Catholic Pic June 2019

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Issue 177 June2019

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‘You are the light of the world’ INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

New Christian Heritage Centre wins award

Easter celebrations continue

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contents Issue 177 June2019

Welcome This month our main feature looks at the vital work of safeguarding in light of the Motu proprio ‘Vos estis lux mundi.’ ‘You are the light of the world‌’ issued by Pope Francis following the Vatican Conference on ‘The Protection of Minors in the Church’ which took place in Rome from 21 to 24 February this year. The document, in which the Holy Father laid out new procedural rules to combat sexual abuse, will be enshrined in Church law and is part of an ongoing process to combat the evil of abuse. It opens with the words, ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ calls every believer to be a shining example of virtue, integrity and holiness’, a reminder of the calling of each of us as Christians.

The release of the document coincided with the meeting of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales which was held in Valladolid and which looked at safeguarding. The bishops heard from survivors and experts on the subject.

As we continue our Easter celebrations, keep the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, and look forward to Pentecost, let us pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church.

From the Archbishop’s Desk Last month the bishops of England and Wales went away for in-service training. The subject of our time together was safeguarding. We were led by survivors and experts to a greater understanding of the issues involved. It was a pretty harrowing experience but there was light and hope despite the horrendous stories we heard. To me it was remarkable that people who had been abused by the clergy still remained in the Church. They are the channels of light. These are people who had suffered and were still suffering much but because of their courage are able to help the bishops gain insight into this terrible problem that has afflicted our Church. Their faith in God was greater than their faith in the Church. Maybe now something more can be done to bridge that gap.

One of the experts who gave us so much to think about and act upon said that we should live holy communion. This is the time of year when we celebrate First Holy Communions in our parishes. This is always a lovely event that is full of joy and hope and for the future. Living holy communion makes us want to take the joy of that day into our lives. The love that is enjoyed by friends and family members, the friendship between priest, deacon and family, the unity between home, school and parish should be a firm foundation for engaging throughout life with others of all ages in which abuse has no part.

Most Rev Malcolm McMahon OP Archbishop of Liverpool

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Contents 4

Main Feature Shining the torch of truth Bishops acknowledge ‘watershed’ moment

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News From around the Archdiocese

14 Sunday Reflections Liturgy and Life 15 Nugent News Time to celebrate our Volunteers 16 What’s On Whats happening in the Archdiocese 19 Profile Jessy Carolina Mottram-NoĂŠ Honduran who followed her heart 20 Cathedral Record ‘One of a kind’ Concerts 25 Animate Pit stops for the soul 26 Pic Extras Mums the word News from the KSC 28 Pic Life Our Walk of Witness

Editor Peter Heneghan

Copy deadline July 2019 Monday 3 June 2019

Editorial Catholic Pictorial Magazine Liverpool Archdiocesan Centre for Evangelisation, Croxteth Drive, Liverpool L17 1AA Tel: 0151 522 1007 Email: catholicpictorial@rcaol.co.uk

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Shining the torch of truth Bishops acknowledge ‘watershed’ moment as Pope Francis delivers edict that clergy must report all cases of abuse.

By Simon Hart “Vos estis lux mundi.” “You are the light of the world…” Our Lord Jesus Christ calls every believer to be a shining example of virtue, integrity and holiness.’

With these words Pope Francis began his Apostolic letter dated 7 May to Catholics worldwide – a letter in which he laid out new procedural rules to combat sexual abuse. The Pontiff’s edict, or Motu Proprio, which will subsequently become Church law, followed the meeting on the Protection of Minors at the Vatican in February this year, and it underlined the need for all clergy and religious to disclose any cases of abuse to ‘the competent civil authorities’.

Moreover, it mentioned specifically the need for Bishops to assume this responsibility with every diocese required to have a system enabling the public to submit reports easily. ‘This responsibility falls, above all, on the successors of the Apostles, chosen by God to be pastoral leaders of his people, and demands from them a commitment to follow closely the path of the Divine Master,’ wrote Pope Francis.

The publication of the Pope’s letter coincided with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales’s spring meeting in Valladolid, Spain which 4

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focused on safeguarding training.

The Bishops, whose number included the Archbishop of Liverpool, Malcolm McMahon, heard the testimonies of survivors of abuse as part of this process, and said in a statement: ‘These have been days which have touched every bishop very deeply. We have listened to the deep and lasting confusion, pain and despair, inflicted by the people who abused them. We have listened with horror to the ways in which precious gifts of our faith have been used to groom and dominate both children and vulnerable adults in crimes of abuse. We humbly ask forgiveness of all who carry this pain, for our slowness and defensiveness and for our neglect of both preventative and restorative actions.’

The Bishops also welcomed Pope Francis’s intervention – and the hope it brings of a fresh chapter. They said: ‘For us bishops, these days are a watershed.

Now we accept with renewed vigour the challenges that lie ahead. We welcome warmly the Motu Proprio “Vos estis lux mundi” which Pope Francis has issued today, the last day of our conference, and its new provisions and requirements.’

Pope’s instructions Pope Francis’s edict spelled out clearly the obligation for every diocese worldwide to have established, by June 2020, ‘one or more public, stable and easily accessible systems for submission of

reports’. In addition, it stressed the need to ‘report promptly’ and to conclude investigations within a period of 90 days.

In a significant step, the Pope provided clear definition of a coverup as ‘actions or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid civil investigations or canonical investigations, whether administrative or penal, against a cleric or a religious regarding the delicts’ of sexual abuse.

Moreover, his letter contained a clear definition of abuse too, providing three specific categories: • forcing someone, by violence or threat or through abuse of authority, to perform or submit to sexual acts • performing sexual acts with a minor or a vulnerable person • the production, exhibition, possession or distribution, including by electronic means, of child pornography, as well as by the recruitment of or inducement of a minor or a vulnerable person to participate in pornographic exhibitions.

The Pontiff acknowledged the damage done by sex abuse cases and argued for the need to draw lessons from the past. He wrote: ‘The crimes of sexual abuse offend Our Lord, cause physical, psychological and spiritual damage to the victims and harm the community of the faithful.

‘In order that these phenomena, in all their forms, never happen again, a continuous and profound conversion of hearts is needed, attested by concrete and effective actions that involve everyone in the Church, so that personal sanctity and moral commitment can contribute to promoting the full credibility of the gospel message and the effectiveness of the Church’s mission.

‘Even if so much has already been accomplished, we must continue to learn from the bitter lessons of the past, looking with hope towards the future.’

The full text of the Motu proprio is available on the Holy See website at www.vatican.va

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feature “You are the light of the world…”

Desire for healing Back in Valladolid, Baroness Sheila Hollins, a member of the training team working with the Bishops’ Conference, said that the goal had been to help them ‘understand more clearly the importance of listening to and accompanying people who have been abused and those close to them, and to recognise the long-term effects of abuse’.

The majority of the training team were ‘victims and survivors of abuse’ and Baroness Hollins quoted one survivor who

said of the Bishops: ‘I felt hugely encouraged by their sincere desire to bring about healing and their genuine sorrow at the harm inflicted by some of their brothers, on so many.’

Archbishop Malcolm McMahon offers a personal reflection on page 3 of this month’s Pic in which he describes these survivors as ‘channels of light’ for their continuing connection with the Church. ‘To me it was remarkable,’ he writes, ‘that people who had been abused by the clergy still remained in the Church. The challenge in this Archdiocese and

elsewhere is to keep light shining in all places.’

• Archbishop Malcolm will be the main celebrant at ‘Celebrate the Child’, the Archdiocese’s Annual Family Celebration Mass at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic College, Highfield Road, Widnes on Sunday 30 June (3pm), preceded by a picnic in the grounds at 1.00 pm. For more information contact safeguarding@rcaol.co.uk or 0151 522 1043.

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feature Safeguarding today For over 20 years, the Archdiocese of Liverpool has had safeguarding procedures in place, and was one of the first Catholic dioceses to appoint a safeguarding officer. Since that time, the safeguarding department has consistently worked to strengthen and improve safeguarding across the Archdiocese.

There is a robust governance structure now in place with oversight from the Safeguarding Commission, which is an independent panel of expert professionals. All our work is undertaken within the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service (CSAS) policies and procedures, which is compliant with UK legislation and statutory guidance and can be viewed at https://www.csas.uk.net/. We also work in close partnership with the police, local authorities, our statutory partners, and other faith groups to support victims and to hold anyone who has committed abuse to account.

Earlier this year, all of the Catholic Dioceses across England and Wales were required to answer a robust series of questions about the structure and governance of safeguarding both to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and to the Charity Commission. The Archdiocese of Liverpool was no exception, and we completed a lengthy return to both organisations. We also underwent an independent inspection of our cases by the CSAS, for which we received very positive feedback.

Over the last couple of months, the Archdiocese of Liverpool Trustees have supported investment into the safeguarding department by updating both the DBS (Disclosure and Barring

Alex Griffiths Service) and case management systems – another step towards a contemporary, forward-thinking department.

