DIOCESAN DIGEST

Mass of Ages quarterly round-up

Arundel and Brighton - Anne-Marie Mackie-Savage 01323411370 aandb@lms.org.uk

Sadly, there are no more Masses at St Thomas More, Seaford. Fr Bruno Witchalls, who has been most generous with his time, is moving on. I would like to take this opportunity to say on behalf of everyone how much he is appreciated and shall be missed, to thank him for his support and assure him of our ongoing prayers for him. Masses continue in Lewes and Eastbourne.

We lost a great supporter of the Mass in Eastbourne recently, and I would ask your prayers for Mrs Helga Edwards. Her devotion to Our Lady was inspirational, and she is greatly missed.

Once more, chaps, I would ask for anyone who is willing to learn how to serve the Mass to have a go! Email me if you would like to find someone who can show you the ropes.

All updates and cancellations of which I am apprised go up on the A and B Latin Mass blog. If you can’t find it, it pops up on any browser if you just type in the blog name.

Thanks to everyone who supports the Masses and to the priests who make them possible.

Birmingham (City and Black Country) - Louis Maciel Tel: 07392 232225 birmingham@lms.org.uk

Archbishop Bernard Longley will celebrate Pontifical High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory at 7pm on 18 October following the canonisation of Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman in Rome a few days before.

A relatively quiet quarter saw High Masses at the Birmingham Oratory for the Ascension and Corpus Christi Thursday, with Sung Masses at the usual times for the Sacred Heart and SS Peter and Paul. Low Masses were also celebrated on these days at St Mary on the Hill in Wednesbury, as well as several other feast days, including the patronal feast day of Our Lady Help of Christians in addition to the monthly third Sunday Mass.

There was a votive High Mass of the Precious Blood at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton on the 12 of July, which, along with the annual Novena, was the only break in the Friday Low Mass schedule.

The long-awaited renovations at St Dunstan’s in Kings Heath have finally started, which include returning the tabernacle to the centre of the church from the Adoration chapel, a more centralised altar from which Mass can be celebrated ad orientem and the installation of altar rails. The church will be closed until November, and the third Friday Mass will take place in the community centre until then.

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

Sung Sunday Mass at St Wulstan’s continues twice monthly for the present but discussions are now in progress regarding extending Mass provision to every Sunday. Please pray for our success … and watch this space!

This quarter saw the introduction of refreshments after Mass on fourth Sundays. This was initially generously provided by Emma and William Edwards – complete with fine home-made Simnel Cake – but the early arrival of their second daughter, Cecilia, has temporarily curtailed their involvement, allowing others an opportunity to offer their services. The new service is proving popular, especially with our regular celebrant, Fr Jonathan.

A recent poll of Mass-goers has identified one new volunteer altar server and it is hoped that his training can begin soon. If anyone else would like to offer their services, even as an occasional backup, then please get in touch.

The Schola Gregoriana Malverniensis was privileged to sing the Solemn Liturgy in the pre-1955 form on Good Friday at St Winifride’s in Shrewsbury, at the kind invitation of Fr Scott Smith ICKSP. Unfortunately, owing to unforeseen circumstances the Schola was unable to sing for the LMS Pilgrimage to Holywell on Sunday 7 July as planned, but fortunately the organisers were able to find a replacement Schola.

Lastly our thanks as usual to Dom Jonathan Rollinson OSB for his unfailing support and also to Fr Paul Lester CO for celebrating Mass for us on the 3rd Sunday after Easter. Thanks also to our servers, singers, and tea-makers for their invaluable contribution.

Birmingham (Oxford) - Joseph Shaw oxford@lms.org.uk

The big news this quarter is the establishment of a new every-Sunday Traditional Mass in Oxford: at 5pm in Holy Rood, Abingdon Road, thanks to the parish priest, Fr Daniel Lloyd. This is in Portsmouth Diocese, a stone’s throw from the diocesan boundary, which is the River Thames, and easily accessible from the centre of the city. Holy Rood has a car park, and I hope this new Mass will prove convenient for many. It is currently Low, but will become Sung in September.

Other Sunday Masses, in the Oratory and (monthly) in SS Gregory and Augustine, continue as before.

In the coming quarter, as well as the usual Sunday and holy day Masses, there will be a Missa Cantata at Holy Trinity Hethe on Sunday 6 October, for Our Lady of the Rosary; the annual LMS Oxford Pilgrimage on Saturday 19 October in Blackfriars; and the annual Requiem in St Benet’s Hall, 38 St Giles in the centre of Oxford, on Saturday 9 November. See Mass listings for full details.

