ICRSS restores another church

[ProVobis]

Latin Mass could prove to be church’s salvation

A landmark church will step back from the brink of closure later this month when a leading priest makes a pilgrimage from Italy to celebrate Mass in Latin.

St Walburge’s in Preston, with its imposing 309-foot spire - the third tallest in the UK - looked destined to be decommissioned only months ago due to a dwindling congregation.

But now the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest has moved in to save the 167-year-old church by offering Catholics traditional services seven days a week.

The new mission will begin on September 27 when Monsignor Gilles Wach, joint founder of the movement, flies in from the Institute’s base in Gricigliano in Tuscany to celebrate Solemn High Mass.

“This is a dream come true for me,” said traditionalist Jim Aherne who is one of around 50 regular celebrants of the Latin Mass at St Mary Magdalen Church in Penwortham.

“To see the Institute take over the biggest church in Preston is wonderful. I’ve always longed for this day.

“The congregation at St Walburge’s have done their best trying to keep the church going, but there was no way this dwindling group of good people could keep it going indefinitely.

“The Institute were invited to a church in New Brighton and what they have done there is nothing short of a miracle. I have a feeling they will do the same to St Walburge’s.”

Msgr Wach, who founded the Institute with Canon Phillippe Mora from Gabon in 1990, will be joined by the Bishop of Lancaster the Right Reverend Michael Campbell at the inaugural service which startes at noon.

“The future of St Walburge’s came into very serious question in the light of much fewer people at Mass in this vast and yet most beautiful church, ” said the Bishop.

“The arrival and presence of the Institute at St Walburge’s will enable the sustainability and care of this magnificent church so that it can be open each day as a shrine or centre for Eucharistic devotion and adoration.

“There are some voices who tell me that the presence of the Catholic Church in inner Preston is finished. I cannot agree. We need to be here in a new shape and form and at the same time to strengthen our missionary presence and vitality.”

St Walburge’s was built in 1847 and its spire can be seen on the skyline for miles around.

lep.co.uk/news/local/crime/community/latin-mass-could-prove-to-be-church-s-salvation-1-6829335

 

[Megan7]

lep.co.uk/news/local/crime/community/latin-mass-could-prove-to-be-church-s-salvation-1-6829335

Awesome! Thanks so much for the link. Their prayers were answered. Great story

 

[detoutcoeur]

St Walburge’s Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Preston, Lancashire, England, northwest of the city centre on Weston Street. The church was built in the mid-19th century by the Gothic revival architect Joseph Hansom, designer of the hansom cab, and is famous as having the tallest spire of any parish church in England. *St Walburge’s is designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.[1]
In April 2014 the Right Reverend Michael Campbell, Bishop of Lancaster, announced that the landmark church…

*Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Walburge,_Preston

The Rose Window at St. Walburge’s. (Click to zoom and explore.)
flickr.com/photos/paullew/5247982735/in/set72157625567551236

More photos** flickr.com/photos/paullew/sets/72157625567551236#**

BBC article: Few people visiting Preston will be able to ignore St Walburge’s Roman Catholic Church. Towering 309 ft above the city, its spire is the tallest of any parish church in England with only the spires of Salisbury and Norwich Anglican Cathedrals reaching higher. Standing in the Maudland district of the city, close to the site of the 12th century Mary Magdalen leper hospital which gave the area its name, it is truly a building at Preston’s historic heart.

Read more: bbc.co.uk/lancashire/content/articles/2008/08/15/landmarks_st_walburges.shtml

 

[ProVobis]

St_Walburge%27s_Church_spire%2C_Preston_231-10.jpg

St Walburge’s Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Preston, Lancashire, England, northwest of the city centre on Weston Street. The church was built in the mid-19th century by the Gothic revival architect Joseph Hansom, designer of the hansom cab, and is famous as having the tallest spire of any parish church in England. *St Walburge’s is designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.[1]
In April 2014 the Right Reverend Michael Campbell, Bishop of Lancaster, announced that the landmark church…

*Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Walburge,_Preston

The Rose Window at St. Walburge’s. (Click to zoom and explore.)
flickr.com/photos/paullew/5247982735/in/set72157625567551236

More photos** flickr.com/photos/paullew/sets/72157625567551236#**

BBC article: Few people visiting Preston will be able to ignore St Walburge’s Roman Catholic Church. Towering 309 ft above the city, its spire is the tallest of any parish church in England with only the spires of Salisbury and Norwich Anglican Cathedrals reaching higher. Standing in the Maudland district of the city, close to the site of the 12th century Mary Magdalen leper hospital which gave the area its name, it is truly a building at Preston’s historic heart.

Read more: bbc.co.uk/lancashire/content/articles/2008/08/15/landmarks_st_walburges.shtml

Thanks for these articles. It seems to parallel the background of the parish in London where I was brought up.

The foundation stone of a new church of St Mary’s was laid in 1849. The church was designed in a Gothic style by William Wardell and was solemnly opened and blessed by Cardinal Wiseman on May 14th 1851 during a service beginning at 5.30! This was done to avoid local unrest due to the growing influence of what was deemed the menace of Roman Popery.

Catholicism was still considered a foreign import. It was only in the previous year that the Catholic Hierarchy of England and Wales had been established and approved by the Pope. This led to a number of disturbances in parts of the country…

stmarys-clapham.org.uk/history.html