The Archdiocese of Liverpool welcomes Pope Francis’ ‘Vos Estis Lux Mundi’. We are pleased that the Papal decree describes a significant amount of the already existing working structures that are present and working well not only in this Archdiocese, but across Dioceses throughout England and Wales. Pope Francis has made clear the damage that abuse causes, and that abuse has no place in the Catholic Church.

The Archdiocese of Liverpool takes safeguarding very seriously and would strongly urge anyone who has been hurt by abuse whether it is now, or in the past, to come forward and tell us or report it to the police. You will be listened to and given the necessary support.

Please do not hesitate to contact the safeguarding department on 0151 522 1043 or safeguarding@rcaol.co.uk Alexandra Griffiths, Safeguarding Co-ordinator

“Pope Francis has made clear the damage that abuse causes, and that abuse has no place in the Catholic Church” 6

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News diary If you’ve got any news from your parish that you’d like featured e-mail us with the details at: catholicpictorial@rcaol.co.uk

From Freshfield to Lourdes

Parishioners of St Anne’s, Freshfield, under the spiritual leadership of parish priest, Monsignor John Walsh, enjoyed five magnificent days in Lourdes with a full pilgrimage programme of services.

For many it was their first visit to the shrine and one they shall remember forever.

Group organiser Mike Halford was especially honoured to be chosen to read the English Bidding Prayer when the group attended the International Mass in the Underground Basilica of St Pius X.

Singing out in Penwortham Walk past St Teresa’s Church in Penwortham on a Tuesday evening in term time between the hours of 7.30 and 9.00 pm and you will hear the All Hallows Community Choir practising their singing writes Gemma Swarbrick.

The choir was the brainchild of the head of performing arts at All Hallows, Mrs Lavinia Colclough, and came into existence exactly a year ago. During that twelve months, the choir which consists of parishioners, friends, family, serving and retired members of All Hallows staff has gone from strength to strength, with new members frequently joining.

Since we became established, a number of concerts have been very well received by our audiences and has resulted in new members joining. Our first performance was in St Teresa’s church just before Advent and we also took part in the Christmas end of term concert at school. St Mary Magdalen’s church hosted us at the end of April when we sang a large and varied repertoire of songs. We usually start with a selection of John Rutter songs including ‘The Music’s Always There with You’, a song which has become the signature tune of the choir. These are followed with ‘the Prayer’ and ‘You Raise me Up’. Our second half has a lighter side to it with a medley of Simon and Garfunkel songs along with songs from the shows, particularly Andrew Lloyd Webber and a selection from Les Miserables. We end with a rendition of Bob Chilcott’s Irish blessing and as people leave

many are humming one of the songs they have just heard but more often than not they are overwhelmed by the number of songs we have sung, the quality of the singing and the sheer enjoyment that we all experience as a result of a night of music.

New members are always welcome and we are especially on the lookout for some male singers to help out with the tenor and bass lines.

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New book sheds fresh light on Cardinal Newman

Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph’s church, Prescot

Poles in Prescot

by Neil Sayer Archdiocesan Archivist Polish immigrants and their reception by the local Catholic community are mentioned in some documents recently unearthed in the Archdiocesan Archives. They date from the end of the Second World War, when many people were displaced from their country of origin. Some 140,000 Poles were stranded in Great Britain, unable or unwilling to return to Poland, wary of sanctions under the Russian-backed Communist regime. There were several camps in the Liverpool area that provided a temporary home for these ex-servicemen and civilian refugees, including one in the parklands attached to Knowsley Hall.

Reports and correspondence in Archbishop Downey’s papers show that many local Catholic organisations made great efforts to help these uprooted people integrate into the life of their parishes.

There were some families among the refugees and military dependents, and at Christmas 1946 a children’s party was organised by Father Charles Horan, Parish Priest of Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph’s in Prescot. In return, the camp’s Polish military choir sang carols in Our Lady’s Church and gave concerts in the parish schools.

At the same time the Catholic Young 8

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Men’s Societies arranged for local families in Prescot to open their homes on Christmas Day to the bored camp-dwellers sorely in need of company: some of the hosts hoped to have someone ‘musicallyminded’ or ‘keen on indoor games’, and the initiative was so successful that a few of the young Poles were more or less adopted by the Prescot families. Major Nowakowski expressed the gratitude felt by his fellow Poles ‘who were desperately in need of a friendly fireside and the greater warmth of real friendship’.

The mutual entertainments continued into the New Year of 1947, and began to involve churches in St Helens and Wigan. The Catholic Teachers’ Society organised classes in English to assist the Poles in finding employment. Dances were organised by the Wigan Section of the Catholic Women’s League, and Winefride Boardman, their Chairman, felt that they ‘brought laughter and a little happiness into the grey lives of these brave and unfortunate fellowCatholics’. The camps were gradually closed as their occupants moved on, and although some of the Poles did eventually decide to return home to an uncertain reception, many more settled in England. The descendants of those on Merseyside and in Lancashire must still be grateful for the warmth of their ancestors’ reception some 70 years ago.

The life and times of Cardinal John Henry Newman provide the subject of a new book by a wellknown Merseyside Anglican priest.

Rev Dr Rod Garner, who is an honorary fellow of Liverpool Hope University, says that completing ‘Bright Evening Star – A Portrait of John Henry Newman’, has fulfilled ‘a long-standing personal ambition’.

In February it was announced that Cardinal Newman was closer to being canonised after a second miracle in his name was confirmed by the Pope. Two authenticated miracles are required before sainthood and Newman, who was already credited with curing a man's spinal disease, is now said to have healed a woman's unstoppable bleeding.

Newman, born in 1801, will become the first English saint since the 40 Martyrs, who were canonised in 1970.

Rev Garner, who is also Canon Emeritus of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, retired last year after 23 years at Southport's Holy Trinity Church. He said: ‘Writing this book fulfills a long-standing personal ambition and reflects my abiding interest in Newman as a writer and deep religious thinker. I hope it introduces him to a wider readership as the Catholic Church prepares to make him a saint.

He is a fascinating and complex personality with important things to say to us today concerning how we might live faithful and creative lives.’

Professor Michael Wheeler, chairman of Gladstone’s Library and author of ‘The Old Enemies’, said: ‘Rod Garner’s reading of Newman is informed, perceptive and personal.’

The book, which is being published by Liverpool Hope University Press, will be launched at Liverpool Hope on Thursday 6 June at 1pm in Seminar Rooms 1&2, Conference Centre, Hope Park.

There will be a further two book launches at Southport College on 11 June (7pm) and Ince Blundell Hall on 20 June (6pm). To confirm your attendance, email rgcfgarner@gmail.com

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news diary Award for new Christian Heritage Centre

Theodore House at Stonyhurst has been named as the winner of a competition to find the Best Educational Building created in the North West of the UK in 2018.

It received the award at a dinner and presentation event recently held in the conference centre at Old Trafford Cricket Ground which was attended by over 600 architects and their design teams along with representatives of their clients and others. The event was organised by the Local Authorities Building Control network in England and Wales. As the winner in this category, Theodore House will go forward to the national finals held in London in November 2019.

Theodore House was created from the ruins of a former Victorian working mill which had served Stonyhurst College well until its closure in the middle of the last century. It lay derelict throughout the years that followed until a new, independent charitable Trust was formed some seven years ago and set about raising funds to develop a Christian Heritage Centre from the ruins of the mill which would provide resources and create a residential centre for retreats for families, organisations, schools, individuals and others along with courses that would be available to explore Christian leadership formation and related matters. Residential accommodation within the building provides accommodation for forty people in single, double, disabled and family rooms.

Michael Hartley, an accredited conservation architect had been

retained as the college architect for twenty years and looked after the largest group of Grade 1 listed buildings in the North West that make up Stonyhurst College. He led the design and oversaw the construction, repair and restoration of the former mill adjacent to the parish church of St Peter.

The Chairman of the Christian Heritage Centre is John Cowdall, one of the Founder Trustees, who took over from Lord Alton when Theodore House was opened in February this year by the Queen's cousin, Lord Nicholas Windsor.

David Alton had chaired the Trust since its formation and undertaken much of the fund-raising.

John Cowdall said, ‘Theodore House provides opportunities for individuals, parishes and schools to deepen their Catholic faith and for those seeking retreats, retreat leaders can be provided or the house can accommodate those who wish to bring their own. Theodore House is in the heart of the Ribble Valley and for those who wish, there is an opportunity to walk the stunning Tolkien Trail and to learn more about the Catholic Faith of the worldfamous writer. A very beautiful cloister garden is approaching completion at the rear of the House which will be open to those attending events and to the public.

Further information is available on the Trust's web site at www.christianheritagecentre.com or contact the Guest Manager, Frances Ahearne, Tel: 01254 827084. Email; guestmanager@christianheritagecent re.com

Obituary of Rev Joseph Cunningham Father Joseph Cunningham who served for eight years in Ecuador and held a number of appointments across the archdiocese died on Saturday 27 April aged 92 and in the 52nd year of his priesthood.

