Mass of Ages Winter 2022

5

Chairman’s Message

Joseph Shaw on why the Church must find a way of making peace with the Traditional Mass 6 LMS Year Planner – Notable events

Liturgical calendar

Thirtieth Day Requiem

A Traditional Latin Requiem Mass was held at St Mary Moorfields in London on 8 October for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Letters Readers have their say 12 Joy in Pugin’s ‘ideal’ church

Archbishop John Wilson visits to Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of St Augustine’s as a Shrine, as Andrew Kelly explains

Roman report

By Diane Montagna 14 Architecture

Paul Waddington visits St Edward the Confessor, Sutton Park 16 Reports from around the country

What’s happening where you are 26 World news

Paul Waddington reports from around the Globe 28 To Walsingham!

David Rees-Mogg recalls the joy of this year’s pilgrimage 30

Art and devotion

Caroline Farey looks at a 15th century sculpture from South Germany 32

Family matters

When times are tough, we need to look out for each other, says James Preece 34 Mass listings 40 Following the Truth

Charles A. Coulombe remembers the remarkable Charlotte Pearson Boyd 42

The Golden Arrow

To honour and love Our Lord’s Face is to have the gift of youthful beauty, as Mary O’Regan explains 43

Wine

Sebastian Morello on the perfect accompaniment to treasured companionship 44

The Saints’ Way

Collette Oliver sets off on a Cornish pilgrimage in honour of Our Lady, St Joseph, the Five Wounds of Christ and the Holy Martyrs of England 46

Classified advertisements 47

The Southwell Consort

Consort Director Dominic Bevan on the Latin Mass Society’s regular Monday evening Mass and the joys of polyphony

The Latin Mass Society

9 Mallow Street, London EC1Y 8RQ

Tel: 020 7404 7284

editor@lms.org.uk

Mass of Ages No. 214

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

PATRONS: Sir Adrian Fitzgerald, Bt; Rt Hon. Lord Gill; Sir James Macmillan, CBE; Lord Moore of Etchingham; Prof. Thomas Pink.

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 Addison.

Registered UK Charity No. 248388

MASS OF AGES:

Editor: Tom Quinn Design: GADS Ltd Printers: Cambrian

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that 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.

Requiem for Queen Elizabeth

Photo by John Aron

A place of honour

Theprevious issue of Mass of Ages was put together before most of our summer events had taken place, and it is pleasant to note that these went extremely well. For the first time since Covid-19, the St Catherine’s Trust Summer School, sponsored by the LMS, took place, filling its new venue to capacity. Another Covid casualty had been the LMS Residential Latin Course, which also returned this year, also at a new venue, and also significantly bigger than before.

On a grander scale altogether has been the success of the Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham (see pages 28-29). It had been running at between 80 and 90 pilgrims before Covid. We were able to have it in 2021, and it grew to 120. This year, we had 160. And it was, as usual, a wonderful event: in equal parts friendly, edifying, and exhausting.

It is no coincidence that this has happened after Pope Francis put the Traditional Mass back into the centre of public consciousness with Traditionis custodes. Perhaps it is not the result he had uppermost in his mind, but God moves in mysterious ways.

In the wider context of the Church, our events are small, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Growth is nevertheless preferable to decline, and that people want what we are offering, and benefit from it, is an indication that we are making a positive contribution to the life of the Church.

I can’t claim to understand fully the mindset of those within the Church who have a strongly negative attitude to Catholics attached to the Traditional Mass. Sometimes they seem to fear we are about to take over, but the next criticism is usually that what we do is off-putting and will never attract anyone. They can’t have it both ways. Closer to the mark might be an assessment of our movement as nice for those who like that kind of thing, but a minority interest: a bit niche.

But this is not how we are seen. I was amused at the remark of an anonymous English Bishop, quoted in the report on the Extraordinary Form made by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

‘Identity crisis, authenticity crisis, orientation crisis, credibility crisis--BOSH.’

From Cracks in the Clouds by Dom Hubert van Zeller OSB (erstwhile Brother Choleric) 1976.

for the Holy Father in 2019: ‘We hear a lot from the LMS and its crusade to change the face of the Church and set the clocks back’ (see Diane Montagna’s article in the Spring Mass of Ages). I had no idea our message was getting through so loudly and clearly.

How did we do it? Was it a short Letter to the Editor in The Tablet? Was it a brief quotation in The Daily Telegraph? We do our best, but in human terms it’s not much. The fact is, it’s not us that the fuss is about. It is the Mass.

The celebration of the Old Mass seems to have an importance which goes far beyond the publicity we manage to generate for it. It is significant that it has survived at all, a thread of continuity with a past which some would prefer not to confront, an uncomfortable reminder of the Faith and spirituality of our predecessors. It is not, after all, an excusable eccentricity, something for hobbyists which everyone else can ignore. Our opponents, as well as our supporters, recognise that the traditional liturgy is an issue for the whole Church.

As Pope Benedict XVI understood, the Church must find a way of making peace with the Traditional Mass, which is to

say, with her own heritage. We can’t be in a constant state of war with everyone who lived before the 1960s. They were Catholics too. Their achievements, their writings and art, and their liturgy, must have a place of honour in the Church, if we are ever to be comfortable in our own time. The place accorded to these things may be a small one – or, who knows, in time, not so small – but it cannot just be in a dark corner of a dusty crypt. It must be in the light.

I almost feel I need to apologise to those picking up this magazine out of curiosity, or who have discovered the older Mass just because, well, it seems nice. It is nice, of course. But if you allow yourself to recognise this apparently unthreatening fact you can find yourself drawn into arguments and conflicts completely out of proportion to a private liturgical preference. We are in a battle on a wholly different plane.

For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spiritsofwickednessinthehighplaces.

(Ephesians 6:12)

Joseph Shaw on why the Church must find a way of making peace with the Traditional Mass, which is to say, with her own heritage

LMS Year Planner – Notable Events

At the time of going to press the following events are planned.

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.

St Tarcisius Server Training Day and Guild of St Clare Vestment Mending Day Saturday 19 November, St Mary Moorfields, Eldon Street, London EC2M 7LS, starting at 10.30am.

Iota Unum Talk Friday 25 November. The next in our series of talks which focuses on topics connected with the everyday life of traditionally-minded Catholics, takes place in the basement of Our Lady of the Assumption & St Gregory, Warwick Street, London. The speaker will be Edmund Adamus on 'The New Evangelistion... what does it really mean?’. Doors open at 6.30pm for the talk at 7pm; entrance via Golden Square. There will be a charge of £5 on the door to cover refreshments and other expenses.

Looking ahead to Spring 2023. Guild of StClare Sewing Retreat. 3 – 5 February 2023 at Park Place, Wickham, Fareham PO17 5HA. See the LMS website for details.

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

Derek Cramp

Keith Crocker (Deacon)

Joseph Doran

Maureen Doran

Mary Fagan

Marguerite Finn

Kevin Gibbons

Joan Ingle

Eileen McCarthy Liberata Zabat

Every effort is made to ensure that this list is accurate and up-to-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: Ian O’Brien.

Please pray for the souls of all members who have died recently Requiescant in Pace

Liturgical calendar

NOVEMBER

SUN 13 23RD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST II CL G

MON 14 ST JOSAPHAT B M III CL (PRIV.) W

TUE 15 ST ALBERT THE GREAT B C D III CL W

WED 16 ST GERTRUDE V III CL W

THU 17 ST GREGORY THAUMATURGUS B C III CL W

FRI 18 THE DEDICATION OF THE BASILICAS OF SS PETER AND PAUL III CL (PRIV.) W

SAT 19 ST ELIZABETH W III CL W

SUN 20 24TH AND LAST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST II CL G

MON 21 THE PRESENTATION OF THE BVM III CL W

TUE 22 ST CECILIA V M III CL (PRIV.) R

WED 23 ST CLEMENT I P M III CL (PRIV.) R

THU 24 ST JOHN OF THE CROSS C D III CL (PRIV.) W

FRI 25 ST CATHERINE V M III CL R

SAT 26 ST SILVESTER AB III CL W

SUN 27 ADVENT SUNDAY I CL V

MON 28 FERIA III CL V

TUE 29 FERIA III CL V

WED 30 ST ANDREW AP II CL R

DECEMBER

THU 1 FERIA III CL V

FRI 2 ST BIBIANA V M III CL R

SAT 3 ST FRANCIS XAVIER C III CL (PRIV.) W

SUN 4 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT I CL V

MON 5 FERIA III CL V

TUE 6 ST NICOLAS B C III CL (PRIV.) W

WED 7 ST AMBROSE B C D III CL (PRIV.) W

THU 8 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BVM I CL W

FRI 9 FERIA III CL V

SAT 10 FERIA III CL V

SUN 11 3RD SUNDAY OF ADVENT ( GAUDETE SUNDAY) I CL V/ROSE

MON 12 FERIA III CL V

TUE 13 ST LUCY V M III CL (PRIV.) R

WED 14 EMBER WEDNESDAY OF ADVENT II CL V

THU 15 FERIA III CL V

FRI 16 EMBER FRIDAY OF ADVENT II CL V

SAT 17 EMBER SATURDAY OF ADVENT II CL V

SUN 18 4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT I CL V

MON 19 FERIA II CL V

TUE 20 FERIA II CL V

WED 21 ST THOMAS AP II CL R

THU 22 FERIA II CL V

FRI 23 FERIA II CL V

SAT 24 VIGIL OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD I CL V

SUN 25 THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD I CL W

MON 26 ST STEPHEN PROTOMARTYR II CL R

TUE 27 ST JOHN AP EVANGELIST II CL W

WED 28 THE HOLY INNOCENTS MM II CL R

THU 29 4TH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE NATIVITY II CL W

FRI 30 5TH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE NATIVITY II CL W

SAT 31 6TH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE NATIVITY II CL W

JANUARY 2023

SUN 1 THE OCTAVE DAY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD I CL W

MON 2 THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS II CL W

TUE 3 FERIA IV CL W

WED 4 FERIA IV CL W

THU 5 FERIA IV CL W

FRI 6 THE EPIPHANY I CL W

SAT 7 CELEBRATION OF THE BVM IV CL W

SUN 8 THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH II CL W

MON 9 FERIA IV CL W

TUE 10 FERIA IV CL W

WED 11 FERIA IV CL W

THU 12 FERIA IV CL W

FRI 13 THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD II CL W

SAT 14 ST HILARY B C D III CL W

SUN 15 2ND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY II CL G

MON 16 ST MARCELLUS I P M III CL R

TUE 17 ST ANTHONY AB III CL (PRIV.) W

WED 18 FERIA IV CL G

THU 19 FERIA IV CL G

FRI 20 SS FABIAN P & SEBASTIAN M III CL (PRIV.) R

SAT 21 ST AGNES V M III CL (PRIV.) R

SUN 22 3RD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY II CL G

MON 23 ST RAYMUND OF PENAFORT C III CL W

TUE 24 ST TIMOTHY B M III CL (PRIV.) R

WED 25 THE CONVERSION OF ST PAUL AP III CL (PRIV.) W

THU 26 ST POLYCARP B M III CL (PRIV.) R

FRI 27 ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM B C D III CL (PRIV.) W

SAT 28 ST PETER NOLASCO C III CL W

SUN 29 4TH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY II CL G

MON 30 ST MARTINA V M III CL R

TUE 31 ST JOHN BOSCO C III CL (PRIV.) W

FEBRUARY

WED 1 ST IGNATIUS B M III CL (PRIV.) R

THU 2 THE PURIFICATION OF THE BVM II CL W

FRI 3 FERIA IV CL G

SAT 4 ST ANDREW CORSINI B C III CL W

SUN 5 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY II CL V

MON 6 ST TITUS B C III CL (PRIV.) W

TUE 7 ST ROMUALD AB III CL W

WED 8 ST JOHN OF MATHA C III CL W

THU 9 ST CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA B C D III CL W

FRI 10 ST SCHOLASTICA V III CL W

SAT 11 THE APPARITION OF THE BVM IMMACULATE III CL W

Thirtieth Day Requiem for Queen Elizabeth

A Traditional Latin Requiem Mass was held at St Mary Moorfields in London on 8 October for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, to mark a month since the death of the monarch.

The Sung Mass, organized by the Latin Mass Society, included music by Tomas Luis da Victoria sung by the Southwell Consort directed by Gareth Wilson with the unusual accompaniment of sackbuts and cornets. The homily, reprinted below, was given by the Celebrant The Rev. Dr Michael Cullinan. Photographs by John Aron

Ican’t begin at the beginning today or even at the end. I must begin in the middle. The New Rite of Funerals gives three reasons for a Requiem Mass: first, to give thanks for the life of the departed, secondly, to pray for her soul, and finally, to give hope and consolation to the living while also reminding us of God’s mercy and judgement. Three reasons: a beginning, a middle, and an end.

But I must begin in the middle to explain everything else; to explain why we’re here today to offer a Requiem Mass for our late beloved Sovereign.

You might wonder why I’ve started with something from the New Rite at an

Old Rite Mass, but it’s only because of the changes that we’re able to have this Mass at all. Before Vatican II the Church confined its public funeral rites to its own members, so this is the first time for centuries that we have been able to pray for a deceased sovereign in the way that is infinitely better than anything we could do ourselves – through the Mass. So, what I’m saying begins with changes and it will end with changes too.

I’ve begun in the middle for another reason too: because middles are often left out. Particularly this middle: the middle of praying for her soul and for souls in purgatory as an act of Christian charity and solidarity.

Purgatory is often left out today, including in those funeral booklets made up by the undertakers advertising ‘A Mass of Thanksgiving for the life of …’. Funeral Masses are now full of happy hymns to suppress grief and to deny the reality that we are all sinners in need of God’s mercy and purification.

We should begin here firstly because Her Late Majesty was a devout Christian who believed in her need for mercy and was far too clear-sighted and honest to deny her failings and her need for forgiveness. And secondly because not all her family and friends are able to pray

for the dead, so we Catholics can do it for them. Something His Majesty the King has already made a point of thanking us for; we can pray for her to have a swift and painless passage into the glory of heaven.

But you can have too much of a middle and perhaps we did in the old days: perhaps there wasn’t enough resurrection mixed in with the Calvary and not enough gold shining through

the black. We do well, therefore, to look at beginnings too and our duty to thank Almighty God for the gift of a noble and wonderful life.

That’s where I feel quite inadequate to what I’m supposed to do today. I never had the privilege of being presented to her and millions of tongues louder, more eloquent, and more knowledgeable than mine have already said so much. So, I won’t say

much about her. I’ll just mention two of the tributes that have stuck in my mind and then give a brief perspective as a priest.

I don’t usually quote from politicians in the pulpit, but this is what President Biden said and it really struck me: she charmed us with her wit, moved us with her kindness, and generously shared with us her wisdom.

Wit, kindness, and wisdom. I hope and pray that maybe one day they’ll say that about us. Not just wit, such as the cheap shots you get on Twitter and maybe in the House of Commons. Not just kindness, which can be rather dull without wit, but is much more important. Wit and kindness together –lively and attractive to all those we meet and the elements of holy charity.

We do not go very far without wisdom – knowing the right thing to do and the right thing to say. The virtue by which we lead others towards God and bring ourselves towards God. It may be the work of a lifetime. It is a triumph of God’s grace, to complete the virtue of holy charity. Wit, kindness, and wisdom:

I hope and pray very much that maybe one day they’ll say that about us too.

The President mentioned another thing. ‘… she stood in solidarity with the United States during our darkest days after 9/11’. Solidarity, courage, and being a staunch friend. Without these attributes charity isn’t possible, so I hope and pray that maybe one day they’ll say that about us too. That’s one view that sticks in my mind – and someone with no reason in his background to praise a British monarch.

There’s something else that sticks in my mind too. Last Sunday I went for a walk in the park before lunch to get some exercise in the sun and saw a metal plaque: a tribute to Her Late Majesty

from two local South Asian communities mentioning how much she had done for them. Another tribute from ordinary people who didn’t have to say anything but did.