I would particularly encourage supporters to join the Pilgrimage on 19 October. As well as a very beautiful High Mass in the Dominican Rite, with polyphony, we always have a procession through the streets to honour the five men who died for the Faith in our city, and to honour God who infused them with invincible courage. This year we will be visiting the place of martyrdom of Bl George Napier, who was hanged, drawn and quartered on the Castle Gallows in 1610, having minstered in the Oxford area as a priest for a decade.

Finally, we are planning server training for Saturday 10 August in SS Gregory & Augustine’s, Woodstock Road, Oxford: contact me for more details.

Brentwood (East) - Alan Gardner alanmdgardner@gmail.com

In the extended ‘country’ region of the diocese our regular Traditional Masses continue in Chelmsford, Kelvedon and Leigh; we are so lucky in our priests who give us these Masses in addition to their normal busy parish duties.

Mea culpa, the deadline was missed for the previous issue of MoA, when it would have been possible to wax lyrical about additional Masses at Chelmsford on Ash Wednesday, and an uplifting Missa Cantata on Easter Sunday in a Chapel that was even more overcrowded than usual; together with (as might be expected!) the normal ‘stonking’ sermons from Fr Stephen Morrison. It was good also to celebrate Ascension Thursday there in traditional style…

We mentioned previously a joyful new addition, and subsequently Quinn Joseph Nickson was baptised at St Thomas of Canterbury in Woodford Green. Fr Stephen officiated at the ceremony on Saturday, 9 March with Godparents Kyle Owen and Emily Panayitou in attendance, along with two proud elder brothers, parents, family and friends.

It has been a delight to see Masses celebrated with increasing regularity at Old Hall Green (thank you, Fr Crean!), at Saffron Walden, and at Epping (please note this last is on the fourth Sunday of each month). If we are in those areas, we should of course endeavour to give these our support; if you aren’t being kept ‘in the loop’ about them, do please make contact.

As always, if we can add our mite as servers or singers, experienced or learning, we must step forward; again, please get in touch.

Cardiff - Andrew Butcher 07905 609770 cardiff@lms.org.uk www.lmscardiff.org.uk

All Mass times and locations within the Archdiocese remain unchanged. Masses, in particular, Sung or High Masses, may be announced at short notice due to the availability of the priests. I will do my very best to keep you informed, but if you have the internet, checking our website weekly is likely to be the best way to stay informed. A reminder that for all those in Cardiff, Holy Mass is offered daily at the Oratory (except Sunday). See the website or Mass of Ages for more information.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact either Shaun Bennett (Hereford) or myself. The latest Mass listings have been included in this edition of Mass of Ages.

Our website has just received its spring clean (later than usual) and should now be up to date. If you notice anything untoward or incorrect, please let me know.

Congratulations to Father Sebastian Jones Cong. Orat. on the 25th anniversary of his ordination and to Father Laurence Bryce on his ordination to the priesthood in June. Ad multos annos!

Clifton - James Belt & Monika Paplaczyk 07890 687453 clifton@lms.org.uk lmsclifton.blogspot.co.uk

Fr Seth Phipps, FSSP, who was ordained to the Priesthood last June in Warrington, returned to his home diocese of Clifton on Saturday, 25 May. He celebrated a High Mass of Requiem at Prinknash Abbey, with Fr Bede Rowe as Deacon and Fr Alex Redman as Subdeacon.

Our annual Solemn High Mass was held at Downside Abbey on Saturday, 22 June, the Feast of St Alban, Protomartyr of England. As usual, Dom Boniface Hill was the celebrant. We are grateful to the clergy and servers who assisted with the Mass, and the St John’s Festival Choir, from Bath, who sang works including Monteverdi’s Missa a quattro voci da cappella . The regular monthly Low Masses continue, on the first Sunday of the month at 11:15am in the Crypt Chapel.

On the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, August 15, at 7:30pm, a High Mass will be celebrated at Our Lady of Lourdes, Weston-Super-Mare. All are welcome.

The annual LMS pilgrimage to Glastonbury will be held this year on Saturday, 7 September, with High Mass in the Shrine Church at 11:30am. All are welcome.