Joseph Cunningham was born at Waterloo, Liverpool, on 2 July 1926, the son of William and Anne Cunningham. He received his early education at St Edmund of Canterbury, Waterloo, and at St Mary’s College, Crosby.

After leaving school he worked in the Borough Engineer’s Department for a short period, before being called up, towards the end of the war, to serve in the Royal Navy. He served in the Far East on the cruiser ‘Gambia’ and was demobbed in July 1948. Returning to his previous job he soon felt called to teaching and went to Strawberry Hill, where he gained a diploma in Physical Education.

After teaching for two years he joined a company of chemical engineers and stayed in industry for the next twelve years.

During the time of the Second Vatican Council he felt called to the priesthood and began his seminary training in 1964 at the Beda College in Rome, just as his elder brother Vincent had done in the early 1950s.

He was ordained priest at the Basilica of St Paul Without-the-Walls on 30 March 1968. In August 1968 he was appointed assistant priest to Fr Ernest Gray at English Martyrs, Haydock. He ministered in Haydock for a little over four years, before being offered for service with the Society of St James in Latin America. He was accepted by the Society for missionary work in November 1972 and he began his language course early in 1973.

After 3½ months studying Spanish he was appointed to the parish of Santisimo Rosario, Guayaquil, Ecuador, where he served for the remainder of his five-year term with the Society; and with two other priests ministered to a parish of 30,000 souls, most of whom were housed in very primitive, insanitary conditions.

In March 1980 he returned to the archdiocese and held a series of appointments as parish priest, firstly at St Wilfrid, Stubshaw Cross until he was appointed to All Saints, Anfield in February 1987; St Benedict, Warrington in July 1992 and St Edmund of Canterbury, Waterloo in December 1995.

He retired in 1997 and lived variously at Nazareth House, Crosby, the old rectory at Our Lady’s, Formby from 2003, and at a care home in Formby from 2016.

His Funeral Mass was celebrated at St Thomas of Canterbury, Waterloo.

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news diary Obituary of Canon John Gaine Canon John Gaine, Parish Priest of St Teresa of Avila, Birkdale, for over 37 years, died on the morning of Tuesday 16 April, at the age of 91 and in the 68th year of his priesthood.

John James Gaine was born in London on 18 October 1927, the eldest of four children born to Daniel and Brigid Gaine.

He received his early education at Birklands Convent School, Highgate, and at St Mary’s College, Crosby. Later he entered St Joseph’s College, Upholland, to begin his seminary training. Being too young to be ordained with his classmates in the summer of 1951, he was ordained priest by Bishop Joseph Halsall, Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool, just three days after his twenty-fourth birthday at Holy Cross, St Helens, on 21 October 1951.

Following ordination he went to the Institut Superieur de Philosophie at Louvain, where he completed a licentiate in philosophy. Returning to the archdiocese in the summer of 1955 he joined the teaching staff at Upholland where he taught philosophy until the transfer of the senior seminary to Ushaw in 1975. He was actively involved in the delicate transfer process and was one of the few members of the teaching staff at Upholland to transfer to Ushaw, where he served as Vice-President from 1975 until 1979.

In September 1979 he was appointed parish priest at St Teresa’s, Birkdale; his

only parish appointment in an active priestly ministry of over sixty years. There he applied the same meticulous approach that he had to his teaching to the needs of his parishioners, visiting them and celebrating the sacraments for them. His zeal for priestly ministry remained undimmed and it was only his increasing physical frailty that forced his retirement to Formby in April 2017.

For his distinguished service to the archdiocese and the wider Church he was appointed firstly as an honorary Canon in February 1991 and then raised to the Metropolitan Cathedral Chapter in 1998.

In the late 1960s he was approached by Bishop Thomas Holland of Salford to see if he would join a committee of the Bishops’ Conference which mirrored the work of what eventually became the Secretariat for Non-Believers and later the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with NonBelievers. For thirty years or so he made the journey to London two or three times a year for meetings of this committee. He had a clear vision of what really threatened faith and, equally important, of what only claimed to threaten it. His down to earth realism together with his familiarity with the main atheist currents in philosophy were extremely useful, and his humour, expressed in his characteristic diction, made meetings not only valuable but also great fun.

For nearly forty years he was a trustee of

Canon John Gaine

the Sherburne Heatley Trust, a small charity set up in 1845 to support mainly ecclesiastical education for those coming from within the boundaries of the old Lancashire Vicariate. Trustees are always priests of the Archdiocese of Liverpool and John became a trustee in the early 1980s. He was chairman of trustees from 1984 until his death, and always discharged his responsibilities with great care and dedication.

His Funeral Mass was celebrated on Wednesday 1 May at St Teresa of Avila, Birkdale, followed by burial at sacred Heart, Ainsdale.

‘Together on the Road’ parading for St George Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout movement, chose St George as the Patron Saint of Scouting everywhere.

On Sunday 28 April over 65 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and leaders from 8th Penwortham St Teresa’s Scout Group joined parishioners to celebrate Mass in honour of St George.

The group paraded into mass to our Synod Hymn ‘Together on the Road’ and then renewed their scouting promise.

The Scouts took an active part in the Mass with altar servers, readers and bringing up the offertory. Following communion, the Beavers and Cubs performed ‘My Lighthouse’ with words and actions to the congregation.

The Mass reaffirmed the close links between the parish, community and scouting family.

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news diary

Easter Celebrations

The Easter Garden at St Luke the Evangelist, Whiston where Parish Priest, Father Peter Fox, celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood earlier this year, whilst Sister Eileen Moore OSC, Parish Sister at St Luke’s, celebrated 65 years professed as a Sister of St Clare last April.

St Wilfrid’s Parish, Widnes

Maundy Thursday procession at St Mary’s Shrine, Warrington

St Wilfrid’s Parish, Widnes

Easter Sunday at St Wilfred’s, Widnes Father Joe Bibby with altar serving brothers

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news diary Obituary of Winefride Park A long-time guide at the Metropolitan Cathedral, Winefride Park died on Friday 3 May aged 94.

Winefride’s association with the Cathedral had begun on 5 June 1933 when, as an eight-year-old, she visited the site on the very day the foundation stone was laid. Her three sons were later choristers there – one of them, William, even sang a solo at the inaugural Mass – and she had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the building which made her a perfect choice to appear on BBC’s ‘Songs of Praise’ programme when it marked the Cathedral’s golden jubilee in 2017.

Born on 9 July 1924 as Maria Leonor Winefride Chibber, she owed her given name, Winefride, to her mother Leonora Azurdia, a Guatemalan, who had prayed at St Winefride’s Well in Holywell when she was having difficulty conceiving.

Winefride’s father Hans was a doctor and she made her first communion in Lourdes where he served on the Liverpool Archdiocesan Pilgrimage each year (and acted as a witness following

the miraculous recovery of Jack Traynor).

After attending Bellerive Convent Grammar School, Winefride read Modern Languages at Liverpool University but had her studies interrupted by service abroad, in Italy and Austria, with the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service), the women’s branch of the British army during the Second World War. Her daughter, Cecilia recalls: ‘She saw the results of the fighting with people at the end of the war, repatriating them. I remember her talking about going on people’s motorbikes to watch opera in the open air. She was in lots of plays and shows but she never boasted – she was quite understated.’

In 1953 she married her husband Jack and had four children, sons Richard, Justin and William along with Cecilia.

Prior to starting a family she had worked at the Liverpool Cotton Exchange but from 1960 she started teaching Commercial subjects in secondary schools, first at St John Almond in Garston and then St Julie’s in Woolton.

On retiring, Winefride volunteered at the

A Birthday Broadcast

Archbishop Malcolm will celebrate his 70th birthday on Friday 14 June and can be heard the following Sunday, 16 June, on BBC Radio Merseyside reflecting on the occasion with Religious Producer, Helen Jones. The Archbishop (pictured in the studio with Helen) will also lead a special Act of Worship as part of the regular ‘Daybreak’ programme which is broadcast each Sunday morning from 6.00 am to 9.00 am.

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Liverpool University Catholic chaplaincy with Survive-Miva, a Catholic charity providing vehicles for health and pastoral care in Africa.

For 16 years, moreover, she was a guide at the Cathedral as well as a regular reader at Mass there. ‘She was very much part of the community,’ remembers Cecilia.

Speaking to the Pic in 2017 Winefride herself said, ‘Sometimes when I go in, I recall the wonderful times we’ve had there’ and it was only fitting that it was there that her Requiem Mass was celebrated on Monday 20 May.

Obituary of Fr Barrie O’Toole CSsR Father Barrie O’Toole CSsR died on the morning of 7 May at the age of 82.

Born in Leeds on 18 November 1936, he began his studies for the priesthood after completing his national service in the RAF. He joined the Redemptorists in 1958, was professed in 1959 and ordained to the priesthood in January 1966. After completing a Church History degree in Rome, he taught Redemptorist students first at Hawkstone Hall and then at the student college in Canterbury, as its first rector. He subsequently returned to Hawkstone to run the Redemptorists’ pastoral centre.

