Happy Anniversary!
We extend a special welcome this Sunday to married couples who are celebrating special anniversaries this year and who will be joining us for the Solemn Mass. Archbishop Sherrington will preside at this Mass which will include a renewal of vows and conclude with a special nuptial blessing.
We are currently experiencing real problems with our Cathedral heating system. Two of the four boilers have been condemned and this has resulted in parts of the building – particularly the main Cathedral receiving little heat. Procedures have been put in place to replace these two boilers but this is not an instant fix so I apologise for the inconvenience – please dress warmly when you come to the Cathedral for the next few weeks.
The evening Mass at 5pm this Wednesday will be celebrated in the Crypt Chapel and the main Cathedral will be closed from 4pm that day for a BBC Radio 4 Recording of Mass for the First Sunday of Lent.
Over the years the Cathedral has owned a series of second hand transit size vans for dropping off and picking up necessary items and for general use. Kevin from the maintenance team and myself are the only two remaining insured drivers. Having been away last week I returned to discover that the current van had been booked in to have the Cathedral logo emblazoned on the sides. I have always had mixed feelings about this. It may be a very positive advert for us when dropping off gifts to the women’s refuge for instance, or for recognition. But it is not so good when we break down or have a problem and this always seems to occur once the logo goes on.
Over the years we have experienced breakdowns from as far afield as Coventry resulting in having to get a train back, or as close as Liverpool Cathedral car park when dropping off food bank items and nine times out of ten it is when I am driving. Hence my scepticism. So, what happens this week- the van gets taken down for the new signage and is left overnight. The next day with the new sign proudly displayed we get a call that the van won’t start. So if you are in the car park admire the new logo on the van but rest assured I won’t be driving it any time soon!
Monsignor Anthony O’Brien
Cathedral Dean
