The quarterly magazine of the Latin Mass Society New awards from The Guild of St Clare Plus: news, views, Mass listings and nationwide reports Issue 213 – Autumn 2022 – FREE Mass of Ages Pope Saint Pius V remembered Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi! David Gornall SJ on finding the truth in the middle way
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Pope St Pius V by El Greco, c1610. © Alamy
26 Books Joseph
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The Latin Mass Society 11-13 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NH Tel: 020 7404 7284 Masseditor@lms.org.ukofAgesNo.213
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27 Letters Readers
28 Family
30 Art and devotion Caroline
Due to the considerable volume of emails and letters received at Mass of Ages it is regrettably not always possible to reply to all correspondents
7 Liturgical calendar 8 Liturgical
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13 Roman
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Contents
What’s happening where you are Shaw reviews TheKing’sAchievement, by Mgr Robert Hugh Benson have their say matters Timely advice from James Preece World news Paul Waddington on what’s happening across the globe Farey on a remarkable work by the fifteenth century painter van Wassenhove of St Clare Joseph Shaw reports on Anglo-Saxon
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two new awards 34 Mass listings 40 The Bonnie Marchioness of Lothian Charles A. Coulombe remembers the life and work of Cecil Chetwynd Kerr 42 What’s in a name? Mary O’Regan on St Michael the Archangel 43 Wine Sebastian Morello visits the ancient
PleaseDISCLAIMER:notethat the views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Latin Mass Society or the Editorial Board. Great care is taken to credit photographs and seek permission before publishing, though this is not always possible. If you have a query regarding copyright, please contact the Editor. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission.
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16 Reports
COMMITTEE: Dr Joseph Shaw – Chairman; Antonia Robinson – Secretary; David Forster –Treasurer; Roger Wemyss Brooks – Vice President; Paul Waddington – Vice President; Alisa Kunitz-Dick; Paul MacKinnon; Nicholas Ross; Alastair Tocher; Neil RegisteredAddison.UK Charity No. 248388
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PATRONS: Sir Adrian Fitzgerald, Bt; Rt Hon. Lord Gill; Sir James Macmillan, CBE; Lord Moore of Etchingham; Prof. Thomas Pink.
Chairman’s Message Joseph Shaw on some of Pope Francis’ more puzzling remarks LMS Year Planner Notable events anarchy Joseph Shaw on the crisis of the 1960s Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi! Gornall SJ on finding the truth in the middle way report Diane Montagna on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi being given Holy at a Papal Mass in St Peter’s Basilica Paul Waddington examines one of George Goldie’s earliest works from around the country
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land of Kent 44 The most precious treasure Alberto Carosa on a recent tribute to the memory of Antonio Ghislieri, Pope Saint Pius V 46 Crossword 46 Classified advertisements 47 Macklin Street
David
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From Cracks in the Clouds by Dom HubertVan Zeller OSB (aka Brother Choleric) (1976)
AUTUMN 2022 Iwrite close to the first anniversary of the Apostolic Letter Traditionis custodes, which dominated the autumn Mass of Ages last year. The anniversary was anticipated by another Apostolic Letter, Desiderio desideravi, on liturgical formation, which refers to Traditionis custodes more than once. Many of Pope Francis’ official documents—to say nothing of his interviews and off-the-cuff remarks—are puzzling, and Desiderio desideravi is no exception. A great deal of it strongly advocates a traditional attitude to the liturgy. “The liturgical celebration frees us from the prison of a self-referencing nourished by one’s own reasoning and one’s own feeling” (19); “every rubric must be observed” (23); liturgy is characterised by symbol (24), by wonder (25), and by art (50). The rejection of this traditional approach by a post-modern attitude (28), and by a creative, personal, liturgical attitude (19), is fiercely condemned: the first “contradicts human nature itself”, the second is “demonic”. The Press Release tells us that this document was based on “the Propositions that resulted from the Plenary Session of the Congregation for Divine Worship (12-15 February 2019)”: Cardinal Robert Sarah’s influence, perhaps, is detectable. Pope Francis has done nothing to make the document friendly to liturgical progressives, but appears to be suggesting that what is wrong with traditional Catholics is that they have gone to the opposite extreme: “a ritual aesthetic which is content by only a careful exterior observance of a rite or is satisfied by a scrupulous observance of the rubrics” (22). He calls this tendency “Neo-Pelagianism” (the opposite error is “Gnosticism”), and apparently links it—the links are not very clear, it must be said—with the suppression of the Traditional Mass by Traditionis custodes. It is perhaps inevitable that those unfamiliar with and unfriendly to the Traditional movement should assume that we must be rubrical obsessives, but a little experience should be enough to put that idea to rest. The range of people recent humiliating loss of £120 million on the sale by the Vatican of a property in London, the purchase of which is the subject of the ongoing trial of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, once a close collaborator with Pope Francis.
CHAIRMAN’Scolourful. MESSAGE 5
Advocating tradition
Joseph Shaw on some of Pope Francis’ more puzzling remarks
'Remember, if the subject comes up at dinner about either married priests,Vatican finances or Bernadette Devlin we keep our mouths shut.'
The third is a bit more obscure. Devlin was a Republican Member of Parliament from Northern Ireland. Not knowing the exact date of this cartoon, I don’t know if the latest talk about her would have regarded her having a baby outside wedlock (in 1971), or slapping the Home Secretary, Reginald Maudlin, in the House of Commons, the day after Bloody Sunday (in 1972), or something else. If the Church seems to have been going round in circles since 1970, British politics, at any rate, seems less who attend the ancient liturgy, and the spiritual consolation they derive from it, are simply incompatible with such a onedimensional dismissal of it. That being as it may, this document demonstrates something else, of considerable interest: that progressive liturgical thinking has gained absolutely no foothold in the PapalThisMagisterium.columnis accompanied by a cartoon which reminds us of how much has stayed the same in the Church: the hostess begs her children not to engage in discussion at dinner about married priests, Vatican finances, or Bernadette Devlin. The first of these is kept alive, as a topic of conversation, in the grimly predictable Letters Page of The Tablet. The second is very current today, with the
Annual Walking Pilgrimage from Ely to Walsingham Thursday 25 – Sunday 28 August. The pilgrimage starts with registration in Ely on the evening of Thursday and concludes with High Mass in the Chapel of Reconciliation at 2pm followed by devotions in Walsingham on Sunday. For those unable to undertake the walking pilgrimage a coach will leave London on the Sunday to enable day pilgrims to join the walkers for Mass in Walsingham. Full details on our website. Pilgrimage to West Grinstead Monday 29 August. Shrine Church of Our Lady of Consolation, Park Lane, West Grinstead RH13 8LT. Sung Mass at 2pm followed by refreshments, then Rosary and Benediction. Annual Pilgrimage in honour of the Chideock Martyrs Saturday 17 September, High Mass at 11.30am, celebrated by priests from the ICKSP, followed by lunch (bring your own food, drinks will be provided). In the afternoon there is opportunity to listen to a talk on the Chideock Martyrs, a tour of the church and of the hidden, secret Mass chamber in the loft, the beautiful sacristy and a chance to view the church’s museum. Annual Mass in St Augustine’s Snave on Romney Marsh Saturday 24 September at 12 noon, by kind invitation of the Romney March Historic Churches Trust, with music by The Victoria Consort, under the direction of Ben Bevan.
Please pray for the souls of all members who have died recently Requiescant in Pace
At the time of going to press the following events are planned.
Every effort is made to ensure that this list is accurate and upto-date. However, if you know of a recently deceased member whose name has not, so far, appeared on our prayer memorial, then please contact the LMS, see page 3 for contact details. The LMS relies heavily on legacies to support its income. We are very grateful to the following who remembered the Society in their Will: Rosemary Sampson.
AUTUMN 20226 YEAR PLANNER
LMS Year Planner – Notable Events
Richard Codd
St Tarcisius Server Training Day Saturday 19 November. St Mary Moorfields, Eldon Street, London EC2M 7LS, starting at 10.30am.
Fionnuala Duane George Grynowski (Priest) Mary Light John
EdmundThomasMarechalMeeneghanIanO'BrienJeannetteO'DonnellPhilipWoodWorthy(Priest)
FACTFILE Details of all our events can be found on our website, together with booking and payment facilities where applicable. Go to lms.org.uk
St Tarcisius Server Training Day Saturday 24 September. St Dominic's Priory, Southampton Road, London NW5 4LB starting at 10.30am. Men and boys will be able to learn all roles for Low Mass and Sung Mass, and High Mass if there is demand. There will also be a chance for those attending to be enrolled in the Society of St Tarcisius and be promoted from grade to grade. Guild of St Clare Autumn Sewing Retreat Friday 4 to Sunday 6 November. Park Place, Wickham, Fareham PO17 5HA. See our website for details. Annual Requiem Missa Cantata in Westminster Cathedral Saturday 5 November at 2.30pm. Mass of Reparation for Abortions Saturday 12 November at 12 noon in the Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is in Holy Child & St Joseph RC Church, Brereton Road, Bedford MK40 1HU. The Southwell Consort, led by Dominic Bevan, will provide the music.
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The following is an extract from a forthcoming book on the Petitions to save the Traditional Mass which started to appear in 1966.
The Petitions of intellectuals and artists seeking the preservation of the Traditional Latin Mass, which were published in 1966 and 1971, emerged from a period of escalating liturgical and doctrinal crisis in the Catholic Church. As far as the liturgy was concerned, Fr Bryan Houghton, then parish priest of Bury St Edmunds, and dean in the rural depths of East Anglia, noted in his autobiography, Unwanted Priest: ‘I forget the dates, but certainly vernacular liturgies were said in my deanery long before official permission was given in 1964. I managed to stop it for parochial Masses but not for private Masses. Experiment was in the air. It was reported to me that one priest was saying mass on weekdays in the presbytery dining-room, during breakfast, with consecrated toast.’1 Even official organs of the Church were horrified at what was going on. In his book Torn Tunic, Tito Casini quotes an article in L’Osservatore Romano from May 1965 describing sacred vessels being reused for profane purposes: ‘And still worse, the precious reliquaries now stand as ornaments between flower-vases and liqueur bottles… monstrances used to encase clocks and barometers. Even chalices are not spared from providing pedestals for lamps and profane statues in boudoirs on whose tables ash-trays made from patens show the sign of the cross when not covered with the ash of cigars…’2 In many places, very serious liturgical abuses were being imposed on the Faithful during the celebration of Sunday Mass. Pope Benedict recalled this era in his Letter to Bishops accompanying Summorum Pontificum: ‘Many people who clearly accepted the binding character of the Second Vatican Council, and were faithful to the Pope and the Bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them. This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear.
Liturgical anarchy
AUTUMN 20228 FEATURE
Heenan’s words make sense of Fr Houghton’s extraordinary last meeting with Bishop Parker of Northampton (East Anglia at that time was still part of that diocese),4 who was about to retire, in December 1966. Fr Houghton found himself alone with him: ‘I took him by the lapels of his jacket and shook him: “Good heavens, my Lord! I have known you for twenty-five years. You don’t agree with what is going on! Why don’t you have the courage of your convictions?” He looked away and saidThenothing.’pressures of superiors or the peergroup, the fear of ridicule or denunciation by those agitating for the reform, a sense of inevitability: such considerations can still only explain the way the reform was actually accelerated and exaggerated by those implementing it, if we add the wider context of a clergy who had for some reason ceased, as Fr Houghton expresses it, to love the Mass. Fr Houghton explains this, in turn, by reference to the gradual replacement of a spirituality of contemplation with a spirituality of activism, initiated, in his view, by the Jansenist movement. Whatever it was, this process had not had the same effect on the laity as it had on the clergy by 1964: many of the laity still did love the Mass. And now, the Mass they had grown to love, of which Latin was a defining feature, had suddenly vanished from the scene. Until 1970 Cardinal Heenan insisted that one Mass be celebrated in Latin each Sunday in the Archdiocese of Westminster, but this was exceptional, despite vague supportive statements about the celebration of Mass from, for example, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in 1968.
Some priests enthusiastically, some with reluctance, adopted the vernacular, and so it has been ever since: the reformed Mass in Latin is a rarity, found here and there, more often than not the subject of official disapproval. Liturgical abuses and Doctrine The enthusiasts among the clergy, joined by some lay intellectuals, were not content with what the reforming Instructions were officially permitting, and as noted a period of liturgical chaos ensued. This also requires some explanation. How is it that the famously disciplined Church of the 1950s developed into the chaotic Church of the 1960s? This phenomenon of course needs to be qualified. The abuses of the 1960s were to be found above all in the rich West, rather than Africa, Latin America,
The Reform and the Clergy Fr Houghton recalls the sudden transition from Latin to the vernacular in 1964: ‘A pure permission was given, and they all jumped to it like the Gadarene swine. Besides, I had been dean for a number of years and knew the priests of my deanery very well. Only two of them were sufficiently stupid to think themselves brilliant—and consequently welcomed the opportunity to express their personality. The rest, in private, were against the changes. However, only one, a Dominican, stuck to the old AsMass.’Fr Houghton exclaims, this is a phenomenon which calls for explanation. An important part of it was a crippling inferiority complex felt by many of the more conservative clergy. In a letter to Evelyn Waugh in 1964, Cardinal Heenan explains: ‘The hierarchy is in a difficult position. We have not yet lost the respect of ordinary Catholics but the constant nagging of the intellectuals and their tireless (tiresome?) letters to the Press and articles in the Catholic papers may eventually disturb the ordinary faithful. Most of us would be content to delay changes but the mood of the Council compels us to act. Otherwise the attack from our own people would become ever more bitter: inimici hominis domestici scies [“a man’s enemies shall be of his own household”: Mat 10:36]’3
I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church.’
Joseph Shaw on the crisis of the 1960s
Insofar as community members are exposed to radically different values and expectations, their allegiance to their own will be Thisweakened.happened in the Church, as it happened to the whole of society, to some individuals and groups to a much greater extent than to others. The rebellion in its more dramatic aspects was the action of an influential minority, a minority, indeed, incapable of delivering electoral success: both the USA and France held Presidential elections in 1969 which were won by cultural conservatives, Richard Nixon and Georges Pompidou. It remains the case, however, that even the more sheltered communities were weakened, and as far as the Catholic community goes, we would expect to see higher rates of lapsation, increased marrying outside the community, and so on, even if the liturgy had stayed the same. In this context, the reform of the liturgy, at first tentative, and then allencompassing, had two effects. First, it appeared to vindicate the forces of rebellion, as it suggested that there had been something radically amiss in the liturgy up to that point. Secondly, it served to undermine still more the already weakening sense of community within the TheChurch.second point is the thesis of Stephen Bullivant: the Catholic Church weathered the social, cultural and economic storm of the 1960s and 1970s less well than comparable religious groups because her distinctive ancient liturgy had been a key plank of Catholic identity, and at a crucial moment, when other planks were under stress or giving way, this one was abruptly removed. The concern of the present discussion is, however, more on the first point: the vindication of the idea that the old Catholic liturgy had been seriouslyChristopherdefective.Sykes, whose name appears in the Italian-led additional list of signatories for the 1971 petition, was exasperated at the way priests who had defended the Latin Mass for years suddenly reversed their positions. He wrote in The Tablet in 1966: “Were they consciously talking nonsense all those years, or are they really sincere in their criticisms (which sometimes amount to denigrations) today? Either way, the clergy who indulge in this propaganda are weakening their authority in the minds of people who can remember.” Fr Houghton had the same thought in 1971, writing to Cardinal Heenan about the crisis of priestly identity: “It is beside the point whether or not the violent changes which have taken place over the past ten years have been objectively good or bad. What is important is that they have been of such a nature and introduced in such a way as to undermine the credibility of theThisclergy.”was problematic in itself, but the crisis of credibility was very useful to those radically opposed to the teaching of the Church. If, they implied, the Church had been fundamentally wrong about the liturgy and spirituality for over a millennium, then she could be wrong about doctrine as well. The “denigration” of the old Mass Sykes notes became a weapon in the hands of dissenters. This is described by Anne Roche Muggeridge (daughter-in-law of Malcolm Muggeridge), in her book The Desolate City, in terms of “the rituals of the revolution”, drawing a parallel with political revolutions such as the American Revolution: “These rituals are designed to diminish the power of existing authority by destroying its mystique during a process in which the symbols that inspire awe are mocked and degraded in ‘reversed ceremonies of legitimacy’. The mocking reversal of sacred symbols serves as a psychological preparation for a transference of allegiance.”Shegoes on: “…the main target was the Mass… Nothing could change as long as this great symbol-complex could not. Therefore, parodies of the old Mass became frequent among liturgists, most of them priests, during the introduction of the early liturgical changes. In one local instance, a late-middle-aged hitherto notably pious bent exaggeratedly over the Mass book on the altar gabbling nonsense ‘Latin’ as a prelude to his sermon on how much more sensible the new way was than ‘the way we used to do it’.”