East Anglia (West) - Gregor Dick

In addition to the usual Sunday Masses, which continue at Blackfriars, on Ascension Thursday a Sung Mass was celebrated in Cambridge at the parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs by Fr Simon Leworthy, who since last year has been Assistant Priest at the parish. We would like to express our gratitude both to Fr Leworthy and to the Parish Priest, Mgr Canon Eugène Harkness, who assisted in choir.

There are plans for further Masses in the Traditional Rite to be celebrated here. Although at the time of printing no times had been established firmly, details will be posted to the LMS website when they are available.

Hallam - Nick Ross hallam@lms.org.uk

I am delighted to have been appointed the representative for Hallam and I look forward to making progress in this diocese now that we have settled into our new home, just south of the diocesan border.

The response from members has been encouraging; people have already contacted me offering their support and giving me some valuable background.

It seems there have been sporadic Masses in the past, but priest-moves and such broke any stability. I look forward to building my connections in the diocese and build towards some sort of consistency. Finding this, building on it, and replicating it. This is my goal, Deo volente. Thank you again for your support.

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

Our Mass provision listing continues as before. After the installation of our new Bishop, Robert Byrne, at St Mary’s Cathedral on the Feast of the Annunciation, Father Michael Brown rounded off the glorious day with a Low Mass at St Joseph’s, Gateshead, attended by a congregation of 22; unusually good for a Monday evening.

We note with sadness the death of Terry Middleton, age 74, whose Requiem Mass was held at St Joseph’s Gateshead on 13 May. He was an historian, genealogist and Latin Mass chorister, who will be greatly missed.

Corpus Christi was, as usual, celebrated at Gateshead with a High Mass, procession and Benediction. At Coxhoe, Fr Shaun Swales celebrated Low Mass.

We have appreciated the presence of young James Baxter (a current year linguistics Graduate of Newcastle University) a talented musician, who has been invited to commence studies at the ICKSP Gricigliano Seminary from September. James is originally from Yorkshire and his diocesan friends here wish him every blessing. We recently lost our experienced server and M.C., young Andrew McDowell, to Portsmouth diocese, where he married Stephanie Hogan ahead of a Nuptial Solemn High Mass in Bournemouth Oratory. Our Fr Michael Brown was sub-deacon. May they be blessed with every joy in the coming years.

Lancaster - Bob & Jane Latin 01524 412987 lancaster@lms.org.uk latinmasslancaster.blogspot.com John Rogan 01524 858832 lancasterassistant@lms.org.uk

To date we have only managed to arrange two Masses at Sizergh Castle this summer as it hasn't been possible to tie in the availability of both priests and the Strickland family, but it is hoped that we may be able to have one in the autumn: please keep an eye on the website for further news.

The other news is that September will possibly see the last EF Mass in the Lancaster area until next May as Canon Ruscillo will be taking a Sabbatical in Jerusalem from October to April inclusive. However, we are living in hope that something else may be arranged; please say a prayer that this will be possible.

On 20 July the Institute of Christ the King hosted, at the request of the LMS, a training day for those who wished to learn or improve the serving of the EF Mass, which we hope will have been of great benefit to those who are not able to get to the days further south.

By the time this goes to print we will have been present at the First Mass & First Blessings of Canon Ryan Post from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, who will have been ordained on 4 July. We will also have been to the ordination of Fr Stephen Talbutt from this Diocese on 6 July; before he went to seminary Stephen was quite a regular server at the EF Masses at Lancaster Cathedral. Please keep both these new priests in your prayers.

Liverpool - Jim Pennington liverpool@lms.org.uk

All the regular Sunday and Holyday EF Masses in the Archdiocese continue, as do the weekday Masses at Holy Spirit, Ford, and St John’s, Wigan.

We were unable to have Mass on Corpus Christi at St Anthony’s, as the Canons of the Institute of Christ the King were unable to be with us, and I was unable to find another celebrant at short notice. There are at present only two diocesan priests able to offer Sunday Mass for us, and this situation will worsen in September, when Fr Sean Riley leaves to further his studies. We continue to look out for willing and able priests.

Earlier this year, we were invited by the Synod 2020 coordinator, Matt Jeziorski, to form a ‘Listening group’ to present our views as lovers of the Traditional Rite Mass, for consideration by the Synod next year. In June a group of twelve of us met with Matt at St Anthony’s, and each member had the opportunity to speak in response to the four Synod questions. Various perspectives were presented, and will be reported by Matt to the Synod. I have asked him to copy his report to me. He has since said that he thought we raised many important points, and I look forward to his report. We also put forward a written submission, prepared for the group by LMS member Neil Addison, and requested that this be presented for consideration by the Synod. Our thanks to Neil for his excellent paper.

