Allen Hall Seminary News, Easter 2023

ALLEN HALL SEMINARY NEWS

EASTER EDITION 2023

RECTOR’S EASTER MESSAGE

Welcome to our Allen Hall Newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading it.

There is much good news to share –not least with regard to ordinations. Last summer no less than 12 seminarians formed at Allen Hall were ordained priests. God willing, another 8 will be over the coming months. Already this year 4 deacons have been ordained, with another 8, all being well, receiving diaconate in the summer. Your prayerful and financial support has helped make this possible. Thank you very much indeed. Above all, of course, thanks be to God.

As you know, on the last day of 2022 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died. May he rest in peace. It was good that some of our seminarians were at his lying in state and funeral. Long before becoming pope, he often pondered the purpose of a seminary. “But what nobler and better thing could actually happen in a seminary than that young [and not so young!] men completely grow into the call of baptism and into the call of being disciples and totally becoming a living church?” he answered. Seminarians, he insisted, must grow more and more as the family of God, “so that the future priest will then be able to bring people together into the family, into the household of God”. The togetherness of this family, deeper and stronger than any blood relationship, derives, he explained, from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, any seminary must rely on the unifying power of the Holy Spirit to form “priests who bring and hold people together in communion of faith”. Priests who “guide people so that they become capable of reconciliation, forgiving and forgetting, endurance and generosity”. Above all, the future Pope wrote, seminaries must form priests “capable of standing by people in their pain – in physical suffering as well as in all the disappointments, debasements and fears that no one can escape”. Please pray that by the working of the Holy Spirit our seminarians and future priests, so too those already ordained, will be truly conformed to the crucified and risen Son, the Good Shepherd who leads us to the All-Compassionate Father. Thank you.

All of us at Allen Hall pray that the Risen Lord will bless you with the fullness of his life and love.

ALLEN HALL LECTURE

9 June 2022: Rt Hon Ruth

Kelly

After a break of three years, the annual Allen Hall lecture resumed on Thursday 9 June with a fascinating and inspiring talk by the Rt Hon. Ruth Kelly, former Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Communities and Local Government, and Transport; former Financial Secretary to the Treasury; former Economic Secretary to the Treasury; and former Minister for Women. She was the Labour Member of Parliament for Bolton West from 1997 to 2010.

Focusing on the relationship between faith and politics, Ms Kelly spoke about her own life of faith as a senior politician in the UK, and more generally about how faith, and a person of faith, can play a part in a liberal Western democracy while remaining true to their principles. In quoting Pope Benedict XVI – ‘Religion is not a problem for politicians to solve’ – Ms Kelly opened her talk by talking about her own experiences; her desire to work in public service for the greater good; and her determination to prove that it was possible for a faithful Christian, a faithful Catholic, to hold high office in government in the UK.

Having been elected to Parliament as part of the Labour landslide of 1997, her natural area of expertise from the back benches was economic policy. The first real test of faith in politics came in 2000 with the Human Fertilisation and Embryo Bill, where she saw how arguments on practical, rather than religious, grounds often held more sway. Once in government, more challenges came, particularly when she was Education Secretary in 2004, which carried with it responsibility for the Teenage Pregnancy Unit. She was determined that a Catholic could hold this level of high office and be a force for good in government, despite concerns about particular policies.

The long-held policy of not whipping votes on matters of conscience was challenged by Gordon Brown when, as Prime Minister, he insisted all Labour MPs should vote with the government over the issue of Christian adoption agencies being compelled to allow same-sex couples to use their services. In 2008, she resigned from the government and did not seek re-election to Parliament in 2010.

In thinking about how the relationship between faith, government, and wider culture is developing today, Ms Kelly expressed concern, alongside many others, at the stifling of intellectual debate and the dangers of pushing faith to the fringes of society. ‘Culture eats politics for breakfast,’ she said, and as politics continues to be led and formed by culture, faith is seen as less important and valuable. She did express some optimism for the future where, in a world still recovering from the impact of the pandemic, faith can and will play a key role in rebuilding and growing communities and society as a whole.