Liturgical abuses commonly attack the doctrines of the Real Presence and of the Priesthood, particularly the all-male Priesthood, but the wider significance of abuses as an act of rebellion should be underlined. If the old Mass was wrong, if the Church had been giving her children stones for bread all those centuries, this was not just a reason for making some liturgical adjustments: it cast doubt on the Church’s spiritual credibility. The point was explicitly brought to bear on the question of contraception in 1968.
AUTUMN 2022 Asia, or the Communist bloc. Other parts of the world were certainly affected by the liturgical reforms, but the effects on liturgical discipline were slower to manifest themselves. Even within Western Europe and North America, the more outrageous elements were to be found above all in particular places: university chaplaincies, seminaries, religious communities, and, in general, cities. It was only by an effort, over the course of years, that even a less extreme interpretation of the Church’s new orientation could be imposed by bishops on country parishes guarded by determined priests of the olderThegeneration.mostextreme expressions of liturgical anarchy took place in the context of a revolt against the teaching of the Church, notably on contraception, a teaching reiterated by Pope Paul VI in his encyclical Humanae Vitae in 1968. This revolt itself found its place in a wider revolt against authority, of which the year 1968 is the enduring symbol, with its riots against the Vietnam War in the USA, and the student riots of Paris. With hindsight, it is difficult to imagine a less auspicious peace-time decade for the Church to have undertaken a sweeping reform of the liturgy. The explosion of the 1960s in terms of secular culture and politics had its parallel in the Church because many of the causes of the secular crisis also had their effects on the Church. In his book Mass Exodus, the sociologist Stephen Bullivant has demonstrated for the Catholic Church in Britain and America, what Robert Putnam, in Bowling Alone, focusing on the United States, showed for society as a whole: a series of factors served to weaken the sense of community, and community norms, leading up to the 1960s. Notable among these were the migrations caused by the Second World War, and the experiences of those directly involved in it; war-damage to housing, followed by slumclearance, and suburbanisation; higher rates of tertiary education; and the spread, first of the radio, and then of television. It is hardly surprising to hear that community values and expectations of behaviour are most powerfully influential the more an individual is immersed in the community.
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FEATURE 1. Unwanted Priest p67 2. Quoted in Casini The Torn Tunic p10 3. Reid A Bitter Trial pp44-5 4. It became a separate diocese in 1976.
Muggeridge describes a parody-liturgy conducted by 300 priests who had been suspended by their bishops, as a protest at the US Bishops’ Conference meeting which was to formulate a response to Humanae Vitae, in November 1968.
Sir Arnold Lunn alluded to this aspect of the liturgical issue in his address to the Annual General Meeting of the Latin Mass Society in 1966. Noting the various motives for defending the Latin Mass, he added: “There is also clear evidence that in certain circles there is a definite animus against the Latin Mass, which is for some ultra avant-garde Catholics a symbol of much that they hope radically to change. So in defending the Latin Mass we are perhaps defending more than we know.”
We might express the ancient adage, Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi!, as, “The way we pray reflects the way we believe”, or maybe even more relevant to our present situation, “Our style of worship indicates the faith we profess”. This is clearly applicable to the present Church situation regarding the not-alwayscharitable relationship between the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass generally celebrated in the vernacular, and which Pope Francis (in Traditionis Custodes) has declared to be the normative ‘Lex Orandi’ of the Roman Rite (or as Vatican II puts it paradoxically, the “Latin” rites – Sacrosanctum Concilium 36,1)! It would be good for us to get beyond the emotively highly charged liturgical camps promoting and defending either form of the Mass, and to uncover what is below the surface of the issues involved. The issues involved here are of significant importance given the catastrophic decline of the Catholic Church in the Western world in the decades since Vatican II. An overwhelming proportion of the two generations of ‘parents’ and ‘youngsters’ today have been for practical purposes lost to the Church. Statistics bear this out particularly with regard to Mass attendances, numbers of Weddings, Confessions and Confirmations, and personal experience in our churches corroborate these indicators. Especially concerning is the very low proportion of ‘Catholic’ school leavers who go on to practise the Faith, this of course being a reflection of the situation with their parents. Obviously, despite the many other factors in our secularised society drawing people away from religious practice, the reforms ‘in the spirit’ of Vatican II have not been adequate to engage these generations in a robust practice of the Faith. This remains true despite the devout faith of those who do find spiritual nourishment in the reformed, or Novus Ordo, Mass which is generally celebrated. In face of these phenomena, the Traditional Latin Mass (or Tridentine Mass) has grown in popularity, not least with many of the younger generation. Given this scenario, Traditionis Custodes has sadly led to a veritable campaign against the TLM in many dioceses of the Church, and great anxiety among its devotees. How should we regard this situation in which we find ourselves?Fewwould deny that a good deal depends on the style of celebration of the particular liturgy – the personal ‘devotion’ of the celebrant in both forms of the Mass is significant. Even strong critics of the Novus Ordo admit that this Mass can be spiritually nourishing when celebrated in a devout way, and without personal ‘gimmicks’ on the part of the celebrant. And virtually all admit its validity. Of course, the majority of those who support and revere the Old Mass nevertheless attend the Novus Ordo most of the time, given the geographically limited availability of the TLM. This is something which most of the bloggers promoting the TLM give scant acknowledgement to, given their obvious situations of ready availability of the TLM. And even here, some devotees have deplored celebrants who ‘rattle-off’ the TLM at a lightening rate, which doesn’t help devotion on the part of congregations.
David Gornall SJ on finding the truth in the middle way
At this point, it is relevant to note the significant and huge differences between what the document on the Liturgy of Vatican II (Sacrosanctum Concilium) actually says and the reforms “in the spirit of Vatican II” which were promulgated after the Council. Dr Taylor Marshall in his book Infiltration documents this whole process in detail, and we are indebted to him for this. ‘Reforms’ involved which were not specified by the Vatican II document include the virtually complete replacement of Latin by the vernacular and the virtual exclusion of Gregorian chant, the celebration of Mass facing the people and the introduction of freestanding ‘table’ altars, the removal of altar rails, the reception of Holy Communion in the hand and standing, the introduction of Extraordinary Lay Ministers of the Eucharist (men and women) and so on. That all these changes are defended and promoted ‘in the name of Vatican II’ is, to say the least, egregious. They witness to the influence of liberal theologians and liturgists in the years following the Council. Focusing especially on the celebration of Holy Mass, it may be rather unnerving to realise that the ‘lexorandi,lexcredendi’ is in operation here – witnessing to a different theology of the Mass on the part of the celebrants and faithful involved.
AUTUMN 202210 FEATURE Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi!
It has to be admitted, also, that the individualism of many celebrants of the Novus Ordo Mass has given rise to much of the criticism directed at the New Mass. This has undoubtedly been encouraged by the rubrics and many ‘options’ of the rite, these clearly giving great scope to the personal choice of the celebrant. From this, it is a small step to the liturgical ‘creativity’ unfortunately too common among not a few celebrants today, and the liturgical ‘abuses’ so strongly excoriated by the bloggers mentioned above. Sadly, this has often been tolerated and even at times encouraged by some diocesan bishops. It is not surprising, therefore, that the clearly-defined and solemn celebration of the TLM has attracted many in reaction to the lack of devotion and sense of the sacred of very many Novus Ordo Masses.
AUTUMN 2022 11 Most obvious, is the issue of ‘focus’ – the Novus Ordo Mass as generally celebrated facing the people, tends to focus on the worshipping community, while the TLM by its physical alignment ‘ad orientem’ focuses on worship of Almighty God. Not surprisingly, therefore, many are attracted to the TLM by its solemn and ‘sacred’ character. Also, the focus on the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, made present in the Mass for our Salvation, is very often lost in the Novus Ordo celebration. The way of receiving the Holy Eucharist in the Novus Ordo Mass can easily lead to a lack of faith in the Real Presence of Christ in Holy Communion, on the part of those receiving, as the manner of receiving is how we receive ordinary food. We may note, here, the ‘casual’ manner in which many of the faithful receive Holy Communion, and even at times the way it is administered by clergy and lay ministers. Shock waves were caused in America a few years ago when a survey indicated that hardly one third of practising Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, rather seeing it as a ‘Symbol’, as do most Protestants!Here,we might examine what is perhaps the key issue for the future liturgy of the Church, and which is sadly misrepresented by many on both sides of the debate: namely, is the post Vatican II Novus Ordo Mass a ‘disruption’ of the liturgical tradition of the Church, or is it in ‘continuity’? Clearly, from the externals of language and ritual, it is a disruption. However, from the point of view of doctrine, it is without doubt in continuity, as witnessed by even its opponents accepting its validity. Even the aspect of ‘Sacrifice of Christ’ for our salvation, while often obscured by the actual celebration, is nevertheless stated in various prayers of the Novus Ordo. Consequently, despite the ‘eitheror’ stance of the present pontificate on the issue, we might well prefer rather the Benedict XVI solution put forward in his liberating document allowing widespread celebration of the TLM, that it should be more of a ‘both-and’ situation and that each form might then be enriched by the other. The witness of history would support this, for the future never reverts wholeheartedly to the past, but ought rather to embrace the life-giving elements from it. The Hegelian dialectic also would indicate this outcome, for while there has undoubtedly been an extreme reaction to the old order (a ‘swinging of the pendulum’), the healthy and desirable and practical outcome would be a solution somewhere ‘in the middle’.
Suggested reading: Bishop Athanasius Schneider, The Catholic Mass and Christus Vincit Taylor Marshall, Infiltration All available from the LMS online shop.
Or, as the old philosophers would put it, “Virtus stat in medio”!
St Peter’s Basilica Pope Francis sought to double down on Traditionis Custodes in June, again asserting—as he had in his confounding July 2021 Motu Proprio—that the post-conciliar liturgical books are “the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite” (n. 61).
On the Holy See’s silence, Bishop Schneider said they should have released, “a strong statement condemning this act” but as they did not do so, the Vatican is “culpable for the damage done to her soul, pushing her further from God and closer to possible“Ultimately,”damnation.”hesaid, “the Pope is responsible,” since he is “doing nothing as he sees this soul go consciously and publicly to her perdition. By their silence, the Vatican and the Pope are approving this act,” he said. “We therefore need to make reparation not only for Nancy Pelosi, but also for those in the Vatican.”
In comments made to me for Mass of Ages, Bishop Schneider described Pope Francis’s response to Reuters as reminiscent of Amoris Laetitia and typical of modernist thought. “Doctrine, e.g., on the indissolubility of marriage, is reaffirmed but is then immediately undermined by such confusing and ambiguous statements regarding praxis that the faithful are left thinking it has changed.”“Atrue Shepherd uses his crook from time to time,” he added, “but during this pontificate, it’s been conspicuously absent—except, generally, for adherents to the traditional liturgy.”
A soul we must pity
being given Holy Communion at a Papal Mass in
Pelosi’s reception of the Holy Eucharist in St Peter’s Basilica also came just five days after she decried the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it an “evisceration” of the rights of Americans, and the realization of a “dark, extreme goal of ripping away a woman’s right to make [her] own reproductive health decisions.” At a June 24 press conference after the ruling, Pelosi— who often touts her Catholic faith—also sharply criticized the idea that, according to her, the Supreme Court decision could lead to a ban on “contraception and in vitro fertilization”, and she vowed to keep “fighting ferociously to enshrine Roe v. Wade into the law of the land.” The Vatican remained silent about her reception of Holy Communion in the basilica until Pope Francis sat down for an interview with Reuters on 2 July. The Pope condemned abortion, comparing it (as he has in the past) to “hiring a hit man.”
Bishop Schneider, whose 2008 Vaticanpublished book Dominus Est influenced Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to exclusively distribute Holy Communion to the faithful kneeling and on the tongue, then stressed that “the person who is most negatively impacted is Mrs Pelosi.”
“She is the poorest one in this horrible scenario of this sacrilegious Communion. She is the one whose soul we must pity, because she is consciously, stubbornly eating her judgment,” he said, recalling St Paul’s admonition (1 Cor 11:29), a verse removed from the Roman Missal in the post-conciliar reform.
Bishop Schneider: ‘reparation must be our first reaction’
AUTUMN 2022 13 ROMAN REPORT
“We cannot go back to that ritual form which the Council fathers, cum Petro et subPetro, felt the need to reform” the Pope insists in his 29 June Apostolic Letter on the importance of “liturgical formation,” titled Desiderio Desideravi. Yet, as Joseph Shaw, Chairman of the Latin Mass Society, has observed, there is no explanation or argumentation in the document but rather only “bald stipulation.” In fact, he notes, “the substantive content of Desiderio Desideravi is strikingly traditional, but [Francis] just directs us to believe that this means that the reformed Mass is good and the unreformed Mass is bad.” Others have argued that what the Pope advises in Desiderio Desideravi can all be found in the traditional Mass. But whatever the hopes and desires of Desiderio Desideravi, the Pope’s Apostolic Letter on “liturgical formation” was rendered practically meaningless by the grave scandal of pro-abortion US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi being given Holy Communion at a Papal Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, on the Solemnity of Saints Peter andJustPaul.an hour before the document’s release, Pelosi—who was photographed by Vatican Media warmly greeting Pope Francis before the Mass—received the Eucharist from an unidentified priest, despite being barred in May from Holy Communion, in line with canon law, in her home diocese. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco stressed that he took the decision after years of prayer, fasting and repeated attempts to “meet and speak with Speaker Pelosi” about her support for legalized abortion.
“This objectively sacrilegious act, performed in the most holy place of Christianity, in the presence of the Pope […] can only provoke suffering in us because we believe in Him and we love Him: Jesus Christ in the Eucharist,” he said.
But when asked if a Catholic politician who openly supports the “right to choose” abortion should be allowed to receive the Eucharist, Pope Francis said: “When the Church loses its pastoral nature, when a bishop loses his pastoral nature, it causes a political problem,” he said. “That’s all I canInsay.”response to Pelosi’s being given the Eucharist in the Vatican, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of St Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan, said that “reparation must be our first reaction to console Our Lord who is so horribly outraged in the Holy Sacrament.”
Diane Montagna on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
AUTUMN 202214 ARCHITECTURE
Canon Harrison selected a large site opposite the Bradford Hospital (now an open space), but due to widespread antiCatholic sentiment in the city, decided to purchase it through an intermediary. It is said that the sellers, Misses Mary and Elizabeth Rawson, were furious when they discovered that the land was going to be used to build a Catholic church.
BradfordPatrick,
Building started in 1851, and the church was opened in 1853 by Rt Rev. John Briggs, the Bishop of Beverley. Due to a shortage of funds, there was no presbytery, and the church was served from St Mary’s, until it became a parish in 1855. Although the structure of the church was largely complete for the opening, the fitting out of the interior had to wait another ten years. This was done following the arrival of Fr (later Canon) William Scruton, who became the Parish Priest in 1863. He added the presbytery in 1866, the school in 1867 and the south porch in 1869. A Caen stone altar was installed at the Lady Chapel in 1867, and 1871 the East window was fitted with stained glass provided by Hardman, Powel and Hardman. Decorative painting was applied to the internal surfaces during the 1880s, and finally an oak parclose screen was installed between the chancel and the Lady Chapel in 1887. The convent moved to the site towards the end of the century. It was not until 1903, the golden jubilee of the opening, that the church was free of debt, and could be consecrated.
Inconspicuous entrance Like most buildings in Bradford, the Church of St Patrick was built of the local yellow stone. Unusually, it is orientated so that the East Window overlooks the main street, and the only entrance, which has to be approached from a side street is inconspicuous, squeezed, as it is between the presbytery and the convent. Designed in the Early English style, the church is comprised of nave, chancel and side aisles. There are clerestory windows above the side aisles, and the roof line of the chancel
Church of St
All windows have intricate tracery, and most benefit from high-quality stained glass. It is unfortunate that some of the windows have been fitted with ugly protective grilles, that detract from the building’s overall appearance. It is only when one goes inside that the size of the church becomes apparent.
