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Masterpieces 2014
by Michael Durnan Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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Brother Walfrid’s Catholic Club
Soccer has played a huge role in Scotland’s cultural and international identity. It is wildly popular both as a spectator sport and for recreation and fun. The sport has played an important role in the life of Catholics in Scotland, with at least two professional teams having originated from the Irish Catholic diaspora that settled in Scotland in the 19th century. Since then the Scots have been ‘football crazy and football mad’ -- especially true of the Scots Catholics and their support for their own clubs.
Brother Walfrid’s Catholic Club
Brother Walfrid’s move to establish the club was inspired by the example of the Hibernian club in EdCeltic of Glasgow in the west of Scotland and Hiber- inburgh, founded by Irish Catholic immigrants some nian in Edinburgh in the Lothian region are the two years before. Walfrid decided on the name ‘Celtic’ to most famous clubs that have Irish Catholic origins. reflect the Irish and Scottish roots of the club. Celtic (pronounced with a soft C) was founded in The newly established club earned the nickname, ‘The 1888 by the Irish Marist Brother Walfrid with the pur- Bold Boys’ – today known as, ‘The Bhoys.’ (The extra pose of alleviating poverty in the East End of Glasgow ‘h’ imitates the Gaelic convention of spelling, where by raising money for a charity he’d instituted, Poor the letter b is often followed by h.) Children’s Dinner Table.
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For he's football crazy, He's football mad, The football it has taken away The little bit o' sense he had, And it would take a dozen servants To wash his clothes and scrub, Since Paul became a member of That terrible football club. Written by James Curran in 1900, Glaswegian born in Co. Donegal, Ireland
Catholic vs. Protestant
On the 28th May, 1888, Celtic played their very first game against another Glasgow club, the Protestant Rangers. Celtic won, 5-2. This would be the start of a passionate and deadly rivalry with sectarian and religious division adding intensity. In the legends since, it became known as ‘The Old Firm’ game, and one that either team is always loathe to lose. Sadly, the passion and rivalry, intensified by religious division and bigotry, has been associated with alcohol- fuelled violence between the battling fans both in and outside the stadia of both clubs. In recent years, both clubs have made progress in trying to reduce tensions between the rival sets of supporters; alcohol is now banned inside the stadia.
International Glory
It is since 1945 that Celtic has enjoyed its most distinguished period and success. The greatest single achievement of Celtic AFC was becoming Champions of Europe in 1967. Under the management of a former player, Jock Stein, Celtic won the Scottish League title nine times from 1966 to 1974. Celtic’s annus mirabilis came under Stein’s management when in 1967 they won every competition they entered: The Scottish League, The Scottish FA Cup, The Glasgow Cup and the greatest of all, The European Champions Cup. Finally, playing Inter-Milan of Italy, in the Estadio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal, Celtic won 2-1 to become the first team from Scotland, England or Wales to win and the first team from outside of Spain, Italy and Portugal to win the competition since it was founded in 1955. All the players from the Celtic team who played in that historic game were born within twelve miles of Celtic’s stadium, Parkhead, and they are now known as, ‘The Lions of Lisbon’.
Celtic would reach the finals of The European Cup once more in 1970 but would lose to the great Dutch side, Feyenoord of Rotterdam, 2-1 in the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy. Celtic continued to dominate Scottish domestic club football with their deadly Glasgow rivals, Rangers. During the 1990’s, Celtic endured a slump and with it financial difficulties and were on the brink of bankruptcy when an expatriate businessman, Fergus McCann, saved the club by wresting control from its owners. He reconstituted Celtic as a public limited company and set about overseeing the redevelopment and modernisation of Celtic’s stadium into an all-seater stadium of 61,000 capacity.
Celtic Today
Celtic’s uniforms reflects their Irish origins; they sport horizontal green and white stripes and their club or crest displays a shamrock. In 2003, Celtic played in the final of the European Football Association Cup in Seville, Spain. They lost 2-1 to FC Porto of Portugal but their 80,000 travelling fans won widespread praise from the people of Seville for their exemplary behaviour, with not a single fan being arrested. Celtic’s fans were awarded the Fair Play Award from both FIFA (The World Football Association) and UEFA for ‘their loyal and sporting behaviour’. In November 2012, Celtic celebrated their 125th anniversary since they were founded by Brother Walfrid to raise money for the poor of Glasgow. The club remembers its origins, and still maintains a tradition of charity to this day. "Celtic has always been much more than a football club,” according to the team’s CEO Peter Lawwell, “and it is important that at all times we play an important role in the wider community.” Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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A Regina Films Classic
Charles Dickens’
‘A Christmas Carol’ An old miser who makes excuses for his uncaring nature learns real compassion when 3 ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve.