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

Rev. Dr. Anthony Doe, Spiritual Director

Iunderstand that my role as spiritual director in Allen Hall Seminary is to accompany the seminarians who come to me for support and guidance in two vital movements that are initiated by the personal love that Jesus has for them as His disciples. Their lives of prayer, therefore, are not just a functional demand in the preparation for priestly ordination, but a growing openness in both the heart and the spirit to the unique and profoundly personal love that Jesus has for them as individuals. It is a love that heals, transforms, and infuses them with a desire growing in their own hearts for the intimate, loving friendship that Jesus is offering, with all the accompanying gifts that nurture and bring alive the other areas of formation. In his central document on priestly formation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, St John Paul II highlights two very important statements from the Second Vatican Council’s decree, Optatam Totius, regarding the spiritual formation of priests: ‘Spiritual formation … should be conducted in such a way that the students may learn to live

in intimate and unceasing union with God the Father through his Son Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. Those who are to take on the likeness of Christ the priest by sacred ordination should form the habit of drawing close to him as friends in every detail of their lives.’ He then follows this by quoting the words of Jesus Himself from St John’s Gospel in Chapter 15, when He says to the disciples: ‘No longer do call you servants, for the servant does not know what the master is doing … but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my father I have made known to you.’ This is followed by another reference that has considerable significance when considering the spiritual preparation of future priests. The Council text points out a second great value – the search for Jesus: ‘They should be taught to seek Christ.’ Both these quotations express, very clearly and strongly, the core of genuine spiritual formation that must be at the centre of spiritual direction. In the Ratio Fundamentalis, the document that proceeds from Pastores Dabo Vobis and elaborates upon the four fundamental areas of formation, the essence of spiritual formation is presented very clearly: ’Spiritual formation is personal union with Christ, which is born of, and nourished in, a particular way by prolonged and silent prayer.’ As spiritual director, my deepest desire therefore is to support this gradual movement into the prayer of contemplative silence through meditation, particularly nourished by a growing commitment to lectio divina, which can then open up the heart and mind to the movement of the Holy Spirit and a genuine love for Sacred Scripture. It will then enable a link to grow between Jesus’ personal revelation of Himself, as the Word of God, with His living presence in the Eucharist, celebrated each day in the Mass and with frequent Eucharistic Adoration that powerfully reveals the importance and the beauty of contemplative silence, which has at its centre the unique personal love that Jesus has for all His followers. It will also bring alive in a new way the Sacrament of Confession as the Sacrament of inner healing. These themes, therefore, of personal relationship with the Lord – the opening up of the life of prayer, personal growth, and development that is understood to take place within these contexts, and particularly an understanding of pastoral ministry and missionary discipleship – provide the basis for spiritual conferences and regular House retreats in seminary life. On a final note, they highlight the centrality of spiritual growth, which is totally based on the living presence of Jesus coming alive in the seminarians, in priestly formation. This truly incarnational understanding of priesthood, which has grown over the past few decades since the Vatican Council, has enabled us to understand the role of spiritual director, not in an exclusively directive sense, but in terms of accompaniment and support, as the mystery of Jesus’ loving presence comes alive uniquely in the lives of every individual – a message we are all called to proclaim, as priests, to the universal Church and the world: the universal call to holiness.

Canon John O’Leary

HOUSE RETREAT

Minsteracres Retreat Centre, 12th – 18th June

The annual House Retreat, for those seminarians not being ordained this summer, took place at Minsteracres Retreat Centre some 25 miles south west of Newcastle upon Tyne. Originally an 18thcentury manor house built by the recusant Silvertop family, it was bought in 1949 by the Passionists, who subsequently opened a retreat centre in the late1960s. With a remnant of formal gardens and surrounded by parkland and open fields – not to mention stunning Californian giant redwood trees planted almost 200 years ago – it was a peaceful and stunning setting in which to close the academic year.

The retreat was led by Canon Luke Smith of Southwark Archdiocese, formerly Spiritual Director at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh. Over nine sessions, which covered the five days of the retreat, Canon Luke guided us through the Rite of Ordination of a priest, slowly, methodically, and deeply introducing us to the elements that make up the Rite itself, but also explaining how they display what it is to be a priest of Jesus Christ.

Canon Luke began with the liturgical call, the Adsum, which is found at the beginning of the Rite, with its echoes throughout scripture in both the Old and the New Testaments. Each one of us in the seminary believes he has been called by Jesus, as He called the first Apostles to follow Him, but, to quote Pope Benedict XVI: ‘The priesthood is the answer to the Lord’s call to become preachers, not of a personal truth, but of His truth.’1 Seminary is the process of discernment to discover if the call really is His call, and that finally takes place at the call of the Ordination Rite itself.

The prostration and litany of the saints, the act of humble surrender, is often the most memorable and moving moment

for those attending any Ordination. The visual act speaks for itself. Canon Luke reminded us that humility sits at the heart, not just of the priesthood, but of authentic Christian life. As St Teresa of Calcutta reminded us: ‘Humility is the mother of all virtues, purity, charity, and obedience. It is in being humble that our love becomes real, devoted and ardent. If you are humble, nothing can touch you.’