Paul Waddington examines one of George Goldie’s earliest works
is a little lower than that of the nave. There is a modest tower at the western end, but this is now largely obscured by the presbytery, convent and school building.
With a nave of six bays and the chancel extending for a further three bays, St Patrick’s is a large church. The arcading in the nave springs from alternating octagonal and cylindrical columns. Nested above each column is a statue depicting one of the twelve apostles. The columns are somewhat short, and one cannot Frontage to the main street
George Goldie of the Sheffield firm, Weightman, Hadfield and Goldie, was appointed as the architect. Goldie was aged only 22 at the time of the appointment, and St Patrick’s was one of his first commissions.
Large numbers of Irish immigrants arrived in Bradford following the potato famine of 1845. They found employment in the rapidly expanding woollen mills and settled in the Black Abbey and White Abbey areas of the town. The only Catholic church in Bradford at the time was that of St Mary, which soon became inadequate for the growing congregation. The Parish Priest, Canon Thomas Harrison, decided to build a new church in the Black Abbey area, specifically to serve the Irish community.
ARCHITECTURE
* Shortish columns feature in several of Goldie’s churches, a notable example being the Church of St Mary and St Augustine at Stamford.
AUTUMN 2022 15 help feeling that taller columns would have enhanced the building by giving it a loftier feel.* Above the arcade, two-light clerestory windows supply the interior with plenty of natural light. The five-light west window contains quality stained glass. Originally, there was a gallery at the west end, but this has been taken down. The roof is supported on scissor trusses. In contrast to the nave, the roof of the chancel is supported on hammer beams. Alas, Goldie’s High Altar has gone, and has been replaced by something modern and inappropriate. Part of the reredos does, however, survive, although the very splendid monstrance throne with its tall canopy has been removed. Also lost are the rood and rood beam that were an important feature of the church. The six light East window contains some very fine stained glass. Interesting survivals of the post Vatican II reordering are the sedilia, three stone seats set into the south wall beneath gothic arches. Organ An organ designed by Nicholson was installed in the west gallery, although it was transferred to a new organ gallery above the sacristy in 1902. It seems that this organ became unusable at some stage. It was scrapped in 2019 and replaced by a small second-hand instrument that was placed in the north aisle in front of the former confessional. This single manual instrument dates from 1890, and was originally installed in a Methodist church. It was later transferred to a now redundant Anglican church near Richmond in North Yorkshire before finding its present home. The Presbytery Alongside the church, and occupying the prime position of the street corner is the presbytery. It is a building of great grandeur and elegance, and a contrast with the relatively simple eastern gable of the church. It gives an indication of how the church might have looked had more money been available. Built from the same local stone as the church, it has a complex roof incorporating gabled dormers. Although the front door, like that of the church, is on the side street, the frontage to the main road is particularly impressive, having a large oriel window at first floor level. A niche high above the street at the corner of the building used to house a statue of St Patrick. Reordering The middle years of the twentieth century saw many changes in Bradford. Slum clearance caused widespread depopulation in the area around St Patrick’s Church. Despite a much-reduced congregation and diminished income, it seems that money was found for extensive reordering between 1968 and 1972. The sanctuary was extended and covered by a carpet. The High Altar was replaced by a modern altar in the centre of the sanctuary: the communion rails and pulpit were also removed, and the wall paintings were simply painted over. From then on, there was steady decline and dilapidation set in. In 2009, St Patrick’s became a Chapel of Ease within the Parish of St Joseph, and closed altogether in 2012, largely due to the state of the roof. Revival In 2005, a new use was found for the former convent. It became the home of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, whose objective was to re-evangelise Bradford, and to serve the destitute and homeless of the 2014city. saw the appointment of Bishop Stock to the Diocese of Leeds. Bishop Stock envisaged a new role for St Patrick’s Church, with the Friars playing a central role. The church and presbytery were reroofed, allowing the church, now under the care of the Friars, to be reopened in 2018. Some of 1980s reordering has been reversed, and there are plans to restore the 1879 scheme of decoration. More recently, St Patrick’s has seen the reintroduction of the Traditional Mass. A Low Mass is offered every Sunday at 1pm.
St Patrick’s sanctuary as it is today
birmingham-lms-rep.blogspot.co.uk/birmingham@lms.org.uk232225
Preparations are well in hand for the Pilgrimage Mass at Our Lady of Consolation & St Francis at West Grinstead on Bank Holiday Monday, 29 August. A Sung Mass will be offered at 2pm, followed by refreshments and tours of the Presbytery, and ending with Rosary and Benediction. Please do come along and also spread the word. Any food to share for the refreshment break will be gratefully received on the day.
The first Missa Cantata for some time at Our Lady’s, Swynnerton, was held on Pentecost Sunday (5 June) with an assembled schola and Winefride Scorey organist. The Mass ended appropriately for the Platinum Jubilee with the singing of the Domine Salvum Fac. Fr Paul intoned parts of the Mass, something he had not been able to do for some years, with server Ignatius Scorey intoning the Epistle, for the first time in public.
DIOCESAN DIGEST
Arundel & Brighton Huw 07954aandb@lms.org.ukDavies253284
The last quarter started with the welcome resumption of Masses at the beautiful and historic Church of St Edward the Confessor in the grounds of Sutton Park, near Guildford, after a hiatus of several years. Fr Tristan Cranfield, who was previously assisting in Eastbourne, has recently been appointed Assistant Priest in the Guildford parishes, and now offers a Low Mass each Friday at 7.30pm. Masses in Eastbourne at Our Lady of Ransom continue to be celebrated by Fr Bruno Witchalls, with the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Our Lord being marked by a Missa Cantata, and there will be a few more of these replacing the usual Low Mass on occasional Fridays which coincide with feasts.
AUTUMN 2022 REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY 16
Birmingham & Black Country Louis Maciel 07392
Birmingham (North Staffs) Alan north-staffs-lms.blogspot.comFrost
In the next quarter at the Oratory, the Feast of St John Henry Newman falls on a Sunday and will be celebrated with the usual Low Mass, High Mass and Vespers on 9 October. There will be several Masses celebrated on Holy Souls in addition to the High Mass at 7.30pm, but if you wish to attend these you will need to contact the Oratory the day before to confirm timings.
We continue to benefit from Sunday Masses in both the Oratory (8am) and Holy Rood (5pm); the latter will be Low over the summer but Sung again from September. Feast days are covered by the Oratory and SS Gregory & Augustine. With the Society of St Tarcisius, there will be a server training day on 10 September in Holy Rood; please email me or see the Society of St Tarcisius blog for more details. At the time of writing, I am trying to confirm two special events; please look out for announcements. Please email me to join the local mailing list, and also for singing and serving opportunities.
Mass of Ages quarterly round-up
Ascension, Corpus Christi and SS Peter & Paul saw a Low Mass celebrated at St Mary-on-the-Hill in Wednesbury at 6.30pm and High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory at 7.30pm. The Queen’s Jubilee was a doubly joyous occasion on which the Archbishop ordained Br David to the Sacred Priesthood at the Birmingham Oratory. As a Bank Holiday, it did however mean the first Friday Mass at Sacred Heart and All Souls was cancelled, with the Mass the month before celebrated in the Ordinary Form with Latin chant due to the unavailability of the usual priest. Due to first Holy Communions taking place, the third Friday Mass at St Dunstan’s in June was also cancelled. Despite being on a Friday, the only regional celebration of the Sacred Heart in the 1962 Missal was a Sung Mass at the Oratory, with the annual novena at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour leading to the Mass moving to Saturday in Wolverhampton, and illness meaning the Mass for Friday and the following Sunday had to be cancelled in Wednesbury.
Just up the road at St Pancras in Lewes, congratulations are due to Maksymilian and Luke who received their first Society of St Tarcisius servers’ medals recently, and we offer them our prayers for their perseverance in this invaluable service to the traditional form of the Mass. A plethora of feasts in the last few months have meant several Masses outside of the usual calendar, and we are grateful to Canon Jonathan Martin for celebrating these alongside the rest of his parish schedule.
As at Lewes, at St Hugh of Lincoln in Knaphill the usual Mass schedule has been supplemented by festal Masses, with a Missa Cantata on the Feast of Corpus Christi, including the first Holy Communion of two children, followed by a procession and Benediction, then a party in the hall. There has also been another betrothal ceremony of a young couple and the reception of a convert into the Church, the latter being followed on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel with Holy Mass, Rosary and the giving of the Scapular to several parishioners.Sadly,onthe Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady we will be saying goodbye to Fr Gerard Hatton, who will be leaving both Knaphill and the diocese as he starts a new chapter in Edinburgh, where he hopes to found an Oratory of St Philip Neri, alongside another priest from the Diocese of Dunkeld. We thank him for the many graces which have come from his ministry to us and he will go with our gratitude and prayers. At a recent parish meeting the Bishop committed to providing a solution to the gap which this will leave in the Vetus Ordo provision, as this will not be possible under the new arrangements for the parish (which will be served from St Dunstan’s in Woking). We are yet to hear the form this will take, so please keep His Lordship in your prayers. I will endeavour to share what updates I get as soon as I have them via the Society website and social media, however please feel free to contact me by telephone or email should you want the latest information.
However, a week later, the Feast of the Precious Blood, saw four Masses celebrated at all these churches and Sacred Heart and All Souls in Acocks Green, with a Votive Mass celebrated two weeks later at St Dunstan’s.
Birmingham (Oxford) Joseph oxford@lms.org.ukShaw
Facebook: Extraordinary Malvern Established regular Masses across Worcestershire – in Kidderminster and Redditch – continue as normal, as do weekly Sunday Low Masses just across the border in Ledbury, Herefordshire.Insadnews, our dear friend Fr George Grynowski, a priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, who in the past has occasionally supplied for Missae Cantatae in the south of Worcestershire, passed away in June after a long illness. A Requiem Mass in his beloved usus antiquior will be celebrated for the repose of his soul. Requiescat in pace. A single Missa Cantata was permitted for a pilgrimage group visiting the county, and a recent announcement in the Evesham parish bulletin also suggests that the former midweek Low Masses are set to return there soon.
The Swynnerton church is part of the estate of Lord Stafford, whose family (Fitzherbert) go back hundreds of years as Catholics. After lengthy delays through Covid, members of the Fitzherbert family were able to bring their infant children all the way from San Francisco to be baptised in the family chapel, by Fr Chavasse. One, though only two years old, proclaimed it was ‘the greatest day of my life.’ Shades of Little Nellie of Holy God! Fr Stefak at St Augustine’s Church in Meir, Stoke-onTrent, continues his Wednesday evening (7pm) Masses in the Traditional Rite, where attendance is steadily increasing. Discussions with Fr Stefak, and with Fr Chavasse at Swynnerton, have resulted in both priests agreeing to more Sung Masses at both churches in the coming months. Another improvement is the North Staffs LMS blog back in operation. Birmingham (Worcestershire)
Lastly our thanks as ever to all our local priests who make the extra effort to celebrate Mass and the other Sacraments for us and who support us in so many other ways; also, not forgetting of course those bishops who are generous in their pastoral care in granting the necessary permissions. Please remember them all in your prayers.
17 REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY AUTUMN 2022
With the announcement of some priest movements around the diocese, we are naturally in a state of flux without, currently, a clear picture in some places about the future status of EF provision.
We continue to be blessed by our stalwart priests working hard – often at considerable personal inconvenience – to provide Masses in various locations round the diocese. There’s also the haven of Withermarsh Green (see elsewhere in this magazine for details) just over the northern border for those of us who can travel! This is a large region undergoing several changes, so please keep me informed about developments in your local area so that I can circulate details. If you are not currently on my local email (bcc!) circulation list (you should be receiving something from me at reasonably regular intervals), but do please feel free to get in touch.
Fr George Grynowski, RIP
Mass at Stansted Mountfitchet Brentwood (Epping) Sister marys_home@talktalk.netSusan
Perhaps our biggest blow has been the Norbertines’ move from Chelmsford to Peckham. Whilst it is clear that the move is best for them, what a hole they will leave in our lives! They have been such an inspiration, and their impressive record of vocations and ordinations speaks volumes for their deserved success. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude and we offer up our prayers in thanks and for their happiness in their new home. We’re also praying hard for a happy outcome at Chelmsford!Thesituation in Stansted Mountfitchet is also troubling, since we are losing the staunch Fr Lee Bennet who is moving away to be nearer his family. I understand that Fr Neil Brett is hoping to cover the Tuesday Masses there (thank you!).
Our Sung Masses continue on the fourth Sunday of each month, at 3 pm, and attract an increasing number of people, notably families with young children.
Our priests, choir and serving team remain steady. One important development deserves mention: we have now started a ‘Lumen Day’, classes for Middle and Secondary School children, on the first Saturday of each month, from 11 am to 4 pm. The day starts with prayer, then we study the Catechism in its original, simple form, as it was in the Penny Catechism, entitled ‘A Catechism of Christian Doctrine’. Audio-visual aids are used, as well as more traditional methods of explanation.
Brentwood (East) Alan alanmdgardner@gmail.comGardner
Alastair J Tocher 01684 extraordinarymalvern.ukmalvern@lms.org.uk893332
The only thing to report is that Fr Crean celebrated a Sung Mass at St Bartholomew's Church, St Albans on Low Sunday for Divine Mercy Sunday. This involved a lengthy commitment of time as it included confessions andBisBenediction.hopMcAlennan is trying, so far without success, to find a replacement for the weekly St Bartholomew's Mass. Hexham and Newcastle Keith McAllister 01325 308968 07966 k_mcallister@ymail.com235329
lancasterassistant@lms.org.uk01524Johnlatinmasslancaster.blogspot.comlancaster@lms.org.uk962387Rogan858832
TomHertfordshireShort
On Saturday 7 May we were graced with good weather for the annual English Martyrs pilgrimage. A goodly number of people, young and old, processed from St Walburge's to English Martyrs with relics and banners. On arrival at English Martyrs we had Mass, devotions and veneration, followed by a social. At the beginning of June, while many of us had a leisurely celebration of Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee (even at the ICKSP seminary in Gricigliano!), others were more energetic: Canon Duarte, together with three of our candidates and four of our congregation, developed webbed feet on the Paris to Chartres pilgrimage. Another member of the congregation discovered that his waterproofs were not, after all, waterproof during his two-week walk on the Camino de Santiago. Well done to them all! On Pentecost Sunday there was a Missa Cantata rather than Solemn High Mass as there were only two priests available, but it was still celebrated with great solemnity. Against a beautiful setting of red lilies and a backdrop of falling red petals signifying tongues of fire, it was a most moving way of giving honour and glory to the Holy Ghost. A high wind howled against the partly-roofed church but suddenly, around the start of the canon, the most remarkable silence occurred, a silence not within the church. It was as if St Walburge's was embedded in an external silence which no noise could penetrate.
AUTUMN 2022 REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY 18
The children are encouraged to respond in various ways, for instance with sketching. After this there is recreation (eg badminton on the lawn, a walk in the fields, or indoor games if the weather is inclement) and lunch. The afternoon session starts with prayer for 15 minutes in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed. This is followed by study of the Gospel (currently according to St Mark), with reading, explanation, discussion and questions. The venue is the Queen of Peace House of Prayer in Epping. We had a very successful first Day on Saturday 4 June, with four children in attendance. Inquiries to me by email, please. East Anglia (West) Alisa and Gregor Dick 01954 cambridge@lms.org.uk780912
Mass at Wooler
This has been a very active period for Ancient Rite liturgies with extra Solemn High Masses (SHM) and first Saturday Fatima devotions with Low Masses. For Corpus Christi a SHM was celebrated at St Joseph’s Gateshead with a procession and Benediction. The sacred Ministers were Frs Thomas Mason, David Phillips and Canon Michael Brown, with music provided by the Westland Singers directed by Paul Dewhurst. A Mass setting by Michael Bonfitto, with the Lauda Sion and Propers in plainsong, plus motets by Elgar and Casciolini. Two days later on June 18, Feast of St Ephrem the Syrian, another SHM was offered at St Ninians, Wooler, on the 28th anniversary of the Ordination of Fr David Phillips. The Sacred Ministers were Frs Thomas Mason, David Phillips with Andre Kormas. The music again performed by the Westland Singers with Paul Dewhurst, with a setting by Casciolini and plainsong Propers. Motets included Ave Maria (Vittoria) and Vias Tuas Domine. Fr Phillips was very grateful to Fr Mason and all other participants who travelled many miles to the remote location. On June 21 a Server training course was held in St Joseph’s Gateshead, conducted by Leo Darroch, attended by 3 men and 5 boys, who were also given notes re the duties and protocols with a history of the TLM and its development.
