Fr John writes

Dear Readers of Oremus

The month brings a certain sense of fruition, ending as it does a few days after we shall have celebrated the Solemnity of Pentecost. Please can we use the days of this month to commend to God in our prayers those for whom this is an important spiritual time – the children making their First Holy Communion, both from the parish and the Choir School, and the young people receiving Confirmation, fulfilling the offering of their lives made at their Baptism?

From the Chaplains’ point of view, the tradition that marriages should not be celebrated during the Lenten season means that as soon as Easter arrives, weddings follow almost in profusion and these couples, too, need to be remembered. So much in our society militates against the notion of lifelong commitment ‘for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health’ and those who marry and take on the task of having and guiding a family need all our support.

Mention of lifelong commitment brings the good news that the Cardinal has approved the Ordination to the Priesthood on 24 June of Francis Thomas, whom many of us will remember from his two-year stint at the Cathedral as Sub-Administrator’s Intern. Francis is very much a Londoner, a product of Willesden, and it will be good to have him in the diocesan presbyterate. Lifelong commitment is also a theme for this month of the Coronation, and I have included the ‘Loyal Address’ which the Cardinal was able to offer to King Charles on our behalf.

Sadly we now take leave of my great-great-uncle John and his travels as he boards the steamer home for Marseilles and, ultimately, Leeds. When editing John’s text, my late brother made the same journey to Egypt, photographing the same locations to see what had changed over the course of a century, and reproducing the text here in Oremus has inspired me to consider doing something similar. Actually, there is something more; 13 years after the Egypt trip, in 1876, Uncle John visited Japan and left a short account of his time there, but I will keep that for another year.

I try to make sure that each edition of Oremus contains at least something of interest to readers, even if you do not read all of it, but please take a moment to look at page 25, where you will see the statistics for the livestream viewing of the principal liturgies of Holy Week and Easter. There is no doubt that the livestream maintains a good connection with many who, for varied reasons, cannot be physically present in the Cathedral, as well as showcasing our life and worship as we witness to the Good News.

Westminster Cathedral

Cathedral Clergy House

42 Francis Street

London SW1P 1QW

Telephone 020 7798 9055

Email chreception@rcdow.org.uk www.westminstercathedral.org.uk

Cathedral Chaplains

Fr Sławomir Witon´ , Administrator

Fr Brian O’Mahony, Sub-Administrator

Fr Michael Donaghy

Fr Hugh MacKenzie

Fr Mike Maguire, Precentor

Fr Vincent Mbu’i SVD

Fr John Scott, Registrar

Also in residence

Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories: Sr Angelina, Sr Jesuina and Sr Umbellina

Music Department

Simon Johnson, Master of Music

Peter Stevens Obl. OSB, Assistant Master of Music

Carolyn Craig, Organ Scholar

Cathedral Manager

Peter McNulty

Estates Manager

Neil Fairbairn

Finance Manager

Awaiting appointment

Fundraising Manager

Marie-Louise Edwards

Chapel of Ease

Sacred Heart Church

Horseferry Road SW1P 2EF