Mass of Ages The quarterly magazine of the Latin Mass Society
Issue 206 – Winter 2020 – FREE
The Joy and Sorrow of the Virgin Mother of God FIUV World-Wide Report on the Traditional Mass Monsignor Frederick Miles remembered Rome and royalty Plus: news, views, online Mass listings and nationwide reports
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Contents
CONTENTS
5 Chairman’s Message – Joseph Shaw on preventing chaos 6 LMS Year Planner – Notable events 7 Liturgical calendar 8 10 12
Obituary – Monsignor Frederick Anthony Miles Listen to the sheep, not just the shepherds Joseph Shaw discusses the FIUV World-Wide Report on the Traditional Mass Letters – Readers have their say
13 The creative impulse To write music is an exercise in humility, as Matthew Schellhorn explains 14 Roman report Alberto Carosa on a sequel to Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ 16 Reports from around the country – What’s happening where you are 23 Happy by the fire Lone Veiler on the irritations of Covid and the happiness of autumn logs and blackberrying
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24 Art and devotion Caroline Farey discusses a magnificent painting of the Blessed Virgin by Hans Memling 26 My house shall be called a house of prayer! Philip Marshall celebrates England’s last Catholic senior boarding school for boys 27 A new beginning Fr Henry Whisenant on the start of a regular Old Rite community at Withermarsh Green on the southern edge of Suffolk 28 Architecture Paul Waddington follows up Fr Whisenant’s article with a special feature on the architecture and history of the church of St Edmund at Withermarsh Green 31 Mass listings 36 38
The blood of the martyrs – seeds of today’s vocations Maurice Quinn with a tale of two young men Rome and royalty For centuries there was a close and obvious connection of the Papacy with Monarchy, as Charles A. Coulombe explains
40 In Defence of the Roman Mass Paul Beardsmore looks at a newly translated book by the late Fr Raymond Dulac 41 Wine Sebastian Morello sings the praises of the eccentrically named, Est! Est!! Est!!! 42 Crossword and Classified advertisements 43 Macklin Street
The Latin Mass Society 11-13 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NH Tel: 020 7404 7284 editor@lms.org.uk Mass of Ages No. 206 Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Barbara by Hans Memling © Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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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.
37 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; Kevin Jones – Secretary; David Forster – Treasurer; Paul Beardsmore – Vice President; Paul Waddington – Vice President; Alisa Kunitz-Dick; Antonia Robinson; Nicholas Ross; Alastair Tocher; Roger Wemyss Brooks. 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.
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OBITUARY
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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
Where will it all end? Joseph Shaw on preventing chaos
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y column in this Today we have a clearer idea of how In these cases, the local Ordinaries issue is illustrated things will end. Recently a priest in the took the issues seriously, for which we as usual with diocese of Detroit in the USA discovered should thank God. We know, however, one of Dom Hubert van that his own baptism had been invalid, that not all bishops would have done so. Zeller’s cartoons. A priest meaning that he was not a priest after The clerical abuse scandal has already is vesting, and handing his all, and all the Masses he had celebrated, indicated that what is happening under maniple back to the server: and all the absolutions he had given in the surface of the institutional Church maniples were not listed as vestments in Confession, were invalid. At the time of can be worse than we are inclined to the reformed liturgical books published writing, Catholic media is alight with imagine. shortly before the cartoon. He makes a the arrest of a priest in the Archdiocese Of course, mandating maniples gesture of despair. Once you get rid of of New Orleans, who had been found once more for the celebration of Mass maniples, he seems to say, is not going to solve all our what next? What will prevent problems. Stronger medicine chaos consuming the Church? is required. What we can Put like that it sounds a say, however, is that the bit silly. But as with the best increasingly widespread jokes, Van Zeller, who was also celebration of the Church’s a profound spiritual writer, ancient liturgy will be part of is saying something absurd, the solution, for the simple and yet somehow true. In reason that it emphasises 1972, when this collection of the very supernatural reality cartoons was published, it which is being forgotten with wasn’t clear where it would such terrible consequences. end. Prophecies of doom To be specific, it reinforces were easy to mock: are liturgical discipline to maniples really so important? preserve the validity of the And yet, people were nervous, sacraments; it treats holy disoriented, disturbed. If things with heightened something as apparently solid respect to ward off sacrilege; as the liturgy could change, and it feeds the spiritual then what could not? Joseph, lives of priests and laity in a Cardinal Ratzinger, before unique way. his election as Pope, noted in Its supporters do not 1997: propose the Extraordinary "I ask myself — where will it all end?" ‘A community is calling Form as an alternative to From Cracks in the Curia or Brother Choleric Rides Again by Brother its very being into question decent seminary formation Choleric (aka Dom Hubert van Zeller), 1972 when it suddenly declares or the prosecution of clerical that what until now was its holiest and recording a pornographic film with two criminals. What we say is what we know, highest possession is strictly forbidden women, on the altar of his church. He is that it supports the growth of all aspects and when it makes the longing for it seem being charged with indecency, because of the Christian life: intellectual and emotional, imaginative and artistic, downright indecent.’1 this was all visible through a window. It is not that liturgical traditionalists These particular examples of the chaos spiritual and moral. Formal education in 1972 were unable to distinguish liturgy consuming the Church demonstrate in an and the enforcement of rules are and doctrine. They simply recognised unexpected way the connection between necessary, but they are not enough; in that the two things are closely entwined, the liturgy, doctrine, and morality. We any case, there is very little most of us as did the radicals who were driving the might like to think of the deacon who can do about them. What we can all do is changes. Between the traditionalists carried out the invalid baptism as a simple- to play our part in the restoration of the and the radicals stood the establishment minded nincompoop, but for the mind- liturgy which will renew the Church’s types who would spend the next half a boggling consequences of his action. The inner life. Venite, adoremus. century fervently pretending that the second story is downright demonic. But liturgy could be changed indefinitely they both speak of a collapse of respect for without any danger that doctrine would the supernatural reality of what happens 1. In his long interview with Peter Seewald, Salt of the Earth: lose its moorings. The Church at the End of the Millennium. in the liturgy.
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NOTABLE EVENTS
LMS Year Planner – Notable Events At the time of going to press the following events are planned. Should another lockdown force churches to close, they might not take place.
Mass of Reparation for Abortion Saturday, 14 November, 12 noon. By kind invitation of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Bedford there will be a Mass offered in reparation for all the abortion carried out. Due to current restrictions, the church has a capacity of 80 people. If you wish to attend, it is important that you contact Barbara Kay, the LMS Representative for Bedford, by email in advance informing her of your name and the number of people from your household attending. The Shrine of the Miraculous Relic Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is housed in the church of Holy Child and St Joseph, 2 Brereton Road, Bedford MK40 1HU. Catholic Medical Association Annual Requiem, Saturday, 14th November at 11:30 am. The CMA will celebrate their Annual Requiem Mass in the Traditional Dominican Rite for the repose of the Souls of deceased CMA members at The Rosary Shrine, St Dominic’s Catholic Church, London NW5 4LB. Confirmations in the Traditional Rite, St James’s, Spanish Place, Saturday, 21 November 11.30am. Bishop John Sherrington (Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster) will confer the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Traditional Rite. This will be followed by Pontifical Benediction.
High Mass for Christmas, Tuesday, 24 December. High Mass of Midnight will be celebrated in St Margaret’s Convent Chapel, Bethell Avenue, Canning Town, London E16 4JU on Christmas Eve at 6pm. Music, by Cantus Magnus, will include the winning piece of the 2020 Schellhorn Prize for Sacred Music Composition. Please note the change of venue this year. The Convent chapel has double the capacity of St Mary Moorfields when social distancing is observed.
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The Mater Dolorosa Blog By Alan Frost A traditionalist, anti-modernist blog, ‘Mater Dolorosa’, has recently been launched by a young man well-known to the LMS for his service on the altar at Solemn High Masses at Holywell, New Brighton and Warrington since his teenage years. In his teens he also attended the LMS Summer Schools, very much supported by his family. Michael Haynes is a traditional Catholic, author and writer, living in the North-West of England. He received his school education using the Seton home-schooling programme from the U.S.A, as well as studying in a boarding school in Pennsylvania run by the American TFP. Growing up serving the Latin Mass, he developed a love for the traditional liturgy and teachings of the Church. For the past five years he has studied philosophy and theology in Ireland, America and back home in England. With an initial focus on Mariology, he self-published a book entitled Mary, the Motherly Co- Redemptrix, with a forward by Bishop Schneider (available on
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lulu.com). Michael has had a long interest in the subject of Mary as CoRedemptrix and was able to develop his academic thesis into the work. A larger work on spirituality is due in the upcoming months as well as future anti-modernist writings. The purpose of the Mater Dolorosa blog is to present the traditional teaching of the Church, as found in the magisterium and in the writings of the saints and mystics and in the Doctors of the Church. Michael argues that “in a time where confusion and error are all too easily found, there is a need for spiritual reflections which are drawn from Tradition, rather than from modernism.” As such the articles seek to present reflections on the texts of the Mass for Sundays and principle feasts. There are and will be also essays that are more apologetic and anti-modernist than spiritual, which highlight and comment on particular crises in the Church and the world at large. Go to www.materdolorosa.co.uk WINTER 2020
LITURGICAL CALENDAR
Liturgical calendar NOVEMBER Sun 15 Mon 16 Tue 17 Wed 18 Thu 19 Fri 20 Sat 21 Sun 22 Mon 23 Tue 24 Wed 25 Thu 26 Fri 27 Sat 28 Sun 29 Mon 30
VI SUNDAY remaining after EPIPHANY II Cl G S GERTRUDE V III Cl W S GREGORY THAUMATURGUS B C III Cl W DEDICATION of the BASILICAS of SS PETER & PAUL lll Cl W S ELIZABETH W III Cl W S FELIX de VALOIS C III CI W PRESENTATION of the BVM III Cl W XXIV & LAST SUNDAY after PENTECOST II Cl G S CLEMENT I P M III Cl R S JOHN of the CROSS C D III Cl W S CATHERINE V M lll Cl R S SILVESTER Ab III Cl W FERIA IV Cl G OUR LADY’S SATURDAY IV Cl W I SUNDAY of ADVENT I Cl V S ANDREW Ap II Cl R
DECEMBER Tue 1 Wed 2 Thu 3 Fri 4 5 Sat Sun 6 Mon 7 Tue 8 Wed 9 Thu 10 Fri 11 Sat 12 Sun 13 Mon 14 Tue 15 Wed 16 Thu 17 Fri 18 Sat 19 Sun 20 Mon 21 Tue 22 Wed 23 Thu 24 Fri 25 Sat 26 Sun 27 Mon 28 Tue 29 Wed 30 Thu 31
FERIA IV Cl V S BIBIANA V M lll Cl R S FRANCIS XAVIER C III Cl W S PETER CHRYSOLOGUS B C D III Cl W FERIA III Cl V II SUNDAY of ADVENT I Cl V S AMBROSE B C D III Cl W IMMACULATE CONCEPTION of the BVM I Cl W FERIA III Cl V FERIA III Cl V S DAMASUS I P C III Cl W FERIA III Cl V III SUNDAY of ADVENT (Gaudate Sunday) I Cl V/ROSE FERIA III Cl V FERIA III Cl V EMBER DAY II Cl V FERIA II Cl V EMBER DAY II Cl V EMBER DAY II Cl V IV SUNDAY of ADVENT I Cl V S THOMAS Ap II Cl R FERIA II Cl V FERIA ll Cl V VIGIL of the NATIVITY of OLJC I Cl V NATIVITY of OLJC I Cl W S STEPHEN Protomartyr II Cl R SUNDAY in the OCTAVE of the NATIVITY II Cl W HOLY INNOCENTS MM II Cl R V DAY in the OCTAVE of the NATIVITY II Cl W VI DAY in the OCTAVE of the NATIVITY II Cl W VII DAY in the OCTAVE of the NATIVITY II Cl W
JANUARY Fri 1 2 Sat Sun 3 Mon 4 5 Tue Wed 6 Thu 7 8 Fri 9 Sat Sun 10 Mon 11 Tue 12 Wed 13 Thu 14 Fri 15
OCTAVE DAY of the NATIVITY of the LORD I Cl W OUR LADY’S SATURDAY IV Cl W MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS II Cl W FERIA IV Cl W FERIA IV Cl W EPIPHANY of the LORD I Cl W FERIA IV Cl W FERIA IV Cl W OUR LADY’S SATURDAY IV Cl W HOLY FAMILY JESUS, MARY, JOSEPH II Cl W FERIA IV Cl W FERIA IV Cl W COMMEM of the BAPTISM of OLJC II Cl W S HILARY B C D III Cl W S PAUL the FIRST HERMIT C III Cl W
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Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
FEBRUARY Mon 1 Tue 2 Wed 3 Thu 4 5 Fri Sat 6 7 Sun Mon 8 9 Tue Wed 10 Thu 11 Fri 12 Sat 13
S MARCELLUS I P M III Cl R II SUNDAY after EPIPHANY II Cl G FERIA IV Cl G FERIA lV Cl G SS FABIAN P & SEBASTIAN MM III Cl R S AGNES V M III Cl R SS VINCENT & ANASTASIUS MM III Cl R S RAYMUND of PENAFORT C III Cl W III SUNDAY after EPIPHANY II Cl G CONVERSION of S PAUL Ap III Cl W S POLYCARP B M III Cl R S JOHN CHRYSOSTOM B C D III Cl W S PETER NOLASCO C III Cl W S FRANCIS de SALES B C D III Cl W S MARTINA V M III Cl R SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY II Cl V
S IGNATIUS B M III Cl R PURIFICATION of the BVM II Cl W FERIA IV Cl G S ANDREW CORSINI B C III Cl W S AGATHA V M III Cl R S TITUS B C III Cl W SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY II Cl V S JOHN of MATHA C III Cl W S CYRIL of ALEXANDRIA B C D III Cl W S SCHOLASTICA V III Cl W APPARITION of the BVM IMMACULATE Ill Cl W SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS of the ORDER of the SERVANTS of the BVM CC III Cl W OUR LADY’S SATURDAY IV Cl W
Please pray for the souls of all members who have died recently Requiescant in Pace Charles Briggs (Priest) Raymond Butcher James Halpin Kathleen Hayes Tom Kenny Edward Martin John Sales Kathleen Spackman 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: Tim McCoy
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OBITUARY
Monsignor Frederick Anthony Miles, Prot. Ap. 13 December 1925 – 6 April 2020
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Catholic priest shows that one of God’s greatest gifts is a sense of humour’ is the subtitle of ‘Milestones’, the memoirs of Monsignor Frederick Anthony Miles, Prot. Ap., published in 2007 when he was 82 years of age. He died aged 95, his longevity the result, in part, of having learnt to enjoy life and all that it brings. Perhaps, when he wrote his memoirs in celebration of 80 years of life, he thought it best that he wrote about himself, the way he wanted his story told, rather than being written about! The back of ‘Milestones’ summarizes Mgr Miles’ life. He ‘… has always maintained that he was “a miserable child”…Whatever misery – real or imagined – he suffered, he lost it by the age of eleven. From then he has been at the centre of a life packed with good humour and laughter. Catholic priest, schoolmaster, Private Secretary to two Cardinals of Westminster and then Rector of a central London parish, the characters he met along the way have been colourful and diverse, the experiences rich with humour’. Mgr Miles is described as a man of devout faith, great wisdom and intelligence and with an indefatigable sense of fun. Nearly seventy of Mgr Miles’ 94 years were lived as a priest of the Diocese of Westminster. He was born in Essex on 13 December 1925 to his parents Patrick and Elizabeth who gave birth to six children, Fred being the fifth. His father was a police officer in the Royal Irish Constabulary. He and his wife left Ireland in 1922 to live in Essex. Fred studied for the priesthood at St Edmund’s College, Ware and was ordained in the college chapel on 16 July 1950 by Cardinal Bernard Griffin. Fred Miles seems to have known about his vocation to the priesthood from the age of nine. He had been influenced by his Parish Priest in Braintree, ‘a saint of a man’, he wrote. When aged 12 he was accepted as an ecclesiastical student by Cardinal Arthur Hinsley, Archbishop ‘