Sunday Masses at Blackfriars in Cambridge continue as normal. The dates on which these Masses will be sung will be listed on the noticeboard inside the entrance of the priory. It is intended that these occasional Sung Masses resume in October with the return of the students.
BobLancaster&Jane Latin 01772
The celebrations for Corpus Christi began with 7-cope Vespers on the eve of the Feast, with seven Canons from the Institute and two priests from the diocese. On the Feast Day itself we had Solemn High Mass at English Martyrs at noon followed by a Blessed Sacrament procession around the neighbouring streets.
On the Saturday we began Quarant'Ore following the 8.30 am Mass which ended with the Preston Deanery Procession in the afternoon. Despite the early rain, the weather cleared to allow a very well-supported procession to take place in the streets around St Walburge's. The Octave concluded with a Solemn High Mass at English Martyrs at noon on the beautiful Feast of the Sacred Heart at English Martyrs, which was also the last day of term for St Benedict's Academy. On the Sunday following we had the last Guild meeting before the summer, where Canon Cristofoli presented a fascinating talk on the history of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Guild meetings will resume in the Autumn. At the end of June, at the seminary in Gricigliano, our candidates from last year received the cassock and tonsure. Supported by his brother Joseph (also at the Seminary) and the rest of his family, Michael McCowen was ordained to the diaconate, Deo gratias! This year's candidates left us in July for time with their families and then some intensive study of French before going to the Seminary in the autumn. At their Vigil of Pentecost, St Walburge's, Preston
final Sunday Mass, Canon Ducret (himself only ordained one year ago) gave a most encouraging homily particularly addressed to them; two paragraphs are worth repeating here:
“But now you are soon on the road to Italy. After leaving everything, your family, your past life, your homeland, you will reach this little place in Tuscany called Gricigliano. Seven years await you there. Seven years that from all eternity have been prepared for you by God. Seven years of prayerful life, of recollection, of study, of preparation for the priesthood, of community life. Seven short years in which you will have to take care of every minute that God gives you to practice virtue.
AUTUMN 2022 REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY 19
“There you will grow more in the love of Christ so that one day, God willing, you will become other Christs, alter Christus, priests of the Lord and High Priest, and thus save souls. You must therefore be overflowing fountains of God's love in order to make this love of God flow abundantly over the souls entrusted to you. And this love must be sought at the Source which is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Thus, you will be intimate apostles of Divine Love. The more intimately you are united with God, the more souls you will attract to Him. Thus, you will be effective instruments of God.”
Seven short years in which you will have to open your heart with confidence to God so that He may shape it, so that He may penetrate it and so that He may remain in it. Seven short years in which you will have to be docile to the Lord's teaching, which will be expressed through the mouth of your superiors.
Our congregations continue to grow with people coming from all points of the compass. Many of these people come weekly, others as frequently as they can. These include many families who often have to put up with considerable inconvenience to get themselves and their children to Mass on time (particularly those who attend the 9 am Mass at English Martyrs!). On 17 October Bishop Paul Swarbrick will confirm over 20 of our young people and we look forward to welcoming him to our vibrant community. During the summer there will be a reduced schedule of Masses and devotions due to the Canons being away at various times. There will be no midday Masses at English Martyrs and, if the Academy moves to St Walburge's in time for the autumn term, these will not be resumed. On the Feast of the Assumption there will be an 8.30 am Low Mass and a Sung Mass at 6pm followed by a procession in honour of Our Lady, both at St Walburge's. If you have never visited our beautiful Preston churches then you might be interested in coming along to one of the forthcoming Heritage Open Days this September. There will be guided tours and opportunities (weather permitting) to climb the 170 or so steps of the spire at St Walburge's to look at the fantastic view. Dates are as follows: Saturday 10 September, 10.30 am to 1pm at St Walburge's; Sunday 11 September, 2pm to 5pm at St Walburge's; Saturday 17 September, 10.30am to 1pm at St Walburge's; Saturday 17 September, 2pm to 4pm at English Martyrs. Again, please check the newsletters at icksp. org.uk/preston/ to confirm times. Masses at St Mary's, Hornby, continue as normal on Saturdays at 11am, thanks to Fr Docherty; the stability of a weekly Mass is appreciated. Numbers are very small – between 3 and 12 - so if you live in the area, please do take advantage of this opportunity and swell the congregation. There will be no Masses in August; please check the newsletter for September. One of our servers, Chris Robson, has stepped down so we thank him for the time he has given to serving.
We have enjoyed having the candidates with us and our prayers go with them. To date Canon Cristofoli has received five applications - four British and one Irish - from young men interested in coming to the House of Discernment in October 2022. At the time of writing the replacement of the south-side roof at St Walburge's is almost complete but sadly it has been discovered that the stunning rose window in the west front is in a very poor condition and will need major work to make it secure for the future. Our fundraising efforts have now been diverted to this urgent cause. If you can help, please go to icksp.org.uk/preston/support-our-apostolate-in-lancashire/ to donate, stating that it is for the rose window.
We are delighted to have Fr Paul Harrison join the roster of Old Rite celebrating priests in Carlisle. He was understandably a little nervous offering his first Traditional Mass for 12 years but he has since really got back into the swing of things. Now he takes turns with Canon Liuz Ruscillo and Fr Daniel Etienne to offer our Saturday Mass. More information about our Parish is available at www.carlislecatholicchurch.org.
Fr Etienne offered Mass on Ascension Day at Our Lady and St Wilfrid, Warwick Bridge. Many repaired to the Presbytery for a communal supper thereafter. A number of us attended Masses of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in Preston on the Feasts of Corpus Christi and SS Peter and Paul. We continue to pray that all such major feasts may be celebrated locally in the Old Rite.
Canon Cristofoli celebrating Mass on Helvellyn, Cumbria
Work has commenced on the new accommodation at the St Walburge's site for St Benedict's Academy. The roof has been patched for the time being but will require replacing in due course. However, the builder is making good progress with the classrooms and, with St Joseph's help, they will be ready for the autumnSadly,term.we will say goodbye to Sisters Bianca-Marie and Aline-Marie in August as they have been posted to new congregations. Sister Aline-Marie has been with us since November 2017 when the Sisters first arrived in Preston. They will be much missed but we look forward to welcoming two new sisters to the community in September.
On 3 July the Institute's Pro-Provincial of England, Canon Amaury Montjean, celebrated 20 years of priesthood and a special Te Deum was offered for him on 5 July in thanksgiving for his ministry. Ad multos annos! Present for the celebration were most of the canons from the English province. This was followed by a surprise reception which Canon Poucin and Canon Cristofoli had managed to keep a secret. Canon Montjean was presented with a reliquary of St Francis de Sales, one of the Institute's patrons.
Serving Holy Mass high on a sunny flank of Helvellyn in Patterdale at the age of 72 must count as one of the peak experiences of my life. Ten of us had climbed until we found a suitable rock on which Canon Cristofoli ICKSP could lay out his Mass kit. I was particularly impressed to see that he had carried a heavy pair of black boots all the way up the mountain so that he could change out of his trainers. “The Mass is no joking matter!” he reassured me as he vested for the celebration with all reverence. Being present at so redolent a Calvary and then receiving the Blessed Sacrament in so majestic a natural setting had most, if not all of us, in a state of bliss - or tears. Meanwhile, back at base, our regular Saturday 10 am Masses at St Margaret Mary’s, Scalegate Road, Carlisle, continuenormally Low Mass but Sung once a month. I have just about got Salve Sancta Parens off by heart now. Any men looking to join our six-man Schola Gregoriana Sancta Caecilia, please be in touch, as, in September, we shall be losing Will Steven, who will then be at The Royal English College in Valladolid, Spain, beginning his studies for the priesthood. Congratulations on your admission, Will!
Lancaster (North) Nicholas Steven 07715 warwickbridge@lms.org.uk539395
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Just a reminder that Holy Mass at Sacred Heart, Morriston is at 1pm – typically Mass in Morriston is on the 1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays. Holy Mass at St David and St Patrick, Haverfordwest is at 4pm on the 4th Sunday. However, please ring or text to check if Mass is taking place before travelling on 07702 230983. We continue to post information on our blogspot and Facebook group, so please check here for the latest information: meneviastabatmater.blogspot.com/ waddadux@gmail.comPaulMiddlesbroughWaddington
Meneviastabatmater.blogspot.com/ElaineMeneviaSharpling
liverpool@lms.org.ukNeilLiverpoolAddison
The annual ceremony of Confirmations in the Traditional Rite was a little different this year. Archbishop MacMahon was scheduled to confirm the candidates, but he had not recovered from Covid and kindly arranged for Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan to come over from Ireland (Waterford), with Fr Patrick O’Donohue, FSSP, and perform the ceremony on 2 July. It was a busy afternoon with the number of confirmandi swelled to 37 with the inclusion of children and adults from the Birmingham and York Oratories. On behalf of all the candidates and families, Fr de Malleray expressed heartfelt gratitude to His Excellency who later returned home on the evening ferry. Information on the FSSP apostolate in the Waterford diocese can be found online on fssp.ie
Michael Hall will be leading a group from St Mary’s to take part in a 3-day Pilgrimage from Edinburgh to St Andrews with Papa Stronsay Redemptorists, organised by a Confraternity set up to restore Catholicism in Scotland (confraternity-of-stninian.com).
Fr Gwilym Evans FSSP, who recently served as Deacon at St Mary’s for a while, was ordained on 18 June in Bavaria. Fr Quirke and some parishioners represented the Priory Shrine at the occasion. St Mary’s has a new Instagram page, a good way of keeping in touch with the Shrine and connecting with the many activities: instagram.com/fssp.warrington
We have been blessed with good news! Firstly a few new people have started to come to the Mass offered by Fr Liam in Haverfordwest, despite the Mass not being advertised on the parish newsletter; it seems word of mouth and our Stabat Mater blogspot is doing a good job of keeping everyone informed of events. Secondly – the Missa Cantata is back! Thankfully, another (very experienced) server is now able to support Canon Jason Jones at Sacred Heart, Morriston. This means that Tom is now able to play the organ and lead the singing. We had a very successful Sung Mass for Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Pentecost and for Corpus Christi. To build on this success, we are also hoping to offer some more local server training and enrol servers into the Society of St Tarcisius. Our sincere thanks go to Canon Jones especially for his steadfast determination to be a shepherd to the traditional flock – it is very much appreciated.
The funeral of John Marechal was held on 23 June. Despite a serious problem with his spine in his late years, John would come to St Mary’s regularly for Mass and helped in the Priory as best he could. A much-appreciated member of St Mary’s, he was a devout man. We first met in my early days of attending the Latin Mass in the late 1990s in St Vincent’s, Altrincham, when Fr Knight was celebrant. Rest in peace, good man.
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Fr de Malleray had also, the previous month, offered his thanks to all who contributed to the success of the annual Corpus Christi procession through the centre of Warrington on Sunday 19 June. The Rector reminds us that as in previous years, it is a beautiful prayerful witness to our shared Catholic faith in the Eucharistic Lord. Thanks also to Canon Christopher Cunningham, PP who welcomed the procession at St Alban’s Church as on previous years.
Liverpool (Warrington) Alan Frost
Our Latin Mass goers turned out in force to join the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament from Our Lady and St Joseph, Warwick Square to Carlisle Cathedral on Sunday 3 July. We processed through the streets of the city, singing hymns all the way and kneeling for a brief Benediction in the market square. At the Cathedral, after Evensong sung by the Cathedral Choir, all knelt for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Tantum Ergo was sung with gusto and the final Amen was particularly memorable. As Carlisle Cathedral was originally built for the celebration of Pontifical High Mass, it would be great to see it used for that purpose again one day.
Firstly, I have to apologise for missing my report for the last issue of Mass of Ages, Mea maxima culpa.
The Traditional Rite in Liverpool Archdiocese continues to depend mainly on the FSSP in St Mary’s Warrington. There is a Tuesday 12 noon TLM in St Catherine Laboure in Leyland and a Thursday 7.30pm Mass in St John, Standishgate, Wigan but in no other Churches.
Fortunately, St Mary’s offers the Traditional Rite on a daily basis and will be holding Confirmations in the Traditional Rite given by our Archbishop Malcolm McMahon. This is being held because of the recognition from Pope Francis of the right of FSSP Apostolates to use all the pre-1962 liturgical booksAs the local representative of the LMS, I was invited to meet the Archbishop. Such meetings do not solve all problems and we both accepted that the Archbishop cannot simply ignore Traditionis Custodes but it is was important to keep our connection with our local Ordinary, to assure him of our prayers and to make him realise that we are not going away.
At the York Oratory, a Missa Cantata is offered at noon every Sunday. Usually, the musical setting is polyphonic and sung by choral scholars. However, since the scholars are university students, it is generally a plainsong Mass out of term time. The Oratory also offers a Low Mass at 8.15am on weekdays, and 9.15am on Saturdays.Corpus Christi procession from St Mary’s
Plymouth (Devon) Maurice Quinn 07555 devon@lms.org.uk536579
One of the highlights of the year is the visit by the Latin Mass Society to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Bedford for a High Mass of Reparation for Abortion, and 2022 will be the fifth year this has taken place. This year’s Mass will be on Saturday 12 November at 12 noon. The pandemic has meant this has been curtailed somewhat over the last two years, but we are hoping to have a normal-sized congregation and a reception afterwards this year. The celebrant is Fr Gerard Byrne, a Diocesan priest based in Corby who has a great devotion to the Old Rite. The Southwell Consort, led by Dominic Bevan, will provide the music.
We were delighted to learn that Fr Gwilym Evans, who was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood on 18 June, has been assigned to the FSSP apostolate at Reading, whose priests serve Bedford, and therefore we hope to see him in Christ the King at some point in the coming year to give First Blessings.
As always, please see our Facebook page: facebook.com/ bedfordlatinmass or the FSSP page fssp.org.uk/bedford for updates and other articles of interest.
Thanks to Canon Cahill's indefatigability, Masses have continued at St Peter's in Leicester on Saturday mornings, and at Blessed Sacrament in the same city on Sundays at 8.00 am.
Suitably the feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated at Blessed Sacrament with a Sung Mass. This fascinating church (built, incidentally, largely through the munificence of our current Chairman's great-aunt) is the former UK home of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers, but has been unhappily "reordered". Fr Dye, at Oakham, has been recently unwell, but the Friday evening Masses continue where possible; please pray for him and check the parish notice sheet before travelling at stjosephs-oakham.org Plymouth (Cornwall) Stefano cornwall@lms.org.ukMazzeo
Fr Byrne has maintained the usual schedule of Masses at St Brendan, Corby, a schedule that now includes Masses on most Fridays, in addition to the Saturday and Sunday Masses. Mass was sung on the feasts of the Ascension and the Sacred Heart. Fr Thomas Crean has kindly stepped in to celebrate Mass in Fr Byrne's absence, and is scheduled to do so again shortly.
There will be a pilgrimage in honour of St Margaret Clitherow on Bank Holiday Monday 29 August starting at the Bar Convent at 10.30am, including a Sung Mass at the Oratory at noon, and concluding with Benediction at 2pm. The Requiem Mass at 6pm on Friday 4 November is for deceased Oratorian Fathers and Brothers. The 3pm Sunday Low Masses continue at St Joseph’s Church in Stokesley, although there will be a two week break at the end of August due to Fr Charlton being away. The 7.30pm Thursday Low Masses offered by Fr Massie continue at the Church of Our Lady and St Peter Chanel in Hull.
