Whatever happened to the Ordinariate in Hexham and Newcastle?

For anyone who might be wondering what happened to the Anglican parish of St James in Darlington which was said to be interested in Pope Benedict`s offer of an Ordinariate to Anglicans unable to stay in the Church of England you can now find out directly as they have their own website. You can find it here. They are still on their way into full communion with the Holy See!

News from the FSSP

Fr de Malleray recently sent me information about forthcoming FSSP events in England which I am happy to pass on here.

Vocation discernment weekend, at St John Fisher House in Reading on 16-17-18 December 2011:

For Catholic men between 18 and 35 years of age (under 18 please contact us).

Starts on Friday 16^th December 2011 at 6pm – ends on Sunday 18^th December 2011 mid-afternoon. Led by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP.

Location: St John Fisher House is the residence of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in England & Wales.

Address: 17, Eastern Avenue, Reading, RG1 5RU, England.

Access: 27mn from London Paddington by direct trains up to every 10mn, and from London Waterloo. Direct trains from Oxford, Bournemouth, Bristol, Newcastle, York, Birmingham, Gatwick Airport, Southampton Airport, etc. Direct ‘RailAir’ buses from Heathrow to Reading train station every 20mn. Motorway: M4.

Limited overnight accommodation: please book now.

Programme: Spiritual conferences, socials, Holy Mass each of the three days (Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite) including polyphonic Sunday Mass, silent prayer, private talk with Fr de Malleray, FSSP. Fr de Malleray will explain what a vocation is in general and to the priesthood in particular. Read here the Holy Father’s recent Letter to seminarians. Extract: “The proper celebration of the Eucharist involves knowing, understanding and loving the Church’s liturgy in its concrete form. In the liturgy we pray with the faithful of every age – the past, the present and the future are joined in one great chorus of prayer. As I can state from personal experience, it is inspiring to learn how it all developed, what a great experience of faith is reflected in the structure of the Mass, and how it has been shaped by the prayer of many generations.”

Cost: no set price for students or unemployed – any donation welcome; others: £50 suggested.

New: our special Vocations flyer and videos on www.fssp.org.uk/england/pages/vocations.

Altar servers’ weekend (residential): at St John Fisher House in Reading on 18-19-20 November 2011:

For single Catholic men between 18 and 35 years of age (under 18 please contact us).

Starts on Friday 18^th November 2011 at 6pm – ends on Sunday 20^th November 2011 mid-afternoon. Led by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP.

In a convivial atmosphere, come and learn (or improve) how to set the vestments and sacred items before Mass and to serve Low Mass and Benediction. EF Mass on the Friday evening, Saturday morning and Sunday morning. Fr de Malleray will give explanations on the liturgy.

Limited overnight accommodation: please book now. Non residential participants welcome.

Clergy retreat. Starts Monday 5^th March 2012 at 2pm – ends Friday 9^th March 2012 at 2pm (4 nights).

Theme: ‘Our priestly identity as shaped by the traditions of Holy Mother Church: from Tonsure and the four Minor Orders to the four Major Orders, a gradual participation to the priesthood of Christ’.

Schedule: Silent retreat; meals with table reading on the theme of the retreat; includes one conference in the morning and another one in the afternoon; possibility of private meeting with the Retreat Master and of confession; Possibility of attending Eucharistic Adoration with the local contemplative religious community. Common recitation of Compline (EF Breviary) and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament will also take place.

Location: Cold Ash pastoral centre, run by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary: The Ridge, Thatcham, RG18 9HU, England. We will have the guests’ wing available for us, with access to the 19^th century chapel (with four eastward facing altars); there are also nice grounds and woodlands.

Extras: Possibility of staying one more day at the Centre or at St John Fisher House before or after our retreat for those who wish. Optional convivial meal among clergy at nearby pub at 12 noon, before retreat begins.

Cost per person: £250 (includes: £230 for Cold Ash Centre for single room full board, and £20 for FSSP).

Booking: Please send us the £250 cheque made payable to FSSP ENGLAND (includes a non refundable £50 deposit).

N.B. Private Masses in the Ordinary or Extraordinary Form at each priest’s discretion.

Please kindly book now.

Advent Weekend of silent recollection: 2-4 December 2011. Led by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP. From 5pm on Friday to about 5pm on Sunday.

Location: Between Newbury and Reading: Cold Ash Pastoral Centre, The Ridge, Thatcham, RG18 9HU, England.

Cost per person full board single room: £120 (discount rate for full time students: £100).

Theme: ‘The Church, fulfilling the Incarnation.’

Programme: Spiritual conferences, Eucharistic adoration and Holy Mass in the EF each of the three days (i.e. Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday morning).

Booking: Please send us the £120 cheque made payable to FSSP ENGLAND (includes a non refundable £30 deposit).

Conference of Catholic Clergy: Northern chapter

Readers ( if I still have any) will no doubt have seen reports elsewhere of the first national Colloquium organised by the Conference of Catholic Clergy in Reading on October 28th. I was sorry that I could not attend. However I am delighted to see that the first meeting of the northern chapter has been organised and is taking place on Friday 9th December at St. Austin’s Wakefield starting at 11.30am and ending by 4pm.

Any priests who are interested who may not yet be members are encouraged to go to the CCC website to download an application form.

Success at the cathedral! Fr Brown cheers up a bit.

Yesterday morning as mentioned here in the last post, we had what has become an annual extraordinary form Solemn High Mass at the cathedral. It is impossible to know how many people will attend. I was somewhat anxious about the Mass being as early as 10am for people who may have been travelling a distance. Brinkburn had been disappointing this year and the Low Mass on November 1st had been attended by a congregation of eight. ( I really thought there were more Extraordinary Form devotees on Tyneside than that who would have wanted to go to what was the only EF Mass in the area for the Holy Day.)

In the event the cathedral Mass was very well attended with a congregation estimated at being between 150-200 strong. Certainly the central aisles were respectably full. Most of the congregation were not people I knew and after Mass I was asked one or two questions about the Mass from people for whom this was clearly a new experience. So hurrah! I preached and may put the sermon up here.

Many thanks to Fr Leighton, the cathedral dean for his permission for the Mass. Many thanks to all who helped make it possible. The schola were on fine form and the choir led by Shaun Turnbull gave us Viadana`s L`Hora Passa Mass and the Bruckner motet Locus iste and it all sounded very good. Thanks to Frank for the pictures above. More can be seen on Mike Forbester`s Flickr account.

Cathedral Mass

Just a reminder that there will be a Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at St Mary`s cathedral this Saturday morning at 10am. Many thanks to the dean, Fr Leighton, for giving his permission. The feast is that of the Holy Relics of the diocese. All welcome.