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Mgr Fred Miles of Westminster. Fr Miles’ first Mass was celebrated in his home parish of Braintree. Two weeks later he presided at the wedding of his older brother Paddy to Cynthia. Soon after Fr Miles was sent to Christ’s College, Cambridge where his studies in English and History achieved the award Master of Arts. Life-long friends While at Cambridge he lived at St Edmund’s House with other prieststudents who became life-long friends. He returned to St Edmund’s College to teach English to senior classes and Latin and French to junior classes, from 1953 to 1966. Fr Miles was an enthusiastic rugby player and readily admitted that his two great loves were God, and rugby. He coached the First XV and he also played and coached tennis, and was in the cricket team. He enjoyed the company of colleagues and they enjoyed his ability to mimic others during times of relaxation and merriment. Staff and students held Fr Miles in awe, and he won the respect and affection of all. He treated everyone fairly and he gave of his best and expected others to do the same. Attentive to his teaching responsibilities and as a House Master,
he gave of his best including playing and coaching sport. He trained boys to serve at the altar. Fr Miles’ example of priesthood combining prayer, work and leisure demonstrating commitment and integrity inspired both students and colleagues. He is remembered as being strict but fair. He maintained links with St Edmund’s through service as a Governor from 1984-89 and he served as a Patron of the Edmundian Association. In 1966 Fr Fred was appointed Private Secretary to the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal John Heenan and then to Cardinal Basil Hume. He described both men as ‘hugely inspirational’. He had a particular connection with Cardinal Heenan – both came from Irish stock and shared the same sense of humour. His next appointment was to St James’, Spanish Place as Rector from 1977 to 1998. These 21 years were the happiest years of his life, he told friends. His rapport with parishioners brought Fr Miles much satisfaction, and the parishioners’ lives were enriched by Fr Fred’s ministry. In 1969 he was appointed Chaplain to His holiness with the title Monsignor, and appointed Protonotary Apostolic in 2002. Thanksgiving When he retired from Spanish Place at the age of 73, due to failing eyesight, Mgr Miles went to live at St Peter’s Residence in Vauxhall, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. He continued as a member of the Metropolitan Chapter of Westminster, as Provost. Despite issues with his eyesight he struggled on, chairing meetings of the Chapter and encouraging the other Canons, never complaining about his condition or looking for sympathy. He stood down from this role at the age of 75. While at St Peter’s he celebrated 65 years of priesthood with a Mass of Thanksgiving in the relatively small chapel with the Sisters and a representation of residents, family, friends and former parishioners,
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OBITUARY with Cardinal Vincent presiding on 16 July 2015 just five months before Miles’ ninetieth birthday. In his homily the Cardinal remarked that only one event was more important in the history of the Residence – the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in 2010! Mgr Miles was popular among the residents, and he continued to have visits from family, friends and former parishioners, who were happy to assist him with needs due to macular
Gordon Dimon offers his own memories of this great priest I first met Monsignor Frederick Miles when I was a music student and organist at St Aloysius Church Somers Town. Cardinal Heenan came to celebrate Mass and Monsignor, at that time his secretary, came with him. It was intended that at the end we would sing the Te Deum. However I was unsure whether the PP, Fr Welland, had spoken to the Cardinal about
‘I have been hugely blessed in the inspirational people I have met along the way…I cannot imagine living any other sort of life but that of a priest and I thank God for the gift of faith and of life…’ degeneration and failing mobility. Mgr Miles’ kindness and appreciation for other people earned him the respect of all. He saw the good in people and situations, and maintained his dignity as the years advanced. He was always well turned out, dressing impeccably whether in a suit, cassock or casual attire. In 2014 Mgr Miles wrote for the magazine produced by the Little Sisters of the Poor with a brief summary of his life. ‘…there has never been a moment when I doubted the decision and choice I made at the age of nine. I have been hugely blessed in the inspirational people I have met along the way…I cannot imagine living any other sort of life but that of a priest and I thank God for the gift of faith and of life.’ Mgr Miles died peacefully at home in St Peter’s Residence on 6 April 2020. His graveside funeral took place on 28 April at St Mary’s Cemetery, Kensal Green with Bishop Nicholas Hudson presiding.
Mgr Martin Hayes (Reproduced with permission)
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this and so I spoke to Monsignor who sorted everything out. Later when Basil Hume became Archbishop of Westminster, Mrs Sue Coote, the then Secretary of the LMS, approached him about the possible provision of a Sunday Old Rite Mass in the diocese. The Cardinal agreed and decided that it should be at St James’ Spanish Place where Monsignor had recently become Rector. He was to be the celebrant and Sue suggested I should become the regular server. On the first Sunday that I was to serve, the sacristan had very kindly set everything out on the altar, including the missal open on its stand. I had fixed, not to say even intransigent, views about ceremonies and customs and mentioned to Monsignor somewhat nervously that it would be better for the server to take the missal in at the beginning of the Mass. Monsignor simply replied ‘as you wish’. When the Mass was over he asked if I had noticed any mistakes he might have made. He often asked
me this. It was very important that everything was correct. If I mentioned a mistake on my own part he said not to be so hard on myself. Tabernacle veil On one occasion after Mass he mentioned that though the church had a set of the special rose-coloured vestments, worn only on two Sundays in the year, it lacked a suitable rose coloured tabernacle veil and fall for the benediction throne. I said airily that I did not imagine it would be a difficult task to make them and he agreed. But what a mistake. He then suggested that I might like to try and see if I could do it myself. I had no idea on how to use my mother’s old sewing machine so I had to find needle and thread and just get started. But Monsignor was pleased with the results and they are still in use. On another occasion he asked me why at a Sunday Low Mass the congregation stood for the Creed but the server knelt. I explained that this was a permitted custom but contrary to the rubrics and thus not extended to the server. In my enthusiasm I waxed eloquent about similar other customs which he found very amusing. When he celebrated his last Tridentine High Mass at Spanish Place on the feast of the Holy Name of Mary in 1998 the LMS presented him with cheque for £900. A few days later he sent me a letter saying he was overwhelmed by the LMS members’ generosity and asked me to thank them. In Monsignor’s joyous little book Milestones he mentions his delight in the language of Chaucer who had very little time for most of the clergy of his day but says this of the Poor Priest. There is nowhere a better priest, I trow. He had no thirst for pomp or reverence, But Christ’s own lore and his apostles’ twelve He taught, but first he followed it himself. Monsignor was to me simply the finest priest I have ever met in my life. Laus Deo semper.
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COMMENT
Listen to the sheep, not just the shepherds Joseph Shaw discusses the FIUV World-Wide Report on the Traditional Mass
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usual events by the Covid-19 epidemic coordinating a systematic survey of the Federation’s members and other contacts. The result was a 577-page report covering 368 dioceses in 56 countries. It is more a work of reference than a bed-side book: the idea is that in as many cases as possible officials will be able to supplement what they have read about a country or diocese from bishops’ reports, with the relevant section from the FIUV report. What did it say? I have included a lot of material about the report in Gregorius Magnus 10, the latest edition of the FIUV’s in-house magazine, and I recommend interested readers to download the pdf, which is free: you’ll find in on the FIUV website, www.fiuv. org/. It can also be downloaded on the ISSU website and mobile-device app (Mass of Ages is there too), and it is free in either format. Rather than repeat that material here, I shall approach the matter in a slightly different way. The reports from around the world give us glimpses of
what things are like at different stages of the development of the provision of the Traditional Mass: many are stages we have lived through in England. In some countries, Summorum Pontificum has simply not landed yet. This is the case where the clergy are not well-enough informed, and the laity are not well-enough organised to press the issue. In many dioceses, and even whole countries, of Africa and Asia, there are simply no public celebrations of the EF. In many others it is sustained in a very fragile manner by one or two priests who, because of their age or attachment to an international order, know how to do it. The second stage is where it is accepted, though it may have only a tenuous grip, or the authorities may exhibit a degree of reluctance. In one diocese in the USA, I was told: ‘Each and every time a new bishop is installed, we must educate him as to our rights. Each and every time, the vicar general of the diocese has smeared the two TLM groups with the desired effect.
© Joseph Shaw
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ack in 1980, the Australian Cardinal, James Knox, was given the task of assessing the demand for the Traditional Mass around the world. He set about asking bishops for this information, but warned them not to ‘disturb people with questions’: in other words, he didn’t actually want them to find out the information he was supposedly gathering. Quite what he came up with in the end I do not know, but the Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce (FIUV), under the legendary President, Eric de Sanvanthem, set to work to make sure that the Holy See was as well informed as possible. A professional polling firm was engaged in Germany to ask Catholics if they would like to attend the Latin Mass, and in England the Latin Mass Society put adverts in newspapers asking people to write in if they wanted it. With these and other materials in hand, the Federation was able to make the case for the persistence of demand for the ancient Mass. Eventually, the Holy See responded to this demand, with the first world-wide permission for the Extraordinary Form, the 1984 Indult, Quattuor Abhinc Annos. In April this year it again came to the Federation’s attention that the Holy See was seeking information and views from bishops around the world on the Extraordinary Form. After thirteen years of Summorum Pontificum, it is natural to ask how things have been going. Once again, the Federation has sprung into action to ensure it will not only be the voice of the bishops which is heard in Rome. If you want to know the answer to the question, ‘does it [the EF in your diocese] respond to a true pastoral need?’, then it might seem helpful to know what the sheep think, and not just the opinion of the shepherds. As Secretary of the FIUV, it fell to me to devote a summer stripped of its
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REVIEW
Keen to learn: The training of Altar servers in St James’, Spanish Place, in London, in March 2020. Training was organised by the Society of St Tarcisius, a sodality of Altar Servers affiliated with the Latin Mass Society.
The bishop comes in and soon wants to shut down the TLM. Fortunately, our priest is also a canon lawyer and has instructed them that it cannot be legally done.’ Episcopal hostility, or more often mere indifference, often blights the growth of stable communities attached to the EF, as priests who have initiated regular celebrations are rotated around their dioceses. This is a perennial problem when the EF is celebrated by diocesan clergy, and will continue to be a problem until the number of such clergy able to celebrate it rises to a sufficiently high proportion of the total. Even when this happens, pressures of parish life can make it difficult for the EF to have the space it needs to flourish. In one diocese, again in the USA, 10 percent of the diocesan clergy are able to celebrate the EF, but the priestly institutions are not present in the diocese, and there is only one official EF Chaplaincy. The result is that despite the favour shown to the EF, many of these priests only celebrate it publicly a few times a year, and most Sunday EF Masses are celebrated in the graveyard, afternoon slot. The final stage, therefore, is where stability is achieved, when churches,
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parishes, or individual priests are given a special commission for the EF, whether exclusively or alongside the Ordinary Form. This might be formalised as a personal parish or chaplaincy, an apostolate of one of the traditional priestly institutes, or it may naturally result from an Oratory or religious community where the EF has become established. At this point it becomes practical for people to take the existence of the EF in a particular location into consideration when moving house, something we have seen in this country to some extent, and the community can really put down roots. Those large families famously associated with the Traditional Mass start supplying altar servers, and then vocations and new families. One can expect to wait at least thirty years between creating an environment attractive to young couples, and the children of those couples themselves becoming priests or parents. One can, however, see much faster results from the EF because it attracts people at all stages of life. Families adopt it with children at various ages, and above all, ‘young persons’, as Pope Benedict wrote, ‘have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of
the Most Holy Eucharist, particularly suited to them’. It is clear from the report, what I have also seen first-hand, that many young people find their way to the Traditional Mass as part of a process of coming to take the Faith more seriously, perhaps after a period of lapsation, and during their discernment of their future state of life. Sometimes they have discovered it online despite living in places where it is completely unavailable, and young people are often at the forefront of requesting and organising the EF. The result is that, surprising as it may seem, EF congregations can start producing vocations and new families even before there is a stably organised EF celebration. Is this the Traditional Mass producing the vocations, or the young people with vocations demanding the Traditional Mass? It is both. The EF is attractive to these young people because it offers a spiritually stabilising and nourishing environment in which their discernment can take place fruitfully. It is to be hoped that this will be widely appreciated in the Holy See, and elsewhere, as discussion of the future of the Extraordinary Form continues.
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LETTERS
Letters to the Editor Art appreciation
Well done, Lone Veiler
I always look forward to receiving my copy of Mass of Ages. You have excelled yourselves in producing issue 205, autumn 2020. Brilliant articles, and I am especially taken with the twopage Art and Devotion written by Dr Caroline Farey. Such depth in the subject is joyous to behold, so please commission more articles from her pen!
I felt I had to contact you to say how much I agreed with Lone Veiler’s autumn article. She cheered me up no end amidst the gloom of this whole Covid business – I completely agree with her point that walking the dog is a great ‘get out of jail card’ as she amusingly puts it. But, like Lone Veiler, I too find that streamed Masses are no substitute for the real thing and I share her hope that we will soon be able to return to church. I have sorely missed it.ng long after most of the other stonemasons had gone home.
Francis Osborn and family Via email
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…and understanding Caroline Farey writes beautifully about sacred art and I particularly enjoyed her article in your autumn issue. Today many of us go to look at paintings and other works of art, but having lost touch with the ancient traditions of the Catholic Church we often look while not seeing. We have lost the ability to ‘read’ works of art - I remember the look of wonder on a young woman’s face when an art expert at the National Gallery pointed out the subtle hints and symbols in Caravaggio’s The Supper at Emmaus – few today would spot the small shadow on the table in the shape Learning to see.. of a fish’s tale (the fish of course a Christian symbol) or the skill with which the shadow over Jesus’ head looks like a naturalistic shadow but is somehow also very obviously a halo. And in other pictures we see the passion flower, or the pomegranate - both symbols of Christ’s passion – and many other symbols that would have sent a clear message to most observers in earlier centuries. Caroline Farey’s articles will certainly help me continue to read the Christian message in these ancient works of art. Oliver O’Halloran Via email
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Duncan Haynes Via email .....