Lanherne continues to thrive, we have Masses at 8:30 and 10am on a Sunday and 8am throughout the week, with an extra one on Thursdays at 6:15pm. The renovation project continues to need your prayers and support, please contact Canon Smith at canon.smith@institute-christ-king.org or by phone to the Chaplain’s house 01637 861752. We have a new traditional pilgrimage established in Cornwall which this year took place around the Whitsun weekend; they took the ancient Cornish pilgrimage route which was once part of the Compostella. Our pilgrims completed a thirty mile walk which finished at Lanherne for the Vigil of Pentecost. The pilgrims marched under the banners of the Celtic saints and the Cornish martyrs of the Reformation, with the flags of St Perrin and St George united with the banner of the Five Wounds of Christ. The pilgrims walked through the Cornish villages and towns, along seafronts and were a great witness to tradition, with many people applauding them, taking photos and asking about the Faith. Please see an interview with Collette Oliver in Christendom Rising on my Youtube channel.
Once again it is pleasing to report more encouraging signs of growth and consolidation on the Devon Latin Mass scene, centered as it is on the now restored Shrine Church of Holy Angels, Chelston, Torquay. With a much-appreciated generous donation from the Latin Mass Society, the Shrine’s Prior, Canon Scott Tanner ICKSP, was able to move the altar back to its original position, repaint the walls and restore the timber floors. The original sanctuary lamp was discovered,
Northampton North (Northamptonshire) Paul northampton@lms.org.uk01858Beardsmore434037
We say a sad goodbye to our Bishop Mark O’Toole who has been a good friend and supporter of Tradition in the Plymouth diocese. He also instigated our Traditional Video magazine in support of Lanherne Convent. With prayers for his new position as Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia.
Talking of Christendom Rising, please see our latest video magazine which is now live. This episode's theme is Traditional Catholic Education. Our host Sophie Oliver interviews Dr Andrew Beards, with other contributions by Fr de Malleray, Canon Montjean, Canon Tanner, and Canon Smith. Mrs Josephine Ford and Michelle Buscombe talk about home schooling and educating a traditional Catholic Family. Sophie also interviewed actress Esther Slater on her role as St Bernadette in the up-coming film for EWTN, Message of Lourdes.Young Catholic Adults are organizing a weekend at Douai Abbey in Berkshire. You’ll be able to hear catechetical talks, learn how to sing Gregorian Chant, say the Rosary, socialize and have fun. Book soon as places are limited! Please contact Damian Barker at youngcatholicadult@googlemail.com
Northampton (South) Barbara Kay 01234 340759 mbky3@outlook.com
Nottingham South (Leicestershire and Rutland) Paul northampton@lms.org.uk01858Beardsmore434037
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We duly marked the Ascension, Corpus Christi and SS Peter and Paul with Low Masses in the morning at Chesham Bois and in the evening at Bedford, with good numbers at all of them. Our Sunday Masses continue as usual and it was a joy to see six of our children making their First Communion on 12 June at Christ the King, Bedford. We have a growing number of young families, so baptisms are also a regular occurrence! Masses for the Assumption will be on 15 August at the usual times, 11 am at Chesham Bois and 7.30 pm at Bedford. On this date we celebrate seven years of the Traditional Latin Mass at Christ the King. Looking further ahead, there will be Masses on 1 November for All Saints at both Bedford and Chesham. There will also be morning trinated All Souls Masses at Bedford starting at 11.15 am.
REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY 23 renovated, and now hangs serenely in a central position above the Sanctuary as in former years. More work is in the pipeline, but this West Country Shrine Church is now a fitting place to welcome locals and visitors alike for daily and Sunday Masses. Families predominate, so there are no problems regarding recruiting altar servers, the latest addition to the team being young Marco Snak, whose family recently moved to the area. In addition to the usual services at Holy Angels on a daily basis, three events are worth a mention as they attest to the health of a worshipping community. The first was a three-day walking pilgrimage organized by a parishioner of Holy Angels. A group of young pilgrims walked a part of the ‘Saints Way’ from Lanivet to Lanherne in Cornwall, where Mass was celebrated by Canon Tanner. The other two events were processions in the road outside Holy Angels led by Canon Tanner – the first being a procession in honour of Our Lady at the end of May, when a statue of Our Lady of Fatima was carried on a flower bedecked bier, and the second was the Corpus Christi procession, with young First Communicant girls strewing rose petals, while the boys rang hand-bells – all three events giving wonderful public witness to the faith.
Plymouth (Dorset) Maurice Quinn 07555 devon@lms.org.uk536579
The Latin Mass schedule at the beautiful church of Our Lady of Lourdes & St Cecilia, Blandford Forum, is still going strong with a regular 9.30am Saturday morning Mass, plus a monthly Mass celebrated on particular feast days. I am also pleased to report that Mgr Francis Jamieson has agreed dates for the rest of the year and into 2023. I have not been in a position to attend many of the Blandford Masses this year so far, but I hope that this situation will change in the not-too-distant future. The big event in Dorset in September is the Latin Mass Society’s pilgrimage to Chideock in honour of the Chideock Martyrs. Last year’s pilgrimage was a huge success, and was the first time that a Solemn High Mass – in the presence of the then Bishop, Mark O’Toole, now the Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia – was celebrated at the Shrine. Like last year’s pilgrimage, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest will celebrate a Solemn High Mass, and the Latin Mass Society will supply special Mass booklets for congregational use. This truly is a ‘must do’ event for all the family, and will include a talk on the Chideock Martyrs, a tour of the church and of the hidden, secret Mass chamber in the loft, the beautiful sacristy and a chance to view the church’s museum. Holy Mass will start at 11.30am and the day will also include veneration of the relics. Do bring a packed lunch, but tea, coffee and soft drinks will be available. As always, do consult the Mass Listings, and feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.
The Extraordinary Form Low Mass continues at St Chad’s, Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester on Sundays at 4:45pm. Please pick up a newsletter when visiting for events, notifications and updates. The newsletter is also online at manchesteroratory.orgFeast of Our Lady at Holy Angels
At St Edward the Confessor in Plymouth the Mass schedule continues as before, being served from Holy Angels in Torquay with Fr Martin Budge supplying at both Devon venues when required. Do take note that Masses at St Edward’s take place every Sunday afternoon at 3pm, along with a 11.30am celebration every 1st Saturday. If visiting either St Edwards in Plymouth or Holy Angels in Torquay, you may be pleased to know that refreshments are available after Sunday Mass at both venues. Many regulars at our pre-lockdown Latin Masses at Blessed Sacrament, Exeter, will remember Charles Morris, a former student at Exeter University, and will be pleased to know that Charles – now a seminarian with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest – recently received the Cassock at the hands of Mgr Gilles Wach, and the Minor Order of Tonsure at the hands of Cardinal Raymond Burke. Do keep Charles and the other seminarians at Gricigliano in your daily prayers at this time, and make sure that you read the Dorset Report for details of the Chideock Latin Mass pilgrimage in September. Do remember to check the Mass Listings, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
AlisonSalfordF. salford@lms.org.ukKudlowski
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be away from 16 August through 3 September. During that period weekday Masses are cancelled, but all Sunday Masses will continue to be Sung Masses at 12.30 on Sundays. If there are any changes in this schedule, they will be posted on the ICKSP website at icksp.org.uk/shrewsbury/
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On 17 June we had more good news. Rev. Mr McCall, a former server at St Bede’s was ordained to the priesthood in the US. We had sung Masses for SS Peter and Paul, the Feast of the Sacred Heart and St John the Baptist. Our large group of servers and singers assisted at our parish Corpus Christi procession on Sunday 26 June, with
Our Sunday Missa Cantata continues to be well attended, with young families a particularly large part of the congregation. The Missa Cantata on holy days and other prominent feasts – such as we had for the Ascension, Corpus Christi and Ss Peter and Paul recently – also attract good attendances. We also continue with our weekly Low Masses on Thursday morning and Friday evening. Southwark (St Bede’s, Clapham Park) Thomas claphampark@lms.org.ukWindsor
Sadly, the 1962 Rite has ceased at St Mary’s, Heaton Norris, Stockport. The last Low Mass in this form took place here on 3 June at 6:30. We thank Fr Malor for his efforts and commitment in offering the Extraordinary Form assisted by dedicated altar servers, all of whom showed their appreciation. An initial request was made to All Saints Church, Barton-upon-Irwell, Manchester. However, this proved unsuccessful. The church stands as a fine example to the work of E.W. Pugin, son of A.W. Pugin, who was known by admirers as ‘God’s architect’. Pevsner described All Saints as ‘Pugin’s masterwork’. Other possible venues for the 1962 rite are currently being considered. Shrewsbury (Cathedral & St Winefride’s) Victoria shrewsbury@lms.org.ukKeens
The following is our usual schedule: Sunday, 12.30pm sung Mass; Monday, 10am Low Mass; Tuesday, 6.30pm Low Mass (with adoration and benediction before Mass at 5.30pm); Wednesday, 10am Low Mass; Thursday, 6.30pm Low Mass (with adoration and benediction before Mass at 5.30pm); Friday 10am Low Mass; Saturday 10am Low Mass. News and notices of events or changes in Mass times can always be found on the ICKSP website at: icksp.org. uk/shrewsbury/ or in our newsletter at: icksp.org.uk/ shrewsbury/weekly-newsletter/ThepriestisCanonWiener,
On the Vigil of Pentecost, the choir sang the sublime Palestrina setting of the Sicut cervus / Sitivit, and the Byrd 3 partForMass.theFeast of Pentecost the choir sang the Byrd settings of the Introit, Alleluia, and Offertory, a polyphonic Mass setting and a polyphonic Domine Salvum fac.
Prior of the House of Saint Chad, the Shrewsbury apostolate: email canon.wiener@ institute-christ-king.org, 07311 44 33 23. Please refer to the ICKSP website at: icksp.org. uk/shrewsbury/ or in our newsletter at: icksp.org.uk/ shrewsbury/weekly-newsletter/Pleasenotethatourpriestwill
The following week saw the addition of 4 boys to our already large serving team, with 8 servers for the Sung Mass for Corpus Christi and the following Sunday 15 servers on the sanctuary, the eldest being the MC who is only 15 years old.
Southwark (Kent) Marygold Turner
Our Mens group helped raise funds for our new parish hall with a sponsored walk from Canterbury to Ramsgate on the Saturday, and they were able to venerate the relic of St Thomas at Canterbury and the Relic of St Augustine at Ramsgate.Trinity Sunday was the occasion of 5 boys and a girl from our congregation making their First Holy Communion. The children’s choir sang the ordinary, while the adult choir sang Pergolesi O Sacrum convivium, de La Rue O Salutaris Hostia, and the Isaac setting of the Communion.
After a busy Holy Week our servers and especially the choir did not get much of a break with a busy beginning to Eastertide, Easter Sunday (Victoria Missa O quam Gloriosum and Witt Regina Caeli), Low Sunday (Byrd 3 part Mass), 1 May (Victoria's O Quam Gloriosum Mass and motet, Deus Tuorum militum and Lehmann's Regina Caeli,). Our children’s choir sang the ordinary and Regina Caeli on the third Sunday after Easter, with the adult choir singing Polyphonic Propers (Isaac's Introit, Jubilate Deo, Palestrina's Offertory Lauda anima mea, and Isaac's Communion Modicum) and a motet (Isaac's Cum Esset).
All goes on as normal, DG. Our weekly Mass at Tenterden grows slowly with increased congregations, and we have two Sung Masses a month, with Ben Bevan coming with a small group of singers. We appreciate this enormously – they are all professionals of the first calibre. Dr Andrew Czaykowski generously pays for this music. We shall have additional Masses on 15 August, 1 November and 2 November, all at 12 noon.Welook forward to our annual Mass at Snave, by kind permission of the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust, on Saturday 24 September. Ben Bevan will be bringing a large choir, which will have performed the day before in Rye. The Mass is at 12 noon. It is a joy to support these historic Marsh churches.
With more than 10 of our servers away at a family weekend and another 3 in Wigrazbad, where their uncle was ordained deacon, we still managed to have 3 Sung Masses in a row for the Feasts of the Ascension, St Bede, and St Augustine. Many thanks to all those who served and sang on those days. The following Sunday we were treated to Palestrina’s Missa Brevis and Handl's Ascendens Christus.
THE
Mass is offered daily at St Winefride’s Church in Shrewsbury by a priest of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. Our address is St Winefride’s Church, 187 Crowmere Rd, Shrewsbury SY2 5RA. We regularly welcome new members to our congregation. On Sundays and special feasts there are Sung Masses, with Low Masses at other times. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there is a Holy Hour with Confessions and Benediction, starting at 5.30pm, before the 6.30 Mass.
Southwark (St Mary’s Chislehurst) Christopher chislehurst@lms.org.ukRichardson
REPORTS
We have an exciting schedule of events planned for the autumn of 2022 and spring 2023: our Autumn Sewing Retreat is scheduled for 4-6 November, our Spring Retreat for 3-5 February, and we are also delighted to announce that we will be holding a one-fifth scale cope making day at the Royal School of Needlework on 18 March. We continue to meet in London in parallel with the Server Training Days organised by the Society of St Tarcisius, and our four regional chapters continue to hold regular meetings in addition to bi-monthly vestment-mending workshops in London.
We continue to have a regular Mass in the Traditional Rite on the second Saturday of each month. This is celebrated at 9am in the Chapel of Our Lady of Reconciliation at the National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady. The Mass continues to be offered by one of our Franciscans who do so much for both the pilgrims to the Shrine and those of us who live in Walsingham itself. We are very privileged to have them living in the village. The number of people, including families with children, regularly attending our monthly Mass are too great to be accommodated in the Slipper Chapel itself and this happily necessitates using the much larger Chapel of our Lady of Reconciliation. Traditional Rite Masses celebrated by visiting priests take place fairly frequently in the Slipper Chapel itself. A number of local residents travel, when possible, to attend the various Traditional Rite Masses held around the county, despite the distances involved. Fr Falcão, the Parish Priest at St Dominic’s, Downham Market, now celebrates the Traditional Mass every Wednesday evening at 7pm and this has been well supported so far by some of us in Walsingham. We continue to pray for the appointment of a new Bishop of East Anglia to succeed Bishop Alan Hopes, who offered his resignation in 2019 when he reached the age of seventyfive. In particular we pray that his successor will also be supportive of the Traditional Mass. We remain very grateful, both to our Franciscans for all they do and to the Rector of the Shrine, Mgr Philip Moger for his support.
Southwark (Wandsworth) Julia Ashenden What a wonderful season of Feasts and Holy Days we have had this quarter. At the Oratory of St Mary Magdalen we celebrated the Holy Week and Paschal Ceremonies, culminating on Easter Day with the splendid Messa di Gloria by Puccini sung by David Guest’s choir, with motets by Mascagni, Elgar and Handel.Ascension Day was rounded off with a Sung Mass in the evening and then to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, as a farewell to the Easter Season, David Guest’s choir sang Mozart’s Coronation Mass. It was coincidentally the weekend of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, so this tied in rather well.
Canon Edwards then joined the annual pilgrimage to Chartres, which by all accounts was larger than ever, with pilgrims undeterred by torrential rain on one of the days. The Feast of Corpus Christi followed, with a Procession around the local streets after Mass, ending with a Chinese feast and fireworks which took place in the adjacent Huguenot cemetery, as the church garden has been occupied by builders! Then hot on the heels of Corpus Christi came the Feast of SS Peter and Paul which was celebrated with a Sung Mass in the evening. Apart from these beacons in the Church’s calendar, life at The Oratory of St Mary Magdalen continues as usual with a steady, full and faithful congregation (and newcomers continually added) at the 11am Sunday Mass. Many also come to the weekday Masses on Tuesday mornings (with Benediction), Friday evenings and First Saturdays.Nextquarter we are looking forward to celebrating our Patronal Festival. Canon Edwards is keeping the External Solemnity of the Feast of St Mary Magdalen on Sunday 25 September. David Guest will bring his choir to sing Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonnelle at the 11am Mass and the Preacher will be The Rt Reverend Cuthbert Brogan, Abbot of Farnborough Abbey. Following this there will be a drinks reception in the garden.
It has been a busy few months for the Guild of St Clare. We held our February Sewing Retreat at a new venue, Park Place Pastoral Centre, led by Fr Stephen Morrison O.Praem, which was fully booked. We were also delighted to return to the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) at Hampton Court Palace, for the first time since Covid, for a quarter scale chasuble making day. It was the first course of its kind, not only for us but for the RSN too; as well as a unique educational experience, it was also a wonderful day out in a beautiful setting.