The Laying on of Hands and Prayer of Consecration form the core and centre of the act of Ordination, imitating the very first ordinations described by St Paul in his letter to Timothy. Canon Luke highlighted how this moment of silence in the midst of a busy and complex liturgy draws attention to this powerful moment, making the point that this is not a purely human act. St John of the Cross tells us that the Father speaks the name of the Son in eternal silence, and in this silence the voice of God, His call, is heard by the human soul.

In his final conference Canon Luke talked to us about the Preface of the Mass for the Ordination of a priest, words also used at the Chrism Mass and the anniversary of priesthood. All Prefaces are about gratitude, focusing ourselves on thanks to Him who has gifted us will all good things, rather than on our own sinfulness or unworthiness. The priest is called to ‘strive to be conformed to the image of Christ Himself, and to offer you a constant witness of faith and love’.2

In closing the retreat, Canon Luke reminded us of the words of Pope Benedict XVI: ‘When we forget our need for Christ, we have lost everything’ – words, ultimately, of love and encouragement for all of us trying to discover our vocation in this world, whatever that may be.

VOCATION JOURNEY OF JOHN CASEY

Ever since my early teens I felt a deep desire to serve God in and through the priesthood. My vocation journey has taken a few twists and turns along the way, but I am so grateful and blessed to be a transitional deacon preparing for ordination to the priesthood later this year, please God.

I grew up in the parish of St. Bernadette in Motherwell, Scotland, and developed a devotion to Our Lady. Her motherly care has been constant, despite the fact that I have not always been constant in my fidelity to the Lord. Like many others, I have experienced struggles in my faith, but though I strayed from the Lord, He never left me. I am reminded of the Prodigal Father who was constantly on the lookout for his wayward son. It has given me a deep appreciation of the mercy of God and I hope that this will make me a better instrument of God’s mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

I have always felt drawn to a life of service. I spent over 27 years working in the Police Service, which gave a deeper understanding and knowledge of how to accompany people, especially at some of the most difficult moments of their lives. I have also been blessed to be there for people during joyful moments too.

Another way in which I have been led to service was within the Church. I volunteered as a parish catechist in Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. George, Enfield, for many years and wanted to learn more about my faith so I could share it with others. This desire brought me to study theology with Maryvale Institute with an emphasis on catechetics and sharing the faith with others. I applied this to parish catechetics, especially preparation for RCIA.

I am currently serving the parish community of Our Lady of Fatima, White City. It is a very busy parish and I am enjoying getting to experience the different aspects of parish life there. It has also been a joy to share this part of my vocation journey with them. The parish community has been so supportive of me with their kind words, feedback, support and prayers and I am truly grateful to everyone who has supported me on my journey so far. Please continue to pray for me, as by God’s grace, I continue my preparation for priestly ordination. Please continue to pray for me and all seminarians discerning a vocation.

1 General Audience, 14 April 2010.

2 From the Preface for the Priesthood of Christ and the Ministry of Priests.

PROFILES OF SEMINARIANS

DAN LALLY

I joined Allen Hall in September 2022 after completing a propaedeutic year in Valladolid and the parish of Guildford. I was received into the Catholic Church at Pentecost 2019. I have been discerning the priesthood for some years, first of all in the Church of England and when I was received into the church it wasn’t long until I met with a vocation’s director. Prior to formation I worked in Sport and Recreation Management for 15 years providing services to the community.

LUKA GRGATOVIĆ

I am Luka Grgatović, a 25-year-old who is starting his first year of theology at Allen Hall, as a part of a salesian priestly formation. My answer to this calling was made official right after high school back in Split, a city in the south of Croatia where I was born and raised. Me being a member of this specific order is strengthened by the fact that my birth house is practically neighbouring to a salesian parish and oratory. There I had the grace to absorb salesian and spiritual riches that helped greatly in my relationship with God. So, with His help, I finished some years of formation in Croatia and in Rome to now find myself here where I hope to joyfully continue my path.

VICTOR A. GONZALEZ

GUSTAVO CAMPANELLO

I am originally from Argentina born to Italian parents. I completed a degree in English as a Foreign Language back in Argentina where I worked as a teacher. Once I settled in Europe, and after a career break, I moved to the area of Human Resources where I worked as a project manager, a position I held until I started my priestly formation. Due to work commitments, I had the chance to live in various European cities until I finally settled in the UK. I am currently in my fifth year at Allen Hall Seminary (2nd year of Theology); my first four years of formation took place at St John’s Seminary.

ADAM PAWEŁ TRZEBIŃSKI

I was born in Poland in 1997. From birth, I was raised Catholic, however, at the age of eight have moved to the United Kingdom with my family and after time my Catholic faith faded. Years later as a young adult I rediscovered my faith. After the conclusion of my higher education studies and a few years of discernment, at the age of 24, I was given a chance to enter Allen Hall Seminary and continue my discernment as a seminarian for the diocese of Portsmouth. I’m currently in my first year of Philosophy and I’m very grateful for being given a chance to discern here at Allen Hall, and remain eager to continue learning, serving and discerning.

