Parish Profile Willesden by RCWestminster

Page 7 PP Willesden_Layout 1 11/11/2014 14:16 Page 1

Parish Profile

Westminster Record | November 2014

Willesden Parish: A Fitting Shrine to Our Lady By Marie Saba

Although little is known about its origins, devotion to Our Lady of Willesden dates back many centuries, and certainly predates devotion to Our Lady at Walsingham by more than a century. King Athelstan was known to have made a request of prayer from the monks at Willesden, and then after victory in battle left a purse of gold which provided for the first church dedicated to the Mother of God. Willesden has long been associated with the presence of Our Lady and has attracted a steady stream of pilgrims. One of the most famous was St Thomas More, who mentioned Willesden specifically in his writings in defence of pilgrimage. So notorious was her influence deemed in the sixteenth century that Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s Vicar General, singled out the statue of Our Lady of Willesden, along with her statues at Walsingham and Ipswich, for destruction. All three statues were burned on the site of what was once the home of St Thomas More and is today Allen Hall, the diocesan seminary. To this day, a close tie exists as the parish continues to pray for vocations and for the men training for priesthood. This act of vandalism did not dampen devotion to Our Lady, which in Willesden continued to be expressed by visits to Our Lady’s Oak, a tree associated with her presence. The Victorians had the tree cut down thinking it would deter devotion, but were outwitted by a quick-thinking Catholic who salvaged a branch. In the 1880s, a new mission was established in Harlesden to minister to the growing population of Irish Catholics, many of whom had come to work on the building of the canals in that part of London. Soon after, devotion to Our Lady was revived with the encouragement of the sisters at

the Convent of Jesus and Mary, and a new statue was built from the oak branch which had been carefully preserved. When the new parish church was opened in 1931, it was built around the Shrine, and continues to this day to be both a national Shrine to Our Lady and a parish church. As devotion grew, pilgrims continued to make their way to the Shrine. Among the more famous were St Josemaria Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, and Blessed Álvaro Portillo who accompanied him. In 1954, a Marian Year was declared and in the encyclical Fulgens Corona Pope Pius XII asked that every diocese in the world have a shrine where homage could be paid to Our Lady. Willesden became that Shrine for the Diocese. To celebrate the Marian Year, 94,000 Catholics from Westminster, Southwark and Brentwood gathered in Wembley Stadium to watch a pageant enacting the history of Christianity in this country, culminating with the crowning of Our Lady of Willesden and of the Infant Jesus. The crowns were fashioned from wedding and engagement jewellery donated by parishioners and their friends. The statue led the procession to Wembley and back on a cart drawn by 200 seminarians, and was placed in the church for a week of continual vigil and prayer. Since then, the Shrine has continued to be a focus of devotion and, in the early part of this century, the Guild of Our Lady of Willesden was established to promote devotion to Our Lady. More recently, Fr John Taylor had initiated a renewal of the Shrine that was wellintentioned, but in some aspects, had not worked, and, recognising that, left a benefaction to restore the sanctuary of the Shrine. Building on this legacy, many small donations continued to

From L to R, Chris Fanning, Fr Stephen Willis, Bishop John Sherrington and Jim Gormley whose firm restored the marbles.

come in towards this work from parishioners and pilgrims. As Fr Stephen Willis explains, all this was accomplished without a single fundraising drive. The refurbishment has made the Shrine a brighter place and a more harmonious and fitting place of devotion. Most of the original marble that had been removed during the previous attempt at renewal was carefully restored, thanks to a prescient move by then-Bishop of the North London area of the Diocese, now Cardinal Vincent, who had advised the parish to store the marble for such an occasion. Fr Stephen credits Diocesan Surveyor, Chris Fanning, who is also secretary to the Art and Architecture Committee, with supervising a sensitive approach that restored the beauty of the Shrine. Fr Stephen explains that everyone in the parish, both life-long parishioners and more recent arrivals, have all been supportive of the restoration work, and have longed for it to happen. He says that the unanimous response was, ‘it’s about time, Father; we’ve been waiting for this for a long time.’

The enthusiasm and support was evident on the last day of works, when the last of the marble jigsaw was still being assembled by the professionals. Many parishioners arrived to work from early in the morning until late in the evening to clean the church and prepare it for the Diamond Jubilee celebration Mass and rededication of the Shrine the following day. On 4 October, parishioners arrived, some in traditional costumes of their country of origin, bearing large platters and large casseroles of food for the lunch that followed the Mass, and all with a look of pride and joy. The parish boasts a congregation of 1,400 at the Sunday Masses. Originally mainly composed of Irish immigrants, over the years, the changing nature of the parish has seen the arrival of parishioners from the West Indies in the 1950s, followed in the 1970s by Ghanaians and Nigerians, then by Filipinos and, more recently, Brazilians and Eastern Europeans. Such is the multicultural mix today that the parish is home to speakers of 62 major languages, not counting those who speak regional or dialect languages.

Willesden now boasts one of the largest populations of Brazilians outside Brazil, and attendance at the Brazilian Masses on Sunday numbers around 500. Looking to the future, Fr Stephen mentions the huge housing developments beginning to take shape next to Willesden Junction. ‘The next challenge for the parish is how we meet the needs, and indeed evangelise this group,’ he says. This is in addition to the vibrant sacramental life of the parish. As home to the Shrine, the church offers two daily Masses, daily Confessions and is open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm for prayer and devotion. Fr Stephen extends a warm invitation to all, especially parish, devotional, school and Confirmation groups to come and learn more about the Shrine and to pray with Our Lady. Founded: 1886 Consecrated: 1931 Mass Times: (Sat 6pm), 9, 11 (Sung) Address: The Presbytery, Nicoll Road, NW10 9AX Telephone: 020 8965 4935 Website: parish.rcdow.org.uk/willesden Page 7