Oremus January 2020 by RCWestminster

January 2020 | Edition Number 254 | FREE

Westminster Cathedral Magazine â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He is devout and also learned; and not only devout and learned but at the same time a gentleman; a very rare combinationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; King Henry IV of France describes St Francis de Sales

AN INVESTITURE

A New Knight of St Gregory the Great There was cause for happy celebration at the 5.30pm Solemn Mass on Wednesday 11 December, when Bishop Nicholas Hudson, acting as the Delegate of the Holy Father, invested Barry Lock as a Knight of St Gregory. Barry was supported by fellow-Knight Peter Sefton-Williams (in the image, right, holding the Brief of Appointment with Barry) and Dame of the Order, Mary Maxwell. The Rite of Investiture provides this explanation: ‘The Pontifical Order of Saint Gregory the Great was founded in 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI. It is conferred as a reward for services to the Holy See and the Church on people of proven loyalty, who must maintain unswerving fidelity to God, the Supreme Pontiff, the Holy See and the Church. Becoming a Knight or Dame does not merely mean receiving a title of honour – even though it is well deserved – but fighting evil, promoting good and defending the weak and oppressed against injustice’. Since this is so, the new Knight is required to promise to continue in this way of living and serving the Church; that promise made, the Brief then declared: ‘Francis, Supreme Pontiff, gladly acceding to a request made to Us from which we have gathered that you are most deserving for what you have done for the Holy Catholic

Pinning the medal

Church and its affairs, and in order that We might give you a clear sign of Our pleasure and appreciation, We choose, make and declare you, Barry Lock of the Diocese of Westminster a Knight of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great. We bestow on you the right to use and enjoy all the privileges which go with this high dignity’. The Brief itself one might hang on one’s wall, but there is also the medal, to be worn on suitable occasions. These things are always rather fiddly to put on, but Bishop Nicholas managed it deftly, and so Mass ended, with an appropriate expression of congratulation for the Cathedral’s new Knight.

Oremus

December 2019

CONTENTS

Inside Oremus

Oremus Cathedral Clergy House 42 Francis Street London SW1P 1QW

Cathedral Life: Past & Present

T 020 7798 9055 E oremus@westminstercathedral.org.uk W www.westminstercathedral.org.uk

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 Canon Christopher Tuckwell Editor Fr John Scott Oremus Team Tony Banks – Distribution Zoe Goodway – Marketing Manel Silva – Subscriptions Berenice Roetheli – Proofreading Ellen Gomes – Archives Design and Art Direction Julian Game Registered Charity Number 233699 ISSN 1366-7203

An Investiture 2 A Paten and Chalice Inherited; Fr Peter Stevens RIP 10 Pilgrimage Report by Fr Andrew Gallagher 11 Colin Mawby RIP, Master of Music 1961 – 1976 by Paul Tobin 12 & 13 Sir Stephen Cleobury RIP, Master of Music 1979 – 1982 by Peter Stevens 14 & 15 Cathedral History: St Edward’s Tower by Patrick Rogers 16 & 17 Cathedral History in Pictures: The Enthronement of Archbishop Griffin by Paul Tobin 21 The Cathedral’s SVP Conference Appeals 27

Features

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.

How to Build a Monastery (concluded) by Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB 6&7 Admirabile Signum: The Importance of the Christmas Crib by Pope Francis 8&9 New Resources on Ageing and Christian Care 13 The Revised New Jerusalem Bible reviewed by Fr F Javier Ruiz-Ortiz 20 Film Report – A Hidden Life 22 A Painting Examined: The Virgin of the Rocks 28 Poetry Book Note – The Rosary: England’s Prayer 29 The Discipline of Meditation by St John Henry Newman 31

Regulars

This painting by Francisco Bayeu y Subías (1734–1795) depicts St Francis de Sales presenting the Community Rule to St Jane Frances de Chantal and the Sisters of the Order of the Visitation. In the collection of the Prado Museum, it is presently displayed in the Museum at Salamanca.

From the Chairman 5 Monthly Album 18 & 19 Friends of the Cathedral 23 Cathedral Diary and Notices 24 & 25 In Retrospect 26 & 27 Crossword and Poem of the Month 29 St Vincent de Paul Primary School 30

Printed by Premier Print Group 020 7987 0604

January 2020

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SCAN ME

Join the Companions ... and help us to keep publishing Oremus free of charge Although we earn income from the advertising which we carry, Oremus relies on donations from readers to cover its production costs. The Companions of Oremus was established to recognise those who give generously to support us. Open exclusively to individuals, Companions’ names are published in the magazine each month (see page 7). All members are invited to one or more social events during the year and Mass is offered for their intentions from time to time. If you would like to support us by joining the Companions, please write to Oremus, Cathedral Clergy House, 42 Francis Street, London SW1P 1QW or email oremuscomps@rcdow.org.uk with your contact details, including postcode. Members are asked to give a minimum of £100 annually. Please mention how you would like your name to appear in our membership list and if you are eligible to Gift Aid your donation. Postal subscriptions to Oremus may be purchased through the Cathedral Gift Shop’s website or by using the coupon printed in the magazine. Thank you for your support.

A New Way to Donate The first time you give through virginmoneygiving.com, you may need to register, which is a simple process. But perhaps you will find that you are already registered, if you have ever used this popular site to sponsor a friend or relative to swim, diet, run a Marathon or take part in an event to raise money for charity.

Readers may have noticed a QR code appearing on the Cathedral’s printed material. The square pixelated design is essentially an advanced barcode and works with the camera on your smartphone. If you scan the code, it will take you directly to the Westminster Cathedral page at virginmoneygiving.com.. Try it – using the code printed above! 4

Once registered, it is simple to make a donation of any size, large or small – and ideal if you have no cash to hand. Today, more and more of us don’t carry cash and rely on cards and phones to pay for everything from takeaway coffee and travel to shopping and entertainment. And a great advantage of giving via the QR code is that it enables supporters to gift aid their donations, boosting the value of their gift by 25%.

(Fun?) Facts about QR Codes • “QR” stands for Quick Response. • The minimum printed size for a QR code to function is 1cm x 1cm • The Cathedral QR code is made up of 1369 smaller squares but the largest ones contain up to 31,329 squares and carry large amounts of data. • The three corner boxes and the smaller box towards the bottom right of the code are used to align and position your phone’s camera so that it can scan correctly • Unlike a traditional barcode, a QR code can be scanned from any direction - right way up or upside down – it makes no difference. • QR codes were first used in 1994 by a Japanese car manufacturer to track vehicle parts. • Some years ago, QR codes were considered ‘old hat’ but their use in social media and the proliferation of smart phones has brought about a millennial-led renaissance. Oremus

January 2020

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

From the Chairman I am writing this in the middle of the second week of Advent, but it will be closer to Christmas when you read this month’s Oremus. Advent, as you know, is a time of expectant waiting, preparing ourselves for the two comings of Christ and this year that particular note of waiting has been enhanced, though that might not be the right word, by the waiting for a General Election. That election, however it may turn out, will soon have come and gone, but the Advent waiting continues. From 17 December onwards each day of Advent has its own particular character taken from the ancient texts of the Advent Antiphons sung at this time of year at Vespers. I would encourage you to look at these Antiphons and to reflect on the particular titles that they give to our Lord, titles such as ‘O Wisdom, which came out of the Most High’ ‘O root of Jesse’ ‘O King of David and sceptre of the House of Israel’ ‘O King of the nations’

Westminster Cathedral Cathedral Clergy House 42 Francis Street London SW1P 1QW Telephone 020 7798 9055 Service times 020 7798 9097 Email chreception@rcdow.org.uk www.westminstercathedral.org.uk Cathedral Chaplains Canon Christopher Tuckwell, Administrator Fr Daniel Humphreys, Sub-Administrator Fr Julio Albornoz Fr Michael Donaghy Fr Andrew Gallagher, Precentor Fr Hugh MacKenzie Fr Rajiv Michael Fr John Scott, Registrar Sub-Administrator’s Assistant James Coeur-de-Lion Also in residence Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories Music Department Martin Baker, Master of Music Peter Stevens Obl. OSB, Assistant Master of Music Callum Alger, Organ Scholar Cathedral Manager Peter McNulty Estates Manager Neil Fairbairn

‘O Emmanuel’ These texts find their origin in the prophecies of the Old Testament and enrich our prayers as we await the day of the Lord’s Nativity and look forward to his Second Coming. These are the texts which we will have in our minds when we pay our visits to the Christmas crib.

Chapel of Ease Sacred Heart Church Horseferry Road SW1P 2EF

On a personal note I am glad to say that I am slowly getting stronger and have been seen more frequently around the Cathedral, but I am not yet able to stand for very long and so it will be a few more weeks before I can celebrate Mass without having to sit down. I remain, as ever, very grateful for your continuing prayers and good wishes. I close by wishing you all a very blessed, happy and holy Christmas, both here in our beloved Cathedral and within your own homes and families. With every blessing.

January 2020

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HOW TO BUILD A MONASTERY

A Steep Learning Curve (concluded) Builders Cherre and Chunga, increasingly unreliable, force Fr Mark to become his own Construction Manager; and the job is completed! Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB

The completed cloister

Activity seemed to be still present in the New Year, but no real progress was being made. Cherre seemed to absent himself more and more, although he was always there to draw his money on Saturdays. Chunga started to take on other jobs everywhere else, and was virtually unfindable. So much so that I decided to spike his guns by only paying him on results. He took his revenge by going around Tambogrande borrowing money on the pretext that he was ‘working for the Fathers’, which made him a safe bet for loans. A whole load of people came to claim that Chunga had borrowed from them, promised to do jobs and taken large sums in advance and then done no work at all. Furious, I summoned him and told him that if he ever did that again I would drag him in front of a judge and have it put out over the town loud-speaker that we disclaimed any debts he made. Very scriptural, but I am glad he didn't call my bluff, because I am sure I couldn't have gone through with my threat. Since then, there have been one or two whispers, but nothing serious; however, he is still way behind in his work. For his part, Cherre started to imbibe rather a lot, particularly at weekends; and under the influence would boast how much money he made after paying his workmen. At the same time, he kept on pleading poverty and asking me to give him more money each week. I could easily see what would happen: we would get to mid-April, with the contract money long finished and the building far from ready. So I had a big showdown with him, too; and I set out a plan of the 6

work which was left to do (that was in early March), dividing it into weeks to finish by the end of April. A noticeable improvement in output could then be seen. But I didn't really discover how fast things could really slide until later, because the tempo once again slowed down. With all that, one might be forgiven for thinking that the whole thing was a ghastly mess; far from it. The workmen actually on site were on the whole excellent, most receptive to ideas and most willing to carry them out. As a result, a very simple, solid and at the same time pleasing structure began to come together. The picture I used to have when I shut my eyes before it all started is now more than three-quarters complete. But the final twist from Cherre was still to come. Some three weeks ago he stayed back (as a very great favour, he told me) to complete a piece of work, keeping on some workers at double pay (at my expense, of course) over a Sunday. He left at lunchtime on the Sunday, and I didn't see him until the Tuesday after lunch. He explained he'd been ill; I discovered differently. On the Thursday his wife came to the parish, and asked me if it was true that I was no longer paying him, because he no longer gave her any money for housekeeping, saying I wasn’t paying. After I disabused her of this, she burst into tears and told me that she had heard that he had taken a mistress, from the property next to ours, and that he was keeping her in luxury in Tambogrande, doing the rounds of the bars with her by day ... He had also taken articles from their house in Sechura. I took her up to the site, Oremus

January 2020

HOW TO BUILD A MONASTERY

Companions of Oremus We are very grateful for the support of the following:

The consecration is recorded at the first Mass

to Cherre, and they had a brief but meaningful confrontation. She went back home, but returned at lunchtime on the Saturday, and spirited him away. I haven’t seen him since, although he did appear briefly at the site and left a note for me which I found later in the day when I went there after saying Mass out in a village. In it he said that he felt he had to abandon the job because of family reasons, and especially because of his wife who was, he said, displaying signs of incipient madness ... So now, what did I do without a builder? Only one thing to do, I took over the direction of the job myself. I formed a council of the principal workers, and put each of them in charge of a particular part, increased all their salaries, and only then realised how unpopular Cherre had been. We are now advancing very fast, and the basic building should be ready in three weeks’ time.