Fr Barrie’s 53 years of priesthood included memorable spells in Brazil and Zimbabwe; he was always open to new adventures and was part of two new experimental mission communities, one at Kiln Green near Reading and the other at the John Paul Centre in Middlesbrough.

He moved to Bishop Eton, Childwall at the beginning of this decade and it was there, on 9 January 2016, that he celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his ordination. Fr Barrie had been suffering from cancer and passed away back in his native Yorkshire, in Ripon, where he had been receiving care from his sister Pat. His funeral took place at Bishop Eton on Tuesday 21 May.

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sunday reflections On a liturgical note The first weeks of June here at the Beda are very full and busy as our top year pack up their rooms, ready for their return to their respective countries to prepare for their ordinations as priests. This year we have 10 priestly ordinations to look forward to at various stages over the next months; three in Scotland, four in England, one in India and two in Australia.

There is also the small-but-notinsignificant matter of end-of-year examinations, marking, and then the Board of Examiners so that we can get all the results forwarded to St Mary’s University in London for inclusion in the July graduation ceremony. On Wednesday 12 June we have the last full day of the college year which is marked by the ordination to the diaconate of two of our students, Norman Allred of Meath (Ireland) and Adrian Lowe of Brentwood (England). Please remember them and all our ordinands in your prayers that they may be ardent but gentle servants of the Gospel.

Ardent but gentle. In popular devotion, this month is often kept as the month of the Sacred Heart and indeed on the 28th, the Liturgy keeps the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For

Sunday thoughts An evening meeting prevented me from travelling from the Isle of Man for the funeral of Canon John Gaine.

He taught in the seminary at Upholland. I was in the school. I had a fascination with electronics. There were only two of us but Father Gaine took us under his wing in a ‘Wireless Club’. He taught me how to use a soldering iron. We built our own multi-meter and he taught me the difference between volts, amps and ohmns – a distinction that served me well in O-Level Physics. We built and repaired radios. He explained everything in his quiet, painstaking and staccato voice.

As I moved to the senior house, John became my Philosophy professor. He broadened the curriculum away from exclusive study of Aristotle and Aquinas to include Descartes, Locke, Berkley and Hume, and even Wittgenstein. He also introduced us to Teilhard de Chardin. John

Canon Philip Gillespie

many generations a devotion and love of the heart of Jesus was presumed when you made the profession of faith: ‘He became incarnate of the Holy Spirit and was made man.’ To be human is not merely to have an organ which pumps the blood around the body but to have a seat of emotion, love, care and compassion. It is not only on 14 February that the heart pierced with the arrow of love comes to the fore of our attention (at least beyond the card shops) – in our Christian spirituality the pierced heart of Jesus on the Cross, sometimes in iconography surrounded by the crown of thorns, becomes the source and the inspiration of all loving and serving in the Church and for the world.

‘For raised up high on the Cross, He gave himself up for us with a wonderful love and poured out blood and water from his pierced side, the wellspring of the Church’s Sacraments, so that, won over to the open heart of the Saviour, all might draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.’

Preface of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Mgr John Devine OBE

encouraged me to study him on my own.

I still boast a shelf full of Teilhard’s works to this day.

John was also Prefect of Discipline for all my time in the senior seminary. He had a reputation as a stickler, but I soon discovered that minor infringements might be overlooked if your written assignments were in on time. Two days after my ordination I returned to the college to resume life as a student. I was wearing a sports coat and a roll-neck sweater. John met me on the stairs. He insisted on kneeling on the floor to receive my first blessing and then reprimanded me for being improperly dressed!

When John became a parish priest he relaxed into the role. His voice was still the same but he became an increasingly benign and gentle pastor. May he rest in peace.

Weekly Reflections are on the Archdiocesan website at www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk/reflection 14

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Surrender to love Just recently I was invited into a prison in the North of England to talk about mercy and I met an extraordinary man called Peter. He came bouncing up to me as soon as I walked into the chapel. It seemed as though life was bubbling inside him. He immediately began to share his experience of God with me. He had been in prison for many years and had been refused parole several times but, he told me, God had always been with him.

He described how he came into the prison weighed down with his crimes, and ready to take his own life. Through the ministry of another inmate, Peter’s life changed. As he learnt how to pray and invite God into the darkness he began to change until he realised that God lives within him.

It changed him deeply as he surrendered more and more to God and the darkness disappeared. Whenever I think of the word surrender, I think of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, a leading pharisee. Nicodemus was challenged to realise that he had to become part of a new order which involves a letting go of the need to control and the need to be right. It meant he had to be willing to open himself to the power of God’s unconditional love, if he was to be part of what God was doing in the world.

He also had to be willing to let go of the manipulation and power that had been the focus for him and the other Pharisees. Letting go and abandonment are the only ways to know the truth of love. ‘So, Nicodemus,’ says Jesus ‘are you prepared to surrender to the power of love?’

It’s a massive question for us to reflect on.

Will we surrender to God’s spirit and allow that spirit to change us or are we happy as we are, too comfortable to move or have our comfort zones punctured? Are we prepared to be spirit-filled people who are unpredictable for the sake of love, regardless of social conventions and what other people might think? Are we willing to stand for justice, truth, peace, compassion, regardless of the cost to ourselves? Nicodemus, caught up with the life he lives, and the beliefs he has, is invited to surrender to the power of love and to become counter-cultural. That’s where the spirit will lead us if we are prepared to surrender to love. The question is, will we?

Fr Chris Thomas

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Time to celebrate our Volunteers ‘When you forget yourself and think of others, this is love.’ Pope Francis This month during Volunteers’ Week, we celebrate and say thank you to our amazing volunteer teams, people who give their time in so many ways to help us help others.

Across 2017/18 our 150 + volunteers gave over 12,400 hours to supporting our people, that’s the equivalent of over £97,000 in unpaid work. Volunteers are

vital to the smooth running of our charity.

We have volunteers who have been involved with us for over 30 years, which is a testament to their dedicated commitment and the hard work they do for Nugent.

From trustees and campaigners to carers and fundraisers, we have people from all walks-of-life, contributing to the lives of others, giving up their time, bringing energy, dedication, passion and dignity to the work they do.

Their vital work includes driving minibuses to take residents out on day trips, serving customers in our charity shop, running community groups for people with disabilities to helping our older people in our care enjoy art and music.

If you have some time to give, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Colin Pryor: Tel: 0151 261 2041/07909925594 Email: Colin.Pryor@nugentcare.org

Seafarers charity welcomes High Sheriff for ship tour The Liverpool Seafarers Centre (LSC) has staged a ‘special access’ tour for the High Sheriff of Merseyside on the banks of the River Mersey.

High Sheriff Peter Woods received exclusive access to the inner workings of the ecumenical voluntary organisation after joining a ‘ship visiting’ exercise at North Dock.

John Wilson, the CEO of LSC, said the High Sheriff boarded MV Predator a bulk carrier vessel for a day-in-the-life experience working alongside the charity’s team members, who offer support to 50,000 seafarers passing through the Port of Liverpool each year.

Formed in 2008, the charity is a partnership between the Catholic Apostleship of the Sea (Liverpool) and the Anglican Mersey Mission to Seafarers, and it now has the support of many other cross-denominational faiths and organisations.

Wilson said of the High Sheriff’s visit: ‘The ship-visiting exercise in particular

showcased our seafarer welfare support programme in action with on-board visits central to our entire operation. This direct, face-to-face communication is fundamental to our mission to provide “a lifeline” to seafarers. The High Sheriff was able to witness how we deliver our care package from boosting morale to managing more sensitive issues.

‘Our outreach service is focused on delivering practical and emotional support.

This includes support for “major life events” such as a family bereavement, trauma, marriage, divorce or the birth of a child. We also act as a go-between and can talk to the ship management company if there are problems to ensure seafarers are being properly cared for. On a practical level we provide a variety of support including access to wifi, money exchange and a

physical base on land where crew can take a break from the vessel.’

The High Sheriff said: ‘It was a fascinating experience joining Liverpool Seafarers Centre for the day and witnessing the valuable service they provide. The tour put into perspective the scale of the challenge at hand to deliver care to a large and often invisible workforce which toils on the oceans. The work of Liverpool Seafarers Centre and its volunteers is highly commendable and is vital in ensuring the Port of Liverpool maintains its reputation as a friendly and caring port.’

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what’s on Sunday 2 June World Communications Day. Celebration of the Uganda Martyrs 12.00 noon Mass with the Community of Missionaries of Africa at St Vincent de Paul, St James Street, Liverpool, L1 5JN followed by a shared meal with the African community. All welcome.

Wednesday 5 June Taize Prayer/Lectio Divina 7.00 pm at St Joseph’s Prayer Centre, Blundell Avenue, Freshfield, Formby, L37 1PH. Tel: 01704 875850 or 07712 178670. Email: theprayercentre.stj@psmgs.org.uk Website: www.stjosephsprayercentre.com UCM Annual Mass 7.30 pm in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. Celebrant: Bishop Tom Williams.

