Official re-opening of Church, exclusively dedicated to EF (UK)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mark1970
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Mark1970

Guest
Not sure whether to put this under Traditional Catholicism or Catholic News, but it’s about the Extraordinary Form, so I’ll put it here!

Last year, Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury Diocese invited the Institute of Christ the King to re-open Saints Peter and Paul’s Catholic Church in New Brighton, England, which had been closed a couple of years previously.

On 24 March, 2012, this Church will officially re-open with a Solemn High Mass at 10:30am, celebrated by Monsignor Gilles Wach, the Superior General of the Institute, with Bishop Davies in attendance. A priest of the Institute has been in residence since the end of last October.

This is a significant event for people in the UK who have an attachment to the EF of Mass and the Sacraments. So, just thought I’d post it so that any interested UK readers who are within travelling distance have the option of attending. 🙂
 
Mark1970 said:
Not sure whether to put this under Traditional Catholicism or Catholic News, but it’s about the Extraordinary Form, so I’ll put it here!

Last year, Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury Diocese invited the Institute of Christ the King to re-open Saints Peter and Paul’s Catholic Church in New Brighton, England, which had been closed a couple of years previously.

On 24 March, 2012, this Church will officially re-open with a Solemn High Mass at 10:30am, celebrated by Monsignor Gilles Wach, the Superior General of the Institute, with Bishop Davies in attendance. A priest of the Institute has been in residence since the end of last October.

This is a significant event for people in the UK who have an attachment to the EF of Mass and the Sacraments. So, just thought I’d post it so that any interested UK readers who are within travelling distance have the option of attending. 🙂
Click to expand...
Very nice. I wish that the EF was celebrated also in more “ordinary” parishes, though, too!

Maybe if that happened the churches would have to be restored so suit it - that would benefit the proper celebration of the OF, too, and help “close the gap.”
 
Leon_Bloy said:
Very nice. I wish that the EF was celebrated also in more “ordinary” parishes, though, too!

Maybe if that happened the churches would have to be restored so suit it - that would benefit the proper celebration of the OF, too, and help “close the gap.”
Click to expand...
I agree with you. That way there would not be so much “segregation” and “either/or.”

There are a couple of parishes in my Archdiocese that celebrate both. One is just Diocesan and the other is Diocesan with one FSSP priest in residence. There are no sole EF parishes.
 
Leon_Bloy said:
Very nice. I wish that the EF was celebrated also in more “ordinary” parishes, though, too!
Click to expand...
Dead right. Cross fertilization would benefit the OF; and in some places, a bit of it might benefit the EF (Not too much, though! :eek:).
Anyway, every small advance helps; and thanks be to God Pope Benedict`s initiative is moving beyond the “mustard seed” stage 👍 The momentum continues to build up.
 
I’ve been watching this story with great interest, since His Lordship and ICRSS were in discussions. So this is such wonderful news to my ears – thank you so much for posting it! If only I could go!

amsjj 🙂

+++
Jesus, God and man,
imprisoned by love in Thy most holy Sacrament,
have mercy upon us.
  • Blessed John Henry Newman, December 22, 1851
Tú y yo sabemos por la fe que oculto en las especies sacramentales está Cristo,
ese Cristo con su Cuerpo, con su Sangre, con su Alma, y con su Divinidad,
prisonero de amor.
  • San Josemaría Escrivá, 1 junio 1974
… Our Lord Himself frequently said; and it is recorded as an Apostolic tradition from Him
by St. Justin the Martyr. He says ‘Jesus often said, “They who are near Me are near a fire”’.
  • Abp. W. B. Ullathorne, August 1st 1886
 
Here’s a link to the full text of Bishop Davies’ sermon, with some video of it:
catholicismpure.wordpress.com/2012/03/25/bishop-daviess-homily-in-new-brighton-the-full-text/

amsjj 🙂

+++
Jesus, God and man,
imprisoned by love in Thy most holy Sacrament,
have mercy upon us.
  • Blessed John Henry Newman, December 22, 1851
Tú y yo sabemos por la fe que oculto en las especies sacramentales está Cristo,
ese Cristo con su Cuerpo, con su Sangre, con su Alma, y con su Divinidad,
prisonero de amor.
  • San Josemaría Escrivá, 1 junio 1974
… Our Lord Himself frequently said; and it is recorded as an Apostolic tradition from Him
by St. Justin the Martyr. He says ‘Jesus often said, “They who are near Me are near a fire”’.
  • Abp. W. B. Ullathorne, August 1st 1886
 