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Regina Writer and Photographer Michael Durnan reads Charles Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ in this delightful classic for all ages. A Catholic Primary School Teacher in his native England for the past 27 years, he now works as a Supply Teacher and a Film and TV Support Artist, often in films and BBC TV costume dramas.
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Father
Christmas comes home to Preston By Michael Durnan Canon Altiere is a newly-ordained priest with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign priest (ICKSP) at the new Shrine of St. Walburge in Preston, a historically Catholic town in northern England. A year ago, however, Saint Walburge’s fate hung by a thread. Though a most beloved landmark – and a center of faith going back 150 years -- changing demographics had rendered its future very uncertain. The heart-breaking truth is that Saint Walburge’s was a church no longer able to sustain parish life; it was threatened with closure when Bishop Michael Campbell made a creative and forward-looking decision. Saint Walburge’s would become a “shrine”-- giving a new lease on life to a church where generations of Prestonians have worshipped and received the sacraments. Now this young priest, ordained in August by Cardinal Raymond Burke, is entrusted with the daily administration of this new shrine. A senior confrere not far away in New Brighton helps keeps an eye on things and two seminarians are an indispensable help, says Canon Altiere in this look at how things are going in Preston’s wonderful new Christmas gift.
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THE OPENING SOLEMN HIGH MASS AT ST. WALBURGE IN SEPTEMBER was very moving: seeing the church filled to capacity, witnessing the high altar being used once again for the liturgy for which it was built, the fatherly welcome and touching sermon by Bishop Michael Campbell, the kind welcome by the local people and clergy. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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Father Christmas Comes Home to Preston
“WE HAVE RESTORED ONE OF THE ORIGINAL CONFESSIONALS -- a pressing concern since the church offers the sacrament every day -- and refurbished the dining room in the presbytery, making a welcoming place for tea and coffee after Mass. Our volunteer choir contributes greatly to the beauty of the liturgy. We have also begun a fortnightly adult catechism class: I have been very pleased by the turnout for the first few meetings.” “A NEW PROJECT SUCH AS THIS IS NATURALLY CHALLENGING but with patience and with help from dedicated local volunteers – and above all with God’s grace – we have been able to make a lot of progress after our first few weeks here.”
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GOD HAS GIVEN US THE CONSOLATION OF SEEING PEOPLE GROWING IN THEIR SPIRITUAL LIFE because of the providential opening of the church: from non-Catholics coming to learn more about the Catholic faith, to people coming to confession or Adoration after happening to chance upon the open doors, to people asking to be received into the Church. God willing, we will have two adult baptisms this Easter.
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WITH A UNIVERSITY NEXT DOOR IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A CHURCH WITH OPEN DOORS in order to minister to the young people who, at this important time in their lives, are exposed not only to new opportunities but also to many temptations and challenges to their faith. 10
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GIVEN OUR EMPHASIS ON THE SOLEMN CELEBRATION OF THE SACRED LITURGY WE NEED TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE SACRISTY as time goes on, especially since hardly any of the original vestments remain. Someday, we hope to be able to restore to the church to its original glory: stencilled east wall, marble communion rails, etc. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO THE FORMER PARISHIONERS WHO CONTINUE TO VOLUNTEER IN THE CHURCH BY CLEANING, giving tours, arranging flowers and so on – ensuring the continuity between this new endeavour with the proud history of Saint Walburge’s. 12
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Father Christmas Comes Home to Preston
LITURGICALLY, ADVENT IS ONE OF THE HIGH POINTS OF THE YEAR, NOT ONLY WITH THE PREPARATION FOR CHRISTMAS BUT ALSO FOR THE GREAT FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION which providentially falls during this time. Our Institute celebrates this feast with particular solemnity, as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is our principal patroness, and so at Saint Walburge’s we will be following the same custom as at our motherhouse in Gricigliano, Italy: a solemn Novena of preparation in honour of the Mother of God. Every evening beginning November 30th there will be a different guest preacher to give a sermon on Our Lady, followed by Benediction. The Novena will conclude with a visit from Bishop Campbell on the eve of the feast. THIS IS SAINT WALBURGE’S PATRIMONY, BUT AS CATHOLICS WE KNOW THAT A CHURCH SHOULD NEVER SIMPLY BECOME A TOURIST ATTRACTION. It is the other way around: the fact that a beautiful and historic church has the power to attract not only practicing Catholics but also the lapsed and nonbelievers provides a wonderful opportunity in terms of evangelisation. And we know that the final goal of evangelisation is not simply spreading a message of culture or goodwill but bringing people into contact with the truths necessary for salvation. This is the mission we hope to accomplish, in our own small way, with the help of divine grace: working for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. WE ARE ALSO PLANNING AN ADVENT RETREAT DAY FOR SATURDAY DECEMBER 13TH People are starved for the traditional devotions that are the lifeblood of the popular practice of our religion. We held October devotions every
day for the month of the rosary, and we hope to see a similar enthusiasm in Advent. At the beginning crowds are small, but the important thing is to provide these devotions and then to let providence do the rest. THE PARISH PRIESTS WHO PRECEDED US AT SAINT WALBURGE’S HAVE DONE WONDERFUL WORK in undertaking the restoration of the church’s magnificent stained-glass windows. We intend to follow the same path and see this project to its completion. We naturally need to raise funds in order to take care of the church. “THE EXPERIENCE OF THE OPENING MASS SHOWS US THE POWER AND BEAUTY OF THE CHURCH’S TIMELESS LITURGY: in the weeks following the Mass we have had young people coming to the shrine who told us how happy they were to discover this liturgy for the first time, and other people of another generation returning to the sacraments after being touched by the grace of this beautiful opening ceremony.” BOTH THE BISHOP OF LANCASTER AND THE SUPERIORS OF THE INSTITUTE HAVE BEEN VERY CLEAR in establishing the shrine that their primary intention is to enable the church to be open every day as a setting for liturgical and personal prayer. Everything else must flow from this. Our major short-term goal is simply to increase our visibility in Preston: we were very pleased by the large turnout at the opening Mass, but many people still do not know the church is now open every day.