It is very encouraging to be invited by them to take part in the consultation process, and a sign, I hope, of sympathetic regard by the Synod co-ordinator for the Traditional Rite. Let us hope that the formal Synod proceedings will be as amenable.

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

Fr Byrne, at St Brendan's in Corby, offered additional Masses for the feasts of the Ascension and Corpus Christi. The regular Saturday Masses continue.

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

I am delighted to report that Sunday Masses at Bedford now attract around 100 people each week. The first Sunday in the month is usually a Sung Mass with the schola, which is small in number but determined! Rehearsals are held at Christ the King on the Saturday before the First Sunday at 11.30 am and new singers would be most welcome. Our Director of Music, Matthew Schellhorn, plays and sings on two other Sundays each month. Another Sung Mass in the Northampton diocese takes place at Chesham Bois, normally on the first Sunday, at 8 am, and there is a Low Mass there at the same time on the other Sundays.

Fr Matthew Goddard, FSSP, one of the priests based at Reading who says the Mass at Bedford, celebrated the 10th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on 30 May. We at Christ the King sent him a greetings card, designed and stitched by one of our members, on the actual day, and when he next visited Bedford to say Mass at Bedford on 9 June, we surprised him with a cake in the hall afterwards. We are very grateful to the FSSP for providing celebrants from Reading each Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation since October 2017.

Our series of First Sunday Family Catechism Days at Bedford finished on 2 June, but we are hoping that there will be more in future. Meanwhile, a new group, the Patricians, started on 15 June under the auspices of our active Legion of Mary group; the topic was ‘The Role of Men and Women in Catholic Marriage’. The Patricians met again on 13 July and discussed the topic ‘Are All Religions Equal?’ We will be continuing with other such ‘hot topics’ in the coming months.

We had the joy of four of the children in the Bedford congregation, Anna, Clara, Gabriel and Matthias, making their First Holy Communion on Sunday, 23 June, which was celebrated as a Sung Mass for Corpus Christi. One of the mothers had made a beautiful celebration cake.

On 29 June we launched the “Friends of the FSSP Bedford”, which will bring together and promote our various activities and enable members of our congregation to play a more active role through prayer, involvement with events and financial support.

Regina Caeli, the new Bedfordshire-based homeschooling academy, will open its doors on 16 September. Full details can be found at https://www.rcahybrid.org.uk/.

Looking further ahead, the Latin Mass Society will, for the second time, visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Church of the Holy Child and St Joseph, Bedford; on Saturday, 23 November at 12 noon, there will be a Solemn High Mass of Reparation for Abortion. One of the priests of the FSSP will be the celebrant and Fr Gabriel Diaz, well known for his previous Masses at Bedford in the past, will be returning to the town as Deacon. Br Albert Robertson OP completes the trio of Sacred Ministers as Sub-Deacon.

We are a vibrant and growing community; our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/bedfordlatinmass/ and perhaps you will feel inspired to visit us in person one day. We promise a warm welcome.

Fr Goddard cutting his cake

Nottingham - Jeremy Boot 07462-018386

It is heartening for our celebrants, as I said in the last report, to see increases in attendance at most Masses. Our congregations have increased and are stable.

At The Good Shepherd, Nottingham, on Saturdays anticipating the Sunday Mass (4.45 Sat before 2nd Sunday of the month), the two Masses at Our Lady and St Patrick, Nottingham (2pm 3rd and 4th Sundays), we are now able to sing the chant. Our Cathedral (Low) Mass continues also at 6.15pm on 3rd Wednesdays. We shall lose some of our students with the close of the academic year. I hope their successors will quickly become interested in our Masses too.

Another reminder: that as usual, because of holidays and other absences, there will be no Masses throughout August. Masses resume at all venues in September.

Nottingham South (Leicestershire and Rutland) - Paul Beardsmore

In addition to the scheduled cycle of Masses Canon Cahill, at St Peter's in Leicester, offered a Low Mass on the feast of the Sacred Heart, and Sung Masses for the Ascension and Corpus Christi; the scheduled Mass on the feast of SS Peter and Paul was also sung.