I won’t try any more tributes as we have all heard so many, so I’ll close this part with an observation as a priest: she was a devout Christian who let her faith show as a beacon of light in the secular darkness. Furthermore, like a religious she made a vow – a vow of service. Like me she was anointed and set apart – a vow and an anointing as happens to all of us at our baptism. What she vowed she kept until death; I hope and pray that maybe one day they’ll say that about us too.

There’s an old prayer said in English at the graveside. ‘That we may always remember that we shall surely follow her.’ Have you looked at the Court Circular for 8 September? Does it contain flowery language, beautiful phrasing, and lengthy encomiums? No, just a bald statement that Her Majesty died peacefully this afternoon. That bald statement hit me because one day they’ll say it about me and about each of us. One day we shall be dead and gone. So, her death, perhaps more than most, reminds us of our own deaths; of our own need for mercy in the certainty of

divine judgement; of our own need to prepare for death; and of our own lack of faith perhaps.

Which brings us to the end – to our need for hope and consolation. Perhaps her Late Majesty’s passing can help us here too. I mentioned change at the beginning. There were many changes in her long life: changes in the Church, changes to be endured, and changes to be welcomed. As there are and will be in all our lives. The best way we can prepare for death is to change, because after death we cannot change in the same way.

We now live in a new reign with a new government: a time of hope, but also a clear sign of change. We can all still change. We can renew our own leadership; we can allow Christ to begin a new reign in our hearts today; and we can remember a wonderful example of Christian service and pray for the grace to live up to it more and more.

Sleep, dearie, sleep. And rise in glory, with all of us.

Letters to the Editor

Little Sisters’ funds

Just a line to thank my fellow LMS members, supporters and Mass of Ages readers for their very kind assistance in our fundraising for the Little Sisters of the Poor.

To date we have raised more than £15,200 which helps enormously, bearing in mind the fact that both church and street collecting had been suspended during Covid, as had also the store collections in large supermarkets.

Just to remind readers - we collect used postage stamps (any country or period), foreign currency (again from anywhere or any time), odd pieces of gold and silver (even earring backs) and military medals (any conflict or country).

Our dealers will only take commemorative or foreign stamps but those they don't take go to the Royal National Institute for the Blind, who send us large cartons and arrange free collections.

Please be assured of the prayers of the Sisters and residents, as well as those of Theresa and myself. Please continue to help the Sisters, who also look after retired priests and nuns.

Stamps and other items can be sent to us at 34 Morston Drive, Newcastle upon Tyne NE15 7RZ. God bless. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. David and Theresa O’Neill Via email

A more venerable claim

Like all his articles, Charles Coulombe's contribution on the Bonnie Marchioness of Lothian in the Autumn 2022 issue of Mass of Ages made for excellent reading.

I have only one, very minor, quibble. He refers to the ‘Archdiocese of Edinburgh and St Andrews’, making Edinburgh the senior title.

In fact, Leo XIII's bull of erection, Ex supremo Apostolatus apice of 4 March 1878, acknowledges the more venerable claim of St Andrew, S, Andreae cum adiuncto titulo Edinburgi (St Andrews with the appended title of Edinburgh). Sean Tynan, Via email

Letters should be addressed to:

The Editor, Mass of Ages, 11-13 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NH email editor@lms.org.uk

Letters may be edited for reasons of space

Joy in Pugin’s ‘ideal’ church

Archbishop John Wilson visits to Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of St Augustine’s as a Shrine, as Andrew Kelly explains

Ajoyfulcelebration took place in Ramsgate, Kent on 12 October when Archbishop John Wilson arrived to celebrate Mass at St Augustine’s. Newsreader Alastair Stewart, an old boy of St Augustine’s School, joined local dignitaries including the Mayor Raushan Ara, Dannii Lancefield and Simon Marshal, headteachers of the Ursuline College and St Ethelbert’s schools and many local clergy including monks from the former monastery.

The Archbishop preached on the need for evangelisation in the modern world in the mould of St Augustine. Afterwards the congregation queued for photos with Archbishop John, then repaired to the Cartoon Room in Pugin’s Grange for the reception.

St Augustine’s is world famous for being the ‘ideal’ church of the great Victorian architect Augustus Pugin – most famous for designing the Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben.

His church is attracting increasing numbers of visitors, including many from abroad, who are stunned by its beauty and charmed by the seaside delights of Ramsgate. A Shrine to St Augustine

of Canterbury since 2012, it is also an increasingly important pilgrimage destination, both for those arriving by coach and those walking one of the pilgrimage trails, such as the Augustine Camino and the Way of St Augustine.

After almost being sold in 2011 –St Augustine’s has been transformed. A £340,000 Roof Renovation Project has just been completed, funded by the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales – ultimately from a Government Covid Recovery Grant – the Benefact Trust and Lottery Community Fund plus many individual donations.

The Grade 1 listed building is open for visits every day except Tuesday and Sunday from 12.30 – 3.30pm and by request. All are welcome to this gem of a building, especially on a Sunday for the Sung Traditional Mass at 12 noon.

If anyone would like to volunteer at St Augustine’s please get in touch at augustineshrine@rcaos.org.uk

Archbishop JohnWilson in the North Cloister at St Augustine

‘Please continue to help the Sisters, who also look after retired priests and nuns’

© Marie Muscat King

Unorthodox outcomes

Diane Montagna

looks

at some controversial appointments

In October 2023, a gathering of a special canonical kind, called the Synod on Synodality, will take place. One synod secretariat official, who was lamenting that participation in the preparatory stages had been rather sparce, told me the reason for a general lack of interest in the synod itself was an orchestrated “campaign” against the synod by conservatives.

An alternative theory advanced by some suggests the signs are so poor that those with an affection for Christianity in its classical form may have decided that avoidance of complicity is more important than a doomed fight to steer the ship away from the iceberg.

That an unorthodox outcome is predetermined is already strongly suggested by several images released on social media by the synod secretariat itself. The images, which were praised by synod leaders as “works of art,” promote LGBTQ+ identity and women’s ordination, leading more than one prelate and theologian to describe them as “images of apostasy”.

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has asserted that if this agenda succeeds, “it will be the end of the Catholic Church”.

At news that the Synod is being expanded to include two assemblies in Rome (one in October 2023 and another in 2024) Cardinal Müller said: “To me it seems more important to deal with the nihilistic worldview behind trans and posthumanism than with the abstract principle of synodality, into which theological ignoramuses can read what they want and make themselves more important than they are.”

Pontifical Academy

In 1994 Pope John Paul II created one of the most important elements in the institutional pro-life culture:

the Pontifical Academy for Life. In late 2016, Pope Francis terminated all full members in order to reconstitute it, placing it under the leadership of Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who is famous for the homoerotic mural he commissioned for the wall of his cathedral church in Terni.

The most recent and spectacularly inexplicable appointment to the new Pontifical Academy for Life has been pro-abortion atheist and economist, Mariana Mazzucato.

Mazzucato, who joins a growing list of members who hold views antithetical to the Catholic Church, is a highly influential atheist economist who supports legalized abortion and whose views on the economy have in part been praised by Pope Francis.

As National Catholic Register Rome correspondent, Edward Pentin, reported in October, Mazzucato, who is reportedly “admired by Bill Gates” and widely consulted by governments worldwide, “has made no secret of her sympathies for a right to abortion”.

In the wake of criticism, Archbishop Paglia insisted that all the members, including Mazzucato, “have at heart the value of human life in their area of expertise”. The new members may not all, “profess the tenets of the Catholic faith,” he said, “but they defend life in its entirety”.

The archbishop downplayed Mazzucato’s tweets, saying they may have been “pro-choice,” but they were not “pro-abortion”. When I spoke to him, Cardinal Müller forcefully denounced the appointment, saying: “Vatican II calls the abortion and killing of a child an ‘unspeakable’ crime (Gaudium et Spes 51; 27). Pope Francis speaks of abortion as a contract killing, as ‘hiring a hitman’. The appointment of proponents of such hate crimes against the God of Life as members of the Pontifical Academy for Life can only be the result of an insidious deception of the Pope.

“The perpetrators of this plot against the credibility of the Church and the Holy Father must be removed from office immediately and held accountable by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith,” the Cardinal added.

Witnesses to Faith?

During his visit to Canada in July, Pope Francis encouraged indigenous peoples in their traditions by participating in a “smudge ceremony,” at which a local indigenous leader called on “the western grandmother to give us access to the sacred circle of spirits so they can be with us, so we can be united and stronger together”.

Since then, the smudging of the frontiers of the Church has intensified, most recently through the Pope’s establishment, within the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, of a permanent Commission for Witnesses to Faith. Congregation Prefect Cardinal Marcelo Semararo told Vatican News in October that the commission will highlight men and women who, “despite not being canonized figures, and despite not having materially suffered martyrdom or otherwise,” are witnesses to faith who “speak to the entire Christian world, not only the Catholic world”.

As one theologian explained, “the boundaries of the Church are defined by the tria vincula: the common profession of faith, the same sacraments, and the same government”. And while “there are a number of eastern saints who were canonically outside communion when they died but whose cult Rome permitted, we may take it that the Holy See judged they were not subjectively culpable for their canonical irregularity and so were aggregated to the Church”.

He added: “It is, however, one thing to find oneself through honest error on the wrong side of a canonical dispute and quite another overtly to repudiate the Roman Primacy as such and other articles of faith.”

St Edward the Confessor, Sutton Park

Paul Waddington takes a look at this delightful little Surrey church

Sutton Place is a Tudor manor house, about three miles to the north east of Guildford in Surrey. It dates from 1525, when Sir Richard Weston, a courtier of Henry VIII, built it as his country home. The house, which is now a Grade I Listed Building, was built in a style influenced by the Italian renaissance. The manor lay within extensive parkland, where Sir Richard entertained his guests on hunting expeditions.

Following the Reformation, the Weston family remained loyal to the Catholic faith, although in 1569, Sir Henry Weston, grandson of Sir

Richard, did outwardly conform to the Established Church. This action not only helped him to maintain the family fortune, but also enabled him to be a Member of Parliament and the Sheriff of Surrey. Queen Elizabeth I is known to have visited Sutton Place in 1591. However, Sutton Place was searched in 1587, and again in 1591 by officials looking for evidence of Catholic priests, which indicates the true allegiance of the family. Much later, after penal restrictions were eased in the late 18th century, hiding places for priests were discovered, one concealing a casket of relics and another a chalice and paten.

The ownership of Sutton Place was passed on through many generations of the Weston family, until 1782 when the owner, Melior Mary Weston, died without an heir. She bequeathed the property to a distant cousin named John Webbe. Thereafter, ownership changed many times, and the estate drifted out of Catholic ownership. One notable owner was J Paul Getty, a recluse, who bought Sutton Place in 1959, and lived there until his death in 1976. At the time when he purchased Sutton Place, J Paul Getty was the richest private citizen in the world.

TheEastend:‘StEdwardscouldeasilybemistakenforapre-Reformationvillagechurch’

© Czerminski.com Photography

Throughout the years that Sutton Park was owned by the Weston family, Masses were offered in the house. During penal times, its secluded location enabled priests to come and go unnoticed. Later, following the Catholic Relief Acts, Mass was offered at Sutton Place more openly.

Medieval appearance

The Church of St Edward the Confessor was built in 1875 within the grounds of Sutton Place. The architect was Charles Alban Buckler, who had converted to Catholicism in 1844, and is buried in the cemetery that surrounds the church. His other works include parts of Arundel Castle, and several Catholic churches, mostly in the southern part of England. Perhaps his biggest commission was the Church of St Dominic in Haverstock Hill in London, which he designed for the Dominican Order.

St Edward’s, by contrast, is small. Built in the Early English style, using locally sourced knapped flints with stone dressings, Buckler was extremely successful in creating a church that is truly medieval in appearance. Its walled churchyard with lychgate, together with the rural setting, add to this impression. St Edwards could easily be mistaken for a pre-Reformation village church.

It has had many distinguished parish priests, including Dr Arthur Hinsley, later to become Cardinal

Archbishop of Westminster. During his tenure (between 1905 and 1911), the reredos, designed by Frederick Walters, and funded by Lord Howard of Glossop, was added, as was much of the stained glass. Dr Hinsley was an energetic man, cycling two or three times a week to St John’s Seminary, Wonersh where he taught history and sacred scripture. He also instituted an annual Corpus Christi procession at the parish, which continued until interrupted by the COVID epidemic.

Another distinguished parish priest was Fr Gordon Albion, who had responsibility for public broadcasting of Masses. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Mass was broadcast from St Edward’s on several occasions, including Midnight Mass for Christmas which the BBC broadcast in 1957.

The church consists of a rectangular nave with an apsidal chancel. To the north is a lean-to side aisle housing the Lady Chapel, and an octagonal baptistery. There is a gabled porch at the south side, where a statue of a seated St Edward is mounted in a niche above the door. The church has a tiled roof above corbelled eaves, with a small belfry at the west end. There are lancet windows at the south side, and at the west end, but the chancel has three larger windows.

The interior of the church is every bit as attractive as the outside. The stone High Altar is beautifully carved, and is embellished with marble pillars at the corners. It is fortunate that the High Altar has survived post Vatican II reordering, it remaining intact although slightly repositioned. Behind is a relatively simple reredos with tabernacle and monstrance throne, which was designed by Frederick Walters. As noted above, this was installed in 1911. The sanctuary, which occupies not only the apse but also the first bay of the nave is fronted by a very ornately carved wooden communion rail, complete with its gates. In front of this on the epistle side is an equally ornately carved wooden pulpit.

A three bay arcade divides the nave from the north aisle, its circular columns having floriated capitals. The stone Lady Altar, which is

located in the north aisle, resembles the High Altar, although without the pillars. Awkwardly placed, partially in front of it, is a drum-shaped baptismal font. This was translated from the original baptistery, and is a less successful aspect of post Vatican II reordering. There is a small single manual pipe organ at the west end of the aisle.

Ruff of St Thomas More

A number of interesting items are exhibited in the passage that leads to the former baptistery and elsewhere in the church. These include a bloodstained ruff that belonged to St Thomas More, as well as vestments.

The stations of the cross appear relatively modern, but are, nonetheless, impressive. St Edward’s has some fine stained glass. The windows in the south aisle and the lancets in the west wall are the work of Mayer of Munich and the Hardman Company of Birmingham. Other windows are by unknown designers and are of lower quality.

The Church of St Edward the Confessor, which is now one of a cluster of churches belonging to the Guildford parish, has been well looked after, and is certainly deserving of its Grade II Listed status. Any reordering that has taken place has been done sensitively, with a clear intention to retain original features. A Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form is offered in the church on Friday evenings.

Stainedglassatthewestend

TheLadyChapel

DIOCESAN DIGEST

Mass of Ages quarterly round-up

Arundel & Brighton

Huw Davies aandb@lms.org.uk 07954 253284

The weather was kind to us again for the annual Pilgrimage Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and St Francis at West Grinstead on the Feast of the Decollation of St John the Baptist. A Sung Mass was offered by Fr Ian Mcdole (who has since been appointed Catholic Chaplain to Eton College) followed by refreshments and a most interesting tour of the secret chapel in the presbytery. Benediction and the Rosary rounded off the day nicely. Thank you to all who served, sang or helped in other ways. The next Mass here will be on Remembrance Sunday, with another on Advent Sunday, both at 3pm.

On the Feast of the Assumption at St Hugh of Lincoln in Knaphill we said goodbye to Fr Gerard Hatton, who has departed the diocese for Edinburgh, with a Sung Mass followed by a shared breakfast in the presbytery. We were thankful to a number of visiting priests for supplying the Sunday Masses here for the following month. However, since mid-September the celebration of the Traditional Form of Holy Mass has ceased here for the time being. Please pray for Fr Gerard in his new endeavours and for a substitute Sunday Mass to be provided.

