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Oremus
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Oremus, the magazine of Westminster Cathedral, reflects the life of the Cathedral and the lives of those who make it a place of faith in central London. If you think that you would like to contribute an article or an item of news, please contact the Editor.
Patron
The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster
Chairman
Fr Sławomir Witon´
Editor
Lorcán Keller
Oremus Team
Tony Banks – Distribution
Marie Carne – Content Compilation
Ellen Gomes – Archives
Zoe Goodway – Marketing & Finance
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Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor or the Oremus Team. Neither are they the official views of Westminster Cathedral. The Editor reserves the right to edit all contributions. Publication of advertisements does not imply any form of recommendation or endorsement. Unless otherwise stated, photographs are published under a creative commons or similar licence. Every effort is made to credit all images. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
In October, a photographer from the Royal Mail was sent to Westminster Cathedral to take some promotional photographs for the official launch. He arrived at Westminster Abbey in good time and quickly realised he was in the wrong place. Between the pigeons and the scale of the campanile, it was not an easy shot to capture. Many of the shots taken were done seated on the piazza tiles with the new lowly Oremus Editor relegated to holding a flash. The artist is Judy Joel.
© Royal Mail, used with permission.
Inside Oremus
Cathedral Life: Past & Present
A Christmas Message from the Dean 4 Cardinal Manning’s Walking Stick 7 From Westminster with Love! 9 Remembrance Sunday Homily 12 & 13
Cathedral History: The Cathedral’s Great Rood by Patrick Rogers 14 & 15
Memoir of a Cathedral Chorister 1916-1921 by Philip Hodges (concluded) 16 & 17
Cathedral History in Pictures: The Opening of the Pilgrim Door Christmas Eve 1999 by Paul Tobin 22
Features
Assisted Suicide Excerpt of Homily at 150th Anniversary Mass, Maiden Lane by Cardinal Vincent Nichols 6 Award given to our volunteers 8
The Genesis of the new translation of the Second Edition of the Lectionary by Archbishop George Stack 10 & 11
Regulars
From the Editor 5 Friends of the Cathedral 18
In Retrospect: 100 and 70 Years Ago 19 Monthly Album 20 & 21
Diary and Notices 24 & 25
Poem and Crossword 26
SVP Catholic Primary School 27
A Christmas Message from the Dean
‘It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old.’
This poem, written by Edmund Sears in 1849, now a much-loved Christmas carol, expresses in verse and song that sentiment which is in the hearts of so many at Christmas; ‘Peace on earth, good will to men from Heaven’s all gracious King.’
The words from the third verse are particularly apt at the moment: ‘And man, at war with man, hears not the love song which they bring. O hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing!’
There is so much war, so much distress in our world, in Ukraine, in the Holy Land, and elsewhere. We can easily conclude that the world is in a terrible state, but let us not
fret. Rather, let us put our trust in the Lord who can help us to hush the noise, and to hear the love song that the angels bring.
As we make our Advent journey, let us remember that Christmas brings us the message of peace. The coming of Emmanuel reminds us that ‘God is with us’, and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus teach us that God’s love is stronger than anything this world can throw at us. God’s love casts out fear and fills our hearts with a peace that only He can bring.
My hope and prayer is that this Christmas, we will be able to let the message of peace fill our hearts, to hear the song of the angels and the words of the Prince of Peace. May we all follow his call and remember that, if there is to be peace on Earth, it must begin with us. May Jesus’ message of peace reach deep into all our hearts, so that we may become peacemakers and peace-givers to all around us.
And may your hearts, dear readers of our Cathedral magazine, be filled with the hope and love that the Prince of Peace brings into this world, and may God bestow upon you, and everyone you love, every blessing this Christmas and in the year to come.
Lorcán writes
One of my favourite memories from a three-year stint in Maynooth Seminary was the ‘secret’ tradition of welcoming the new liturgical year. At about 3am, the choir would throw on choral dress over their coats and pyjamas and gather in the blisteringly cold graveyard with cross and lights to announce ‘Sleepers Wake!’ to both living and dead.
In a mixture of chant and four-part harmony, we would croak Bewerunge’s: ‘Ierusalem, Ierusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum’ (Jerusalem, Jerusalem, turn back to the Lord thy God), from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, having practised in the days before with Choir Master John O’Keeffe, former Organ Scholar at Westminster Cathedral, away from the ears of any first year who might hear us.
Thus began our pilgrimage around the campus, singing first to the blissfully ignorant First Philosophy corridor, provoking all sorts of reactions, and then to every corridor and chapel where lay the living or the dead. We would then end our mission on the steps of the college, singing to the town beyond, before re-waking the first years for good measure. I am not sure if this tradition has survived the vocation crash, given the numbers needed for the choir and the uninformed, but if anyone reading this is in the know, I would love to hear from you.
I mention all of this, not purely out of nostalgia, but to make the point that Advent was given its proper place. It was treated as an important season with its own traditions and character, cushioned from the endless Christmas marketing that seems to begin earlier and earlier each year. This year in the Cathedral, however, we were equally guilty of bringing Christmas forward, working with Royal Mail to launch their Westminster Cathedral Christmas stamp, officially launched on the 5th of November, along with four Anglican cathedrals across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
In many respects, despite Christmas in November, this year Advent does indeed feel like a fresh start. Of course, Advent Sunday will mark the day when we begin using the newly translated readings at Mass, and thank you to everyone who donated new Lectionaries in memory of loved ones. On the 7th of December, there will be a new English Cardinal, Timothy Radcliffe OP and, later this month, the Jubilee Year will begin in earnest. We also (at time of writing) wait in hope, or baited breath, to learn the outcome of the assisted suicide debate in Parliament, and usher in a new Editor of Oremus .
Happy New (Liturgical) Year!
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Assisted Suicide – Excerpt of Homily at 150th Anniversary Mass, Maiden Lane
Cardinal Vincent Nichols
Jesus, we know, came to serve one thing above all else. He came to serve the will of his Father. Everything he did was for that purpose. This became so clear in the agony of Jesus in the garden before his death. In that moment the deepest motivation in the heart of Jesus was laid bare: ‘Father, not my will but thine be done.’ He lived out that motivation to the end.
And this, we pray, is the motivation throughout our lives too: to do the will of our loving Father, just as Jesus did, even to the end.
Now at this time there is much public debate precisely about the ‘end’, the ending of life. For us, the followers of Jesus, the crux of the matter is clear. We live according to the will of the Father. And we die according to the will of the Father. This gives us peace. When he calls we are ready to go. Not before. Not my will, but thine, be done.
Today’s readings also make clear that the will of the Father does not eliminate suffering from our lives. Indeed, at the Father’s will, Jesus shared in the weight of human suffering. Within this plan of our salvation, suffering is transformed into an ultimate offering of love, that of a faithful
servant giving their best in prayer and closeness to Christ. This does not and must not exclude the right use of every good gift of pain management and relief at moments of illness and distress. All the skill and care of the medical professions, developed over centuries and progressing even today, should be at the service of those in their last days in pain and distress. Palliative care is a gift from which no-one in need should be excluded.
But now let me turn to the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews and to these few words: ‘We have a supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven.’ This, too, has a great bearing on the current debate about assisted dying.
Death is something that we all must face. It can seem that we have to face it alone, even when surrounded by love, care and prayers. Yet these few words from that reading teach us something else, something of great importance: that Jesus has already passed through the narrow door of death and he, our supreme high priest, will be there with us, taking us through to the highest heaven, into the presence of his Father. With him at our side we can indeed ‘be confident
in approaching the throne of grace’, the merciful embrace of our Father. We never die alone. The Lord is with us.