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OUR PRINCIPAL MISSION IS TO MAKE SAINT WALBURGE’S A HOUSE OF PRAYER Already the Divine Office, the Church’s continual “sacrifice of praise,” is celebrated daily in the church. In addition to daily Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, we sing the offices of Lauds, Vespers and Compline every day.
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AT 309 FEET, THE BELLTOWER AT SAINT WALBURGE’S IS THE THIRD TALLEST IN ENGLAND -- In fact, the tallest independent bell tower, since the two cathedrals with taller spires have belltowers that spring from the roof. Every Saturday we have guided tours – given by the church caretaker, a longtime parishioner – which include the possibility to visit the spire. The church is also noteworthy for its impressive war memorial, which includes a medieval Crucifixion scene -- it predates Preston city’s official war monument.
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St Mungo The Saint Who Brought Christianity to Glasgow By Michael Durnan
Glasgow today is a sprawling, post-industrial city; ugly post-war architecture occupying former Luftwaffe bomb craters like so many broken teeth. But it was not always so. Deep in its ancient heart lies the formerly- Catholic Cathedral of
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St. Mungo, which after the Reformation became the High Kirk of the Church of Scotland. In the bowels of the 800 year old cathedral, in a crypt under the High Altar, lies the tomb of St. Mungo, Glasgow’s patron. But who was St. Mungo, actually?
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Son of a Princess Raped By a Prince
However, a strong anti-Christian sentiment arose in the Kingdom of Strathclyde, headed by King Morken and Mungo was compelled to leave. He retired to Wales, via Cumbria in northwest England, and stayed for a time with St. David (Patron of Wales) at the city Mungo -- or Kentigern -- was the illegitimate son of of St. Davids in West Wales. a Princess Thenew (later St. Enoch), daughter of the Later, Mungo moved to the kingdom of Gwynedd in King of Lothian. She became pregnant after being North Wales and founded a cathedral there, which raped by Prince Urien of Cumbria. was his seat as bishop, and from there he even underWhen her father, King Lleudden, learned of her preg- took a pilgrimage to Rome. nancy, he was so enraged that he threw her from the Return to Scotland heights of the summit of a local hill, Traprain Law. On being crowned the new King of Strathclyde, Miraculously, she survived and managed to cross the Riderch Hael invited Mungo to return and he estabRiver Forth in a small boat to Culross in Fife. lished his seat as bishop in present day Dumfries. It was here that her son, Kentigern was born and Later, he returned to Glasgow where a community raised by St. Serf, an abbot who was ministering to grew up around him, becoming known as Clas-Gu, the Celtic Picts; it was St. Serf who gave him the pet (‘Dear Family’). During this time, Mungo visited name of ‘Mungo’ (‘Dear One’ in ancient Celtic). with St. Columba of Iona and the two engaged in long conversations, finally exchanging their pastoral staves. In old age, Mungo became very weak and his chin had to be kept in place with a bandage. When he At the age of twenty-five, Mungo began his Chriseventually passed away, on the 13th January 603 AD, tian missionary work around the River Clyde on the he was buried on the spot where the cathedral now site of modern-day Glasgow. Mungo built a church stands. on the site of the present day cathedral that bears Up until the Reformation in Scotland, St Mungo’s his name and for some thirteen years he lived and shrine was a centre of pilgrimage. The Saint’s remains worked there, amongst the local people following a are still believed to be entombed within the crypt simple and austere life, dwelling in a small cell and under the high altar. winning many converts by his holy example and the power of his persuasive preaching.