A Happy Ending The long and short was that the building was ready on time for the Archbishop and the Abbot to bless in early June!

And the future of the monastery? Sadly, the building had to be sold, as the community, now numbering some 10 Peruvians, had to move near Lima, so that they could do their religious studies at the University. But the building lives on and is part of the diocese of Piura. Bishop Mark is Bishop Emeritus of Menevia and frequently assists at Confirmations in the Cathedral.

This image shows the Benedictine community in the garden of the completed monastery. At the time it included two monks from Belmont Abbey, but it is now wholly Peruvian January 2020

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Mrs Mary Barsh Mrs Else Benson RIP Dr Stuart Blackie Anne Veronica Bond Richard Bremer Francis George Clark Daniel Crowley Ms Georgina Enang Alfredo Fernandez Fred Gardiner Connie Gibbes Zoe & Nick Goodway Mrs Valerie Hamblen Bernadette Hau Mrs Henry Hely-Hutchinson Mrs Cliona Howell Alice M Jones & Jacob F Jones Poppy K Mary Thérèse Kelly Florence M G Koroma Raymund Livesey Alan Lloyd in memoriam Barry Lock Clare and John Lusby Pamela McGrath Linda McHugh Peter McNelly in memoriam Christiana Thérèse Macarthy-Woods James Maple Dionne Marchetti Paul Marsden Mary Maxwell Abundia Toledo Munar Chris Stewart Munro Mrs Brigid Murphy Kate Nealon Cordelia Onodu Emel Rochat Berenice Roetheli John Scanlan Mr Luke Simpson Sonja Soper Tessa and Ben Strickland Julia Sutherland Eileen Terry Robin Michael Tinsley Mr Alex Walker Jacqueline Worth Patricia M Wright and of our anonymous Companions If you would like to become a Companion of Oremus, see page 4

AT THE MANGER

Contemplating the Crib Pope Francis The enchanting image of the Christmas crèche, so dear to the Christian people, never ceases to arouse amazement and wonder. The depiction of Jesus’ birth is itself a simple and joyful proclamation of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. The nativity scene is like a living Gospel rising up from the pages of Sacred Scripture. As we contemplate the Christmas story, we are invited to set out on a spiritual journey, drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman. We come to realize that so great is his love for us that he became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with him. Coming into this world, the Son of God was laid in the place where animals feed. Hay became the first bed of the One who would reveal himself as ‘the bread come down from heaven’ (Jn 6:41). St Augustine, with other Church Fathers, was impressed by this symbolism: ‘Laid in a manger, he became our food’ (Sermon 189, 4). Indeed, the nativity scene evokes a number of the mysteries of Jesus’ life and brings them close to our own daily lives. But let us go back to the origins of the Christmas crèche so familiar to us. The Franciscan Sources describe in detail what took place in Greccio. Fifteen days before Christmas, St Francis asked a local man named John to help him realize his desire ‘to bring to life the memory of that babe born in Bethlehem, to see as much as possible with my own bodily eyes the discomfort of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, and how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he was laid upon a bed of hay’. At this, his faithful friend went immediately to prepare all that the Saint had requested. On 25 December, friars came to Greccio from various parts, together with people from the farmsteads in the area, who brought flowers and torches to light up that holy night. When Francis arrived, he found a manger full of hay, an ox and a donkey. All those present experienced a new and indescribable joy in the presence 8

of the Christmas scene. The priest then solemnly celebrated the Eucharist over the manger, showing the bond between the Incarnation of the Son of God and the Eucharist. At Greccio there were no statues; the nativity scene was enacted and experienced by all who were present. This is how our tradition began: with everyone gathered in joy around the cave, with no distance between the original event and those sharing in its mystery. Thomas of Celano, the first biographer of St Francis, notes that this simple and moving scene was accompanied by the gift of a marvellous vision: one of those present saw the Baby Jesus himself lying in the manger. From the nativity scene of that Christmas in 1223, ‘everyone went home with joy’. Why does the Christmas crèche arouse such wonder and move us so deeply? First, because it shows God’s tender love: the Creator of the universe lowered himself to take up our littleness. The gift of life, in all its mystery, becomes all the more wondrous as we realize that the Son of Mary is the source and sustenance of all life. In Jesus, the Father has given us a brother who comes to seek us out whenever we are confused or lost, a loyal friend ever at our side. He gave us his Son who forgives us and frees us from our sins. The landscapes that are part of the nativity scene also deserve some mention. Frequently they include the ruins of ancient houses or buildings, which in some instances replace the cave of Bethlehem and become a home for the Holy Family. More than anything, the ruins are the visible sign of fallen humanity, of everything that inevitably falls into ruin, decays and disappoints. This scenic setting tells us that Jesus is newness in the midst of an ageing world, that he has come to heal and rebuild, to restore the world and our lives to their original splendour. ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us’ (Lk 2:15).

So the shepherds tell one another after the proclamation of the angels. A beautiful lesson emerges from these simple words. Unlike so many other people, busy about many things, the shepherds become the first to see the most essential thing of all: the gift of salvation. It is the humble and the poor who greet the event of the Incarnation. The shepherds respond to God who comes to meet us in the Infant Jesus by setting out to meet him with love, gratitude and awe. Thanks to Jesus, this encounter between God and his children gives birth to our religion and accounts for its unique beauty, so wonderfully evident in the nativity scene. The presence of the poor and the lowly reminds us that God became man for the sake of those who feel most in need of his love and who ask him to draw near to them. Jesus, ‘gentle and humble in heart’ (Mt 11:29), was born in poverty and led a simple life in order to teach us to recognize what is essential and to act accordingly. The nativity scene clearly teaches that we cannot let ourselves be fooled by wealth and fleeting promises of happiness. We see Herod’s palace in the background, closed and deaf to the tidings of joy. By being born in a manger, God himself launches the only true revolution that can give hope and dignity to the disinherited and the outcast: the revolution of love, the revolution of tenderness. From the manger, Jesus proclaims, in a meek yet powerful way, the need for sharing with the poor as the path to a more human and fraternal world in which no one is excluded or marginalized. Gradually, we come to the cave, where we find the figures of Mary and Joseph. Mary is a mother who contemplates her child and shows him to every visitor. The figure of Mary makes us reflect on the great mystery that surrounded this young woman when God knocked on the door of her immaculate heart. Mary responded in complete obedience to the message Oremus

January 2020

The Creation of the Crib at Greccio by Antonio Vite (1390)

of the angel who asked her to become the Mother of God. Her words, ‘Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word’ (Lk 1:38), show all of us how to abandon ourselves in faith to God’s will. By her fiat, Mary became the mother of God’s Son, not losing but, thanks to him, consecrating her virginity. In her, we see the Mother of God who does not keep her Son only to herself, but invites everyone to obey his word and to put it into practice (cf. Jn 2:5). At Mary’s side, shown protecting the Child and his Mother, stands St Joseph. He is usually depicted with staff in hand, or holding up a lamp. He plays an important role as the guardian who tirelessly protects his family. When God warns him of Herod’s threat, he does not hesitate to set out and flee to Egypt (cf. Mt 2:13-15). And once the danger had passed, he brought the family back to Nazareth, where he was to be the first teacher of Jesus as a boy and then as a young man. Joseph treasured in his heart the great mystery surrounding Jesus and Mary his spouse; as a just man, he entrusted himself always to God’s will, and put it into practice. When, at Christmas, we place the statue of the Infant Jesus in the manger, the nativity scene suddenly comes January 2020

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alive. God appears as a child, for us to take into our arms. Beneath weakness and frailty, he conceals his power that creates and transforms all things. It seems impossible, yet it is true: in Jesus, God was a child, and in this way he wished to reveal the greatness of his love: by smiling and opening his arms to all. ‘Life was made manifest’ (1 Jn 1:2). In these words, the Apostle John sums up the mystery of the Incarnation. The crèche allows us to see and touch this unique and unparalleled event that changed the course of history, so that time would thereafter be reckoned either before or after the birth of Christ. God’s ways are astonishing, for it seems impossible that he should forsake his glory to become a man like us. The nativity scene shows God as he came into our world, but it also makes us reflect on how our life is part of God’s own life. It invites us to become his disciples if we want to attain ultimate meaning in life. Standing before the Christmas crèche, we are reminded of the time when we were children, eagerly waiting to set it up. These memories make us all the more conscious of the precious gift received from those who passed on the faith to us. At the same time, they remind us of our duty to share this same

experience with our children and our grandchildren. It does not matter how the nativity scene is arranged: it can always be the same or it can change from year to year. What matters is that it speaks to our lives. Wherever it is, and whatever form it takes, the Christmas crèche speaks to us of the love of God, the God who became a child in order to make us know how close he is to every man, woman and child, regardless of their condition. Dear brothers and sisters, the Christmas crèche is part of the precious yet demanding process of passing on the faith. Beginning in childhood, and at every stage of our lives, it teaches us to contemplate Jesus, to experience God’s love for us, to feel and believe that God is with us and that we are with him, his children, brothers and sisters all, thanks to that Child who is the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin Mary. And to realize that in that knowledge we find true happiness. Like St Francis, may we open our hearts to this simple grace, so that from our wonderment a humble prayer may arise: a prayer of thanksgiving to God, who wished to share with us his all, and thus never to leave us alone. This meditation is an edited version of the Holy Father’s Apostolic Letter Admirabile Signum of 1 December 2019. 9