Masses continue to be offered at East Molesey (where on the feast of St Joseph Calascantius we celebrated a significant birthday for Theresa with a post-Mass party in the hall), Lewes, Caterham, Sutton Park and Eastbourne through the week on different days, and Lewes continues to have a Sunday Mass also, offered by Canon Jonathan Martin. Please ensure you check the listings in the months ahead for all churches, with multiple festal Masses and of course the great feast of Christmas.

Birmingham & Black Country

Louis Maciel 07392 232225

birmingham@lms.org.uk

birmingham-lms-rep.blogspot.co.uk/

The quarter kicked off with High Mass at the Oratory and a Low Mass at St Mary-on-the-Hill in Wednesbury for the Assumption, transferred to Sunday in the new calendar but celebrated on Monday in the old. This was followed at the Oratory by another High Mass for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and a Requiem Mass at 9am on the day of the Queen’s funeral. There was a special Vespers on the Feast of St John Henry Newman, which fell on a Sunday this year, and a few days later Solemn Vespers was celebrated again to announce the schedule of visitations for the new Birmingham Cathedral and South deanery. Our Lady of Perpetual Succour celebrated a High Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, which I was unable to attend because of a crash on the M6. At the time of writing, All Saints and All Souls have not taken place but the usual schedule of Masses is planned.

It was remiss of me not to mention the death of Fr George Grynowski in my last report. Fr George celebrated the 1962 Missal in West Heath when I started as Rep, with an annual High Mass on the patronal Feast of SS John Fisher and Thomas More in the old Missal. A Requiem Mass in the 1962 Missal took place on 19 July at Holy Trinity, Bilston with his friends and family in attendance before his funeral the next day. He will be greatly missed.

Birmingham (North Staffs) Alan Frost north-staffs-lms.blogspot.com

Among several Missae Cantatae celebrated at Our Lady’s, Swynnerton in recent times, that on Sunday 9 October was of particular significance to parish priest Fr Paul Chavasse, Cong Orat, as it is the Feast Day of St John Henry Newman, and Fr Paul was a major promoter of the successful cause for his canonisation. More Sung Masses have also been celebrated at St Augustine’s, Meir, with members of the Swynnerton schola providing the music. These are celebrated by Fr Kazimierz Stefak, who invited Fr Michael Glover from nearby St Teresa’s (Trent Vale) to sing the 21 Sept Mass. The Feasts of All Saints (at St Mary’s, Swynnerton, 6 pm) and All Souls (Meir, 7 pm) will also be Missae Cantatae.

A regular server at Our Lady’s, Swynnerton, and St Augustine’s, Meir (Stoke-on-Trent) Masses, for some years, is discerning a vocation to the priesthood. He and several other young men have begun a year of prayer, study, and work at the ICKSP House in Preston. Another former regular attender at Our Lady’s, and later helper at St Mary’s Priory, Warrington, is also pursuing her vocation as a nun. Now Sr Mari Caritas of the Holy Trinity in an Order in the USA, she made her first Temporary Profession on 11 October in Minneapolis with Sr Petra Maria from the same Order. Her mother and one of her sisters were present. Two of her younger brothers are now regular servers in our North Staffs churches.

Given the relative rarity of young people answering the call of God, the little church of Our Lady’s, Swynnerton, can remarkably relate to a further vocation as the very talented organist, who occasionally had played at Traditional Latin Masses, has become a novice with the Dominicans. No wonder Fr Chavasse wonders with a smile what makes it special!

Birmingham (Oxford) Joseph Shaw oxford@lms.org.uk oxfordlmsrep.blogspot.com

Regular Masses continue. This is a busy time of year but some important events fall between my writing this and the publication of this edition of Mass of Ages, so I will report on them in the next one.

Birmingham (Worcestershire) Alastair J Tocher 01684 893332 malvern@lms.org.uk extraordinarymalvern.uk Facebook:  Extraordinary Malvern

The established regular Masses across Worcestershire –Sung Masses at St Ambrose, Kidderminster on first Sundays, and Low Masses at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Redditch on first Fridays – continue as normal. Also, and as predicted in the previous report, regular mid-week Low Masses have now recommenced at Immaculate Conception & St Egwin, Evesham on Tuesday evenings at 18:30.

Our thanks to all our local priests – Fr Douglas Lamb, Fr Jason Mahoney, and Fr Christopher Draycott – who make the extra effort to celebrate these Masses for us and who support us in so many other ways; also, Archbishop Bernard Longley who generously grants permission for these Masses. Please remember them all in your prayers.

Brentwood Mark Johnson

The Mass continues at St Margaret’s Convent Chapel. My thanks go to Father Brett, Father Cullinan and others for their tireless efforts in providing the Mass.

We have been raising money for new vestments for use at the Mass in Canning Town, in particular a Low Mass set plus matching cope in green, as well as a Roman style cope to match the Low Mass white set we have. If you would like to contribute you can send your donation to the LMS office marking it clearly for the Canning Town Vestment Fund. If you are a taxpayer, I would ask that you fill in the gift aid form so that we may claim the tax. The forms are available from the office or I can provide a form in person at Canning Town.

Brentwood (East)

Alan Gardner

alanmdgardner@gmail.com

A very short report this time, as we are still in a state of flux. There are some encouraging signs of ‘green shoots of recovery’, but it is too early to be able to give details on that yet.

We remain grateful to all our priests: working hard to coordinate and encourage provision around the diocese; ‘going the extra mile’ in saying TLM in their own and other parishes; allowing TLM in their own parish despite not being able to say the Latin Mass themselves.

Prayers very much continue to be needed, please; there are many gaps to fill before we can be satisfied that all who wish to attend TLM are able to do so.

This is a large region undergoing much fluctuation, so do please keep me informed about developments in your local area so that I can circulate details (in some cases attendance would have been higher if details had been better known). If you are not currently on my local email (bcc!) circulation list (you should be receiving something from me at reasonably regular intervals), do please feel free to get in touch.

Andrew Butcher cardiff@lms.org.uk

Mobile: 07905 609770

Holy Mass is continuing to be offered daily in Cardiff at Saint Alban on the Moors, with a High Mass on Sundays and Low Mass every Sunday at The Most Holy Trinity, Ledbury. Times can be found in the Mass listing of this edition of Mass of Ages.

Earlier this year, the Holy Father appointed Archbishop Mark O'Toole as our new Archbishop and Bishop of Menevia, uniting both diocese in ‘persona Episcopi’. Please remember the Archbishop in your prayers as he takes up his new office and also for Archbishop Emeritus George Stack as he begins his retirement. Ad multos annos.

On Tuesday 11 October 2022, the Holy Father appointed Canon Peter Collins, parish priest of Saint Mary of the Angels, Canton, Cardiff as Bishop of East Anglia. On behalf of the local LMS, I extend our prayers and best wishes to Bishop-elect Collins as he prepares to leave the diocese for the next chapter of his life.

Be assured of my prayers and when the time comes a very happy and holy Christmas season to you all.

East Anglia (West) Alisa and Gregor Dick 01954 780912 cambridge@lms.org.uk

We invite readers of Mass of Ages to pray for Bishop-elect Peter Collins, who has been appointed Bishop of East Anglia by the Holy Father. His episcopal consecration will take place on 14 December, which, in the traditional calendar, will be the Ember Wednesday in Advent. We wish to renew our gratitude to and prayers for Bishop Alan Hopes, who has been unfailingly generous to us in his time as bishop of the diocese.

The theme continues: Fr Euan Marley OP completes his term as Prior of Blackfriars, Cambridge in November, and we thank him for his pastoral solicitude over the last six years, for his patience in handling our endless e-mails and not least for the time that he took to learn and celebrate Mass according to the Traditional Dominican Rite. We assure him of our continuing prayers.

Sunday Masses at Blackfriars continue as normal. The dates on which these Masses are planned to be sung are now listed on the noticeboard inside the entrance of the priory.

East Anglia (Withermarsh Green) Sarah Ward 07522 289449 withermarshgreen@lms.org.uk

Daily Masses in the Old Rite continue, with two Masses on Sundays and a monthly Sung Mass on the last Sunday of the month. The “Friends of Withermarsh Green Latin Mass Chaplaincy” charity continues to offer teas and coffees after 11am Sunday Mass. We continue to see a steady rise in attendance and are always pleased to welcome new faces.

On 8 October the Chaplaincy held a “Maker’s Day” where people were invited to bring their arts and crafts for display and workshops took place on Icon painting, lino cutting and printing and model making. It was a great day and everyone enjoyed a bring and share lunch.

Guild of St Clare Sewing Days continue every 6-8 weeks.

A reminder to visitors that in wet weather, the parking area can become very muddy indeed and you may wish to park a little way up the lane and walk down to the chapel.

Hexham & Newcastle Keith McAllister 01325 308968 07966 235329 k_mcallister@ymail.com

Another active period for Traditional liturgies, with those at Gateshead, Thornley, Coxhoe and Alnwick proceeding as on previous schedules.

We can look forward to Low Masses at Gateshead for the Immaculate Conception, Epiphany and Candlemas.

Lancaster Bob & Jane Latin 01772 962387 lancaster@lms.org.uk latinmasslancaster.blogspot.com John Rogan 01524 858832

lancasterassistant@lms.org.uk

During the last week of August, the ICKSP met for their annual Chapter meeting and we are pleased to say that our three Canons will continue their present ministry in Preston

Cardiff

for another year. We have also been joined by a new Deacon, Abbé Almeida from Portugal. Sisters Aline-Marie and BiancaMarie have moved to the House of Maria Engelport in Germany and in their place we have welcomed Sister Alexandra-Marie and Sister Isabel-Marie. October saw the arrival of seven new candidates to the House of Discernment in Preston – five British, one Irish and one French – who will spend the next year testing their vocation and learning about the life of the Institute.

After preparing for a few days at the house of the Sisters Adorers in Le Noirmont, on 26 September, our five 2021/22 candidates were among the 30 new seminarians who received the cape of the postulants of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest from Canon Mora, the Superior of the Seminary at Gricigliano; this will be their choir habit which they will wear every time they participate in the Divine Office.

The work on the new premises for St Benedict's Academy has been going well but the project team decided that it would cause less disruption to replace the windows this year rather than next, so it was not possible to move in at the start of the Autumn term. It is hoped that the transfer will take place at the end of the year. Consequently, the noon weekday Mass continues at English Martyrs on those days when the Academy is meeting, that is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the noon Mass is celebrated at St Walburge's. The 8.30 am Mass from Monday to Saturday continues at St Walburge's, and there are no changes to the Sunday Mass schedule. Meanwhile, Canon Ducret and members of the congregation have worked very hard to tidy and clean the old Talbot Library building. This will be used as a study area for the Academy but Canon's hope is that one day funding will be available to restore this to a fine library. On 22 September a small group of children from the Academy went to Lancaster Cathedral to venerate the relics of St Bernadette.

A full day of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was held on Monday 12 September to pray for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, our country, our new King Charles III and the royal family. A book of condolence was available for signing in the church.

23 September was the anniversary of the Consecration of St Walburge's and this was celebrated with a Solemn Mass on the following Sunday. During Communion we were treated to Mozart's Laudate Dominum beautifully sung by young Rosabel Walton, followed by our choir singing Bruckner's Locus iste. (Incidentally if you are interested in joining our choir, they meet for half an hour after the 10.30 Sunday Mass and for an hour on Thursday evenings.) Following the Mass, a group of some 30 people had a festive meal at a nearby Italian restaurant. A good time was had by all and a profit of £190 was made for the restoration fund. The next fundraising event was a Barn Dance in October – raising money and having fun, a good combination.

We are immensely grateful for two most generous benefactors who, having stayed in the Presbytery during the summer and noticing the dreadful state of the ceilings and the multiple leaks, have undertaken to pay for the complete restoration of the Presbytery roof. May God pour His blessings on them!

In October we were delighted to welcome our Bishop, Paul Swarbrick, to St Walburge’s for a pastoral visit, his first since 2019. He was delighted to meet the congregation, especially so many children, and he was able to view the progress of the renewal of the fabric of the church. A significant number of people took this opportunity to demonstrate their appreciation for his paternal support.

As I write, we are looking forward to the great Feast of Christ the King at the end of October, which is the Institute's Patronal Feast. This will be the first Sunday that our new Candidates will

be with us, and the 10.30 Mass will be followed by a Eucharistic Procession in the streets around the church. On Monday, 31 October, following First Vespers, there will be the traditional All Saints Party for the children. They are encouraged to come dressed as their favourite saint – and to know some facts about them – a beautiful antidote to Halloween! Finally, our traditional Novena to the Immaculate Conception will take place at St Walburge's starting on 30 November. Each evening there will be a guest preacher, Rosary and Benediction. For details, please see the website icksp.org.uk/preston/ or the Facebook page www.facebook.com/icksp.preston/

With effect from the New Year, there will be a change in our line-up. Bob, having reached a venerable age, will be standing down as Local Representative. John Rogan will take over that role and Jane will be the Preston contact. Nicholas will continue as Assistant Rep in Carlisle.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Society is extremely grateful to Bob and Jane Latin for the many years of dedicated service they have given as Local Representatives. It is good to know that Jane will still keep her hand in with assisting John.

Lancaster (North) Nicholas Steven 07715 539395

warwickbridge@lms.org.uk

What a glorious quarter it has been for Marian devotion, with so many wonderful Feasts of Our Lady to sustain us throughout our current liturgical winter.

There is not a lot to report beyond our usual Saturday 10am Mass at St Margaret Mary's. This is usually a Low Mass but is sung once a month.

We have lost one of our regular servers but to a good cause. William Steven has departed to begin his seminary training at Valladolid. May God go with him.

On a personal note, I was delighted to host a one-week silent retreat for seven Marian Franciscans at the Presbytery, Warwick Bridge and also to make a personal pilgrimage to the Transalpine Redemptorists on Papa Stronsay. If you have not yet been there, I earnestly recommend it.

It may be that we shall be seeing more of the Marian Francisans now they have a presence in both Portsmouth and Dundee - Carlisle is a convenient refreshment stop on the journey between their two Friaries. For those who may venture across the border, by kind permission of the Bishop of Dunkeld, Traditional Latin Mass is now being offered at St

New seminarians received the cape of the postulants of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest from Canon Mora, the Superior of the Seminary at Gricigliano

Joseph's Chapel, Lawside Road, Dundee, as follows: Sundays: 9am (Low Mass) & 11am (Sung Mass); Monday to Friday: 7am (usually a Sung Mass) & 10am (Low Mass); Saturday: 7am & 9:30am (Sung Mass). Ad multos annos Marian Francisans!

Back here in Cumbria, as we go to press a Sung Requiem Mass in the Old Rite is planned for the historic recusant chapel at Naworth Castle, near Brampton, on Tuesday, 25 October, by kind permission of the Hon. Philip Howard. This will be the first time that a Catholic Mass has been offered in the Castle since the 1640s. Requiem Mass will be offered by Fr Daniel Etienne for all deceased members of the Howard Family and all souls enrolled in the Cumbria Purgatorial Society www. prayforsouls.uk.

On 2 November we are planning a candlelit procession from Our Lady and St Wilfrid to the "lost cemetery" of the Benedictine Nuns of the former Holme Eden Abbey, followed by a Sung Requiem Mass. This will be our Schola's final preparation for the Cumbrian Purgatorial Society's annual Sung Requiem at St Margaret Mary’s on Saturday 5 November. Following Mass, Fr Serafino Lanzetta will give a talk on The Four Last Things and the Purgatorial Society will hold its AGM.

Liverpool Neil Addison

liverpool@lms.org.uk

The Traditional Rite in Liverpool Archdiocese continues to depend mainly on the FSSP in St Mary’s Warrington. There is a Tuesday 12 noon Latin Mass in St Catherine Laboure in Leyland and a Thursday 7.30pm Mass in St John, Standishgate, Wigan but in no other Churches. The Archbishop has not done anything to either restrict or encourage the Traditional Rite, so the situation can best be described as stable.

