short film and time for discussion. There’s no pressure and no commitment. People can be themselves without any fear of

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© Sycamore

Mass. These visits were part of what led me to join the Catholic Church. And then five years later, when I was in a crisis about my vocation and not sure what direction to go in, a moment of prayer in the Cathedral changed things very profoundly.

Meeting people where they are: Brighton, for example

being judged. There’s a real sense of community, a spirit of friendship, some great conversation, and often some delicious food. Everyone is welcome.

The high-quality films are engaging, thought-provoking, and accessible to those with little or no religious background. I am the main presenter on the films, and they also include Christian testimonies and street interviews about the challenges of believing today. The films explore the richness of the Christian tradition from a Catholic perspective, connecting the core Christian message with a vision of the sacramental and moral life. They will also appeal to people from different Christian traditions and backgrounds. There are many other fantastic Christian resources around, and Sycamore wouldn’t exist without the inspiration received from groups and resources such as CaFE, Word on Fire, Evangelium, Spirit Juice Studios, Grassroots Films, The Why Course, The Bible Timeline, Symbolon, Alpha, The Alpha Youth Series, Ten Ten Resources, The Faithful Traveler, Ascension, Fr Mike Schmitz, Real Life Catholic, and Nua. How To Use Sycamore Sycamore has been created for parishes, schools, university chaplaincies, prisons and beyond. The films, supplementary resources and training materials for group leaders are all available online. You can register, free of charge, as a leader, which gives you access to all the planning and training materials. You can then take out a subscription on behalf of your community which allows you to view and download the films and publicity materials. But Sycamore is not just about the resources; it’s about a whole vision for Catholic communities. It develops leaders, builds community, creates genuine friendships, and helps September 2019

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the wider Christian community to become more open and welcoming.

Discussion questions are built into the films so that the sessions can be run very easily. Please do visit the website to learn more about Sycamore and to view two sample sessions: www.sycamore.fm.

We hope that many communities will want to use Sycamore in their evangelisation and catechesis in the months ahead. One parish catechist gave this testimony about her experience: ‘Sycamore has been an overwhelming joy for many people, it has enabled them to open their hearts and to share their faith in ways they never imagined possible. Many people who were reluctant to speak about faith openly, have gained confidence and trust through participation in the discussion topics, and have been amazed at the difference it makes to their prayer life, to their understanding of scripture, and to their desire to develop a personal relationship with Jesus. This is for us a grace-filled and blessed moment in the life of our parish, the foundations go very deep in these groups and friendships develop and grow each year, and it’s wonderful to witness people’s growth in faith and commitment to the Lord’.

Sycamore and the Cathedral My own spiritual journey is intertwined with the life of Westminster Cathedral. When I was an atheist teenager without any faith in God, something drew me to visit the Cathedral. I wandered round without much understanding but with a sense of the beauty of the building and even of the silent presence of God. In my gap year before university, I worked round the corner for a book publisher in Eccleston Square. I’d visit the Cathedral during my lunch breaks, popping in for a moment of prayer, or for lunchtime

I picked up a booklet about the priesthood. I can remember the seat I was sitting in as I read through the pages. It said that the priest was called to preach the Gospel, to lead people in prayer, and to care for God’s people as a loving shepherd. I thought to myself: ‘O God, that’s me…’, and the next day I applied to join the diocesan priesthood here in Westminster, my home diocese.

So when all these years later we were looking for a venue to film some of the Sycamore episodes in, it felt very natural to come to the Cathedral. I could speak from the heart about the importance of this place and the way God can speak to us through the faith that is celebrated in our Cathedral.

Last year we spent a day on the Piazza and in the nave of the Cathedral filming Episode 4, entitled ‘Who is Jesus?’ It was wonderful to speak about the death and resurrection of the Lord with the magnificent Cathedral crucifix hanging above me in the sanctuary.

This July, for the second series of films, we came back here to film a whole episode about the Mass. We got some great shots of Fr Julio celebrating the lunchtime Mass. I spoke about the presence of Christ in the community, in the scripture readings, and in the person of the priest. And then I went more deeply into the Real Presence and the Sacrifice of the Mass - with all the symbolism of the Cathedral around me.

We are very grateful to the Cathedral staff for their warm welcome and their openness to helping the Sycamore project. If you visit the website, you can watch Episode 4 from the Cathedral for free: just go to the ‘Leaders’ section and then click on ‘Sample Films, or visit: www.sycamore.fm/leaders/sample-films/ There is a 25% discount on Sycamore subscriptions to Oremus readers until the end of November with Coupon Code “OREMUS25” Some sections of this piece were adapted from an article published in the Westminster Record.

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PILGRIMAGE REPORT

Saints in South Wales Part I Louise Sage

It was his son, the 4th Marquess, who commissioned St Andrew’s Chapel here in the Cathedral, and then his son, the 5th Marquess of Bute, who in 1947 moved out of the castle and handed it over to the city and people of Cardiff in perpetuity. Of particular interest to us was the fact that two of the Welsh Martyrs, Frs John Lloyd and Philip Evans were imprisoned in the Black Tower of the Castle prior to their execution in 1679.

A warm Welsh welcome?

The month of July saw 22 of us, with our Chaplain, Fr Michael Donaghy, set out for Cardiff on the trail of the Saints and Martyrs of South Wales. The first stop was the city’s castle, an imposing first-century Roman fort where we were faced with a large red metal dragon, the symbol of Wales.

We then walked to St David’s Cathedral, where we were warmly welcomed by Archbishop George Stack (formerly Administrator of Westminster Cathedral 1993-2001). Before taking us into the Cathedral he showed us around ‘Cornerstone’, which had been a dilapidated Grade II listed building situated directly opposite the Cathedral, originally opened in 1855 as Ebenezer Presbyterian Chapel. Vacated in 2010 by its Welsh-speaking congregation as it required prohibitively expensive restoration, the chapel was purchased in 2012 by the Archdiocese of Cardiff with the help of a £1,500,000 Lottery Grant. With the vision of Archbishop George and his team, it was converted into a unique venue providing a flexible community hub for conferences, meetings, corporate hospitality, private parties or simply popping into the café. Around the building is a sensory garden for the blind and disabled.

The whole project is very impressive, having been officially opened by Prince Charles in December 2016.

In 2017 it was awarded the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ Wales Building Conservation Award. Mass

Having passed through the hands of many noble families over the years, the castle passed in in 1766 by marriage into the Bute family. John, the 2nd Marquess of Bute, was responsible for turning Cardiff into the world’s greatest coal exporting port. The castle and Bute fortune passed to his son John, the 3rd Marquess, who by the 1860s was reputed to be the richest man in Britain. He converted to Catholicism in 1868. From 1866 John employed the genius architect William Burges to transform the castle lodgings. Within gothic towers he created lavish and opulent interiors, rich with murals, stained glass, marble, gilding and elaborate wood carvings, each room having its own special theme, such as the Indian, Arabic and Chaucer rooms. The Marquess had four children who wanted for nothing, and the walls of their nursery were beautifully decorated with illustrations from English folklore and nursery rhymes, e.g. Robin Hood, Little Jack Horner and such. We enjoyed a wonderful tour of all the rooms, including the Chapel situated behind the Library.

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was then concelebrated in the Cathedral and we were privileged to be shown some of the its treasures by Canon Peter, the Dean.