Staunch Catholics Your article on Lyveden New Bield (autumn 2020) reminded me of many other interesting Catholic buildings, not least the Chapel at Stonor near Henley on Thames. So far as I know, this chapel is one of only two or three chapels in England that have always been Catholic. Originally founded in the 13th Century, the chapel is part of the Stonor Estate and the Stonors themselves have been staunch Catholics through thick and thin. As the journalist and author Simon Jenkins puts it: ‘Stonors have lived at this spot for eight and a half centuries defying Reformation and Revolution. Mass has always been celebrated in the place…’ Like Lyveden, Stonor also has associations with St Edmund Campion – the priest hole where he was forced to hide can still be seen. Mass is celebrated every Sunday, but sadly not the Old Rite. Patricia Johns, 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
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MUSIC
The creative impulse To write music is an exercise in humility, as Matthew Schellhorn explains
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arlier this year, in July, the musical world lost one of its brightest composers – Ennio Morricone (1928–2020) – and this sad event has led me to reflect on what might lie, in spiritual terms, behind the impetus to create music for others to hear and to perform. With soundtracks ranging from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) to The Mission (1986), Morricone’s musical voice both communicated to the world the important universal appeal of art music and also inspired many composers to engage with modern audiences. But notably, Morricone avoided writing a Mass until towards the end of his life, having previously said he did not “feel the need” to approach the genre. In fact, the issue might well have been the unfortunate turn taken by composers in response to the supposed needs of liturgical reform in the mid-twentieth century: “Today, the Church has made a big mistake, turning the clock back 500 years with guitars and popular songs. I don’t like it at all.” In noting the trajectory of Morricone’s creative life, I would contribute that there are three main aspects to a composer’s work. First, the composer creates because he can. Following experience as a performer or at least as an audience, often allied with formal study over many years, a musician will write down inner thoughts. To be a musician is to some extent to be a composer, but in making a record of the creative impulse fresh ideas will simultaneously be put to the test. A composer will, as Robert Schumann (1810-1856) said, “remember a tune that nobody else has thought of ”. In this, my belief is that a composer participates, albeit with human limitations, in the very properties of a creative Father as first mentioned in Sacred Scripture: “In the beginning God created…” (Genesis 1: 1).
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The late Ennio Morricone
To affect the soul The composer is, secondly, always at the service of others – the audience, the performer, the student. Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) wrote that “the end of all good music is to affect the soul”. The composer knows that he must reach out to the listener, to achieve some effect, to “move” others. To write music is, again with human limitations, an oblation. It is a self-offering, a sacrifice, and that is why it is – as so many composer colleagues have told me – an exercise in humility. Having not only oneself but also the listener in mind involves the cardinal virtue of Temperance: the creative impulse submits to the presumed or actual preferences of others – “submitting to one's superior” in the words of St Thomas Aquinas. The composer, again in the words of St Thomas, keeps “within one’s own bounds”. By willingly constraining his own abilities, I believe he moves closer to an understanding of the Son, the Word who was made flesh (John 1: 15) and was obedient unto death (Philippians 2:8). To inspire A composer, thirdly, writes to inspire. A new creative work inspires the audience, the performer, the student to further acts of creativity. Music becomes the interface between the disparate intentions of so
many individual impulses and intentions. A creative impulse that began in one place is mediated to another: it speaks “with divers tongues” but we hear within “our own tongue wherein we were born” (cf. Acts 2). In offering these brief reflections, it is my deepest hope that the Church will offer every opportunity to composers to explore their unique creative gifts and their particular ways of more closely knowing God. By “turning back the clock” again, to use Morricone’s phrase, fostering of the arts can inspire future generations. Certainly, the composition prize I have set up and support, whereby young composers can have a new work performed in the Sacred Liturgy – this year on Christmas Eve at St Mary Moorfields – gives an incentive to put aside distractions, particularly at this difficult time for musicians, and focus on the special facets of a composer’s vocation. Please share the news of this opportunity, which can be found at www.cantusmagnus.com, and which is fortunate to benefit from the support of the Latin Mass Society.
Matthew Schellhorn is the Latin Mass Society’s Director of Music for London. He has had a deep love of Sacred Music since his childhood and continues to campaign for the raising of musical standards in the life of the Catholic Church. He can be contacted at dirmusic@lms.org.uk.
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ROMAN REPORT
The Passion of the Christ may well have helped pave the way for the promulgation of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum
The Silver Screen A sequel to Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, is planned, but the success of the original film should be seen in light of the grace granted by the Traditional Latin Mass, as Alberto Carosa explains
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mid the recent announcement that a sequel to Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ is due to be released sometime in 2022, some have recalled the spiritual assistance which took place behind the shooting of the Gibson’s original film. The obituary of the French born Fr Jean-Marie-Charles-Roux, which appeared in the Messa in Latino Italian portal in August this year, described how he worked as chaplain to the film crew during the shooting of The Passion of the Christ in 2004, while another report in the National Catholic Register (on September 24) said that: “Priests of the Legionaries of Christ provided spiritual support to Gibson and his crew when in Rome and on set.” To be more specific, the main aspect of this spiritual assistance was the daily celebration of the Old Latin Rite
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throughout the shooting of the film, which took place in two main locations, the Cinecittà studios in Rome and the city of Matera in Southern Italy. Thanks to my direct experience in this matter, I can throw some light on one aspect of life behind the scenes during the shooting of the film, whose spiritual relevance, dimension and implications cannot be overestimated. It all started when I received a phone call from Mel Gibson in the early autumn of 2002, a couple of days after I had received an email from his assistant asking for help. During our lengthy and pleasant conversation, he explained that he needed to find a priest willing to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass daily on the set throughout the shooting of his film, including during an extended stay in Matera.
This request was being made not only for him, but on behalf of others involved in the production of the film, first and foremost the actor who played Jesus, James Caviezel (whom, to my delight, I found to be among the devout traditionalminded faithful). My response to Gibson was that finding a priest to say the Tridentine Mass on the set in the Cinecittà studios in Rome would not be all that difficult; the problem was finding someone in Matera. We decided we needed a retired priest without regular parish commitments and one willing to move to Matera for at least a couple of months. The solution came through Msg Gilles Wach, Prior General of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a well-known traditional Latin Rite congregation of pontifical right based in Gricigliano (near Florence). He agreed to ask one of his priests, Abbé (in
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ROMAN REPORT the French sense of father, not abbot) Michel Debourges, who accepted to serve as chaplain in Matera. This solution could not have been more fitting, considering that Abbé Michel Debourges had worked for many years in theatre (notably with Jean Vilar), cinema, and television before discovering, albeit belatedly, his priestly vocation. Msg Wach reached him at his home in Montpellier, inviting him to fly to Rome and then be driven by limousine to Matera. But the late Father Debourges was just one of the priests associated with Mel Gibson’s project and specifically one of the three traditional priests involved in the offering of a daily Tridentine Mass for the film. Incidentally, I had to deal with each of them, because I was also asked to arrange a suitable venue for the Sunday Mass in Rome, since the Cinecittà studios would be closed. The other two priests who served during the Rome shooting of the film were the late British-born Canadian Fr Stephen Somerville and the above-mentioned French-born Fr Jean-Marie Charles-Roux. Born in London to devoutly Catholic parents, Fr Somerville moved to Canada when he was two, attending seminary school at the Grand Séminaire of Quebec in 1952. He served in parishes across southern Ontario and studied theology in Rome. A former member of the advisory board of the International Commission on English Liturgy, Fr Somerville retired as a priest of the Archdiocese of Toronto in 2002 (partly in protest at the many distortions made in the translations of liturgical texts from Latin into English), just in time to accept Gibson’s flattering invitation to come to Rome to celebrate Mass in late 2002 and early 2003. “I once told Mel you’re spending $25 million to create a simulation of the crucifixion,” the 72-year-old priest said at the time, “when I can do the same thing in half an hour” (referring to his God-given priestly power to turn bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ). French-born Jean-Marie CharlesRoux is an old Rosminian father, who was headquartered in the curia of his congregation, the College of the Rosminian Fathers, near the Roman-era Caracalla Baths. In a chapel there, he could still offer his daily Mass in the Traditional Roman Rite. Apparently, Fr Charles-Roux, who celebrated the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination in 2004, has never used the Novus Ordo rite for Mass.
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‘I will never forget at Sunday Mass in Rome seeing Mel Gibson dressed as an altar boy...’
The son of the French ambassador to the Holy See in the years leading up to World War II, Fr Charles-Roux joined the French diplomatic corps as a chargé d’affaires, before realising he had a priestly vocation. He spent more than 40 years in London as parish priest of the 13th-century St Etheldreda’s Church, the oldest Roman Catholic church in Britain. After retiring, he decided to come to Rome to be close to his sister, Cyprienne del Drago, who was the widow of Prince Marcello del Drago.
‘But what is most important, because of the film and Mel Gibson’s association with traditional Catholicism, the old rite Latin Mass gained an unprecedented visibility...’ Among Fr Charles-Roux’s closest acquaintances were Princess Margaret; Princess Marina, who was duchess of Kent and the daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark; and Italy’s last king, Umberto II, and his wife, Marie Jose. In 1994, when the Duchess of Kent joined the Catholic Church, becoming the first member of the royal family to convert to Catholicism in more than 300 years, Fr Charles-Roux was reported by the BBC (January 14, 1994) as saying that many were not happy with the direction the Anglican Church was taking, especially
with regard to women’s ordination: “There’s been a major change in their tradition and the people who belong to that tradition go back to what they are familiar with,” he said. “They look for support to Rome.” Gibson came to know Fr Charles-Roux through the BBC, when, in a brief interview, he defended the Latin Mass. In fact, the overwhelming success of the film should be seen in light of the overflowing grace granted by the Traditional Latin Mass, all the more so for those who are not afraid to show their allegiance to it. Even if these elementary and simple concepts are difficult for most of our contemporaries to grasp, they are there in the Gospel, in which Our Lord proclaims: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Justice and everything else will be given unto you.” To seek first the Kingdom of God means foremost to render true glory to Him. Indeed, during their interview with the Catholic television network EWTN, Mel Gibson and Jim Caviezel said their intention was to glorify God, by reproducing His Passion as faithfully as possible. But the success of the film should not be gauged only in blockbuster or audience terms, but most of all for its spiritual fall-out. Stories of conversions, also supported by the rediscovery of the pre-Vatican II liturgy, were reported from around the world, and not only among the viewers, but also among the cast and staff of the film. I will never forget at Sunday Mass in Rome seeing Mel Gibson dressed as an altar boy with his white surplice and black robe (an attire that perfectly suited him) and watching him following the priest in procession from the sacristy toward the altar. Among other attendees that day were Jim Caviezel, producer Steve McEveete (also a co-producer of The Lord of the Rings series), and other actors and members of the cast from a wide variety of backgrounds and nationalities. This time, it was all for real, and the “set” was an old, small Catholic church in the ancient heart of the Eternal City. But what is most important, because of the film and Mel Gibson’s association with traditional Catholicism, the old rite Latin Mass gained an unprecedented visibility before, during and after the shooting of the film, thus producing a worldwide impact that, according to some commentators, may have helped pave the way for the promulgation of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum a few years later in 2007.
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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY
DIOCESAN DIGEST Mass of Ages quarterly round-up Birmingham & Black Country Louis Maciel 0739 223 2225 birmingham@lms.org.uk birmingham-lms-rep.blogspot.co.uk/ I am pleased to report that most of the EF Masses in the region have resumed after lockdown, with numbers broadly in line with what they were previously save perhaps for a brief reduction due to those shielding or self-isolating, but nonetheless comparing favourably with equivalent Novus Ordo Masses in the same churches. The Oratory has resumed its usual schedule of a weekday Mass at 5.45pm, a Mass on Saturday at 9am and High Mass on Sundays at 10.30am with an overflow Mass celebrated in the Upper Cloister Hall if capacity is reached. The 5.45pm Mass was replaced with a High Mass at 7.30pm on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the Feast of St John Henry Newman. The third Friday Mass at St Dunstan’s resumed in July and is now being celebrated on the new main central altar, which contains a relic of St John Henry Newman which was kindly donated by the Oratory. Although Fr Tomas has moved to the Cathedral, he is returning to Sacred Heart and All Souls on first Fridays to continue celebrating the Mass in Acocks Green. Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton continues to live-stream Mass on Fridays at 6.30pm for those who are unable to attend in person. Birmingham North Staffs Alan Frost A happy though fairly rare event in North Staffs was the celebration in August by Fr Chavasse of a Traditional Rite Nuptial Mass for the wedding of a young couple in his parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption at Swynnerton. The couple are regular attenders of the Old Rite Mass. Unfortunately, the following month Fr Chavasse, who has suffered quite a lot in recent times, had to be admitted to hospital with heart trouble, but, Deo gratias, was able to be taken home a few days later and, in early October, is recovering, and has resumed some parochial duties. The weekly 6pm Sunday EF Mass continues with Fr Stefak (Stoke) or Fr Goodman (Wolverhampton) standing in. Fr Stefak visited his native Poland in August and on his return resumed the weekly Wednesday 7pm Old Rite Mass at St Augustine’s, Meir, Stoke. He continues to promote and explain the Tridentine Rite Mass in his parish bulletin (which includes two other churches he is in charge of). A Low Mass was celebrated at a former regular venue for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross and Eve of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, at the splendid Oulton Abbey Benedictine chapel, and another Mass will be offered here on the evening of the Feast of All Souls, 2 Nov.
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Birmingham (Worcestershire) Alastair J Tocher 01684 893332 extraordinarymalvern.uk@btinternet.com extraordinarymalvern.uk Facebook: Extraordinary Malvern A great deal has changed since my last report in January. Although the introduction of weekly Missae Cantata at Little Malvern was viewed as a success by those attending, it was sadly not a view shared by the parish priest and consequently the Traditional Latin Mass ceased being celebrated at St Wulstan’s from mid-March. I had initiated discussions to celebrate replacement Masses at a neighbouring parish instead but then there was Covid-19 lockdown, since when no tangible progress has been made. Once lockdown was eased there was at least some good news on the horizon – or perhaps more accurately over the horizon in neighbouring dioceses: the formerly weekly Sunday Low Masses at both Ledbury (Cardiff) and Prinknash Abbey (Clifton) were each to be increased to weekly and each moved to the prime late-morning slot. This has enabled at least some of those formerly attending Little Malvern to attend Masses at Prinknash or Ledbury instead. It has also been possible to arrange for some Masses at Ledbury to be sung: one by a solo cantor, a second by Schola Gregoriana Malverniensis which formerly sang at Little Malvern, and with a few more tentatively planned. The parish priest at Ledbury, Fr Adrian Wiltshire, also took the opportunity to celebrate all his daily private Masses as Low Masses. Prinknash Abbey however found itself simply overwhelmed by the increasingly large numbers arriving from many miles around and has quite understandably consequently had to suspend all public Sunday Masses. Elsewhere in Worcestershire Fr Jason Mahoney (Redditch) has been celebrating private Low Masses whenever possible, and Fr Christopher Draycott (Evesham) has continued to celebrate midday Low Masses on Mondays, albeit now privately though broadcast on YouTube. No public TLM’s have been celebrated by Fr Douglas Lamb at Kidderminster.