All of this is given to us in this most Blessed Sacrament. This sacrament is our Food for life, the ‘panis vitae’, and the inspiration for our daily lives. It is also our ‘Viaticum’, the food for our passing from this world to the next. This is our tradition: to ensure that the person soon to embark on that journey through death receives the most precious body and blood of Christ. In receiving Christ we are absorbed into Christ. And then it is Christ himself who carries us, in his own body, into the mercy of the Father and the glory of heaven.
As we follow and contribute to the debate about life and death in our society today, we should make a special effort to beseech the Lord to protect our society from an impoverished view of life merely as a personal project, rather than a wondrous gift of God. And from a view of death as no more than a final extinguishing of life, to be decided at a moment of our own choosing, rather than death being the start, in God’s own good time, of a journey into heaven, in the arms of our loving Saviour.
Cardinal Manning’s Walking Stick
Bishop Nicholas Hudson
This walking-stick was given by Cardinal Edward Manning (1808-92) to London dock-worker Daniel O’Sullivan in recognition of services rendered during the Great Dockers’ strike which began on 14th August 1889 in support of a claim for 6d an hour (equivalent to around £4 an hour) and an overtime rate of 8d an hour.
Millwall Docks General Manager Colonel George Birt told a House of Lords Commission about the condition of dockers: ‘The poor fellows are miserably clad, scarcely with a boot on their foot, in a most miserable state ... These are men who come to work in our docks who come on without having a bit of food in their stomachs, perhaps since the previous day; they have worked for an hour and have earned 5d.; their hunger will not allow them to continue: they take the 5d. in order that they may get food, perhaps the first food they have had for twenty-four hours.’
Within two weeks, more than 100,000 workers were on strike. On 5th September 1889, the Lord Mayor of London formed the Mansion House Committee to bring workers and employers together and reach a settlement. Cardinal Manning sympathised with the strikers, a large number of whom were Irish Catholics. He was appointed to the committee, which persuaded the employers to meet most of the dockers’ demands. It was agreed that they should go back to work on 16th September after much hardship for their families.
Companions of Oremus
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Cardinal Manning is considered to have been a key contributor to the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15th May 1891 which marks the beginning of modern Catholic Social Teaching.
Daniel O’Sullivan was born in Limerick in 1818 and migrated to London during the Irish Potato famine. This walking-stick was presented to Archbishop’s House, Westminster by his descendants on 7th November 2024.
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Award given to our volunteers
This year, at Caritas Westminster’s ‘Love in Action’ volunteering awards, the team award in the Parish Social Action category was awarded to CLCC (Central London Catholic Churches) for their twice-weekly lunch service to the homeless. This well-deserved accolade was accepted by Ade Owusu-Ansah, CLCC Project Manager and Linda McHugh, Volunteer Co-ordinator, both parishioners and regular volunteers at Westminster Cathedral.
CLCC started life in April 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, as an emergency task force working in Trafalgar Square to distribute drinks and snacks to the homeless. As the name suggests, it was a consortium of several volunteer groups from local Catholic churches, including Westminster Cathedral.
In October 2020, at the instigation of Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, who has overall responsibility for the project, CLCC transformed itself into a restaurant-style lunch service, open on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the London Jesuit Centre in Mayfair. Guests can stay for several hours and enjoy a first-class lunch, fruit, biscuits and limitless amounts of tea, coffee and soft drinks. As Fr Dominic explains:
‘CLCC is above all a community project, bringing guests and volunteers together as one family, and drawing in a number of hotels, restaurants, private member clubs and local organisations who see the scandal of social deprivation alongside extreme wealth, and want to get fully involved to address the issues head on.’
A guiding principle of CLCC is that human dignity is of paramount importance. Ade Owusu-Ansah added:
‘ What is different about this service is that guests do not queue for their meals but are waited on by the volunteers, thus restoring dignity
to vulnerable people. It is why we call them “guests” not “clients”. By treating them as equals, we can help foster their sense of self-worth.’
Demand has grown very rapidly as the homeless population of London continues to escalate. Initially, CLCC fed
around 20 guests each day; by early 2024, the average had risen to 50. By October 2024, CLCC has regularly been serving 80 people a day.
According to Linda McHugh, this fast growth is proving quite challenging, both in terms of manpower and financial resources.
‘ We need more volunteers and more money. Although most of our main course meals are provided free, or at a discounted cost, we still need about £1,000 a month for items such as vegetables, desserts, tea, coffee, biscuits etc. If we secure this funding, we can continue to go from strength to strength.’
If you are interested in becoming a CLCC volunteer or would like to make a donation, please contact Linda McHugh via Clergy House Reception, or email CentralLondonCatholicChurches@gmail. com. A full live-stream of the awards ceremony is available on the Diocese of Westminster YouTube channel.
From Westminster with Love!
On Tuesday the 5th of November, as Americans were going to the polls and as bonfires were being prepared for a certain Catholic figure, the Royal Mail was launching their special edition Christmas 2024 stamps.
Five cathedrals across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland showcased in original illustrations by Penzance-based artist Judy Joel. Among these cathedrals, Westminster Cathedral is the only Roman Catholic edifice, representing London and the many Catholics across the United Kingdom.
David Gold, the Royal Mail’s Director of External Affairs and Policy remarked that:
‘Cathedrals are a hugely significant part of our cultural heritage and play an important role in local communities. They also offer space for peaceful reflection and a bit of an escape from the challenges of daily life, which can be especially important at Christmas.’
Delighted that his cathedral was being showcased, Cardinal Vincent Nichols commented:
‘We’re so proud because it means that the image will be seen by many, many people. I hope that by seeing the image, they’ll understand that a church is a place where God dwells and where that sense of God’s presence is intense, comforting and consoling. The presence of a church points directly to the birth of Jesus, because that is the way in which God comes into our world in flesh and blood. In order to honour and praise him, we create buildings of beauty – places of prayer – and Westminster Cathedral is an outstanding example of that.
‘If you’re in London over the Christmas period, come down Victoria Street and visit the Cathedral. It’s always open. There are thousands of visitors every day, and you’d be most welcome. Once inside, you’ll be touched by something of the beauty of God and of his delicate, humble, compassionate presence among us.’
In conversation with Fr Patrick van der Vorst, artist Judy Joel, whose popular paintings have been sold worldwide over the last 50 years, commented that she was approached by the Royal Mail with five buildings already chosen. Drafted on A3, the challenge lay in portraying the seasonal aspect, while remaining true to the style of the buildings and ensuring that the details were not lost when miniature copies were produced.
Westminster Cathedral (£2.80, the new international standard rate for letters as of 1 October 2024)
Second Class: Edinburgh (Scottish Episcopal)
Second Class Large: Armagh (Church of Ireland)
First class: Liverpool Cathedral (Church of England)
First class Large: Bangor (Church in Wales)
The Genesis of the new translation of the Second Edition of the Lectionary
Although Archbishop Stack retired as Archbishop of Cardiff in June 2022, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales asked him to remain as Chair of the Department of Christian Life and Worship, in order to complete the four year task of producing the ‘New Lectionary’. In addition to that responsibility, he remained the representative of the Bishops’ Conference on the International Commission for English in the Liturgy (ICEL). This talk, originally addressed to the clergy of Westminster on 8 October 2024, is reproduced in four parts with his kind permission.