AUTUMN 2022 25 FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY the choir singing Widor's setting of the Tantum ergo at the f inalTheBenediction.Feastof the Dedication of St Bede’s church fell on Sunday 3 July this year, celebrated with a feast of polyphonic propers sung by our choir (Isaac’s settings of the Introit & Communion, Bruckner Locus Iste, and Palestrina's Offertory).
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This summer has also seen the launch of two new Guild of St Clare chapters, one affiliated to the traditional community at Withermarsh Green in Suffolk, and the other, the Northern Chapter, serving the needs of traditionally minded priests in Yorkshire and Lancashire.
We were very excited to be featured on LifeSiteNews in early July, in a report which described our activities and special charism. The American journalist who wrote the story confirmed our growing conviction that there is no equivalent apostolate in America or Canada: proof that, despite our small numbers here in the UK, we remain a dynamic centre for the global traditional movement, thanks to the commitment of our traditional community.
Walsingham (East Anglia) Tom FitzPatrick
This year is the 10th anniversary of the death of Fr Thwaites, and we hope to organise a Sung Requiem in September, do check our website / newsletter stbedesclaphampark.blogspot.com for all our Mass times, catechetical programmes, talks and activities.
And finally, on the following Holy Days of 15 August, 1 November and 2 November there will be a Missa Cantata at 7pm.
Catholic Classic
Benson is here addressing an accusation against Catholicism which established itself at the time of the Reformation, was still current in his own day, and a version of which is still encountered now. In slightly different terms, he describes it in his autobiographical Confessions of a Convert (also reprinted by Cenacle Press), referring to the claim that Catholicism leads to ‘the alienation of the men’. In short, the idea is that the Faith is effeminate.Theplaying out of the issue between two strong women, in the novel, is a rather nice touch, and the historical background of the suffering of faithful Catholics, gives it a special edge. ‘Monkishness’, so much mocked by Protestant propagandists, is a way of life and set of characteristics which led the Carthusian martyrs to their deaths at Tyburn.TheCenacle Press’ reprinting of this book, and the many others of their catalogue, is much to be applauded. It is newly typeset and nicely presented, with some newly commissioned illustrations. One missed opportunity, however, has been to fail to provide translations of the occasional Latin quotation. It is a sad statement on the level of education that could be taken for granted in Benson’s day, compared with that of today, including my own, that he and other authors of his day thought nothing of including quotations in Latin, and even in French, German, and Italian. Most of Benson’s Latin, it must be said, is not too difficult, and none I think is essential to understanding the storyline, but the convoluted motto on the seal of the Abbey of Lewis (whose patron was St Pancras) was a challenge. Perhaps a Mass of Ages reader can come up with a snappyDulcistranslation?agonista tibi convertit domus ista Pancrati memorum precibus memo esto
This classic of Catholic historical fiction was first published in 1904, but with several other works by Mgr Benson, it has just been reprinted by Cenacle Press, an enterprise of Silverstream Priory in Ireland. It is one of a series of historical novels Benson wrote about the Reformation period: it is followed by By What Authority?, The Queen’s Tragedy and Come Rack, Come Rope. However, The King’s Achievement stands alone as a novel. It is a substantial work, and draws the reader deeply into the inner lives of two brothers: one of whom becomes a Benedictine monk, the other being a servant of Thomas Cromwell, the architect of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The period covered is from the late 1520s to 1540. Although a great deal of historical scholarship has been done on this period since Benson’s day, his account of events sticks closely to the historical record, and his portrayal of the state of the religious houses, and popular feeling about the Dissolution, anticipates those of more recent historians such as Eamon Duffy. Benson was himself a convert—the son of an Archbishop of Canterbury, no less—and his understanding of both sides of the argument is matched by the literary skill he shared with his brother, E.F. Benson, the creator of the perceptive and hilarious Mapp and Lucia novels. Mgr Benson adds to both these virtues, as a novelist, the insight of a profound spiritual writer. The result is a spiritual and psychological drama played out by the main characters, against the backdrop of the historical drama of the events of the Dissolution.
I found the novel extremely compelling—I could hardly put it down. I also found it quite emotionally demanding: the two brothers and their associates feel all the horror, defiance, triumph, and tragedy of their age, and through them the reader feels it too. It is Benson’s great achievement to help us understand the motivations even of those with whom we are least in sympathy.
Benson explains: ‘…she had never been faced before; she had been accustomed to regard dovoutness as incompatible with strong character; she had never been resisted. Both her husband and children had thought to conquer by yielding - it was easier to do so, and appeared more Christian; and she herself, like Ralph, was only provoked further by passivity. And now she had met one of the old school, who was as ready in the use of worldly weapons as herself; she had been ignored and pricked alternately, and with astonishing grace too, by one who was certainly of that tone of mind that she had gradually learnt to despise and hate.’ (p347)
Thetuorum.King’s Achievement, and other books by Benson, is available from the LMS online shop, £19.75 + £3.71 p&p.
Joseph Shaw reviews The King’s Achievement, by Mgr Robert Hugh Benson (Cenacle Press; 442pp)
BOOKS 26 AUTUMN 2022
One aspect of the drama is the cynicism and disdain of the anti-traditional party, who include the quietly tyrannical mother of the two brothers. She is confronted by a young woman from St Thomas More’s circle, who had absorbed the learning, piety, and high spirit of the great man.
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Letters to the Editor
From Faith to Faith Further to Paul Waddington's article on the Cathedral Church of the Holy Family (Summer 2022), Dr W.E.Orchard, the minister in charge from 1913-1932, is more interesting than might at first appear. He was received into the Roman Catholic Church in Rome on 2 June 1932, followed by many of his congregation. He subsequently wrote an account of his conversion, From Faith to Faith, in 1933. He was ordained priest in 1935 and became an itinerant preacher, apologist for the Catholic faith, missioner and writer both in Britain and America. Tired by his many travels, he became, in 1943, chaplain to a community of Cistercian nuns in Brownshill, Gloucestershire, where he died (of cancer) on 12 June 1955. He is buried in the cemetery of the Dominican priory in Woodchester. A very interesting book about him was written by E. Kaye and R. Mackenzie and published in 1990. I read W. E. Orchard: A Study in Christian Exploration, not long after it came out, when it was acquired (at my suggestion) by the library I was working for at the time. There is also a useful Wikipedia page on Dr TheOrchard.workyou do producing your superb periodical is very much appreciated.
Sebastian Morello’s excellent articles on wine (and most recently beer!) reminded me of the central role the Catholic Church has played over the centuries in the creation of a wonderful drink. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, it was monks who helped preserve the arts of viniculture across Europe. Benedictines and Jesuits especially became highly skilled winemakers and it was, of course, Catholic missionaries who took their knowledge of winemaking to the New World. Wine making grapes were introduced to California in the late 1770s by St Junipero Serra and his Franciscan brothers. In short, the Franciscans laid the foundations for the whole of the Californian wine industry. Wine growing spread across the Americas - to Chilli, Argentina and elsewhere – thanks to these early Catholic brothers.
Catholic winemakers
Letters reasons of space
AUTUMN 2022 LETTERS 27
Iasked my wife what she wanted for her birthday; she told me: "Nothing would make me happier than a diamond necklace," so I bought her nothing. Nah, I'm kidding - we've been happily married for five years, the trouble is we got married seventeen yearsThereago! are a lot of jokes about unhappy marriages – the contrast between our idealistic expectations and the reality of everyday life is fertile ground for humour which can be a way to vent frustrations and help us through hard times. The important thing is not to tell them in front of your wife - not a problem for me, she never lets me get a word in edgeways! Tee hee. Of course, if the goal were simply to cheer ourselves up, we could tell jokes about anything. Jokes about marriage are popular because they serve another purpose - they are a way to say, “I’m struggling with this, is it just me?” and for others to say, “No it’s not just you, I struggle with that as well”. These jokes are a way to make a connection about something we might feel uncomfortable discussing in earnest. Finding marriage difficult? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Which got me thinking that maybe there should be more jokes about unhappy Christians. Jokes we can tell when we’re finding things difficult in our relationship with God. There’s only one problem with this plan - I can’t think of any. GK Chesterton said, “It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it”, and I can think of loads of jokes about the Catholic religion, about Priests, about Moses making his tea (Hebrews it) but none about how I’m trying to love God but I’m finding it really hard because honestly, He’s not living up to my expectations. You know what God’s like, always not giving me that thing I wanted. Am I right? Some things are too important to joke about. But I do think it’s important that we let each other know, somehow or other, that sometimes it’s hard, sometimes we struggle. I wouldn’t want anybody to feel that it’s just them on their own.
Timely advice from James Preece
Finally, one we can all get behind: Sleep and baths. “Whatever restores the bodily nature” he tells us, “is opposed to sorrow and assuages it.” So, if you are struggling, do something nice, have a good cry (or groan), call a friend, contemplate the Divine, take a bath and get an early night.
You don't have to be happy all the time…
If none of that works - don’t beat yourself up. Everybody struggles sometimes.
‘Bereavement, worry, stress, thespiritualdepression,malaise,darknightofthesoul…’
There’s a real danger in putting on an outward air of being happy all the time. I’m told that in “the bad old days” Catholics would turn up to Mass and pretend like everything is okay because in those days Catholicism was supposedly all about appearances. Then again, not long ago I heard a discussion about the choice of music at a Novus Ordo Mass. The Priest wanted to introduce some Gregorian Chant and somebody said “but Mass is supposed to be joyful!”.Leaving aside the question of whether Gregorian Chant can be joyful (spoiler alert: it can) my point here is that modern day Catholicism is just as capable of putting on a show. Now somebody might say that Christians are supposed to be joyful. It’s the Good News! Jesus died for our sins and Love wins the day. Our Lord was quite clear that we shouldn’t be worrying about tomorrow and the Bible tells us to “Rejoice in the Lord always”. James has no business going around bringing everybody down with his horrible jokes and miserable ways. That’s not what St Thomas Aquinas says in the Summa (I-II:39) he tells us, “Supposing the presence of something saddening or painful, it is a sign of goodness if a man is in sorrow or pain on account of this present evil. For if he were not to be in sorrow or pain, this could only be either because he feels it not, or because he does not reckon it as something unbecoming, both of which are manifest evils. Consequently, it is a condition of goodness, that, supposing an evil to be present, sorrow or pain shouldWithinensue”.this vale of tears, it is quite reasonable that we should struggle.
FAMILY MATTERS 28 AUTUMN 2022
Bereavement, worry, stress, depression, spiritual malaise, the dark night of the soul… just plain old frustration with a situation that is driving you up the wall.
“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” So, what are we to do about our sorrow? Should we wallow in it and just be miserable? By no means! Aquinas has five suggestions (I-II:38) which are well worth giving a go.
Firstly, that “sorrow is driven forth by pleasure”. There is no specific mention of crisps or chocolate but I feel they are both strongly implied. Secondly, “a hurtful thing hurts yet more if we keep it shut up” “by tears or groans or even by words, their sorrow is assuaged”. Third, that “the sympathy of a friend should affordFourthconsolation”.isthecontemplation of truth, a tricky one this - “the contemplation of truth assuages pain or sorrow, and the more so, the more perfectly one is a lover of wisdom”. Alas, if only I were more perfectly a lover of wisdom for “in the midst of tribulations men rejoice in the contemplation of Divine things”.
The Priestly Fraternity of St Peter has fifteen new priests. Eight of them had studied at their European seminary at Wigratzbad in Germany, and seven at their North American Seminary of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. Amongst the eight who had studied in Europe was the Welshman, Gwilym Evans, whom many readers may know. The FSSP also has sixteen new deacons, who with the grace of God will be ordained to the priesthood next year.
29AUTUMN 2022 NEWS
The Most Rev. Stephen Parkes, Bishop of Savannah in Georgia, wrote to the Dicastery for Divine Worship seeking permission for Tridentine Masses to continue at its Cathedral Basilica of St John the Baptist, and at four Parish Churches within the diocese. A response came in July stating that the Mass in the cathedral must stop in August, but that the Masses in the other churches could continue until May 2023. In a letter to the faithful of the diocese, Bishop Parkes has stated that the ruling will be implemented.
As this article is being written (in July), unconfirmed reports suggest that Cardinal Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, has told the members of the Institute of Christ the King that he is intending to shut down their activities in the Archdiocese with effect from 1st August.
Two of the four priests who were due to be ordained in June were traditional Franciscans from Italy, and a third has been described as coming from a “Tridentine Mass group”. The fourth came from Latin America and began his studies under a Paraguayan bishop who had been dismissed by Pope Francis in 2014. He later completed his studies in the seminary of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon.Undertheleadership of Bishop Dominique Rey, the Diocese of FréjusToulon is noted for the high number of vocations that it attracts, and its seminary includes many students from other regions of France and abroad. Furthermore, Bishop Rey is known for his willingness to welcome new movements and communities to his Indiocese.aseparate, but possibly related matter, Bishop Rey has effectively shut down the Monastery of Saint Benedict, whose leader is the traditionalist Australian monk, Alcuin Reid. This happened after it emerged that Alcuin Reid and another monk had been secretly ordained outside the diocese without his bishop’s permission. Bishop Rey suspended Alcuin Reid from celebrating the sacraments after the monk refused to say who had ordained him.
The recently appointed Archbishop of Toulouse, Monsignor Guy de Kerimel, has banned the seminarians of his diocese from wearing the cassock. Whilst visiting the diocesan seminary, he saw seminarians sitting in choir in soutane and surplice. The following day, he wrote to the seminarians forbidding the wearing of clerical dress, both inside and outside the seminary. This was to apply to all seminarians, including ordained deacons. Although the archbishop did not intend his letter to be published, it soon appeared on social media. The news of the banning spread rapidly around the archdiocese, producing considerable criticism amongst traditionalists.
The Institute have their United States headquarters in Chicago, and for the last sixteen years have been working on the restoration of the former Carmelite Church of St Clara. The works suffered a major setback in 2015 when a fire reduced the building to a shell and destroyed all the work that had been done. Despite the fire, the Institute have persisted with the project, and to date have spent more than $4million on what is intended to become a Shrine to honour Christ the King. The Institute have also acquired the adjacent Friary, which they use as their administrative headquarters, and the former school, which is currently being converted into a pastoral centre.
BREAKING NEWS
Ordinations at the Traditional Orders
Diocese of Savannah
WorldNews Paul aroundreportsWaddingtonfromtheGlobe
Meanwhile, eight new priests and six deacons have been ordained for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. Amongst the newly ordained deacons were two Englishmen, Liam Dodd and Michael McCowan. The number of English seminarians at the Institute’s seminary in Gricigliano near Florence is about to get a boost, with five candidates from their House of Formation in Preston being accepted to join in September.
Washington, USA Prior to the Covid pandemic, Latin Masses were plentiful within the Diocese of Washington. It was offered at least once a month at 19 locations. However, after Covid restrictions were lifted, the Latin Mass returned to only seven of the venues. The Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Gregory, has made no public pronouncement on Latin Mass provision since the publication of Traditionis Custodes, other than to say that the matter should be discussed as part of the synodal process in the archdiocese. Despite reports that there was support for the Latin Mass at several synodal sessions, rumours persist that the Cardinal intends to restrict the Latin Mass to a single location.
France The ordinations of four priests and two deacons in the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon have been postponed, following a visitation of the diocesan seminary led by Archbishop JeanMarc Aveline of Marseilles. Officials from the Roman Curia also took part in the visitation, which was instigated by the Vatican. Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon explained afterwards that the suspension of the ordinations was “requested due to questions that certain Roman dicasteries were asking about the restructuring of the seminary and the policy of welcoming people to the diocese.”
Toulouse
The head of the confraternity at this time was the Duke of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, for whom the artist worked. The Duke is clearly recognisable in the forefront of the group in their fine red hats, speaking with a bearded and turbaned gentleman who was a diplomatic envoy from Persia staying at the Duke’s court of Urbino at that time.
You can see that the figure of Jesus is disproportionately tall at the centre of the painting where he stoops to serve his disciples. Behind Jesus, we can see the altar with two sets of items on it, visible either side of him. On the right, positioned as though Jesus has turned his back on them, are the simple remains of a meal; bread, salt and a carafe, while on the other side, above the gentle curve of Jesus’ outstretched arm we can see the sacred hosts gathered on a corporal ready for distribution in front of a chalice.