Sunday and weekday Masses continue in the Dominican Rite at Holy Cross Priory. There was also a Sung Nuptial Mass on 2 May for the wedding of Annie van Kroonenburg and Edmund Waddelove.

Fr Dye continues to offer Mass at St Joseph's, Oakham, on Friday evenings.

Plymouth (Devon) - Maurice Quinn 07555 536579 devon@lms.org.uk

I am pleased to report that there have been no changes to the weekly Sunday 11.30am Latin Mass at St Edward the Confessor in Peverell, Plymouth, where Fr Tony Pillari still has full pastoral care of the congregation. This latter was shown recently when the congregation was treated to another Baptism, this time the daughter of the MC, Matthew Villa Real and his wife Theresa. Baby Mary-Grace Margaret takes her rightful place in a largely young congregation where the children almost outnumber the adults. Mr Andrew Proctor, who provides the music every Sunday, is still looking for more choir members, so if any reader is able to offer some help it would be much appreciated - just have a word with Andrew either before or after Holy Mass, or contact me for more details.

Our monthly Sunday afternoon Traditional Rite Mass at Blessed Sacrament, Heavitree, Exeter, continued as usual with Mgr Adrian Toffolo, along with Fr Peter Coxe taking turns to celebrate. Unfortunately, we lose Mgr Toffolo due to his impending retirement, and as such he celebrated his last Latin Mass for us on the Third Sunday of June - we heartily thank the Monsignor and wish him well for the future. It has been noticed that there are many new faces among the congregation, and that, overall, numbers are increasing at this venue, including students of the university. Due to increased interest in the Old Latin Rite among the latter, Fr Michael Wheaton, the Roman Catholic chaplain, celebrates the usus antiquior for them during term time. For more details on this, prospective students may contact Fr Michael via email on the following: m.t.wheaton@exeter.ac.uk

At St Cyprian’s, Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh, I am pleased to report that Fr Guy de Gaynesford still manages to celebrate a Missa Cantata for us in the afternoon of the fourth Sunday of every month. We were pleased to have Dr Andrew Beards in the choir, along with Timothy Tindal-Robertson and Michael Crawford, with Dr Andrew’s son, Jerome, serving on the sanctuary while at home from university during the summer break. Although we had to cancel Mass at this venue during May, things are back to normal for the rest of the year. During the Summer months tea is available after Mass in the Orangery, where visitors can meet and greet some of the regulars.

We had our last Latin Mass at Buckfast Abbey during March with Fr Guy de Gaynesford as celebrant, and since then I have been contacted by people from around the country wanting to know if there is a chance that this can be resumed in order that they may plan a visit to coincide with a Latin Mass. As disappointing as this is, I can now confirm that this particular facility is no longer open to us, but we thank the Benedictine Community of Buckfast for helping us in the past. I might just add that as the pastoral need in the diocese for the usus antiquior is growing, I am still looking for more venues to help alleviate this, and I hope to have more good news on this in the near future.

Plymouth (Dorset) - Maurice Quinn 07555 536579 devon@lms.org.uk

I am very pleased to report that in response to a number of requests for a Latin Mass to be celebrated at Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs and St Ignatius in Chideock to honour the Chideock Martyrs, I have managed to obtain permission from the Trustees of this beautiful and historic church to go ahead. The date has been fixed for Saturday, 28 September with Fr Anthony Pillari of Lanherne as celebrant, and the event promises to be well worth putting in the diary. If this is as successful as I think it will be, we will be looking at including something similar at Chideock each year if possible. A full programme has now been worked out, which includes a Missa Cantata and veneration of the relics, full details of which can be found elsewhere in this issue of Mass of Ages and on the LMS website. Thanks to the Arundell and Weld families, the faith survived in Chideock throughout penal times, and continues to this day (full information/ artefacts can be viewed on the day in the museum attached to the church). Although well-advertised by the LMS, do contact me if you have any questions.

At Our Lady of Lourdes and St Cecilia in Blandford Forum, the12 noon Latin Mass continues to be celebrated by Mgr Francis Jamieson with his regular server, Colin Harte. Please remember that Mgr Francis at Blandford celebrates the usus antiquior in alternate months with Fr Martin Budge at St Mary’s Marnhull (usually on weekdays and always at 12 noon), so always check the Mass Listings before travelling to either of these venues. Take note also that at both these venues, there is a free social lunch after Mass in the church rooms to which those attending – both regulars and visitors – are invited. If you have any questions regarding any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Portsmouth (Bournemouth) - Tim Fawkes t.fawkes136@btinternet.com

Regular first Friday Low Masses have continued at the Bournemouth Oratory and there were additional Low Masses on 4 May (English and Welsh Martyrs) and on 29 May (Vigil of the Ascension).