Setting off the next day by coach to Tenby, 10 minutes’ drive outside Cardiff centre to Roath brought us to the Pwllhalog crossroads where Frs Philip Evans and John Lloyd were executed together in July 1679 in the middle of a field – today, of course, it is a busy town thoroughfare. Plaques, in Welsh and English, are situated high on a wall and there Fr Michael led us in prayer. Travelling via Carmarthen we found St Peter’s church (built in 1107 and one of the largest in the diocese of St David’s), where the Churchwarden, Nigel Evans, welcomed us and guided us through various points of interest in both the pre-and post-Reformation history of the building; Mrs Evans kindly provided us with liquid refreshment and Welsh cakes. Continuing towards Tenby, we stopped at St David’s and St Patrick’s Church in Haverfordwest. Built in 1871, it accommodated approximately 60 people, but an extension actually bigger than the original church has been built at the side. The parish priest, Fr Liam Bradley, is a former seminarian at the English College in Rome, and has been at St David’s for five years. His parents, uncle and aunt were part of our group and they have every reason to be proud of him. After a warm welcome he gave us a very informative 20-minute account of St David and his place in Wales before a concelebrated Mass. So by the evening we arrived in Tenby, a resort whose beach has just been declared the best in the United Kingdom for 2019 by the Sunday Times.

The Welsh Martyrs, part of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, were canonised by Pope St Paul VI on 25 October 1970, almost fifty years ago. Their names are included among those on the mosaic vault of the Chapel of St George and the English Martyrs in the Cathedral.

Although there were only six Welsh Martyrs out of the 40, this is quite a high proportion, considering that the population of Wales up to the 1800’s was never more than half a million souls.

St Richard Gwyn, c.1537-1584. Layman, Born: Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire, Executed: Beast Market, Wrexham; St John Jones, c.1530-1598. Franciscan, Born: Clynog Fawr, Caernarvon, Executed: Old Kent Road, London; St John Roberts, 1577-1610. Benedictine, Born: Rhiw Coch, Trawsfynydd, Executed: Tyburn, London; St Philip Evans, 1645-1679. Jesuit, Born: Monmouth, Executed: Pwllhalog, Cardiff; St John Lloyd, ?-1679. Jesuit, Born: Brecon, Executed: Pwwlhalog, Cardiff; St David Lewis, 1616-1679. Secular Priest, Born: Abergavenny, Executed: Usk, Monmouthshire.

Catholic Martyrs commemorated in Roath

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15

CATHEDRAL HISTORY

Let There Be Light Patrick Rogers Bentley wanted to break up the featureless expanse of the great arches on each side of the nave, which are essential to support the domes. So he built a pair of smaller, coupled arches into each one. Into the head of all but one of these new arches went a semicircular window of terracotta, of alternating pattern, with the enclosed glass panels forming fleur-de-lys and other flowers. Below it went a pair of the vertical round-headed windows with ‘bulls-eye’ glass, each containing a decorated panel different from its neighbour.

Only below the third dome, where the nave meets the transepts, is this scheme varied. Here the semicircular terracotta window is absent and there is a triangle of three vertical round-headed windows.

The chandelier in St Andrew’s Chapel, now with uplighter spots attached, illuminates both the beautiful fish scale mosaic of the vault and the mosaic of Constantinople with the church of Hagia Sophia dominating.

Providing appropriate lighting in a neo-Byzantine building the size of Westminster Cathedral posed very real problems both for the architect, John Francis Bentley, and for his successor, John Marshall. Whether or not they succeeded is a matter which only those using the Cathedral can judge.

Internally the Cathedral is 342ft long by 148ft wide and is surmounted by four shallow domes rising to 112ft, the last of these, above the sanctuary, being somewhat lower. Bentley’s objective was to provide sufficient daylight without putting in long rows of identical windows which could make the building look like a factory. So he decided to use two very different styles of windows, not always arranged in the same way and with a series of different patterns for the tracery and glazing. He chose a greenish glass, conscious that future decoration with mosaic and coloured marble would make anything approaching stained glass both unnecessary and inappropriate. But he had to override the objections of Cardinal Vaughan, founder of the Cathedral, who wanted something warmer in effect.

The sanctuary also has a semicircular window of terracotta at the head of the arch on either side, with a pair of vertical round-headed windows below. But the drum of the shallow dome above is itself pierced by a circle of 12 round-headed windows to provide additional light for this, the focal point of the Cathedral. Behind the sanctuary, the apse, which Bentley understood was to be used for the singing of the Divine Office, is amply provided with six round-headed windows facing East. Finally, twin recesses in the side chapels each enclose two or three windows containing leaded and patterned glass. Perhaps most attractive are the flower-like patterns in the Holy Souls Chapel, and St Andrew’s, where the white cross of the saint appears on an azure blue ground.

St Andrew’s cross, in white, stands out against the blue-tinted glass in the roundel surrounding it in the saint’s chapel.

Looking first above the main entrance doors, the head (tympanum) of the arch here is filled with a great horizontal semicircle of terracotta tracery, tailor-made by Doulton of Lambeth. Enclosed within this framework are leaded glass panels of tinted glass, arranged to resemble flowers. Below this great window Bentley inserted three contrasting vertical windows, round-headed and filled with serried ranks of lead-framed Venetian roundels or ‘bulls-eyes’. Though there are variations, including a few small, round windows, these are essentially the two styles chosen by him for the main windows of the Cathedral.

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CATHEDRAL HISTORY Bentley died in 1902, before the Next door, in the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, beams carry four silvered Cathedral was complete, and it fell bronze pendants in the form of a cross, to his successor, John Marshall, to each bearing a single light. The oil design the artificial lighting. The 12 lamp before the statue was designed by great electric light pendants in the nave Osmund Bentley, the architect’s son. At were made of wrought iron by Singers the other end of the Cathedral, the four of Frome. Although put in place in light pendants, the four light pendants early 1909, they were not used until in both the Chapel of Ss Gregory and 1912 when their cost of £2,005 (about Augustine and that of the Holy Souls £130,000 today) was finally met. They are virtually identical and have been resemble descriptions of the circular compared with Byzantine jewellery. pendants which carried oil lamps in From a frame of burnished bronze hang the Emperor Justinian’s sixth-century six shaded little lamps and droplets Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia in of semi-precious stone around a blue Constantinople (now Istanbul). The top enamel medallion showing a dove. ring is six feet in diameter and carries A nave chandelier in daytime mode with But the most Byzantine of all must be 15 lamps, the next bears 10 and the the two lower rings lit. the simple pierced bronze chandelier lowest and smallest three, each ring hanging in St Andrew’s Chapel, with the clouds of heaven in being independently controlled. The six pendants in the gold mosaic above. Imagine olive oil and a burning taper in sanctuary follow a similar design but are considerably smaller each of its nine glass beakers, and you are back in the age of and gilt. the Emperor Justinian.

The Byzantine-style lighting of the Lady Chapel consists Just before his death, Bentley wrote: ‘The westernmost of eight chandeliers of silvered copper suspended from dome is in strong light which streams through a large lunette bronze cantilevers. Each is in the form of a corona or crown, window … The dome of the next is deeper in mysterious pierced and decorated, and suspended from a star. Below shadows; the third is still more so; while the sanctuary dome hang medallions pierced with fleur-de-lys and bearing four is brilliantly lighted by the 12 windows around its drum, so electric lamps, with a fifth in the centre attached to an oval that our attention is led up to and powerfully focused upon medallion displaying Our Lady’s monogram. On the other the high altar’. As for Marshall, he was determined that that side of the Cathedral the eight light pendants in the Blessed his designs should be both true to the Byzantine tradition Sacrament Chapel are very different, being in the form of and up to Bentley’s standards. The twin lines of great, gaunt bronze gilt diamonds, pierced and enamelled with Alpha chandeliers which march up the nave to the brilliantly lit and Omega symbols and coloured diamonds. They carry five sanctuary, and the delicate enamelled pendants to be seen electric lights, the lowest attached to a cross. The three silver hanging in the side chapels, form the basis on which his oil lamps suspended before the tabernacle are decorated with work on the Cathedral lighting can be judged. blue and green enamel and set with onyx and rock crystal.

A 'bulls eye’ window in the Shrine of the Sacred Heart; a square of bottle glass within the circle gives way to expanding circles and then to rectangles and diamond formations towards the edge.