Most Holy Trinity, Ledbury
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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY Brentwood Mark Johnson Our Sung Masses recommenced at St Margaret’s Convent Chapel on 26 July and attendances have been very good. Father Andrew Forys, the parish priest, was moved to Lexden at the beginning of September, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank him for his co-operation and generous hospitality. He has been replaced as parish priest by Monsignor John Armitage, who I expect many of you may know was the former Rector at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. As you know, for some years now, we have had an annual Sung Requiem Mass at St Patrick’s Cemetery Chapel in Leytonstone in November. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, that is unlikely to occur this year. However, I will check again with the superintendent at the end of October to see whether the situation has changed. Any change will be notified via the Latin Mass Society website or alternatively those interested should call the office from time to time. We are hopeful that the High Mass at Moorfields on Christmas Eve (Midnight Mass) will take place again this year, although at the time of writing this I have not received confirmation. Again, I would recommend members keep a close eye on the website for details. Brentwood (East) Alan Gardner alanmdgardner@gmail.com We remain grateful in our extensive ‘country’ part of the diocese to those hard-working priests and laity for their magnificent (often Herculean) efforts to make the Mass available to us – to the extent that in some areas, provision is stronger than pre-virus! Our gratitude also to the courage of those priests who are thinking intelligently about some of the oddities that are contained in the virus regulations. (Speaking personally, I’m afraid I remain doubtful that Communion on the tongue is more dangerous than in the hand…) We are ‘climbing back’ to regular Mass provision at Chelmsford, Leigh, Kelvedon, Rochford (now just about daily!), and Stansted; thank you, Fathers. And there are wonderful developments at Withermarsh Green – thank you, Fr Henry! (And see pages 27-29 of this issue.) I hope I have summarised above the main activity in our part of the diocese, but if you are ‘in the know’ somewhere better locally, my apologies, and please keep me informed so that I can circulate to everyone. If you are not currently on my local email circulation list (you should be receiving something from me at reasonably regular intervals), do please feel free to get in touch. East Anglia (West) Gregor and Alisa Dick Sunday Masses continue at Blackfriars in Cambridge, celebrated for the time being -- according to the weather -- either in or outside the cloister, in order to accommodate numbers beyond the restricted capacity of the chapel. Several priests who have celebrated the Traditional Mass in Cambridge have moved recently: Fr Aidan Nichols OP is currently teaching in Jamaica, and Fr Bruno Clifton OP has moved to Oxford after completing his doctorate. In the other direction, Fr Gregory Pearson OP has arrived at the priory in
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Cambridge, as has Fr Robert Verrill OP, who for this academic year will be acting chaplain to the University during Mgr Mark Langham's sabbatical. Furthermore, Fr Simon Leworthy, who was Assistant Priest at the parish of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, is now Parish Priest of Our Lady, Stowmarket. We are grateful to them all and assure them of our prayers. East Anglia (Withermarsh Green) Sarah Ward 07522 289449 sarahcampling@hotmail.com This is the first report for the new Latin Mass Chaplaincy at Withermarsh Green church, situated in the beautiful countryside of the Dedham Vale, Suffolk. I must start with a big thank you to the Fenwick family who have made this beautiful church available to the Chaplaincy and for their generous help with setting things up. An inaugural Missa Cantata took place on 15 August for the Solemnity of the Assumption. Mass was celebrated in the grounds outside the Church to accommodate the large numbers who attended. Special thanks to East Anglia Rep, Gregor Dick who assisted as MC and to Dan Wright who assisted as Cantor. Thanks also to Allan Cantos, MC on the Sunday and to Pippa Wright for her help as Cantor. It is an unexpected blessing and delight to be able to write that the Traditional Latin Mass is now being said every day of the week at Withermarsh Green! Fr Henry Whisenant was formally installed as Chaplain on 14 September 2020 in a ceremony conducted by the Bishop of East Anglia, Alan Hopes. This was followed by a Pontifical Low Mass celebrated by the Bishop and assisted by Fr Andrew Southwell and Fr Henry. We are all very impressed by the way in which Fr Henry has settled into this new role with such good cheer. Masses are well attended, so much so that an additional Sunday Mass is now being celebrated at 12 noon. There is a Holy Hour every Saturday after Holy Mass, with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Benediction takes place every Sunday at 6pm. Confession is available before every Mass and by appointment. Altar Server training is taking place on the 1st Saturday of the month after the Holy Hour and, so far, 11 gentlemen have attended. Please keep this new Chaplaincy in your prayers! (For more on the church at Withermarsh and its history see pages 27-29 of this issue.) Hexham & Newcastle Keith McAllister 01325 308968 07966 235329 k_mcallister@ymail.com We now have one diocesan Sunday Latin Mass, thanks to Canon Michael Brown in Gateshead. This has been on average well attended with a congregation of 40-65. There is no indication of when Thornley may re-open, however Father Paul Tully [hospital Chaplain] who used to celebrate Mass there, is willing to re-commence at a different location if the new hygiene protocols can be complied with. Father Paul has recently undergone surgery to both eyes, so we wish him a successful, speedy recovery. Weekday Masses at Coxhoe and Whittington are back to normal schedule. St Mary’s at Barnard Castle is yet to re-open and without a prospective date given to us.
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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY Lancaster Bob & Jane Latin 01524 412987 lancaster@lms.org.uk latinmasslancaster.blogspot.com John Rogan 01524 858832 lancasterassistant@lms.org.uk Attendance at St Walburge & English Martyrs in Preston has been good with people coming from quite a distance. We give thanks that following the recent ICKSP Chapter, Canons Cristofoli, Tanner and Post are remaining with us for another year. They continue to work hard to provide as “normal” a spiritual life as possible for the faithful. We have been invited to prepare a history of St Walburge's church and research is underway. If any readers have material or photographs they think would be of interest please do contact us. We are pleased to report that Canon Watson is resuming a monthly EF Mass at Our Lady & St Michael in Workington. The first one took place in October after this went to print, but dates have been booked for Friday 13 November (a Requiem for the Dead) and Friday 11 December, both at 7.00 pm. These Masses will be live-streamed: visit https://www.mcnmedia.tv/camera/ christ-the-good-shepherd Obviously these could be subject to change so please do contact the Presbytery on 01900 602114 before travelling any distance. Fr Etienne reports that his weekly EF Mass at 9.15 am on Mondays at St John Vianney, Blackpool has steady but quiet support. The swap between Canon Ruscillo and Fr Docherty took place just after the Feast of the Assumption. Canon Ruscillo has said that after 15 years at Hornby he was sad to leave but seems to be settling in well in Carlisle. He has been approached by some of the EF faithful there and is open to the idea of setting up a regular Mass for them. After he has discussed the provision of Masses generally with the other clergy in Carlisle, he will let us know what he can do. Because of the space/number restrictions of the three churches in his care, Fr Docherty has difficulty with accommodating people for the scheduled Masses so for the time being it is unlikely that there will be any EF Masses at Hornby. Menevia Elaine Sharpling meneviastabatmater.blogspot.com/ Thanks to the steadfast determination of Canon Jason Jones and Father Paul Brophy, Masses have resumed over the past few weeks albeit with limited capacity in the churches. Like others, our group has been delighted to return to the sacraments and we have welcomed some new families who are interested in finding out about the Traditional liturgy. This has been a very heartening answer to prayer and has presented some opportunities for servers to be trained – something very much needed after we lost Corey in 2018. We also have good news concerning Father Liam Bradley from Haverfordwest who is well on his way to being able to offer Mass in the Extraordinary Form. A priests’ training day took place on the 16 September and was a great opportunity to support Father Bradley in his endeavour. He hopes to say his first EF Mass in October so please remember him in his prayers. It will be a great addition to our provision and a significant help to those who live further west.
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In our next post, we will send an update on the vestments purchased for Father Bradley and a very special label embroidered by Lucy Shaw. We continue to post information on our blogspot so please check there before travelling. Liverpool Jim Pennington and Neil Addison, liverpool@lms.org.uk As in our last report, we continue to be grateful to the FSSP and ICKSP for providing regular Traditional Masses in Warrington, New Brighton and Preston. Congratulations are owed to Fr de Malleray for managing to raise the money to buy the entire Priory Court complex by St Mary’s in Warrington. Details of the appeal were given in the last issue of Mass of Ages and the news that it has been successful is very heartening. I am sure that the new premises will prove to be a great boon for the Church and for Traditionalism in the North West. Currently there is only one Diocesan Latin Mass, which is said by Fr Simon Henry at St Catherine Labouré Leyland, on Tuesday and Saturday 12 noon. Father Simon did try to reinstate a Sunday Mass but the small numbers meant that it was impractical to continue. Unfortunately for all Parish Churches at present the need for full cleaning after a Mass does make it very difficult to organise special or extra Masses and that will probably continue for several months. It is worth remembering that we are not alone in this, many Churches have not reopened and the number of Ordinary Form Masses is lower than it was in part because of the need for volunteer cleaners after each Mass. We can only hope that Diocesan Latin Masses will resume in the future but it will certainly not be for some time. Until then we are fortunate in having the FSSP and ICKSP Churches which are open and continuing to say and to live-stream Mass on a daily basis. Northampton North (Northamptonshire) Paul Beardsmore In these difficult times it is encouraging to report the addition of a new Sunday Mass, which Fr Byrne is now offering at St Brendan's, Corby, at 8.00 am each week. The Saturday morning Mass, at 10.00 am, also continues. Despite the logistical difficulties posed by opening the church for a prolonged period under the current guidelines, Fr Byrne was also able to arrange to hold the 40 hours devotion over three consecutive days in September. Northampton (South) Barbara Kay bedford@lms.org.uk 01234 340759 There’s a new face in the sanctuary at Bedford – that of Fr Seth Phipps, FSSP, who has taken the place of Fr Patrick O’Donohue, FSSP. Fr O’Donohue was based at Reading but travelled to Bedford most Sundays for the past two years to say Mass. On 28 September he returned to his native Ireland to be the first resident priest there in a new FSSP apostolate. We had a little farewell celebration for him and were able to give him a nice generous sum in Euros! He is replaced at Reading by Fr Neil Brett from the Diocese of Brentwood, who has recently joined the FSSP as a postulant.
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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY Fr O’Donohue was not the only one starting a new chapter in his life recently. Fr Patrick Hutton, the Parish Priest of Christ the King, Bedford, retired on 4 October. We would like to express our warm thanks to him for his unfailing support of the Latin Mass at Bedford over the last five years, and to wish him and his wife Rita a very happy retirement. Despite the restrictions, we have a steady stream of baptisms, First Holy Communions and weddings in the Traditional Rite at Christ the King. Mass on Sunday continues at 8.30 am and 1 pm at Bedford, and at 8 am and 4.30 pm at Chesham Bois. The Bedford Masses are very well attended, the two of them totalling 165 – 175 each week. It is interesting to note that some faithful who normally attend the Novus Ordo Mass are now coming to us in order to be able to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, and at the same time are learning to appreciate the Traditional Rite. We have continued with our afternoons of Eucharistic Adoration and Confession on the First Saturday afternoon of each month, with a steady 50 or 60 people attending each time. As Confessions cannot be heard after Mass as they normally are, we are continuing to hold these afternoons on the First Saturdays in October, November and December from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. We hope there will be two priests in attendance each time so that all who wish to confess can do so within the time frame. Because of the interregnum, it is not possible at the time of writing to give the times of future Masses other than those on Sundays. I would strongly encourage you to look at our Bedford Latin Mass page, latinmassbedford.wordpress.com/, for the latest information about our activities, or contact me by phone or e-mail as above. One event which is definitely happening barring restrictions is our third Annual Mass of Reparation for Abortion, which will take place on Saturday 14 November at 12 noon at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, The Church of the Holy Child and St Joseph, 2 Brereton Road, Bedford MK40 1HU. As seating is limited, you will need to book at bedford@lms.org.uk to be sure of a place.
The two Fr Patricks: Fr Hutton (left), and Fr O'Donohue
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Nottingham Jeremy Boot 07462 018386 nottingham@lms.org.uk Any hopes we had of restarting Masses at Our Lady and St Patrick’s Church (3rd and 4th Sundays) were dashed when it became clear that what was required of us as a group, without parish help, would prove impossible to undertake to conform to especially stringent Diocesan requirements. For the time being the Cathedral Mass on 3rd Sundays 6.15 has also not yet resumed. However, Canon Ziomek at the Good Shepherd, Thackeray’s Lane, Nottingham, a long-standing friend on the LMS and those who attend our Masses, welcomed us back in September. Masses will remain on the Saturday before the 2nd Sundays at 4.30pm (note earlier start). For the time being these will be Low Masses only. I do urge people to make the effort to attend them and they fulfil the Sunday obligation (although this is still not reimposed at the time of writing). At St Mary of the Annunciation, Ashby Rd, Loughborough, there is Mass at 6.30pm on Wednesdays and we had the joy of a Missa Cantata both for the Feast of the Holy Rosary on 7 October and earlier, in August, for the Transfiguration. There will be occasional such Masses as circumstances allow, possibly on or around the Epiphany next year. A thin report for thin times, alas. Let us hope 2021 will be less of a trial for all of us than this year. Nottingham South (Leicestershire & Rutland) Paul Beardsmore We have suffered a severe blow in Leicestershire with the loss of the daily and Sunday Dominican Rite Masses at Holy Cross Priory. Unfortunately, during the extended Leicester lockdown all three celebrants of the Traditional Mass were moved to duties elsewhere; only two have been replaced, and there are now no clergy resident at Holy Cross who are able and willing to celebrate in their Traditional Rite. So comes to an end, at least for the time being, a relationship between traditional Catholics and Holy Cross Priory dating back to 2003. In mourning the loss of this Mass, it is only right that I should thank the successive priors who permitted, and in several cases fostered, the traditional rite, and the various celebrants - no less than eight, I think - who have offered the Mass there on a regular basis. The current coronavirus crisis makes life difficult for everyone, but I am hopeful that in due course it will be possible to provide an alternative public Sunday Mass in Leicester. Fr Gillham at Loughborough celebrates Mass every Wednesday - see report from Jeremy Boot. Plymouth (Cornwall) Stefano Mazzeo cornwall@lms.org.uk The Institute of Christ the King has taken over the Chaplaincy at the Convent at Lanherne which is great news, having worked with them on the Wirral at the Dome of Home and Birkenhead Carmel I know what a blessing they are to the local Church. Canon Scott Smith is to be resident Chaplin after doing sterling work in Shrewsbury. Masses at Lanherne are at 10 am on a Sunday and at 8 am during the week.
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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY Cornwall of course has always had a strong connection with the Latin Mass right from the age of the Celtic Saints and Romano British times, for although they spoke a Brythonic Celtic language, they always had the Mass in Latin. And when Cranmer imposed the English Book of Common Prayer on the country the Cornish rebelled in what became known as the Prayer Book Rebellion or Western Rising. Plymouth (Devon) Maurice Quinn 07555 536579 devon@lms.org.uk Although it is a sad fact that our Latin Mass celebrations at both Blessed Sacrament, Exeter, and at St Cyprian’s, Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh, have been put on hold for the foreseeable future due to Covid-19 restrictions (this could change at a moment’s notice), we still have a thriving Latin Mass group at St Edward the Confessor at Peverell, Plymouth. On 13th Sunday after Pentecost, regretfully, we said goodbye to Fr Xavier Champagne-Dueve (Institute of the Good Shepherd) after working for us for the last eight months from his base at Lanherne in Cornwall (photograph shows Fr Xavier with servers Alajandro and Oliver Proctor). After Holy Mass, the people present gathered in the sunshine of St Edward’s courtyard (social distancing being observed) in order to say goodbye to Fr Xavier and show him their appreciation in a convivial atmosphere over a glass of wine and a shared buffet. Fr Xavier was replaced at St Edward’s by Canon Scott Smith, an American priest of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, who – we hope – now has a firm and permanent foothold in the Plymouth Diocese. Just prior to Canon Smith taking up his position at Lanherne (and by extension at St Edward the Confessor), the parish was pleased to have Canon Montjean ICKSP and Fr Anselm Gribbin supply for a couple of Sundays. Do take note that the new Mass time at St Edward the Confessor is now set for 3pm Sunday afternoons, with Confessions prior to this at 2.30pm. As the shifting sands of Covid-19 restrictive measures could change in our favour at a moment’s notice, please keep your eye on the LMS website for updates or contact me via phone or email for the latest information before travelling any distance.