The Relics of St Bernadette were with us for nearly a week and my wife and I went to join the many other pilgrims visiting them in the Metropolitan Cathedral. We also attended the Requiem Mass in the Cathedral held for Her Majesty the Queen and led by Archbishop McMahon. It wasn’t in the Traditional Rite but it is important that the LMS participate in the ordinary life of the Archdiocese and Her Majesty was our Queen too.

Interestingly, King Charles, as Prince of Wales, was a patron of the Prayer Book Society www.pbs.org.uk which is in many ways the LMS of the Church of England since it seeks to retain and defend the traditional liturgy of the CofE as set out in the Book of Common Prayer. Whatever we might think of the BCP theologically, there is no doubt that it, together with the King James Bible, has a beautiful cadence and has played an immense part in the development and spread of the English language. There is no CofE equivalent to Traditionis Custodes and Anglican Vicars are free to use the BCP or the newer liturgies as they see fit.

It is worth noting that the Funeral Services for Her Majesty held in Westminster Abbey and Windsor Chapel were carried out in accordance with the BCP and not the newer CofE liturgy. It is sad to reflect that today the Bishops of the CofE seem better at guarding Anglican traditional worship than Catholic Bishops are at defending Catholic tradition.

Liverpool (Warrington)

Alan Frost

After a little respite for the priests and helpers at St Mary’s Priory, the usual busy schedule of liturgical services and events resumed in September. The Academy at St Mary’s Priory (stmarysacademy.warrington@gmail.com) re-opened on 21 September. Forty people from St Mary’s went with Fr

de Malleray and Fr Quirke to London on 3 September to take part in the March for Life. A further group also went to London on 8 October to take part in the Rosary Crusade walk from Westminster Cathedral to Brompton Oratory. In the same week the Shrine Rector, Fr de Malleray, led a clergy retreat at Stonyhurst for 12 priests, considering the postCovid position and challenges for the clergy. As in previous years, this year’s conferences will be posted on https:// radioimmaculata.org/various-podcast/fssp-conferences, the good Catholic radio run by the Marian Franciscans.

Fr Gwilym Evans thanked everyone for their generosity in offering a financial gift after his first Mass at St Mary’s after ordination. He also led a party to Ely on 25 August to join the annual LMS Walking Pilgrimage to Walsingham (see pages 28-29) before celebrating his first Mass in his native Wales (St Alban’s, Cardiff) and taking up his new duties in Reading.

For those young men who feel they may be being called by God, there is an Annual Vocation Weekend, 25-27 November, at St Mary’s Priory, led by Shrine Rector Fr de Malleray, FSSP, assisted by FSSP priests Fr Verrier, Fr Stewart and Fr Quirke (contact: malleray@fssp.org). Currently, six young men from the UK and Ireland are in formation at FSSP seminaries, while in recent years, three of the deacons from England were ordained priests at St Mary’s, by Archbishop McMahon OP of Liverpool, including Fr Alex Stewart. Those were the first EF priestly ordinations by a diocesan bishop in England for nearly fifty years. And now the number of FSSP priests serving in the UK and Ireland has reached double figures. In your prayers for them and many more to enter the lists, more information can be found on: www. fssp.org/en/help-us/confraternity-of-saint-peter/ Continuing on the theme of vocations, a young woman, formerly a member of the congregation at St Mary’s (and whose family are regular worshippers and helpers at the Shrine) made her first Temporary Profession as a religious sister on 11 October in the USA as Sister Mari Caritas of the Holy Trinity (Welsh spelling). Her mother, Alison Cotton, presented a spiritual bouquet, a large card signed by many worshippers at the Priory Shrine. Another young woman, Estefania, who attended Juventutem events with Sr Mari Caritas after moving from Colombia, and occasionally attended Mass at St Mary’s, has also become a nun. She now leads a cloistered life nearby at Birkenhead Carmel. She has just been clothed with the Carmelite habit as Sr Mary Magdalene of the Holy Face.

Two online references to note are the new Instagram page for St Mary’s Shrine: https://www.instagram.com/ fssp.warrington/ and Fr de Malleray’s homily on the death of Queen Elizabeth II has attracted over thirteen thousand views on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJu1z7fk7KA

Also worth noting is the specialist work of a parishioner, Mark Chatwood (mark.chatwood@gmail.com). He is a bookbinder and repairer of old missals, etc. and does personalised prayer books for children.

Last but not least, after a very long administrative delay, Warrington Borough Council just granted Planning Permission for the long-awaited conversion work at Priory Court. In due course, this will allow for organizing activities on a larger scale. The approved plans include a dozen cells for clergy and pilgrims to St Mary’s Shrine to stay the night when travelling for devotions, and a large hall fitting 200 guests at a time for Sunday coffee and one-off events such as conference days. Several more people have relocated from distant parts of England to benefit from the fullyfledge pastoral life at St Mary’s Shrine.

Menevia Tom & Elaine Sharpling meneviastabatmater.blogspot.com

What a glorious Rosary Sunday was had by our traditional community! Thanks to the spiritual care of Canon Jason Jones, we were able to have Rosary Devotions, Benediction and a Missa Cantata and a blessing of roses for the home – once again our thanks go to Father for his ongoing attentive care to the traditional congregation. Holy Mass also continues in Haverfordwest once a month offered by Father Liam, so please get in touch if you are ever on holiday in West Wales.

In sadder news from Menevia, we share the news of the death of Father Michael Burke (RIP). Fr Michael offered the Traditional Mass every 1st Saturday morning at Swansea Cathedral from about 2002. At that time, those attending Mass had to head for the cellar, and so it continued for many years. After 2014, and when Fr Michael moved from Morriston to become Dean of the Cathedral, Mass time was changed from Saturday morning to 12 noon one Sunday a month, and so it continued until he was transferred to Clydach parish and thereafter to America.

We don’t know if Fr Michael was ever a member of the LMS, but he once shared that the Traditional Mass was a treasure of the whole Church, which should be easily available to all. No matter whether he was a member or not, he was a senior diocesan priest who, as Dean of the Cathedral, offered the sacrifice of the Holy Mass month in and month out and we remain grateful for his priestly service.

The Requiem Mass for Father Michael is planned, as we go to press, for Friday 14 October in the Cathedral in Swansea. He will be buried on Caldey Island and if you ever visit the monks there, please take a moment to pray for the repose of the soul of Father Michael and for consolation for his mother and sister especially.

Middlesbrough Paul Waddington waddadux@gmail.com

All Masses at the York Oratory continue to be well attended, with good numbers of York University students during term time. The pilgrimage in honour of St Margaret Clitherow at the end of August was also well attended, despite it partially clashing with the LMS Walsingham pilgrimage. The Thursday evening Masses in Hull are less well attended, but it is hoped that, with a new batch of university students arriving, numbers will increase. The attendance at the Sunday afternoon Mass in Stokesley remains steady.

Northampton North (Northamptonshire) Paul Beardsmore 01858 434037 northampton@lms.org.uk

Masses have continued at St Brendan, Corby, according to the published schedule, with some additional Masses on significant feasts and during the Forty Hours Devotion in September. At the end of that month, we said goodbye to Sr Cecilia OSC, who had given 30 years' service to the parish, and who for the last fifteen years had given quiet but significant support to Fr Byrne's efforts to re-establish celebrations of the old rite at St Brendan's. Sr Cecilia has returned to Ireland following the closure of the Corby convent.

December will see the 60th anniversary of the opening of St Brendan's church, and we look forward to a special Mass to commemorate this event.

Apart from the obvious thanks due to Fr Byrne for his tireless work for the old rite, I should also like to thank the

servers, and Fr Thomas Crean OP who has deputised for Fr Byrne, suffering a particularly trying journey on the Feast of the Holy Rosary! I should also mention John and Stephen Parker, who not only serve, but also ferry Fr Crean backwards and forwards from Leicester when needed (but cannot be held responsible for the trying journey!)

Northampton (South) Barbara Kay 01234 340759 mbky3@outlook.com

On 16 August we celebrated seven years of the Traditional Latin Mass at Christ the King, Bedford and on 8 October, five years of the FSSP priests saying the Masses there. Our numbers at Christ the King continue to increase and we had a record congregation of 230 one week in September, many of them associated with our recently formed Scouts of Europe troop. We are planning to start a Guide group in the near future.

One of our recent highlights at Bedford was the visit of the newly ordained Fr Gwilym Evans FSSP on 21 August to give First Blessings. He had also visited Chesham Bois, the other FSSP apostolate in the Northampton Diocese, earlier in the same week to give First Blessings on the Feast of the Assumption. We are hoping that Fr Evans, who is a gifted singer, will be visiting Bedford over the coming months to train our schola and thus carry on the good work started by Dominic Bevan earlier this year.

By the time this Winter edition of MassofAges is published, there will have been Masses on 1 November for All Saints at both Bedford and Chesham, as well as trinated All Souls Masses at Bedford.

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 was the fifth year this has taken place. This year’s Mass was on Saturday 12 November. After the pandemic restrictions of the last two years, hopefully in 2022 we will have had a normal-sized congregation and a full reception afterwards. This year’s celebrant was Fr Gerard Byrne, a Diocesan priest based in Corby, who also says the Traditional Rite. Dominic Bevan directed the music.

We are looking forward to a Sung Midnight Mass at Christmas at Bedford, as well as Christmas Morning Low Masses at 8 am at Chesham and 8.30 am at Bedford. There will be the usual Low Masses for Epiphany at Chesham at 11.00 am and at Bedford at 7.30 pm.

As always, please see our Facebook page: www.facebook. com/bedfordlatinmass/ or the FSSP page fssp.org.uk/bedford/ for updates and other articles of interest.

Nottingham

Jeremy Boot

0115 849 1556 / 07462 018386

At the start of the new academic year with newcomers, we would particularly encourage students to come to our Masses. Can you sing or serve? You will all be very welcome.

After two years, the monthly Cathedral Masses on 3rd Wednesdays at 6.15pm have been re-instated from August, DG. Other Masses: Saturday before the 2nd Sunday of the month at Good Shepherd Thackeray’s Lane, Nottingham (sung), 4.30pm; 3rd Sunday of the month at 3pm at Our Lady and St Patrick, in the Meadows, Nottingham (sung), and weekly at St Joseph’s, Burton Road, Derby at 8am. We need more attendees, though please. The pandemic took its toll not only on health but also on habits of Mass attendance. We have inconvenient Mass times unfortunately, but it’s important we make the effort to attend as often as we can.

Mass continues to be celebrated each Wednesday at 6.30pm at Our Lady of the Annunciation, Loughborough; any exceptions to the schedule are notified in advance. We were able to celebrate Sung Masses for Corpus Christi, SS Peter and Paul as well as for a parishioner’s Requiem Mass and for the Feast of the Holy Cross in September.

Our sincere thanks to our priests, and all who help in any way, musicians and servers as ever.

Nottingham South (Leicestershire and Rutland)

Paul Beardsmore

01858 434037 northampton@lms.org.uk

A Sung Mass was celebrated for the feast of St Michael at Blessed Sacrament, Leicester, and Canon Cahill will again be offering a Sung Mass on 1 November. Otherwise, the Masses at Blessed Sacrament and St Peter's have continued as usual, with additional Masses on some feast days.

Fr Dye at Oakham continues to offer Mass on Friday evenings when he is available and able to do so, but it is important to check the parish notice sheet before travelling.

Members living close to the Lincolnshire border may like to note that there is a now a Thursday evening Mass at Stamford. Again, it is important to check the parish notice sheet as Fr Vellacott's commitments sometimes prevent him from being able to offer this Mass.

For information concerning Loughborough see report from Jeremy Boot.

Plymouth (Cornwall)

Stefano Mazzeo cornwall@lms.org.uk

Lanherne continues to be a hub of activity, the renovations to the hall continue and the sisters and congregation have been busy harvesting apples. The sisters are grateful to the Providence of God who supplies their needs through the generous support of the faithful. Masses are at 8:30 and 10am on a Sunday and 8am throughout the week, with an extra one on Thursdays at 6:15pm. Please continue with your prayers and support for the work here, contact Canon Smith at canon. smith@institute-christ-king.org or by phone to the Chaplain’s house 01637 861752.

Christendom Rising is a video magazine based at Lanherne and episode five is now live on my You Tube channel. This episode is dedicated to Traditional Catholic dating and Marriage. Sophie Oliver, now Mrs Sophie O'Shaughnessy, discusses Catholic dating and marriage with Mrs Michelle Buscomb. Fittingly, we have some lovely video footage of Sophie's wedding at the Solemn Nuptial Mass at Holy Angels Torquay, presided over by Canon Tanner. Canon Montjean and Fr de Malleray also contribute to this episode. I give an update and say a big ‘thank you’ to all who took part in the making of my latest film TheMessageofLourdes which will be premiered on EWTN on 8 December.

Plymouth (Devon)

Maurice Quinn 07555 536579

devon@lms.org.uk

It is pleasing to report that once again, some summer visitors to Torquay managed to find their way to Holy Angels in Chelston in order to attend one of the Sunday Sung and High Mass celebrations that have now become the norm. Indeed, among these visitors we had families from as far distant as Scotland and Ireland – people whose first priority on holiday was to seek out Torbay’s Traditional Mass Shrine for their

Sunday obligations. These good people were not disappointed, but were often pleasantly surprised to discover that Canon Tanner (ICKSP) also has a full spiritual schedule for weekdays, comprising of Mass, Vespers and Adoration, with daily opportunities for Confessions. Although still in its infancy as a designated shrine for the West Country (since September 2021), Holy Angels has become a magnet for young people with large families, many of whom travel from the main Devon cities of Exeter and Plymouth, and from the surrounding small towns and hamlets. What is lacking at Holy Angels is an organist to accompany the excellent choir for the Sunday Mass, so if any reader is in a position to help out, your services will be most welcome – just contact me as above. You need to take note of the Mass and services change at Holy Angels on Fridays –Mass is now at 12noon, with Vespers at 4.30pm followed by Adoration at 5pm, otherwise things are as normal for the rest of the week.

There have been changes to Mass times at St Edward the Confessor in Plymouth that need to be noted. The Sunday 3pm Mass has been brought forward to the much earlier time of 8.30am to allow Canon Tanner enough time to get back to Torquay for the 10.30am Mass, but the 1st Saturday Mass at St Edwards is still at 11.30am. Please also note that the Exeter (Blessed Sacrament) and Chudleigh (St Cyprian’s, Ugbrooke House) Mass celebrations are on hold until such time as more willing hands are available to help out (feel free to contact me about this).

As always, do check the Mass Listings before travelling to attend any of the Devon Mass venues, and/or contact me to discuss any of the above

The Latin Mass Society’s pilgrimage in honour of the Chideock Martyrs took place on Saturday, 17 September in Chideock at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs & St Ignatius, being well attended and enjoyed by everybody present. Led by Canon Tanner (ICKSP), Prior of the Shrine Church of Holy Angels in Torquay, a reverent and dignified Solemn High Mass was the high point of the day, being followed by Veneration of the Relics. After lunch, a small group of pilgrims gathered in the beautiful sacristy to hear a short talk on certain aspects of the church and of the Chideock Martyrs, and to view the secret Mass Chapel in the loft of what used to be an old barn during Recusant days. Many attendees had time to view the

shrine’s museum, which, along with the church itself, is open every day throughout the year. Pilgrims also had the opportunity of visiting the Weld family’s Mausoleum, situated just down the road from the church. This is a cruciform structure beautifully decorated inside, and like the church itself, is a unique part of the Catholic history of the area. It was also a joy to meet pilgrims from other parts of the country making the effort to join with us in honouring the Chideock Martyrs (seven men associated with Chideock died on the scaffold while an eighth died in prison). We have to thank everybody concerned with making the day a success - clergy, servers, choir members and choirmaster Mr Andrew Proctor, the Trustees of the Shrine and the PP of Bridport, Mgr Keith Mitchell, and the LMS for all the hard work involved. For the first time the LMS kindly produced special pilgrimage Mass booklets for congregational use, and, pleasingly, I have already been asked about next year’s event. Next year we will be looking

at the possibility of providing some sort of lunch for pilgrims, so if anyone has any ideas on this do get in touch.