A GIFT RECEIVED

The Carter Stevens Chalice and Paten The Cathedral is grateful to have received the gift of a chalice and paten, first given to Fr Howard Carter and subsequently inherited by his nephew, Fr Peter Stevens, who died on 8 November this year. The inner inscription on the underside of the base of the chalice reads: ‘The Gift of the Catholic Police Guild to the Rev. Harold J. Carter on his Ordination to the Priesthood. June 29th 1928’, whilst the outer inscription records its later history: ‘And Presented to his Nephew the Reverend Peter F. Stevens on his Ordination to the Priesthood July 1st 1989’. Apart from the hallmarks, there is also a fish symbol with the Greek word Ichthus. Originally the chalice and paten were silver, but were gilded at the time of the presentation to Fr Stevens, when minor blemishes and knocks were also repaired, as evidenced by the invoice from Hayes and Finch. ‘Born in London on 23 October 1931, Peter Stevens was the second son born to Emma and Alfred Stevens. His sister, Angela, was born in 1939. His family life was marred by the death of his older brother, Bernard, at the age of 20 from an incurable illness and then the separation of his parents. He and Angela became very close, ‘a wonderful and beautiful person, so thoughtful, generous, kind and loving … my dearest friend for almost 46 years’ is how he described her. They bought and shared a home with three acres of land in Suffolk for many years, until her death on Christmas Day 1984. He was then able to write that: ‘I now believe my energies should be used to the service and glory of Almighty God and for his Church’; and so he applied to the diocese for acceptance as a student for the priesthood. Peter’s desire to be a priest had surfaced earlier in his life, perhaps due to the influence of his uncle, Fr Harold Carter, formerly a police officer, who became a priest of the diocese and a Chaplain at Westminster Cathedral at the time of Peter’s birth, whence his baptism at the Cathedral at

The Chalice, traditional and noble in form

It declares its own history

the age of three weeks. He was educated at the Salvatorian College, Wealdstone and for the Stevens family Sundays were always the most important day of the week, when they attended the 6am or 7am Mass and returned for High Mass at midday. After lunch the family again went to the church for Rosary and Benediction. Peter and Bernard were altar servers on Sundays and at early weekday Masses and he loved involvement with the Church. In 1949, when 18 years of age, Peter made known his interest in the priesthood and his vocation. Following the recommendation of his Parish Priest and an interview with Cardinal Griffin, Peter went to Campion House, Osterley to begin formation. He was very happy there, but the death of his brother in 1950 meant that he had to embark on a career as a sales representative, including a period with Hayes and Finch, manufacturers and suppliers of candles, furnishings and other church requisites [note that this firm undertook the refurbishment of the chalice and paten – Ed.]. He enjoyed this chapter of his life, travelling to churches and convents and meeting priests and Religious in London and the south of England. Cardinal Hume’s message concerning vocations was that: ‘God calls at any age’; he accepted Peter and sent him to the Beda College in Rome where he studied from 1985-89. On 1 July 2014, Fr Peter celebrated the Silver Jubilee of his Ordination, with Mass and a party. He spoke of Cardinal Hume’s words to him in 1989: ‘If you can give 10 years as a priest, I will be very consoled’. He was, in fact, a priest for 30 years, steadfast and dutiful, reliable and dependable, compassionate and merciful. May he rest in peace.’ This is an edited version of the Obituary prepared by the Vicar General, Mgr Martin Hayes. It will be published in full in the 2021 Westminster Year Book.

And has paperwork to prove it Oremus

January 2020

PILGRIMAGE REPORT

Walking in the footsteps of Jesus Fr Andrew Gallagher

On an early Monday morning in November a group of 33 pilgrims gathered at Heathrow Airport expectantly as we prepared for the Guild of the Blessed Sacrament’s Biennial Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. For many it was the first time that they had visited the holy sites seeking to tread in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. At our opening Mass in the beautiful church of Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept) on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem, barely able to believe where we were, I explained to the group that what they were to see over the next week would be like visiting the home of a longtime friend for the first time. You think you know them well, but when you enter their home you gain a new insight into who they are and what their life is like. For those who visit the Holy Land, the scriptures come alive. Whether gazing over the fields of Bethlehem, climbing the steps in the hill country of Ein Karem at the site of the Visitation, sitting in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, walking through the streets of Jerusalem along the path towards Calvary, or baking in the desert during a journey towards the River Jordan, wherever you go, a new understanding and a more detailed context of stories that are so familiar to us become clear. We were helped by our wonderful guide, Samir, a Christian from Bethlehem whose knowledge of the places we visited, both scripturally and historically, was incredible. He also shared with us the struggles of his community, and most particularly his family, in the face of the difficulties which Christians face in the land of the Lord’s birth today.

His sadness at the divisions in the land he loves was clear and marked each of us during our week together. Having been to the Holy Land several times, both when working as a pilgrimage tour manager and now as a priest, I was particularly excited to visit for the first time the village of Ein Karem, which is a few miles away from Jerusalem. As a priest, to visit the home of Zechariah, Elizabeth and John the Baptist, where both the Benedictus and Magnificat were proclaimed was particularly special, being the two great hymns of praise that I pray as part of the Divine Office each morning and evening. Another highlight, as always on a pilgrimage, was the group who shared in the experience. People from many different backgrounds, from all over London and beyond, formed a unique bond and supported each other as we walked, queued and prayed together in some of the most important sites of our shared faith. Celebrating Mass together each day in a familiar site, and the simple reading of a Gospel associated with each place we visited, brought focus and some time to reflect in what was a very intense and busy schedule. We visited so many places, and yet we all thirsted to see more as, at each place we visited, the stories we are so familiar with came alive. Sadly, we couldn’t see everything as we were only able to be in the Holy Land for a week and the Bible is a long book that contains many sites to visit! But all of us returned home with our faith renewed and a new depth to our understanding of the places where Jesus once walked.

The Pilgrimage group and an ancient wall! Top: Sunset on the Sea of Galilee

COLIN MAWBY KSG, RIP

From First Recollections to the Present Paul Tobin Much will be written about Colin’s work and achievements elsewhere on the occasion of his recent death, but as a former chorister I would like to share some early memories. It was a Friday afternoon in the late 1950s that George Malcom, then Master of Music, informed the boys that Vespers would be accompanied on the organ by an ex-chorister, Colin Mawby (Fridays being the Lay Clerks’ day off in those days). As George was to be away that afternoon, the boys were asked not to cause any bother to the organist! My first recollection was seeing Colin’s forehead and bespectacled eyes peering just above the level of the organ console, then situated at the far end of the apse opposite the Master of Music’s stand.

Shortly after the auditions finished late in the afternoon, the boys were asked their opinion as to who their choice of choirmaster would be; suffice it to say that Colin Mawby was one of their favourites and it was no surprise he was appointed organist, with Francis Cameron as Master of Music. There were occasions when he would deputise as conductor, including the whole of Holy Week in 1960. Looking back, I am certain it was that particular week, working closely with the choir, that ensured a smooth takeover the following year when he was appointed Acting Master of Music in succession to Francis Cameron. Colin lost no time in introducing innovations to improve the standard of singing by bringing in people from outside with expertise in specific areas. Dom Aldhelm Dean, a monk from Quarr Abbey, came on a number of occasions to teach the boys the Solesmes interpretation of plainchant and conduct the Propers of the Mass from the Roman Gradual in the apse. I sang in the choir under Colin’s direction for another year during which time President John F Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline visited the Cathedral for the Baptism of a niece in the Crypt in June 1961. Around that time Nicholas Kynaston, another former Cathedral chorister, was appointed as Acting Organist. Colin lost no time in composing works for the choir; apart from his well-known Haec Dies for boys’ voices, which 12

In 1959 George Malcom decided to resign his post as Master of Music, which he had held for the previous 12 years, to pursue a career as a solo harpsichordist, in which he was to become a great success. The process of selecting his successor produced seven short-listed candidates, who included Colin Mawby; each played a piece on the apse organ and conducted the full choir in one of two works that were not part of the usual repertoire. Colin remembers that he conducted the Kyrie from Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. The adjudicating panel, under the chairmanship of the Cathedral Administrator, Mgr (later Bishop) Gordon Wheeler, consisted of Lennox Berkeley, Fr Lancelot Long (a former Master of Music), George Malcom and Fr Wilfred Purney. Colin in front of Sankt Bonifatius church, Wiesbaden in November 2011

is still sung during the Easter season, a number of hymns for Vespers still resonate in one’s mind such as Salutis Humanae Sator (for the Ascension) and Placare Christe Servulis (for All Saints). A Mass setting for boys’ voices, The Mass of Ss Francis and Michael, was dedicated to two senior choristers. It was during the 1960s that Colin’s setting of Psalm 150 as a responsorial psalm in English, commissioned by the Grail, was performed and to this day is sung in many churches. During Colin’s time the choir made its first of two visits to Rome; in 1963, shortly before the death of Pope St John XXIII, it sang for him, and seven years later, in October 1970, for the Canonisation of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, it became the first choir, other than the Sistine, to sing at a Papal Mass in St Peter’s Basilica. How appropriate it was that Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices was sung on that momentous occasion. Colin’s tenure as Master of Music (he was given the full title shortly after Cardinal Heenan became Archbishop of Westminster) lasted some 15 years, after which he became Choirmaster at Sacred Heart church in Wimbledon for three years before moving to Dublin to become choral director at RTE (Radio Telefis Eireann). Whilst there he founded Oremus

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three RTE choirs; and during his time in Ireland he was able to devote more time to composition, so that since his retirement he has been in great demand both in England and overseas for, mainly, liturgical works for both choir and congregation. Probably his best known work is his Ave Verum Corpus. On the occasion of his 80th birthday he wrote a Te Deum to mark the 50th anniversary of the consecration of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral in 2017, as well as a piece to mark the centenary of Katholikentag, a huge gathering of lay people in Germany, which was held in Leipzig. The last composer to have been commissioned to write a piece for this event was Krysztoff Penderecki (b. 1933).