Fr Xavier celebrating Mass, served by brothers Alajandro and Oliver Proctor
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Plymouth (Dorset) Maurice Quinn 07555 536579 devon@lms.org.uk It is pleasing to report that it is business as usual on the Dorset Latin Mass scene with no nasty Covid-19 disruptions like we have in neighbouring Devon. However, Fr Martin Budge (Our Lady’s, Marnhull) did have to take the unprecedented step of cancelling the August Mass celebration due to a sudden funeral, which meant that I was unable to contact everybody in good time, for which I heartily apologise. I might just add that I do get in touch with people beforehand if I have contact details, so please do consider letting me know if you would like to be included, especially as this would help avoid being disappointed. At Our Lady of Lourdes & St Cecilia, Blandford Forum, I would like to remind everybody that Mgr Francis Jamieson has a regular Saturday morning (9.30am) usus antiquior. This is particularly useful for those who would like to avail themselves of Confessions or indeed as an aid to their First Saturday devotions of Our Lady of Fatima. I was present at the 8 September Mass celebration (Nativity of the B.V.M), which culminated in a very pleasant (social distancing being observed) lunch in the beautiful and extensive church garden. I look forward to seeing old friends and new at our usus antiquior Mass celebrations in the coming months, but if you have any questions before then regarding the above, I shall be more than happy to help you. Portsmouth Peter Cullinane I am delighted to report that numbers have grown steadily this year- 50 or even 60 on average now attend 8 am Sunday Mass. I am always pleasantly surprised to meet quite a few travellers, often students, who somehow or other manage to find their way from the Continental ferryport, through the brutalist architecture and confusing waste land down to the Cathedral. Recently we had a family of American visitors whose obviously well-instructed three year old was racing between the statues at the end of the Cathedral after Mass, “looking for Jesus “ I was told. We met at the enchanting painted wooden life-size statue of a seated St Peter, dating from about 1850 and probably installed in the Portsea chapel before St John’s Cathedral was opened in the 1880’s. How fitting that they came from Peterburg in Virginia-we did comment on this! A little later I met a visiting American lady and her teenage son who had quite simply dropped in hoping to hear Mass and who had never experienced the Old Rite before. They were captivated by the reverence and dignity and I reflected that this is the same rite which a regular correspondent in one of the Catholic weeklies never misses an opportunity to caricature and denigrate if he can. We have just heard some rather sad news: Fr Joe McNerney is leaving us shortly to exchange his hospital chaplaincy at Portsmouth for Southampton, but we have been assured that one of the Gosport Friars will continue his ministry to us. More of this next time.
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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY Shrewsbury Victoria E Keens For the foreseeable future all Traditional Masses in Shrewsbury will be at Shrewsbury Cathedral. There will no longer be any at St Winefride’s Church, though our clergy will remain resident at the presbytery there. On 25 September we said goodbye to Canon Scott Smith, who had been our priest for nearly two years, having worked hard to build our community and providing for us so well during the recent difficult months. He has been transferred to Cornwall, where he is Chaplain to the Carmelite nuns at Lanherne Convent near Newquay and will also serve a congregation in Plymouth. Canon Michael Wiener has come to Shrewsbury from Oakland, California and Father Anselm Gribbin also remains with us. There have been changes in Mass times. Sunday 9.30am and Monday through Saturday at 10.00am. Traditional Masses in Shrewsbury have increasingly attracted people from outside our immediate area. Even in this difficult period, we offer a warm welcome to all. Shrewsbury (Chester) Andrew Nielson Traditional Latin Masses have resumed at St Clare's Chester with third Sunday Masses being celebrated in August and September. Both Masses were Low Mass which looks to be the norm for the immediate future. Both Masses were celebrated by Canon Montjean of the ICKSP in spite of a very busy schedule, for which I am very grateful. Thanks are also due to Fr Emelka the Parish Priest for his continued support and to Rebecca Irvine and Heather Hesketh for kindly taking on the role of stewards. Shrewsbury (The Wirral) Neil Addison liverpool@lms.org.uk Life at the Dome has continued reasonably well in the combined situation of the Coronavirus emergency and major structural work to the church. The main altar is curtained off and we continue to use the side altar dedicated to St Philomena. The fact that it is a side altar has not however reduced the quality of our services. Every Sunday we have Missa Cantata, though with one Cantor rather than a full Choir, and when we had three Priests present we had a memorable High Mass. We also welcomed a visit from the Sister Adorers based in Preston who added their beautiful voices to our Sunday Missa Cantata. The work on the High Altar will not be completed until February 2021 at the earliest and at the moment the main work is taking place on the Dome itself. Tours are being arranged for those with a head for heights and these even include a visit to the walkway on the Dome - not somewhere visitors are normally allowed to go. The Canons have opened an Appeal for money to have the interior of the Church painted. At present the colour scheme is a rather dull combination of browns which lets down the dramatic Scouse Baroque of the Main Altar. The new proposed colour scheme will be variations on ‘Duck Egg Blue’ which will be much more colourful and fit in with the Marian devotion so beloved of the ICKSP. It’s a tall order to raise the funds but if it can be done then the Latin Mass community will have one of the most dramatic and beautiful churches in the Merseyside region and the present
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moment is the best time to have the work done because the necessary (and expensive) scaffolding is already on site. We welcomed a new Abbe (seminarian) Juan Gabriel Mercado who will be based with us for a year. He is in his 4th year in the Seminary so I’m sure he will learn a great deal from being part of the team in an active Church. That doesn’t mean that he stops his Seminary studies, those continue via correspondence, videos and instruction from the Canons at the Dome so it’s going to be a demanding but hopefully a fruitful year for him. In addition, he will learn to speak English with a Scouse accent. Part of the reason that the ICKSP send out Seminarians to work in their churches is apparently because the Seminary in Griciliano now has more seminarians than it has accommodation for, with 22 new Seminarians entering this year. That is some good news and hope for the future in a year that has been short on both. Southwark (Kent) Marygold Turner Since the laity were abandoned during the recent lockdown, with all our churches closed and the Sacraments withdrawn, when I was able I started a weekly Holy Mass in my garden. In all we had 12, plus the Feast of the Assumption. I felt that my faithful friends should be able to at last go to Mass and receive Holy Communion! We were very well supported by the clergy, and one of our priests gave me a perfect little awning to protect the altar. Andrew Czaykowski served all the Masses, and, at great expense and trouble, provided boxes of delicious sandwiches, wine and champagne; so, each time we finished with a little party! Our Lady saw that we weren’t ever rained off (it rained only once after the Mass!). Rather miraculous. I am now back to my weekly rota, which has changed. Fr Liam Gallagher at Maidstone doesn’t want Tridentine Mass (and us!) on the 1st Sunday of the month, so that is transferred to Tenterden, where we have been very kindly welcomed by the new parish priest at St Andrews, Fr Behr. Ben Bevan brought a small choir one Sunday and Fr Diaz celebrated. He has a superb voice and the Bevans, of course, are very fine professional musicians. It was a lovely start to the next “chapter” of our Masses! So, the 1st and 3rd Sundays will be at Tenterden at 12 o’clock, and the 2nd at St Simon’s, Ashford, also at 12. The 4th Sunday remains a Parish Mass at St Thomas of Canterbury, Headcorn at 12. I feel that many souls could have been lost to the Church during the complete shut-down – never known before since King John and the Interdict, even during the plague, and many wars. How disgraceful! Southwark (St Bede’s Clapham Park) Thomas Windsor It was quite a trial for us to be unjustly and unnecessary deprived of our Liturgy just as we were preparing for Holy Week and Easter. We did have time to organise one last sung Mass, at 6.15pm on Friday 20 March, this possibly being the last public Mass before lockdown. I am pleased to say that St Bede’s was also one of the first churches to open after the lockdown, firstly for private prayer on the 15 June and a couple of weeks later at 9.30 am for what must have been the first public Mass after lockdown. Our first Sung Mass with Cantor and organist was a week later on Sunday at 11am. I would like to thank all of the members of our TLM community that have kindly volunteered to be stewards.
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REPORTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY We now have some new Mass times, an extra Mass on Sunday at 12.15pm, a new Mass every weekday at 12.15pm, and the Saturday Mass at the later time of 9.30am. I am pleased to say that the lockdown has had a good influence on our Mass attendance, our combined Sunday Mass attendance increasing by an average of 10, Saturday Mass with an average of 40, and the weekday 12.15 averaging 27. If you are thinking of visiting, the Sunday 11am Mass is usually full, but we have plenty of room in all our other Masses. While most choirs have had an extended break, members of our choir at the first available opportunity formed a social bubble and started to meet up to sing Vespers and Compline on Sunday in a private house, full choir practices have followed with the full choir returning to sing for us in September. They have also been able to sing at a wedding and a reception of a convert. I write this on Rosary Sunday where our choir sang Hasler’s Dixit Maria Mass and motet, and the Arcadelt Ave Maria. I would like to thank Fr Holden our parish priest for organising online activities for adults and children during lockdown and his continued support for the Latin Mass. Thanks are also due to Fr Diaz, who has supported us for a number of years, he has now moved to Kent. Southwark (St Mary’s Chislehurst) Christopher Richardson We lost our much-loved parish priest, Fr Charles Briggs, on 25 August. An outstanding priest, Fr Briggs had for many years been a most dedicated supporter of the Traditional Rite. We do not know what is planned as regards the longer-term succession, but for now we are blessed in having Fr Linus Clovis among us. He is a retired priest from St Lucia, who has relatives in the parish, and he has been kind enough to celebrate the Traditional Rite Mass for us on Sunday mornings at 11am (Sung – although limited to one member of the Schola at a time, unfortunately) and Friday evenings at 7pm (Low). He will also be celebrating Mass on Sunday evenings at 6pm in the month of October to honour Our Lady, together with Eucharistic Adoration and the Rosary (from 5pm). Despite Covid, the numbers attending the Extraordinary Form Masses continue to grow. We cannot confirm yet, but very much hope that we will be able to have Masses celebrated in the Traditional Rite on Holy Days of Obligation and some other major feasts, as was the case with Fr Briggs. Southwark (Wandsworth) Julia Ashenden Canon Martin Edwards resumed public worship at St Mary Magdalen, Wandsworth on Sunday 5 July. With social distancing measures in place, the Church can accommodate 90 worshippers comfortably. The 11am Mass is now a Missa Cantata every Sunday. Once a month a (small) professional choir comes to sing; on the other Sundays a (small) band of parishioners ably and beautifully sing the Gregorian settings. The parish is also fortunate to have the services of a very skilled organist and music director as well as a spacious choir loft set well away from the congregation. On Sunday 6 September we were delighted to hear Schubert’s Mass in G. On Sunday 4 October, the choir will sing the Spatzenmesse (Mozart’s K220) and, on 8 November we will have Mozart’s Requiem in D minor K626. Mozart again on Gaudete Sunday (13 December) - this time his Missa Brevis in G major K140.
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Christmas Midnight Mass will be at the correct time (midnight!) with motets beforehand (if carols are not permitted). The Mass setting will be Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit Pour Noel. Westminster (Willesden) Anna Grayson-Morley willesden@lms.org.uk 07710 472295 Bishop John Sherrington paid us a visit this January and determined that our celebration of the Latin Mass fulfilled a need having witnessed the large gathering who came out to support it. At that time our average attendance was around 20 - 30. In these trying times, Father Stephen had to cancel all EF Masses in the first stages of lockdown. Since opening it up again this September, the numbers of attendees have been understandably lower because of Covid-19, with 10 to 14 attending. Indeed, my husband and I have been shielding all this time as we are in the higher risk category. Father will keep the 5:30pm Sunday weekly EF Mass until 1 Nov, government regulations permitting, but he has indicated that if there is no uplift in numbers, he will take the decision to cut the Masses to monthly or fortnightly until the Dispensation from the Obligation is lifted, and then return to weekly celebrations. Being in lockdown has created more, not less work for our priests. Making sure all safety guidelines are followed, preparing for the daily Novus Ordo live-streamed Masses and the technical challenges that has brought, the preparation of virtual events such as the May liturgy for Our Lady in place of the annual Procession, in addition to coping with the normal parish workload, has been a tiring and often lonely business. We are incredibly grateful for all the hard work Father Stephen has had to undertake preparing the church for each liturgy. Like everywhere else, a worry for the parish is that the offerings during lockdown have gone down dramatically. At the beginning it was a 90% drop. The numbers have since gone up, but not enough. The church guttering is leaking and the cost of repair is putting further pressure on our finances. On a happier note, we were pleased to welcome Father Mark Elliot Smith to our Shrine, who offered the opening Mass for the LMS Willesden to Walsingham Virtual Pilgrimage this August. Sadly, I report that Ellen Kelly, a dear friend of Willesden Parish, has passed away. Ellen was often mistaken for Father Stephen’s mother as, for the past 17 years, she and her late husband Terry were weekly visitors, helping with some of the domestic and repair tasks in both the church and the Presbytery and taking the priests shopping. All this was done voluntarily and out of love for the Church. Please keep her in your prayers. On a personal note I lost my brother Dr Wilson Gasewicz this June and was unable to fly to Canada for his funeral or be with my family. He led an extraordinary life starting his medical vocation as a GP flying doctor in the Canadian Artic serving the Inuit people. Later he turned his talents to psychiatry. Wilson believed strongly in serving his community and was a thoughtful, kind, patient, gentle, compassionate, and dedicated psychiatrist who gave back to the community as a volunteer and doctor for 46 years. He was a loving husband and father of five. Any prayers you can offer for the repose of his soul would be much appreciated.
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LONE VEILER
Happy by the fire Lone Veiler on the irritations of Covid and the happiness of autumn logs and blackberrying
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ust as you think things are getting back to some semblance of normal, we’re threatened with being back under house arrest again. Not the media’s ‘new’ kind of ‘normal’, an irritating soundbite which means absolutely nothing, but is calculated to raise anxiety levels - after all, what does ‘new normal’ mean? What will it involve? Permanent isolation from family? Permanent muzzlement? Children’s permanently cancelled? parties Churches once again mothballed? You might have noticed that I don’t do well under arbitrary rules and regulations. I’m not one to blindly follow because the government health triumvirate says something. I prefer to weigh evidence from different sources, especially when the consequences of any government decision can be so appalling to those under them. Then, having weighed, I write to my MP. Who does not reply. To any agnostic or atheists of my acquaintance, my railing against what some of them perceive to be perfectly reasonable lockdown rules comes as quite a surprise. After all, I’m Catholic! So many rules, regulations, restrictions! It seems illogical that I wouldn’t wish to follow government regulations as willingly as I do Catholic ones, and I can see where they are coming from. From the outside it might appear that I’m a religious door mat, I do all the doormatty things. I wear what I now call my antibac-tilla, my trusty veil, which now becomes a face covering when looped appropriately, but only if absolutely necessary. I say odd things about an oldfashioned concept called sin. I seem to flip flop between feasting and fasting all year round, and don’t just ‘do’ Christmas from December 1 to 25. Yes, their confusion might be understandable, but for me and any other Catholic, our core beliefs do not -should not - change with every vacillating government diktat, and nor should our Church leaders blindly follow them. We have been lucky; our priests, who shall remain anonymous
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for obvious reasons, have been great, and frankly, put the hierarchy to shame. The thing is, since this virus arrived, the government and media have treated it as the only thing that can ever kill us, as if we were actually all immortal before it appeared. Project Fear has done its work, and Satan is rubbing his hands with glee. The greatest tragedy in all this apart from the destruction of normal family interaction over the past months, has been how little of the faith has been shown by our leaders who seem to have bought in to the government’s secularism. It would have been nice to have had something from them other than church closures and platitudes, and instructions on hand sanitising. Even now that some churches are open, there has, at the time of writing, been no encouragement to return to the sacraments, no evidence of belief from on high, so no witness to the country that actually, even Covid is not the end; we are more than a desperate attempt to prolong life at the expense of all human interaction and everything else. I try to find out what lessons I am being taught in my life by the Lord when the unthinkable happens; Covid, I think, fits the bill at the moment. Two things jump out at me; the first is that if something doesn’t make sense, fit the data, is being manipulated towards a pre-determined outcome, or prevents me from assisting at Mass, I get mad. The second is I really have to work on my patience. Grumpy Have there been any positives since the last grumpy veiler? Well, as usual, it’s always the little things: the blackberrying was good this Autumn. Many crumbles and pies have been made. Michaelmas was wet and windy, but also good. The ash trees around us are dying and being felled which isn’t good. But the weather is cooler, so I can wear my boots, which is good. Don’t know about the rest of you ladies, but I tried some shoes on recently
and was shocked that I ever wore those heels, let alone walked in them. Not that that will stop me wearing them, but I was surprised how uncomfortable they were. Then of course, best of all, was sorting out the log store after the log delivery arrived. Oh, joyous day! Of all the things I have been blessed with, our log fire is the business. If I can have a real fire, like we had when I was a child,
'The greatest tragedy in all this, apart from the destruction of normal family interaction over the past months, has been how little of the faith has been shown by our leaders...' I am happy. Having lived previously in an all-electric home that was frequently without electricity, once for ten days and nights one winter, my most fervent desire was to never be in that situation again. We may have gas and electricity cuts in the future, we may be irrationally isolated from our loved ones against our will, forbidden the Holy Mass, the PM might just do an Olly Cromwell and ban (secular) Christmas, but as long as there is my rosary and a fire to say it by, it’s all do-able.
