Aid to the Church in Need
Last week Monsignor Keith Newton celebrated Mass at the Cathedral, and a number of people afterwards were asking questions regarding the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. The founding of this dates back to the pontificate of Pope Benedict and his Apostolic Constitution (Anglicanorum Coetibus) which allowed for individuals and groups of Anglicans to be received into the Catholic Church with instruction, but keeping some of their former traditions and disciplines. Three serving Anglican Bishops and a number of Anglican parishes announced their intention to embrace the Catholic faith and in 2011 the three Bishops were received into full communion with the Catholic Church and a short time later were ordained to the diaconate and then to the priesthood. On Ash Wednesday that year almost 900 Anglican laity and 80 clergy began a period of forty days preparation and were received into full communion at Easter. They now have their own Rite of the Mass which has been approved by Rome and maintain some of their own Anglican traditions but are in full communion with us and priests can celebrate Mass in the normative rite. The nearest Ordinariate parish to us in the North West is in Manchester.
Throughout the month of November we will offer a Mass each day for the souls of the faithful departed. If you wish to have particular names included in the pious list for the month if you could place them in the baskets which will be in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and the Crypt Chapel.
Next Thursday evening we will be having a joint two Cathedral’s celebration of the Canonisation of St John Henry Newman. This will take the form of a joint Choral Evening Prayer at 6pm followed by a joint lecture at 7pm given by Monsignor Rod Strange and Canon Rod Garner on Newman’s influence on both theAnglican and the Catholic Church. Both speakers have recently had books published on the life and writings of Newman and they have been in great demand across the country giving talks on the legacy of St John Newman and his lasting influence on the church. Monsignor Rod Strange was the former rector of the Beda College in Rome and is now Chaplain at St Mary’s University in London. Canon Dr Rod Garner is now retired but was an Anglican parish priest in Southport and is an honorary fellow and lecturer at Hope University. The evening offers us an opportunity to celebrate the life of this newly canonised saint and to learn more about him.
Next weekend we welcome Upton Hall who have their Annual Mass next Saturday morning at 11.00am in the main Cathedral.
Sunday is Remembrance Day and we will hold a moments silence at 11.00am before the start of the Solemn Mass in remembrance of the fallen in war. The Cathedral choir will sing sections from Mozarts Requiem setting at the Solemn Mass and the youth choir will sing excerpts from Faure’s Requiem at the 7pmMass in the Crypt.
Canon Anthony O’Brien
Cathedral Dean
