The Church Suffering

That splendid charity, Aid to the Church in Need, has asked me to advertise their annual Westminster Event, which I'm very happy to do.

Entitled 'Never Forgotten - The Suffering Church,' it will take place in the Cathedral Hall on Saturday 27th September, kicking off with Sung Latin Mass (Ordinary Form) celebrated by the Archbishop of Baghdad in the Cathedral at 10.30am. From 12 noon there will be a series of talks in the Hall, the speakers including the Iraqi Archbishop and Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad, Pakistan.

Tickets are available here.

A Recording of Cardinal Manning's Voice

Flicking through a volume of The Tablet from 1894 the other day - as you do - I found a fascinating report of a phonograph that was made of Cardinal Manning's voice as he lay dying in 1891 (he finally passed away on 14 January 1892). He was encouraged to do this by his friend, Charles Kent (author of The Modern Seven Wonders of the World), and the recording was made by Edison's representative in the UK, Colonel Gouraud. 'In the beautiful library of the Cardinal,' we read in the report, originally printed in the Pall Mall Gazette, 'the message was dictated and afterwards reproduced, to the unconcealed pleasure and amazement of its author.'

Three recordings were made - one for Cardinal Gibbons in America, another for Pope Leo XIII ('the reception of which made a great effect upon the Pontiff, who could hardly believe that it was not the actual voice of his friend that he heard') and the third for posterity, to be played only after the Cardinal's death death. 'Upon my handing him the cylinder,' wrote Colonel Gouraud, 'the Cardinal took it with a curious expression in his eyes, as if he were trying to realize that the next time the message was heard he would be in his grave.'

The message was finally played on 16 February 1894 in a large reception room of Whitehall Court. Distinguished guests were invited, rather morbidly, 'to meet his Eminence Cardinal Vaughan and Henricus Edwardus Cardinalis Manning, Archepiscopus Westmonasteriensis.' Those assembled included the Cardinal's faithful Secretary, Mgr Johnson, the American Ambassador and a representative of the Prime Minister, Sir Algernon West. 'The scene was a very impressive one and the audience listened with bated breath to the faint scratching of the phonograph...the message came forth slowly, solenly, deliberately, and with long pauses of thought: "To all who come after me; I hope that no words of mine, written or spoken in my life, will be found to have done harm to any one after I am dead - Henry Edward Manning, Cardinal Archbishop." A few other voices were put upon the phonograph after this, including those of Tennyson, Browning, General Sharman, and others who in life will never be heard again. It is the intention of Colonel Gouraud some day to deposit these priceless treasures in the British Museum. Till then they will in all probability never be listened to in England again' (Tablet, 24 Feb 1894, pp290-291).

I must investigate to see if this valuable recording is to be found in the British Library's hi-tech Sound Archive.

UPDATE: I've received a reply from the British Library saying that they don't have the recording in their collection and don't know whether it survived. It's the sort of thing that might be lying around in an attic somewhere!

Westminster Voices

The Archdiocese of Westminster has just launched its first podcast - and since I'm featured on it, it is sort of my first podcast too. I was asked to provide some historical input and chose to speak about the 1908 International Eucharistic Congress, held in Westminster. Other 'voices' heard on the programme are those of Bishop John Arnold and Fr Paschal Ryan, the chaplain to Heathrow airport.

I never like listening to myself but I had a sneak preview and the whole thing seems well put together and edited, thanks to the skill of the producer, Nick Patrick (who normally works for BBC Radio 4).

A Priest for 77 Years

On Monday I visited Canon Reginald C. Fuller to look at some of his personal papers, which he is giving to the diocesan archive. It was a privilege to meet him for, remarkaby, he was ordained by Francis Cardinal Bourne in 1931, studied in Mussolini's Rome and remembers meeting Pius XI. He has been a priest for 77 years - and still counting. He was a noted Biblical scholar in his day (not to be confused with the late Reginald H. Fuller, a Protestant Biblicist) and co-edited the RSV version. Canon Fuller turns 100 this September, so hopefully there will be a huge party at Nazareth House!