Mungo’s Early Days
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GLASGOW’S ANCIENT COAT OF ARMS: St. Mungo's four miracles in Glasgow are represented in the city's coat of arms. Glasgow's motto ‘Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of His word and the praising of His name’ and the more secular ‘Let Glasgow flourish’ are both inspired by Mungo's original call "Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word"
Mungo’s Miracles St. Mungo is said to have performed four miracles whilst in Glasgow:
Here is the bird that never flew. Here is the tree that never grew. Here is the bell that never rang. Here is the fish that never swam. The first verse refers to a bird that Mungo restored to life after it had been killed by some of his classmates. The second is when Mungo was left in charge of the fire at St. Serf ’s monastery but it died out when he fell asleep. On awakening, he took a Hazel branch and restarted the fire. The third verse refers to a bell which Mungo brought back from Rome which was then used in services and to mourn the deceased. The fourth and final verse refers to the story about Queen Languoreth of Strathclyde who was suspected of infidelity by her husband. King Riderch demanded to see her ring, which he claimed she had given to her lover. (In reality the King had thrown it into the River Clyde.) Faced with execution, the helpless Queen appealed for help to Mungo, who ordered a messenger to catch a fish in the river. On opening the fish, the ring was miraculously found inside, which allowed the Queen to clear her name. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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High Kirk of the Church of Scotland, once a Catholic Cathedral 24
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Civilising Scotland St Columba and His Monks
By Michael Durnan
The story of Scottish civilisation begins fifteen centuries ago, when a group of twelve Christian monks set sail from Ireland to the wild coast of Scotland. The Ireland they were leaving behind was a land of civilisation, stability and safety. Scotland was foreign, hostile, unstable and dangerous. 26
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The monks’ short journey proved to have immense consequences. It radically altered the course of British history, triggering a revolution that transformed Britain from an illiterate and backward place to a land of scholarship, learning and high culture.
~ MOMENTOUS JOURNEY: The story of Scottish civilisation begins fifteen centuries ago, when a group of twelve Christian monks set sail from Ireland to the wild coast of Scotland.
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between northeast Ireland and Scotland. The inhabitants were Irish and known as Gaels or Scots; they would eventually give their name to a new larger The group was led by Columba, or Columcille (Irish kingdom, Scotland. (Today, the region is known as for ‘church dove’) who had been exiled from Ireland Argyll, ‘Land of the Gaels.’) as punishment. He’d had been accused of a breach Immediately upon crossing the sea, Columba and his of copyright by copying a psalter – and this dispute monks journeyed to meet the king at his fortified hill proved to be a deadly one, touching off a pitched fort. This visit was more than just a diplomatic nicebattle during which many were killed. ty; Columba needed the King’s permission to preach In the aftermath, Columba was in his lands -- and he needed royal threatened with excommunication protection. THE CHRISTIAN ROOTS OF by a synod of his fellow monks, Columba also required land as a SCOTTISH CLANS: though his punishment was evenbase for his community of monks. For 1500 years the Clans of tually changed to permanent exile. The King graciously granted the MacCallum, Malcolm and Columba promised to expiate his pilgrims the small island of Iona, Robertson have proudly guilt and wrongdoing by winning forty miles to the west. traced their ancestry to the as many souls for Christ as had Inspirational and Charismatic original followers of Columperished in the battle. He agreed to Leadership. ba and his monks – the earlibe exiled to a place where he could Columba was a rising star of the est Christians in Scotland. no longer see Ireland and promIrish Church and of noble birth, ised never to set foot on Irish soil descended from an Irish high again. king. He was a confident and hugely charismatic man; his noble background would serve him well in his mission, as his diplomacy skills would prove to be as important as the power of his faith. Under Columba’s inspirational and charismatic leadership, When Columba and his monks made landfall, Iona would become one of the major powerhouses of however, they weren’t yet entering territory that was Christian learning and culture in the whole of completely foreign. At this time, the west coast of Europe. present day Scotland was actually part of Dalriada, an ancient Irish kingdom which straddled the sea
Columba the Banished
Visiting the King of the Gaels
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Converting the Fierce Picts
Columba and the Scottish Clans
Once Columba had established a thriving monastic For 1500 years the Scottish Clans of MacCallum, Malcommunity, he looked beyond Iona’s shores. Beyond colm and Robertson have proudly traced their anDalariada was the enemy territory of Pict Land and cestry to the original followers of Columba and his monks – the earliest Christians in Scotland. the only way to penetrate through the densely Also, Clan MacKinnon are his spiritual descendants, wooded mountains was by journeying through as after Columba founded his Scotland’s natural waterways of river monastery on Iona the and lochs. MacKinnons provided abbots to The Picts were a fierce pagan IronA HARSH AND the Church there for centuries. Age people and Columba‘s mission PERMANENT EXILE: was undoubtedly a dangerous one. Columba agreed to be Columba eventually arrived in The Legends of St. exiled to a place where he Inverness in the Highlands and met could no longer see Ireland with the Pictish King Bridei,ultimateColumba and promised never to set ly winning his respect, though not his foot on Irish soil again. conversion. Columba was a great man of Nevertheless, Columba and his misletters, a writer of hymns who sion would succeed in transforming is said to have transcribed over the pagan Iron-Age Picts to a 300 books. There are surviving civilised and cultured Christian people. manuscripts of his in Switzerland and the British LiInterestingly, the Picts not only adopted the new brary. Christian faith but also the Gaelic language of the Many legends and stories are associated with him. Columba and his monks. This unification by faith, One of the most famous involves the Loch Ness Monlanguage and culture would eventually lay the ster, when Columba is said to have a banished a water foundations for a united kingdom of Scotland under beast to the depths of Loch Ness after it had attacked a Christian King. one of his party. Columba died on Iona in 597 AD and was buried by his monks in the Abbey he had founded. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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UNDER COLUMBA’S INSPIRATIONAL AND CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP, Iona would become one of the major powerhouses of Christian learning and culture in the whole of Europe. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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Germany’s Grand Catholic Knights
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n the summer of 1991 I spent two weeks touring Poland. One of the most impressive places on my sightseeing itinerary was the medieval castle of Malbork located in Pomerania east of Gdansk on the River Nogat. This massive building is the largest castle by surface area in the world and the largest building made of brick in Europe. Why was this massive fortress constructed and by whom? 32
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Malbork castle was built on the orders of the Teutonic Knights, or to give them their full and proper title, the ‘Order of Brothers of the German House of St. Mary in Jerusalem.’ (In German, ‘Orden der Bruder vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem.’) The Knights were one of the military religious orders established in Catholic Europe during medieval times. Other leading military
religious orders of the time included the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitallers of St. John. The Teutonic Knights, and the other military religious orders, were founded to give aid, assistance, and protection to Christian pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land, as well to establish and run hospitals.
By Michael Durnan
The German Travelers in the Holy Land They were founded at the end of the 12th century in Acre, in the Holy Land, or as that region was known, the Levant. The Order’s origins go back to the year 1143 when Pope Celestine II ordered the Knights Hospitaller of St. John to take over the running and management of a hospital that accommodated countless
German-speaking pilgrims and crusaders who spoke neither the local language, nor Old French, nor Latin. Although the hospital belonged to the Knights Hospitaller, the pope commanded that the Prior and the brothers of the Domus Theutonicorum, (‘House of Germans’) always should be German speakers. Thus the tradition of a German-led institution was estab-
lished in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. After the loss of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187, some merchants from Lubeck and Bremen took up the idea of a field hospital during the siege of Acre. This field hospital became the nucleus of the future Order formally recognized in 1192 by Pope Celestine III.
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Becoming a Military Order At first its brothers followed the Augustinian Rule, but in 1198 it developed into a fully-fledged military religious order based on the Knights Templar, with its head known as the ‘Grand Master.’ The Order was granted papal orders to participate in crusades to retake Jerusalem as well as to defend the Holy Land from attacks by Muslim Saracens. Under Grand Master Hermann von Salza, the order made the final transition from being a hospice brotherhood for pilgrims to being primarily a military order. Emperor Frederick II raised his friend, von Salza, to the rank of Reichfurst, or Prince of the Empire. When Frederick was crowned King of Jerusalem in 1225, the Teutonic Knights provided his escort in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In spite of this honour and recognition, the Teutonic Knights never became as influential in the Holy Land as the Templars and the Hospitallers. Events nearer home would provide a new crusade and role for the Teutonic Knights and would shift their focus to the Baltic and Eastern Europe. The Knights in the Baltic This new opportunity came in 1226 in north-eastern Poland, when Duke of Masovia, Konrad I, appealed to the Knights for military assistance to defend his borders from attack and to subdue the pagan Baltic Prussians. During the next fifty years the Teutonic Knights engaged in a fierce and bloody crusade to 34
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conquer Prussia and to subjugate, kill, or expel any native Prussians who remained unbaptized. The Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor issued charters granting the knights Prussia as a sovereign monastic state, similar to that of the Knights Hospitallers on Malta. The Knights encouraged immigration from the Holy Roman Empire to boost the population, which had been reduced severely by the war. The settlers established new towns on the site of Old Prussian ones and the knights built several castles from which they could defend attacks by Old Prussians. Having conquered Prussia, the Knights turned their attention to pagan Lithuania, and it took 200 years before they conquered and converted Lithuania to Christianity. Other conquests included the city of Danzig, (in Polish, ‘Gdansk’) and the region of Pomeralia along the Baltic which provided a land bridge to the Holy Roman Empire. The capture of Danzig in 1307 marked a new phase in the Knights’ development, and it was after this they moved their headquarters from Venice to Malbork Castle. The Decline Sets In In 1410, after the Knights were defeated at the Battle of Grunewald by a combined Polish-Lithuanian army, the Teutonic Order went into decline, losing lands, military strength, and power. Eventually the Teutonic Order was expelled from Prussia after a war with Poland and Lithuania. In 1525 Grand Master
MODERN SEAL OF THE TEUTONIC KNIGHTS The current headquarters of the Grand Master is located in Vienna at the Deutschordenkirche. Since 1996 there has been a museum located in Bad Mergentheim in Germany that is dedicated to telling the story of the Teutonic Knights.