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MONTHLY ALBUM

Sr Joanina Moves

© Diocese of Westminster

A gathering in Clergy House Common Room saw a corporate farewell and presentation to Sr Joanina, who has spent three years here at the Cathedral. Religious life is based on obedience, submitting to the disciplines of community life and accepting the decisions of community as to where and how one should serve. As Sister moves on in her membership of the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories, we assure her both of prayer and of gratitude for her cheerful commitment which has shone through during her time here. The sisters are best known to weekday Massgoers, but their greatest contribution to the Cathedral is in the prayer which they quietly and persistently offer for us all. Left to right: Sr Joanina, Sr Celeste (Sister in Charge) and Sr Francisca.

Putting the Tea in Tea Dance It is beyond the editor’s photographic skills worthily to capture the dramatic poses displayed on the dance floor of Cathedral Hall during August’s Charity Tea Dance organised by the Filipino Club, but the work creating sandwiches behind the scenes offered a simpler subject.

Both sexes were well-represented among the crowd, although it might be noted that the ladies had taken perhaps a little more trouble with their outfits for the dance.

Losing a 20 year-old

Off Surfing?

This summer sees Ian Aitkenhead (pictured at the Music Department’s Summer Party) leaving the choir after no less than 20 years’ service as an alto Lay Clerk, as he moves on to Law School, a long-held ambition. Experience suggests, however, that lay clerks who leave do not disappear never to be seen again and Ian joins the Deputies’ list, in which capacity we look forward to hearing him again when the Law spares him.

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The past, it is said, is another country; they do things differently there. One person off to what is a bit like another country – it has its own language – is Michael Butterfield (seen here with the Master of Music), whom we were pleased to have as an additional Organ Scholar and who has been helping out regularly both on the organ and as a Sunday cantor. He goes to Truro Cathedral in Cornwall as acting Assistant Director of Music. Somehow Cornwall does feel a very long way away – once over the River Tamar the train seems to slow down to 25mph – but Truro has a lively cultural scene and, Michael being a Sydneysider, we hope he will be able to explore the South-West’s surf.

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New Faces

Although there are no changes in the College of Chaplains this September, there are a number of new appointments among the lay staff. Pictured are (left to right) Peter McNulty, the Cathedral Manager, with Andrew Grange, the new Head of Security and Glynn McNiven, formerly

the manager of the CTS Bookshop on the piazza, who now takes over the running of the Gift Shop and its associated activities. Fr Daniel is joined in the picture by Matteo Di Guiseppe, a seminarian whom we were pleased to host for a fortnight.

Talent at the Fair

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© Neil McLaughlan

The Cathedral Summer Fair produces an almost bewildering miscellany of goods and services, so that everyone is likely to find something that might catch their eye and their purse.

The hungry and thirsty were well-supplied, but the camera’s eye was caught by the nail bar doing brisk trade. Several people were persuaded to pose with what looked like a pin cushion bearing the legend 'Hug Me’; photos are available on application at the Oremus office. More seriously, the Fair produced an extremely creditable profit of £5,799 for the Cathedral. Thanks go to all who worked and donated to achieve this result.

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MOVING ON

Lessons I Have Learnt Jonathan Allsopp At the time of writing, 51 have been sung, with the remaining 17 spread over the coming autumn term. I have also curated another year-long project of Tournemire’s complete L’Orgue mystique. So you can make of the scholarship what you want (although some of my more harebrained schemes have been duly ignored by colleagues).

Shortly after my predecessor, Alex Pott, left Westminster Cathedral, he wrote a farewell article for Oremus, with advice for his successors as Organ Scholar, a unique and multi-faceted role in the life of the Cathedral. In honour of this, I have put together my own advice to my successor.

2. Having never properly experienced Catholic liturgy before starting here, and in particular having never really worked with plainsong and its four-line notation, it does click eventually! It’ll take a while, and I still find some things confusing, but eventually you’ll be able to harmonise a Vespers antiphon, an Introit for a feast day, or with some effort, even an Alleluia verse - until the Assistant Master of Music comes over and corrects a few things.

Sorry, Peter…

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5. Sunday lunch with the chaplains is always a highlight of the week. The scholar’s responsibility is to pour the wine, so you can also top up your own glass as and when you like, although be sure that you’re not playing for Vespers or the Sunday organ recital, of course! © Necrothesp

1. Morning Prayer does not get any easier. Unfortunately, getting up routinely just after 7am, jumping in the shower, and then making your way downstairs while distinctly lacking in caffeination or energy to play an (albeit quite simple) service is not something one gets used to. Sometimes the alarm goes off, you give yourself 5 minutes snoozing and, before you know it, it’s 7.35am. So you lunge for the nearest white shirt (if you don’t own any white shirts, you will need an entire wardrobe dedicated to them), sprint downstairs, grab your Morning Prayer folder from your locker and throw on a cassock (which will have far too many buttons to do up in a rush) and cotta. Turning on the Lady Chapel organ reveals that it is a bit too much out of tune for comfort, while you attempt to figure out whether it’s Wednesday of Week 3 or the Memoria of [insert obscure saint’s name], play in whichever chaplains have braved the early rise, and then play almost certainly the tune ‘Melcombe’ for the 14th time this week. And it’s only Wednesday…

Jonathan’s new workplace, the choir of Southwell Minster

3. Compared to my previous four years in Anglican cathedrals, the playing load at Westminster is comparatively lighter; no Stanford in C or the day’s psalms to accompany every day in Anglican chant. Instead there is a bit of continuo score-reading and plainsong accompaniment! So make use of the extra time, and learn as much repertoire as you can; in future people will certainly thank you!

4. It’s very much a job with scope for doing your own thing and contributing in many different ways, not just sitting at the organ console or turning pages! In my two years, I’ve been fortunate to have been given a lot of free rein with some badgering of the Master and Assistant Master of Music! I organised sponsorship for last year’s Grand Organ Festival, set up the inaugural Cathedral Composition Competition and curated a project to perform all of Palestrina’s 68 Offertory motets over the course of a year, editing all of them myself.

6. You’ll spend an inordinate amount of time in the Assistant Master of Music’s office watching Mass from Lourdes. You’ll have things to be getting on with, and then, half an hour later...

It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that these past two years have included some of the most enjoyable and enriching experiences of my life.

From playing for a choir concert on the newly-installed organ at Buckfast Abbey, to playing Messiaen’s epic Messe de la Pentecôte on Pentecost, to working day-in, day-out with one of the world’s finest choirs, and indeed the finest Catholic choir in the world, I shall dearly miss working in this remarkable building. No doubt I will pop back whenever I’m nearby; I’ve already got my ticket for November’s performance of the late Jean Guillou’s extraordinary La Révolte des Orgues.

In September, I start at Assistant Director of Music at Southwell Minster, the Anglican cathedral for Nottinghamshire. I’m greatly looking forward to getting back into the swing of daily Evensong, exploring the town’s nine pubs (by contrast, it has no banks), and discovering whether I shall settle on pronouncing it ‘Suthull’ or ‘South-well’.

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September 2019

CATHEDRAL HISTORY

Cathedral History: A Pictorial Record The Opening of the Cathedral Treasures Exhibition - July/August 1955 Paul Tobin These showcases were specially contrived in the shallow cupboards which were already part of the furnishings of the sacristy and situated above the vesting table used by the Cardinal Archbishop, the Papal Nuncio, the Auxiliary Bishops of the diocese and any other bishop celebrating Mass. Above the showcases hung two ‘Westminster Paintings’, as referred to by the Westminster Cathedral Chronicle of the time. These were the organ case doors from the church of San Bartolomeo in Vicenza, Italy and came from Norfolk House in St James’s Square which was demolished in 1938.

These paintings were sold in the late 1960s and have never been replaced.

The Cardinal Howard set of plate (in the far left cabinet) was formerly the property of Cardinal Edward Henry Howard (1829-92) and was presented for the use of the future Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Herbert Vaughan, in 1893; items from this collection are only used by the Archbishop in the Cathedral.