St Edmund's Day

Friday is normally my day for saying Mass in the local school. However, today I had the privilege of celebrating the Solemn Mass at St Edmund's College, Ware, on their Patronal Feast. St Edmund's is now an independent Catholic school but it claims descent from the English College, Douai, established by Cardinal Allen in 1568. For much of its history the school has existed alongside the seminary. Cardinal Heenan separated the two in the 1970s, when he moved Allen Hall to Chelsea, but the historical heart of the Archdiocese can most certainly still be found at St Edmund's.

The school must be the only one in Christendom to claim 20 saints and 133 beati. Just walking into Pugin's chapel you stumble over the tombs of many Vicars Apostolic of penal times, and there is an interesting Douai museum - where, for example, you can see Bishop Challoner's mitre and blue cassock (though it doesn't look very blue in my photo):

The sacristy is also unusually comprehensive for a school, and boasts many vestments from Fort Augustus Abbey as well as those that once belonged to Dr Adrian Fortescue.

The school liturgy was impressive - the music included part of Vivaldi's Gloria, there was a good degree of reverence (doubly impressive given that many pupils are non-Catholic) and at the end of Mass a large relic of St Edmund of Abingdon (a bone from his left leg) was taken around the chapel by Fr Pinot de Moira, the resident priest. We are told that one of the students, Cecil Heathcote, was seriously injured during a game of football in 1871. His life was thought to be in danger and so the College President brought the relic to his bedside. From that moment the young man recovered and returned to perfect health.

Fr Pinot, by the way, is a College institution - he came to St Edmund's as a boy, was trained for the Priesthood there and has spent almost all his 51 years of Priesthood at the College. The children obviously love him and today he chose to accompany a group ice-skating rather than join the senior staff for a festal pub lunch!

Mass finished with a rousing rendition of 'Sing England's Sons'. Here are some verses:

O, for thy zeal, the spirit which inflammed thee,

Bidding men trace the rough ways thou hast trod!
Raise up, blest Saint, a band of brave crusaders,
Heroes for Faith, for Pontiff and our God.

Father St Edmund, thy pilgrims cross life's sea;

Lead us home to Jesus; and home, sweet Saint, with thee.

Pray that the waves in storm now furious raging,

Threatening to surge o'er Christ's own Heav'n built rock,

May soon be stilled at the gentle voice of Jesus,

And peace shine o'er Rome's Shepherd and his flock.

Father St Edmund, thy pilgrims cross life's sea;

Lead us home to Jesus; and home, sweet Saint, with thee.

Now, that's what I call a school hymn!

St John Southworth

Today, in the Archdiocese of Westminster, we keep the memory of St John Southworth.His significance for the diocese lies in the discovery of his body at Douai in 1927 and his subsequent translation to Westminster Cathedral in 1930. I posted an item on the discovery of his body last year, and Mgr Langham has some good pictures on his blog, including the one above (I hope he doesn't mind me 'borrowing' it). Note that the martyr's consecrated hand is priestly even in death since his thumb and forefinger are joined together (as the rubrics required for the period between the Consecration and the ablutions after Holy Communion).

Southworth acts as a representative figure for the many priests who courageously worked in London in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, at the risk of imprisonment and execution. Southworth originally hailed from Lancashire and began his studies at Douai in 1613. As a priest, he spent time in Flanders and Lancashire, as well as London, where he helped St Henry Morse care for plague victims in 1636. He spent several years in prison, and was finally executed on 28th June 1654, together with two counterfeiters.

At Tyburn, the martyr said: 'I was brought up in the truly ancient Roman Catholic apostolic religion, which taught me that the sum of the only true Christian profession is to die. This lesson I have heretofore in my lifetime desired to learn; this lesson I come here to put to practice by dying, being taught it by our Blessed Saviour, both by precept and example. To follow His holy doctrine, and imitate His holy death, I willingly suffer at present; this gallows I look on as His cross, which I gladly take to follow my dear Saviour'.

St John Southworth, pray for us!

