Thursday, November 16, 2006

CIEL Conference, Rome

This was attended by Fr John Saward, priest in charge of SS Gregory and Augustine, a regular celebrant of the Traditional Mass in Oxford. Thanks to Le Forum Catholique, here are some pictures.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Catholic Herald: don't mention the Traditional Mass

This week's Catholic Herald carries a report on the Oxford CIEL Conference, with pictures of the liturgies celebrated in its course. Readers may be puzzled, however, to see that nowhere in the report does the paper mention that the Masses during the conference, including the Solemn Mass celebrated by Bishop McGough, auxiliary bishop of the Birmingham Archdiocese, were in the Traditional Rite. Do they find this fact embarassing?

Elsewhere in the same issue, the Catholic Herald reports on a 'Tridentine' Mass which took place in Parliament, celebrated by Fr Lang of the London Oratory. Joanna Bogle, filing the report, quotes Fr Lang as referring to the Rite as being 'new' in St Edmund Campion's day, and 'fresh from the Council of Trent'. I don't know what Fr Lang said, but the Mass celebrated by St Edmund was essentially the same as the Mass brought to England by St Augustine of Canterbury, 'freshly' codified by Pope Gregory the Great, but going back probably to Pope Gelasius. English customs diverged from the Roman ones over the Middle Ages, giving rise to the Sarum Use which was the subject of a previous post on this blog; however, the Roman Missal was used in its pure form by the Fransiscans, whose Masses in England and elsewhere do not seem to have attracted any adverse comment.

Mrs Bogle would do well to read, or reread, 'The Book of Margary Kempe'. The visionary Kempe lived Lyn, East Anglia, and travelled all over England, and to France, Rome, the Holy Land, and Germany. She had permission to receive communion fortnightly, and the Mass was at the centre of her devotional life. Nowhere does she express surprise or concern at the different rites she encountered, although the Gallican customs of France at that time would have been quite distinctive. The liturgical variety of her day was taken entirely for granted, and was not the source of the 'divisiveness' which opponents of the Traditional Mass so often worry about.

Above all, the Missal of Pius V would have been entirely familiar to her, since no element of it was composed 'fresh' at or after the Council of Trent, and nor was it imposed by legislative fiat in preference to the ancient customs of different religious orders and localities.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Pictures of Sarum Mass

The version of the Roman Rite used in southern and central England before the Reformation, the 'Sarum (ie Salisbury) Use' (there was also a 'York Use' and others), was celebrated in the late 1990s in Keble College Chapel by Fr Sean Finnegan, then of the Oxford Oratory, now of the diocese of Arundel and Brighton. Shawn Tribe has posted some pictures and commentary on his blog; for his full post see here.

Here is a picure of the the celebrant saying part of the canon with his arms outstreched, a feature of the Sarum Use which it has in common with the ancient rites of Braga and Milan.

A section of this Mass can be seen as a YouTube video, as can part of an Ambrosian Rite Mass (the ancient Rite proper to the Archdiocese of Milan); see the New Liturgical Movement blog, here. Hat-tip to Shawn Tribe!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Traditional Mass in Parliament

Fr Julian Large of the Brompton Oratory celebrated the Traditional Mass in the chapel of the Houses of Parliament, in honour of St Edmund Campion, who was tried in the Great Hall next to the chapel. See Joanna Bogle's account on her blog, here.

St Edmund Campion had been a fellow of Balliol College and was active in the Oxford area before being captured near Wantage in 1581. He was martyred at Tyburn the same year.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Penny Renold: Obituary

Penelope Renold, 5th May 1916-25th June 2006

Miss Penelope Renold, one of Oxford’s most redoubtable Traditionalists, a dependable presence in our Masses, tremendously active throughout her long life for the cause of the Traditional Mass, died unexpectedly at home on the 25th June. She was the daughter of Sir Charles and Lady (Margaret) Renold. Her brothers Hans, Peter and Timothy, predeceased her.

Penny was received into the Church in 1936, having come into contact with Catholicism while at school in France. After touring Central Europe by Harley Davidson motorcycle, when the War came she served in the WAAF. After the War she completed a History degree at UCL, and began to write books for the Catholic Records Society.

Like many Catholics, Penny found the liturgical changes following the Council a shattering experience. At a thinly attended meeting in the House of Commons, called by Catholic laity concerned by the situation, she was inspired by Michael Davies to become involved in the infant movement for the preservation of the Traditional liturgy. She was active in helping priests, preserving discarded books, vestments and sacred vessels, and establishing the St Pius V Information Centre, an apostolate she sold in 1978 to what is now the St Paul’s Bookshop in London. As well as devoting her time and energy to this work, she was extraordinarily generous with her money, to a self-sacrificing extent, and her gifts continue to benefit Traditional Catholics all over the country.

Since moving to Oxford in 1981, Penny continued to work tirelessly for the Traditional Mass, most recently lending her collection of vestments and church silver for Fr Andrew Southwell’s Oxford Masses, where she was in charge of setting up and putting away the necessary things in our various Mass venues.