In view of all the work that Colin did for church music over many years, his 70th birthday in 2006 was marked by Pope Benedict XVI awarding him the Knighthood of St Gregory the Great ‘in gratitude for past and continuing services to church music’. In latter years, whilst his musical output reduced (he always aimed to compose at least 30 bars a day), he continued to take a keen interest in current affairs and often made his views well known, especially on subjects he felt passionately about, not least the future relationship between this country and Europe. Paul Tobin is an Assistant Master of Ceremonies Westminster Cathedral Choir School (1956-1962)

Care in Isolation and Nurturing Memory Two major new resources on care in our ageing society were launched at a gathering co-ordinated by Caritas Social Action Network and addressed by CSAN’s Patron, Cardinal Vincent. The event was chaired by Debbie Thrower, former journalist and broadcaster, and founder of Anna Chaplaincy for older people. Around 65 people attended, including Bishops Terence Drainey and John Arnold and other CSAN trustees, leaders and practitioners from religious orders and charities in the Caritas network working with older people, with representatives of Age UK, Christians on Ageing, MHA, the Muslim Council of Britain and Catholic trust funders. Care in Time is a new report exploring how senior leaders of Catholic organisations can address the increasing concerns of charities and carers about the prospects for the care of older people in England and Wales. Religious orders, directors and diocesan representatives in the Caritas network contributed evidence to the report, which extends social thought on care and ageing, drawing on the statements of Pope St John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. The Cardinal highlighted the causes of the social care crisis affecting older people, and the needs for increased political attention and co-operation: ‘We have lived in these last decades in a society that has rejoiced in increasing mobility, in increasing self-determination, and an increasing self sense of autonomy and independence. And when the capacity for those things begins to fall away, then what I think many elderly people find is that the fragmentation of a more corporate sense of society leaves them extremely isolated. It's that problem of isolation, which is the one that comes home to me most of all, when we think about the changing age demography of the country in which we live. As we have become a more January 2020

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technological, material-based society, then the standards by which we should be offering each other care, have in that material sense, risen and risen, and make the actual offering and the provision of care in its structures, not necessarily in its heart and spirit, more and more difficult to sustain. And we’ve already heard that this is a topic of which little is being said in the election campaign’. Reaching Out is a new resource for parishes to discern and organise local group-based social activities that older people feel right for them. It is a fruit of the three-year Embrace Project collaboration between Caritas Salford, Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds), Fr Hudson’s Care and the national team in CSAN. Over 20 new group activities were established by Catholic parishes, involving over 1,000 people of all ages within and beyond the Catholic community. Carol Hill, Director of Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) and Chair of CSAN’s Directors’ Forum, launched the toolkit on behalf of the collaborating charities, noting: ‘I really do feel that it’s such a user friendly guide, and it can inspire social action in parishes across England and Wales to enhance the lives of older people living in our communities. And I think this is an excellent opportunity for the church, through its lay people, to support its older congregations through social action’. The new resources are available to download: for Care in Time, see CSAN’s publications page, under Older People: www.csan.org.uk/about-csan/publications/ Reaching Out: Older people and Catholic parishes making memories together: www.csan.org.uk/embrace/ See also: Anna Chaplaincy: www.annachaplaincy.org.uk and Christians on Ageing: https://christiansonageing.org.uk 13

SIR STEPHEN CLEOBURY RIP

A Devoted Servant and Humble Guardian Peter Stevens, Obl. OSB Many words have been written about Sir Stephen Cleobury since his death on 22nd November – the feast of St Cecilia, patroness of music and musicians – revealing the depth of respect and affection in which he was held. His influence was enormous; as Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge, for 37 years, he educated and inspired generations of choristers, choral scholars and organ scholars, whilst his music-making reached many millions every year through a busy schedule of concerts, broadcasts and recordings. For four years I had the privilege of working with him every day during my time as Organ Scholar of King’s, learning from this extraordinary man.

Then, in 1979, he became the first Anglican to take up the post of Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral. Stephen always held the Cathedral in great affection, frequently recounting his memories of what he once described as: ‘the most inspiring and the most frustrating place I ever worked’! The first time I returned to King’s, two years after graduating, I was immediately struck by the unique smell of the Chapel and transported back to my university days; when I told him, Stephen smiled and said that exactly the same thing happened to him every time he returned to the Cathedral. Arriving at a turbulent time in the choir’s history, Stephen’s meticulous and methodical way of working, coupled with his extraordinary work ethic (I have never met anyone who could so accurately be called a workaholic) ushered in a new era for the Cathedral Choir. Even now, over 40 years since his arrival here, rarely does a day at work pass by for me without seeing his distinctive handwriting on a conductor’s copy he had marked up, or a Magnificat or motet that he had written out by hand. He had a great love of plainsong, taking classes from Dr Mary Berry in Cambridge in preparation for his arrival at the Cathedral, and he introduced Gregorian chant into the liturgies at King’s after he moved there in 1982. He would occasionally demonstrate his mastery of the art of chant accompaniment to the choral scholars, once explaining that he had written out a harmonisation for every piece of plainsong he played over his first year at the Cathedral. How he found time to do that, I have no idea, but it is typical of the commitment and honest hard work that characterised his entire career. Indeed, some have suggested that Stephen somehow had more hours in each day than anyone else, judging by the amount that he accomplished. For a decade he combined his 14

Born on the last day of 1948, Stephen’s musical training began as a chorister at Worcester Cathedral. His university years were spent as Organ Student at St John’s College, Cambridge, under George Guest, before he became Director of Music at St Matthew’s Church, Northampton. From there he moved to Westminster Abbey as Sub-Organist, where he played for many important services, including the Memorial Service for Benjamin Britten in 1977.

post at King’s with that of Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers, and also started Easter at King’s, a festival that takes place every Holy Week involving a number of different orchestras performing major repertoire – and all of it conducted by Stephen himself. Nobody else I can think of would, within the space of a week, even consider conducting two performances of Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Academy of Ancient Music, a live broadcast of the Dvořák Stabat Mater with the BBC Concert Orchestra, and Messiaen’s Trois Petites Liturgies with the University Chamber Orchestra, in addition to a complete set of services for the Easter Triduum. He was uncompromising in his quest for perfection, always leading by example, and never expecting anything from anyone that he would not also demand of himself. He worked to a level of detail that few, if any, have matched; for the Christmas services, every choral scholar’s breathing would be marked in the copy individually. His insistence on punctuality and professionalism was an important education for many a hungover undergraduate (to one latecomer: ‘Well, if I wasn’t sure whether the rehearsal was at 9.15 or 9.30, I would arrive at 9.10’). Rehearsals, as he often reminded us, were not to be used for learning notes: ‘The rehearsal begins at the point at which all of the notes are correct. Then we can begin to make music.’ Oremus

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of the English Choral Tradition

A line of music marked up for the Christmas Carol Service from King's; Stephen has meticulously noted the breathing for each singer (D1, C2 etc.)

And nobody ever knew the score as well as him. To prepare for one particularly large-scale modern work, Stephen chose not to acquaint himself with the piece by listening to a recording, but shut himself away in his office for weeks, working long hours each day at a piano, armed only with a full score and a metronome, and learned it one note at a time. ‘The conductor should always have the score in his head, not his head in the score’, as he explained to us during a rehearsal for one concert, having just rehearsed from memory a piece of Vaughan Williams from the far end of the church, recalling details of the score that few of us had even noticed. I will never forget a ferry journey from Helsinki to Tallinn in 2007. At 8am, as we set sail, Stephen installed himself at a table in a corner of the ferry’s bar, marking up a score of (I think) the Verdi Requiem. Half an hour later, the bar opened, and a curtain went back revealing a band of enthusiastic middle-aged men playing Buddy Holly songs. His fellow passengers hit the dance floor – complete with pints of beer – at 8:30am, while Stephen, undeterred, remained in a corner, hard at work!

summer of 2019, and his decades of hard work were officially recognised. It would be impossible to try to sum up everything I learned from Stephen, but I and many, many others owe him so much. May this devoted servant and humble guardian of the English choral tradition rest in peace, and rise in glory. Peter is the Cathedral’s Assistant Master of Music.

And yet this quest for perfection was coupled with a wonderful fairness and understanding. After playing an anthem very badly in my first year, I nervously went to apologise to Stephen. He accepted my apology, then immediately started talking about what we should rehearse with the choristers the following morning. My disastrous rendition of the anthem was never mentioned again – by him at least – and he was even more encouraging to me afterwards than he had been before. As a first-year undergraduate who was still learning the ropes, I was extremely grateful for that. When I found myself the only Organ Scholar in my third year, Stephen generously took on the playing of some of the weekend voluntaries, and even accompanied the choir in pieces he had last played at Westminster Abbey 30 years earlier. As a man, Stephen was quiet and unassuming, utterly devoted to his work and to his family, and unfailingly generous with his time and support, which did not cease when one left Cambridge but continued right to the end. It was a moment of great joy when a knighthood was bestowed upon Sir Stephen to mark his retirement from King’s in the January 2020

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CATHEDRAL HISTORY

St Edward’s Tower St Edward's Tower under construction

Patrick Rogers The best-known feature of Westminster Cathedral must be its tower or campanile. Standing prominently on the London skyline for the last 115 years, it reaches a height of over 284 feet if the cross on the summit is included, and provides spectacular views over London. Understandably, if a little unkindly, it was initially known by many as ‘the Roman Candle’. The tower is clearly influenced by the campanili of Italian churches, particularly those of Lombardy and Venetia. J F Bentley, the Cathedral architect, spent four months, from November 1894 to March 1895, studying church architecture in Italy before starting to build the Cathedral in June. The many campanili he saw in the places he visited such as Milan, Ravenna and Venice – where that of Madonna dell’Orto, for example, is a prominent feature of the skyline – formed the basis for our campanile. In fact, Bentley initially planned twin towers at the west end, one on the outer side of each of the two small entrance lobbies, in the positions now occupied by spiral staircases and thus directly in line with the nave aisles. Bentley’s second plan, dated June 1895, shows a single larger tower, projecting from and forming part of the north-western façade. Only in the third plan, published in the Westminster Cathedral Chronicle of January 1896, is the campanile shown in its present position, set back from the west front with its base between the Cathedral Gift Shop and the Chapel of the Holy Souls beside Ambrosden Avenue. The excavations for the foundations of the tower were 17 feet deep and 46 feet square. Into this were poured hundreds of tone of concrete, consisting of Goliath brand 16

Portland cement mixed with Thames ballast, the work being completed by Mowlems of Westminster in late 1895. Then, in early 1896, followed the foundations up to ground level, consisting of hand-made blue Staffordshire bricks, impervious to moisture and laid in cement by Perrys of Bow. Finally, the tower proper was built, faced with bands of thin red Bracknell bricks alternating with Portland stone, the work being undertaken by Shillitoe and Sons of Bury St Edmunds. The tower was erected using internal scaffolding only, with men and materials being taken up in baskets by a hoist powered by a small steam-engine in the nave. No external scaffolding was thus required until the cupola came to be built. The contract with Shillitoes was placed in November 1896 and by the end of 1900 the tower had reached 182 feet, with a further 40 feet added by March 1902 when Bentley saw it for the last time before his death. It was finally finished on 2 January 1903 when the great bronze cross, made by Elsleys and containing a relic of the True Cross was put in place and the scaffolding was then taken down. Shillitoes employed fourteen stonemasons and bricklayers to build the tower with nine more (including a ‘mess room man’) at ground level to prepare the materials and run the steam-driven donkey engine. A regular event at the top of the structure was a religious service organised by two sisters, then in their 20s (Mrs L N Knott and Miss M E Stephens). Each week at noon they arrived at the top of the tower in baskets to conduct a short service of prayer, bible reading and hymn singing and all the men were invited to their home in Beckenham when the elder of the two (referred to by the men as ‘The Speaker’) was married. Oremus