Other items referred to specifically are the English-made chalice of 1529 which was used for the first time in many years on Maundy Thursday this year and the Sicilian silver-gilt chalice of 1691. Its cast base shows figures in purgatory, beneath a representation of Christ

feeding the 5,000, its knop is formed of angels and the calyx (cup) is cast with a representation of the Last Supper. This, too, has been returned to use recently.

Also on display were the silver gold pyx, the only known Catholic plate of the reign of Charles I and a rare example of English Catholic hallmarked plate, and a cruet set of 1822, which was recently on loan to the V&A Museum.

A Spanish monstrance of 1620, with a figure of St Dominic at the top, was only used on the Feast of Corpus Christi for the procession of the Blessed Sacrament after High Mass. Finally, the manual used by Queen Mary Tudor for the royal blessing is the one which was dedicated to the exercise of quasi-

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sacerdotal powers attributed in ancient days to the sovereigns of England. These included the blessing of Cramp Rings as a protection against the ‘falling sickness’ (epilepsy), a practice which seems to have originated from the holy ring of St Edward the Confessor. This, along with a number of other exhibits, are now housed in the current Cathedral Treasures exhibition, situated in the gallery at the back of the Cathedral, with its entrance beside the Gift Shop.

The Cathedral plate exhibition attracted over 2,500 visitors in its first few weeks, according to the October 1955 edition of the Cathedral Chronicle.

Sources: Westminster Cathedral Chronicle, September and October 1955 editions.

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September 2019

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21

CALLED TO THE BENCH/ THE ASSUMPTION IN PARIS

A Welcome to the Organ Scholar Born in Northampton, Callum Alger was a chorister and then later Organ Scholar at the wonderful church of St Matthew, with its fine tradition of art and music. Following his time there, he moved on to an Organ Scholarship at Portsmouth Cathedral (in conjunction with the Portsmouth Grammar School), before beginning four years of higher education at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, which he recently completed with 1st-class Honours after studying the organ with Henry Fairs and choral conducting with Paul Spicer. During his studies, he was accompanist to the critically-acclaimed Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir directed

by Paul Spicer, with a notable performance on BBC Radio 3 under the direction of John Rutter. He was also fortunate enough to spend a semester in Leipzig under the tutelage of Professor Martin Schmeding at the Musikhochschule, receiving lessons on some of the finest instruments in the world.

Alongside his studies, Callum fulfilled the role of Director of Music at St Thomas’ Church, Stourbridge, before moving on to become Assistant Director of Music, and latterly Acting Director at St Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton,

where he directed the separate choirs at their three sung services each week, taking them to perform in a variety of venues, including Durham Cathedral, York Minster and Westminster Abbey. He has performed extensively as a soloist in the UK, winning first prize at the IAO/RCO Organ Playing Competition (2018) in Peterborough, and the Dame Gillian Weir Messiaen Competition (2018) in Birmingham, and was twice a finalist in the Northern Ireland International Organ Competition (2015, 2016).

Recital venues have included both the Anglican and Catholic cathedrals in Birmingham, Liverpool Metropolitan, Wells, Westminster and Winchester cathedrals; college chapels in Oxford and Cambridge; he has also given recitals as part of music festivals in St David’s (Wales), Hexham, St Albans (International Organ Festival), and at the annual Bloomsbury Organ Day (2019). His debut CD Klangreden has recently been released on the Regent label, featuring Lutheran chorale-based repertoire on the Garnier organ at the University of Birmingham, and the Walker organ at St Chad's Cathedral. Callum is an Associate of both the Royal College of Organists and Trinity College, London, and has performed on BBC Radio 4's Sunday Worship.

He reports that he is delighted to have been appointed as the Organ Scholar here at the Cathedral, and looks forward very much to becoming part of the Cathedral community.

A Consecration Renewed Exactly four months after the fire that devastated NotreDame Cathedral, the Archdiocese of the French capital held the traditional procession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Feast of the Assumption. Beginning at the Pont Saint-Louis, several hundred faithful, praying the Rosary and singing the Ave Maria, processed to the Church of Saint-Sulpice, where Archbishop Michel Aupetit celebrated the Solemn Mass.

At its conclusion, the Rector of Notre-Dame, Mgr Paul Chauvet, read a message sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, on behalf of Pope Francis. The message assured the faithful of Paris of the Pope's ‘spiritual closeness’. It read: ‘Like a true mother, Mary walks with us, struggles with us, and tirelessly spreads the closeness of the love of God. She shares the history of every people that has received the Gospel and now participates in their historical identity’.

The Holy Father also asks God, through the intercession of Our Lady, that the reconstruction of her architectural jewel might be a powerful sign of the rebirth and 22

revitalization of the faith of those who have faith in him: ‘Full of hope, they will be for their families, for their communities, and in the places they live, builders of a new humanity rooted in Christ’.

During the celebration of the liturgy, Archbishop Aupetit, in keeping with tradition, renewed the vow of King Louis XIII, consecrating France to the Blessed Virgin. The vow was originally made on 10 February 1638.

Here in England the Dowry Tour organised by the Basilica in Walsingham continues, working its way towards the rededication in 2020 of this country as Our Lady’s Dowry.

Unlike the dedication made by King Richard II in 1381, it will not be the gift of the country of England, but the personal gift of the faith of the people of England to the Mother of God, to seek her help in building a strong spiritual foundation for the New Evangelisation. We call upon Our Lady to guide and protect our country in the years to come, that our people may work together to face the challenges of our times, as we work to build a Common Good.

Oremus

September 2019

FIFTY AND ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO

In retrospect: from the Cathedral Chronicle Edward Hutton As we go to Press we learn of the death at the age of 94 of Mr Edward Hutton: a most distinguished Catholic, man of letters and connoisseur. Mr Hutton was a great lover of Westminster cathedral but a merciless critic of any decorative work which he did not think worthy of it.

It was he who in 1935 persuaded Cardinal Hinsley to put a stop to the Pownall mosaic in the great Apse, and it was again he who in 1954 persuaded Cardinal Griffin to put back in the North Transept the verde antico column which had been removed from there. The enduring monument to Mr Hutton’s love and interest in the Cathedral will be the beautiful cosmati pavement he designed for St Paul’s Chapel (The Times obituary incorrectly attributes to him the pavement in St Joseph’s Chapel, which was designed

by Professor E W Tristram).

Confessions at Westminster Cathedral It is well known that thousands of people come throughout the year to the Cathedral for Confession. Shortly after he came here as Administrator, Mgr Gordon Wheeler (now Bishop of Leeds) introduced the custom, still continued, of having a priest on duty in the Cathedral each day from 6.30 in the morning until 9 o’clock at night. On Saturdays, Sundays, Eves of Holydays, First Fridays and during Holy Week amongst other times, extra confessors are also available. Catholics not only from the Westminster Diocese, but from our neighbouring Dioceses and further afield, and visitors from abroad, including many priests, come to the Cathedral for Confession.

[The Information on Cathedral Services in the News Sheet notes that: ‘A confessor is on duty at all times when the Cathedral is open (on Sundays from 0645 and not between 1300 and 1400. Before 0930 on weekdays the confessional in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel is used).] from the September 1969 Westminster Cathedral News Sheet Edwin H Burton continues his comments on the view from the Cathedral Tower, now looking northwards: St James’s Palace has many Catholic memories. Its dedication dates from before the Reformation, when a hospital was founded here under the patronage of St James, for ‘fourteen maidens that were leprous’. Leprosy was still rife in London, and this site, removed from the September 2019

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City in what was then a country spot, was a convenient refuge for these afflicted girls. But Henry VIII seized and suppressed the hospital, annexed the present park, walled it round and connected it with his palace at Whitehall … Here at St James’s, Henry’s unhappy daughter, Queen Mary, died lonely and disappointed, leaving the short-lived reconciliation of England with the Holy See to be undone

by Elizabeth.