Thursday 6 June ‘He is risen.’ Scripture Morning exploring the Resurrection stories 10.30 am at lrenaeus, 32 Great Georges Road, Waterloo, L22 1RD. Details Tel: 0151 949 1199. Email: jenny@irenaeus.co.uk Website: www.irenaeus.co.uk Friday 7 June to Sunday 9 June ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’

Northern Catholic Conference at Liverpool Hope University. Speakers include: Sister Regina Collins, Father Eamon Mulcahy, John Hesketh, Sister Roseanne Ruddy and Father Pat Deegan. Mass,

Eucharistic adoration, reconciliation and devotions. Accommodation; full board en suite rooms. Day visitors welcome. Details: Denise ‘Regina Coeli’, 6 warner Drive, Liverpool, L4 8US. Tel: 07543 800812. Email; northerncatholic@outlook.com www.northerncatholic.co.uk Friday 7 June to Friday 14 June Individually Guided retreats led by Sister Annie Lunney SMG St Joseph’s Prayer Centre, Blundell Avenue, Freshfield, Formby, L37 1PH. Bookings: Tel: 01704 875850 or 07712 178670. Email: theprayercentre.stj@psmgs.org.uk Website: www.stjosephsprayercentre.com Friday 7 June ‘Musicals and more’ presented by St Edmund’s Choir 7.30 pm in the Metropolitan Cathedral Crypt. Tickets £10 from www.musicalsandmore.eventbrite.com Details: www.stedmundschoir.com Saturday 8 June ‘Finding the God of Love: Lord help me to know you and to know myself.’

Retreat day led by Father Michael Hickey. 10.00 am - 3.30 pm at St Joseph’s Prayer Centre, Blundell Avenue, Freshfield, Formby, L37 1PH. £22 including a light lunch.

Bookings: Tel: 01704 875850 or 07712 178670. Email: theprayercentre.stj@psmgs.org.uk Website: www.stjosephsprayercentre.com ‘On this shining night’ Concert: Music by Pachelbel, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Avo Part and Morten Lauridsen, with the Metropolitan Cathedral Orchestra and Cantata Choir.

7.30 pm in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. Tickets

and details Tel: 0151 707 3525 or www.cathedralconcerts.org.uk Sunday 9 June Feast of Pentecost.

Pentecost 2019 ‘Journeying together in hope.’

3.00 pm Service at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King followed by a personal pilgrimage to Liverpool Cathedral concluding there with an informal Taizé style service at 4:30 pm.

Monday 10 June Churches Together Merseyside Young Adults Forum Are you a young adult 18+ who would like to meet with youth from denominations across Merseyside in an informal setting to reflect on and discuss life as a Christian today?

6:30 - 8:30 pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool L1 3BT. Refreshments included.

Tuesday 11 June Time Out on Tuesdays 10.00 am to 4.00 pm at the Cenacle, Tithebarn Grove, Lance Lane, Liverpool L15 6TW. An opportunity for quiet time, away from the daily rush of life. Offering £10 per person (bring your own lunch). For further details contact: Sister Winifred. Tel: 0151 722 2271, Email: winniecenacle@mail.com Wednesday 12 June Good Shepherd Mass 1.00 pm in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. Celebrant: Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP ‘Songs we Remember.’

Singing and enjoyment for anyone who likes to sing but particularly geared towards those living with dementia and their carers. 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at St Thomas of Canterbury Parish Hall, Great Georges Road, Waterloo, L22 1RD. Details: Irenaeus Tel: 0151 949 1199. Email: m.knight@rcaol.co.uk

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june Thursday 13 June ‘He is risen.’ Scripture Morning exploring the Resurrection stories 10.30 am at lrenaeus, 32 Great Georges Road, Waterloo, L22 1RD. Details Tel: 0151 949 1199. Email: jenny@irenaeus.co.uk Website: www.irenaeus.co.uk

Monday 24 June

Cathedral Choristers of Britain In Concert In the presence of Her Royal highness the Duchess of Gloucester GCVO and in aid of Friends of Cathedral Music’s Diamond Fund for Choristers. 7.30 pm in Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. Tickets £30, £20, £12, under 12s free. Liverpool Cathedral Shop Tel: 0151 702 7255 www.cathedralshop.com

Weekend at lrenaeus, 32 Great Georges Road, Waterloo, L22 1RD. Residential and non-residential places available. Details Tel: 0151 949 1199.

Email: jenny@irenaeus.co.uk Website: www.irenaeus.co.uk

Sunday 16 June Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Day for Life

Sunday 23 June Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

Tuesday 18 June ‘Loved Infinitely: Jesus’ Sacred Heart.’

Retreat day led by Father Eamon Mulcahy CSSp. 10.30 am - 3.30 pm at St Joseph’s Prayer Centre, Blundell Avenue, Freshfield, Formby, L37 1PH. £22 including a simple lunch.

Bookings: Tel: 01704 875850 or 07712 178670. Email: theprayercentre.stj@psmgs.org.uk Website: www.stjosephsprayercentre.com

Liverpool Bach Collective Johann Sebastian Bach Cantata 37: ‘Wer da glaubet.’ (‘He who believes.’)

6.30 pm at St George’s church, Northumberland Terrace, Everton, L5 3QG. Singers and Players directed by Philip Duffy. www.liverpoolbach.com Email: liverpoolbach@icloud.com

Good Shepherd Mass 10.45 am at St Mary’s, Broadfield Drive, Leyland, PR25 1PD. Celebrant: Bishop Tom Williams.

Thursday 20 June ‘He is risen.’ Scripture Morning exploring the Resurrection stories 10.30 am at lrenaeus, 32 Great Georges Road, Waterloo, L22 1RD. Details Tel: 0151 949 1199. Email: jenny@irenaeus.co.uk Website: www.irenaeus.co.uk Friday 21 June to Sunday 23 June ‘Sing a new song unto the Lord.’

Reflections on the Psalms. Scripture

Monday 24 June Solemnity of the Birth of St John the Baptist.

Wednesday 26 June ‘Songs we Remember.’

Singing and enjoyment for anyone who likes to sing but particularly geared towards those living with dementia and their carers. 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm at St Thomas of Canterbury Parish Hall, Great Georges Road, Waterloo, L22 1RD. Details: Irenaeus Tel: 0151 949 1199. Email: m.knight@rcaol.co.uk Taizé 18–35 A time of prayer, Scripture reading, singing, silence and discussion for young people 18 -35. 7.30 pm at St Margaret Mary’s Parish House, Pilch Lane, Liverpool, L14 0JG. Details:

Father Ian: ipmcparland@gmail.com (the 15 bus stops outside the church/house.)

Friday 28 June to Sunday 30 June ‘When I am weak then I am strong.’

A retreat led by Father Peter Prusakiewicz at Sandymount, 16 Burbo Bank Road, Blundellsands, L23 6TH. Cost £40. Details: Tel: 0151 924 4850 Email sandymountcrosby@montfort.org.uk Friday 28 June Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

A festival at Irenaeus A celebration of the Eucharist followed by an evening of fun including stalls and a raffle. 6.00 pm at lrenaeus, 32 Great Georges Road, Waterloo, L22 1RD. Details Tel: 0151 949 1199.

Email: jenny@irenaeus.co.uk Website: www.irenaeus.co.uk Sunday 30 June Solemnity of St Peter and St Paul, Apostles ‘Celebrate the Child’, Annual Family Celebration Mass 3.00 pm at St Peter and St Paul Catholic College, Highfield Road, Widnes, WA8 7DW, preceded by a picnic in the grounds and activities to prepare for Mass from 1.00 pm.

Details: Email: safeguarding@rcaol.co.uk or Tel: 0151 522 1043.

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To continue to help support over 6,000 vulnerable children and adults across the North West, Nugent’s charity shop is in urgent need of donations.

You can donate any items at our shop at:

73 Allerton Road, Liverpool, L18 2DH (Monday - Saturday, 9am - 5pm)

info@nugentcare.org wearenugent.org 73 Allerton Road, Liverpool, L18 2DH Registered Charity: 222930

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profile

Jessy Carolina Mottram-Noé Honduran who followed her heart … all the way to Liverpool By Simon Hart ‘I always say God works in such mysterious ways,’ says Jessy Carolina Mottram-Noé and when you hear about the path taken to reach her role as a Liverpool Archdiocesan pastoral associate, it is impossible to disagree.

Until 2012 she had been working in a marketing job in her home city of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

Today, she is living in Huyton with a Liverpudlian husband and working from the Widnes parish of St Wilfrid’s, covering the churches of St Michael's, St John Fisher, St Bede’s and St Basil’s.