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CATHEDRAL HISTORY Thirty feet square at the base and tapering by seven inches, the tower remains on a level with the rest of the building before rising cleat at the fourth floor. At 185 feet the eighth floor has four twin balconies which form the present public viewing platform. At 218 feet the ninth floor is surrounded by more arched balconies with buttress-like projections capped by turrets. This was the upper viewing platform, reached by a narrow spiral staircase and closed now to the public for several decades, as evidenced by the graffiti dates. At 225 feet the campanile changes from a square to a polygon, then to a drum and finally to a lead-covered cupola, guarded by 12 stone eagles and surmounted by a metropolitan cross. In all there are ten floors, the top of the cupola rising to 273 feet 3 inches, with the cross increasing this to 284 feet 6 inches. St Edward the Confessor was chosen as the tower’s patron saint at the time of King Edward VII’s Coronation in August 1902, when a crown of light shone from the top of the tower in celebration. The blessing and dedication of the tower took place two months later on 13 October, the Feast of St Edward Look - no scaffolding! the Confessor. The belfry possesses a single bell, weighing 52 cwt. And known as Big Edward. Given by the Duchess of Norfolk and cast by Mears and Stainbank of Whitechapel in April 1910, it was to have been baptised in May of that year, but the death of the king resulted in an indefinite postponement. Thus the deep tones which ring out at Cathedral funerals and on other solemn occasions emanate from an unbaptised bell! The Cathedral itself was finally opened to the public on Christmas Eve 1903, and once the tower flooring and staircases were completed the tower was also opened. Providing an unrivalled view of up to 20 miles over London and the surrounding countryside, it was an immediate success. In the five days over Easter 1919, for example, it was recorded that over 1,100 people climbed the 375 steps to the top (though few did it a second time). In 1929 a contract was signed with Marryat and Scott for an electric lift. Carrying ten people and travelling at 350 feet per minute, it rose to the lower viewing platform, previously the bell chamber. In consequence Big Edward was moved up to its present position above the lift shaft (accounting for its muffled tone) and visitors climbed the stone spiral staircase surrounding it to reach the upper level. January 2020

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The Ladies from Beckenham were formidable and not only in their headgear

Five years before the lift, a tragic fall from the tower occurred, resulting in the fitting of iron grilles across the viewing balconies in 1925. Hollywood, however, was not to be deterred so easily. In Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 film Foreign Correspondent, and American reporter (Joel McCrea) is sent to Europe to cover the impending war. His bodyguard (Edmund Gwenn) is really an enemy agent with instructions to kill him. Lured to the top of the cathedral tower, McCrea suddenly realises Gwenn’s real intention and steps aside as the agent rushes towards him only to plunge over the balcony to his doom. Fortunately, the fall had no lasting effect on Gwenn’s career. Seven years later he won an Oscar for his portrayal of Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street.

Flat caps or bowlers were universal for the men 17

MONTHLY ALBUM

The Town Painted Red Aid to the Church in Need achieved another splash of colour across churches and public buildings with this year’s Red Wednesday event – or should we say demonstration? There is a particular effectiveness in the sight of the crowd in Parliament Square all holding red lights before the procession along Victoria Street to the Cathedral. In previous years, speeches and music have taken place on the piazza, but this year, in addition, a liturgy also took place in the Cathedral itself. On the steps you will see the piper, who led the way inside. A piper, you ask? We answer: And why not?

The God Who Speaks Our Bishops have declared 2020 to be ‘The Year of the Word’ under the title of The God Who Speaks. It was launched officially on the First Sunday of Advent, when Bishop Paul McAleenan and Fr Chris Vipers, Director of the Agency for Evangelisation, joined the Cathedral community for Vespers. During the Year, we are asked to pray: Living God, you walk alongside us and speak to us throughout the scriptures. Your Son, Jesus Christ, listens to our hopes and fears and shows us how to live for one another. Send us the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds, so that we may be your witnesses throughout the world. Your word is our path and your truth is our light This day and every day Our Lady of the Annunciation Pray for us St Matthew Pray for us St Jerome Pray for us 18

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MONTHLY ALBUM

St Stephen's Recruits A feature of the celebration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, is the admission of new servers into the Guild of St Stephen, with the existing servers also making their Renewal of Promises at the various Masses throughout the day. It is a particular pleasure when, as at the 9am Mass, a server receives his silver medal denoting years of committed attendance and service at the altar. Pictured are the new servers who had just made their promises and received their medals at the Saturday Vigil Mass.

Tinsel Time with the Choir of Angels

The Society’s Meeting Room

Following Mass in the Cathedral, the Autumn Reception of the Society of St Augustine of Canterbury, a national charity that supports the promotion and advancement of the Catholic Faith in England and Wales, took place in the Throne Room of Archbishop’s House recently, in the presence of Cardinal Vincent and members of the Society. The guest speaker was National President of the Catenians, Phil Brown, who spoke about the work of the Association, which was The Thone Room set up to enable the laity to tackle the bigotry against the Faith which existed in the early 20th century and to support the needs of the Catholic community.

Rejoicing and Relief joined together in SVP School’s Christmas performance. Hardly had we drawn breath after the recent successful R.E. Inspection of the school than the phone call came announcing the imminent arrival of the OFSTED Inspector, which we had thought would come in the New Year. Then, after two days of inspection and questioning, it was all over. The official report will be received in due course, but we have reason to be hopeful about the judgments that will have been made.

Staff and Alumni/ae Those who join the Cathedral’s RCIA group each year may not self-identify as students and the catechists who support them through the process of sacramental initiation and reception into the Church may not think of themselves as staff, but a recent social evening brought together the present group and some of those from previous years. Support and encouragement are crucial for those who wish to learn more about the Catholic Faith and are discovering what it means to profess it, so the presence of those who have already taken the step into the Church and her life is particularly important. If the table in the image looks rather bare, that is because the one hidden behind the group was duly groaning with refreshments.

The Cardinal then spoke about the four days of celebration and sheer joy at the recent canonisation of St John Henry Newman in Rome and highlighted four aspects of the new saint – as theologian and scholar, poet and hymn writer, as a public figure and as a humble priest. He also thanked the Society’s members for their continuing generous assistance towards the diocese. For membership details, please contact the Secretary, Richard Collyer-Hamlin at: richardcollyerhamlin@hotmail.com January 2020

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THE REVISION REVISED

A New Bible for the New Year Fr F Javier Ruiz-Ortiz The text is supplemented by five appendices under the heading ‘Study Materials’. They consist of an index to the major notes, a chronological table comparing general history to the biblical history; an index of persons and an index to the maps followed by seven coloured maps. These appendices are very useful for the study of the Bible and prove a tool enhancing this translation of the biblical text. As explained in the foreword, the translation is a revision of the text of the Jerusalem Bible following three principles: first, the language used should be easily proclaimed and be aimed at personal meditation; secondly, the principle of formal equivalence is preferred to that of dynamic equivalence, so that a more literal translation is favoured as opposed to a freer ‘thought for thought’ translation; and thirdly a preference for inclusive language has been adopted.

Revised New Jerusalem Bible, Study Edition (trans. Dom Henry Wansborough OSB); London: DLT, 2019; ISBN 978-0-232-53362-0; 2,400 pp. Over 50 years since the Jerusalem Bible was first published in 1966 and nearly 25 years after its revision appeared (The New Jerusalem Bible, 1985), a new edition of that translation has been offered to the English readership. Prepared by Ampleforth monk and biblical scholar Henry Wansborough, this translation of the biblical text carries the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales declaring that it is free of doctrinal or moral errors. Each one of the sections of the Bible is preceded by a short introduction. Subsequently every book is introduced succinctly and accurately. A plan of each one of the books is offered which aids the comprehension of the text. A further aid to the understanding of the text is its division into headings. Noteworthy is the introduction to each Psalm. The text is accompanied by footnotes which give either an explanation of the concepts or the historical context of a given passage. Further, some cross-references are placed along the margins to help the connections with other parts of the Bible. Both the notes and the cross references are reduced in number, if compared with the preceding edition of this translation, but they are of good quality and up to date with modern scholarship. 20

These principles, which are somewhat at odds with each other, are discernible when reading the text and provide some improvement to the original Jerusalem Bible. The inclusiveness of the translation does not overcomplicate the text excessively (only used with nouns: ‘brothers and sisters’, ‘the one’ and not entailing over repetition of the personal pronouns ‘his/her’, ‘him/her’). However, the choices are at times unacceptable, because they might compromise the Christological interpretation of the texts, e.g. ‘My child’ as opposed to ‘My Son’ in a text which has been treated as referring to Christ (Ecclesiasticus 2:1). This consideration, however, must have been taken into account when Psalm 1:1 is translated as ‘Blessed indeed is the man’. When introducing the different sections of the Old Testament, there is not a homogeneous division into blocks (the fourfold traditional division, i.e., Pentateuch, Historical Books, Wisdom and Prophets). Thus, in the present format there is no general introduction to the historical books or the ‘stories’ (Judith, Esther, Tobit). This arrangement also places the books of the Psalms and the Song of Songs within the Wisdom Books, even though they are not technically ‘wisdom’ works. A heading such as ‘Poetry’ would have been more accurate. When moving to the New Testament, no general introduction to the Gospels is provided. As a whole this edition of the bible is an improvement oon the original Jerusalem Bible. The translation is clearer and, by and large, more faithful to the original. In addition, the complementary materials (notes, introductions, cross references and indexes) enhance the comprehension of the biblical text. This is indeed a welcome resource for those who want to approach the bible both for personal enrichment and academic endeavour. Fr Javier is the parish priest of Bow and assists in teaching Scripture to the seminarians to Allen Hall. Oremus

January 2020

CATHEDRAL HISTORY: A PICTORIAL RECORD

The Enthronement of Archbishop Bernard Griffin as Sixth Archbishop of Westminster Therefore, the Archbishop went to the Secretarium (the Lady Chapel fulfilling this purpose) whilst the Office of Terce was sung by the choir in the apse. Whilst that proceeded, the Archbishop and Canons vested for Mass: ‘… the Bishop in cope and gold mitre, the titular Canons in Chasubles and the honorary Canons in Dalmatics1’. The reason for the Canons being vested for Mass dated back to a more ancient rite of concelebration which meant that, unlike nowadays, they did not utter the words of Consecration or receive Communion. The picture, taken during Terce, shows the Archbishop wearing a cope with the arms of Cardinal Herbert Vaughan (Archbishop of Westminster 1892-1903) and mitre. The cope is held together by a morse (clasp) that was used in 2009 at the installation of the current Archbishop, Cardinal Vincent Nichols. The two Assistant Deacons at the Throne are Mgr Charles Brown (left), for many years a Cathedral Chaplain until his death at the age of 90 in 1958, and Mgr Jackman (right). Paul Tobin This ceremony for Archbishop Griffin took place on 18 January 1944, but owing to the Second World War there was one major modification to the rite used for his predecessor, Cardinal Arthur Hinsley, in 1935. As the Pallium had not been received from Rome, the rite of veneration and investiture which would have taken place at the start of the ceremony did not happen on this occasion and has not, in fact, happened since 1935. 1

The dais and backdrop were situated in the Lady Chapel where the organ is now and were used until the 1960s whenever the Archbishop celebrated Pontifical High Mass. As the enthronement did not take place until the start of Mass, the coat of arms of Archbishop Griffin is seen covered and would have been uncovered by the time he returned to unvest there at the conclusion of Mass. Keen observers will notice the footwear of the Archbishop, namely the buskins (sandals) which were worn by all bishops when they celebrated Pontifical High Mass and which matched the colour of the vestments.