Two other catholic Queens in later times made their home at St James’s: Catherine of Braganza, who led a holy and innocent life in the dissolute court of Charles II, and Mary of Modena, the Queen of James II. Queen Catherine built here a chapel and friary for the Capuchins who accompanied her to England as her chaplains, and here the holy Dominican, Philip Howard, afterwards cardinal, lived as her almoner. Pepys, with characteristic curiosity, induced the lord Almoner to show him over the new Friary one January day in 1667, and he has left in his diary an account of all that he saw there, including a relic of the Holy Cross which he minutely describes. ‘I saw the dortoire and the cells of the priests, and went into one; a very pretty little room, very clean, hung with pictures and set with books. The priest was in his cell with his hairclothes to his skin, bare-legged with a sandal only on, and his little bed without sheets and no feather bed, but yet I thought soft enough … A pretty library they have, and I was in the refectoire, where every man his napkin, knife, cup of earth and basin of the same; and a place for one to sit and read while the rest are at meals.’ Altogether, he was quite pleased, and ends: ‘I wished myself one of the Capuchins’.

On another occasion he heard a Portuguese sermon in the Queen’s Chapel. Though Catholic rites, even in private, were then forbidden by the law, in the Queen’s Chapel they were carried out with dignity and solemnity. On Sundays and holidays High Mass and Vespers were sung and sermons preached. So large became the attendance of Catholics at these services that in 1674 a proclamation was issued forbidding any of the King’s subjects to attend Mass in this chapel, or any Embassy chapel, and ordaining that: ‘any Papist who should dare to enter the palaces of Whitehall or St James’s should be sent to gaol’. Catholics were even forbidden to walk in St James’s Park. from Looking Towards the North in the September 2019 Westminster Cathedral Chronicle 23

DIARY

2019

St Peter Claver 1580 – 1654 (feast day 9 September) was born in Spain and entered the Jesuit order. Coming under the influence of St Alphonsus Rodriguez, he decided to devote himself to the salvation of souls. In 1610 he sailed to Cartagena (modern Colombia), a centre for the slave trade, and made it his business to visit the slave ships as soon as they arrived in port. Caring for both physical and spiritual needs, he offered food and medicine as well as instruction in the Faith and the Sacraments. Credited with bringing some 300,000 souls into the Church, he also visited the plantations to which slaves were sent, where he worked both for humane treatment of slaves and for abolition of the trade.

The Month of

September Holy Father’s Prayer Intention: Universal: Young People in Africa That politicians, scientists and economists work together to protect the world’s seas and oceans.

St Peter Claver in stained glass at St Stephen’s church, Chesapeake, USA

Thursday 5 September Feria Choral Services resume

Friday 6 September Friday abstinence Feria

Saturday 7 September Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday 2.30pm Malta Day Mass

Sunday 8 September Sunday 1 September

Ps Week 2 22nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Anniversary of the death of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, 10th Archbishop of Westminster 10.30am Solemn Mass 4.30pm Solemn Vespers (English) and Benediction 4.30pm Deaf Service Mass (Cathedral Hall)

Monday 2 September Feria

Tuesday 3 September ST GREGORY THE GREAT, Pope & Doctor

Wednesday 4 September St Cuthbert, Bishop

Ps Week 3 23rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir) Palestrina – Missa brevis Howells – Salve Regina Guerrero – O sacrum convivium Organ: J S Bach – Contrapunctus XI (Art of Fugue) 3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Lassus – Magnificat septimi toni Dupré – O salutaris hostia Organ: Franck – Chorale no 1 in E major 4.45pm Organ Recital: Andrew Furniss, Methodist Central Hall, Westminster

Monday 9 September Feria (St Peter Claver, Priest)

Monday 16 September Ss Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

Tuesday 17 September Feria (St Robert Bellarmine, Bishop & Doctor)

Wednesday 18 September

Wednesday 11 September

Thursday 19 September

Most Holy Name of Mary 3.30pm St George’s School, Weybridge 150th Anniversary Vespers 7pm Friends’ Talk in Cathedral Hall – ‘Henry VIII: The Decline and Fall of a Tyrant’ by Robert Hutchinson

Friday 13 September Friday abstinence St John Chrysostom, Bishop & Doctor

Saturday 14 September

© John Hamilton

Ps Week 4 24th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 9.30am – 1.30pm SVP Book Sale in Cathedral Hall 10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir) Mozart – Spatzenmesse (K 220) G Gabrieli – Iubilate Deo omnis terra Hassler – O sacrum convivium Organ: Dupré – Toccata (Symphonie II) 3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Bevan – Magnificat sexti toni Rossini – O salutaris hostia Organ: Duruflé – Fugue sur le Carillon de Soissons 4.45pm Organ Recital: Alexander Hamilton (Westminster Abbey)

Feria

Tuesday 10 September

Thursday 12 September

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Sunday 15 September

Feria 5.30pm Cathedral Volunteers attend Mass 7.30pm Grand Organ Festival Recital: Yves Castagnet (Notre Dame de Paris)

Feria 6.30pm Friends’ Tour – Cathedral and Tower

St Cuthbert’s tomb is behind the site of the high altar in Durham Cathedral

© Nheyob

SEPTEMBER

THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS Veneration of the Relics of the True Cross after 8, 9, 10.30 and 12.30 Masses 10.30am Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre attend Mass 4pm Extraordinary Form Mass (Lady Chapel) 6pm Visiting Choir: Our Lady, St John’s Wood

Feria (St Januarius, Bishop & Martyr)

Friday 20 September Friday abstinence Ss Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Priest, Paul Chong Ha-sang & Companions, Martyrs 2.30pm Richard Challoner School 60th Anniversary Mass

Saturday 21 September ST MATTHEW, Apostle & Evangelist 2.30pm John Bradburne Memorial Society Mass Sunday 22 September Ps Week 1 25th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir) Byrd – Mass for Four Voices Croce – Buccinate in neomenia tuba Byrd – Ave verum corpus Organ: J S Bach – Prelude and Fugue in E major (BWV 566) 3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Oremus

September 2019

DIARY AND NOTICES Palestrina – Magnificat quarti toni Tallis – In manus tuas Organ: Franck – Prière 4.45pm Organ Recital: Peter YardleyJones (Swiss Church, London)

3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Victoria – Magnificat septimi toni Elgar – O salutaris hostia in F Organ: Elgar – Andante espressivo (Sonata in G) No Organ Recital 5.30pm International Mass (Cardinal Vincent)

Monday 23 September St Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest

Monday 30 September

© and.Martire

St Jerome, Priest & Doctor

Padre Pio in bronze, at Pedace

Tuesday 24 September Our Lady of Walsingham

Wednesday 25 September Feria 6.45pm Friends’ Tour – Cathedral Sacristy

Thursday 26 September Feria (Ss Cosmas & Damian)

Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday (St Wenceslaus, Martyr; St Lawrence Ruiz & Companions, Martyrs) 9.30am – 4pm Divine Mercy Day of Prayer

Sunday 29 September

Ps Week 2 26th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir) Dove – Missa brevis MacMillan – A New Song Elgar – Ave verum corpus Organ: Widor – Moderato (Symphonie VII) September 2019

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© Didier Descouens

Saturday 28 September

Public Services: The Cathedral opens shortly before the first Mass of the day; doors close at 7.00pm, Monday to Saturday, with occasional exceptions.

On Sunday evenings the Cathedral closes after the 7.00pm Mass. On Public and Bank Holidays the Cathedral closes at 5.30pm in the afternoon.

Monday to Friday: Masses: 7.00am; 8.00am; 10.30am (Latin, said); 12.30pm; 1.05pm and 5.30pm (Solemn, sung by the Choir). Morning Prayer (Lady Chapel): 7.40am. Evening Prayer (Latin Vespers* sung by the Lay Clerks in the Lady Chapel): 5.00pm (*except Tuesday when it is sung in English). Rosary is prayed after the 5.30pm Mass.

Saturday: Masses: 8.00am; 9.00am; 10.30am (Solemn Latin, sung by the Choir); and 12.30pm.