At Our Lady of Lourdes & St Cecilia in Blandford Forum, Mgr Francis Jamieson continues to provide a Latin Mass every Saturday morning at 9.30am, plus one other weekday Mass that takes place at 12 noon, this latter being followed by a social lunch. For the weekday Masses do check the Mass Listings and contact me if you have any questions. It is a sad fact that these Masses are often poorly attended, so please do try to attend them if you are in the vicinity.

Portsmouth Peter Cullinane

The most important news this quarter is the recent move of the Marian Franciscans from Gosport parish.

Readers may recall that an account of the activities of the Friars appeared in the Winter 2021 issue under the heading Ad Jesum per Mariam.

The Weld family's Mausoleum in Chideock

Having looked at several local options which were not entirely suitable, they have secured a new base in the form a currently disused convent in Dundee in the Diocese of Dunkeld.

The premises have been secured with the good offices of Bishop Stephen Robson, and there will be ample accommodation available, not only for the Friars but for the Sisters currently in nearby Bridgemary and those in Alderney also.

As many will know, both the Friars and the Sisters have been severely short of accommodation to house the stream of young men and women arriving to try out their vocation and the move gives them the chance to establish a more spacious house of formation.

Some Friars or postulants currently at St Joseph’s, Copnor, will also move as they are similarly short of living space, but celebration of the Old Rite will happily continue.

We should like to thank Fr Pio and his confreres for the celebration of Holy Mass in Gosport and we shall miss the exquisite choir provided by the Sisters.

Because the Friars are acquiring the ownership of the new premises an appeal will be launched in the very near future.

Bishop Philip Egan’s 10th anniversary of consecration as Bishop of Portsmouth occurred on 29 September and the LMS are delighted to celebrate this happy occasion with him, mindful of the sterling assistance he has given to the celebration of the Old Rite in the diocese. Ad multos annos!

Portsmouth (Reading) Adrian Dulston berks@lms.org.uk

What has become noticeable at St John Fisher Parish (FSSP) is the growth in youth attendance and participation in parish life.

Great to see young men determined to serve the Mass, and both young men and women sprinkling the congregation.

In fact, this has largely come about via the Juventutem (Youth Group). They have grown from approximately 7-10 active members to approximately 12-20, so it’s doubled. They arranged Solemn Mass of St Michael on the 29 September and have also started, on occasion, first Vespers, incorporating the Divine Office into their activities. They also organise day trips, as they did in July to Coughton Court to learn about the Throckmorton Family and how they supported the Church through the years, especially in the post-Reformation period.

In 2023 they are hoping to organise a Juventutem pilgrimage to Lourdes, linking with the FSSP apostolate there.

This is what we want to see as the fruits of the labours of so many previous Latin Mass attendees/servers whose youth has passed, and who can now watch as youngsters take over with a holy energy, which should give cause for thanking God.

Salford

Prout was once clothed, whose Sisters later founded St Mary’s School in Warrington. Devotions were followed by a fraternal lunch cooked by the Oratorian Fathers.

At the Christian Heritage Centre in Stonyhurst, from 3 to 7 October 2022, 12 priests attended the annual Clergy Retreat preached by Fr de Malleray, FSSP. It was a good turnout considering that the previous retreat had been cancelled owing to Covid. Most priest participants were diocesan from all over the country, two were FSSP and one from abroad. The Retreat Centre had kindly arranged with Fr Tim Curtis SJ, Parish Priest, for access to the beautiful college chapel of St Peter’s, next door. The retreat was silent, including two conferences a day, Holy Hour, table readings and traditional sung Compline. As in previous years, this year’s conferences are posted on radioimmaculata.org/various-podcast/fssp-conferences the good Catholic radio run by the Marian Franciscans.

Shrewsbury (Wirral) Neil Addison

liverpool@lms.org.uk

Firstly, I have to apologise for missing my report for the last issue of Mass of Ages, which was due to technical issues; Mea MaximaCulpa.

In the Dome we have recently had two important anniversaries. In March we celebrated 10 years since the Dome Church was reopened as a Shrine in the care of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and, in July, we celebrated 20 years since the Ordination of Canon Amaury Montjean, Rector of the Shrine and Principal for the ICKSP in Britain.

It is astonishing what the Institute has accomplished in those 10 years. I well remember attending Mass in the early days, with water coming into buckets when it rained. Now we have a repainted, structurally sound and extremely attractive church building.

Whilst the Canons are to be congratulated there has also been an immense amount done by volunteers giving up their time to assist. This was recognised by the Canons who organised a special Mass for all the volunteers followed by a meal and social. It made us recognise what a family we have all become over these 10 years.

Canon Montjean was given a surprise Te Deum and a new set of vestments to celebrate his 20 years of ordination, nine of which have been spent in the Dome as a Missionary to the English! A few months later the Institute mission in Britain was raised to the status of a Province, with Canon Montjean appointed as the first Provincial, a worthy recognition of the sterling work of all our Canons over the past ten years.

Alison

F. Kudlowski salford@lms.org.uk

There has been no change in the provision of the Extraordinary Form Mass in the diocese. The Manchester Oratory at St Chad’s church in Cheetham, Manchester continues to celebrate Low Mass each Sunday at 4:45 pm according to the 1962 rite. Please consult the weekly newsletter on visiting St Chad’s for notifications and events, or check online at manchesteroratory.org

In October, the four FSSP priests in Warrington went on a day excursion to nearby Salford Diocese. At Wardley Hall (www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk/diocese/visiting-us/wardleyhall/), they venerated the skull of local martyr St Ambrose Barlow, OSB and prayed in the “secret” chapel. They were later given a tour of St Chad’s, the Manchester Oratory. There, they prayed in the Lady Chapel where the Venerable Elizabeth

Southwark (Kent) Marygold Turner

We are very lucky to have the Victoria Consort of Ben Bevan as our ‘artists in residence’ at Tenterden, with twice monthly Sung Masses.

Our main excitement has been the annual Sung Mass at Snave, one of the Romney Marsh Churches. The music was truly sublime – 9 singers, and the addition of a theorbo was inspired and made a very beautiful accompaniment to the singers.

Next year, we shall be at Snave again on 23 September. The attendance was down this year, with 34 in the congregation, unlike last year with at least double that number. May we urge as many people as possible to come next year as it is very special, with excellent acoustics!

We continue our Sunday Masses at 12 noon and these will include the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the Epiphany on 6 January 2023.

Southwark (St Bede’s, Clapham Park) Thomas Windsor claphampark@lms.org.uk

Our Guild of St Clare is again now regularly meeting after the 9.30am Mass on the first Saturday of the month. They have been busily working through the endless repairs to vestments, as well as making new items to beautify the sanctuary. We hope to soon restart our servers’ training mornings to coincide with the Guild mornings.

Over the summer we once again had Fr Southwell staying with us, and this year we also had Fr Howell, who is also studying in Rome. This allowed our resident priests some time off but also allowed us to have two Latin Masses most days.

Our Mass attendance continues to rise, with many new families filling our church, so many I have lost count of the number of baptisms this quarter. Our catechetical programmes have restarted on Friday nights, beginning with Low Mass at 7pm. We have First Holy Communion and Confirmation classes for children after Mass on Sundays and an adult programme in the evening.

Our choir continues to sing every Sunday and most feast days, this quarter our programme started with a Sung Mass for the Feast of SS John Fisher and Thomas More, we then had polyphonic Propers on three consecutive Sundays, the Isaac Communion Inclina aurem tuam on the VII after Sunday after Pentecost, Isaac Communion Gustate et videte on the VIII Sunday, and the Palestrina Offertory Justitiae Domini and the Issac Communion Qui manducat on the IX Sunday. We celebrated a well-attended Solemn Requiem for the 10th Anniversary of the death of Fr Hugh Thwaites on 3 September.

Our Children’s choir sang the Ordinary and Marian anthem on 4 September, with the adult choir singing the chant Propers. Over the summer our choir has been learning new Polyphonic Ordinaries: we sang the Byrd 4-part Mass on the third Sunday in September, with the Aichinger Stabat Mater, Elgar’s Ave Verum, the Isaac Communion Panis quem ego dedero and the Palestrina Salve Regina For Ember Saturday in September, we provided the servers for the quarterly Sung Mass at St Georges Cathedral and for Michaelmas we had a Sung Mass, while also providing servers to a neighbouring parish who were also having a rare Latin Low Mass at midday.

On Rosary Sunday we sang Mass IX with the sublime Parsons AveMaria, and Byrd’s OGloriosaDomina, the following Sunday coincided with the Feast of St John Henry Newman with the choir singing Palestrina’s Missa Iste Confessor, with the chant setting of the Hymn Iste Confessor, Mozart’s Laudate Dominum from the Vespers of Confessors, Josquin des Prez' Ave Verum, and a Domine Salvum fac to a 4 voice Fauxbourdon from the use of the Church of Paris 1739. After Mass we enjoyed a shared lunch followed by a talk on the Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus from Fr Edouard Marot and Alicia Beauvisage. Fr Marot is the former Rector of the Shrine of Paray le Monial. This was followed by a consecration of the Parish to the Sacred Heart at 3.30 pm and veneration of the relic of St Margaret Mary.

Please check our website/newsletter stbedesclaphampark. blogspot.com for all our Mass times, catechetical programmes, talks and activities.

Southwark (St Mary’s Chislehurst)

Christopher Richardson chislehurst@lms.org.uk

Our Sunday morning Missa Cantata remains very well attended and indeed numbers are growing. We continue to have two weekday Low Masses.

Southwark (Thanet) Antonia Robinson

This is my final report as LMS Area Representative for East Kent, and I cannot help but reflect on how terrifically fortunate we are in East Kent to be blessed with a supportive Archbishop, enthusiastic and holy clergy and an ever-growing Traditional Mass community. Recent highlights include a number of new young servers – two from the same family, first blessings from a newly ordained priest, and a visiting Ukrainian organist. Mass numbers have shown a steady rise since Covid, with Sunday attendance averaging around 50 souls. We were delighted to welcome Archbishop John Wilson to celebrate the 10th anniversary of St Augustine’s becoming a Shrine and it was wonderful to see many familiar faces, including Fr Marcus Holden our former Parish Priest.

In terms of regular Traditional Latin Masses, the status quo continues, with Sung Mass every Sunday at 12 noon at the Shrine Church of St Augustine, as well as a Low Mass on Wednesdays at 9:30am at St Ethelbert’s. On Holy Days of Obligation (as well as major feast days) there are evening Masses (usually at 7:30pm). These are often Sung Masses, and are usually at St Augustine’s. If in the area, it is worth telephoning the parish in advance to confirm both the time and location.

That ‘the young are the future of tradition’ is a truism we see lived each Sunday at St Augustine’s. Bearing this in mind, I am happy to introduce Mass of Ages readers to East Kent’s new LMS representative, Dr Christopher Serpell, father of five young boys, two of whom started serving the Mass this year (and are doing a marvellous job). Chris and his wife Gerry have been regulars at the Latin Mass in Thanet for many years – first in Margate and later at the Shrine of St Augustine. They are both fine singers, and know their chant. With five lovely boys, Chris is keen to see the Traditional Mass flourish, and I can’t think of a better custodian to continue the work of the LMS in East Kent. It will be wonderful to have more than one ‘LMS face’ in the area, and I am looking forward to reading, rather than writing, the next local report.

To close, I would like to thank our dedicated and industrious priests: Parish Priest, Father Christopher Basden, whose generous nature and contagious love of Christ makes Ramsgate a beacon for good and holy priestly visitors; as well as our erudite Shrine Rector, Father Simon Heans, and dear Father Bernard McNally who hears confessions throughout the 12 noon Sunday Mass. I, along with all Catholics attached to the Traditional Mass in East Kent, am deeply indebted to these three for their tireless work in the service of God.

Chris Serpell writes:

Firstly, I’d like to thank our outgoing LMS representative for Thanet, Antonia Robinson, for all her hard work and enthusiasm in recent years. She’s now passed the baton on to me. The weekly Sung Sunday Masses have been carrying steadily on over the summer, with various new faces showing up as visitors and new regulars. These continue to be ably supported by Benjamin Scott’s remarkable leadership of the music, encompassing chant, polyphony, and organ playing. Our community of servers is growing, ensuring that we can replace those older ones as they move onto new places in their lives.

We recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the institution of St Augustine’s as a Diocesan Shrine. Over that time Pugin’s gem has been thoroughly restored, including the original positioning of the rood screen and altar. For the celebration, we welcomed Archbishop John Wilson, and the Latin Mass community were out to greet him along with other members of the parish, pupils, the Polish, Ordinariate, and SyroMalabar communities. We were especially happy to welcome Fr Marcus Holden who, in 2009, came here as an energetic 32-year-old and oversaw the painstaking work of raising funds to save our uniquely traditional church. thanet@lms.org.uk

Southwark (Wandsworth)

Julia Ashenden

Life at the Oratory of St Mary Magdalen continues as usual, with the regular Sunday Missa Cantatas and a monthly Sung Mass with David Guest’s choir; a favourite being Mozart’s Missa Brevis The Feast of The Assumption was kept with a 7pm Missa Cantata

In addition there are the Friday evening 7pm Mass and the 10.30am Tuesday Mass followed by Benediction.

After the death of HM the Queen RIP, the Sunday Mass on the eve of her Funeral was a Sung Latin Solemn Requiem, said for the repose of her soul.

The highlight of this quarter was the Patronal Festival which was kept on Sunday, 25 September as the External Solemnity of the Feast of St Mary Magdalen to mark the Silver Jubilee of Canon Edwards as the Parish Priest of St Mary Magdalen’s. There was much to celebrate from these 25 years, especially that the TLM has been said throughout.

David Guest’s Choir sang Rossini’s La Petite Messe Solonnelle, the Abbot of Farnborough, Rt Rev. Cuthbert Brogan OSB preached and a Champagne Reception took place in the newly completed garden afterwards.

We are indeed grateful parishioners (as are those who come from further afield) to have had access to the Latin Mass for all these years. Thank you, Canon Edwards.

Westminster (Willesden) Anna Grayson-Morley willesden@lms.org.uk 07710472295

I am happy to report that attendance at the Latin Mass has returned to pre-Covid levels - averaging about 35-40, although we are still eager to encourage more people to come along to the Mass which is celebrated on Sunday evenings at 5:30pm.

Our October Rosary Procession for Our Lady followed by Benediction was attended by 15 seminarians from Allan Hall allowing them the exposure to traditional worship.

The organ build continues, with the hope that a partial restoration will be possible to allow some use of it for Christmas. Covid disrupted much of the work, and it has continued in fits and starts, with the added delays of materials not being available as we have seen in so many industries.

Finally, I end on a sad note to report that Liam Smullen, a long-time supporter of the Latin Mass passed away a few weeks ago. He always had a kind word and the demeanour of a true gentleman. At times when we lacked an altar server, he would step and say the responses. He will be very much missed. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

Westminster (St James Spanish Place)  Roger Wemyss Brooks

With the retirement after more than twelve years' valued service of Fr Christopher Colven we now have a new Rector, Monsignor Philip Whitmore, who comes to us from the Venerable English College in Rome. He is joined by Canon Roger Taylor, former Rector of Allen Hall. They need our prayers as they undertake their valued roles at Spanish Place - let's hope that their skills and experience may promote much needed vocations.

Fr Dr Michael Cullinan continues as our faithful Old Rite chaplain with a Faculty for this role from the Cardinal - a warm endorsement after TraditionisCustodes. He also frequently offers Masses for the Latin Mass Society such as the recent Requiem for the late Queen, and the demanding ceremonies of Holy Week.