BR PAULIN MEBA, SDB

I am most grateful for this noble opportunity! My name is Br. Paulin Tcha-Eigoulou Meba, I am a Salesian of Don Bosco, member of our Community in Battersea – Surrey Lane. I have joined Allen Hall this year as I start my Theological studies. All began about two decades ago in my home country Togo (in West Africa), where first met the Salesians, who run a vast mission on behalf of the youth. Thereafter, I longed to be like them. I did my noviciate and made my first vows in 2017; then my Philosophical studies and my practical training. And here I am continuing to discern the Lord’s will in my life.

LAY STUDENT

I am from Houston, Texas. My ancestry comes from Mexico. I am the eldest of 8 children of a Catholic family that has been part of the Neocatechumenal way for over 20 years. I am 21 years old. I enjoy sports, especially American Football, and traveling. I find myself here at Allen Hall by the grace of God, I am a witness to many wonders God has worked for me, my family, and my community. My being here, discerning a vocation to the priesthood is a great wonder since I never envisioned me leaving everything that I’ve known to follow God’s calling to go anywhere. Having experienced the love of Christ for me has shattered many fears and expectations, and has come to lead me to discern a vocation to the priesthood at Allen Hall.

JHON MICHAEL MESA ZAMBRANO

I am the last of 4 children and was born in Colombia. When I was 10 my family moved to Florida. I was raised to the Catholic faith which always kept me, and my brothers close to the Church. We joined the Neocatechumenal way and, within this itinerary of Christian initiation, I discovered my vocation. In a street evangelization mission we had, I felt a call to leave everything and give my life for the others. I felt God inviting me to answer to his call and God helped me to leave my family and to give my availability to go anywhere. I was then sent to the seminary in London, where I started my journey of formation.

ANNA TSUI

I am currently studying philosophy in Allen Hall. Before coming to the U.K., had completed the Open Studies in Theology at the Holy Spirit Seminary College of Theology and Philosophy (aggregated to the Pontifical Urbaniana University) in Hong Kong. The programme was developed based on the S.T.B. but targeted to the Catholic laity, as the Church saw the demand for laity who wanted to deepen their faith as well as take up the responsibility of spreading the Gospel. I am grateful and excited to be studying here, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit along the way.

ALLEN HALL CLAIM SEMINARY FOOTBALL SPOILS

A stunning all-round display saw Allen Hall sweep aside their rivals Oscott 10-1 in Birmingham

The victory in November firmly established Allen Hall as the powerhouse of seminary football in the United Kingdom, responding to doubts surrounding their mental fortitude after last season’s 4-4 draw in Birmingham.

Juan Sola, Domagoj Matokovic, Paolo Gambardella, and Ante Bulat all bagged braces, while Frano Besic and Josué Garcia grabbed a goal each.

With the bit between their teeth, the Allen Hall squad went to Birmingham with a point to prove and left nothing to chance, racing into an early lead and by half time were 6-0 up.

Structure and discipline were key to Allen Hall, who were confident in their abilities. An almost flawless defensive display by Besic, debutant Garcia, Tom Blackburn, and goalkeeper Rob Smialek gave the midfield and attackers solid foundations to go forward. In midfield Sola pulled the strings from his central role, linking up well with Matokovic who worked the left-hand side and Gambardella on the right. Up top, Bulat used his strength and nous to hold the ball up and make space for himself and his advancing midfielders.

The Allen Hall team, comprising players of seven different nationalities, particularly exploited the left-hand side. Matokovic was a constant nuisance for the Oscott right-back as he attacked the opposition by-line.

The moment of the match came in the second half when Gambardella collected the ball on the left-hand side and breaking into the opposition box, hit a perfectly executed shot with the outside of his foot into the bottom right corner.

Post-match, the two teams spent some time together: a clear testament to the growing relationship between the two seminaries.

Thomas Blackburn

Squad: 1. R Smialek (IRE) 2. L Grgatovic (HR) 3. T Blackburn (ENG) 4. F Besic (HR) 5. J Garcia (ESP) 6. M Mesa (COL)

7. D Matokovic (HR) 8. J Sola (ESP) 9. P Gambardella (ITA)

10. V Gonzalez (USA) 11. A Bulat (HR)

Man of the Match: Juan Sola

Previous editions available online at issuu.com/rcwestminster or scan the QR code

Editor: Nathan King, Diocese of Portsmouth

Copy-editor: Seán Power, Diocese of Westminster

Allen Hall, 28 Beaufort Street, London SW3 5AA allenhall.org.uk