On Saturday, 22 June two parishioners, Stephanie Hogan and Andrew McDowell were married at a Nuptial High Mass by Fr Stephen Brown. Fr Dominic Jacob was Deacon and Fr Michael Brown was Sub-Deacon. The Marian Friars of Gosport sang beautifully at the first High Mass in the Bournemouth area since the liturgical changes, to the best of my knowledge.

The next High Mass took place a week later on 29 June, the feast of SS Peter and Paul. After being ordained priest as recently as 8 June by Bishop Robert Byrne of Hexham and Newcastle diocese, Fr Andrew Wagstaff of the Bournemouth Oratory was celebrant, assisted by Fr Tim Finigan as Deacon and Brother Francisco Hintikka as Sub-Deacon. Again, a wonderful occasion for those present and surely a reason to give thanks in that a new priest is keen to offer the Traditional Latin Mass.

Portsmouth (Isle of Wight) - Peter Clarke 01983 566740 or 07790892592

E. F. Masses continue on the Isle of Wight. Usually they are weekly on a Thursday at 12 noon; with Exposition and Confessions from 11-30am. The Masses are offered mainly by Fr Jonathan Redvers Harris (Ordinariate and parish priest of Cowes and East Cowes). The venues vary from St Thomas’s, Cowes, St David’s, East Cowes and St Mary’s, Ryde.

We were pleased to have a small Corpus Christi Procession once again at St Mary’s, Ryde. In his sermon at the Corpus Christi Mass, Fr Jonathan Redvers Harris reminded the congregation of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. “Calvary marked the bloodied sacrifice of Christ. The Mass is the unbloodied Sacrifice of Christ. We are conscious, especially on this great feast, of the reassuring presence of Christ in all the tabernacles in the Catholic churches of the world”.

Please ring for confirmation of these Masses if you are coming from the mainland.

Shrewsbury (Chester) - Andrew Nielsen

Traditional Sung Masses were celebrated at St Clare's for Easter Sunday, Fourth Sunday after Easter and Trinity Sunday. Easter Sunday Mass was delayed as Canon Montjean had to come straight from the celebration of Easter Sunday High Mass at New Brighton. It is the norm that priests celebrating Mass at Chester will either celebrate or assist at Mass at another church on the same day. There is a loyal core of regular congregants but numbers are still low, more would be welcome.

Shrewsbury (The Wirral) - Stefano Mazzeo 0151 638 6822 wirral@lms.org.uk

At the Shrine church of SS Peter & Paul and St Philomena, or Dome of Home, we continue to make progress with the restoration of this great church. Eight months ago, we received a Development Grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for the team to prepare our application to restore the dome and main sanctuary, which is the most expensive part of the restoration project. NLHF require us to engage the wider community with the church and, of course, this gives us a great excuse to explain Tradition and the Catholic Church to a wider public and it is paying off as our congregation has been rising. We also need to do a certain amount of match funding, and also anyone who helps the Dome and the project in anyway should send in their volunteer hours to the Project Manager Anne Archer at contactus@domeofhome.org. Also, you may wish to join the Friends of the Shrine group.

The recent Latin Mass Society pilgrimage to Holywell in honour of St Winefride was a great success and much thanks is due to our Wrexham LMS Rep, Kevin Jones, for all his hard work and organisation. It was celebrated this year by Fr Gribbin from the shrine. It was wonderful to see so many young families attend with about a quarter of the congregation being 18 or under.

The priests at the Dome have been offering 30 Consecutive Masses for Catholic Education, as the government has decided to implement the new Relationship and Sex Education in all schools from September 2020, despite the consultation being against it. Perhaps this initiative could be encouraged at other Catholic Churches, where reason has failed the supernatural will not.

The Masses at Birkenhead Carmel continue at 7:45am on Thursdays. During July, the Carmel had a resident priest who offered a daily Latin Mass for the sisters.