Monsignor Philip has given us the opportunity of reinstating the service of refreshments after the 9am Sunday Mass, which had been lost during the pandemic. This will be welcomed by many attached to the Extraordinary Form.

I am pleased to say that we shall again have the New Year's High Mass, this time on Monday, 2 January with the Mass of the Most Holy Name.

Please do continue to remember all our priests in your prayers.

Gregorian Chant Network Alastair J Tocher 01684 893332

chantnetwork@gmail.com gregorianchantnetwork.blogspot.com

The Gregorian Chant Network’s function is both to encourage the founding of new Scholas and to support the development of existing Scholas. At present we are actively supporting two nascent Scholas: one with the FSSP in Bedford and the other with the ICKSP in Lanherne, Cornwall.

Chant tuition in Bedford, led by tutor Dominic Bevan, is now firmly established. Dominic taught an initial two workshops in February and March which were well received, and a third was held in mid-October following a longish break over the summer, with more to follow.

Our most recent initiative has been in supporting the provision of chant training at Lanherne. Canon Scott Smith had already established a small Schola there but was keen to develop it further. We were extremely fortunate in being able to identify an experienced chant tutor, John Rowlands-Pritchard, who lives quite locally. John studied Gregorian Chant under Dr Mary Berry and formerly sang with the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge which she founded. John has in the past also run many chant workshops around the country and also made a number of chant recordings under the auspices of OpusAnglicanum. A first session at Lanherne was run in mid-October which Canon Smith reports as having been a great success and more are already planned.

Society of St Tarcisius (Servers' Guild)

Joseph Shaw

tarcisius@lms.org.uk tarcisius.org

Many new servers were enrolled into the Society of St Tarcisius at the St Catherine's Trust Summer School. Since the start of autumn, we have had a training day in Holy Rood, Oxford, and at St Dominic's, Haverstock Hill, in London. The latter included the opportunity to learn the Dominican Rite as well as the Roman Rite.

Our next event will be in St Mary Moorfields, on Saturday, 19 November. Please see the event page on the LMS website to book.

I welcome offers to help set up training days and / or enrolments in other places, and indeed these have started to happen. Please contact me.

Two of Chris Serpell’s five boys

Paul Waddington reports from around the Globe

The fallout resulting from the publication of Pope Francis’ motu proprio, Traditionis custodes, in July 2021, seems to have largely settled down, with fewer reports now being received of bishops imposing restrictions. However, things could change in 2023 because, in some instances, permissions have been granted for Masses to continue for a limited period, usually one or two years.

United States

It should be said that in the vast majority of the 177 dioceses of the USA, Latin Masses are continuing more or less as previously. However, there are several trouble spots. In the Washington diocese, Cardinal Gregory has taken fairly drastic action. He has limited celebration of the Latin Mass in the archdiocese to three non-parochial churches. He has also stipulated that the Latin Mass may not be offered at Christmas, the Triduum, Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday.

In the neighbouring Diocese of Arlington, Latin Masses have also been severely curtailed. Before restrictions were applied, there were Extraordinary Form Masses at 21 locations within the diocese. These have been reduced to eight, with only three of the former locations being retained. Five new locations have been introduced, none of them parish churches, and mostly too small to accommodate the congregations.

Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage

In response to the cuts in Latin Mass provision in the Dioceses of Washington and Arlington, traditional Catholics in these two dioceses organised a pilgrimage in the form of

a procession along a five-mile route from the Cathedral of St Thomas More in Arlington to the Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle in Washington. This took place on 17 September and was attended by around 500 people.

At the start of the pilgrimage the hour of Terce was recited, and the event concluded with the recitation of the hour of Sext and the Angelus. As the pilgrims walked, the Rosary was prayed and Marian hymns sung. There was also an impressive display of banners, crucifixes and statues of Our Lady. The Pilgrimage marked the fifteenth anniversary of Pope Benedict’s Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, and it is intended that it will become an annual event.

Converted Gymnasium

One of the locations to be dropped in the Arlington Diocese is Holy Trinity parish in Gainsville, which was one of the best attended of the Latin Masses. In its place, the diocese has offered the use of a disused gymnasium at a school in Nokesville. Supporters of the Latin Mass have, in very short time, transformed this gymnasium into a chapel by constructing an altar with reredos and providing a sanctuary with altar rails. They have also acquired benches from a disused church and redecorated throughout.

The limitations on the celebration of the Latin Mass imposed by Cardinal Cupich in Chicago have been reported in earlier editions of Mass of Ages. These have been taken a step further with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest no longer being able to offer Mass in their Shrine Church.

The Cardinal required that the Institute offer Novus Ordo Masses exclusively on at least one Sunday each month. The Institute did not feel able to comply with this requirement, and consequently there are no Masses at the Shrine.

Restrictions have also been imposed in the Diocese of Savannah in Georgia. There, Bishop Parkes has announced that Traditional Masses will end at three diocesan parishes, as well as the cathedral, in May 2023.

Solesmes Benedictines

While in Rome after attending a synod of presiding Benedictine abbots, the Abbot of Solesmes, Dom Geoffroy Kemlin, requested and was granted a private audience with Pope Francis. It seems that, during the audience, the implementation of Traditionis custodes at Solesmes Abbey was discussed. It has been reported that the response of Pope Francis was, “I don’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to you, I let you discern and make your decision.” It is not clear whether this advice applies only to the abbey of Solesmes, or to Benedictines more widely.

New Convent for Sisters

The Sister Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus now have a convent in France. This brings the number of convents belonging to the order to nine. There are three in Italy, and one in each of Germany, Switzerland, the United States, England and Ireland.

The new convent is at Loisy, which I understand is not too far from Paris. It looks an impressively sized building and has extensive grounds. The chapel is separate from the main building.

‘The Abbot of Solesmes, Dom Geoffroy Kemlin, requested and was granted a private audience with Pope Francis’

The converted gymnasium in Nokesville

To Walsingham!

David Rees-Mogg recalls the joy of this year’s pilgrimage

Photographs by Joseph Shaw and Tremain Renee Newman-Brown

In1061, in the reign of St Edward the Confessor, Our Lady appeared three times to the English noblewoman Richeldis de Faverches telling her to build “a house dedicated to praising and honouring Me”. Richeldis was given exact measurements by Our Lady, measurements that matched the House of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Walsingham, in Norfolk, where the church was built, became the principal site of pilgrimage in England, until the Martyrdom and canonization of St Thomas of Canterbury. Throughout the middle-ages pilgrims came in their thousands to visit England’s Nazareth.

Greedy for the wealth of the shrine, Henry VIII plundered Walsingham and for four centuries Our Lady was virtually abandoned there. The once great priory became a ruin, with just one colossal arch left standing.

Pilgrims began to return in more recent times, but a decline in numbers meant the annual pilgrimage stopped

in the 1980s. Today the Walsingham Pilgrimage is once again thriving, thanks in no small part to the Latin Mass Society.

This year we pilgrims set off on the morning of the 26 August from Ely in Cambridgeshire. With the chant of the High Mass still in every pilgrim’s ear, the line of 160 devout souls lit out onto the streets under the shadow of the great cathedral.

My own pilgrimage had begun a little earlier than the first day in Ely. In fact, it began when I climbed onto an evening coach to get up to London. The experience of English public transport is something I would recommend as an excellent preparation for three days of arduous travelling!

Next morning, having slept on my brother’s sofa, I woke refreshed and made my way to Mass at St Bede’s, Clapham, from where we were due to set out.

Arriving in Ely, to which we were taken by minibus, an initial feeling of trepidation soon melted with the warmth of our welcome and the sense of camaraderie.

We were an enormously varied group of men and women, but there was a sense that we were all united to the same end.

As we reached the River Ouse, an onlooker might have been forgiven for comparing the line of pilgrims to a ship surging along the river itself, with banners and flags as sails.

Each step of the way we had the security of knowing that we were following in the footsteps of our medieval ancestors and, as the pilgrimage progressed, the clamour of prayers which those early pilgrims would have recognised sounded across the Norfolk plains.

In medieval times, pilgrimages swelled as they travelled towards the shrine and something similar happened on our modern journey - as we progressed our number seemed imperceptibly to increase and, by the time we finally reached the Priory to venerate Our Lady, the crowd looked about double that which had set off.

Along the way we had benefited from the excellent singing of our team of cantors led by Dr Shaw, and by the wisdom of our chaplains, supported by religious brothers. At each stop we had a talk from one of the priests on the Virtues of Our Lady according to Louis de Montfort, and each day we were led through all fifteen mysteries of the Rosary by our cantors.

Every day there was either a High Mass or a Sung Mass, including one at the magnificent Oxburgh Chapel, which was being restored.

The chapel belongs to a recusant family, the Bedingfelds, who guarded the Faith for centuries. In the house there is a famous priest hole which no doubt sheltered saintly martyrs, and we had the privilege to assist at the Mass for which the martyrs shed their blood.

At the end of each day, we were welcomed into our campsite with the good cheer of our team of helpers, who had prepared meals of a quality one would be delighted to find in a restaurant, let alone at a campsite. My particular favourite was the sausage casserole!

We spent the night under the bright promontory of stars, with the voices of groups singing Compline in the evening stillness.

And then, finally, we were joined by the statue of Our Lady for the last day to spur us on for our morning’s walk.

So, Our Lady reached the shrine where she was placed on the ancient site and once again venerated by both the pilgrims and the angels in the Te Deum.

This year of Our Lord 2022 has seen the largest number of pilgrims to Walsingham. In spite of fears of the post-Covid period, it seems as though the call of these ancient pilgrimages rings as loud today as ever.

The ancient word for a Pilgrim was “Palmer”, after the palm which was brought back after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was Our Lady’s wish that we might take the Palmer’s path, and we watched Our Lady arrive carrying that same palm as we reached the priory grounds.

The lily in the hand of Our Lady is like the Root of Jesse which was planted in her womb. The root has once again been planted in this country and will flower forever with the protection of Mary who, by her prayers, protects her dowery.

The Holy Kinship of Jesus

Caroline Farey looks at a 15th century sculpture from South Germany

Thisexquisitely carved and colourful group sculpture is of Jesus’ human family; real people with real personalities. From the Gospels we only know for certain the names of Jesus’ mother and foster father, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph. The gospel of Mark mentions some ‘sisters’ and four ‘brothers’ of Jesus (Mk 6:3). There is also a woman called ‘Mary’s sister’ (Jn 19:25), who is most probably the same person as the ‘other Mary’ (Mt 27:61) and also the same as ‘Mary of Cleopas’, who is also ‘mother of James and Joses’ or Joseph (Mt 27:56). This James is also called ‘son of Alpheus’ (Mk 3:18) and St Paul calls him the ‘brother of the Lord’ (Gal 1:19). What is clear in this scanty but tantalising biblical information, is that Jesus had an extended family and in the Middle Ages artists loved to portray it.

The Church has always accepted as fact, the names of Mary’s parents, Anna and Joachim, as stated in the apocryphal text of the second century, the protoevangelium of James. As in many sculptures of this kind, St Anna is truly matriarchal with the Blessed Virgin seated on her right. It is Saint Anna who has a grand gold cloth behind her with a green border design while behind Mary the gold cloth is simple. The child Jesus seeks to move across from his mother to his Grandmother Anna’s lap. St Anna represents a personal focus for Jesus’ whole Hebrew ancestry towards which he stretches out his arms.

In this sculpture, one can also detect around St Anna’s cloak, unlike the border decoration of the cloaks of the other women, evidence of an inscription. It is difficult to decipher but it indicates the high importance Anna has in this sculpture and in the 15th century German ecclesial culture in which this piece served as an altarpiece. The

Blessed Virgin Mary is dressed simply in comparison, with only a narrow circlet in her unveiled hair, indicating virginity, and with three ‘stars’ of beads on her cloak clasp, possibly replacing the three stars that traditionally adorn her cloak, representing her virginity before, during and after the birth of Jesus.

In the fourth century (and by many others since then), a writer called Helvidius spoke of Jesus’ ‘brothers’ as children born of Mary and Joseph after Jesus, the ‘first-born’. St Jerome, amongst other Church Fathers, strongly refuted this and defended the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Later, at the first Lateran Council in 649 AD, Mary was declared “ever virgin and immaculate”. With this and other early origins of the belief in Mary as all pure, the honour given to St Anna grew in consequence until there were feast days for St Anne in the East from the 8th century and in the West from the 12th century. That Mary was immaculate from the first moment of her conception was finally dogmatically proclaimed in 1854.

These family group sculptures and paintings developed, in fact, in defence of the perpetual purity and virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary by showing the ‘brothers’ of Jesus as being his cousins, the sons of other Marys. In this scene, the two women at each side, believed at the time to be the Blessed Virgin’s sisters, are nobly and beautifully dressed as befitting Anna’s supposed descendance from the line of King David. Mary of Cleopas is seated on the far right-hand side next to St Anna. Her husband Cleopas (or Alpheus) stands behind her and her four sons are at her feet, James the Lesser, Simon, Jude Thaddeus and Joses (Joseph). She has a closed book in her hand, possibly indicating that the Old Testament is now fulfilled, while

Mary Salome, seated next to Mary has the book of the New Testament opened by the birth of the Messiah and her left hand is gesturing as though proclaiming this Good News. Her husband Zebedee stands behind her and her two sons, James and John reverently hold and take from a bunch of grapes.

Because these women are mentioned in the Gospels (together with Mary Magdalene) the story was passed on and written down in the Golden Legend of the twelfth century that they were all sisters and the daughters of St Anna from different fathers. Out of this grew the further legend of Anna’s three marriages, or trinubium, with a daughter called Mary born from each marriage. This is the reason for the three men behind St Anna. The belief was condemned at the Council of Trent as having no basis. St Joachim, the only confirmed husband of Anna, is likely to be the one with his arm lowered respectfully towards his holy wife.

Cleopas is mentioned in many texts, early and late, sometimes as the brother of the Blessed Virgin but also, and more probably, as the brother of St Joseph. Some suggest that Alpheus and Cleopas are the same person, others that Mary of Cleopas (mother of James and Joses) may have married twice after the death of the first husband, thus being the mother of two sets of sons: James (the lesser) and Joses with Alpheus as their father, and Simon and Jude, sons of Cleopas.

It is further speculated that when either Joseph or Cleopas (or Alpheus) died, it is not unlikely that the women and children would have lived as a single household and therefore that the children all grew up together. Three of these boys, who were possibly Jesus’ playmates from childhood, were amongst Christ’s apostles: Simon and

Jude and James the son of Alpheus. In this sculpture, it is suggested that Joses, the only one who was not an apostle, is likely to be the youngest and thus the little one on the hobby horse reaching up to hold his mother’s hand.

Amongst the other three playing together, one is dressed in gold, who might be James who became the

first Bishop of Jerusalem. These children engage in eutrapelia, or ‘goodly play’ which was widely promoted at this time in Germany, for example in the ‘Little book of Golden Play’ by Ingold of Basel around 1432, in the same century that this sculpture was created. Such sculptures also, therefore, promoted family life with Christ at the centre.

Factfile

The Holy Kinship, c. 1480/1490

South German 15th Century Polychrome on wood National Gallery of Art –Washington DC

Natural wants

When times are tough, we need to look out for each other, says James Preece

Money

worries - you probably have them. Our favourite crisps have gone up from £1 a bag to £2.50 the other day. My salary has not increased to match. If only this was just about crisps.

As I write this the leaves are falling from the trees and Hull Fair is in town, which means dark nights, hats and scarves, falling temperatures and time to put the heating on… if you can afford it. Gas prices are more than double what they were last year and all over the country people are wondering how long they can get away with telling the kids to put an extra jumper on. If only this was just about the gas bill.

Petrol/diesel prices are also high, meaning Traditional Catholic families who travel any distance for the Latin Mass are paying a premium for the privilege. Higher fuel costs have an impact on food prices as well. More children mean more food and clothes to pay for. Let’s not even talk about rents, house prices and interest rates. Urgh.