Albert of Brandenburg converted to Lutheranism and secularized the remaining Prussian territories. The Teutonic Order suffered further losses of its lands that remained in the Holy Roman Empire. In 1555, after the Peace of Ausberg, the Teutonic Order allowed its first Lutheran members, though it still remained largely Catholic. The military history of the Teutonic Knights ended in 1809, when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its dissolution, giving its secular holdings to his own vassals and allies. The Knights continued to exist in Austria, out of Napoleon’s grasp. In 1929 the Order was transformed into a purely spiritual Catholic religious order and renamed the Deutscher Orden, or German Order. Teutonic Knights in Modern Times Hitler was not a fan of the Knights. After Austria’s annexation by the Nazis in 1938, the Order was suppressed throughout his Greater German Reich,
although it continued to function in Italy. With the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, the Order was reconstituted in Austria and Germany. The Teutonic Knights are divided into three branches, one Catholic and two Protestant. The Protestant branches are based in Utrecht, The Netherlands and in Brandenburg, Germany. The Catholic branch of the Teutonic Knights now includes 1,000 associates, including 100 priests, 200 nuns, and 700 associates, with the priests providing spiritual guidance and the nuns caring for the sick and aged. The associates are active in Belgium, Austria, Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic. Many of the Order’s priests provide pastoral care for German speakers outside of German-speaking lands, especially in Italy and Slovenia. In this way the Teutonic Order has returned to its original spiritual roots of providing aid and assistance to German speakers outside of their homelands. Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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- A Story from the Dark Ages -
The English Princ Who Converted Th Germans By Michael Durnan When the mists covering that faraway time blow aside for an instant, we get a tantalizing glimpse of life in the ‘dark ages,’ when Walburga was born into a royal family of saints. Daughter of St. Richard, King of Wessex, and his wife, Queen Winna (sister of St. Boniface), Princess Walburga, along with her uncle and two brothers, Willibald and Winnebald, made enormous contributions to the conversion of the Germanic peoples to Christianity in the eighth century AD.
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n departing Wessex for Rome on a pilgrimage, King Richard entrusted his 11-year-old daughter to the care of the abbess of Wimborne, whilst he journeyed to Rome with Walburga’s two brothers. After her first year in the abbey, Walburga received the devastating news of her father’s death in Lucca, Italy.
Such was the magnitude of this undertaking that St. Boniface realised the long-term success of his mission would require as much help and support as he could muster. Boniface was one of the first missionaries to call women to missionary work, and Walburga, along with a large group of nuns, was sent from Wessex to assist him.
The abbey nuns educated Walburga, and she later joined the community as a sister. During the twenty-six years Walburga lived in the abbey, her uncle, Boniface, was engaged in his great mission to convert the pagan Germanic tribes. (For more about St Boniface, see here.)
On the sea voyage to the continent the weather the ship was caught in a fierce storm. Walburga knelt down on the deck and prayed for the storm to end, and for the safe passage of the ship. At once the storm abated and the sea became calm. On disembarking, the sailors proclaimed they had
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witnessed a miracle was received with j Upon arriving in M by her uncle, Bonif libald. She then dep and Franconia to a the Germans.
In 776 AD, Walbur assisted her in her l buried next to her d Winibald, and man were wrought at bo lived another ten ye devotion to Walbur was neglected.