Directions for the Ceremony of Enthronement of the Most Reverend Bernard Griffin D.D, Archbishop of Westminster (Cathedral Archives)

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January 2020

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FILM REPORT

Franz Jägerstätter’s Conscientious Objection Vatican News / ICN A screening of the film A Hidden Life, about the Austrian conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter, recent took place in the Vatican. In a rare public appearance, director Terrence Malick joined invited guests for the event. Paolo Ruffini, the Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, was also on hand to introduce the film. In his opening remarks, the Prefect mentioned that it was the 60th anniversary of the Vatican Film Library. He said the film tells a story that challenges our souls, our consciences and our fears, and puts into play our tendency to forget the past so as not to take responsibility. Throughout the film the contrasts raging around Franz Jägerstätter are powerfully portrayed: the horror of war and the beauty of his family and rural life; the facile acceptance by so many and the interior agony of one person in the face of a tyrannical regime. In a scene reminiscent of the baptism scene in The Godfather, Malick captures the essence of any Christian surrounded by images of a ‘comfortable Christ with halos over his head’ which create ‘admirers instead of followers’. The Christian named Franz is able to break free of the now-obvious hypocrisy and chooses instead to ‘walk the talk’. The choice that faced Jägerstätter was that of swearing an oath of loyalty to Hitler, which in conscience he could not do if he wanted to remain a member of the Kingdom of God. We see him struggling with that choice and its consequences in one scene after another with a minimum of words, powerful images, and poignant music. Through the script, the viewer is privy to the dialogue Franz and his wife kept up through letters during his military training and eventual imprisonment. And the viewer is faced with a recurring question: what do a person's individual choices matter in the grand scheme of things? Franz confronted that question and was condemned to death without knowing the impact that his choice would have on the Church, whose representatives had encouraged him to do his duty and serve the regime. It would be a Jesuit Archbishop of Bombay, Thomas Roberts, who two decades later would propose a change in the Church's teaching regarding conscientious objection. The man who had been considered a traitor by his neighbours and fellow Austrians was declared a martyr by Pope Benedict XVI and beatified on 26 October 2007. His feast day is 21 May, the day he became a member of that Kingdom he considered to be his true ‘fatherland’. Elizabeth Bentley, one of the producers who was also present for the Vatican screening, characterised the project as an ‘experience of faith’. She has been working on the film from 2007, but had known about Franz since 22

her childhood. ‘This is the story I wanted to tell’, she told Vatican Radio. During the years of working on the project, she told us that she got to know many people in the ‘Jägerstätter community’, including his wife who was 97 years old when Elizabeth met her in 2010. ‘She gave me her blessing to make this story and that has surrounded me through the entire process.’ Personally speaking, Elizabeth acknowledged that making the film has been life-changing. After ‘pushing the story and the script around with a lot of rejection’, Elizabeth discovered that Terrence Malick knew Franz's story. ‘A number of things fell into place’, she said. Terrence ‘made a lot of decisions that are perfect’, including the actors and the score. ‘It was a wonderful decision to bring Terry on, and I learned a lot.’ A Hidden Life stars August Diehl as Franz Jägerstätter, whilst his wife, Franziska (Fani) is played by Valerie Pachner. It premiered at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival in May 2019 and has just begun its international release. Watch the official trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJXmdY4lVR0 Oremus

January 2020

THE FRIENDS OF WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL

A Very Fair Profit Christina White Mass in November as the date of the Fair approached. Local businesses were keen to support us: The Goring Hotel, The Rubens Hotel, Gustoso, Molton Brown on Victoria Street and Specialist Journeys donated enticing prizes. Thank you all; and please do support them throughout the coming year.

Warming Christmas Fayre at the Fair

As 2019 drew to a close the Friends were busy with the Christmas Fair followed closely by the Big Give online appeal, which was this year raising funds for the completion of the Tower Viewing Gallery. The Fair brought in a staggering amount of money and, to date, we have raised £9250 and counting. This in no small part was thanks to some lovely raffle prizes and a special thank-you is owed to the generous couple who donated the prize money for the top raffle prize of £500. It was a joy to hand over the money to the lady who won; she bought her book of five tickets in the Cathedral after Mass one Sunday, so congratulations to those doughty volunteers who did their bit and helped sell tickets after January 2020

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Over 500 people attended the fair (adults only, we don’t count the children on the door) and the mulled wine, Irish coffee and delicious food prepared by the Grandparents’ Association was much appreciated. The weather, for once, was kind – remember the snow blizzard a couple of years ago? There are so many people to thank, but a special shout-out to Linda McHugh, Zoe Goodway, Eileen Terry, Patrick Gormley and Nan and Patrick Somerville for their tireless efforts and generosity. Sr Carmel and Sr Clement proved to be retail experts with their religious stall that had a constant supply of visitors. They were a brilliant support. Everyone is exhausted after the event, but when the Fair brings in a good number of regulars and visitors, then it is a worthwhile endeavour and we thank you for your support. That said, we really struggled with donations this year, so if you have Christmas presents that seem ill-chosen, please keep them for us. The Christmas Fair does well with identifiably Christmassy gifts; we won’t be stepping on the toes of the summer event … And before I forget, the British Medical Association has warned of the perils lurking within old and used make-up. We can’t sell used eye shadow or used tins of paint or electrical goods. Thank you to the people who contributed the most beautiful homemade produce that looked and tasted delicious. It all made for a very happy atmosphere. All the helpers at the Fair are invited to a private party in Clergy House in January – you know who you are. Invitations are in the post.

We had barely time to breathe before the Big Give descended. This year we had champion funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, so it was especially important to hit the target. We made it with four days to spare, and then exceeded it. Over £31,000 has been raised and some of the donors chose to attend an enjoyable supper in Clergy House with our Chaplains. Thank you to everyone who donated. 2019 was a difficult year for many people. Let us hope that this New Year, full of promise, brings kinder days and better times. We are already working on a full programme for the Friends, with some events already in the diary. Please do think about joining us this year and helping to support the Cathedral. Onwards!

Forthcoming Events 2020 Monday 6 January: Private Party in Clergy House for the helpers at the Christmas Fair. 6.15pm to 8pm Monday 24 February: Oxford Professor Diane Purkiss on Civil War, Politics and Religion. Westminster Cathedral Hall. Doors open at 6.30pm and the talk will begin at 7pm. Tickets £10 Friday 6 March: A Walk Through Historic Clerkenwell with Anthony Weaver: including Mass at St Etheldreda’s, pub lunch and visits to the museums of the Charterhouse and the Hospital of St John. Meet at St Peter’s Italian church at 10am. Please note that this is a full-day walking tour. Tickets £30

Contact us • Write to: Friends’ Office, 42 Francis Street, London SW1P 1QW • Call: 020 7798 9059 • Email: friends@ westminstercathedral.org.uk Registered Charity number 272899

DIARY

Tuesday 7 January

The Month of

Christmas feria (St Raymond of Penyafort, Priest)

January

Holy Father’s Prayer Intention: Evangelisation – Promotion of World peace

Wednesday 8 January Christmas feria

Thursday 9 January

Christmas feria

We pray that Christians, followers of other religions, and all people of goodwill may promote peace and justice in the world.

Friday 10 January

Friday abstinence

Chrstmas feria

Saturday 11 January Christmas feria

Tuesday 31 December 2019

10pm Cathedral opens 11.15pm Mass for the New Year

Wednesday 1 January 2020

SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD (Bank Holiday: Masses at 10.30am, 12.30 and 5pm)

Thursday 2 January

Ss Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops & Doctors

Ps Week 1

Friday 3 January Friday abstinence The Most Holy Name of Jesus Saturday 4 January

Christmas feria 4pm Extraordinary Form Low Mass (Lady Chapel)

Sunday 5 January

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD 10.30am Solemn Mass (Men’s voices) Tallis – Missa Puer natus est Palestrina – Orietur stella Organ: Cochereau – Toccata ‘Marche des Rois’ 3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Bevan – Magnificat primi toni Handl – Omnes de Saba Organ: Reinecke – Sonata in G minor Op. 284 4.30pm Deaf Service Mass in Cathedral Hall 4.45pm Organ Recital: Shaun Ward (Hereford)

Monday 6 January Christmas feria 24

Ps Week 2

2020

St Angela Merici (feast day 27 January) was born in 1474 and became an orphan at the age of 10. Taken in by her uncle, she suffered further loss when her sister died and then, when she was 20, her uncle died, too. Returning to her home town of Desenzano, she was struck by the number of girls who were both without education and hope for their lives. Already herself a Franciscan Tertiary, Angela began gathering companions who might assist with teaching and thus began what later developed into the Ursuline Order, the Church’s first female teaching community. St Angela, the patron saint of Desenzano

Sunday 19 January

2nd SUNDAY IN O.T. 10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir) Mozart – Missa brevis in F major (K. 192) Croce – In spiritu humilitatis Organ: Dubois – Toccata 3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction (Full Choir) Victoria – Magnificat primi toni Palestrina – O admirabile commercium Organ: Widor – Andante sostenuto (Symphonie Gothique) 4.45pm Organ Recital: Ben Giddens (St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square)

Monday 20 January

Sunday 12 January

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD 9am Family Mass 10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir) Tye – Missa Euge bone Handel – And the glory of the Lord Organ: Buxtehude – Praeludium in E minor (BuxWV 142) 3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction (with Induction of Choristers) Marenzio – Magnificat octavi toni Marenzio – Tribus miraculis Organ: J S Bach – Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam (BWV 684) 4.45pm Organ Recital: James Orford (London)

Ps Week 2 Feria (St Fabian, Pope & Martyr, St Sebastian, Martyr)

Tuesday 21 January

St Agnes, Virgin & Martyr 5pm Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral sings Choral Evensong 6pm Said Mass

Monday 13 January

Ps Week 1 Feria - Weekday Lectionary readings of Year 2 begin (St Hilary, Bishop & Doctor)

JANUARY

Tuesday 14 January Feria

St Agnes in the church of the Frari, Venice

Wednesday 15 January

Wednesday 22 January

Feria

Feria (St Vincent, Deacon & Martyr)