There’s a stereotype that traditional Catholic families are generally quite well off – upper class posh people who studied Latin at private school and now attend Latin Mass between hedge fund managing and polo. People like that exist I’m sure but many traditional Catholic families are not wealthy at all. They come from the school of not knowing for sure how things are going to work out but doing it anyway because they feel like God is calling them to be parents.

Now would be a good time to drop some fantastic ideas to help you save some money – batch cooking, hand-me-downs, giving up the avocado toast. Let’s get real. Most traditional families are already doing that stuff. This is especially true if you home educate and get by on one salary. Budgets that were already verging on the miraculous are being pushed over the edge.

To a certain extent, we can ask as St Thomas Aquinas does in the Summa, “Does happiness consist in wealth?” I did a bit of a double take when I saw that

Aquinas described our natural wants as “food, drink, clothing, cars, dwellings, and such like…” Cars? In the thirteenth century? We just had to spend a load of money on our car, so that hit a bit close to home! Anyway, it turns out the Latin word is vehicula but still, kind of interesting that Aquinas considers transportation to be “sustentandam naturam hominis” - a support of human nature. But I digress.

The answer to the question is, obviously, no - happiness does not consist in wealth. In fact, “final and perfect happiness can consist in nothing else than the vision of the Divine Essence”. The less we chase after holidays, flat screen TVs, fancy clothes, the latest mobile phone, etc, and the more we pray, the happier we will be. Spend more time with your children doing wholesome things for free, like going for a walk in the park while you say the rosary. Great. Problem solved. Who needs money?

It turns out – a lot of people. The supermarket, the petrol station, the landlord, the gas company, the tax man. Being overdrawn and having bills to pay. Worrying about the heating getting cut off. Constantly having to say no to your kids. It grinds you down. All of this should concern us a great deal because money worries are a major cause of marital rows

and one of the top reasons for divorce, domestic violence and suicide. Even when there are other reasons – money is often behind those as well. Always at work, always stressed, always angry… Why was that I wonder?

All of this is a very long-winded way of saying - we need to look out for each other. This isn’t a touchy feely progressive, Vatican 2 idea but a core tenet of traditional Catholicism. To quote the Catechism of the Council of Trent: “Every true Christian possesses nothing which he should not consider common to all others with himself, and should therefore be prepared promptly to relieve an indigent fellow-creature. For he that is blessed with worldly goods, and sees his brother in want, and will not assist him, is plainly convicted of not having the love of God within him.”

So, keep an eye out for friends and neighbours who are struggling and don’t forget to love your enemies too. People might shy away from monetary donations but you might be able to invite them around for some food and warmth, give them a cake you baked or some kids clothes you “found”. Feeding the hungry and clothing the naked is always good. Make sure they know they have friends they can rely on. Being poor is rotten but being poor on your own is worse.

hungry

clothing

‘Feeding the

and

the naked is always good…’

Following the Truth

Charles A. Coulombe remembers the remarkable Charlotte Pearson Boyd

Itis easy to forget that “England’s green and pleasant land” was once as Catholic as were Italy, France, and Spain. The country was crisscrossed with a network of shrines and pilgrimage sites, abbeys and convents, as wonderful and wondrous as any in Christendom. Glastonbury and St Alban’s, Canterbury and Westminster, and on and on. Among the most famous was, of course, Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk.

Pilgrims came from all over the country and indeed Europe to pray at the shrine and venerate the statue. There was a string of chapels along the way; the last of these, at Houghton St Giles, was and is, of course, the Slipper Chapel. Here the pilgrims left their shoes to walk the last holy mile barefoot to the shrine. Many miracles were recorded; but alas, Walsingham, and its shrine, as we know, was caught up in the great wreck of the Church under Henry VIII. The image has long been believed burned or otherwise destroyed; but in recent years, several art historians have claimed that the socalled Langham Madonna at the Victoria and Albert Museum is in fact the original, hidden by her devotees. Whether or not that is true, one must quote that tragic poem that so well describes the emotions of the shrine’s clients at its ruin:

A Lament for Our Lady's Shrine at Walsingham

In the wracks of Walsingham Whom should I choose But the Queen of Walsingham to be my guide and muse.

Weep, weep, O Walsingham, Whose days are nights, Blessings turned to blasphemies, Holy deeds to despites.

Sin is where Our Lady sat, Heaven is turned to hell, Satan sits where Our Lord did sway –Walsingham, O farewell!

The years passed, and though the great shrine was ruined and much of its material used to build other things, the Slipper Chapel was preserved as a sheepfold. Walsingham slept as Civil wars followed Religious Revolt, as another true King was ejected, and as the Established Church became ever higher and drier. But at last, thanks to everything from Catholic refugees from the Continent during the Napoleonic Wars to Romanticism and Sir Walter Scott, the Middle Ages became interesting to educated opinion. This in turn sparked both the Cambridge converts to Rome in the 1820s, and the Oxford Movement within Anglicanism a decade later – which would in time produce its own converts, as well as creating a party within the Church

of England that wished to “re-Catholicise” that body. It is within that latter group that the subject of this article arose.

Charlotte Pearson Boyd was born in Macao in 1837 to British merchant Alexander Pearson Boyd and his wife, also named Charlotte. At the tender age of six weeks the child returned with her parents to their comfortable home in Brighton. Pious as a girl, young Charlotte made a trip to Glastonbury when she was thirteen; if there were no hippies there then, there was much less to see of the ruins. But what there was enchanted her, and she made a private vow to renew as many of the old abbeys as she could; in time, she came in contact with the nascent AngloCatholicism of the time.

Charlotte Pearson Boyd: ‘It was not just monastic buildings she wanted to restore, but monasticism itself’

Paralleling developments within the Catholic Church in England, AngloCatholics began launching all sorts of initiatives to relaunch elements of the Catholic Faith within the State Church, from Eucharistic devotion to Prayers for the Dead. Among these impulses were calls for the restoration of religious life and, as might be guessed, young Charlotte heard the call loud and clear – it was not just monastic buildings she wanted to restore, but monasticism itself. In 1866, she opened an orphanage in Kilburn, which she would run into her old age. Five years later, the Reverend Richard Carr Kirkpatrick began construction of St Augustine’s, Kilburn – still an AngloCatholic gem, architecturally – who proposed marriage. But Charlotte had her eye on another spouse entirely.

While her would-be suitor was building St Augustine’s, Charlotte founded the English Abbey Restoration Trust in 1875. Despite a number of contributors, it never drew the kind of money necessary to buy even one old monastery. But in 1883 she leased the gatehouse of Malling Abbey in Kent as a holiday home for her orphans. Eight years later, her wealthy uncle died, leaving her roughly £1.2 million in today’s money. In 1892 she bought the Abbey itself, and put it into a trust requiring that it could only be used for Anglican Monastic life. The following year, she opened her Abbey to a group of Anglican Benedictine nuns, originally founded in 1868 by the eccentric Brother Ignatius of Llanthony. She became a Benedictine oblate herself. That same year of 1893 she made her first pilgrimage to Walsingham; so entranced was she with it, that in 1894 she offered to buy everything – from the Slipper Chapel to the Shrine ruins – herself. The owners would let her have only the Slipper Chapel; after that, she set off on a life-changing experience.

Charlotte went to Belgium and began a tour of that country’s Marian shrines. She went to a retreat in Bruges, offered by the English Jesuit, Fr Clark; she resolved to enter the Catholic Church as a result, and was received at Maredsous Abbey (later famous for its Abbot, Bl Columba Marmion). Charlotte left a large endowment for a daily Mass to be offered with the intention that: “England, in the matter of religion, should do the will of God.” Upon her return to England, she was fired with zeal for her new faith. She began the gradual (and eventually thorough) transformation of her orphanage into a Catholic institution. There was nothing she could do about Malling Abbey, because of the rules of the Trust that owned it. But Walsingham was another matter entirely.

After buying the Slipper Chapel, she hired the noted architect Thomas Garner to restore it. Charlotte had a small cottage built for a priest guardian, and offered it to the Bishop of Northampton, asking that it be made a place of prayer and offering of Masses for the conversion of England. The Master of the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom was consulted, but after a visit to the place, Bishop Riddell decided that – as there were no Catholics in the neighbourhood – it would better to reestablish a shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham at the parish church of King’s Lynn. Pope Leo XIII agreed, when petitioned, and declared, “When England goes back to Walsingham, Our Lady will come back to England”. But after the inaugural Mass at the new shrine and a procession to the Slipper Chapel, it would be four decades before any Catholic liturgical activity occurred there again.

Undismayed, and having become an Oblate of Downside Abbey upon her entrance into the Church, she made the chapel over to the Abbey, who maintained it for the next four decades. Retiring from the care of the orphanage, Charlotte found herself nearly destitute in her old age. But she never stopped praying, despite privation and disappointments. She died at the orphanage at age 69 in 1906, and was buried in an unmarked grave at St Mary’s Catholic cemetery; her Protestant family refused to help with her burial expenses.

It would seem, at her death, that Charlotte had stood for a great many lost causes. But, in 1913, her Anglican Benedictines at Malling Abbey converted to Catholicism. In accordance with the rules of the Trust, they had to vacate the premises, and were replaced with another Anglican Benedictine Women’s community, who continue to occupy it today. This led to a few years of wandering, until their arrival at Curzon Park, where they still live today.

In the meantime, under the famous ministrations of Anglo-Catholic priest Fr Alfred Hope-Patten, the shrine in Walsingham revived under Church of England (albeit Papalist) auspices. From 1921 on, Walsingham came back to life –in a sense. Spurred by all this activity, the Diocese of Northampton reflected on its neglected gem. The first Mass since the Reformation was offered on 19 August 1934, with Cardinal Bourne of Westminster, and 13,000 pilgrims. 8 September 1938 saw the Shrine re-consecrated by Bishop Youens of Northampton. The pilgrimages have only grown on the Catholic side ever since. But what of Charlotte Pearson Boyd in her unmarked grave? In 1962, one of her greatest devotees, Martin Gillett – himself a veteran of re-establishing Marian shrines in various places – restored her grave and donated a marker.

So, at last, what are we to make of this extraordinary woman? Charlotte Pearson Boyd tried her absolute best to follow the Truth, wherever she found it, and wherever it led her. In her own day, in the last decade of her life she was responsible for many conversions, including of Anglican priests. One might well wonder if Fr Hope Patten would have been so inspired had it not been for her example – and so it is perhaps only right that his activity reawakened interest in Walsingham among Catholics.

All across the British Isles there has been a steady current of Shrine revival – alas, sometimes tainted with New Agery, as at Glastonbury or Kildare. But for those with eyes to see – even as Charlotte did, at a very young age – the old truths remain. Right now, both Church and State are supremely agitated in struggles that are certainly worth taking sides in. But to a greater of lesser degree, this has been the case since the infant Church left the Cenacle, and began her journey of evangelisation and Redemption. Some shrines may be badly run; others have poor liturgies. Never mind; we are there to pray for a short refuge, and the strength to continue whatever combats Our Lord sends us.

Today, at Walsingham, there has been an interesting development. One could, of course, visit either or both the Slipper Chapel and the Anglican Shrine in the village, but the actual ruins have been private property with restricted entry. Now they are open to the public, and may be included in any pilgrimage.

It is also interesting to note that there are shrines to Our Lady of Walsingham in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Houston, Texas – the latter is the North American Cathedral for the Ordinariate. I count myself lucky to have visited both, as well as the parent shrine. So, although Charlotte’s influence may not have been felt very greatly in her own day, it has crossed the Atlantic, and can be felt in the newborn Ordinariates. So, when disappointed with the way things are going, let us remember Charlotte Boyd Pearson.

Just as England underwent a “second spring” in the 19th century, let us pray at all the shrines in Mary’s Dowry, that a third be on the way. Certainly, we must work for it; but as Charlotte well knew, without the Ora, the Labora is lost. We may see no results, but under a Heaven that sees time far differently than we do, we must keep on.

FormoreonWalsinghamseepages28-29.

The Golden Arrow

Hyde did not mince his words when he described how such women become hardened and ugly by way of hate: “The hatred which the Party kindles and uses is often quite shockingly apparent in eyes as hard as those of a Soho prostitute and lips as tight as those of a slumland money-lender.”

the opposite of those who are devoted to Marx. I’m always thinking of ways to spread this devotion, and I’ve even imagined running skin care campaigns for devotion to the Holy Face that champion it as a free moisturizer!

WhenI was in my early 20s, I had the idea of attending a meeting held by a group of Communists. We had nothing in common, except that, like me, they found fault with the European Union. So, I popped along to the gathering of mainly men. I saw a woman I knew take the podium and hold forth on her love for Karl Marx. It was a shockingly harsh speech, with such shrill tones it seemed to cut my ears, but I could barely follow it because I was so appalled by the change in her. I’d known this woman as a great beauty, but after her conversion to Communism, her whole face seemed harrowed by hate.

I was so disturbed by the drastic change in her that I felt physically sick. I never again attended a Communist meeting.

I told a wise friend of mine what I’d experienced, and he smiled, wiggled his eyebrows and suggested I read Douglas Hyde’s memoir, I Believed, because Hyde had ably chronicled how Marxism destroys a woman’s attractiveness. Hyde had been a member of the British Communist Party and had worked at the newspaper, The Daily Worker. He recalled that his comrades used to complain crudely that their female recruits became so unattractive that they were ‘utterly unbedworthy’. Hyde heard a Political Bureau member gripe that, “We get women into the Party…but within 12 months of our turning them into Marxists they are about as attractive as horses.”

After I read Hyde, I felt a dreadful fear of cosying up to Communism, but I was also grateful for his honesty. Hyde was a Marxist for 20 years before he became a Catholic. He lapsed, however, before his death when he had a new dalliance with socialism. But when he was converting to Catholicism, he was worried that his pretty young daughter would be set upon by his comrades.

Loving others

Hyde was complimentary about the way Christianity has a charming effect on the faces of those who practice it; that loving others makes you lovely. I had his observations in mind when I learned that one of the promises given souls who are devoted to the Holy Face of Jesus is that their own faces will be rejuvenated and become so youthful that they will be like a baby who has just been baptized. To honour and love Our Lord’s Face is to have the gift of youthful beauty of face;

Our Lord gave the devotion to His Face to a Carmelite nun, Sister Mary of St Peter in France during the 1840s, and He warned her sternly that because of the profanation of Sunday and blasphemies against His Holy Name, that there would come a chastisement in the form or “revolutionary men” – no doubt those Communists whose “malice” would be a punishment for those who refused to either stop their blasphemies or to make reparation for them.

Our Lord’s words it seems have come to pass and his messages are as relevant for us today as they were when He gave them to Sister Mary of St Peter.

Hyde’s generation was consciously Communist; our “woke” generation is subconsciously Communist. Just as the promises are real for those devoted to the Holy Face, so too, are the opposite and adherents of Communism often wear the punishment on their faces.

Spiritual arms

Our Lord gave a panoply of spiritual arms to defeat communism. Offering prayers to the Holy Face and honouring Our Lord’s countenance will defeat atheistic Communism. In this same devotion, we may make reparation for the same blasphemy that causes the chastisement of Communism and we may also prevent it and stop it altogether. I make an urgent plea to you to consider learning by heart and offering daily, The Golden Arrow, the prayer that is at the heart of devotion to Christ’s Face:

‘May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible, and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in Heaven, on earth, under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.’

To honour and love Our Lord’s Face is to have the gift of youthful beauty, as Mary O’Regan explains

words it seems have come to pass and his messages are as relevant for us today as they were when He gave them to Sister Mary of St Peter’

‘Our Lord’s

Porta 6

Sebastian Morello on the perfect accompaniment to treasured companionship

Portugalis not a country I know very much about. I do, however, have fond memories of a priest in Italy telling me about one of Portugal’s greatest saints: John of God, the 16th century founder of a religious institute established to care for the poor and the mentally unwell. The story of John of God, who was originally named João Duarte Cidade, was told to me because this particular priest had an especial devotion to St John of Avila, Doctor of the Church, who was something of a proximate cause of John of God’s conversion.