For more information on the Dome and our projects please contact Canon Montjean or Canon Poucin and Fr Gribbin on 0151 638 6822, email: newbrighton@icrsp.org

Southwark (Kent) - Marygold Turner 01580 291372

Not much to report, but we have Masses on the Feasts of the Ascension and Corpus Christi at Headcorn, and the rest of the holy days of obligation are all arranged. Great news that Fr Richard Whinder will be well enough to celebrate Mass on the Feast of All Saints for us.

I went to “The Sound of Music” recently at Canon Hudson’s hugely successful International School in Brussels. It was very professionally produced, sung, and acted - rather warm at 35°C. Monsignor Coulon came to stay with me in mid-July, and he celebrated Mass in Maidstone. What a hero he has been for our beloved Holy Mass.

Southwark (St. Bede's, Clapham Park) - Thomas Windsor

This quarter began with Holy Week and we would like to thank Fr Andrew Southwell for coming to celebrate the Liturgy during one of the busier weeks of the year. On Palm Sunday we had our usual Sung Mass and procession, with the choir singing the wonderful setting by Victoria of the Passion, and the Issac setting of the Communion. This year we also had Sung Masses on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week. Our choir once again provided some wonderful polyphony and chant for the Mass and procession of Maundy Thursday, and on Good Friday we once again had Victoria’s setting of the Passion. Our Easter began with our Vigil Mass, with the lighting of the new fire, Exsultet, all the Prophecies, blessing of the Font, with the choir singing the beautiful setting of the Sicut Cervus by Palestrina. It was especially good to see so many of our boys serving, and the church so full of young families for these long services over Holy Week. With the Vigil over our excellent serving team and choir could not yet have a well-deserved break, with Easter Sunday Mass and Vespers and another Sung Mass on Easter Monday.

Once again, we celebrated Vespers on all the Sundays of Easter, with goodly numbers of singers and servers returning to St Bede’s after their Sunday lunch.

Our choir and servers gave up their Bank Holiday to sing Mass on 6 May, and 27, the Feast of St Bede. A few days later we had another Sung Mass for the Feast of the Ascension. Serves and choir once again gave up their Saturday morning to celebrate the Vigil of Pentecost, Sung Masses followed for the Feasts of Corpus Christi, the Sacred Heart, and SS Peter and Paul.

We have continued singing Mass on Saturdays as well as Sunday. The Guild of St Clare, with Servers and children choir practice, has continued on the 3rd Saturday of the Month. We have also been running Catechism classes fortnightly on Sundays after Mass for the large numbers of children, over 50 at the last count. Our special Sundays with polyphonic Mass followed by shared lunch, talk for adults, activities for children ending with Benediction continue monthly.

We have had some difficulty finding priests to celebrate our week day Masses, so do check the parish website for last minute changes, and if you know of any priests available to celebrate Masses at St Bede’s do get in touch.

Southwark (Thanet) - Antonia Robinson thanet@lms.org.uk

Much has changed in Thanet over the past few months. As many readers will be aware, Fr Timothy Finigan, Parish Priest of St Austin and St Gregory, Margate offered his resignation due to ill health at the beginning of 2019. Notable for his astute sermons, superb pastoral abilities, liturgical exactitude and great piety, Fr Finigan was an exemplary and much-loved priest who is greatly missed. Our prayers and good wishes for his convalescence follow him. Sadly, the Traditional Latin Mass will no longer be celebrated in Margate and while many parishioners have turned to the Shrine Church at St Augustine in Ramsgate for spiritual solace, for some this is neither practical nor possible and a good number of faithful families and individuals attached to the Extraordinary Form have been left without provision.

Ramsgate too has seen enormous changes, but here, at least, there is more positive news. Fr Marcus Holden the previous Parish Priest of Ramsgate and Fr Christopher Basden, Parish Priest of St Bede’s, Clapham Park arranged a ‘parish swap’ and Fr Basden was inducted as Parish Priest of Ramsgate in April. We are very grateful to Fr Simon Heans, Administrator of the beautifully restored Shrine of St Augustine & National Pugin Centre, who kept the Sunday Missa Cantata at St Augustine’s going during the three-month interregnum. Readers unfamiliar with the wonderful Fr Basden need only know that he is a long-term friend of Tradition and is a sound and holy priest as well as a real dynamo. We are delighted to welcome him to Thanet and excited to see his plans unfold. When I asked him if there was anything he would like added to the report in Mass of Ages , he replied with the following:

“We had Fr Gabriel Diaz Patri who came from St Bede’s in Clapham Park and did the entire Holy Week at the Shrine. Every week we have a Missa Cantata but need some help with singers! This summer we have had a brief visit from Dom Benedict Andersen OSB from Silverstream and we look forward to the visit of Fr Andrew Southwell from Rome with the young people attending the LMS Summer School. We hope to welcome the newly ordained Fr Rupert Bevan to offer a first Mass, as his family has been involved here with music in the past. We were not badly represented at the Chartres pilgrimage - our former PP walked the entire way while our present PP attended in a geriatric capacity! We very much miss our great supporter Fr Tim Finigan who has retired through ill health from Margate and rejoice at his recovery of health. We have a few good servers and an excellent 17-year-old MC - Hugo Robinson - who was well able to negotiate the intricacies of the Triduum! We will miss Jamie Wheadon (pray for his vocation!) and John from Tonga, both of whom have been a great support to the altar staff but have now graduated from the University of Kent in Canterbury. There is much to do but we hope to build up the Tradition in Thanet and commend ourselves to Our Lady Conquerer of Heresies!”

So, despite a bumpy start to 2019, things in Thanet are definitely looking rosier, at least in Ramsgate. The Wednesday morning Low Mass continues at St Ethelbert’s, Ramsgate and the main Sunday Mass at the Shrine of St Augustine is a Missa Cantata with sung Vespers and Benediction every first Sunday afternoon.

Westminster (Spanish Place) - Roger Wemyss Brooks wemyssbrooks@outlook.com spanishplace@lms.org.uk

Attendance at Sunday Masses continues consistently high. On feast days the size of congregation is inevitably less due, to some extent, to competing Masses elsewhere.

Fr Michael Cullinan continues to provide us with devoutly celebrated Masses and clear and instructive homilies. He was also very helpful with the ceremonies of Holy Week at Moorfields. On occasions when Fr Michael’s duties at Maryvale prevent him, we have had Masses offered by Fr Mark Elliott Smith, now resident in the Rectory at Spanish Place. Fr Joe Hamilton from Oxford has also been a welcome visitor.

On Sunday, 7 July we had the great joy of Fr Rosario Joseph Mary offering one of his first London Masses and give First Blessings. He was ordained priest in the Traditional Rite at Portsmouth Cathedral on Friday 5 July (for more on this see pages 5, 8 and 9) . He is the second son of Mary Ebank a regular member of our congregation.

A recent servers’ training day was very well attended – we shall soon benefit from having some new recruits. The next training day will be in September.

The May Procession of Our Lady of Willesden

Westminster (Willesden) - Anna Grayson-Morley willesden@lms.org.uk 07710 472295

The parish’s annual May Procession of Our Lady of Willesden saw a large turnout, followed by Benediction and culminating with Mass in the EF. We usually have a good turnout for the Latin Mass on this day, but this year it was the largest so far, with over 70 attendees with standing room only.

This May we were honoured and very pleased to have Fr John Scott, Westminster Cathedral Chaplain, celebrate the Latin Mass on one of our regular 5:30 pm Sunday Masses, when Fr Stephen was away on holiday. Fr John’s schedule does not allow for much travel, so we were especially grateful to him for making the effort for us.

Fr George Roth from the Franciscan Community in Gosport holds Days of Recollection here roughly every 6 to 8 weeks, beginning with Mass in the EF at 10am. If you are interested in attending one of these days, please contact me for further information.

Wrexham - Kevin Jones 07803 248170 wrexham@lms.org.uk

Bar one, all regular Masses took place as scheduled in the past quarter. There have been some pleasing attendances at the first Saturday Masses at Our Lady of the Rosary, Buckley, with the other two Masses at St Francis of Assisi, Llay and St Winefride’s, Holywell attracting roughly the same numbers on average.

What is pleasing is that some new faces have appeared at all three venues.

Regretfully, we had to cancel the April (Low Sunday) Mass at Holywell due to no priest being available. Regular celebrant, Canon Doyle was supplying in Mold and in addition to his own parochial duties at Buckley, he simply did not have the capacity to get to Holywell.

In May, Canon made a diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes and I was fortunate to be able to call upon the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP) at New Brighton and we appreciated Canon Poucin de Wouilt’s attendance.

With the ICKSP having an increasing Sunday commitment (as was the case in April), they will not always be available to assist. The prognostication could be reasonably formed that as time presses on and given the current crisis in priestly numbers in Wrexham Diocese, arranging cover will be no less a challenge in the future.