Morning Prayer (Lady Chapel): 10.00am. First Evening Prayer of Sunday (Lady Chapel): 5.30pm.

First Mass of Sunday: 6.00pm.

Sunday: Masses: 8.00am; 9.00am; 10.30am (Solemn, sung by the Choir); 12 noon; 5.30pm; and 7.00pm. Morning Prayer (Lady Chapel) 10.00am.

Solemn Vespers and Benediction: 3.30pm. Organ Recital (when scheduled): 4.45pm.

Holy Days of Obligation: As Monday-Friday, Vigil Mass (evening of the previous day) at 5.30pm.

Public Holidays: Masses: 10.30am, 12.30pm, 5.00pm.

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: This takes place in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel every Monday to Friday following the 1.05pm Mass, until 4.45pm.

Confessions are heard at the following times: Saturday: 10.30am-6.30pm. Sunday: 11.00am1.00pm; and 4.30-7.00pm. Monday-Friday: 11.30am-6.00pm. Public Holidays: 11.00am1.00pm.

Sacred Heart Church, Horseferry Road SW1P 2EF: Sunday Mass 11.00am, Weekday Mass Thursday 12.30pm Funerals: Enquiries about arranging a funeral at the Cathedral or Sacred Heart Church, Horseferry Road, should be made to a priest at Cathedral Clergy House in the first instance.

Throughout the Year

Friday 27 September Friday abstinence St Vincent de Paul, Priest 2.15pm Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School Foundation Day Mass

What Happens and When

St Jerome beneath the Assumption of the Virgin in Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

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.

Mondays: 11.30am: Prayer Group in the Hinsley Room. 1.30pm: Legion of Mary Group II in the Hinsley Room. 6.30pm: Guild of the Blessed Sacrament in the Cathedral Tuesdays: Walsingham Prayer Group in St George’s Chapel 2.30pm on first Tuesday of the month; 6.30pm: The Guild of St Anthony in the Cathedral.

Wednesdays: 12.00pm: First Wednesday Quiet Days on the first Wednesday of every month in the Hinsley Room.

Thursdays: 1.15pm: Padre Pio Prayer Group at Sacred Heart Church. 6.30pm: The Legion of Mary in Clergy House.

Fridays: 5.00pm: Charismatic Prayer Group in the Cathedral Hall – please check in advance for confirmation.

Saturdays: 10.00am: Centering Prayer Group in the Hinsley Room. 2.00pm: Justice and Peace Group in the Hinsley Room on the last of the month.

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CROSSWORD AND POEM

That there remain no memory Kathryn Southworth Reminding us always of the Magdalene and her ointment jar from Egypt’s Alabaston, our homespun version started off in Keuper Maris, that onetime midlands lake, retreating to leave a limey mud, a stone white and delicate, tinged with gold brown and soft as soap for kervers’ workings, turned out into artefacts to export, commodities cheap as chips, but the artisans enjoyed its ease, and the subtleness of the material, and loved it for its inner light, the glow brought out by candles through the red and blue of drapery, the gold filigree of clasps and crowns, the white and green of daisies the virgin always stood upon.

Alan Frost June 2019

Clues Across 1 St Catherine -------, to whom Our Lady gave instructions for the creation of the Miraculous Medal (7) 6 London district within the sound of whose bells Cockneys are traditionally born (3) 8 Plea that one was not at the scene of a crime at the time it occurred (5) 9 Girl’s name, that of a wife of King David (7) 10 When 12 Down is celebrated and sung (5) 11 Ordinal number of the September Feast Day of Our Lady’s birth (6) 13 Candle-holder usually on a nave or sanctuary wall (6) 15 Early Pope and Saint (d. 657), a name taken by three other popes (6) 17 Thomas À ------, 15thc. monk, author of major devotional work The Imitation of Christ (6) 20 Mount where the Ten Commandments were given to Moses (5) 21 ‘Agnus Dei’, ‘--- ---- of God’ (3,4) 23 ‘Laborare est -----‘, ‘to work is to pray’ (5) 24 Man’s name, that of a son of Jacob (3) 25 Field workers (angels) who will gather the harvest (at end of time) in Christ’s parable (7) Clues Down 1 Native people of part of the Holy Land (8) 2 Being reverent in church or practising the cello! (6) 3 ‘---- Major’ star constellation also known as ‘The Great Bear’ (4) 4 Animal symbol of St John the Evangelist (5) 5 A slender turret, perhaps one of four, at the top of a church tower (8) 6 St Hildegard of ------, visionary, composer, Doctor of the Church, Feast Day 17 Sept. (6) 7 Sunday commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles (4) 12 Liturgical service of the last three days of Holy Week (8) 14 Saint of Vercelli (4thc.), sought with St Athanasius to counter the Arian heresy (8) 16 Leader of Riots (hence name) that nearly caused death of Bishop Challoner [tomb in Cathedral] (6) 18 European city whose cathedral is dedicated to St Vitus (6) 19 The answer is a direction to a different clue! (5) 20 Thomas, London-born poet (plaque in Cheapside), a major work I Remember I Remember (4) 22 Book of the Old Testament (4)

Some of their work stayed home, no doubt, since in one day of little Edward’s reign three boats-full were shipped to France, making a killing from the purge of idols.

But Westminster’s lady was homesick five hundred years.

You’d know her anywhere for a Nottingham lass, for the intricate folds of her dress with its fragments of colouring, her long, long fingers, and the child’s slender limbs and fine baby hair, her smooth, translucent face unpainted.

Safe in our keeping now, taking our name, in despite of that fierce reformers’ Act: to take away, utterly extinct and destroy all shrines, pilgrimages, superstition, so that there remain no memory of the same.

I watch the candles flicker once again.

ANSWERS Across: 1 Labouré 6 Bow 8 Alibi 9 Abigail 10 Night 11 Eighth 13 Sconce 15 Eugene 17 Kempis 20 Horeb 21 The Lamb 23 Orare 24 Dan 25 Reapers Down: 1 Lebanese 2 Bowing 3 Ursa 4 Eagle 5 Pinnacle 6 Bingen 7 Whit 12 Tenebrae 14 Eusebius 16 Gordon 18 Prague 19 Other 20 Hood 22 Ezra

26

To submit a poem whether by yourself or another for Registered Charity number 272899 consideration, please contact the Editor – details on page 3.

Oremus

September 2019

REHOUSING PARLIAMENT

A Demolition Protested SAVE Britain’s Heritage

© Arpingstone

(most notably Hopkins offering to amend his own Portcullis House), Richmond House is absolutely the last one that should be thrown away unsustainably and replaced with a more energy intensive, carbon-embodied new footprint’.

Richmond House on Whitehall

The chair of the Cathedral Architects Association, Jane Kennedy, and 13 of its members, have signed a letter to The Times urging Parliament to consider alternatives to the ‘needlessly destructive’ plans to demolish Richmond House for a temporary MPs’ chamber. Its architect, Sir William Whitfield (1920 - 2019), was a leading cathedral architect, appointed Surveyor to St Paul's and also working at Canterbury, Hereford and St Albans.

Jane Kennedy, chairwoman of the Cathedral Architects Association, comments: ‘I have long admired Richmond House and consider it to be a unique contribution to the art and architecture of public buildings in the 20th century.

The proposed alterations would destroy its fine interiors and would be a huge waste of a good building. I am shocked and surprised that this is being proposed when there are plainly simpler and more exciting alternatives’. Marcus Binney, executive president of SAVE, concludes: ‘We are delighted to have such strong support from so many cathedral architects.

They are responsible for the care of many of the finest and most important buildings in Britain. We call on all those in government and Parliament promoting the virtual obliteration of grade II* listed Richmond House to withdraw their destructive proposals and look at the excellent, imaginative, sensitive and much cheaper alternative ways of providing a temporary House of Commons Chamber’.

Parliament is expected to submit a planning application for the demolition and redevelopment of Richmond House in autumn 2019.