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ART AND DEVOTION
The Joy and Sorrow of the Virgin Mother of God Caroline Farey discusses a magnificent painting of the Blessed Virgin by Hans Memling
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nlike other paintings of the Annunciation, Hans Memling, one of the great artists of the 15th century from the Netherlands, has painted the Blessed Virgin swooning and being upheld by angels. This is not mentioned in the scriptural account, of course, but the reasons why Memling may have painted Mary in this way will become clear as we unfold the symbolism that he has included in this depiction. A period of great Flemish painters began with Jan van Eyck (1390-1441), followed by Rogier van der Weyden (1400-1464) amongst others, in whose studio Hans Memling (1430-1494) is believed to have been an apprentice and whose Annunciation scenes he has clearly copied and adapted here. These adaptations are significant and worth noting. For Rogier van der Weyden, as for many, the Holy Spirit enters on a beam of light indicating that he is sent from God the Father. Here Memling has deliberately omitted this light beam and painted instead, the Holy Spirit directly over Mary’s head like an epiclesis, within a circle of rainbow colours, ‘the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.’(Lk 1:35). The addition of Archangel Gabriel’s priestly cope over his alb adds another liturgical element to the scene, as does the eagle embroidered on the orphrey on the Archangel’s arm. This is the symbol of St John the Evangelist whose Gospel’s opening verses are read at the end of every mass, ‘In principio erat verbum,’ and ‘verbum caro factum est’. On the cabinet at the back of the room beside the window, Memling has added three objects. The first is a glass carafe, with a pure white stopper, through which the light is perfectly reflected – a symbol of Mary’s virginity through which Christ, the Light of the World would pass perfectly, leaving Mary’s virginity shining from divine light and unaltered.
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The other objects are a taper coil ready to be lit and an empty candlestick – both indicating the true light who has, this instant, been conceived and for which the material world has waited ‘with eager longing’ (Rns 8:19). Mary’s purity is also portrayed by the most frequently used symbol, the vase of lilies, but here the white lilies are accompanied by a purple iris, commonly called a ‘sword lily’, which symbolises the sword of sorrow that Simeon later prophesised would pierce Mary’s heart (Lk2:35). Looking now at the two angels either side of Mary we see the same double message as that of the two kinds of lily. One of the angels has dark green wings, wears purple and stoops to support Mary as she faints. The angel looks down and gathers up Mary’s dark cloak together with the hem of her pure white dress – white for eternal joy and the midnight blue cloak that the iris just bends over to touch, for the impending sorrow. Mary, then, is not simply fainting at the shock of being in the presence of the Archangel Gabriel or hearing his announcement. The feast of Our Lady of Compassion, (or ‘Sorrow’) was added to the Roman Missal in 1482 exactly around the time of this painting and it is possible that Memling includes these symbols of suffering that Mary endures by her compassion, in the light of the new and popular feast. ‘Compassion’ comes from two Latin words, ‘com’ – ‘with’ and ‘passio’ – ‘to suffer’. Mary was accepting to ‘suffer with’ and for the Son of God who she has this moment conceived, uniting herself to him to the point of death, her own or her son’s, since pregnancy before the marriage ceremonies were complete, was punishable by death. Meanwhile, the robes of the second angel more strongly catch our attention, shining in bright contrast to the shadows of the purple robes of the angel we have just been observing. The angel here is
the one figure who looks straight out of the painting at us as though to give us a message. As he supports the Virgin’s arm, notice that his first finger and thumb are held together as one – an ancient sign of the two natures of the one person of Christ, leaving the other three fingers to symbolise the Trinitarian Godhead. This hand appears right beside the Virgin’s slightly swollen belly, indicating to us who it is that she has conceived. Mary’s open left hand points to the open Scriptures for confirmation of this miracle in the Word of God which, with her right hand, she accepts with her whole heart. After the Virgin Mary and the angels, the most prominent element of the whole scene is the bright red bed with its corner curtain tied up into a hanging sack-like shape, high up and central in the painting. These details appear in too many paintings to be merely decorative, especially as they correspond with frequent references in the Fathers of the Church to the Blessed Virgin as the ‘thalamus Dei’ (bed or nuptial chamber of God) or ‘thalamus humanitas Christi’ (bed chamber of the humanity of Christ). Some commentators see the curtain sack as a sign of the womb of Our Lady in which the conception of Christ is taking place. Others, noting the patristic texts referring to Mary as the new tabernacle, see a reference to the Eucharist which, at that time, was commonly kept in a hanging pyx above the altar. Thus the incarnation, the Sacred Species and the Mass are regularly presented to the faithful in scenes of the Annunciation. Finally, woven on the orphrey of Gabriel’s cloak, one can see a six-winged seraph. The seraphim were the ‘burning ones’, understood to be those closest to the burning love of our Father in heaven, the love by which he gave his Son to mankind at the fiat of Our Blessed Lady and continues to make Him present at every Mass by the Holy Spirit.
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© Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
ART AND DEVOTION
FACTFILE Metropolitan Museum of Art New York. Title: The Annunciation Artist: Hans Memling (Netherlandish) Date: 1480–89 Medium: Oil on panel, transferred to canvas Dimensions: 30 1/8 x 21 1/2 in (76.5 x 54.6 cm)
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COMMENT
My house shall be called a house of prayer! Philip Marshall celebrates England’s last Catholic senior boarding school for boys and its embrace of the Mass of Ages
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wo recent Catholic trends have brought about an historic moment for Chavagnes International College in the Vendée, France. First, creeping coeducation has reduced the number of all-boys Catholic boarding schools year by year – first the great Benedictine schools, then the smaller schools, and lastly, this year, the Oratory School, Reading. This has left no officially recognised all-boys Roman Catholic boarding school in the UK, at least not at secondary level. Chavagnes, on the other side of the channel where in past centuries Ampleforth and Stonyhurst began their existence, is now the last of its kind. Our second trend is that of the wider celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. This year Chavagnes has made the decision to become a Latin Mass only school; until recently the Old Rite was celebrated only three times a week. Founded in 2002 by Ferdi McDermott, Chavagnes was a reaction against the degradation of society and of education. Society happens when individuals form families, then families form communities, and communities form a nation. Education is essentially the tool by which the community forms the individual according to his own and society’s needs. For Catholics, this formation comprises primarily two aspects: the inculcation of virtue, and the nurturing of Faith. Education in faith and virtue is the only way to defeat the culture of death and of individualism. In Chavagnes, boys are taught to be men – importantly men, and not just humans – of virtue and men of God. Over the past 18 years it has so far sent 18 men to seminary, one for every year. Most of the vocations have been to the Fraternity of St Peter, the Institute of Christ the King, and the Institute of the Good Shepherd. Now Mr McDermott has decided that to promote growth in Faith and virtue – alongside very rigorous academic
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Chavagnes: education in faith and virtue
standards – a move to daily celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass will be of great value. During the course of the autumn term, several visiting priests are celebrating daily Latin Mass for the boys, and a new chaplain will be joining the school in January. Many of the senior boys are already adept at serving the Old Mass and during the course of this term will pass on their knowledge to the younger pupils and those just joining the school. “It will give us clearer, stronger identity. It is also something the boys have been asking for,” says Mr McDermott who believes it is also a question of “reading the signs of the times”. The College strikes a balance between the silent solemnity of Low Mass, encouraging in a special way attention to interior prayer and the exuberant and joyful ceremonies of the Missa Cantata. High Mass is also offered whenever there are visiting priests or prelates, such as when Bishop Athanasius Schneider visited the school a few years ago. It is hoped that once restrictions on international travel are removed, several other longstanding new episcopal and sacerdotal friends of the College will visit. The Mass constitutes the mainstay of the College’s prayer life which continues through the rest of the school day, with prayers before and after each lesson and each meal, with evening prayers before bed, Saturday rosary to name a
few. At the heart of the teaching staff of the College is a Private Association of the Faithful founded in 2009 and canonically approved by the bishop; this fellowship, the “Company of St Gregory” is also seeking to promote the Divine Office available for the boys to hear or join in, including a full sung Vespers on Sunday afternoon and sung Compline on other days. Other devotions such as the Corpus Christi procession, Quarant’ore, and participation in the Chartres pilgrimage help the College mark special moments in the liturgical year. All boys learn to serve Mass, which helps cultivate their personal faith and devotion. With all this, plus our strong community spirit, we hope they will leave us, still growing holiness, with a taste for community living and strength to face the difficulties of today’s world. Some people ask the Headmaster: “Isn’t there too much praying?” He answers: “If it is to be God’s house, it needs to be a house of prayer. Because we can only unite ourselves to the goodness of God through prayer. A boys’ school must teach its students to be ready for a working life, but it must also teach them to be good boys today, good men tomorrow and saints for all eternity.” Philip Marshall, BA (Dunelm), MSt (Oxon) is a Fellow of the Company of St Gregory and teacher of Classics, Maths and Science.
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A new beginning Fr Henry Whisenant on the start of a regular Old Rite community at Withermarsh Green on the southern edge of Suffolk
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ne can see why the Dedham Vale was once a Recusant hideaway; the closer you get to the locality of Giffords Hall, which hosted secret Masses down the centuries, the narrower the roads become and the higher the hedges. I think of this area as the Dedham “Veil”, because everything is guarded from view by ubiquitous foliage. And it is here in Church of Our Lady Immaculate and St Edmund, King and Martyr, a place of hidden Catholic history, that a chaplaincy has been established once again. Thanks to the proposal of my bishop, His Lordship Alan Hopes, and thanks to the hospitality of the Fenwick family who own St Edmund’s chapel, we have the privilege to start a regular Old Rite community in this part of East Anglia, on the southern edge of Suffolk.
‘Any fruit of this apostolate will surely be due to the efficacy of the communion of saints between this world and the next…’ Admittedly, when the Bishop first proposed the site and I had the chance to mull it over, I was uncertain as to how it could work. All very well for Recusants who wanted their doings to remain hidden, but how would the faithful get here, and how would they find it? It’s not even in a village! Of course, I underestimated not only the usefulness of the Satnav, and the attractive tranquillity of the location, but also the tenacity of those looking for the Traditional Latin Mass. From the start we have had 60 congregants regularly coming for our Sunday Masses, praise God; 80 attended the first Mass we held outside the church on the Feast of the Assumption, despite a decidedly discouraging forecast and no chance of provisions afterwards.
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I am reminded of the film Field of Dreams, in which a farmer hears a voice telling him to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield. “If you build it, they will come!” says the voice. Perhaps the Bishop also knew that if he offered a regular Latin Mass anywhere in the Diocese, people would come! Indeed, they travel not just from the nearest towns of Ipswich and Colchester, but even from King’s Lynn and Cromer on the other side of the Diocese, a twohour drive. Why do they take such pains to get here? Why do they get up early, dress the little ones in good time, drive long distances, and eat pack lunches on a wet afternoon after the liturgy? Because they believe that the richness of the Old Rite will more than repay their efforts. In their own words they tell me the same thing: that it strengthens their prayer life, makes tangible the articles of the creed they profess, holds the attention of their children, and encourages them at a time of uncertainty in the wider world. At the moment, we are occupied at St Edmund’s with setting up many of the basics: acquiring items for the sacristy, organising the weekly flower and cleaning rota, creating a website, and very importantly now that we have daily Mass - training altar servers. Eleven men came to our first training session, half of whom have never served before, so that is a most promising start. I’ve noticed a real enthusiasm among the faithful here for getting stuck in, and those who are new to the Old Rite seem bent on learning as much as they can as quickly as possible! So, at the request of some of the congregants I have decided to use the Sunday homilies to explain different aspects of the Traditional Latin Mass, especially for those who are new but also for “old hands”. Here I find myself indebted to the FSSP with whom I spent the past year at St Mary’s Warrington, and where I learned so much about the older liturgy that I can now gratefully pass on.
The first Mass, for the Assumption, held outside to accommodate numbers
As I write, and following the Bishop’s own visit to install me as chaplain and celebrate a Pontifical Low Mass (very ably assisted by Fr Andrew Southwell), the next stage for this chaplaincy is my move into the presbytery. This will mean we have a convenient place on the site of St Edmund’s for catechesis, and (once the current national guidelines are relaxed) for tea and coffee after Mass. Other things on the agenda are finding a confessional for the church; at the moment confessions are heard in the old stables outside. And we hope to find a local cantor or two familiar with plainchant so we can start to have some Sung Masses! For all our various needs we have a Holy Hour every Saturday, as well as a daily resolution to say three Hail Marys and a prayer for the souls of those who are buried in the nearby cemetery (with the expectation that those in Purgatory will pray for us in return!). Any fruit of this apostolate will surely be due to the efficacy of the communion of saints between this world and the next, and indeed every day when I come to the Memento for the faithful departed in the Canon of the Mass, I think of the Recusant laity and priests who persevered in the practice of their faith here for centuries when it was forbidden, and I am aware that this chaplaincy today stands on their shoulders.
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ARCHITECTURE
Paul Waddington follows up Fr Whisenant’s article with a special feature on the architecture and history of the church of St Edmund at Withermarsh Green
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ometimes, one finds Catholic churches in very isolated locations. A case in point is the Church of Our Lady Immaculate and St Edmund, King and Martyr at Withermarsh Green, a tiny hamlet close to the River Stour in Suffolk. It is a quaint part of rural England made famous by the paintings of John Constable. As is often the case with rural Catholic churches, it owes its location to a recusant family, in this case, the Mannocks of nearby Giffords Hall. The Mannock family acquired Giffords Hall in 1428 and continued to live there until 1830. The present Hall dates from the early sixteenth century, although elements of the earlier thirteenth century manor survive. Within the grounds are the ruins of the chapel of St Nicholas which date from the year 1216. At the time of the Reformation, the Mannock family remained staunchly Catholic, and during penal times, Mass was offered in Giffords Hall. Indeed, several family members of the family were ordained priests, with at least two being Jesuits. Priests must have lived at the Hall, and been secreted in and out regularly, although there is no record of any being caught. The family did, however, suffer many deprivations for their religious beliefs, being sequestered no less than eight times in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Nevertheless, they were able to hold on to Giffords Hall, if not all their land. Some protection may be attributable to the high status of the family and their association with the Dukes of Norfolk. Lord Edmund Howard, the third son of Thomas Howard, second Duke of Norfolk, succeeded to ownership of nearby Tendring Hall at Stoke-by-Nayland in 1524. Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, was Sir Edmund’s niece, and Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth wife was his daughter. Both were beheaded. The Mannock family frequently visited Tendring Hall, and so mixed with some of the most powerful people in the land. Indeed, Catherine Howard went to the gallows in 1542, partly because of an alleged affair with a member of the Mannock family.