On the far left-hand side of the painting, behind the eight reverent apostles waiting prayerfully and focused on what Jesus is giving, the figure of Judas is hovering in the doorway ready to depart. He clutches a moneybag with both hands, in contrast to the humble receptivity indicated in the faces and hand gestures of all the other apostles.
The young John, dressed in white like an acolyte, has been serving at table but now his right hand is raised in awestruck wonder, like the angels with outstretched wings adoring from above, as they do at every Eucharist.
Commentators say this is Guidobaldo, the Duke’s only son who was born last after several daughters and whose mother died at his birth. A woman and child will also represent the Blessed Virgin and the Christ child interceding in such a scene. Finally, at the centre and forefront of the painting we see a jug and basin.
ART AND DEVOTION 30 AUTUMN 2022 S ignificantly, this painting was entitled the ‘Communion of the Apostles’ rather than the more usual ‘Last Supper’ and was commissioned by the Confraternity of Corpus Christi in Urbino. That sets the contemporary context for the many references to the Holy Mass, most notably, the apostles’ reception of the Holy Eucharist kneeling and on the tongue, since it was inconceivable that the Eucharist could be received in any other way in the fifteenth century when this painting was made. The title indicates that the ‘holy communion’ we receive began with the apostles at the last supper. Their communion with Christ, and our communion with Christ, is in the Eucharist.
Donors and patrons of paintings are usually drawn kneeling devoutly but we have instead an animated discussion. This may have been about trade, which was the reason for the envoy’s visit and which would add to the contrast between worldly and divine riches. Looking at the Persian’s face, however, with his hand on his heart as he glances over to watch Jesus, it could also be about the person of Christ and the reality of the sacred mystery of the Eucharist.
The Communion of the Apostles
Caroline Farey on a remarkable work by the fifteenth century painter Joos van Wassenhove
You will notice at the centre of the painting that the table is dressed as an altar in a church in front of a columned apse, with a sanctuary lamp hanging directly above Christ’s head. We can see a tiny candle flame burning there in the deep shadow cast by the light from the window over this side of the lamp. It tells us of the light of Christ that would not be extinguished at his impending death.
The conversation and the Persian’s interest are being portrayed by the gestures of the man behind the Duke. These seem to be indicating that while the Persian believes in One God, illustrated by the man’s right hand holding the thumb, Christians believe in three persons in one God, illustrated by three fingers together, held slightly apart from the single finger on its own. Variations of these finger positions are very common in 15th century paintings, most especially as a blessing from the Holy Trinity, One God brought to a scene by Christ or his angels. Directly between these two protagonists, the Persian and the Christian Duke, a woman and child can be seen in a niche behind them.
Another contrast is set up on the right-hand side, where an intriguing group, in the red hats of the Confraternity, are gesticulating in lively conversation behind the three kneeling apostles. Again, placed behind Jesus’ back, their rich attire distinguishes them from the apostles in their simpler robes and also from the undyed fabric of Christ’s plain, grey tunic. These contrasts are all to concentrate the viewer on the unsurpassable riches of Christ’s gift of himself in the Eucharist.
Bridgeman Images Oil on wood, 331 x 335 cm Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, https://www.wga.hu/index1.htmlUrbino
Factfile The Communion of the Apostles, 1474 (oil on panel), by Joos van Gent (Joos van Wassenhove) (fl.1460-75)
ART AND DEVOTION 31
AUTUMN 2022 In St Luke’s gospel the disciples were to meet a man carrying a jar of water and to follow him into the house he enters (Lk 22:10). The Church is the house of God that we enter by baptism, the gateway to the Eucharist. John’s gospel also tells us that Jesus ‘rose from supper, laid aside his garments …poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet.’(Jn 13:4-5). Here Jesus has risen from the table and the disciples’ feet are bare from being washed and now he begins to feed them with his very self, as he does to the faithful at every Mass. As an altar piece, this painting would have been placed directly behind the altar so that when the sacred host was raised by the priest, the people would see it surrounded by the painted folds of the tunic of the body of Christ.
GUILD OF ST CLARE 32 AUTUMN 2022
The Guild of St Clare is dedicated to the restoration and creation of liturgical vestments for use in the Traditional Mass, and to foster the skills needed for this. Thanks to the generosity of a benefactor, the Guild, in association with the Latin Mass Society, is able to offer sponsorship to one or two students undertaking the Certificate Course in Hand Embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN). The RSN represents the gold standard of authenticity and high standards in the realm of hand embroidery, and the techniques they teach are directly applicable to the Guild’sThiswork.is the fourth year of the sponsorship scheme, and the two students whose sponsorship began in 2019 and 2020 are near the end of their courses, which can take between two and four years. In spring 2021, in the depths of lockdown, when the RSN itself could not do in-person teaching, we were unable to make any award, but this year we are making up for that by making two: to Rosa Thurrot and Miranda de Burgh. Both have been regular attendees at Guild events, and we look forward to their being able to contribute with the skills which they will acquire on the Course. Miss Thurrot has already started the Certificate Course and is in the middle of the first module, Crewelwork. Mrs de Burgh will mainly be attending the Royal School of Needlework satellite centre at Bristol, and Miss Thurrot the one in Glasgow. In the meantime, the Guild has announced the establishment of two new local chapters, in Withermarsh Green near Ipswich, and in Manchester, in addition to the existing chapters in London and Oxford. To get in touch with any of these Chapters, or to enquire about starting another, email lucyashaw@gmail.com. The Guild’s next events are listed in the Classified section of this magazine, including a Sewing Retreat in November and a training day with the Royal School of Needlework, to make a miniature cope, in March 2023. Miranda de Burgh and Crewelwork by Rosa
ShawJoseph©
Traditional skills Joseph Shaw reports on two new awards
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Charles A. Coulombe remembers the life and work of Cecil Chetwynd Kerr
Lady Lothian was a descendant of the Talbot Earls of Shrewsbury. The Talbots descend from a cousin of William the Conqueror. One branch became Earls of Shrewsbury in 1442, from which she descended; after the break with Rome, a number of the Earls were staunch Catholics. Lady Lothian’s father, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 2nd Earl Talbot, although a Shrewsbury descendant, was Anglican. When the Catholic 17th Earl of Shrewsbury died childless, Lady Lothian’s oldest brother succeeded to the title as the closest living cousin. The passing of one of “their” peerages to a Protestant was very dispiriting to the nation’s Catholics; little did they know that one of that very family would more than make up for it.
We often remember the great converts who came out of the Oxford Movement, starting with Cardinal Newman. While the names that first come to mind of that group are men, “many women were there also”. Of these, perhaps the best known was Cecil Chetwynd Kerr, Marchioness of Lothian (1808-1877).
The Bonnie Marchioness of Lothian
Born and raised at Ingestre Hall, the family seat in Staffordshire, the future Marchioness was the sixth of twelve children; her mother died shortly after the birth of the last child. Her father was extremely attentive to her education. She was extremely well read, and interested in religion – which last interest would be a defining one in her future life. Distinguished as her family were, and as steeped in Cavalier and Stuart traditions, was that of her husband, noted Tory paladin John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian, whom she married in 1831. They had five sons and two daughters in rapid succession, but after a decade of marriage, Lord Lothian died at the early age of 47.
Lady Lothian decided to visit Newman at the Birmingham Oratory, and was struck by the “unearthly” atmosphere in which he offered the Mass. But, “He was most kind,” she wrote, “… so full of sympathy and Christian love that he is the last person one would need to be afraid of. That which struck me most was his childlike sympathy and humility, and next to that, the vivid clearness with which he gives an opinion.” The Lothians’ principal seat, Newbattle Abbey, had of course been pilfered from the Church at the Protestant Revolt by an earlier generation of Kerrs. After her conversion, this became a problem for her. As Abbot Sir David Oswald Hunter Blair later recalled, “Lady Lothian had been left a widow with seven children ten years before her conversion, and their usual place of residence was Newbattle Abbey near Edinburgh, a stately mansion built on the site, and out of the very stones, of the famous Cistercian monastery gifted by King David I to the White Monks six centuries before. So uneasy was this pious Catholic lady, during her son's minority, at living in a house haunted by such memories and such traditions, that on the occasion of one of her visits to Rome she unfolded her scruples to the Pope himself. ‘Sta tranquilla, figlia mia,’ was the reply of the kind old Pontiff; but the lady's apprehensions could only be laid to rest by the receipt of a document under Pio Nono's own sign manual, authorising her and her children to occupy their Scottish home in peace. The Papal permit was long treasured at Newbattle, and was preserved in the very same case which contained one of the most venerable archives of the house - the original deed confirming the grant of Newbattle by King David to the Cistercian monks.”
The year before he died, Lady Lothian had already moved to their estate at Monteviot House, which remains in the family today, in order to be close to the Scottish Episcopal Church in Kelso. This branch of Anglicanism was in those days more “High Church” than its sister church in England, due to its Jacobite and Nonjuring background. After her husband’s death, the Dowager Lady Lothian became closely involved with the Oxford Movement, and its leader, John Henry Newman. In 1843, Lady Lothian funded (to the tune of £4,000) the building of a new Anglican church - St John’s Jedburgh. Her intention was the creation of a church entirely adapted to Tractarian principles, which would also serve as a symbol of the rebirth of Scottish Episcopalianism. So impressed were Lady Lothian’s neighbours, the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, that they endowed St Mary the Virgin, Dalkeith the following year; its first incumbent became Lady Lothian’s confessor. In 1845, Newman’s crossing the Tiber sent shockwaves through the nascent Anglo-Catholic community. Lady Lothian was deeply affected and began receiving instructions when in London from Henry Edward Manning. She was received into the Church in 1851. Although her two older sons remained Anglican, her younger children followed her into the Faith.
Continuing to aid the poor in Edinburgh, in company with the Duchess of Buccleuch, her influence led the latter to convert in 1860 – as did her brother, Lord Charles Thynne, who had been an Anglican cleric. From the time she converted, the Dowager Marchioness of Lothian never again entered St John’s which she had so generously endowed. She soon became aware of the influx of post-Potato Famine Irish immigrants into the Edinburgh area, so for their spiritual welfare and her own, she endowed another church – this time Catholic – St David’s, Dalkeith in 1853. She wanted it named in honour of St David I, King of Scots, in reparation for the many religious foundations he was responsible for that were destroyed at the Protestant revolt. The following year,
FEATURE 40 AUTUMN 2022
FEATURE 41AUTUMN 2022 she represented the parish in Rome at the ceremonies surrounding the definition of the Immaculate Conception. Her friendship with Bl Pius IX resulted in the High Altar being Privileged – that is, that anyone for whom a Mass is offered upon it receives a Plenary Indulgence. When, in 1860, the Jesuits came to Edinburgh, Lady Lothian (bearing in mind her connections with Farm Street) successfully petitioned that St David’s be given into their charge. The number of Catholics in the area continued to grow, so that, in 1872, Lady Lothian felt constrained to endow another, smaller church – St Mary’s at Pathhead. The Catholic population continued to grow, as more Irish workers were brought in for various projects, and a few Scots converted. In 1876, the numbers around the villages of Penicuik and Loanhead demanded the building of at least one new Catholic church in the area, and the redoubtable Marchioness bought property in Roslin (between the two) to build a church. But, it being decided that two separate parishes would be better, she sold the land, and put the money into separate buildings. Having paid for the design and building of what would be called St Margaret of Scotland, Loanhead, Lady Lothian set off on another pilgrimage to Rome, in 1877. Unfortunately, or otherwise, Her Ladyship died there, but by a special privilege her body was interred by the altar at St David’s, Dalkeith. Abbot Sir David Oswald Hunter Blair remembered, “I was in Rome during her last illness and death there in 1877, and well remember the extraordinary reputation for sanctity which she enjoyed, far beyond the circle of her own friends and acquaintances. Her death was really due to her selfsacrifice; for she caught a chill which she could not throw off by insisting, though in delicate health, on escorting to all the holy places of Rome -many of them underground—the young convert, Lady Flora Hastings, who was her guest in the Eternal City. The news of her illness spread consternation through Rome: the neighbourhood of the Albergo di Roma, where she was lying, was besieged by sympathising inquirers; and in scores of churches votive candles were lit and prayers offered for her recovery and, when that was seen to be impossible, for her happy death. Her youngest son Lord Ralph, who was on his way home from India, had the consolation of reaching Rome just in time to close his mother's eyes.” But the year following
Lady Lothian: her work for the growth of the Faith in England and Scotland deserves to be better known
The story of Lady Lothian and her work for the growth of the Faith in England and Scotland deserves to be better known. Certainly, her gentle but firm influence continues to be felt in various ways across the island, both in the institutions she founded or helped, and in the work of her descendants.
Lord Walter’s and Lady Amabel’s oldest son, Ralph, became a priest; but the next boy, Andrew, entered the Navy, as had his father. He in turn married Marie Constance Kerr, a distant relative; they both died in 1929. When the 11th Marquess died in 1940, Andrew’s son Peter (1922-2004) succeeded, thus bringing the title back into Catholic hands. Educated at Ampleforth Abbey, he married Antonella Newland. In addition to a distinguished career in Conservative politics, he was active as a Knight of Malta. In 1979, he returned the Abbey of San Damiano, where the miraculous crucifix spoke to St Francis, to the Franciscan order. On his death, his son Michael – long known as Tory politician Michael Ancram –succeeded as 13th Marquess. He married Lady Jane Fitzalan-Howard, the fourth daughter of the 16th Duke of Norfolk; they are both active in Catholic causes, including the Right-to Life Trust.
Lady Lothian’s death, Pope Leo XIII restored Scotland’s hierarchy, and her last foundation at Loanhead became the first parish canonically erected in the renewed Archdiocese of Edinburgh and St Andrews.LadyLothian’s legacy was rather larger than the parishes she built and monies she spent. Her two oldest sons remained Anglican, as was the latter’s offspring, the 10th Marquess, who died in 1930. Her third son, Lord Ralph Kerr, converted with her. He pursued a distinguished career in the British Army, reaching the rank of Major General, and marrying Lady Anne FitzalanHoward. She was the daughter of Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 14th Duke of Norfolk (the premiere Peer in England, and ranking Catholic layman in the country), and Honourable Augusta Mary Minna Catherine Lyons, the daughter of ViceAdmiral Edmund Lyons, 1st Baron Lyons. Alas, this distinguished Catholic ancestry did not keep their son, Philip Kerr, in the Faith. Although educated at the Brompton Oratory, the future 11th Marquess (he inherited the title from his childless Anglican cousin in 1930) he defected from the Church, joining the Christian Science religion with his close friend, Nancy Astor. Lady Lothian’s youngest son, Lord Walter Kerr, had also converted with her, and went into the Royal Navy. Joining in 1853, he served in all of his country’s naval conflicts until ending his career in 1904 as First Sea Lord. He then devoted himself to various Catholic interests, serving amongst other things as President of the Catholic Union of Great Britain. In 1873, he had married Lady Amabel Frederica Henrietta Cowper, daughter of George Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper. Lady Amabel had converted to Catholicism herself the year before, and as with her mother-inlaw threw herself into working for the Church – especially, in Lady Amabel’s case, in writing. Part of Lady Amabel’s inheritance which came into the marriage with her was Melbourne Hall, in Derbyshire. The couple moved there in 1906, and the local Catholic bishop, expecting converts in their wake, appointed a chaplain. The parish began functioning in a converted laundry room on the estate, but two years later – with a great deal of help from Lord Walter and Lady Amabel – the church of Our Lady of Mercy and St Philip Neri was solemnly dedicated. Although Melbourne Hall and its estate remains in the family’s hands today, they donated the church and its property to the diocese in 1982.
What’s in a name?
For his feast day on 29 September, I’d like to put Michael forth as the grandest angelic warrior in the pro-life battle, because the fight against abortion is always a struggle against Satan and we’d do well to make this better known. Holy cards with a picture of St Michael and the prayer to him could be handed out at abortion clinics. Might we get called freaks because we give others a picture of the Archangel skewering Satan? Yes, but alerting people to the reality of spiritual warfare is more important than protecting ourselves against insults and we are also showing a benevolent and supremely powerful Archangel who wishes to wage war on their behalf. Might we all encourage more children to be named after him? And not just women in crisis pregnancies?