It is a post she feels ‘blessed’ to have but first things first: just how did she end up here? ‘There was a voice inside my heart which kept saying two things to me,’ she explains. ‘I wanted to volunteer but doing something a bit deeper and not just part-time. And the other thing, I wanted to go Europe. And it was always the UK.’ With a laugh, she adds: ‘People were always asking me, “Why the UK?” and at the time I still didn’t know.’ Nor did she know anything about Liverpool when her initial placement in London fell through and instead she chose an opening at the Leonard Cheshire Disability Centre in Woolton. ‘The options were Sheffield,

Liverpool and Southport. Immediately I was like, “My dad loves the Beatles, the Beatles are from Liverpool!”.’

It was during that year that she met Karl, her future husband, on a train bound for London – ‘We just started chatting,’ she grins – and this led to her eventual return to Liverpool following the end of her 12month posting.

Building a life here, with the ‘amazing support’ of Karl and his family, she began volunteering once more – with both the Across and Marriage Care charities – and she drew on the ‘examples of solidarity and compassion’ offered in her youth by her parents, older brother and sister and Grandma Lila. ‘We’d volunteer at an HIVAids centre at the weekend,’ she recalls.

‘With my family I grew up like that, working in nursing homes, orphanages, rural schools and with the Missionaries of Charity.’

If the arrival of her first child this coming July will help with the process of putting down roots here, she has already gained a cherished sense of community via her work in Widnes. ‘The people here are so welcoming,’ she says, ‘and the best thing is that sense of belonging.’

The team of clergy who have welcomed her comprises Father Joe Bibby, Fr

Michael Fitzsimons, Fr Bill Murphy, Fr Carl Mugan and Bishop John Rawsthorne – and the possibilities of the pastoral associate post certainly excite her. ‘For me, Synod 2020 is very important,’ she says. ‘It’s following Pope Francis’s call about accompanying people. Two words that have stayed with me so far are “accompanying” and “listening”.’

She goes on to cite the significance of the Livesimply and outreach initiatives under way in Widnes – the latter including English lessons for those settling into the area from abroad – and also expresses her wish to engage with young people across the parish. ‘I’ve noticed, unfortunately, this age gap,’ she reflects. ‘I wonder, “Where are they and what are they doing?”.’ It is a noteworthy point of comparison with Masses back in Honduras – and not the only one.

‘Latin people are a bit more euphoric and the music is a bit more lively,’ she observes, hence her delight on discovering that St Wilfrid’s celebrate a monthly Mass for children and families.

‘Last week even a bit of fishing during the homily was done!’

As she was saying, God really does work in mysterious ways.

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cathedral

by Dr Christopher McElroy Director of Music, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

‘One of a kind’ Concerts

June sees the Cathedral choir take part in two ‘one of a kind’ concerts to which you are warmly invited.

On Friday 7 June we will be joining together with our brothers and sisters from the Anglican Cathedral to present a special concert entitled ‘Panufnik and Purcell.’ Now, it is possible you have heard of Henry Purcell, a famous 17th century English composer (buried in Westminster Abbey) who produced a great wealth of music for both the Church and court. But you may not have heard of Roxanna Panufnik.

Roxanna is one of the UK’s most performed contemporary composers. In 2018 she was commissioned to compose a new work for the Last Night of the Proms entitled ‘Songs of Darkness, Dreams of Light’ which involved a fusion of Jewish, Maronite Syriac and Sufi musical and textual forms.

We are delighted that Roxanna herself will be attending this special concert, which will be held in Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and be performed jointly by the choirs of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and Liverpool Cathedral. The main work of the programme will be Panufnik’s ‘Schola Missa de Angelis’.

Many Catholics are familiar, and will have sung many times, the gregorian chant ‘Missa de Angelis’. In this composition Panufnik gives a very twenty first century twist to the ancient

chant melody with pulsating rhythms and luscious harmonies.

The following week, on Thursday 13 June we have the ‘Choristers of Great Britain’ concert. Our Cathedral Choir is part of a larger family of choirs from across the United Kingdom who sing daily choral services in their Cathedrals.

This special concert will feature two choristers from each of the Cathedrals across the land coming together to give a very special performance. They will sing famous pieces by Parry (‘I was glad’) and Handel (‘Zadok the Priest’) alongside some ‘lighter’ items with strong Liverpool connections such as ‘You’ll Never Walk alone’ and some music from the Beatles.

Tickets for both of these concerts, which will take place in Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, can be bought from https://www.cathedralshop.com/collectio ns/cathedral-events In addition to these two events, the Metropolitan Cathedral Choir are very much looking forward to presenting a concert at St John’s Church in Standishgate, Wigan as part of their Jubilee Celebrations. The concert will take place on Friday 21 June and will features Antonio Vivaldi’s popular ‘Gloria’ alongside shorter works. All are very welcome to attend, especially those who might not be able to make it to Liverpool to hear the choir often.

Choristers of Britain Concert. Credit: Graham Lacdao

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Cathedral Record Canon Anthony O’Brien – Cathedral Dean June is always one of the busiest months of the year for annual diocesan and national services at the Cathedral and this year is no exception.

The Union of Catholic Mothers have their Annual Mass and gathering on Wednesday 5 June at 7.30 pm, Bishop Tom Williams will preside at Mass along with various chaplains from across the archdiocese. We celebrate the Feast of Pentecost on Sunday 9 June with adult confirmations taking place during the 11.00 am Mass and then in the afternoon the Joint Two Cathedrals Ecumenical Service starting at our Cathedral at 3.00 pm. This service has been taking place since the 1980s and is a chance for all Christians to come together on Pentecost day and worship and walk together as a sign of our unity in faith.

Since 2016 this service now takes place every year and this year rather than a road procession we will walk from our Cathedral to Liverpool Cathedral in pilgrimage along the pavement with stopping points for reflection and prayer.

The Good Shepherd Mass in support of Nugent is on Wednesday12 June at 1.00 pm. St Mary’s College, Crosby, are having a Celebration of Vespers and an evening meal in the Crypt on Saturday 15 June as part of their centenary celebrations: Cardinal Vincent Nichols is their guest of honour, who incidentally is celebrating his golden jubilee of priesthood this year. The Knights of the Holy Sepulchre have their national investiture Mass and celebrations here on Saturday 22 June.

Throughout the month many of our parishes will be putting on meetings and events as part of the listening process leading up to the Synod next year. As well as meetings the Cathedral community are organising a street stall on Tuesday 25 June to chat with visitors and passers-by on the Cathedral Piazza to try and engage with a wider group of people.

On Friday 28 June Archbishop Malcolm will celebrate Mass in the Cathedral at 7.00 pm with all the priests celebrating Jubilees this year.

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education news

ASFA crowned winners of Debate Mate Regional Championships The Academy of St Francis of Assisi (ASFA) are celebrating after winning the Debate Mate Liverpool Championships and securing 5th place in the Urban Debate Cup, meaning two ASFA teams will be heading to London for the National Cups later this term.

Debate Mate offers a dedicated programme to schools across the UK, helping to increase speaking and listening attainment and improve a range of higherorder thinking skills and non-cognitive abilities such as confidence, teamwork, and leadership.

In doing so, it looks to address the widening skills gap between education and employment, whilst raising aspirations and helping students to make informed post-18 choices.

Made up of six ASFA students from year 10, the team opposed the challenging motion, ‘This House would give access to the government of private texts, phone calls and emails.’

Out of the four teams involved, the students debated three rounds. With 9 out of 12 wins they sailed through to the finals against Bellerive FCJ Catholic College, meaning they will now travel to London and take part in the Debate Mate National Cup in June.

Tracey Greenough, headteacher at ASFA, said: “We are absolutely delighted that our students have been declared winners of the Debate Mate Liverpool Championships.

“They have worked tirelessly throughout the competition, alongside our staff who have helped them develop their communication skills and taught them how to carefully construct and deliver arguments for and against a range of motions.”

Tracey added: “We are now looking forward to the National Cups later this

term.”

The Academy of St. Francis of Assisi is a coeducational joint-denomination Roman Catholic and Church of England academy in Kensington, Liverpool.

It prides itself on the mission statement of ‘Success for All’. It is ‘a diverse learning community that enables all individuals to achieve.’

Ni Hao! St John Bosco students visit China Students from St John Bosco Arts College have recently returned from an eight day trip to China.

36 students from years 9 and 10, plus four members of stuff, embarked on the 10 1/2 hour journey from London in April.

Arriving in Shanghai, the students and staff immediately commenced their whistle stop tour of some of the sights of China by visiting The Bund, a waterfront area in central Shanghai and one of the most famous tourist destinations.

The following days saw visits to The Shanghai Museum, The Yuyuan Garden and the Yuyuan Bazaar, Zhujiajiao Water Town, Jiangxin Island on the Oujiang River at Wenzhou city and Wuma Street Shopping in Wnenzhou and the

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magnificent views from Wenzhou Jiushan Park.

Everyone entered into the cultural experience with enthusiasm using chop sticks and eating the local food at the numerous local restaurants.

The group then travelled by fast train to Wenzhou at speeds of up to 217 mph to visit its sister school, Wenzhou No.2 Foreign Language School.

Over the two days at the school the students engaged in calligraphy, tennis and singing classes, watched a singing competition and learnt the basics of the martial arts with sticks. Two students, Ellie and Mollie, took part in the singing competition performing in front of a packed auditorium and representing St

John Bosco Arts College.

