FEATURE
Chideock Pilgrimage Maurice Quinn reports on the Latin Mass Society’s Pilgrimage to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs & St Ignatius, Chideock, Dorset, in the Presence of the Rt Rev. Mark O’Toole, Bishop of Plymouth.
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eautiful sunshine greeted pilgrims on the morning of Saturday, 16 October as they gathered at the beautiful and historic Church of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs & St Ignatius at Chideock in Dorset. They had come to this gem of English Catholicism to gather with the Rt Rev. Mark O’Toole, Bishop of Plymouth, to attend a Traditional High Mass in honour of the seven Chideock men – three priests and four laymen who were cruelly put to death for their Catholic faith between 1587 and 1642, whereas an eighth, John Jessop, died in prison. This was the first Traditional Latin High Mass to be celebrated in this church that anyone can remember and was certainly the first in the presence of a bishop of the diocese, being also the first time that Canons of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest had been invited to officiate. At the request of the Latin Mass Society (Plymouth), the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered for the intention of vocations to the sacred ministry, and, for
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this purpose, every pilgrim entering the church was given a Chideock Martyrs prayer card. On the sanctuary, clergy of the Institute were in abundance, where Canon Tanner (newly appointed Prior of the Shrine Church of Holy Angels in Torquay) was celebrant, assisted by Canon Poucin (New Brighton) as Deacon, and Abbé Carlisle (Holy Angels’ Shrine) as Subdeacon - all three wearing beautiful red vestments loaned by the Carmelite nuns at Lanherne Covent in Cornwall. On the Throne sat Bishop Mark O’Toole, with two Institute Assistants at his side, Canon Scott Smith and Abbé Patryk (Lanherne). Also sitting in choir was Mgr Keith Mitchell, PP of Bridport, and Fr Martin Budge, former PP of Our Lady’s, Marnhull. Overseeing the ceremony was MC Abbé Jacquet (New Brighton), with a serving team consisting of thurifer Matt Villa Real, acolytes Raphael Oliver and Joseph Miller, and torchbearers Alajandro and Oliver Proctor. Organist and choirmaster
Andrew Proctor was ably assisted by choir members Dr Mary Coghill, Suzette Glover, Dr Andrew Beards, John Tristram and Charles Bradshaw, all of whom sang the Propers of the Mass of Many Martyrs. Before Bishop Mark gave the homily, he publicly and officially welcomed the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest into the diocese where they have been ministering at Lanherne for some time and have recently arrived in Torquay, where their presence is already
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