AUTUMN 202242 COMMENT
We must do as St Gertrude the Great did. Once on Michael’s feast day, she was at Mass and she offered the Body and Blood of Jesus in honour of the Archangels. When Our Lord had accepted her offering, Gertrude saw every angelic choir lean towards her and promise, “We will guard thee with special care.” Then Michael came surrounded by the other Archangels and they said, “We will discover to you the Divine secrets.”
“St Michael, when the hour of my death comes, assist me in my agony, defend me in the last fight, so that my soul may not perish in the judgment which I Whendread.”youshow that you take the last agony and the final combat for the soul seriously, you will influence the people surrounding you. St Michael has a history of warning his followers of the date of their deaths –he appeared to St Wilfrid and informed him that he had exactly four years left. This may well be a grace you wish to pray for; it certainly helps to know the date of the most important battle of your life. How encouraging to contemplate that the lives of the unborn may be saved and the dying may have their eternal souls protected, if we place them neath Michael’s shield.
infractions had been forgiven through his many penances. Anyone who has assisted the dying might encourage them to enlist the aid of Michael. You may like to share this prayer with friends and family:
If we offer Communion in honour of the Archangels, we too may be rewarded with every angelic choir promising to guard us and to reveal Divine secrets to us, for Holy Michael is leader of all the angels and when the entire nine choirs and the other six archangels gave Gertrude these pledges they were acting under Michael’s command.
Iused to feel guilty that “Michael” is my favourite name. After all, should I not have the Holy Name of God as my favourite? It dawned on me that the Holy Name is contained within Michael because it means, “Who is like unto God?” I grappled with this when I was doing pro-life work because I often encouraged a mother in great difficulty to call her baby Michael. I made an enemy of a pro-abortion midwife who found it troubling that she had so many mothers calling their sons after the Archangel. But her efforts to sway the mothers towards abortion were blocked, almost as though a shield had been created over the babies.
Mary O’Regan on St Michael the Archangel‘Ifwe
On her deathbed, Gertrude saw Michael when he came to tackle the demons that presented themselves to her. This is perhaps Michael’s most urgent role – safeguarding the souls of the dying. St Anselm, the 11th century Archbishop of Canterbury, saw St Michael fight off attacks made by the devil on a dying monk. The devil provoked this monk by telling him he had sinned before his baptism, but St Michael swiftly assured him that these sins had been washed away by baptism. Then the evil one tried to sow despair when he stirred up in the man a sense that he’d committed sins after baptism but, again, St Michael appeared and reminded him that he had confessed them. Lastly, the devil came at the monk with a huge book in which he claimed was written every detail of his mistakes as a religious. St Michael assuaged the dying monk’s fears that his minor
choirCommunionofferinhonouroftheArchangels,wetoomayberewardedwitheveryangelicpromisingtoguardus…’
My native Ireland once had the greatest number of men called Michael in the world; this has dipped unfortunately, in accordance with the decline in Mass attendance. Is it mere coincidence that the New Mass usually does not conclude with the prayer to St Michael and that the name has been given to fewer children?
AUTUMN 2022 WINE
My advice, however, is to start off with their massively popular still Bacchus, with which I began this column. Chapel Down does produce a sparkling Bacchus, for which the méthode champenoise is abandoned for that preferred by the producers of prosecco and Coca-Cola, namely carbonation. It’s fine, but in my opinion the still Bacchus is better, and if you want fizz, you’d be better off going with one of their traditionally made bubblies. Pour yourself a glass of Chapel Down’s Bacchus and raise it to the once and future conversion of England.
43
Pricey, but magnificent. Fresh and crisp, evoking wild strawberries, lemon zest, and crumbly shortbread, all continuing on in a lasting and highly satisfying finish. The Rosé Brut may be a rosé, but it is not a wine to approach unseriously.
When bottled, before which the wine undergoes a complicated fermentation and aging process, the budding elixir enjoys another eighteen months of bottle fermentation following the traditional méthodeChapelchampenoise.Down’sRosé NV is a delicate but tremendously fun wine that is the perfect partner to a chicken caesar salad. Really special, however, is their traditionally made 100% pinot noir Rosé Brut, a multi-award winning (including the much-coveted Decanter World Wine Platinum Award in 2021) sparkling wine.
Last year, I wrote a column about the marvellous wines of Sharpham, in Devon. In that column, I promised the readers of this quarterly a column on another of my favourite English wineries, Chapel Down, in Kent—a promise I did not forget.
Sparkling wine, for which England is fast becoming a world leader, is expertly produced at Chapel Down. For anyone who struggles to abide pompous ‘winespeak’, please brace yourself and hold your nose. Their Brut NV (nonvintage) is a classic example of highquality bubbly, with aromas of red apple, citrus and freshly baked bread mixed up with hints of strawberry and quince lasting in a reasonably lengthy finish.
I have enjoyed a number of Chapel Down’s wines, but their affordable flagship white, Bacchus, a grape named after the classical god of wine, remains among my favourite go-to drinks. Now, as it happens, I have a deep prejudice against grape varieties born from experiments in laboratories, which is why you will never see me drinking a pinotage despite my penchant for South African reds. Nonetheless, I have been forced to overcome this viticultural intolerance to make room for Bacchus, a lovely grape that is fast becoming Albion’s leading still wine variety, benefitting especially from the chalky earth under the gentle slopes on the Garden of England’s High Weald — where Chapel Down is to be found. The Bacchus grape type was established at the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding in the Palatinate in 1933. Our climate causes the grapes to retain a high acidity and the yields are lower, allowing our wineries to focus on quality over quantity. Some say that English Bacchus sits somewhere between new world and old world sauvignon blancs, but I have never found our Bacchuses to have the tartness typical of that ancient French grape. The people at Chapel Down describe, correctly in my opinion, their Bacchus as a having ‘aromas of elderflower, melon and pear drops,’ with the palate ‘having fresh flavours of lime and honeysuckle which lead to the crisp finish.’ I suppose it is fitting that a bourgeoning German grape should make its home in the ancient Anglo-Saxon land of Kent, where long ago fierce Germanic peoples arrived only to become the first of their kind to receive the Gospel. Saint Æthelberht, King of Kent, established this part of England as a Christian Kingdom soon after receiving baptism from Saint Augustine of Canterbury. Kent is a holy county, with its shrines to Saint Jude at Faversham, Saint Simon Stock at Aylesford, and Saint Augustine at Ramsgate. Canterbury has long been a place of pilgrimage, and was already England’s sacred centre when Saint Thomas Becket’s blood added holiness onto holiness, revitalising Canterbury as a hallowed city, soon after to become the central theme of Chaucer’s celebrated tales. Down the ages, Kent gave to the Church a host of royal saints, as well as holy bishops and consecrated religious. It is appropriate then, that this German grape, bearing the name of a pagan idol, should have its vines put down roots in the place where pagans come forth to be baptised. And behold, this grape thrives under the careful attendance of a winery bearing the name of a house of Christian worship. Whilst I thoroughly enjoy Chapel Down’s still Bacchus, which goes spectacularly with fresh fish and theological discussion, the winery has much more to offer than just this.
Chapel Down’s Bacchus Sebastian Morello visits the ancient Anglo-Saxon land of Kent
Much should be remembered of St Pius V, and with gratitude. He should be remembered for his commitment to the Holy League, for victory at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, where the Holy League defeated the Ottoman empire, and for the reform project of the Roman Curia with the revision of the Corpus Iuris Canonici.
The fundamental element of his actions as man and pope was his experienced and investigated Faith, which is preserved in the Sacred Liturgy. The publication of the Roman Catechism, the Missale Romanum and the Breviarium are the reflection of a commitment that deserves to be rememberd forever.
Reflecting on the Ceremonies of the Holy Church, of proclaiming the Faith and of Evangelization as Saint Pius V understood them, seems to go against current fashion. But Saint Pius considered the Holy Eucharist, the real presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, the most precious treasure in the world.
AUTUMN 202244
The most precious treasure Alberto Carosa on a recent tribute to the memory of Antonio Ghislieri, Pope Saint Pius V
Love for the Church, the glory of the Saviour, the honor of the Apostolic See, the good of Christians, the glory of God and the salvation of souls – these were the absolute concerns of a pontificate which lasted six years and 114 days, all aimed at the faithful implementation of the resolutions of the newly-concluded Tridentine Council, but aimed also at defending Christianity from the Ottoman danger.
This year marks the 450th anniversary of the death of Pope Saint Pius V, who died on 1 May, 1572. Among the most significant tributes to the memory of this great Pope, was a Solemn Mass celebrated by Mgr Marco Agostini of the Secretariat of State and Papal Master of Ceremonies in the Sistine Chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome on 30 April this year. It was here in Santa Maria Maggiore that Pius’s mortal remains were laid to rest. Here are the highlights of Mgr Marco Agostini’sLaudeturhomily:Jesus Christus (Praised be Jesus Christ)! At Vespers on 1 May, 1572, 450 years ago, Antonio Ghislieri, Pope Saint Pius V, rendered his soul to God. He left these words to the cardinals at his bedside: "I commend you the Holy Church that I have loved so much! Do your best to elect a zealous successor who seeks nothing but the glory of the Saviour and has no other desire than the good of Christianity and the honour of the Apostolic See.” These words come from a distant past, a time when one really believed in eternal life and spent one’s earthly life frequently thinking of the final point of one’s existence, a moment in which each of us must give an account to God of our thoughts, words, works and omissions.
In the Holy Mass he recognized the whole life of the Saviour; in it he contemplated, adored and united himself with Jesus. He also considered the Holy Mass as the highest means to illustrate the life of Christ. What happens in the Mass is the symbolic implementation of the whole History of Salvation, from Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome
Saint Pius Vapplied himself with faith, intelligence and heart to the work of restoring the sacred liturgy
AUTUMN 2022 45 FEATUREFEATURE ruin to redemption, from original sin to the birth of Jesus, to his sacrifice and resurrection up to the birth of the Church. In the Holy Scriptures and in the Sacred Liturgy, which with its ceremonies is a casket of Truth and a bulwark against heresy, the Holy Pontiff identified the basis for the argued refutation of heresies. In the wake of Tradition, St Pius V traced the origin of Christian ceremonies, that is the actions of the Holy Liturgy, to the explicit will of the Saviour at the Last Supper and to the precise act of the Saviour described in verses 30-31 of chapter XXIV of the Gospel of Luke, where the Evangelist says: ‘Cognoverunt eum in fractione panis [the disciples of Emmaus] knew Christ when He broke the bread’. It is interesting to note that the Evangelist does not say, ‘they knew him in the bread’, but ‘in the breaking of the bread’. The observation is formidable since it shows us how much virtue is offered in the holy ceremonies. What is the difference between bread and breaking bread? That bread is not a ceremony, but breaking is. This is the strength of the ceremonies in the soul of christians, such a great strength that enables us to knowPiusGod.saw that our salvation lies in knowing God and if the sacred ceremonies, the sacred liturgy, make us know God, then we understand them, because there is nothing more important and more useful for salvation than knowing God. As Jesus says in the Gospel of John: ‘Haec est vita aeterna, ut congnoscant te solum verum Deum et quem misisti Jesum Christum, [This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent]’ (17:3). Man's eternal salvation consists in knowing God. The Gospel of Luke establishes the vital necessity of the sacred liturgy and the great utility of sacred ceremonies for christians. Therefore, not only the strength, power and usefulness of sacred ceremonies, but also their dignity and beauty. It was Christ ‘the most beautiful of the sons of man’ who broke the bread (Ps 45:3), so Jesus the Son of God is the initiator of the ceremonies. Sacred ceremonies derive dignity from Christ the Man-God. Whoever loves Christ greatly will also love sacred ceremonies. Those who have little regard for Christ will also have little regard for sacred ceremonies. Those who do not appreciate the former, neither will they appreciate the latter. Whoever makes fun of the former, will also make fun of the latter. It was the reason why Saint Pius V applied himself with faith, intelligence and heart to the work of restoring the sacred liturgy, well aware that he was defending the dogma from heretics who often oppose ecclesiastical ceremonies, humiliating and falsifying, them. He who loved the Church so much wanted her to express in the best possible way his love for Christ, whose glory he always sought, taking care to preserve and transmit what Christ had instituted: here lies the honor of the Apostolic See and of Christianity. Now, 450 years after the death of a reformer who reformed the Church by reforming himself, we should appreciate his legacy and revive his spirit; we must rediscover the spiritual vitality that alone fosters the impetus for a new evangelization that enhances the supernatural vision, that recognizes and unmasks contemporary deceptions. To the new generations the way to heaven can only be indicated by the gospel, by sound doctrine and by the Saints – including demanding ones such as St Pius V! Laudetur Jesus Christus!
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Guild of St Clare local chapters: Withermarsh Green Chapter, Northern Chapter (Manchester); Oxford Chapter, London Chapter. Email lucyashaw@gmail.com for details.
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Clues Across 1 ‘-- --- -- sleep, perchance to dream’, Hamlet soliloquy (7) 5 Country where apparitions of Our Lady of Garabandal seen throughout Vatican II time (5) 8 Greek letter some time used as a symbol of the Resurrection (3) 9 Patron Saint of altar servers, hence the Society (9) 10 Counter-Reformation Cardinal responsible for the Douai-Rheims Bible (5) 11 Mural painting from c.1300 Italy, not onto wet plaster (3,6) 14 & 13 Down: Saint Abbess remarkable composer and intellectual, Doctor of the Church (9,2,6) 18 Poem of farewell or the ending of a long poem (5) 21 Far-reaching power of the law, as Samson had (6,3) 22 Unit of energy in physics derived from Greek work (3) 23 St Francis de, in whose honour Don Bosco named his Institute (5) 24 Used by fishermen, though not those called by Our Lord (7) Clues Down 1 Title of Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist beheaded (8) 2 Phrase used to deliberately imply two possible interpretations (6,8) 3 See 2 Down 4 Mechanical model of the solar system (6) 5 I know Latin! (4) 6 Term in Jungian psychology that can also mean life or soul (6) John, designer of Arch near site of Tyburn Tree (4) 12 Role of Jesus Christ in His Passion (8) 13 See 14 Across 15 Wreath and crown of honour from Roman times (6) 16 Where the last of the Forty Martyrs, Oliver Plunkett, was Archbishop of (6) 17 Iberian city in whose Cathedral the relic of the Sudarium kept and displayed twice in September (6) 19 ‘---- Antiquior’, reference to the Tridentine Mass (4) 20 Burden of responsibility (and where it lies?) (4) just 50p per word with an additional charge of just £5 you’d like your advertisement in a box, so whether you run courses, a small hotel, B&B, retreat or have something to a service to offer that be of interest to on 020 7404 for be sent to Latin Mass Society, 9 Mallow Street, London EC1Y 8RQ emailed to info@lms.org.uk, arrive before Friday 23rd September 2022. winner of the summer 2022 competition Dr Lithgow-Smith from Rainford, who wins a copy of Bread that is Broken by Wilfrid Stinissen, O.C.D.
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Lupus House was sold last year and the new owner wishes to redevelop it, which meant we had to find new premises. After a relatively brief search, the Trustees agreed to take a lease on an office at 9 Mallow Street, London EC1Y 8RQ, a short walk from Old Street underground station. Our telephone number remains the same. Anyone who has visited our Macklin Street office will understand what I mean when I write that none of the staff will miss the arduous climb of three flights of stairs to get to it. The office on Mallow Street is on the ground floor! At the time of writing, no date has been set for the move but it will be sometime during the end of August or beginning of September. There will, inevitably, be some interruption to office activity while the move takes place but we shall endeavour to keep this to a minimum. ‘ None of the staff will miss the flightsclimbarduousofthreeofstairs
AUTUMN 2022 47
From Macklin Street to Mallow Street
This will be the last ‘Macklin Street’ column to feature in Mass of Ages as, from the next edition, it will become ‘Mallow Street’. We’re on the move! Our archives reveal, the Society first rented an office on Blandford Street, Marylebone west London, above what is now a restaurant. Prior to that the postal address was 159 Montague Mansions, London W1. In 1981, the Society moved to Cork Street and, in 1991, to an office in Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane. Two years later, in 1993, we leased our first office in Lupus House, 11-13 Macklin Street before moving to our present, larger, office sometime later.
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