On the Feast of St Sebastian (20 January), Cidade heard preaching in a public square delivered by John of Avila. On hearing the oration, he was deeply moved to repentance. So profound, however, was his sorrow for his past sins that he immediately suffered a neartotal mental breakdown. As he listened to the sermon, he began to publicly hurt himself, begging for God’s mercy and crying out words of repentance for his past life. After this display of religious emotion, which was interpreted as lunacy, he was locked up in an institution for the mad where he received the best treatment available: he was chained in solitary confinement, starved, and flogged regularly throughout the day.

John of Avila, the preacher who had so moved to repentance the heart of Cidade, came to visit the incarcerated penitent and convinced him that if he wanted to be holy, he would have to undergo a process of selfemptying—kenosis—for which the most straightforward way would be that of service to others. Cidade was soon freed, and thereafter devoted his life to the poor and the helpless, becoming the man we now know as St John of God.

I have often reflected on this story, which so enthralled me when I first heard it, and in the course have visited St John of God’s own country through the bottle. And an absolutely essential go-to wine, that everyone should know about, is Porta 6, from the Lisboan area of Portugal. The region around the

capital—once known simply as Oeste (“the West”)—has long been esteemed for its exceptional wines, and Porta 6 is no exception. Importantly, this wine has an attribute that makes it especially attractive: it’s very affordable.

This is what Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson say about the Lisboan region in their World Atlas of Wine:

Its potential was not obvious while co-operatives made its wine, but its long, Atlantic-coastal growing season, its choice of soils, and new interest in better grapes (notably Syrah and Touriga Nacional) are giving ambitious new estates their chance.

Not least of which is Porta 6, a reasonably new and extremely innovative red, that has brought out all the richness and freshness of its blended grape varieties without hampering the palate with the complexity that gives rise to guilt when being unthoughtfully sloshed back over a rare sirloin. And that, as it happens, is exactly how this wine ought to be drunk, preferably in late summer at a barbecue. Let the temperature of the bottle rise a little, however, perhaps by perching it worryingly close to a roaring fire, and you suddenly have the perfect winter wine to be enjoyed with crusty bread heaped with excessively aged and inordinately pungent stilton.

Last winter, in fact, after a day in Gosport teaching Franciscan friars about the error of nominalism—a lesson one needs to get in early, given that it’s a peculiarly Franciscan error—I stopped by a friend’s house for a couple of glasses of wine, sipped over cud on which we chewed for three hours. Such occasions require a not-too-serious wine, especially after a whole day of dissecting the philosophical blunders of the medieval academy—hence, we had recourse to my pal’s bottle of Porta 6 that had waited expectantly on the kitchen surface. And it turns out that for the perfect accompaniment to treasured companionship, seized spontaneously in the midst of a long drive home, there are few better wines than Porta 6.

What should you expect? Well, it’s a blend of 50% Tinta Roritz (Tempranillo), 40% Castelão, and 10% Touriga Nacional, making this a true Iberian blend. It’s dark, very dark—as dark, in fact, as those protestant legends told about the Iberian Peninsula. The bouquet is explosive, the palate is bursting with fruits, and when a little chilled down it evokes servings of summer pudding on the lawn. Cloves, cardamon, and other spices linger in the finish that draws out to the acidity of raspberry and blackberry.

James Martin—the celebrity chef, not the perverted Jesuit — strongly recommended this wine to be drunk with his recipes, and I am informed by my local Majestic’s that his endorsement caused an almost immediate shortage of stock. It’s a great wine, so go out and buy a case. A word of criticism, though: the label is horrible and can uglify an otherwise well laid table, but that is a problem that can be fixed with a decanter or carafe, which will also elevate the taste. So, poor yourself a glass, sit back, and meditate on the saint that God wants you to become and what in your life might be preventing that redemptive transformation; the wine may help to prevent a possible mental collapse.

The Saints’ Way

Collette Oliver sets off on a Cornish pilgrimage in honour of Our Lady, St Joseph, the Five Wounds of Christ and the Holy Martyrs of England

with friends over a cup of coffee what I considered nothing more than a passing notion about a possible pilgrimage to Lanherne, in Cornwall, I was surprised by the joyful and lively response of, ‘let’s do it!’. Hence, after just a few short weeks of frantic planning, a wonderful group of young people set out in glorious sunshine.

Sharing

The pilgrimage was in honour of Our Lady, St Joseph, the Five Wounds of Christ and the Holy Martyrs of England. We were accompanied by a family friend and pilgrimage chaplain, Fr Gerard Byrne, who travelled down from Corby, Northamptonshire, and Abbe Aaron Zelinski, seminarian of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest based in Torquay. Our destination was Lanherne Convent in St Mawgan, Cornwall, where a High Mass for the Vigil of Pentecost had

been arranged at the finish. Lanherne Convent played a central role in the preservation and restoration of the Faith in the Southwest, being associated with many of the saints, particularly St Cuthbert Mayne and others, hence a fitting place to conclude our spiritual journey.

Starting at the 13th century Celtic cross in the graveyard at Lanivet, we followed the Saints’ Way, the ancient pilgrimage route from Ireland to France. With sun shining and spirits high, we proudly carried the banners of Our Lady, the Sacred Heart, Saint George’s Cross and the Cross of St Piran – patron of Cornwall.

We travelled four miles to the Church of St Clement in Withiel where we stopped for lunch and a welcome rest in the shade, and then on towards Breock

Downs where the landscape changed to a flat and open plain with fields on both sides. Peacefully grazing cows became an enthusiastic congregation, skipping alongside as ‘Hail Redeemer, King Divine’ sang out over the countryside; St Francis of Assisi would have approved!

Replenishing our bottles with well water at an isolated farmhouse, we headed for Little Petherick, where we would spend our first night in the Church Hall, with permission to celebrate, in the adjacent Church of St Petroc Minor, the first Tridentine Mass since Reformation days.

In glorious sunshine we approached Padstow along the estuary where the sea came into view. Our route took us around the harbour and through the town as we sang ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ en route to the Church of St Petroc. It

was here that we felt a deep kinship with ancient pilgrims, as the church boasts a 16th century pulpit adorned with scallop shells, highlighting its importance on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela. Just one of our many fun experiences occurred at Padstow, when the boys hilariously enacted their own photographic and iconic ‘Iwo Jima – Padstow or Pacific’ moment with banners flying!

Leaving the churchyard via the kissing gate, Abbe Zelinski recounted the life of St Petroc as we headed out into the fields and then straight towards the coast. With the sea sparkling in the distance, we turned onto the coastal

path towards Harlyn Bay, being met by a smiling Kate Miller with our support car and lunch. Suitably refreshed, we continued on the coastal path where curious campers stopped us to ask what we were doing. Our younger pilgrims were both a joy and a wonderful example of Christian witness in their lively responses to these curious onlookers, attracted by the many banners being carried and the excited banter of lively young people.

Singing and praying, we came off the coastal path and descended to Trevethan and on to our night stop at St Eval. The landscape changed to flat, open fields with the church spire visible from a distance – reminiscent of approaching Chartres, in fact, albeit on a small scale. We were met with tea, cakes, and much needed chairs for tired but happy pilgrims to sit on. Sadly, our chaplain had an emergency to attend and had to leave us after experiencing a most glorious sunset – just one of many shared magical moments experienced but with no hint of the storm to come.

During the night the heavens opened after two truly gorgeous days of wonderful sunshine! Cheerful and undaunted, and looking forward to the 10am Mass at Lanherne, the whole party donned waterproofs and set out in the lashing rain to splosh merrily through puddles along open roads until we reached the turning for Mawgan Porth, where, plunging once again onto country tracks, we headed into the beautiful Vale of Lanherne – a well posted path in the woodlands and ancient pathways. We were surprised at our progress and

arrived at Lanherne Convent in good time, if a little wet, enjoying a ‘Fatima moment’ as the skies cleared, and the rain abated; Our Lady of Lanherne was truly smiling upon us this day! We were met by our own priest, Canon Tanner, Prior of the Shrine Church of Holy Angels in Torquay, and Canon Montjean, visiting from New Brighton.

We were incredibly blessed to have High Mass of the Vigil of Pentecost in the Chapel of Lanherne Convent with the Carmelite Sisters singing the chants from the choir. The chapel was adorned with red roses as this feast is known as ‘The Pasch of Roses’. The colour and fragrance of the rose was, in times past, an emblem of the tongues of fire that rested on the Apostles’ heads that first Pentecost. This feast, like Easter, had the honour of the administration of Baptism. White Sunday, as Pentecost is also known, takes its name from the white garments worn by the newly baptised at the vigil.

This three-day spiritual journey of faith gave us many graces, joys and blessings as we travelled the ancient paths of Cornwall, with many shared experiences and prayers and it was fitting to finish the pilgrimage at the ancient Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Lanherne (1376AD), where the cloistered Carmelite nuns still continue the ancient traditions of the church. Deo Gratias!

Collette Oliver is the home-schooling mother of seven children, and a fervent attendee of the Latin Mass at the Shrine Church of Holy Angels in Torquay, administered by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

The first Tridentine Mass at St Petroc Minor since the Reformation

ANSWERS TO AUTUMN 2022 CROSSWORD

Clues Across

Arm vestment worn by priest during Mass, removed for the homily (7) 5 One of the four Evangelists (5)

‘--- desperandum’, never despair (3)

Copy of great work by Thomas à Kempis? (9) 10 Branch symbol of friendship (5) 11 Heretics who seduced the young St Augustine [Hippo] for a while (9)

Exciting experience in upcoming season? (9) 18 Prescribed number of people or goods according to context (5) 21 Form of musical notation (9) 22 Tree of the Grove of famous Welsh song (3) 23 Where Abraham pitched his tents and was told of Sarah’s pregnancy [Gen.] (5) 24 Son of King David who rebelled against his father (7)

Clues Down

St Catherine’s Trust Summer School 2023, date for your diary: this will take place Sunday 30th July to Saturday 5th August at St Cassian’s, Kintbury RG17 9SR.

Guild of St Clare: Sewing Retreats at Park Place Hampshire, PO17 5HA: book through the LMS website: Autumn 2022 4-6th Nov. Spring 2023 3rd-5th February. Autumn 2023 3rd-5th November.

LMS Residential Latin / New Testament Greek Course 2023, date for your diary: Monday 14th to Saturday 19th August, at Park Place Pastoral Centre. Fareham PO17 5HA. Online Christian Latin and New Testament Greek Courses with Matthew Spencer. For ongoing courses, email Matthew Spencer matthewjaspencer@ yahoo.com

Iota Unum talk: Edmund Adamus ‘What does the New Evangelisation mean?’ 25th November, Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory, Warwick Street (please enter through 24 Golden Square, London W1F 9JR).

St Tarcisius Server Training Days / Guild of St Clare Vestment Mending Day 19th November, St Mary Moorfields. Please book on the LMS website for the Server Training; email lucyashaw@ gmail.com for the Vestment Mending. In both cases all levels of skill are welcome!

Guild of St Clare: One-fifth size Copemaking course 18th March 2023 at the Royal School of Needlework, Hampton Court, booking to open shortly.

1

A frame indicating sanctity surrounding an image such as around Our Lady of Guadalupe (8) 2 ‘Little ------ of Holy God’, Irish child whose short life inspired St Pius X’s Quam Singulari (6) 3 Recipient of a Letter from St Paul (8) 4 Thomas, prolific American inventor in the fields of light and sound (6) 5 Wife of Jacob, mother of Reuben, OT (4) 6 Small exclusive group of people (6) 7 ‘---- qua non’, something that is essential (4) 12 Grace-and-favour country house of the PM (8)

Beings of the angelic hierarchy (8)

‘In principio erat ------‘, Last Gospel in the Mass (6)

Early Saint martyred with her companions in Cologne (6)

‘--- --- the Saints’, appropriate hymn for November (3,3)

Smallest unit of matter (4)

Chapel of, for convenience of reach other than parish church (4)

Guild of St Clare: Christmas Party, 17th December at SS Gregory & Augustine’s Oxford, all welcome. Email lucyashaw@gmail.com

Guild of St Clare: Withermarsh Green Chapter: 11am 12th November. Please email lucyashaw@gmail.com for details.

Guild of St Clare: Northern Chapter York 10th December at the York Oratory; 28th January at St Augustine’s Manchester; 25th February York Oratory. Please email lucyashaw@gmail.com for details.

Guild of St Clare: Oxford sewing group meets fortnightly on Thursday evenings. Email for further information: lucyashaw@gmail.com

Guild of St Clare: Bobbin Lace for Beginners. Ongoing course, fortnightly on Thursday evenings, Oxford. Email for further information: lucyashaw@gmail.com

The Southwell Consort

Consort Director Dominic Bevan on the Latin Mass Society’s regular Monday evening Mass and the joys of polyphony

Itis now a year since the new musical regime was put in place to accompany the liturgy for the LMS’s regular Monday evening Mass at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane. A new polyphonic choir of amateur singers was started, and received the name The Southwell Consort. It is named after St Robert Southwell who said Mass to the music of William Byrd. This choir alternates with the existing Houghton Schola that sings Gregorian chant in the lower register only.

There was much concern that the running of a polyphonic choir would be difficult to maintain. The Mass is at a tricky time for the purposes of rehearsal, and polyphony requires much rehearsal. What kind of nonprofessional singer would be able to confidently read music at a high level, be free to rehearse for at least an hour before Mass, and come regularly? As it turns out, many.

I am myself a professional singer, having been lucky enough to study with some of the greats at the Royal College of Music for four wonderful years. However, my journey to singing at a professional level began with years of amateur singing. It takes time to develop the ability to sightread music on the spot. I had already learned to do this at a relatively good level before I started at the Royal College.

On my non-professional musical journey, I sang with many amateur choirs that enjoyed singing music of the European Renaissance, that is the 16th and early 17th centuries. This music is more commonly known as polyphonic music. Why is this popular?

In later music, generally, the soprano part has the tune and the other parts (altos, tenors and basses) all sing the harmonies to accompany the sopranos. However, in polyphonic music every part has the tune and all voice parts are on an equal footing with each other.

not what these c16 composers intended. Byrd, Tallis and Tye would be devastated to know that their music, composed often for secret Catholic Masses behind closed doors, was being performed to paid audiences sipping gin and tonic in secular concert venues. Surely it would be a much more satisfying experience for all involved for this music to be heard in the context for which it was intended? This is exactly the premise that pushed me to convince the trustees of the LMS to give this a go, and this is how I managed to convince every good amateur singer I know to come and sing at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane.

The talent of the composer is to create extraordinary harmonies while each voice part weaves in and out of each other, and all maintaining their own melodic line. The master of this technique (known as counterpoint) was Palestrina, Master of Music at St Peter’s Rome from 1551 and member of the Sistine Chapel choir.

It always seemed strange for me to be performing these extraordinary Mass settings and motets in concerts. This was

A year on, and The Southwell Consort has only scratched the surface of the innumerable treasures of the European polyphonic riches of the Renaissance. Two of my colleagues spend their time transcribing music from facsimiles taken from dusty libraries in Rome, Spain and the British Library. The numbers in the choir continue to grow. It turns out that there are many singers who sang at a high level in chapel choirs or university ensembles, and relish the opportunity to sing this music at an extremely high level in the context for which this music was composed: that is the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Some of them are Catholic, some not, but all extremely sympathetic and there is a real opportunity for apostolising just by being exposed to the Mass regularly in all its glory.

I must also mention that the serving at Maiden Lane is really excellentdignified and un-fussy. This combination of liturgy and music makes the Monday evening Mass at Maiden Lane like a spiritual oasis in an increasingly hostile world. The singers, Christian or not, never fail to be impressed by it.

Surely it would be a much more satisfying experience for all involved for this music to be heard in the context for which it was intended?