The Most Rev George Stack, Archbishop Emeritus of Cardiff
On the 18th of July I returned from my final meeting of the International Commission of English in the Liturgy, held in Washington twice a year. When I was appointed twelve years ago as the representative from England, on the departure of Cardinal Arthur Roche for Rome, Cardinal Murphy O’Connor told me the appointment would be on a temporary basis until the bishops found someone more suitable! That remark didn’t do much for my self-image or pride, but it was great for my humility. During a farewell speech in Washington it was pointed out by ICEL’s Chair that I was the longest serving representative, taking over shortly after the publication of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal in 2011. As you will know, ICEL was first established in 1963 to help implement the translations of the new rites, as requested by the Council, into the vernacular from the ‘Editio Typica’ issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship. A number of English speaking conferences (England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, USA ,Canada) decided to join together in order to produce common English texts. These could be presented to member Conferences for their own adaptations and canonical votes before receiving individual ‘Recognitio’.
‘Recognitio’ is really a permission, or confirmation, from the Holy See that those texts conform to the original Latin. They were suitable for use in the particular territories of the Bishops’ Conferences. During the twelve years I have been involved with ICEL we have produced twenty six texts – all now published and available for use. They range from the Rite of Confirmation, the Rite of Marriage, and the Ordination of Bishops, Priests and Deacons, to the Blessing of Oils, the inclusion of the new saints into the Roman Calendar, the Roman Martyrology and even a liturgy for Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary (as you can imagine, this liturgical rite is more important in some other countries rather than others!). Two major texts which ICEL hopes to publish in the next two years are, of course, the Liturgy of the Hours and the Order of Christian Funerals. Each of these are complicated for different reasons.
I give you that magical mystery tour of the work of ICEL and the translation of new texts as an illustration of the fact that the implementation of the decree of the Second Vatican Council Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963) on the liturgy is ongoing. Sixty years later, many of the texts first produced are now in their second editions. Just as the Third Edition of the Roman Missal was
a development of the first and second, so the need for a second edition of the Lectionary has been recognised both by the Holy See and the various Bishops’ Conferences throughout the world. The Ordo Missæ Romanum and the Ordo Lectionem Missæ are the two most intimately connected parts whereby we gain access to and celebrate the Mystery of Faith, which is the Mass, the Roman Missal and the Lectionary represent directly the ‘Table of God’s Word’ and the ‘Table of Sacrament’. It was in 2006 that Cardinal Murphy O’Connor took up the challenge that there should be a revision of the Lectionary as there had been of the Roman Missal. This was due in no small part to the document entitled Liturgiam Authenticam (2001) that there should be such a revision. This wasn’t just the desire for change for the sake of change. It was a recognition that scripture scholarship and theology had developed both within the Church and in academia since the time of Vatican II, just as other sciences have also developed over the last fifty years. There was a need and a desire to translate texts, keeping as close as possible to the original wording. Our current Lectionary text was over fifty years old and its source text, the Jerusalem Bible, is now in its third edition itself – the Revised New Jerusalem Bible. It is often
acknowledged that the production of the Lectionary, with its unique pattern for the organisation of the readings from scripture and the importance of the homily, is one of the greatest achievements of the reformed liturgical rites, and has become the predominant pattern of prayer in the Roman Rite.
Some of us will remember the heady days of the 1960’s, when sections of the reformed liturgy of the Mass in the vernacular were being distributed to parishes season by season, sometimes week by week, in loose leafed pages contained in plastic binders. These early endeavours at producing a liturgy in the vernacular were helped by the work of another organisation called ICET – the International Committee for English Texts – comprised of theologians and liturgists from a number of Christian denominations who produced many of the common texts in ecumenical (!) English. Cardinal Heenan was anxious that a suitable English biblical text should accompany the other liturgical texts of the Mass. This is where the Jerusalem Bible came to the fore, having been originally produced in French by the Dominicans at the École Biblique in Jerusalem. Beginning in 1956, it was translated and published in English in 1966. There was another candidate in the race to be the Lectionary text. That was the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. Being one of the many descendants of the Authorised version, or the King James Bible of 1611, the RSV/CE was edited/adapted for Catholic use by Dom Bernard Orchard and Fr Reginald Fuller. In the end, the Jerusalem Bible found favour, not just because of the commercial strength of its publisher, Darton Longman Todd, but also because of its use of ‘contemporary’ English, to quote the 1966 introduction by Fr Alexander Jones, a priest of the Archdiocese of Liverpool who taught at Christ’s College Liverpool. That word ‘contemporary’ is an important one because it points to the method of translation underlying the Jerusalem Bible and other ‘modern’, or ‘contemporary’ translations. Before I say any more about methods of translation, let me tell you that, according to
Wikipedia (so it must be true), there are over 100 complete translations of the Bible in English. The American Bible Society, on the other hand, says that there have been 900 English translations since the first, by William Tyndale in 1526. The discrepancy may be explained by the fact that the latter figure is likely to include incomplete Bibles.
Biblical translation is a very special art and/or science. It depends on many different elements, not least the faith of
the translator, the audience for which the translation is being made, on whether the intention is to ‘bring the Bible to the people’ or ‘bring the people to the Bible’. There is inevitably a trade-off in words and language, in the world of translation. The Italian language has a very neat way of putting it. ‘Tradutor’ means translator. ‘Tradutore’ means traitor! All of these will influence the style of translation and the end product.
To be continued…
Remembrance Sunday Homily
Deacon (Capt) John Power CF, Royal Army Chaplains’ Department
There is much to say about the readings that we have just heard and specifically, there is much to say about just the Gospel, which is almost split into two distinct parts. In the first: Jesus’ warning of becoming like the scribes, who like to be greeted in the market squares, to take front seats in the Synagogues, taking places of honour at banquets and making show of their lengthy prayers.
In the second part of the Gospel and the focus of this reflection is Jesus observing people outside the treasury. In the Gospel account, Jesus contrasts ‘the rich putting in a great deal’ against the poor widow who came and ‘put in two small coins the equivalent of a penny.’ Jesus doesn’t comment on those who were able to contribute a great deal but he does remark that the widow has ‘put more in than all who have contributed; all that she had to live on.’
At first glance of this reading, Jesus seems to be preferring the small amount of money the vulnerable widow can offer rather than the larger amount of others; particularly the wealthy. It is a fair assumption to make if we read this passage out of context. We may even deduce that the ‘treasury’ the offerings are made is in some form of bank or for safe keeping – it isn’t, the treasury is the inner court of the Temple – not the outside or some random collection plate. Therefore, we can presume a fairly sacred space. The intention in this context is of the widow who is to give all that she has to the Glory of God, for the upkeep of the temple. In actual fact, the small financial contribution that she makes is insignificant, negligible in material terms.
What Jesus sees as he observes her is her intention to give the little that she had; we could say Jesus is moved by what is in her heart. Jesus isn’t interested in the value of the two coins. He sees her gifts of her heart; her generosity given in faith and love.
Faith and love. Today we do remember those who have given their lives in faith and love. Faith in the conviction of what they are doing and out of love for those who they serve. Some we know through personal relationships and stories and some we know because of their notable courage and endeavours on the battlefield and their subsequent honours.
But, aren’t there so many! Maybe the majority, who like the poor widow, have just done their duty quietly. Today, many will march past the Cenotaph, not for themselves but for all those who have paid the ultimate price of their lives, for those who today bear the physical and psychological scars of battle.
For ourselves today, we can learn something from the poor widow. Not in terms of what she gave away but the intention of which she gave it, in faith and love. St Paul tells us that love is patient, kind and not self-seeking, it delights in the truth and keeps no record of wrongs. As Christians, embodying love like this in our lives: patience, kindness and truth, we will grow in purity of heart, in which St. Mathew in his Gospel tells us will enable us to see God.