Thursday 16 January

Thursday 23 January

Feria

Friday 17 January

Friday abstinence

St Anthony, Abbot

Saturday 18 January

Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity begins 6pm Adult Confirmations at Mass, Victoria Choir sings (Bishop McAleenan)

Feria

Friday 24 January Friday abstinence St Francis de Sales, Bishop & Doctor Anniversary of the Episcopal Ordination of Cardinal Nichols (1992) 2.15pm Anniversary Mass for St Ignatius School, Enfield (Bishop Sherrington) 5pm Vespers at St Paul’s Cathedral 5.30pm Said Mass Oremus

January 2020

DIARY AND NOTICES Saturday 25 January

THE CONVERSION OF ST PAUL THE APOSTLE; Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity ends 8, 9am Masses in St Paul’s Chapel 6pm Confirmation Enrolment at Mass

Sunday 26 January Ps Week 3 3rd SUNDAY IN O.T. (OF THE WORD OF GOD) 10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir) Rheinberger – Cantus Missae G Gabrieli – Iubilate Deo omnis terra Organ: Reger – Introduction and Passacaglia in D minor 3.30pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Lassus – Magnificat primi toni Elgar – Intende voci orationis meae Organ: Elgar – Finale (Sonata in G) 4.45pm Organ Recital: Christian Gautschi (Zürich) Monday 27 January

Feria (St Angela Merici, Virgin)

Tuesday 28 January

St Thomas Aquinas, Priest & Doctor

What Happens and When

Wednesday 29 January Feria

Thursday 30 January

Feria Diocesan Scripture Roadshow (until Saturday 1 February)

Friday 31 January

St John Bosco, Priest

Friday abstinence

From the Registers The advent of the General Data Protection Regulations means that it is not lawful to print information such as the names of individuals without their specific consent. However, to maintain a picture of the Cathedral’s activity as recorded in the Registry, here are the figures for 2019: Baptisms Confirmations (Male) (Female) In total Receptions into the Church Marriages Funerals

64 181 197 378 11 4 17

Could you work for the

Diocese of Westminster?

Join our broad and diverse community today St Thomas Aquinas by Carlo Crivelli 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.

January 2020

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Visit jobs.rcdow.org.uk for the latest opportunities and more information on employee benefits

Public Services: The Cathedral opens shortly before the first Mass of the day; doors close at 7.00pm, Monday to Saturday, with occasional exceptions. On Sunday evenings the Cathedral closes after the 7.00pm Mass. On Public and Bank Holidays the Cathedral closes at 5.30pm in the afternoon. Monday to Friday: Masses: 7.00am; 8.00am; 10.30am (Latin, said); 12.30pm; 1.05pm and 5.30pm (Solemn, sung by the Choir). Morning Prayer (Lady Chapel): 7.40am. Evening Prayer (Latin Vespers* sung by the Lay Clerks in the Lady Chapel): 5.00pm (*except Tuesday when it is sung in English). Rosary is prayed after the 5.30pm Mass. Saturday: Masses: 8.00am; 9.00am; 10.30am (Solemn Latin, sung by the Choir); and 12.30pm. Morning Prayer (Lady Chapel): 10.00am. First Evening Prayer of Sunday (Lady Chapel): 5.30pm. First Mass of Sunday: 6.00pm. Sunday: Masses: 8.00am; 9.00am; 10.30am (Solemn, sung by the Choir); 12 noon; 5.30pm; and 7.00pm. Morning Prayer (Lady Chapel) 10.00am. Solemn Vespers and Benediction: 3.30pm. Organ Recital (when scheduled): 4.45pm. Holy Days of Obligation: As Monday-Friday, Vigil Mass (evening of the previous day) at 5.30pm. Public Holidays: Masses: 10.30am, 12.30pm, 5.00pm. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: This takes place in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel every Monday to Friday following the 1.05pm Mass, until 4.45pm. Confessions are heard at the following times: Saturday: 10.30am-6.30pm. Sunday: 11.00am1.00pm; and 4.30-7.00pm. Monday-Friday: 11.30am-6.00pm. Public Holidays: 11.00am1.00pm. Sacred Heart Church, Horseferry Road SW1P 2EF: Sunday Mass 11.00am, Weekday Mass Thursday 12.30pm Funerals: Enquiries about arranging a funeral at the Cathedral or Sacred Heart Church, Horseferry Road, should be made to a priest at Cathedral Clergy House in the first instance.

Throughout the Year

Mondays: 11.30am: Prayer Group in the Hinsley Room. 1.30pm: Legion of Mary Group II in the Hinsley Room. 6.30pm: Guild of the Blessed Sacrament in the Cathedral Tuesdays: Walsingham Prayer Group in St George’s Chapel 2.30pm on first Tuesday of the month; 6.30pm: The Guild of St Anthony in the Cathedral. Wednesdays: 12.00pm: First Wednesday Quiet Days on the first Wednesday of every month in the Hinsley Room. Thursdays: 1.15pm: Padre Pio Prayer Group at Sacred Heart Church. 6.30pm: The Legion of Mary in Clergy House. Fridays: 5.00pm: Charismatic Prayer Group in the Cathedral Hall – please check in advance for confirmation. Saturdays: 10.00am: Centering Prayer Group in the Hinsley Room. 2.00pm: Justice and Peace Group in the Hinsley Room on the last of the month. 25

FIFTY AND ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO

In retrospect: from the Cathedral Chronicle A Wedding with a Difference A national Sunday newspaper recently featured on its front page a picture of a bride and bridegroom with wedding guests on the steps of the Cathedral, in rather ‘unusual’ wedding garb. The caption described them as ‘Hippies All’. What constitutes a hippy and whether this could be truthfully described as a ‘hippy wedding’ is hardly for us to decide. Just in case some readers conjured up visions of colourful ‘goings on’, let us quote what the priest who officiated at the ceremony had to say: ‘I have rarely’, he commented, ‘if ever, had such a respectful, reverent and attentive congregation. Wedding congregations are inclined to be restless and inattentive, but this one was exemplary, listening with care to the scripture readings and the homily, and seeming to enter into the whole ceremony with concern for the meaning contained in it’. A Pleasant Episode A mild dose of influenza gave me the opportunity at long last to read Elizabeth Longford’s Victoria R.I. .. One delightful story is told of Queen Victoria’s visit to the Charterhouse while on holiday in France. ‘At Aix she made a conquest of the Charterhouse monks, among them an English-born monk of 23. “I am proud to be a subject of Your Majesty”, he managed to enunciate with difficulty, kneeling and kissing her hand. Lady Ely (in waiting) whispered hoarsely that he had been immured against his will. The Queen’s highly Protestant entourage put leading questions to the Fathers which they answered with bland smiles.’ from the January 1970 Westminster Cathedral News Sheet

On the feast of St Thomas, December 22, the Most Reverend Alban Goodier received Episcopal Consecration at the hands of His Eminence Cardinal Bourne, and was nominated Archbishop of Bombay, in succession to Archbishop Jurgens, who died in September, 1916. For over three years the see of Bombay has been without a chief Pastor, and a large number of its clergy, owing to their German origin, have meanwhile been sent back to Germany. Archbishop Goodier, therefore, returns to India, where he first went after the outbreak of war in 1914, with an arduous and delicate task before him, and heavily handicapped for want of English-speaking priests to carry on the work of his archdiocese and to cope with the vast possibilities of such a country as India. From December, 1914, until April, 1918, the Nuns of the Institut de St. Antoine, Locre, Belgium, were untiring in their efforts to do everything possible for the comfort and welfare of the British, Canadian and Australian soldiers billeted in their vicinity. Although as a religious house they were exempt from billeting troops, they threw open every available accommodation to officers and men. No trouble was too much, no sacrifice too great, if in any way they could better the lot of those near them. Part of the convent was used as a main dressing station throughout all these years and was hallowed by the death of many brave officers and men. Until the battle of Messines in 1917, these brave women were living within four miles of the front line trenches. In addition to their own work of teaching and caring for the orphans, they provided a refectory where a good meal could always be obtained, and also the luxury of hot baths.

..... Several subscribers are still puzzled by the fact that it costs 4s. 6d. a year to post this magazine in the United Kingdom, and only 4s. to send it to any part of the rest of the world. This is not a mistake, but a Post Office anomaly to which attention was called in a previous issue (February 1919). If the public generally would only wake up to the anomalous regulations and prices that prevail, and set their faces against them, we should soon get them removed or reduced. Only a discerning and thrifty public can bring about a fall in the prevailing bloated prices of every class of goods, and check the present wild craving of so many to possess what they think they cannot do without. 26

The Institut de St. Antoine, Locre before and during the War

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January 2020

FIFTY AND ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO / THE SVP APPEALS

At the beginning of the German advance in March, 1918, the Mother-Superior sent the orphans and most of the nuns into safety. She, with a few nuns, stayed amongst the falling shells until compelled to go by the officers in charge. They lost everything they possessed. Their fine convent, with all the adjoining buildings and gardens, is now nothing but a heap of broken bricks. A few of the nuns are living in huts on the old spot, endeavouring to prepare the ground so that their beloved home may be rebuilt. We appeal to all those officers and men who received kindness at the hands of these good women to send a subscription, however small, to assist them in their efforts. from the January 1920 Westminster Cathedral Chronicle

The site of the Institut at the end of the War

I’d like to join the SVP, but… I lead a busy life and I just couldn’t commit to weekly meetings or visits. If this sounds like you, then read on! Can you drive, or push a wheelchair? We have a rota of Massrun helpers, who bring elderly and disabled people to the 10.30 Sunday Mass, either in our minibus, or by wheelchair for those who live very near the Cathedral. This is likely to be a monthly rather than a weekly commitment.

Do you love books, films and/or music? Around 6 times a year we have our popular sales in Cathedral Hall. This involves setting up tables with crates of books on Saturday afternoon (60-90 minutes), with the sale on Sunday morning, followed by dismantling the sale and storing the books. Youth and strength are particularly welcome!