The students and staff formed firm friendships with the Chinese hosts who gave their visitors a very warm welcome.

After a busy few days, the group said farewell and travelled back to Liverpool.

Headteacher Darren Gidman, said: “The visit to China to see our sister school is a fantastic opportunity for our students to meet young people their own age from different cultures.

“They have talked non-stop about the trip since they have returned and it is wonderful to hear all their stories. I hope the memories of this incredible experience stays with them for many years to come.”

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education news

St Cuthbert’s triumph in Spain May Day bank holiday weekend saw St Cuthbert’s School in St Helens take 34 students on a football and netball development tour to the Atalaya Park resort, Estepona, Costa Del Sol. Students and staff flew out to Malaga and then travelled on to Atalaya Park Golf Resort, arriving late afternoon. The first day ended with fun, activity and enjoyment at Aqua-Mijas Water Park, where they had free rein of a deserted park, competing against one another on slides and supporting one another on a difficult water-rapid trail.

For a number of the children, this was their first time overseas, away from home.

Day two started with netball and football training; students working through the heat but did so with smiles on their faces.

Further training on day three was the order of the day for the boys in preparation for their evening fixture, whilst the girls enjoyed a rounders’ match.

Throughout the afternoon, some downtime allowed the boys opportunity to relax and recover, whilst the girls enjoyed some aqua aerobics and poolside activities.

Prior to the match against Inter Marbella, the St Cuthbert’s boys trained intensely in difficult, warm conditions and did so with focus and commitment to one another.

They produced a committed and hardworking performance against a

St Cuthbert students in Spain technically shrewd opponent. For the first 30 minutes of the game St Cuthbert’s had the better chances of the two teams, and were unlucky to go into half time 3-2 down.

Harrison R made a phenomenal penalty save and two follow up saves to deny Inter Marbella increasing their lead further. Adam B and Jack K linked up excellently on the right side of the pitch to create a number of chances. As the second half progressed, fitness did start to take its toll as the conditions started to have a major influence on the game.

Inter Marbella increased their lead further, adding two well-worked goals in the

second half; before a late consolation goal from our boys gave the score line a true reflection of their attitude and effort.

The final score line was 5-3 to Inter Marbella with goals for St Cuthberts scored by captain Kieran S, and two goals from Nathan B. Nathan B was awarded the man of the match for his robust performance in the game.

Nicola Lethbridge, curriculum leader for physical education and health and social care at St Cuthbert’s said: “Students’ behaviour was exemplary throughout the trip and it was a pleasure to give them this opportunity and help them create fantastic life-long memories”.

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youth ministry

Pit stops for the soul Kate from the Animate Gap Year Team reflects on the Easter journeys that helped to refuel her faith.

He is Risen! Easter for myself is about new beginnings, a time to resurrect our lives with the passion, purpose and happiness we can share with those around us. I saw a quote on Twitter that said Easter was a time to start over and try again. It likened Easter to a bunch of flowers – they bloom each spring but eventually die, but that doesn’t stop them from being beautiful and, in time, growing back.

This acts as a reminder that we are all able to revitalise our hearts and minds in order to carry on our faith journey; we can do this at any time yet Easter is a perfect place to begin.

In the case of myself and the Animate team, we began our Easter break by heading south to Worth Abbey in Surrey for a week-long retreat. The Abbey was hosting Joel’s Bar, a Catholic Charismatic event that is part of the Celebrate Conferences.

It is billed as a time to encounter Jesus and become alive in the Spirit – and that’s exactly what we did!

The week consisted of listening to speakers, worship, prayer with the monks, Mass, and times of ministry.

The theme was ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go’ (Joshua 1:9). This is something that a lot of young people need to hear about and be encouraged by.

Not only is God protecting us, He equips us with armour to live a fulfilled life with Him. A highlight for me was a ministry activity called ‘Time in the Tent’ where I was prayed over for the first time. It provided a moment to reflect on the Word spoken to me by God and reassure myself that I have found the correct vocation and calling. This was my first time going on a retreat and it was initially strange as I’m used to leading them, yet I found it the most perfect way to rejuvenate my faith and gain the spiritual fuel needed to remind myself why I love the job that I do.

And as if Joel’s Bar wasn’t enough, I also travelled to Lourdes with HCPT 194 for their annual pilgrimage, taking disabled and disadvantaged children from the Wigan area away for a week.

I can honestly say this was one of the most amazing weeks of my life; seeing so much joy and love touching so many children’s and helpers’ lives reminded me of how much God loves each and every one of us.

The Welsh region led the pilgrimage this year with the theme of ‘Cariad – God’s love is the best love’, a fitting theme to tie in with the Easter period given the sacrificial love Christ showed for us. From the quietness and peacefulness of the Grotto, to the array of colour, chaos and noise at the Trust Mass, there are few words that can fully capture the uniqueness and pure joy that surrounds the domain of Lourdes.

It is an experience I will never forget.

Taking a gap year with Animate has provided me with such amazing opportunities – a time to develop as an individual in confidence and in faith, as well as to plant the fruit of faith among the young people of the Archdiocese.

Hence the importance of these opportunities to renew our own faith so that we can give back so much more to the young people we serve.

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Pic extras

Mums the Word The picture shows our new Archdiocesan president, Mrs Maureen Finnegan of St Margaret Mary’s Foundation.

She has been married to Jimmy for 48 years and has three children and six grandchildren. She is looking forward to her term in office with enthusiasm and we all send her our best wishes and pledge lots of support.

Looking through the calendar for June, the 16th is not just Holy Trinity Sunday but also Fathers’ Day. It is a wonderful day for children to appreciate their fathers, but I would also like it to be Husbands’ Day; to say a big thank you to all of the husbands who support their wives in their work for the UCM, especially the husbands of committee members and foundation officers. They answer the telephone, take messages, run us about, pick up parcels, type, print, fix computers, remember where we put things … the list is long and so is their patience.

So thank you to UCM husbands everywhere (though this isn’t to say they can have control of the TV for a whole evening!).

During one of the talks we had during our UCM retreat at Belmont Abbey, the subject of Purgatory came up. Father David, our chaplain, said something I had never thought of: that if you were in Purgatory that meant that you were guaranteed a place in Heaven. Isn’t it wonderful how one remark can change your perspective on things? And heartening.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the UCM Annual Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral on Wednesday 5 June at 7.30 pm.

And finally, please note the venue has changed for our July Bi-monthly Mass, which will now be held at St George’s, Maghull instead of St Joseph’s, Penketh.

God bless, Madelaine McDonald, media officer

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A century of service News from the Liverpool Province of the Knights of St Columba

Liverpool Knights mark centenary with Shrine plaque

We are now well into our centenary year which started with an Inaugural Mass at the Church of Our Holy Redeemer, Clydebank on 21 October last year and will conclude with Mass at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow on 5 October.

During the year many special events have taken place all over the country and will continue until October. In Liverpool Province we had our centenary celebration dinner at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in February and we will be making a pilgrimage to Iona in September. Additionally, through the efforts of the Aintree council, we have obtained the kind permission of the Blessed Sacrament Shrine to erect a centenary plaque in their downstairs tearoom, as indicated in our photo.

The plaque was blessed by Father Raphael O’Halloran following 1.10pm Mass at the Shrine on 23 April, and we thank him for performing this ceremony. We also take this opportunity to thank Fr Raphael and the Blessed Sacrament community for granting us the use of the tearoom premises on numerous occasions to hold meetings, many of them to discuss and plan arrangements for these centenary

year events.

• The Annual Northern Catholic Conference will be taking place at Hope University from 7-9 June and once again the Order has been requested to help by providing stewarding and other assistance over the three-day period.

• It is with great sadness we report the deaths of two esteemed members of Aintree council 584.

Brother John McQuade was laid to rest following 12 noon Mass at St Edmund of Canterbury on 24 April and Bro Peter Boyle after 11am Mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Seaforth on 25 April. We convey our deepest sympathy to their families. May they rest in peace.

• Sunday 9 June is the feast day of St Columba and members and their families will be attending specially arranged Masses in honour of our patron. Liverpool Province will be celebrating the feast day at St Columba’s, Huyton where we always receive a very warm welcome from Fr Chris McCoy and his parishioners, and we thank him for again arranging the Mass this year.

Websites: www.ksc.org.uk and www.kscprov02.weebly.com Email: dpokeane@aol.com

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PIC Life Our walk of witness

By Moira Billinge

changed, just over 50 years ago.’

On Bank Holiday Monday, 6 May, Right To Life held its 20th annual sponsored Walk of Witness and people came from near and far to take part.

He continued: ‘When we think of the huge numbers, we can hardly make sense of them. Reducing that figure down to the numbers that take place every day, every three minutes, gives us some idea of the scale of loss.’

Before setting off, the walkers received copies of a letter of encouragement sent

by Archbishop Emeritus Patrick Kelly, a regular at this event across the years, both when Morecambe Bay provided the setting and, since 2008, Clitheroe.