You will have heard, particularly if you are from the military family, an often used line from St. John’s Gospel. It is a line I often use during field services, on exercise and on Operations. It is the words of Jesus: ‘Greater love has no-one than to lay down their life for their friends.’ Jesus doesn’t say it is the best form of love, he doesn’t say it is the most sought after. He says ‘no greater love – no greater a love.’ It is a love that Jesus expressed when he offered up his life for each one of us here. It is the greatest love, a love that those who have given their life in defence of our nation; today, we rightly remember them.
The Cathedral’s Great Rood
Patrick Rogers
Westminster Cathedral is also known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Precious Blood. Its full dedication (in translation from the original Latin) is: To Our Lord Jesus Christ who redeemed us by His Most Precious Blood, to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary his Immaculate Mother, and the Apostle Saint Peter his First Vicar, to Saint Joseph Patron of the Catholic Church and of the Interior Life, and, as secondary Patrons, to Saint Augustine Apostle of England and all Saints of Great Britain, and to Saint Patrick and the other Saints of Ireland.
Origins and Design
At the dedication of the Cathedral and laying of the foundation stone on 29 June 1895, a plain red wooden cross stood where the Cathedral high altar now stands, symbolising the dedication in chief to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. A feast day in honour of the Most Precious Blood of Christ had been instituted by Pope Pius IX in 1849 and in choosing the dedication Cardinal Vaughan, the Cathedral’s founder, is likely to have been influenced by this. In Vaughan’s own words: ‘We want to announce the glad tidings of Redemption in our Saviour’s Precious Blood.’ Shortly before Westminster Cathedral was opened to the public in December 1903, a 30ft high, 23ft wide, red crucifix bearing a painting of the crucified Christ was raised up to hang at the junction between the nave, sanctuary and transepts and thus at the centre of the cross formed by the building itself. Except for an interlude of three years, it has hung there ever since.
The crucifix or Great Rood (from the Old English ‘rod,’ meaning cross) was designed by the cathedral architect, J F Bentley, soon after starting work on the cathedral in 1895. He refers to it in the first edition of the Westminster Cathedral Record , in January 1896. An architectural drawing (A-8) signed by him in 1896 shows it hanging in its present position between the nave and sanctuary. The scale below the drawing shows the rood dimensions (30ft by 23ft) to be the same as the rood of today, while the figure of Christ also seems to be identical. Differences now are the absence of the five great hanging lamps and in the end panel paintings. In the drawing these show the dove of the Holy Spirit, the Lamb of God, and Our Lady and St John to left and right. Today they show the symbols of the four Evangelists who described the crucifixion – Matthew (a winged man), Mark (a lion), Luke (an ox) and John (an eagle).
Cardinal Vaughan played a direct part in designing the rood, writing to the artist William Christian Symons, who was to paint it, that the representation must be of ‘the live Christ
whose eyes may appear to rest on everyone as they move about the church.’ There must be no pierced side. Vaughan’s views also appeared in the last edition of the Westminster Cathedral Record , published as a supplement to The Tablet in June 1902. This confirms the height (30ft) of the rood and its position (to hang between the sanctuary and the nave), and refers to the paintings of the four Evangelists in the end panels and of Our Lady of Sorrows ( Mater Dolorosa ) on the reverse side.
By this time the rood was being carved by Charles Beyeart in Bruges from Bentley’s designs. Canvas was then stretched over the teak and deal wooden frame and Symons painted it at floor level in the Cathedral nave in 1903, from sketches seen by Bentley shortly before his death in March 1902. In portraying the dead Christ, Symons remained faithful to Bentley’s design, but the Evangelists and Our Lady of Sorrows were portrayed as the Cardinal wished. Vaughan also chose the quotations around the Stabat Mater for the end panels around Our Lady. These are taken from a late thirteenth century Latin hymn by a Franciscan, Jacopone di Todi. The English version of the hymn starts: ‘At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful mother weeping.’ The words in the rood panels read: Stabat Mater Dolorosa; Eia Mater Fons Amoris; Fac ut Ardeat Cor Meum; Juxta Crucem Tecum Stare. They may be translated as: Stood the Sorrowful Mother; O Mother, fount of love; Make my heart to burn in me; Beside the cross to stand with Thee.
Once the painting was complete the two ton cross was hauled into position over a period of more than three hours on 16 December 1903. There it remained for thirty years while
the liturgies, music and decoration of the cathedral took place below. But a new Archbishop of Westminster, Francis Bourne, had succeeded Cardinal Vaughan in 1903 and in 1932-33 the arch, or tympanum, between the sanctuary and the apse, behind the rood, was decorated with a great blue mosaic of Christ in Majesty. Bourne found that the rood obscured the central figure in his new mosaic and, late in 1933, he had it removed to a position in the north-west corner of the Cathedral nave – above the bronze plaques listing the Chief Pastors of the Church. The four steel girders which supported it can still be seen protruding from the wall.
A Question of Proportion
In his New Year message in the Westminster Cathedral Chronicle of January 1934, Cardinal Bourne justified his decision on the grounds that Bentley had originally planned a much smaller cross to hang over the baldacchino, that the Great Rood was an afterthought, miscalculated in preparation and out of proportion. In this he seems to have been echoing a comment about the rood by Winefride de l’Hopital (Bentley’s eldest daughter) in her 1919 book Westminster Cathedral and its Architect that: ‘Thirty feet high and made of wood, it was made in Bruges to Bentley’s designs, though, from some error in measurement afterwards impossible to rectify, its proportions are not exactly as he intended.’ It is true that
Bentley did briefly consider a smaller cross to hang over the baldacchino. He refers to this just once, in the Westminster Cathedral Record of January 1896. But the small hanging cross was clearly in addition to, rather than instead of, the 30ft high rood which he also refers to at the same time.
Bentley himself never saw the rood. He died before it was made and it did not arrive in the Cathedral until a year afterwards. But his drawings A-8 and F-84 (the rood frame) show that the dimensions of the present rood are approximately as he had planned. Both he and Cardinal Vaughan clearly gave it much thought and Bentley was meticulous in his drawings and instructions. The most likely explanation for the ‘out of proportion’ jibe seems to be contained in a letter from Revd Herbert Lucas SJ to W C Symons of 10 January 1904. He writes: ‘By the way, Fr Jackman had a mistaken impression that I did not like the big cross. That is not true (as I complained to him), but Mrs B [Bentley’s wife] told me that the proportions of the cross were not just what Bentley designed, and rightly or wrongly it did seem to me that the upright limb was rather broad (in proportion) and that it narrowed rather suddenly above the head. If the [upright] had been three inches narrower, and the [crossbar] three inches broader, perhaps it would have looked better. But I may have misunderstood Mrs B or she may have been mistaken.’
The Rood Returns
Cardinal Bourne died in 1935 and one of the first recommendations of the Cathedral Art Committee, set up by his successor, Archbishop Hinsley, in October 1936 was that the rood be restored to its original position. In February 1937 it was. The Great Rood has now hung undisturbed for seventy-five years while, once again, the liturgies, music and decoration of the Cathedral have proceeded below. Together with the high altar under its great marble baldacchino, the rood is the focal point of the Cathedral. Without it there would be a vacuum at the centre. In the last edition of the Westminster Cathedral Record in June 1902 (in effect the voice of Cardinal Vaughan), it was forecast that the Great Rood would ‘dominate the whole Cathedral by its majestic presence, and it will be the first object to catch the eye on entering. This is as it should be – Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat! ’
Chorister Diary concludes
Philip Hodges
She rehearsed her movements on the waste ground next to our playground and as I watched her I felt the first pangs of lovesickness. Her hair was cut short and she carried a military banner and had a sheathed sword in her girdle. As she mounted the horse I had this sickening yet delightful longing to be near her. If only I could be the mounting block from which she clambered on to the horse to sit astride the saddle; that, at least, would assuage my misery.