The letter states that: ‘The demolition of virtually the entire building to provide a site for a Commons Chamber is needlessly destructive and we are urging Parliament and the government to consider alternatives … Whitfield was a talented creative designer with an architectural language of his own, and highly sensitive and responsive to context. Richmond House is one of the best civic buildings of its era’. Parliament’s Restoration and Renewal committee is currently drawing up plans largely to demolish Richmond House on Whitehall, built just 30 years ago, to make way for a new temporary chamber for MPs while the Palace of Westminster is being refurbished.

It is part of a publicly funded £1.6bn rebuilding programme of the 'Northern Estate.' SAVE has highlighted at least four alternative locations for the chamber within the parliamentary estate which would be less destructive, less expensive and more environmentally friendly than the current plans.

Andrew Arrol, architect to York Minister, who signed the letter said in a statement of support: ‘I am completely opposed to the idea of the demolition of this building and there must surely be many other alternative locations for a temporary home for MPs, and the Lords, when they have to vacate the Parliament building’. Jonathan Louth, architect to St George's Catholic Cathedral in Southwark, said: ‘Richmond House is not only as clever and fine as everyone states it to be, but is also one of the very few 12m wide, naturally lighted and potentially naturally ventilated buildings in Government use near Parliament. As such, given that there are viable alternatives that can be secured within the Whitehall cordon September 2019

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27

TYBURN’S LAST MARTYR

St Oliver Plunkett Honoured Anew

The life and death of St Oliver reveals to us the face of Christ. At the canonisation on 12 October 1975, Pope St Paul VI said that: ‘the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, is reflected and manifested in this new Saint’. He is ‘for the entire world, an authentic and outstanding example of the love of Christ ... He laid down his life out of love, and thereby freely associated himself in an intimate manner with the sufferings of Christ. Indeed, his dying words were: “Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Lord Jesus, receive my soul.”’ Historians tell us that Archbishop Oliver was a devoted shepherd, attentive to the sanctification of his clergy and enthusiastic for the education and Christian instruction of young people.

His message was one of peace and reconciliation. Pope St Paul VI described him as a ‘vigilant preacher of the Catholic faith’ and a ‘champion of pastoral charity’.

Four years later, Pope St John Paul II who, as Cardinal Archbishop of Cracow, had been to Oliver’s canonisation, came to Drogheda and venerated the new saint's relics. There he said: St Oliver: ‘was the defender 28

did expose my life to evident danger.

I do also forgive all those who had a hand in bringing me from Ireland to be tried here, where it is morally impossible for me to have a fair trial.

I do finally forgive all who did concur directly or indirectly to take away my life; and I ask forgiveness of all those whom I ever offended by thought, word or deed’.

© St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh

A statue of St Oliver Plunkett was recently unveiled at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh. Cast in bronze by Dublin-sculptor Dony MacManus, the 7-foot high statue depicts St Oliver at the moment of his martyrdom. He was appointed Archbishop of Armagh 350 years ago, in July 1669. For many years the people of Drogheda and the surrounding areas in Louth and Meath have faithfully kept his memory alive; St Peter's Church in Drogheda will continue to be Ireland’s National Shrine to St Oliver, where his relics are venerated. But he is now to be acknowledged in a special way in St Patrick’s Cathedral, and, through him, honour can be shown to all the martyrs of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Archbishop Martin blesses the new statue

of the oppressed and the advocate of justice, but he would never condone violence. For men of violence, his word was the word of the Apostle Peter: ”Never pay back one wrong with another” (1 Pt 3:9). As a martyr for the faith he sealed, by his death, the same message of reconciliation that he had preached during his life.

In his heart there was no rancour, for his strength was the love of Jesus, the love of the Good Shepherd who gives his life for his flock. His dying words were words of forgiveness for all his enemies”.

At the gallows in Tyburn, London, in 1681, Oliver began his final message by rejecting the fraudulent charges and false testimony that had been brought against him. But then, his words turned to forgiveness.

Archbishop Oliver said: ‘I do heartily forgive them, and also the judges, who by denying me sufficient time to bring my records and witnesses from Ireland

Blessing the new statue, Archbishop Eamon Martin observed that: ‘Jesus said to his disciples: ”If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you”. It is said Christians nowadays are not only being persecuted because of 'hatred of the faith’ (odium Fidei), but also because of ’hatred of love’ (odium amoris) – because they are standing up in the name of Christ for peace, reconciliation and justice, and in defence of the poor. Christians are being punished for witnessing to human rights and dignity; they are condemned in some places for reaching out to the exploited, to refugees and migrants, to travellers and to those on the margins of society; they are being insulted and ridiculed for speaking up for the lives of the most vulnerable and innocent, including the lives of unborn children. My prayer is that we will never forget St Oliver, and I hope that this new shrine will encourage us to be stronger in our faith, firmer in our hope and more active in our charity. In that way, we too shall be transformed more fully, day-by-day, into the likeness of Christ’.

St Oliver Plunkett has a particular significance in this country, as he was the last Catholic martyr to be put to death here, at Tyburn, after a notoriously unjust and rigged trial, which was condemned by King Charles II, who admitted that he knew St Oliver to be innocent, but did not dare to order his release. A major part of the saint’s relics may be venerated at Downside Abbey, near Bath.

Oremus

September 2019

THE FRIENDS OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL

Hidden Essex in the Heat of the Day Christina White

© Christina White

family thereafter seems to have lived a quieter life, keeping their heads down, and keeping their religion. There are proven links here with the celebrated musician and Catholic, William Byrd, and the house’s numerous priest holes bear testimony to the family’s support of the faith.

Angel guardians offer prayers and hold chalices in the Petre family’s Chantry Chapel

Rory O’Donnell, advisor to the Cathedral on all matters artistic and architectural, accompanied the Friends on the trip to Ingatestone Hall in July. Fr John Scott came down to Essex to celebrate Mass for us and then with regret had to hurry back to London for Cathedral duties. We were also joined by Br Gildas, our former editor of Oremus, who came over for the day from the Norbertine monastery, St Philip’s Priory, in Chelmsford.

Lord Petre, the 18th Baron and owner of Ingatestone Hall, met us at the gates and warmly welcomed the group. The house is rare in England, on account of its continuous association with one family through centuries of religious and political upheaval. The founder of the dynasty was Dr William Petre, one of Cromwell’s men, who as proctor was assigned the task of valuing the monasteries of the South East and allocating the spoils. He identified the site – in beautiful verdant countryside – as a choice location for his manor house; the true architectural representation of his ambition, brick by brick. William was a survivor in every sense. He was absolved from the Interdict of excommunication imposed on those who had so maliciously plundered the faith on condition that he built almshouses, which still stand today. William’s successor, John, was made a baron for his efforts but the September 2019

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Richard Hawker, the Cathedral’s new Head Sacristan, deserves a special mention for kitting us out with the most glorious and historic Mass items including a beautiful Tudor chalice and vestments decorated with pre-Reformation embroidery.

Ingatestone no longer has a chapel, so Mass was celebrated in the drawing room using a table that the family believe was used for Mass in penal times. It was very moving and we remembered Canon Christopher and prayed for his well-being and recovery from illness. We had arranged a ploughman’s lunch in the comfortable dining room – an expert move given the heat of the day – and then the group split into two for a guided tour of the house and grounds with our guides. We left reluctantly; scurrying for shade as the temperature soared.

Rory has been closely involved with efforts to save and restore the Petre family Chantry Chapel which is located a short distance from Ingatestone in Thorndon Country Park.

Our coach parked up, and those who were able to make the walk across stony and uneven ground set off for the chapel. We had collected the key from the park café and were not quite sure what to expect. After a short walk, we came across a barred gate and behind it, a stone chapel set back in a field of meadow grass. It was really beautiful and quite unexpected.

Rory, key in hand, opened the door and, with eyes adjusting to the darkness, we entered a magical space.