Ceremonial City

What a great day to be in central London, as it was Her Majesty the Queen's official birthday and (even more importantly) the Feast of the Immaculate Heart. I celebrated the latter by attending a twin Ordination at Westminster Cathedral. There must have been 100 priests there to welcome into our ranks Fr Richard Nesbitt and Fr John Elliott - ad multos annos!

As I made my way to the Cathedral, I stopped off on The Mall, that great ceremonial road leading to Buckingham Palace. The Queen's Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) was finishing at Horse Guards and the crowds were expectantly waiting to see the stately procession return to the Palace.
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The procession came in stages - first a small detachment of Foot Guards (above) and then The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. Then it was the turn of two barouche carriages containing members of the Royal Family. Here is a picture of the Duchess of Cornwall and (partly obscured by her large hat) Prince William, wearing his Blues and Royal uniform.
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Eventually the Household Cavalry appeared, with their magnificent mounted band. Centre of everybody's attention were the two Drum Horses, such as this one:

Then it was the turn of the Foot Guards, with their equally magnificent Massed Band - led by the splendid Drum Majors.

Her Majesty The Queen whizzed into view, accompanied by Prince Philip, dressed as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. Since the crowd - including (mea culpa) myself - was so pre-occupied with taking photos on their cameras and mobiles, there was very little applause. I hope the Queen didn't think we were rampantly republican. It is perhaps unfortunate that we live in such a technological age.

The Princess Royal (Colonel of the Blues and Royals), the Duke of Kent (Colonel of the Scots Guards), and the Prince of Wales (Colonel of the Welsh Guards) were mounted on horses behind Her Majesty. You can the latter two in this picture (on black horses):


Behind came the Foot Guards, headed by their colour:

Various important-looking dignitaries closed the procession, looking forward, no doubt, to a festive luncheon:


Her Majesty's last duty was taking the salute for the last time at Buckingham Palace and then watching a fly past. Here you can just see the Royal Family assembling on the Palace balcony.

There's nothing like a bit of pomp and circumstance on a Saturday in June. Happy Birthday, Ma'am!

A Gathering of Priests

Spent most of the last two days at our Pastoral Centre at London Colney for in-service training, which is now very much a feature of diocesan life. We were asked to reflect (alone and in groups) on our celebration of the Sacred Liturgy, based on three talks and readings drawn from various sources, including Sacramentum Caritatis.

It was particularly good, as always, to spend time with brother priests. Because there are so many priests working in London, there is always an opportunity to make new acquaintances, especially amongst the Religious. Despite what you read in some quarters, one realises just how many priests quietly get on with the cure of souls, without making a name for themselves or being linked to any particular 'conservative' or 'liberal' camp.

It was interesting, also, how many times the blogosphere came up in discussion, especially now that the blogs of Westminster priests have links on the diocesan home page.

Talking of which, I've just noticed that there is also an article on it about my current parish (Kingsland), described as the diocese's most diverse since we have at least 91 nationalities (and probably, therefore, over a hundred languages represented)!

The Home of Robert Hugh Benson

I spent the night with some friends at Hare Street, Hertfordshire (just north of London) - the former home of the convert writer Mgr Robert Hugh Benson (author of Lord of the World, Dawn of All, Come Rack! Come Rope!, etc) and, since Benson's death in 1914, the country house of the Archbishop of Westminster. 

In the grounds is a charming memorial chapel:

Mgr Benson himself is buried in the nave:

I said Mass for the repose of Mgr Benson's soul - quite a different feel to Masses in a busy urban parish, with the background sound of birdsong, flies buzzing around and the summer sunshine streaming through the windows.

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There is a charming rood above the screen dividing chancel from nave:

Above the side altar there is a statue of Our Lady, carved by Mgr Benson. She is shown trampling some rather frightening demons - demonstrating his rather macabre interest in the occult (as also seen by his ghost stories). He called it Notre Dame des Diables.

As I celebrated the sacred mysteries, I almost expected Benson to make the responses from his tomb! Hare Street is, I most confess, a rather spooky place - there is supposed to be a haunted room and one member of our company had a rather disturbed night, though I suspect he was dreaming. It is certainly a 'magical' place: an Edwardian time-warp full of character, with Benson's own carvings up the stairs and elsewhere - even an imaginary hiding-hole:
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I could easily have spent a few more nights at Hare Street and hope to return in the autumn!