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The church of Our Lady Immaculate and St Edmund, King and Martyr: at the time of opening, it was one of only four Catholic churches in Suffolk
The friendship between the Howard and the Mannock families persisted in most unlikely circumstances. Lord Edmund Howard was the brother of Thomas Howard, the third Duke of Norfolk and the man Henry VIII despatched to defeat the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536. The Duke recruited most of his army in Suffolk, which must have caused some friction with the recusant Mannocks. Sir Francis Mannock became a Baronet in 1627. He was ennobled for providing King Charles I with foot soldiers for “the defence of the Kingdom of Ireland”. The Baronetcy ended 1787 with the death of Sir George Mannock, the ninth Baronet. He was a Jesuit priest, and was killed in a road accident, when the coach he was travelling in was overturned near Dover. The story is told that Sir George was on his way to Rome, so that he could renounce his priesthood in order to marry and thus have children to continue the Baronetcy. If this story is correct, his plan failed. Mass since 1216 The Church at Withermarsh Green was built in 1827 on land donated by the Mannock family, shortly before they left the Hall. It was originally dedicated to St Edmund. The addition of Our Lady
Immaculate as the principal patron seems to have happened later. At the time of opening, it was one of only four Catholic churches in Suffolk. It is recorded that the building was paid for by public subscription, although most probably the Mannocks headed the subscription list. A few years later, the family left Giffords Hall after a tenure of more than 400 years. The Church of Our Lady Immaculate and St Edmund is a modest building, seemingly built on a small budget. Like many Catholic churches of the period, it was built to resemble a Nonconformist chapel. Nevertheless, it has sufficient merit and historical interest to be Grade II Listed. It is rectangular in plan, and constructed of yellow brick with a slate roof. Often described as barnlike, there is little that is remarkable about the exterior. However, the proportions are pleasing, and there is simple but elegant tracery in the four two-light windows on the Gospel side. These are not original, Gothic tracery having been inserted into the plain window openings at some point. The west end features a castellated porch, beneath which is a pair of really sturdy doors. Alongside the porch in a blocked-up window is a tablet bearing the date 1991, with the following inscription:
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ARCHITECTURE Here at Withermarsh, the Mass has been celebrated without interruption from about 1216, first nearby in a medieval chapel visible from this place in the grounds of Giffords Hall; then in the hall itself under the care of the Mannock family who dwelt there for 460 years and finally in this chapel built in 1827 under their patronage and by public subscription to provide a permanent place of Catholic worship. The interior of the church has great charm. The principal feature is the sarcophagus-shaped altar mounted on the usual three steps. Behind the altar is a large oil painting depicting the crucifixion. This painting, together with the altar, were transferred from the chapel in Giffords Hall. To either side of the altar are statues of Our Lady and St Joseph, and the sanctuary is enclosed by iron altar rails. A simple and elegantly curved barrel ceiling contributes to the intimacy of the interior. At the west end, there is a small gallery with an iron balustrade to match the altar rails. It is supported by cast iron columns and approached by a winding stairway. The church retains its original font and holy water stoup. The stations of the cross, although not original, suit the church well. The presbytery is attached to the (liturgical) south wall of the church, which accounts for that wall of the church having no windows. It is much older than the church, but was largely rebuilt at the time of the church’s opening. This would suggest that there was a resident priest from the time the church opened; and it is likely that the priest lived in this house when Mass was offered in the Hall. Until a Catholic church was opened at Sudbury in 1880, the church at Withermarsh Green served a huge area, encompassing most of the Stour valley. It became a parish following the refounding of the English hierarchy in 1850, and gained a Chapel of Ease in 1902, with the building of the Church of the Sacred Heart at nearby Stoke-by-Nayland. The Sacred Heart Church was paid for by the Cuddon family, and its initial congregation was made up almost entirely of Cuddons. The twenty-first century brought radical changes. Withermarsh Green lost its resident priest, although Sunday Masses continued for a while, being served by a priest from Hadleigh. Later, the Diocese of East Anglia implemented a policy of closing smaller churches, and regular Masses ended. The church and presbytery were put up for sale, and that might have been the end of the story.
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The altar and painting of the crucifixion were formerly at Giffords Hall
However, the Fenwick family, who lived in the area, were determined the church should be retained for Catholic worship. They bought the church and presbytery, adapting the latter for holiday letting. Occasional services offered by visiting priests continued in the church until recent times. In the summer of 2020 Bishop Alan Hopes of East Anglia announced that the Church of Our Lady Immaculate and St Edmund would become the focus of a Latin Mass Chaplaincy within the Diocese of East Anglia, and Fr Henry Whisenant
was appointed as the Chaplain. The first Mass was on the Feast of the Assumption, and, since then Mass has been offered every day in the Extraordinary Form. In fact, the congregation has turned out to be so large that there are now two Masses on Sundays. East Anglia is the only diocese in England and Wales to have a Latin Mass Chaplaincy with a dedicated church and served by a diocesan priest. For this we must thank Bishop Alan Hopes and the Fenwick family who have made the church and presbytery available.
The interior has great charm‌
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MASS LISTINGS
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FEATURE
The blood of the martyrs – seeds of today’s vocations Maurice Quinn with a tale of two young men
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riestly vocations do not just appear from thin air but are nurtured within our homes, families and communities over a period of time. The Holy Spirit is in no hurry, and for many vocations a number of persons, events and circumstances appear to act as a catalyst, as happened to Pope St John Paul II, whose final decision, apparently, came after almost being knocked over by a bus while attempting to cross the road. While not as dramatic as happened to Pope St John Paul II, prayer, and the hand of Our Lady and of the often forgotten Chideock Martyrs can be discerned quite clearly in the vocation journey of two young men, known here by their Confirmation names as Philip and Peter, both of whom, completely unknown to each other, attended the very first Latin Mass pilgrimage to Chideock in Dorset. This is their story. Expectations were high on the morning of Saturday 27 September 2019 in the small village of Chideock in Dorset, at the beautiful and historic Catholic church of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs & St Ignatius, a shrine dedicated to the little known Chideock Martyrs. The Latin Mass Society (Plymouth Diocese) had organized the first Latin Mass pilgrimage to Chideock in order to honour these brave men (seven died on the scaffold and one in prison) with a celebration of the same Mass for which they had given their lives. People had travelled from every part of the diocese and beyond for this memorable occasion; the celebrant, Fr Anthony Pillari, had travelled up from Cornwall, while the excellent serving team and organist came from Plymouth. The Torbay Knights of St Columba were on hand to fulfil a number of duties, and ladies of the parish had prepared tea and coffee for the pilgrims, while the trustees of the church organized a tour of the secret chapel located in the loft, with a talk on the shrine and the martyrs to whom the church is dedicated.
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' …to be the conduit of God's grace and love for the purpose of saving souls'
Our part of the story begins early on that same Saturday morning in the just opened church, where Veronica (identified only by her Confirmation name) lit candles before the statue of Our Lady and implored her help along with that of the Chideock Martyrs, asking them in our time of need to help provide young men willing to offer themselves for the sacred ministry. She further asked that her heavenly patrons take her petitions straight to the Holy Trinity. A little later, Veronica was outside the church where she briefly greeted a young man about to enter. She had seen this young man before at the monthly Traditional Latin Mass celebrations that take place at Blessed Sacrament in Exeter. This was Peter, a student at Exeter University and a recent convert from the Church of England; unbeknown to Peter, he was put on the prayer list, and was offered to Our Lady and the Chideock Martyrs as a possible candidate for priestly training.
About a week before the Chideock Mass was to take place, I received a phone call from a young man offering his services for the upcoming Martyrs’ Mass by serving on the sanctuary or by joining the choir. I did not know this young man, Philip, so we agreed to meet at Chideock where I was to introduce him to the choirmaster. An unseen hand now took charge of affairs, as, on meeting Philip as arranged, I completely forgot to take him to the choir loft, and by mistake led him to a seat at the front of the church, where he was noticed by Veronica as a possible candidate for her spiritual intentions. In the still flickering light of the prayer candles, Veronica moved places and quietly sat next to him. The life stories of these two young men were very different, although soon they would be of one mind, sharing a desire to save souls. Philip was brought up in a Catholic family, went to a monastic boarding school and, inspired by the monks there, went on to become a
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'She greeted a young man … who was put on the prayer list'
teacher himself. In his formative years the Traditional Latin Rite was the norm, and like many boys coming from such a deeply spiritual and reverential background, he considered the religious life, but after visiting various communities and meeting with seminarian friends was not inspired to take it further. Philip learned to serve the usus antiquior, became a competent MC, and went on to teach priests how to celebrate the Old Rite. After our initial meeting Philip became MC at our Exeter Latin Mass celebrations, where his expertise was much appreciated by priest and servers alike. Philip took inspiration from Benedict XVI’s teaching and welcomed his Summorum Pontificum, which made the Mass experienced by the great saints of the past more mainstream. The Holy Spirit had led Philip thus far, and at the Chideock Latin Mass, the prayers to Our Lady and the Chideock Martyrs - and not only those of Veronica – but those of the whole congregation helped Philip realize that his life was about to change dramatically.
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Soon after Philip was accepted for priestly formation by the diocese, he gave me permission to spread the good news – inclusive of the prayers initially offered by Veronica to Our Lady and the Chideock Martyrs - via email to those who regularly attended the Exeter Latin Mass and with surprising results. After discovering Philip’s story, an astonished Peter replied to my email with his own amazing experience. While watching Fr Pillari at the altar during the Mass on that memorable September day, the beauty of the sacred priesthood was impressed upon him. He was beginning to appreciate the immeasurable blessing it was to stand at the threshold of heaven and earth – to be a conduit of God’s grace and love for the purpose of saving souls. The fidelity and sacrifice of the Chideock Martyrs, especially of the three priests among them, coupled with the sheer beauty, dignity and reverence of the sacred mysteries stayed with Peter long after the event itself. Peter had spent many happy holidays in Chideock as a child, completely unaware of the local martyrs and of their eventual
significance in his slowly developing journey of faith. Peter himself wrote, and I quote: ‘My discernment for the priesthood quickly accelerated from this point. While my desire for the married life was not taken away, I began to detect a strong sense of attraction to the life of the priest, a life grounded in total sacrifice and intimate union with Jesus… the intercession of Our Lady and of the Chideock martyrs… were instrumental in getting me where I am now.’ This quietly unfolding drama has a positive conclusion in that Peter, who hails from Sussex, has started the next stage of his priestly discernment by being accepted as a novice by one of the traditional priestly institutes, whereas Philip, a Dorset man born and bred, decided to go down the diocesan route in order to ‘help save the souls of those around me,’ and has now started his seminary formation. Our Lady and the Chideock Martyrs - pray for us.
The writer has used confirmation names at the request of those involved.
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FEATURE
Rome and royalty For centuries there was a close and obvious connection of the Papacy with Monarchy, as Charles A. Coulombe explains
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efore the ostentatious display of humility betokened by Paul VI’s donation of his tiara in 1964, and subsequent abolition of most of the hereditary offices of the Papal Court, the Noble and Palatine Guards, and the Vatican citizenship of the Black Nobility – whose ancestors had sacrificed their standing in society out of loyalty to the Holy See – there was a close and obvious connection of the Papacy with Monarchy. As Dom Gueranger’s treatment of Christmas points out, never was this clearer than in the traditional Papal Yuletide liturgy. He describes in detail an unusual – to us - occurrence at St Peter’s on Christmas Eve, just before Matins. “The Sovereign Pontiff, the Vicar of our Emmanuel, blesses, in his name, a Sword and Helmet, which are to be sent to some Catholic warrior who has deserved well of the Christian world. In a letter addressed to Queen Mary of England and to Philip, her husband, Cardinal Pole gives an explanation of this solemn rite. The sword is sent to some Prince, whom the Vicar of Christ wishes to honour in the name of Jesus, who is King: for the Angel said to Mary: The Lord will give unto him the Throne of David his father [St Luke 1:32]… because the Sword should not be drawn save in the cause of justice, it is for that reason that a Sword is blessed on this Night, in the midst of which rises, born unto us, the divine Sun of Justice. On the Helmet, which is both the ornament and protection of the head, there is worked, in pearls, the Dove, which is the emblem of the Holy Ghost; and this to teach him who wears it that it is not from passion or ambition that he must use his sword, but solely under the guidance of the divine Spirit, and from a motive of spreading the Kingdom of Christ.” This ceremony was apparently first performed in 1202, and last in 1877, when Bl Pius IX bestowed the sacramentals on General Kanzler, last commander of the Pontifical Zouaves. Interestingly, at least two swords given
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to Medieval Kings ended up as swords of state in the Crown Jewels of Scotland and Prussia. But if the Knight for whom these blessed tokens were blessed was in Rome that Christmas night, then he would be expected to take part in Matins as well: “At Rome, if there be in the Holy City the Knight, who has received the Helmet and Sword, – blessed, as we have described, by the Sovereign Pontiff – the fifth Lesson is given to him to sing, because it speaks of the great Battle, between Christ and Satan, in the glorious mystery of the Incarnation.”
‘There were many other bonds between Pope and Monarchs down through the centuries since Theodosius the Great made Baptism legal entrance into Roman citizenship as well as into the Church’ However, the valiant Knight was not the only personage who might show up for Christmas Matins. Dom Gueranger continues: “Th[e] seventh Lesson, according to the Ceremonial of the Roman Church, is to be sung by the Emperor, if he happen to be in Rome at the time; and this is done, in order to honour the Imperial power, whose decrees were the occasion of Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem, and so fulfilling the designs of God, which he had revealed to the ancient Prophets.