St Vincent de Paul in the Cathedral of Amiens

January 2020

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Maybe meetings are your thing? As well as working in the Cathedral parish, we are part of a local,

national and international network. You could help us liaise with these and attend meetings to represent us. The core of our work is visiting and befriending people – often but not exclusively elderly – in their own homes. Typically the commitment would be an hour or so each week. But sometimes just help with a hospital visit or a shopping trip is required, or maybe a regular phone call. Or someone may need one-off financial assistance to replace eg a cooker or fridge. This is rewarding work and much appreciated by the housebound or isolated. If you would like to know more, email svpcathedral@rcdow.org.uk Or leave a message on 07422 965706 Or leave a message at Clergy House Reception. 27

NOW ON AT THE NATIONAL

The Virgin’s Development Revealed

In the abandoned composition both figures are positioned higher up, while the angel, facing out, is looking down on the Infant Christ with what appears to be a much tighter embrace. These new images were found because the drawings were made in a material that contained some zinc, so it could be seen in the macro x-ray fluorescence maps showing where this chemical element was present, and also through new infrared and hyperspectral imaging. Why Leonardo abandoned this first composition still remains a mystery. The new research has shown how the second underdrawing, while aligning much more closely to the finished version, nonetheless displays his characteristic elaborations and adjustments from drawing to painting. For instance, the angle of the Infant Christ's head was changed so that he was seen in profile, while some parts of the angel’s curly hair have been removed. Handprints resulting from patting down the priming on the panel to create an even layer of more or less uniform thickness can also be seen, probably the work of an assistant - but perhaps even by Leonardo himself. 500 years after his death, he remains one of the world's most popular artists and Leonardo: Experience a Masterpiece provides an immersive exploration of his genius as a painter, focusing on The Virgin of the Rocks. The ground floor galleries have been transformed into a space that investigates this painting and the inventive mind that created it. A range of multi-sensory experiences are presented across four rooms. Visitors are able to step inside a similar chapel-setting and see what art historical 28

New scientific research by the National Gallery into Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks (about 1491/2-9 and 1506-8) has expanded our knowledge of the composition he began before abandoning it for the version we see today. The drawings, underneath one of the Gallery’s most popular paintings, have been revealed ahead of a new immersive experience featuring the work. An earlier discovery in 2004/05 revealed that the Virgin’s pose had been changed, but there were only hints of the other figures that were assumed to have been part of that first effort. Following months of cutting-edge research using the latest imaging techniques, more information has been revealed regarding the first and second compositions underneath the painting. Now for the first time Leonardo's initial designs for the angel and the Infant Christ can be seen, showing significant differences to how they look in the finished painting.

research suggests the painting’s setting may have looked like. They can explore Leonardo’s own research, which informed the specific compositions in the painting. In addition they will see how he used his scientific studies to create strong effects of light and shadow. The modern process of discovery in a conservation studio, where the mysteries and secrets of a painting are uncovered, will also be brought to life with visitors able to engage in detail with the latest findings underneath the work. Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, said: ‘This exhibition represents a fascinating new venture for us, combining the most recent technical research on The Virgin of the Rocks with an immersive, enveloping experience, giving visitors the opportunity to explore Leonardo da Vinci’s creative process in making this masterpiece’. Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of Collections and Research, commented that: ‘By its very nature, much of the research we do here takes place in closed studios, laboratories and libraries. This is an exciting opportunity not only to share our findings, but also to invite the public to explore and engage with what we have found’. Leonardo: Experience a Masterpiece is at the National Gallery until 12 January; there is an admission charge. The opening hours are daily 10am-6pm (last admission 5pm) and Fridays 10am-9pm (last admission 8.15pm). Oremus

January 2020

CROSSWORD AND POEM

The Nativity Edmund Matyjaszek

Cradling and enclosing arms Rock the child. Voices Pass by outside. It’s quiet, The sounds of day dying in the night. Inside, nothing but simplicity A mother, child. No wild prophesyings, No outflung arm declares Here! The Messiah!

The Rosary: England’s Prayer by Edmund Matyjaszek; St Paul’s Publishing, London 2018; paperback 57pp £3.50; ISBN 978-10910365-41-0 In this small pocket book Edmund gives us a poem which he has written for each of the 20 Mysteries of the Rosary, concluding with a couple of paragraphs on England as ‘The Dowry of Mary’. Each poem is on the right hand page, with a facing image from an appropriate work of art. Below the poem there is a sentence or two in which the Rosary is mentioned in a writer’s oeuvre – from Alexander Pope to Bram Stoker’s Dracula to the biography of John Wesley. The book stands well on its own as a meditational aid or can easily be used before beginning to pray the day’s Mysteries. Recommended. To submit a poem whether by yourself or another for consideration, please contact the Editor – details on page 3. January 2020

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Alan Frost November 2019

Clues Across 1 Cardinal who bought the land on which Westminster Cathedral was built (7) 6 A distress signal, originally in Morse Code (1.1.1.) 8 Visual representation of, e.g., a religious figure (5) 9 Stuff to annoy the thurifer? (7) 10 Administrator and pilgrim delivering one of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (5) 11 Flower of the rhododendron genus that blooms in the month of Our Lady (6) 13 ‘Little ------ of Holy God’, died aged 4 in Cork, inspired Pope Pius X to promote the receiving of Holy Communion by the young from 7 upwards (6) 15 French Catholic painter (d.1902) of Paris society and scenes from the life of Christ (6) 17 Location near Rome of world famous 16th century gardens and fountains (6) 20 London West End theatre or words of a song (5) 21 City on St Paul’s journeys where followers first called ‘Christians’ (7) 23 St John ----- , founder of the Salesians, Feast Day 31 January (5) 24 --- missa est, end of the Latin Mass [‘Go forth, the Mass is ended’] (3) 25 St Thomas of Canterbury’s chapel is known as ‘The Vaughan -------’ (7) Clues Down 1 The Church --------, Suffering and Triumphant, parts of the Mystical Body of Christ (8) 2 Birthplace of St Benedict in Umbria, where the basilica was destroyed in the 2016 earthquake (6) 3 Country of the Middle East (4) 4 Patron Saint of outcasts and the city of Edinburgh (5) 5 Angelically named Venetian composer (d.1612) of religious works and canzoni (8) 6 Anna, author of the children’s classic Black Beauty (6) 7 Auld Lang ---- , Burns’ poem and song greeting the New Year (4) 12 Formal rite of driving out evil spirits from one possessed (8) 14 Revelation associated with the Three Kings and major Church feast day (8) 16 One who copies passages of religious works, before invention of the printing press (6) 18 Member of woodwind section of an orchestra (6) 19 ‘Cry “-----“ and let slip the dogs of war’ Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (5) 20 Son of Jacob and founder of one of the Tribes of Israel (4) 22 Common apparel in Imperial Rome (4)

ANSWERS Across: 1 Manning 6 SOS 8 Image 9 Incense 10 Reeve 11 Azalea 13 Nellie 15 Tissot 17 Tivoli 20 Lyric 21 Antioch 23 Bosco 24 Ite 25 Chantry Down: 1 Militant 2 Norcia 3 Iran 4 Giles 5 Gabrieli 6 Sewell 7 Syne 12 Exorcism 14 Epiphany 16 Scribe 18 Oboist 19 Havoc 20 Levi 22 Toga

Hush; it’s only a world that has not woken; Stars at their stations, shepherds yet to come.

ST VINCENT DE PAUL PRIMARY SCHOOL

A Missionary of Charity Kamina and Tamina, Year 6 St Teresa of Calcutta (or Mother Teresa as she was known until her recent canonisation) was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, a Catholic Congregation of women dedicated to helping the poor. She experienced her ‘call within a call’ in 1946. She had a mission and she was determined to accomplish it. Her Order established centres for the blind, elderly and disabled, a leper colony and a hospice. In autumn, during our harvest festivals each year at St Vincent de Paul School, we support charities such as Trinity Hospice and the Passage. Like St Teresa, we help the needy and show great commitment and charity while doing it. She always wanted to help others and whilst doing so, she sometimes starved herself. She is a prime example of a considerate and giving person. St Teresa showed great love and care because she went out of her way to give the less fortunate people in India a better life. Likewise, in our school, we strive to be like her by living up to our school mission statement: ‘Love one another as I have loved you’ (John 15: 9). She had unconditional love for the people she helped and even though she is no longer with us, she has had an incredible impact on the world today. She said that: ‘We can do no great things, only small things with great love’ and so she spent all her time living up to that standard. 30

During a pilgrimage, at the age of 12, Mother Teresa felt a calling to lead a religious life. Therefore, six years later in 1928 when she was 18 years old, she decided to become a nun and set off for Ireland to join the Sisters of Loreto in Dublin. Being a nun comes with great responsibility and for her to seek to become one at such a young age shows that she understood discipline and obedience. As a school community, we have discussed what might be the key to discovering what our responsibilities are. Mother Teresa set us a wonderful example when it comes to respect. She associated with the poorest of the poor whilst she was a nun, and never disrespected any of them about their faults. She saw the face of God in everyone, no matter what their language, religion or race might be, for she believed that: ‘If you judge people, you will have no time to love them’. Last term, our school value was respect and we aimed to show it everywhere we went and in whatever we did. We showed respect to others, both teachers and students, inside and outside our school following in St Teresa’s footsteps. Equally, in our school community, we are encouraged by staff to show endless respect and kindness in all aspects of our lives. St Teresa was extremely committed to helping others by putting their needs before her own. That is why in our school we also aspire to develop these as school values. She always said that: ‘Peace begins with a smile’, and we strongly agree with her, as do many of the visitors we receive who come to visit us. Oremus

January 2020

NEWMAN IN THE NEW YEAR

The Discipline of Meditation St John Henry Newman

Now of such meditation, or thinking over Christ’s deeds and sufferings, I will say two things; the first of which would be too plain to mention, except that, did I not mention it, I might seem to forget it, whereas I grant it. It is this: that such meditation is not at all pleasant at first. I know it; people will find it at first very irksome, and their minds will gladly slip away to other subjects. True; but consider, if Christ thought your salvation worth the great sacrifice of voluntary sufferings for you, should not you think (what is your own concern) your own salvation worth the slight sacrifice of learning to meditate upon those sufferings? Can a less thing be asked of you, than, when He has done the work, that you should only have to believe in it and accept it?

Christ is gone away; He is not seen; we never saw Him, we only read and hear of Him. It is an old saying: ‘Out of sight, out of mind’. Be sure, so it will be, so it must be with us, as regards our blessed Saviour, unless we make continual efforts all through the day to think of Him, His love, His precepts, His gifts and His promises. We must recall to mind what we read in the Gospels and in holy books about Him; we must bring before us what we have heard in church; we must pray to God to enable us to do so, to bless the doing so, and to make us do so in a simple-minded, sincere and reverential spirit. In a word we must meditate, for all this is meditation; and this even the most unlearned person can do, and will do, if he has a will to do it. The University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford, of which Newman was the Vicar

And my second remark is this: that it is only by slow degrees that meditation is able to soften our hard hearts, and that the history of Christ’s trials and sorrows really moves us. It is not once thinking of Christ or twice thinking of Christ that will do it. It is by going on quietly and steadily, with the thought of Him in our mind’s eye, that by little and little we shall gain something of warmth, light, life and love. We shall not perceive ourselves changing. It will be like the unfolding of the leaves in spring. You do not see them grow; you cannot, by watching, detect it. But every day, as it passes, has done something for them; and you are able, perhaps, every morning to say that they are more advanced than yesterday. So it is with our souls; not indeed every morning, but at certain periods, we are able to see that we are more alive and religious than we were, though during the interval we were not conscious that we were advancing. January 2020

Oremus