We had often sung of love-sick swains when attending the Western Madrigal Society’s sessions:
Adieu, sweet Amaryllis
For since to part your will is Adieu
O heavy tiding!
Here is for me no biding
Yet once again
Ere that I part with you Amaryllis, sweet, adieu.
Here was the real thing and I had no idea how movingly distressing it could be. I developed a ‘crush’ on Joan of Arc but after the procession was over and my beloved had departed for ever, never to be seen again, I had a foretaste of what I regarded as unrequited love. McHugh and I were of the same age of early adolescence and I was angry when later he told me he had the same feelings.
Why! This bhoy with a touch of the Oirish blarney might even defeat me, an Anglo-Saxon, in the lists of love. Some weeks later when we were both walking down Regent Street on a joint errand for Terry, a girl, accompanied apparently by her mother came towards us. Instantly I recognised her. “Joan of Arc!!!” I gasped to McHugh who had been too late to see this beatific vision. All the sickening symptoms came back to me but I was too overwhelmed to turn back and dare to kiss the hem of her skirt.
When recently I asked McHugh if he had any recollections of this affair I had to remind him that she was still MINE and that he could keep his lecherous hands off her. But such is the folly of old men past their seventieth year who have tasted fully of all the joys and sorrows that flesh is heir to.
Some maternal relatives
My mother was born in London and had several brothers and sisters still living in the capital whilst I was at Westminster; two of her brothers had a tenuous association with music. My uncle, W. Charles Tozer, was owner of a high-class business at 25 Brook Street, Mayfair. He sold furniture, largely quality antiques, and he made reproductions of period furniture at his factory in Ipswich. It so happened that 25 Brook Street was the
home of George Frederick Handel from 1725-1759 and a plaque over the shop door records this fact. He had a ‘picture’ shop window which contained, say, an elegant Jacobean escritoire, an armchair in ‘petit-point,’ a well-seasoned corner cupboard and a refectory table of Restoration period that had obviously withstood the batterings of several generations. Handelian Societies throughout the country tried to pool their resources in an endeavour to purchases the premises as a Handelian museum. The dear old ladies who would approach him and make an offer were somewhat taken aback when the price he asked for was equal to as many gold sovereigns as would cover the ground floor.
He was especially interested in very rich Americans who, having made their pile in oil, meat-canning and other Croesuslike operations, would seek to fill their huge mansions way back in the States with quality furniture of the English Restoration period.
When Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon made their famous discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt, the site at Luxor became another ‘must’ for the hordes of wealthy American tourists who yearly flocked to Europe to gawp at the quaint old historical scenes to be found in London, to see the ‘chic’ of naughty Paris and the teaming art museum that was Italy.
Uncle Will booked a passage for himself and his wife on a boat bearing tourists from USA that was destined for Egypt and the Luxor treasures. He made the acquaintance of those Yanks who seemed likely as wealthy customers and persuaded them to call at his premises in Mayfair on their way home. From these encounters he obtained orders to go to the States and fit out their stately homes in period furniture and décor.
The fact that his premises in Brook Street were once the home of Handel would add a certain cachet to the deal. He had as a competitor the notorious Mrs Dennistoun whose association with Lord Carnarvon was chronicled at great length in the press at the time. She opened a shop next door to my uncle which had a similar type of business.
My uncle had an interesting background. He was, as a youth, employed at Liberty’s of Regent Street as an office boy. At that time my mother was employed there in the ‘counting house.’ Liberty’s was then very much a family business and old Mr Liberty took an active and daily interest in the running of the establishment. He was somewhat annoyed yet impressed by the ‘doodling’ of my uncle on scraps of paper in the office.
These were sketches and designs of furniture. Liberty could see the possibilities in this young man and paid for a course of tuition for him in furniture design then available in South Kensington. On completion of his course he was put in charge of soft furnishings in the Regent Street store and made a substantial improvement in the profitability of the department.
Meanwhile he was courting my Aunt Mary who was the daughter of a well-to-do hotelier. In due course he asked Liberty for a rise. He was refused because, as Liberty pointed out, his success was due to Liberty’s benevolence in paying for his tuition. He left Liberty’s and, with the backing of his father-in-law to be, purchased the Handel property which was then on the market and he never looked back. My uncle lived in a stately mansion at Thames Ditton with gardens running down to the river on which he had a boat moored.
At the Choir School we had what was called the monthly holiday. That is a day and a night when those living in or near London were liberated to go home for this brief period. Each month I wrote to my aunt Isobel who lived in Golders Green a short note asking to be given a night’s lodging from which I must be back at Westminster by 9 o’clock the next morning.
She was the wife of my uncle John Smith Tozer who owned a factory in Chalk Farm which was engaged exclusively in the making of pianoforte actions. I would go first to the factory and was allowed not only in the office but also to watch the delicate ‘check-actions’ being made. My Uncle Jack was an owner-craftsman. Whilst his daughter, Dorothy, did the typing and the bookkeeping, he would be supervising the staff of about 20, both men and women, and would wear an old deer-stalker hat and a drab twill working overall.
The heart of any piano is the excellence of the ‘action’ and my uncle made special actions on the specifications of several well-known piano manufacturers. Apart from the many delicate moving parts that were made to precision standards, the actual hammers were graded as to weight and thickness according to their place on the keyboard. My uncle employed his own brother who was the great master of the art of the cutting of the felt which covered the hammers. The slabs of felt which were expensive to buy and thus treated with great care had to be cut accurately by hand with a long sharp knife so that the chamfered edges would fit neatly round the hammerheads. This chamfering diminished in size as they ascended the seven octaves of the keyboard.
In 1912 when I was aged 7 I had peritonitis and was gravely ill. For convalescence my pious maiden aunt on my father’s side who was a maternity nurse, took me to stay at Golders Green at the flat of another London aunt who jointly owned a high-class stationer’s shop called ‘Tozer & Smith’ at Temple Fortune Parade. This shop was also a post office and an agent for ‘Mudie’s’ Lending Library. (Hire of books was 2 old pence per week). Both partners were excellent telegraphists on the Morse code telegram equipment.
It was my job whilst there to hand the telegram to the boys who had to deliver them either on foot or by bicycle. At that time Temple Fortune Parade looked over open country as far as Hendon and my pious aunt would take me there on foot to see the new-fangled flying machines which were piloted by young men wearing a reversed neb-cap and goggles. She had ghoulish taste and, as a special treat, she took me to Golders Green Crematorium to watch the proceedings there. On this occasion we were almost the only ‘mourners’ present.
It was Easter time and my aunt was keen to develop my obvious taste for music so she took me to Westminster Cathedral to hear the full choral version of ‘Tenebrae.’ As we left she remarked to me prophetically, “one day, you will be in that choir.”
Some adolescent recollections
Although the ‘establishment’ of the Choir School was 32 boys, six of these, because of their lesser musical capabilities, were allocated to the duty of ‘server’ at the daily services in the cathedral. The Guild of St Gregory, a group of dedicated laymen, could always be trusted and could muster sufficient numbers to man the offices of cross-bearer, thurifer, acolyte and torchbearer on Sundays and special feast-days. However, as there was a Capitular High Mass on every weekday it was essential to have at least six boys available so that these daily services could be carried out in the best traditions as formulated by Cardinal Vaughan who was the founder of the Cathedral.