Good Shepherd Sunday

Today we especially pray for vocations to the Priesthood and the Religious Life - that young men and women will respond confidently and that the voice of God is not drowned out by the secular, materialistic noise of our society. Please pray especially for three of our parishioners: one of whom is entering seminary in the autumn and the other two are joining convents later in the year.

The Archdiocese of Westminster has some new on-line vocational resources, including four excellent articles by Fr Stephen Wang, a member of staff at Allen Hall. You might also be interested in the new diocesan vocation video, It is Time (published on YouTube in three parts):

Bishop O'Brien, R.I.P.

Some of my recent posts have been to do with death, I know, but I feel I should note that two retired English bishops have died in the last week: on Good Friday, James Joseph McGuinness, Bishop Emeritus of Nottingham, and yesterday, James O'Brien, retired Auxiliary of Westminster. Please pray for the repose of their souls. Bishop O'Brien had special responsibility for Hertfordshire (and, since part of my youth was spent in that county, he confirmed me back in 1990). He was one of the 'memories' of the diocese, always lightening up meetings with his collection of witty anecdotes about his early years as a priest or his time as Rector of Allen Hall seminary. When I last saw him in May 2006, at a gathering of young clergy, I recorded one of his stories on this blog. He also had a great love for walking, gardening and bee-keeping (!) and was a familiar figure at London Colney, where he lived in the grounds of our Pastoral Centre.

Bishop 'Jim' carried the cross of ill health for many years, though this did not stop him from an active life as bishop - in fact, he was gravely ill at the time of Cardinal Hume's last illness (1999) and many were surprised that the Bishop out-lived the Cardinal. More recently he wrote to the clergy and people of Hertfordshire:

I am even more grateful to God for the wonderful life with which he has blest me. Fifty two years in the priesthood, over half of which were spent as a bishop in Hertfordshire, have given me great joy. Despite many human weaknesses, you and the parishioners have shown me consistent kindness and love, and not least during my various illnesses. Illness can have many benefits. It gives one a chance to reflect – to realise one’s dependence on God and the love of others and to recognise that God’s Grace is everywhere… Please continue your prayers now that God’s holy will may be done so that He may be glorified in all things. In the end, that is all that really matters.

His funeral is scheduled to take place at Westminster Cathedral on 20 April, at 12 noon. An on-line book of remembrance has been set up here. Requiescat in pace.

A Fond Farewell to Fr Cormac

Today I concelebrated at the Requiem Mass for the much respected priest and former BBC Radio 3 announcer, Fr Cormac Rigby, who died on 27 March. In requesting the church of the Sacred Heart, Ruislip as a venue, Fr Cormac obviously had no idea of his popularity and the way he touched the lives of many - well over 50 priests were squeezed onto the sanctuary and part of the congregation was pushed out into the April sunshine. The principal celebrant was his friend, Bishop George Stack, Auxiliary of Westminster; the author, Fr John Saward, was one of the main concelebrants, and readers included Canon Roger Royle (formerly of Songs of Praise fame).

Fr Cormac had left careful instructions for the liturgy, including a prayer by John Donne in the Intercessions and, as a recessional, the Salve Regina and an organ piece by Wagner (overture to Die Meistersinger). At one point, at the end of the Bidding Prayers, the order of service read: 'pause for one minute,' which revealed Fr Cormac's great concern for timing and proper presentation, both as a broadcaster and a preacher. At the end of Mass, six concelebrants carried the coffin out of the church - something I had never seen before, but it seemed to be a beautiful symbol of priestly fraternity, which does not end with death.

In his sermon, Bishop Stack quoted from Edward Thring, the Victorian headmaster who was the subject of Fr Cormac's doctorate:

There is nothing more characteristic of God on earth than the boundless liberality with which he scattered little pleasures in everybody's reach. But if this is so, then man most imitates God when he gives in this Almighty way, when he opens and makes free, and scatters pleasure as God does, and makes it possible for others to be glad.