Also His Hermeneuticalness’s blog has an entry for it with all the main links:
the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2012/03/celebrations-at-new-brighton.html

amsjj 🙂

+++
Jesus, God and man,
imprisoned by love in Thy most holy Sacrament,
have mercy upon us.
  • Blessed John Henry Newman, December 22, 1851
Tú y yo sabemos por la fe que oculto en las especies sacramentales está Cristo,
ese Cristo con su Cuerpo, con su Sangre, con su Alma, y con su Divinidad,
prisonero de amor.
  • San Josemaría Escrivá, 1 junio 1974
… Our Lord Himself frequently said; and it is recorded as an Apostolic tradition from Him
by St. Justin the Martyr. He says ‘Jesus often said, “They who are near Me are near a fire”’.
  • Abp. W. B. Ullathorne, August 1st 1886
 
I managed to get to the event on Saturday - both the Mass and the social get-together afterwards and it was definitely impressive!
 
I envy you, Mark1970! Any details you’d like to share about the day? I’d love to hear!

amsjj 🙂

+++
Jesus, God and man,
imprisoned by love in Thy most holy Sacrament,
have mercy upon us.
  • Blessed John Henry Newman, December 22, 1851
Tú y yo sabemos por la fe que oculto en las especies sacramentales está Cristo,
ese Cristo con su Cuerpo, con su Sangre, con su Alma, y con su Divinidad,
prisonero de amor.
  • San Josemaría Escrivá, 1 junio 1974
… Our Lord Himself frequently said; and it is recorded as an Apostolic tradition from Him
by St. Justin the Martyr. He says ‘Jesus often said, “They who are near Me are near a fire”’.
  • Abp. W. B. Ullathorne, August 1st 1886
 
well that’s a good news for everybody specially for those people living on that particular location, you can post it much better within the two, catholic news and here to make it known to everyone
 
amsjj said:
I envy you, Mark1970! Any details you’d like to share about the day? I’d love to hear!

amsjj 🙂
Click to expand...
Yes, sure. 😃 I went by car, from Bolton, and arrived there early - before 9am. I was expecting a large attendance and I had been told that there was minimal car parking available at the Church. Even then, when I went into the church, there were some priests/seminarians and lay people already seated. They sang Lauds at 9am.

By the time the ceremonies were due to start at 10:30am, the church was full to standing room only - several people said afterwards that there were over 1000 people there. Just before 10:30am, Canon Meney (the rector) make some announcements, then Bishop Davies arrived. He processed through the church from the main entrance, the congregation kneeling as he passed. After Bishop Davies took his position at the throne, Monsignor Wach - the Superior General of the Institute - spoke in French for a while, his comments being translated into English by Canon Hudson, the Pro-Prior.

Then both Bishop Davies and Monsignor Wach vested in the sanctuary, and Solemn High Mass began just before 11am. Monsignor Wach was celebrant with Bishop Davies presiding. Not sure why, but the Mass was that of the Solemnity of the Annunication, even though it was Saturday 24 March. Some of the Sisters connected with the Institute acted as a choir, with some of the congregation who were willing and able joining in e.g. at the Creed. The sermon was given by Bishop Davies.

As you can imagine, Holy Communion took quite some time, even with two extra priests distributing Holy Communion at the back of the church. At the end of Mass, a decree was read out, from the relevant Vatican department, awarding a Plenary Indulgence (under the usual conditions) to anyone who had been present for the ceremonies.

We were then all invited to the “Floral Pavilion”, a few hundred metres away in New Brighton. Refreshments were provided, and there was a bar as well. Quite a few hundred people turned up there, and the Bishop, Monsignor Wach and various other clergy circulated, trying to talk to as many people as possible. There was a raffle - you can’t have a Catholic event without some money-raising activity!

If you’re interested, I’ve got some links to sets of photos on various websites. I would have posted them anyway, but I’m not 100% sure what the rules are for posting links - could someone advise? I’ve also got the text of the Bishop’s sermon, if anyone’s interested.
 
Thanks for the details! And yes, I’d love to see any links and text you may have handy.

take care,
amsjj 🙂

+++
Jesus, God and man,
imprisoned by love in Thy most holy Sacrament,
have mercy upon us.
  • Blessed John Henry Newman, December 22, 1851
Tú y yo sabemos por la fe que oculto en las especies sacramentales está Cristo,
ese Cristo con su Cuerpo, con su Sangre, con su Alma, y con su Divinidad,
prisonero de amor.
  • San Josemaría Escrivá, 1 junio 1974
… Our Lord Himself frequently said; and it is recorded as an Apostolic tradition from Him
by St. Justin the Martyr. He says ‘Jesus often said, “They who are near Me are near a
fire”’.
  • Abp. W. B. Ullathorne, August 1st 1886
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top