The Guild of St Gregory was made up of professional men, solicitors…*
*and here, regrettably, the manuscript of Philip Hodges cuts off and the rest could not be located.
Handel’s House (right) & Jimmy Hendrix’s House (left)
Paving the way to success
Joe Allen, Co-ordinator
These stones that have echoed their praises are holy, and dear is the ground where their feet have once trod; yet here they confessed they were strangers and pilgrims, and still they were seeking the city of God.
One of my favourite hymns, In Our Day of Thanksgiving, has taken on a certain poignancy over the last twelve months or so. Around this time last year it became clear that the Nave floor, all 1,800m2 of pitch pine, was in urgent need of restoration. This ‘dear ground’ where St John Southworth, Pope St John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI ‘once trod’, consecrated to the worship of God in 1910, was in need of love and attention.
As The Society of Friends of Westminster Cathedral, we are committed to fundraising for the sacred fabric and function of the Cathedral. For some years now, our Christmas Big Give fundraising campaigns have been a great success, but it was decided that fundraising for the floor could not wait a year. Thus, the Easter Big Give was born. Any anxiety as to the success of a second campaign was soon quelled when we not only reached, but exceeded our target, raising £62,000 (post-Gift Aid). Thank you to all of our members and supporters for your generosity and your commitment.
This project has been one of energy and pace from the beginning, with work already completed on the north and south aisles, alongside the floors outside the Blessed Sacrament and Lady Chapels.
With your generosity this Advent, we hope to raise another £65,000 to tackle the Nave floor (pre-Gift Aid) and bring our epic project to completion. Any additional funds raised will assist with the regular maintenance of our shiny new floor, preserving it for generations of saints and pilgrims to come.
The Big Give Christmas 2024
The Friends’ Christmas Big Give will run for one week, from noon on Tuesday 3 December to noon on Tuesday 10 December. These annual campaigns are a vital source of funding, and provide a great opportunity to contribute directly to the life and upkeep of Westminster Cathedral.
Essentially, the Big Give is a ‘matched pot’, doubling all donations made within a particular timeframe, at no extra cost to you. As such, for every £10 donated, Westminster Cathedral receives £20 in funding and, if you are eligible for Gift Aid, this increases again to £22.50.
If you would like to donate, visit tinyurl.com/BGFriends2024 or scan the QR code.
Please note, only those donations made on the official Big Give website, within the above dates, can be doubled. For more information or assistance, email Joe Allen at friends@ rcdow.org.uk
The finished work
Before and after
Sanding
In retrospect: from the Cathedral Chronicle
A December Saint:
The extraordinary zeal and courage that animated St. Francis Xavier, the amazing record of miracles attributed to him, and the great number of souls he brought to the light of the Faith, set him apart as the greatest missionary after the Apostles. He was born in Spain in 1506. He studied at Paris, where he met St. Ignatius Loyola, with whom he was associated in the formation of the Society of Jesus. After completing his studies in Paris, St Francis went, in 1536, to Venice, where, with a few others, he spent much of his time in attending the sick in hospitals. In the following year he received Holy Orders, and later went to Rome. Just after the Society of Jesus was founded, St. Francis Zavier was sent, at the earnest request of the King of Portugal, to evangelise the people of the East Indies.
In the month of April 1541, Francis embarked at Lisbon in a sailing vessel for India. After a tedious and adventurous voyage he arrived at Goa in May of the following year! From that time to our own day his name lives in the Indies. He began his wonderful work of conversion at once, and during the remaining ten years of his short and glorious life – he died at the early age of 46 – he diffused Faith, Hope and Charity wherever he went. During these few years he visited and preached the Gospel in so many countries, converted so many infidels, that it is always a matter of wonder how he could have accomplished so much in so short a time. The difficulties and hardships of travelling in such lands in the sixteenth century, of cruel persecutions and petty local warfare, not to speak of Portuguese influence and swaying interests, may be better imagined than described.
About three years before his death Francis went to Japan. He learnt the language and travelled to various parts of the country, forming several centres of Christianity, which increased with extraordinary rapidity. After about two and a half years in Japan, he returned again to Goa early in the last year of his life. When in Japan he had heard much of China and, after a short day at Goa, planned to visit it. He was actually on his way to China when he was taken ill at sea, and had to be conveyed to land. In such temporary and humble shelter as could be made for him on a desolate island, he died in December 1552. He was canonised with St. Ignatius seventy years later. His body is still enshrined at Goa. He is known as the Apostle of the heathens, and is the patron Saint of Catholic Missions.
From the Westminster Cathedral Chronicle, December 1924
A Precious Acquisition:
Once more it is our pleasure to record our gratitude to Mrs Ward and the Cathedral C.T.S. Box-Tenders; this time it is for the generous gift of a splendid early eighteenth-century ciborium. It might be considered an anticipated Christmas present to the Cathedral, and will probably be used for the first time at the Christmas Masses. Immensely tall, it is of silver-gilt and was made in Southern Germany about the year 1700; at a later date the lid has been surmounted by a two-storied Gothic decoration, apparently of medieval workmanship, terminating in a very small St Peter ensconced in a niche. How the Rococo and the Gothic came to be joined together remains a mystery…and perhaps an allegory!
From the Westminster Cathedral Chronicle, December 1954
Heading
Catholic Police Guild Requiem
Although a much quieter celebration after their centenary celebrations last year, the Guild were out in ‘force’ for their 101st Requiem Mass, celebrated by Bishop Alan Williams.
Name
50 years of the Neocatechumenal Way in Great Britain
Members of ‘the Way’ gathered from across the country, to celebrate fifty years at a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Vincent Nichols.
Caption in here
He who pays the piper…
Each year, a relatively small gathering squeeze into, and around St Patrick’s Chapel for the Combined Irish Regiments’ Remembrance service, complete with bagpipes. This year they did so as the Catholic Police Guild choir were warming up for their Requiem Mass.
Cologne Cathedral Choir
It was wonderful to host those who had made Westminster Cathedral Choir so welcome when they performed a concert in Kölner Dom earlier this year.
Britten’s War Requiem
The combined efforts of the Bach Choir, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the boys’ and girls’ London Youth Choirs, Elizabeth Watts (soprano), Andrew Staples, (tenor), and Mark Stone (baritone) were brought together seamlessly under Conductor David Hill, to perform Benjamin Britten’s 1962 War Requiem, based on the traditional Requiem Mass and the War poetry of Wilfred Owen.
Mensuram Bonam Conference
As members of the Mensuram Bonam Conference gathered in London, we were joined for Mass by Their Eminences Cardinal Peter Turkson, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, and Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising.
CATHEDRAL HISTORY A PICTORIAL RECORD
The Opening of the Pilgrim Door Christmas Eve 1999
Paul Tobin
The Jubilee Year 2000, lasting from Christmas Eve 1999 until the Feast of the Epiphany in 2001, was of great importance as it marked the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the start of the third millennium. The main focus of the Jubilee Year was on the mercy of God and the forgiveness of sins.
The Jubilee Indulgence, usually obtained in Rome by visiting one of the four major basilicas (St John Lateran, St Mary Major, St Paul outside the Walls, and St Peter’s) was extended to every diocese in the world. This was to be the first Jubilee Year when every diocese was encouraged to designate a Pilgrim Door of their own. A visit to the local cathedral or other selected church would suffice to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence and, in the Diocese of Westminster, in addition to the Cathedral, three other churches were designated as venues for the Indulgence. These were St John the Evangelist, Islington, The Immaculate Conception and St Joseph, Hertford, the Abbey Church of St Benedict, Ealing, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden.