This passage, he suggested, formed an appropriate epitaph for Fr Cormac, who bought many of his friends and parishioners closer to the God of beauty and truth. May he rest in peace!

Fr Cormac Rigby, R.I.P.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of a Westminster priest, Fr Cormac Rigby, who died yesterday morning at 8.30am, aged 67. He retired as parish priest of Stanmore four years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer and only expected to live for a couple of months. It was about this time that I first got to know him and visited him several times at his retirement flat in Oxford and, on one occasion, went to see The History Boys with him at the National Theatre (a play he saw 17 times). He made the most of the time left to him, which far exceeded his doctor's expectations, and cultivated his extensive group of friends. There is an interesting obituary in the Daily Telegraph, the Times and the Guardian; plus a tribute on Damian Thompson's blog.

Fr Cormac latterly became famous for his reflections in the Catholic Herald and his four volumes of sermons and (most recently) Stations of the Cross, all published by Family Publications. However, he was best known as the voice of BBC Radio 3, prior to his Ordination. According to the Telegraph, 'it was said that Rigby patented the Radio 3 voice: civilised, measured, knowledgeable, unflappable...Rigby's own presentation style was described by one admirer as "gentle and velvety-brown."' He continued to be an occasional announcer as a priest:

In 1989 Father Cormac, as he had become, was the celebrant at a requiem mass in Westminster Cathedral for the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley. When the BBC asked him to introduce a recording of the service, Rigby pointed out that he could not
do so because he was in it. Reassured that no one listening would realise this, Rigby stood in the vestry, clad in ritual vestments surmounted by a pair of headphones, setting the scene in which he would later play a central part.

As a priest, he had high standards; 'fussy liturgists irritated him as much as bossy lay people, fresh from theological courses, who thought they knew better than anyone else.'

As in his broadcasting work, Rigby took his priestly responsibilities at Stanmore extremely seriously, particularly when dealing with bereaved families, whom he always made a point of visiting at home in order to prepare for a funeral. Intolerant of other people's laxity, he believed that modern seminaries were producing many priests inadequately prepared for the ministry, and was particularly critical of what he regarded as laziness in some of his fellow priests, a malaise he felt affected the Catholic Church in Britain.

May he rest in peace.

Lourdes - A Place of Pilgrimage

The Archdiocese of Westminster has made its first contribution to You Tube: a well-made six minute feature on the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes, including reflections by the Cardinal and various pilgrims. If this inspires you to join the diocese at the shrine, then click here.

A Meeting with the Cardinal

The priests of the Hackney and Tower Hamlets deaneries (of which I am a member) had a meeting this morning with His Eminence the Cardinal and Auxiliary Bishop Bernard Longley (who is, apparently, an occasional visitor to this blog). This was designed to be a 'joint reflection,' with the Cardinal talking to us for half an hour about a number of issues and then an opening up for discussion to all those present.

There was a good atmosphere, thanks in large part to the Cardinal's personal warmth and the relatively small size of the group (there were about 25 priests present).

H.E. talked in particular about the need for priests to live a solidly priestly life, with space for prayer, retreats, regular confession and recreation. He also mentioned the need for appraisal, which should be located with the bishop (and spiritual director) rather than becoming another part of diocesan bureaucracy. How ghastly it would be to have parish inspections in the style of the corporate world! This is the purpose of episcopal visitations, after all.

We also discussed the needs of immigrants, the purpose of Pastoral Letters (which one priest said should address particular issues of the moment, such as the present adoption debate, rather than always being the same theme and on the same Sunday every year) and whether an Episcopal Vicar could help with Confirmations. This has been suggested since, during the post-Easter Confirmation season, some of our Auxiliaries have been doing as many as nine Confirmations a week. The consensus was that it would be best for a bishop to minister the sacrament or, failing that, in extremis, the parish priest, since the people have no understanding of who or what an epicopal vicar is. One priest advised a return to eighteenth century France, where a bishop stuck his hands out of his carriage as he passed a village and confirmed those who were waiting - a time efficient model, perhaps, for our modern age! Who, though, would pay for a new set of episcopal carriages?