cess he
e. As a result, Walburga joy and veneration. Mainz, she was welcomed face, and her brother, Wilparted to Wurttemburg assist in the conversion of
rga fell ill and Willibald last moments. She was deceased brother, St. ny wonders and miracles oth tombs. St. Willibald years. After his death, rga declined and her tomb
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Antwerp, as well as to other places. In 870 AD, Oktar, Bishop of Eichstadt, set out to restore her tomb and the monastery where she was buried. Whilst the restoration work was being undertaken, workmen desecrated her tomb. She appeared one night to the bishop, reproaching him. This episode led to the translation of her remains to Eichstadt, where they were placed in the Church of the Holy Cross, now renamed after her. Whilst the restoration work was being undertaken, workmen desecrated her tomb. She then appeared one night to the bishop, reproaching him. In 893 her tomb was opened to extract relics and it was found that her remains were immersed in precious oil that since then has continued to flow. Portions of her relics have been taken to Cologne and
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In the Roman Martyrology her feast is listed as 1 May, and in Germany the previous evening is known as Walpurgis Night. Because Walburga was canonized on 1 May (ca. 870), she became associated with May Day festivities, especially in the Finnish and Swedish calendars. Patroness of Eichstadt, Oudenarde, Furnes, Antwerp, Groningen, Weilburg, and Zutphen, sailors also invoke St Walburga’s intercession against storms. In the Roman Martyrology, Walburga’s feast is listed as 1 May, and in Germany the previous evening is known as Walpurgis Night. (Editor’s Note: The author’s home, Preston, Lancashire, in northwest England, boasts a beautiful Catho-
The English Princess who Converted the Germans
Heidenheim am Hahhenkahm: Of the nuns there, mid-19th century French apologist and writer Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam wrote in his Etudes Germaniques (‘Germanic Studies’): “Silence and humility have veiled the labours of the nuns from the eyes of the world, but history has assigned them their place at the very beginning of German civilization: Providence has placed women at every cradle side.” [ii]
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- The Truth about Ireland & the Faith
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By Michael Durnan
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The image of Ireland is one of rolling emerald green fields full of sheep and dairy cattle; whitewashed cottages and quaint pubs; charming villages; rustic farms; a wind-and-rain-swept coast and a gentle pace of life. Ireland for some conjures up an image of country that resembles a kind of giant film set for John Ford’s movie, The Quiet Man.
“Changing the Church’s image by working on the ground (where she has always been strongest) and continuing the hard work of generations of clergy, religious and laity in areas that actually make a difference to the lives of ordinary people, especially the poor and the sick, this must be a priority. It’s what St. Francis might have called ‘preaching without words.’
Then, in the midst of these profound changes, Ireland was rocked by horrific revelations of abuse of its young people by a minority of its Catholic clergy and religious. What made the situation worse was the conduct of some of the bishops, who were seen as trying to cover up the whole episode and their own role in it, and of silencing the victims.
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Conversations with Dubliners
New, smart restaurants, bars, shops, cafes are everywhere. Fashionably-dressed Dubliners crowd the sidewalks — affluent, confident, brash, cosmopolitan, and full of the joy of life.
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ost Irish people now are town dwellers Ireland’s reality, however, is far removed from this charming, wistful image, because most Irish people now live in cities and towns. In the last twenty-five years, Ireland has undergone dramatic change and has completely re-invented itself. In the 15 years since my first visit to Ireland in 1990, it has been amazing to see how much Dublin has changed. Materialism and consumerism corrodes Irish spiritual life David McWilliams, an Irish economist and writer tells us that “Ireland has arrived!” and I can only add that it has done so at breath-taking speed. The materialism and consumerism that has enveloped Ireland has, however, had an undeniably corrosive effect on its religious, spiritual and faith life. This includes a plummeting birth rate, which in the 1980s dropped from four to two children per mother. The number of children born outside of marriage rose from 5 percent in the early 1980s to 25 percent by 1990, and 33 percent by 2006. In a country of only 4 million souls, this has serious consequences. Church influence has waned Fewer young people now attend Mass, and even if they do practise their faith, many pick and choose which of the Church’s teachings they will follow. The Catholic Church in Ireland has been battered and bruised, and the morale of clergy and religious is low, with vocations declining rapidly from their historic high levels. Then, in the midst of these profound changes, Ireland was rocked by horrific revelations of abuse of its young people by a minority of its Catholic clergy and religious. What made the situation worse was the conduct of some
New, smart restaurants, bars, shops, cafes are everywhere. Fashionably-dressed Dubliners crowd the sidewalks — affluent, confident, brash, cosmopolitan, and full of the joy of life. Ireland’s rising prosperity and its expanding middle class, along with other social changes such as artificial contraception has had serious consequences for the nation.
of the bishops, who were seen as trying to cover up the whole episode and their own role in it, and of silencing the victims. Whilst the Church in Ireland is facing serious problems, there are signs of hope and renewal. Mc Williams also writes that there has been a revival of ‘mystical, symbolic Catholicism.’ Over 25% of the population turned out to see the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux in 2006 –a phenomenon which no one had predicted. (Many of the Church’s senior officials had been against the idea.) McWilliams suggests that “this single turn out suggested that something was being overlooked by the secular commentariat and it is a yearning to connect”. He also noted record attendance at The Galway Novena, pilgrimages to Lough Derg and Croagh Patrick — all reversing the downward trend of the 90’s. Clergy are also reporting increased attendances to ceremonies from throat blessing to Ash Wednesday after plummeting dramatically in the 1990’s. The Church in Ireland, as in the rest of Europe, has ancient, deep roots, so even if the vine above is pruned severely, the Church will not die out completely. As the Irish-American Catholic Archbishop of New York, Fulton Sheen, once observed — it may be the end of Christendom, but it is not the end of Christianity. What the Irish faithful will tell you (Editor’s Note: Whilst Regina Magazine has spoken with many Irish people in both country towns and cities, few faithful Catholics were willing to talk about the state of the Faith on the record. This is, frankly, because in an atmosphere of almost daily media and elite attacks on the Church, they fear ridicule and indeed reprisals.) Masterpieces 2014 | Regina Magazine
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“Young Catholics are not responding to liberalism; only to the undiluted Truth that will inspire them to take up their crosses and follow Christ. This means that young people who are involved with the Church really have faith in the teachings.”