At Westminster Cathedral, the Great Year of Jubilee began on Christmas Eve when (then) Bishop Vincent Nichols, as Diocesan Administrator during the interregnum following the death of Cardinal Basil Hume in June, broke open the Pilgrim Door just before Midnight Mass, which was also broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Christmas 1999 also marked the end of James O’Donnell’s tenure as Master of Music, a position he held for eleven years.
The Pilgrim Door, situated to the right of the West Door had been sealed nine months earlier on the Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord, by Cardinal Basil Hume. On the door were placed three seals, one containing the logo of the Jubilee Year, the second the Papal coat of arms and, finally, the arms of Cardinal Hume. In inaugurating the Holy Year, Bishop Nichols said: ‘Christ himself is the door. Through Him, we are invited to enter the presence of the Father and the Spirit, the mystery of God, which alone can satisfy our longings. This doorway is the symbol of our pilgrimage through life. As we journey on in faith may the Lord Jesus light up our path into the third millennium. May all who enter through this Pilgrim Door this Holy Year find forgiveness, peace and grace.’
Bishop Vincent Nichols, the Diocesan Administrator, is seen breaking open the Pilgrim Door at Westminster Cathedral, inaugurating the Jubilee Holy Year celebrations at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
Oremus
2024
The Fool’s Robe, St Edmund Genings: Many bitter words and scoffs were used by the judges and others on the bench to Father Gennings, because he was very young and had angered them with disputes. And the more to make him a scoff to the people, they vested him not now in his priestly garments (in which they had before carried him through the streets), but in a ridiculous fool’s coat which they had found in Mr Well’s house. Finding him constant and resolute they were highly offended, and thrust him into a dark hole, where he could not even see his hands nor get up or down without risk to his neck. Here he remained in prayer and contemplation without any food till the hour of his death.
The Month of
December
The Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions
For pilgrims of hope
We pray that the coming Church Jubilee Year 2025 strengthens us in our faith, helping us to recognise the Risen Christ in the midst of our lives, transforming us into pilgrims of Christian hope.
Sunday 1 December Ps Week 1
1st SUNDAY OF ADVENT
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Celebrated by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem attend Mass
de Monte – Missa Ad te levavi oculos meos
Byrd – Vigilate
Rheinberger – Ad te levavi
Organ: Dupré – Le monde dans l’attente du Sauveur (Symphonie-Passion)
4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction
Marenzio – Magnificat octavi toni
Handel – And the glory of the Lord Organ: J S Bach – Wachet auf (BWV 645)
Monday 2 December Advent feria
Tuesday 3 December
St Francis Xavier, Priest
* COP Migrants’ Day
5.30pm Chapter Mass
Wednesday 4 December Advent feria
(St John Damascene, Priest & Doctor of the Church)
10.30am Catholic Children’s Society Advent Service
2pm Catholic Children’s Society Advent Service
Thursday 5 December Advent feria
Friday 6 December Friday abstinence Advent feria
(St Nicholas, Bishop)
Saturday 7 December
St Ambrose, Bishop & Doctor of the Church
2pm Polish Carol Service
4pm Low Mass (Lady Chapel)
The Cathedral is open from 7.30am and closes in time for 7pm.
Monday to Friday: Morning Prayer 7.35am, Mass 8am, Mass (Latin, unless there is a Funeral) 10.30am, Confessions 11.30-12.30pm, Mass 12.30pm *, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 1.15-4.30pm, Benediction 4.30pm, Confessions 4.30-5.30pm, Sung Vespers 5pm (Latin, Choir, except Tuesday, English, Cantor), Solemn Mass 5.30pm (Choir, Tuesday: Boys’ voices, Wednesday: Men’s voices)
Saturday: Mass 8am, Morning Prayer 10am, Mass 10.30am (Latin, Choir,) Confessions 11.30-12.30pm, Mass 12.30pm *, Confessions 5-6pm, Sung Vespers 5.30pm (English, Cantor), Sung Mass 6pm.
Sunday: Mass 8am, Sung Morning Prayer 9.30am, Sung Mass 10am, Confessions 10.30-12.30pm; Solemn Mass (Choir) 12noon *, Solemn Vespers (Choir) and Benediction 4pm, Confessions 5-6.45pm, Sung Mass 5.30pm, Mass 7pm.
For full opening and closure times of the Cathedral and for confession and service times please consult the Cathedral diary on the website.
* Live streamed via the Cathedral website
Sunday 8 December Ps Week 2
2nd SUNDAY OF ADVENT
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Vaughan Williams – Mass in G minor Gibbons – This is the record of John Organ: Escaiach – Evocation II
4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction
Incertus – Magnificat quinti toni
Byrd – Rorate cæli
Organ: J S Bach – Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (BWV 661)
4.30pm Mass for the Deaf Community (Cathedral Hall)
Monday 9 December
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, Patroness of the Diocese
2pm Woldingham School Carol Service
5pm Solemn Second Vespers
5.30pm Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Victoria – Missa Ave maris stella
Victoria – Ave Maria a 8
Organ: Tournemire – Postlude (L’Orgue mystique II)
Tuesday 10 December
Advent feria
(Our Lady of Loreto)
2.30pm WCCS Pre-Prep Nativity I
Wednesday 11 December
Advent feria
(St Damasus I, Pope)
2.30pm WCCS Pre-Prep Nativity II
7.30pm London Fire Brigade Carol Service
Thursday 12 December
Our Lady of Guadalupe 2pm SVP School Nativity
St Lucy at Westminster Cathedral
Friday 13 December Friday abstinence
St Lucy, Virgin & Martyr 7pm Sankta Lucia Service
Saturday 14 December
St John of the Cross, Priest & Doctor of the Church
2.30pm National Schools Singing Programme Christmas Extravaganza
Svenska kyrkan, London
Sunday 15 December Ps Week 3
3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Gaudete Sunday)
10am Christmas Fair (Cathedral Hall)
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Haydn – Missa brevis Sancti Ioannis de Deo Sweelinck – Gaude et lætare
Organ: J S Bach – Prelude and Fugue in E major (BWV566)
4pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction
Palestrina – Magnificat quarti toni
Byrd – Lætentur cæli
Organ: J S Bach – Allegro, Sonata in G major (BWV 530)
Monday 16 December Advent feria
Tuesday 17 December Advent feria
2.30pm NHS Carol Service
Wednesday 18 December Advent feria
7.30pm Christmas Celebration I
Morning liturgies in the Crypt, afternoon and evening liturgies in Cathedral Hall.
Thursday 19 December
Advent feria
7.30pm Christmas Celebration II
Morning liturgies in the Crypt, afternoon and evening liturgies in Cathedral Hall.