There has been some desecration and vandalism but the magnificent roof of the chantry is intact, a lovely

soaring vision of angels: cherubim and seraphim. Rory had, I think, rather underplayed the chapel during discussions as the day progressed and he was surprised but delighted at our positive response. We would not have missed this for anything.

Forthcoming Events Wednesday September 11: Friends’ Tour of the Cathedral and the Cathedral Tower. The tour will start at 6.30pm with drinks to follow.

Tickets £25 Thursday September 12: Henry VIII – The Decline and Fall of a Tyrant. A talk by historian Robert Hutchinson.

Cathedral Hall. 7pm. Tickets £10 Wednesday 25 September: A private tour of the Sacristy with Richard Hawker, who will be explaining his role and talking about some of the Cathedral’s greatest treasures and items of historical interest. Afterwards there will be refreshments in the Clergy House Library. Please come to Clergy House Reception for 6.30pm. The tour and talk will commence at 6.45pm. Tickets £25 Tuesday October 1: Friends’ Curry and Quiz in Cathedral Hall. Doors at 6.30pm and the quiz will begin at 6.45pm. Tickets £18 (please note that this replaces the previously advertised quiz on 24 September).

Contact us • Write to: Friends’ Office, 42 Francis Street, London SW1P 1QW • Call: 020 7798 9059 • Email: friends@ westminstercathedral.org.uk

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ST VINCENT DE PAUL PRIMARY SCHOOL

Saints in Mosaic – A New Saint: Blessed John Henry Newman Ellis

From a very young age I have been in the Cathedral. My brother was in my school and we had the privilege to sing in a choir, so I remember being brought here to see my brother sing. It wasn’t too long until I sang too, it was a lot of fun. Not just because we were singing songs we knew and loved, but because a silent church where people were praying and being respectful inside was now a happy, fun, place. We were also very happy to be on the altar because it’s a very holy place of worship.

When walking inside I’m always drawn to how large and long it is, like everyone else I’m also drawn to the cross hanging from the roof and I’m also drawn to how empty it feels inside. There are what look like holes in the roof and the aisles lead to different chapels with mosaics inside.

The Cathedral also feels very grand because it has so much marble and other materials and there are carvings in wood in the church. I like the Cathedral because it feels safe and it feels like somewhere that you can say anything to God. It is also very different since it is unfinished in the roof and the mosaics are still planned to be completed.

The Blessed John Henry Newman mosaic is on the corner of the chapel, He isn’t buried in the Cathedral nor was he an archbishop of Westminster. I mention that because nowadays people are bishops before becoming a Cardinal. The reason he was a Cardinal without being a bishop was that in Victorian times that wasn’t always so. Blessed John Henry isn’t a saint yet, but is due to become one in October. All the mosaics in the Cathedral are of saints.

Newman was born on 1 February 1801 and was a theologian and a poet. He founded the Oratory in England, was highly intelligent and an Anglican before becoming a Catholic priest and eventually a Cardinal. He was highly controversial because he changed from an Anglican to Catholic when people were prejudiced against Catholics.

He would answer criticism with famous quotes, for example: ‘Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt’ and one of his famous sayings is on his mosaic: ‘Prayer is a vital act of faith’. One of his famous writings is The Dream Of Gerontius about a dying man ready to face judgement for Heaven or Hell. It was put to music by Edward Elgar and has the words to the hymn Praise to the holiest in the height.

At the end of Mass on Wednesday 10 September 2008, Canon Christopher Tuckwell blessed the mosaic of Blessed John Henry Newman, which was designed and created by modern artist Tom Philips. The artist said: ‘I went to Trinity College in Oxford where there is a bust of Cardinal Newman 30

and drew inspiration from that. In the mosaic his eyes are closed, as I think of him as a man of inwardness and prayer’.

The mosaic of Henry Newman is beautiful. He is wearing red as a cardinal, showing a little bit of white lace which reminds us he’s a Victorian cardinal when the robes were made of watered silk and lace, and there is a cross behind him which is green and gold. John Henry also has his eyes closed and looks very graceful and focused in prayer.

I think Cardinal John Henry Newman deserves a place in Westminster Cathedral since he changed from Anglican to Catholic and made that popular. The whole country should be proud that he’s going to become a saint in October.

Oremus

September 2019

ATOMIC FALL-OUT

The Survival of Sisters A filmmaker from Québec in Canada, Alain Vézina, has received Special Recognition for his documentary Les Soeurs de Nagasaki, which tells the story of a group of Catholic nuns who survived the explosion of the atomic bomb dropped over Nagasaki some 74 years ago. The film was given the award at the Ninth International Uranium Film Festival, held in the cinema at Rio de Janeiro's prestigious Modern Art Museum.

many of which have never previously been released, show us how the prisoners not only witnessed the devastation caused by the bomb, but also acted to help the survivors, especially the children amongst them.

Many years later, some of the Canadian sisters succumbed to the long-term effects of radiation exposure, thereby joining the ranks of the 74,000 victims of the Nagasaki bomb. Alain Vézina commented: ‘It's a subject that has been in my head for a number of years, but I always had other projects. But it's a beautiful subject. It's a story that deserves to be told’. It took him two years to research and then finalize the film. ‘Initially there were just a dozen photographs, nothing more’. But finally he received a response, from a 98 year-old nun, who was in possession of photo albums that virtually nobody has ever seen.

LES SOEURS DE NAGASAKI (The Sisters of Nagasaki), Canada, 2018, Merlin Films, 52 minutes, French, with English subtitles.

A trailer can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/288512291.

The Festival's jury reported that: ‘With unique archive footage, Alain Vézina skilfully tells an extraordinary story about atomic bomb victims and survivors (Hibakusha) that has not yet been told’. Director of the Festival, Norbert G Suchanek, said that the selected audience was very impressed with the film.

‘The Sisters of Nagasaki’ tells the true story of eight Catholic nuns from Québec who survived the atomic bombing on 9 August 1945. They had been held prisoner by the Japanese, with others. The bomb both freed these women, yet also jailed them in a prison of the mind through their traumatic memories of this atomic holocaust. Some of the sisters wrote gruelling accounts of their captivity and then of its horrifying conclusion. These precious documents, September 2019

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PRAY FOR THE REPOSE …

A Discovery Fr John Scott

The staff of the Cathedral Maintenance Department are undertaking some work to reorganise the workshop, which runs under part of the length of the Long Corridor. This involved moving some tall cupboards which, as it was discovered, had not been moved for a considerable length of time, beyond even the memory of Bernie Young, who has been in post with Maintenance for over a quarter of a century.

Dust is an inevitable concomitant of such moving, especially in an environment such as the workshop, but not only dust came to light. A significant piece of Cathedral furniture, pictured here, was found. It appears to be an obit board, containing a wide selection of death notices, requesting prayers for the deceased. The dates of all the notices fall between the 1930s and the 1950s.

Inevitably some are torn or damaged, but they offer a particular insight into how deaths were publicised and prayers requested during that period. A number of the notices are for Female Religious, whilst another is for a member of the de Zulueta family (Canon de Zulueta was a former parish priest of Holy Redeemer, Chelsea and the grave of another family member is in the garden of the Rectory at Cadogan Street parish in Chelsea).

From this diocese there are notices for both Cardinals Bourne and Hinsley, as well as for Archbishop Richard Downey of Liverpool.

The Obit Board, as rediscovered. The glass panel of the left hand door is missing, but otherwise the board is in solid, if grimy, condition.

Traditionally, we pray to be delivered from sudden and unprepared death.

Mgr Howlett was the Cathedral Administrator during both the First and Second World Wars.

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If the board was taken out of use after the mid-1960s, is there anyone who remembers it, or its location in the Cathedral?

The Cathedral archivist will be retrieving the various notices and preserving them as a further contribution to the history of the Cathedral, its people and prayer life.

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The Benedictine Sisters of Princethorpe ask prayers for the repose of the soul of Mother Maria Raphael, who has died in her 45th year of Monastic Profession.

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September 2019