The Emperor is led to the Pope, in the same manner as the Knight who had to sing the fifth Lesson; he puts on the Cope; two Cardinal-Deacons gird him with the sword, and go with him to the Ambo. The Lesson being concluded, the Emperor again goes before the Pope, and kisses his foot, as being the Vicar of the Christ whom he has just announced. This ceremony was observed in 1468, by the Emperor Frederic III, before the then Pope, Paul II.” Of course, the Imperial and Papal offices were deeply entwined: not only had Pope St Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor on Christmas Day of 800, his predecessors had crowned both Justin II and Justinian while visiting Constantinople. Up to and including Charles V, although elected Kings of the Romans at Frankfurt and Crowned as such at Aix-la-Chapelle, to be more than “Emperor-Elect,” Charlemagne’s successor had to be crowned by the Pope at St Peter’s. Until 1955, the Roman Missal included stirring prayers for the Emperor on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and a set of propers for him at Mass. At his Roman coronation, the Emperor was enrolled among the canons of St Peters’. But such a canonry was a privilege he shared with some of the other Sovereigns of Europe: The King of France was made a canon of St John Lateran (a privilege inherited until this day by the presidents of that country) and the King of Spain one of St Mary Major. Until the Reformation, the Kings of England each became a monk of St Paul-Outside-the-Walls upon his accession; in return, the Abbot was always the prelate of the Order of the Garter. So it is that even to-day, the Abbey’s coat-of-arms features a leather belt around the sword shield with the French motto of the Order: Honi soit qui mal y pense. To be sure, the rite of Coronation – whether of the Emperor or the Several Kings – was held to confer a sort of semi-clerical status on the Monarch,
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as symbolised by the vestments worn by the new Sovereign at the ceremony. When the Emperor was crowned, he would read the Gospel at the Pontifical Mass, and Servite as deacon; as we saw, he would do the same if he was in Rome for Christmas Matins. The King of France also had a given role as subdeacon at Papal Masses, while to the King of Spain fell the task of train-bearer. Moreover, successive Popes had bestowed titles on various European Monarchs, preceding “Majesty.” So it was that the King of Hungary was “His Apostolic Majesty,” the King of France “Most Christian,” of Spain the “Most Catholic,” and of Portugal “Most Faithful.” From those Kings of yore and their care for those of their subjects who came on pilgrimage to the Eternal City developed the network of national churches, hospice, and colleges that still dot the Roman landscape. So, for example, we still have the Pieux Établissements de la France à Rome et à Lorette, the Obra Pía - Establecimientos Españoles en Italia, and the Päpstliches Institut Santa Maria dell'Anima. Of this latter, its website declares: “At the main Imperial Deputation conclusion of 1803, the Anima was the only directly imperial ecclesiastical institute that was not secularized and since the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the regrouping of its parts, the Anima and the Principality of Liechtenstein are the last remaining parts of the Holy Roman Empire.” There were many other bonds between Pope and Monarchs down through the centuries since Theodosius the Great made Baptism legal entrance into Roman citizenship as well as into the Church. But just as Catholic Monarchs were often dependent upon the Church to ratify their succession, so the Emperors and the Kings of France and Spain claimed the right to disqualify a Cardinal they found odious at a Papal election. The last exercise of this veto elected St Pius X in 1903. Charlemagne with St Louis by Gregoire Huret
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REVIEW
In Defence of the Roman Mass Paul Beardsmore looks at a newly translated book by the late Fr Raymond Dulac
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r Raymond Dulac was an ecclesiastical lawyer with the Paris Diocesan Tribunal from 1945 to 1966, when he retired and was able to devote more of his time to a lifelong interest - journalism. In 1967 he began writing for the Courrier de Rome, and over the next few years wrote for this journal, and for others, a number of articles relating to the emerging Novus Ordo, a liturgical development which he considered calamitous. Several of these, mostly from the Courrier, but with a few from the periodical ItinĂŠraires, were collected and published two years ago in the original French, and they have now been helpfully translated into very readable English by Peadar Walsh. The book comes with a lengthy prefatory overview written by Fr GrĂŠgoire Celier. As might be expected, Fr Dulac writes convincingly about the importance of tradition, which he saw being trampled on in the name of an ephemeral aggiornamento. He quotes St Augustine: "The very changing of a custom, even when it serves by its usefulness, disrupts by its novelty." He argues strongly that the Mass is being protestantised, citing the comments of various non-Catholic observers who were noting the proposed changes with approval, and he sees in many of those changes an attack on the very nature of the Catholic priesthood. Fr Dulac deplores the revisions to the offertory prayers. There can, he says, be no genuine Catholic Mass without a prior offering of the bread and wine, and he does not see the "Preparation of the Gifts" as a satisfactory alternative. This change, coupled with the introduction of alternative versions of the Canon of the Mass, will lead to the suppression of its sacrificial character. He cautions against the ambiguities being introduced
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into the text in an attempt to create a "versatile" Mass that will suit all comers; ambiguities that are often worsened when the new Latin text is translated into dozens of different vernacular languages. And, prophetically, he warns against false ecumenism which, rather than bringing others to the one true fold, will lead to the abandonment of souls who are already in it. "A Catholic" he says "must be intransigent out of charity." As it becomes clearer that this disastrous new liturgy is not going to be stopped, Fr Dulac turns his attention to the way in which priests and people can respond to its imposition. The final article printed in this collection discusses St Pius V's bull Quo Primum, which promulgated the "Tridentine"
missal, and compares the way in which this was crafted and published with the approach taken by Pope Paul VI when issuing his new missal. The conclusions he draws, and his arguments as to whether or not celebration of this new rite was obligatory, will, I suspect, convince some and not others, but either way they make interesting reading. Similarly, he writes at some length about legitimate resistance as opposed to disobedience. Fr Dulac is an entertaining writer - by turns amusing, anguished, angry, despairing, incisive, damning and witty. Acerbic even, as when, in response to what he sees as a foolish document from the "Council for the Revision of Liturgical Rites" he quotes Dante: "Such stupidity should be answered with a knife, rather than with reasons." Inevitably, because these articles were written over a number of years, there is some repetition of the material for the benefit, no doubt, of the original readership who would be picking up the threads of his arguments in a bi-monthly periodical. Some of the comments and criticisms made by Fr Dulac will already be familiar to English readers from other sources - the works of Michael Davies, for example. Nonetheless, this French perspective on the events of fifty years ago is not just a piece of history, nor simply a fascinating sidelight; Fr Dulac's comments and arguments remain extremely relevant today. Fr Dulac died in 1987, long before Summorum Pontificum gave a papal seal of approval to at least some of his arguments. He would, I am sure, have been pleased by this development, but I doubt he would yet be satisfied.
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A tale worth telling Sebastian Morello sings the praises of the eccentrically named, Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone DOC, Trappolini
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owering over the town of Montefiascone, in Italy’s Viterbo Province, is a huge baroque Duomo. In 1719, inside this great Cathedral of St Margaret, were married the ‘King over the Water’ James Francis Edward Stuart and Maria Clementina Sobieska, the parents of the Bonnie Prince and the Cardinal Duke of York. To this church I frequently walked to attend Holy Mass when I lived in this town for a little over a year in the early 2010s, occupying a damp and uncomfortable room in the old episcopal palace. Here I first tasted the local wine, eccentrically named Est! Est!! Est!!! This name may be odd, but the Latin ought to be appreciated by this readership. When subjected to the scrutiny of wine experts, Est! Est!! Est!!! tends to receive a hard time. Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, in their World Atlas of Wine, refer to it as ‘the dullest white wine with the strangest name in the world’. Well, let them think what they want – I love the stuff. Est! Est!! Est!!! is crisp but not sharp, coloured like it has captured the Italian sun. Even its bouquet is refreshing. The taste is sweet and vanillary without losing the dryness and zesty finish which makes it such an excellent companion to anything cooked with chilli. The Est! Est!! Est!!! I recommend is an interesting blend of Malvasia and Trebbiano Toscano from vines which have been nurtured with devotion by the Trappolini family for generations, whose members attend with great sensitivity to the needs of the volcanic soil from which they bring forth their elixir. This wine is always ‘fined’ for three months before release. Do try it, but perhaps wait until spring comes back around, and then drink it outdoors with a friend or your beloved. The tale behind the name is worth telling. In the year 1111, Bishop Johannes Defuk travelled to Rome in the entourage of the Holy Roman Emperor with
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the intention of being noticed by the Pope. Each evening, when the caravan stopped for the night, Defuk, who had an intemperate love of wine, sent his servantsommelier out to the surrounding towns to taste what was on offer. The servant, having found the town with the best wine in the area, would scratch ‘Est!’ – ‘It is!’ – onto the town gates as a sign for his master, to whom he would then return to give directions. Defuk would drink his fill, fall asleep, and return to the Emperor’s convoy by the time of departure in the morning. When the Emperor’s caravan reached the Viterbo region at dusk, Defuk sent out his servant to conduct the invaluable research. The servant soon reached Montefiascone, whose wine so impressed him that he scratched ‘Est! Est!! Est!!!’ onto the gate. Defuk arrived a little later to drink the wine and, wholly agreeing with the judgment of his servant, proceeded to drink more than usual. Glass after glass he drank, deeming it the best he had ever tasted, finally dying at midnight of alcohol poisoning.
It seems to me that we have cause for gratitude to this wine. The last thing the Catholic Church needs – in any age – is another careerist cleric. Today, we know this well. We have witnessed the unedifying sight of bishop after bishop, on their visits to Rome, wearing the same silver pectoral cross as the Holy Father, quoting him in every other sentence, in the hope of signalling they are the company men he needs. Or those bishops who pitifully leap on the bandwagon of every petty secular cause to show how ‘relevant’ they are, and how in need the Church is of their promotion. Such things mark a demoralising spectacle from which their flocks ought to be spared. Or worse, the display of careerist priests retweeting and Facebook-sharing every burp and hiccup of their bishop to demonstrate their school-girl enthusiasm, hoping for that next promotion to some diocesan title which will mean nothing at the eschaton. There is a yet darker side to this prioritising of private worldly aspirations over the supernatural goods of the Church. It is precisely by utilising ambition that priests and bishops have been guided into disregarding elementary requirements of both the law of the land and the social doctrine of the Church. The abuses, cruelties, and injustices to which the Church’s faithful have been so frequently subjected could never have been possible without the toxic presence of careerist clerics. Perhaps, then, Est! Est!! Est!!! saved a whole diocese from the malign legacy of another careerist cleric. I suppose we know of Defuk’s unfortunate end because the account of it was spread far and wide at the time. In turn, I suggest, if you purchase a bottle of Est! Est!! Est!!!, that you raise your glass to the lay-run Catholic press, who often courageously expose clerical careerism in the Church, thus providing one of the few checks to the spreading of a poison infinitely worse than ethanol.
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CROSSWORD Clues Across 1 Norfolk Hall, moated manor built pre-Reformation and still lived in by the Catholic Bedingfeld family (7) 5 Author with Friday being important for his famous novel hero! (5) 8 & 7 Down: ‘It is I’, Fr de Malleray’s well received 2018 book on the Holy Eucharist (3,4) 9 Radical movement in the Church condemned by St. Pius X’s encyclical ‘Pascendi’ (9) 10 King in Greek mythology punished for his acts on a wheel of fire (5) 11 Process of possibly dubious reasoning to resolve moral issues (9) 14 Bishop who is in charge of a diocese that is part of an ecclesiastical province (9) 18 Form of Christian love that reflects total selflessness (5) 21 Cardinal giving name to ‘Intervention’ letter (1969) protesting to Pope about the New Mass (9) 22 ‘--- bono’, shorthand reference to ‘who gains’ or ‘stands to benefit’ (3) 23 See 6 Down (5) 24 Person or body in the USA receiving funds or property as a gift (7)
Alan Frost: October 2020
ANSWERS TO AUTUMN 2020 CROSSWORD
Across: 1 Wrexham 5 Carpe 8 Lew 9 Lambrusco 10 In Red 11 Our Lady Of 14 Sub-priors 18 Isaac 21 Lord Acton 22 The 23 Needs 24 Tidings Down: 1 Williams 2 Edward 3 Holy Door 4 Mummer 5 Curé 6 Rosary 7 Eros 12 Assigned 13 Flickers 15 Bourne 16 Obstat 17 Walton 19 Alan 20 Laus
Clues Down 1 Slave befriended by St Paul referred to in his Letter to Philemon, the slave’s master (8) 2 Film dramatising the life of a person (6) 3 One who makes up stories, not a classicist? (8) 4 Spa hotels (e.g. Blackpool, Harrogate) or major power providing utilities (6) 5 ‘---- Night of the Soul’, mystical poem by St. John of the Cross (4) 6 ‘------ into Egypt’, escape by the Holy Family from 23 Across (6) 7 See 8 Across 12 Relating to Order whose motto is: Ad maiorem Dei gloriam (8) 13 Term used synonymously with Christmas derived from a pagan winter festival (8) 15 Brother or monk who is not a priest (6) 16 John, Jesuit of the Reformation who wrote the classic Autobiography of a Hunted Priest (6) 17 Device controlling the supply of water (6) 19 Medieval Italian Saint invoked against plagues (4) 20 Roman poet at the time of Christ, known for his Metamorphoses (4)
Entries for the winter 2020 competition should be sent to the Latin Mass Society, 11-13 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NH or by email to info@lms.org.uk, to arrive before Friday 11th December 2020. The winner of the autumn 2020 competition is Mrs Ross from Cornwall, who wins a copy of the LMS’s recent publication Proper of Feasts Celebrated in the Dioceses of England & Wales.
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS Guild of St Clare: Bobbin Lace for Beginners. Ongoing course, fortnightly on Thursday evenings. Email for further information: lucyashaw@gmail.com
Abbey, Upper Woolhampton, Reading, RG7 5TQ. Bookings are now being accepted on the LMS website.
Guild of St Clare vestment mending day at SS Gregory & Augustine parish hall, Woodstock Road, Oxford, 26th November 2020.
St Catherine’s Trust: Advance notice for 2021 dates: Sunday 1st to Saturday 7th August, at St Cassian’s Centre, Wallingtons Road, Kintbury, Berkshire RG17 9SP.
Guild of St Clare vestment mending day at SS Gregory & Augustine parish hall, Woodstock Road, Oxford, 12th December 2020.
ADVANCE NOTICE: Guild of St Clare Sewing Retreat at Douai Abbey, 4th-6th February 2022
Guild of St Clare: 2021 Winter Sewing Retreat at Douai Abbey, 26-28th February. Douai Abbey, Upper Woolhampton, Reading, RG7 5TQ. With Fr Andrew Southwell; booking now open: see LMS website. Guild of St Clare: Advance notice of 2021 Autumn Sewing Retreat at Douai Abbey, 12-14th November. Douai
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The second-hand books section of our website is proving to very popular with our customers. If you have any books you would like to donate, please contact the LMS Office info@lms.org.uk
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Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce (FIUV) is pleased to announce the publication of the autumn 2020 edition of its biannual magazine Gregorius Magnus. This is available free as a download on its website and on the ISSU app for mobile devices. The Federation thanks the Latin Mass Society for its sponsorship of the magazine.
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An ever-expanding archive Back issues of Mass of Ages are being digitised
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f you’re reading this, then you have the winter copy of Mass of Ages at your fingertips! But what about the autumn issue? Or copies from this time last year? At the LMS Office in Macklin Street, we have an archive of past Mass of Ages going right-back to the early Newsletters of the Society, but unless we’re much mistaken, you don’t have a similar archive in your walk-in library. Please do tell us if you have! To enable you to access back copies, we are in the process of converting all our magazine articles from times-past into a digital format that can be searched through the website. In time, we hope this will form an invaluable resource to those who are interested in the history of the Old Rite in this country.
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Mass of Ages is also available as a downloadable PDF and as a digital magazine on the issuu.com publishing platform. Members of the Society have FREE access to a digital copy of the magazine, with copies available to non-members for a small fee. These can easily be viewed on your phone, tablet or computer through the Issuu website or app: just follow the direct links through the LMS member area of the website to view your copy today. The archive of available issues is continually expanding. We would love to make Mass of Ages more widely available to our many supporters across the world, but international postage costs make this very difficult. If you have family and friends abroad who would
appreciate the magazine, please do encourage them to join and they will receive the free digital copy but, if they wish to have a printed issue each quarter, they are asked to pay a little bit more for postage. In line with the Committee’s strategy in 2016 to increase subscriptions over a period of time, the new rates (as detailed on the back cover of this magazine) come into effect in January. We hope the small increase will not deter you from renewing your membership. Society’s 2020 Annual The General Meeting was cancelled due to the pandemic. We include with this magazine to members a copy of the balance sheet from the 2019 Accounts.
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