One veteran Irish priest who works with university Recently a Catholic conference in Ireland, reported in the ‘Irish Catholic,’ heard much talk about the laity being needed to fill in for the falling numbers of clergy. I don’t see that we are yet ready to face the music on contraception and the betrayal of the clergy, religious and laity of tomorrow by the laity of yesterday and today. The Church hierarchy is going to have to face the contraception issue sooner or later. It is not just a matter of adherence to Church teaching but about the survival of the Church in Ireland and of the Nation itself. I can at least hope that that will happen, eventually.” A Catholic professional woman and mother in her 50s told Regina Magazine that, “we’ve had decades of mismanagement by bishops afraid to stick their heads up over the parapet. Catholics in Ireland had been lulled into complacency about the Faith, confident that their children were being taught their catechism in the Catholic schools when in fact that hasn’t been the case. Most young Catholics today have no idea of what the Faith actually teaches. students pointed out that that the vocations coming forward to the priesthood and religious life are orthodox
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young men and women from practicing families who remain loyal to Church teaching.
“But the fascinating thing about the Irish is that you’ll get someone who calls themselves an atheist coming to you and asking for prayers when their child is diagnosed with cancer. The Faith has a deep root in Ireland.” An Irish media professional working in London talked about the 2010 Vatican visitation ordered by Pope Benedict XVI in the wake of the terrible revelations of the sexual abuse and cover-ups by Irish bishops. “Just recently the Archbishop of Dublin publicly repudiated the Vatican visitation, saying that they hadn’t been ‘helpful.’ “This is part of an overall dishonest pattern of the Irish hierarchy of playing to the sensibilities of the anti-clerical Irish media and elites and shifting the blame to Rome – when it’s been the Irish hierarchy which has been in fact responsible for this horror.”
Conversations with Dubliners Not everyone is living in an American-style Mc Mansion. Many Irish people are struggling. The opportunity is there for the Church to renew both herself and the Irish people by providing spiritual sustenance and practical assistance.
And what of the future?
When asked about her experience of the Faith in Ireland, one 20-something woman told Regina Magazine: “The Irish Church is going through a long process of cleansing and renewal, and there is a long way to go yet. Many of the problems that we have now are slowly being eradicated; literally dying out. “It is actually the difficulties in the Church right now that give cause for great hope. The men joining the priesthood are men of real conviction and faith, I think. Similarly with the laity, those without conviction are falling away from the Faith and this means the Church is becoming slowly but surely more authentic. “Irish society and the media are quite hostile to the Church now, and when people constantly have to defend their beliefs they are forced to examine why they believe these things. Movements and groups are slowly forming, as Catholics need the support of one another.” “Foreign missionaries tell me that they are impressed by how much Irish people really still believe in the power of prayer. Also, while it’s controversial now for a young person to really agree with the teachings of the Church, few would bat an eyelid if you said you went to Mass each Sunday, it’s not that unusual still. “Many in Ireland would have a poor opinion of the Church as an institution (of what they term “the Vatican” in particular), but Irish people are very com-
fortable with Catholicism on the small scale. Many parents are still very happy to have their children in Catholic-run schools and for them to receive the sacraments. The sacraments still frame the lives of many people, even if they are not very involved otherwise. While there are positive signs of the ground here, I also look to countries such as the U.S. for hope. The recovery of the Church there is well ahead of Ireland and is in many ways to be admired. The U.K. is also interesting to keep an eye on, as Catholics there are very much Catholic by choice.” “Orthodoxy and a love for the traditional liturgy is really taking root in dioceses under good bishops in both countries and I really hope this is something we can look forward to seeing in Ireland again in the future.” The so-called “credit crunch”
Having undergone such a dramatic boom and transformation in the last twenty years, the subsequent bust and the following austerity has led to rising unemployment and young people once again emigrating in search of work and a better life. For centuries, observers both friendly and hostile have pointed out that the Catholic Church is at its best when faced with challenges and even hostility. An Irish Church that has suffered damage to her reputation now has the historic chance to redeem herself by assisting in the healing of the Irish nation once again. “The Irish Church is going through a long process of cleansing and renewal, and there is a long way to go yet. Many of the problems that we have now are slowly being eradicated; literally dying out.”
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