Friday 20 December Friday abstinence Advent feria
Saturday 21 December
Advent feria
(St Peter Canisius, Priest & Doctor of the Church)
Sunday 22 December Ps Week 4
4th SUNDAY OF ADVENT
12 noon Solemn Mass (Full Choir)
Victoria – Missa Ave maris stella Bruckner – Ave Maria
Organ: Alain – Litanies
4pm Parish Carol Service
Organ: J S Bach – In dulci jubilo (BWV 729)
Monday 23 December
Advent feria
(St John of Kanty, Priest)
Tuesday 24 December
Advent feria (Christmas Eve)
8am, 10.30am, 12.30pm Mass
3pm Organ Recital; Messiaen, La Nativité
4pm Pontifical Solemn First Vespers of Christmas (Cardinal Nichols)
Buxtehude – Magnificat in D Poulenc – O magnum mysterium
Organ: Messiaen – Dieu parmi nous (La Nativité du Seigneur)
6pm Vigil Mass of Christmas
11.15pm Vigils and Solemn Pontifical Mass
During the Night (Cardinal Nichols)
Malcolm – Missa ad præsepe
Victoria – O magnum mysterium
Organ: Cochereau tr. Filsell - Toccata (Symphonie improvisée)
Cathedral closes after the 6pm Mass and reopens at 10pm
Wednesday 25 December
THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD
8am Mass of the dawn
10am Sung Mass of the day
12 noon Solemn Pontifical Mass of the day (Cardinal Nichols)
Haydn – Missa brevis Sancti Ioannis de Deo Sweelinck – Hodie Christus natus est Britten – A Hymn to the Virgin
Organ: J S Bach arr. Dupré – Sinfonia to Cantata 29
2.30-3.15pm The Cathedral is Closed
3.30pm Solemn Second Vespers and Benediction
Cathedral closes after 3.30pm Vespers
Palestrina – Magnificat primi toni
Perotin – Viderunt omnes
Organ: Mulet – Carillon-Sortie
4.45pm The Cathedral closes
On weekdays until 1 January (inclusive) Cathedral opens at 9.30am and closes after the 5.30pm Mass
Thursday 26 December
St STEPHEN, The First Martyr
Friday 27 December No Friday abstinence
St JOHN, Apostle & Evangelist
Saturday 28 December
THE HOLY INNOCENTS
Sunday 29 December
THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH
12 noon Opening Mass of the Jubilee Year (Cardinal Nichols)
4pm Vespers
5.30pm Mass with Cantor
7pm Mass
Monday 30 December
6th DAY IN THE OCTAVE OF THE NATIVITY
Tuesday 31 December
7th DAY IN THE OCTAVE OF THE NATIVITY
5.30pm Vigil Mass of Solemnity
Key to the Diary: Saints’ days and holy days written in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS denote Sundays and Solemnities, CAPITAL LETTERS denote Feasts, and those not in capitals denote Memorials, whether optional or otherwise. Memorials in brackets are not celebrated liturgically.
What Happens and When
Catholic Grandparents’ Association
Hinsley Room, Second Sundays 12-3.30pm
Charismatic Prayer Group
Cathedral Hall, Fridays 6.30-9pm
Divine Mercy Prayer Group
St Patrick’s Chapel, Sundays 1.30-2.30pm
Filipino Club Hinsley Room, First Sundays 1-5pm
Guild of the Blessed Sacrament Blessed Sacrament Chapel, Mondays 6.15pm
Guild of St Anthony Lady Chapel, Tuesdays 6.15pm
Interfaith Group Hinsley Room, Third Wednesdays 2-3.30pm
Legion of Mary Hinsley Room, Monday 1.30-3.30pm
Nigerian Catholic Association Hinsley Room, Fourth Sundays 1.30-2.30pm
Oblates of Westminster Cathedral Hinsley Room, Fourth Sundays 2.30-4pm
Padre Pio Prayer Group
Sacred Heart Church, First Thursdays 1.30-3.30pm
RCIA Group
Vaughan House, Tuesday 7-8.30pm
Rosary Group
Lady Chapel, Saturdays 11.15-12.00noon
Walsingham Prayer Group
St George’s Chapel, First Tuesdays 2.30-4pm
Yoruba Association Hinsley Room, Third Sundays 1.30-3pm
1 & 14 Down: English composer of ‘Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis’ (7,8)
6 Nature of town such as Cheltenham and Harrogate (3)
8 Room at the top (5)
9 Catholic Prime Minister of Canada (7)
10 Sister Nightingale! (5)
11 Famous and oldest canal Bridge in Venice (6)
13 London Public School which has Mass for RC pupils (6)
15 Legendary King in the ‘Excalibur’ story (6)
17 Writing implement (6)
20 Type of tree (5)
21 Popular Italian pasta dish (7)
23 St. Bernard of, medieval monk who wrote a 3,000 line poem on ‘Contempt for the World’ (5)
24 River and estuary giving name to Devon cathedral (3)
25 Trays for formal presentation, often silver (7)
1 Underground and overground station near the cathedral (8)
2 Early Saint, martyred in Germany with many virginal followers (6)
3 London Park and Jekyll alter-ego (4)
4 Minor Prophet writer of Book in Old Testament (5)
5 Time of primitive man (5,3)
6 Gets a try at Twickenham or a goal at Wembley (6)
7 & 20 Down: Tyburn martyr, statue of her in St. Etheldreda’s Church (4,4)
12 Type who cannot commit mendacity (8)
14 See 1 Across
16 Number of times Peter was warned he would deny Jesus (6)
18 An American biscuit (6)
19 Offers up the mind and heart to God (5)
20 See 7 Down
22 To ‘take the ----’, to become a nun (4)
The Burning Babe
St Robert Southwell
As I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow, Surpris’d I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow; And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near, A pretty Babe all burning bright did in the air appear; Who, scorched with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed As though his floods should quench his flames which with his tears were fed.
‘Alas!’ quoth he, ‘but newly born, in fiery heats I fry, Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I! My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns, Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns; The fuel Justice layeth on, and Mercy blows the coals, The metal in this furnace wrought are men’s defiled souls, For which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good, So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood.’ With this he vanish’d out of sight and swiftly shrunk away, And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas day.
To submit a poem whether by yourself or another for consideration, please contact the Editor – details on page 3.
The Adoration of the Shepherds by Guido Reni
Advent is a time for waiting
Gabriel, Year 6, brings us glad tidings of great joy!
Advent is a time when we wait for Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord. During Advent we light candles, but these aren’t normal candles. These are the Advent candles coloured purple, pink and white. The first two, which are both purple, represent love and hope. The third candle, the pink one, represents joy. After the pink candle, there is another purple one, representing peace. Finally, we have the white candle which we light at Midnight Mass in celebration of Jesus’ birth.
Whilst representing these virtues, the candles also represent the time we have to wait until the birth of Jesus. As we wait to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, we are also reminded of the time when Mary and Joseph waited to welcome Jesus into the world. They were waiting to welcome the Saviour of the world and then raise him, which was a huge responsibility to have. It was unexpected news to Mary and Joseph, as they were not prepared to have a child and be parents. It was a lot of responsibility put on their shoulders but it was a responsibility they were prepared to take. When we are in Advent and preparing for Christmas, we are reminded of the huge responsibility Mary and Joseph had. This means that we can use Advent to remind ourselves of all our responsibilities, not just to ourselves but to others.
After Advent, we have Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ in the manger with the cattle and other livestock, with only his parents to comfort him. The Saviour of the world was born in a stable and the first people to visit him were the Shepherds who were looking after their sheep on the hillsides outside of Bethlehem, followed by the Three Kings who had followed the star. They paid their respects to Jesus and presented gifts; a lamb from the Shepherds and gold, frankincense and myrrh from the Three Kings. A King born in a manger being visited by shepherds and wise men was surely a king for us all.
Christmas is an exciting time with Christmas trees, carol services and time for families to come together to celebrate. People exchange gifts with family, reminding us of the gifts presented to Jesus following his birth and it is our responsibility to make sure that we don’t forget the true meaning of this in all the excitement.
It would be easy for us to forget that for some Christmas will not be as happy; some will be alone, hungry and homeless. If we remember that Jesus came into the world to save us from our sins, we will remember our responsibility to others and consider those who need our help. We will continue to do the work that Jesus was born to do on earth.
Please join us in the Cathedral for our Christmas Nativity celebration which will take place at 2pm on Thursday 12th December.