Moreover, they heard a thought-provoking speech from Lord David Alton of Liverpool, who underlined the significance of the occasion.

Lord Alton, who recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of his election to Parliament, said: ‘Why does this matter?

Why do we keep on coming, year after year? We do so because of what Right To Life represents as a charity, and we do it because in this country every three minutes an unborn baby loses its life in an abortion, and there have been nine million abortions since the laws were

There were more numbers: one baby every three minutes, twenty in the course of an hour. Or, in the time taken to complete our walk, 40 babies aborted, right up to and including birth in cases of disability – for reasons such as hair lip, cleft pallet and club foot. Indeed 90% of babies with Down’s syndrome are now routinely aborted in this country. The 98% of cases which don’t involve disability (the so-called ‘hard cases’) are done under social clauses, with some women having up to eight legal abortions.

Lord Alton added that babies were aborted up to 24 weeks’ gestation, yet babies have lived and survived below that time limit with good paediatric care. ‘The reality of what we do to a child at that

Greeting Cards from Carmel If you haven’t already visited Maryton Carmel in Allerton - do put it on your ‘to do’ list. There are beautiful greeting cards for all occasions, prayer cards and medals on sale in the shop, excellent quality and inexpensive.

Contact the Sisters at Maryton Grange, Allerton Road, L18 3NU. Telephone the card office on 0151 724 7102 or Email the Sisters at marytoncards@outlook.com

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time is violent, barbaric and wholly uncivilised,’ he said. ‘It’s cruel and the baby can be in considerable pain when it is being aborted.’

Lord Alton commented that every other species in this country enjoys greater protection than an unborn child, and he went on to highlight the fact that since the 1967 Abortion Act, we have seen experiments on human embryos, the creation of animal/human hybrids, and regular attempts at Westminster to legalise euthanasia.

And now, on the legislative horizon, we see so-called assisted dying and assisted suicide. Lord Alton spoke of a man who had been in a coma for decades before he finally regained consciousness, and added: ‘Who are we to say when someone will live, and someone will die? At the end of life, in countries like Holland, thousands of people are euthanised as a result of the law being changed, without the consent of the patient, and what started off as so called “mercy killing”, ends up as a “duty” to die.’

He reflected on a conversation he had when he met Mother Theresa of Calcutta. ‘Are we going to win?’ he asked. She replied, ‘David, you are not called upon to be successful, you are called upon to be faithful.’

Lord Alton concluded: ‘It is not for us to worry about if or when we are going to win this or that fight, but we simply have to witness and go on challenging people to change this culture of death which has led to so much brutality and so much ending of life.’

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Catholic PIC retreats and away days 2019 Catholic Pic Retreat Days

Catholic Pic Away Days 2019

Summer 2019 Retreat Days will be led by Father Peter Morgan - we will visit:

During the summer of 2019 we have planned away days to: • Conwy Wednesday 19 June • Lytham St Anne’s Wednesday 31 July • Arnside/Grange over Sands Wednesday 7 August If you would like to join us on one or more of our away days please ring 0151 733 5492 for your booking forms

The Shrine of Our Lady at Ladyewell Wednesday 5 June and Wednesday 3 July Franciscan Monastery at Pantasaph LADYEWELL - PLEASE NOTE: Due to a printing error some booking forms have the incorrect address, if you have returned any booking form or payments to any address other than to Suite 4, Pacific Chambers, Victoria Street, Liverpool L2 5QQ. Please ring 0151 733 5492

Worth a visit - Conwy This month, enjoy a trip to a medieval town near the sea and explore Conwy, writes Lucy Oliver. This North Wales gem makes for a memorable day out, starting with the imposing 13th-century castle with its remarkably well-preserved battlements overlooking the estuary. Built between 1277 and 1307 under King Edward I, this World Heritage Site perches on a narrow rocky outcrop, resulting in a distinctive elongated shape. Its two barbicans and eight towers present an imposing silhouette against the Welsh countryside and together with the sandstone walls, the city’s medieval defences, it provides a fabulous site to explore.

Just adjacent to the castle is Thomas

Telford’s 1826 suspension bridge, which today features a restored toll house, furnished as it would have been a century ago. For some contrast, visit the quayside where the smallest house in Great Britain is nestled among the terraces.

Visitors are welcome to step inside the house which, though 72 inches wide by 122 inches high, was occupied until 1990, its last tenant a 6ft 3in local fisherman. You’ll be amazed at how room is found for a

bed, fireplace and coal bunker.

Don’t leave without taking a stroll along the quayside and enjoying some locally caught fish and chips.

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Letter from Wonersh

By Peter Murphy his month I find myself on placement with Father David Potter at the parish of St Albert the Great, Stockbridge Village.

As you might remember me having said previously, the distance that naturally exists between life in the seminary and the reality of life within the Archdiocese, and in turn the parish, has been for me, at times, a struggle.

Seminary, I know, is a real gift; and I am very thankful to have this opportunity to come away in order to grow closer to the Lord through prayer, reflection and study. However, it is sharing in Christ’s sacrificial love of his Church that first motivated me to discern a possible priestly vocation. Placements are a great opportunity for seminarians to be able to roll up their sleeves and get on with something which looks a little bit more like the priesthood that they were, in one way or another, first attracted to. And I am glad to Fr David and the parishioners of St Albert the Great for allowing me to come and be with them, and experience something of this love at this time.

Towards the end of the month I will return to the seminary for two weeks. During these weeks we enter into a five-day period of retreat. In the few days before term finishes, five men will receive the ministry of acolyte; and one man, reader. With the other members of my year group, I will be admitted as a candidate for Holy Orders.

While the ministries of those instituted as readers and acolytes are reasonably understood, the same is not as true for candidates. I think that the additional prayer which is added at Wonersh helps to explain this. At the end of the service the Bishop will bless a cross and present it to the new candidate, with the following words: ‘May the Lord Jesus, who was raised on high by God and given the name which is above all others, grant you the grace which flows from His Cross, that you may persevere in preparing yourself for Holy Orders. Take this Cross and be faithful to the call you have received to prepare for Sacred Orders.’

Seminarians at Wonersh are admitted to candidacy slightly later than at the other Englishspeaking seminaries. This often means that seminarians here tend to remain candidates for only a matter of months, rather than years, before ordination to the diaconate. This is an exciting but also sobering thought!

Please continue to pray for me, and all of my brother seminarians. Also pray that more men will be courageous in offering themselves to the Lord in this most exciting way. Most of all, please pray for Deacon Thomas Clark who will be ordained a priest in just a few weeks’ time.

T

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justice & peace

Apocalypse now?

‘I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all” (Pope Francis, Laudato si’ 14) The ever-pressing question of climate and how we must act is the focus of the Archdiocesan Justice and Peace Commission’s annual assembly in July.

It was in 2015 that Pope Francis called on us all to work together to tackle climate change. Subsequently, in October 2018, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report stating that we have just 12 years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5C, after which even just half a degree extra would significantly increase the risk of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.

Just two months later in December 2018, Greta Thunberg, a Swedish schoolgirl climate activist, addressed the United Nations’ Katowice Climate Summit and said: ‘You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes.’ Two months later, in February this year, the 16-year-old spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos and added: “Our house is on fire. I am here to say, our house is on fire.”

She went on: “Until you start focusing on what needs to be done, rather than what is politically possible, there is no hope. We cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis.”

It is obvious that we must act immediately if we want to prevent the destruction of the planet, and life, as we know it today. We must all change, we need to change our own lives; we need to help our families and households to change; we need to encourage our friends to change; we need to change our workplaces, and schools. We cannot rely on other people to solve this crisis. Scientists alone will not be able to solve this and nor will politicians: we must all act to prevent the destruction of the planet.

Hence the decision to place climate change at the heart of this year’s J&P annual assembly and our programme will include the following speakers: • Dr Paul Rooney, from Liverpool Hope University, on ‘The Reality and Urgency of Climate Change action: the social and ecological imperatives’.

• Bishop John Arnold, Bishop of Salford, on ‘Addressing the theological imperatives of Climate Change’.

• Jo Musker-Sherwood, from Hope for the Future, on ‘Action: from the personal to the collective’. Hope for the Future is an organisation working to equip communities, campaigners and groups across the country to communicate the urgency of climate change.

The assembly will take place on Saturday 6 July from 10am to 4pm, at LACE, Croxteth Drive, Liverpool, L17 1AA. Everyone is welcome to attend, lunch is included in the day, and a donation of £10 is suggested.

‘The earth is a gift, not a possession; it was given to us to administer, not to destroy. Hence, we must respect the laws of nature, as all of creation has its own goodness’ (Pope Francis, Laudato si’ 75) • Please pray for our fieldworker, Steve Atherton, during his recovery from his recent operation, and for all the wonderful staff of the NHS throughout the country.

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Keep up to date with all the news from around the Archdiocese online at: www.catholicpic.co.uk You can now follow us on twitter at:

@PicCatholic

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