Not one of nature’s optimists, Penny responded to the tremendous challenges faced by all of her generation with the more practical characteristics of unshakable fidelity to the Church’s Tradition, unlimited energy and organisational ability, and iron determination. She inspired great affection among the Oxford Traditional community, and it was providential that her splendid 90th Birthday celebration brought many members of her extended family together with her Oxford friends, only a few weeks before her death. Her birthday fell on the feast of St Pius V, which was marked this year by May’s First Friday Mass, sung by Fr John Saward in Penny’s own parish church, SS Gregory and Augustine. It would have given her some satisfaction to have avoided the embarrassment of the short piece of appreciation which had been planned for the August issue of Mass of Ages. She will be greatly missed. May she rest in peace.

P.S. There is an interesting article on Penny's remarkable grandfather, Hans Renold, here.

Prayer Cards for Penny are available from me on request: send your postal address to joseph.shaw@philosophy.ox.ac.uk

See also the report of her funeral, here.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Rosary Crusade of Reparation, London

The annual Rosary Crusade procession took place last Saturday (14th October) in London. 'Joee Blogs' has posted this video on his blog - thank you! This is a great annual event which attracts many traditionalists.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Status of the Traditional Sacraments

In the light of continuing confusion over the question of the 'other' sacraments, and whether they can be celebrated according to the liturgical books of 1962, here are some relevant documents.

For the wording of the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei Adflicta, (July 2nd 1988) see below. It refers to the beneficiaries of its concessions as 'those Catholic faithful who feel attached to some previous liturgical and disciplinary form of the Latin tradition', and 'those attached to the Latin liturgical traditions' - formulations which are clearly not limited to the Mass. This is reflected in the foundation documents of the Traditional orders, starting with the Fraternity of St Peter in the same year (1988), right up to the recent establishment of the Institute of the Good Shepherd (September 2006).


Foundation of the FSSP

DECREE OF THE ECCLESIA DEI COMMISSION
10 September 1988


In virtue of the faculty granted to it by the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei concedes to that which is called the "Fraternity of St. Peter", founded July 18, 1988 and declared of "Pontifical Right" by the Holy See, the faculty of celebrating Mass, and carrying out the rites of the sacraments and other sacred acts, as well as fulfilling the Divine Office according to the typical edition of the liturgical books in force in the year 1962; namely the Missal, Ritual, Pontifical, and Roman Breviary. This faculty may be used in their own churches or oratories; otherwise it may only be used with the consent of the Ordinary of the place, except for the celebration of private Masses.

Anything to the contrary not withstanding.

From the seat of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", on the 10th day of September, 1988.

AUGUSTIN Cardinal MAYER
President

CAMILLE PERL
Secretary

-------------------------------------------------------------

Decree Erecting the Priestly Fraternity Of Saint Peter
18 October 1988

The members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, as well as other priests who are guests in houses of the Fraternity or who exercise the sacred ministry in their churches, are conceded the use of the liturgical books in force in 1962.

...

Anything to the contrary notwithstanding.

Given at Rome, from the seat of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, this 18th day of October in the year 1988.


------------------------------------------------------------

Reconciliation of Campos

Decree concerning the Personal Apostolic Administration of “St John Mary Vianney”

...

III To the Apostolic Administration is given the right to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, the other sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours, and other rites according to the Roman Ritual and liturgical discipline used from Pope St Pius V, together with the reforms of his Successors up to Bl John XXIII.

...

Given at Rome, from the seat of the Congregation for Bishops, 18th Janurary 2002

John Baptist Card. Re
Prefect

+ Francis Monterisi
Secretary

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Institute of the Good Shepherd

Decree of the Ecclesia Dei Commission
8 Sept 2006


...Lastly, to members of this Institute, the Church confers the right of celebrating the sacred litugy, using, and indeed as the rite proper to them, the liturgical books current in 1962, known as the Roman Missal, the Roman Ritual and the Roman Pontifical for conferring orders, and also the right to recite the office according to the breviary as published in the same year.
...
Anything to the contrary not withstanding.

From the seat of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", on the 8th day of September, 2006.

Dario Cardinal CASTRILLON HOYOS.
President

Camille PERL
Secretary

-------------------------------------------------------

Confirmation has been given by Cardinal Hoyos, in correspondance with Archbishop Burke of St Louis, USA.

Interview given by Archbishop Burke, St. Louis, USA, May 11, 2006:

“However, I did have some correspondence with Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, the president of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, because a question was raised to me regarding the validity of the celebration of the other sacraments other than the Holy Mass according to the rites in force in 1962.

Apparently, among some people somewhere, this question arose. They believed there was no permission to do this, and what is more, if a bishop or priest was doing this, that these celebrations were not valid.

Now, as a canonist, and being somewhat versed in sacramental theology, I knew that this could not be possible because these rites were celebrated for centuries, and were valid celebrations. It could be that if the Pope had forbidden it, that it wouldn’t be licit. In other words, it wouldn’t be licit to celebrate those rites, but they would certainly be valid.

Because this is something that is very important, and something we need to be very clear about, I wrote to Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos. He wrote me back a very encouraging letter, and he assured me that it was indeed the mind of the Holy Father that bishops be generous in permitting the celebration of all the sacraments in the former rites. So that question was answered for me.

He told me in the letter that I should certainly feel free to share this communication with any bishop who inquired, or who I thought would be interested in it.”

For the full text of the interview, see here.

Video of Mass with commentary by Fulton Sheen

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

CIEL International Colloquium



The Colloquium took place from 13th to 16th September, in Merton College, Oxford. Masses will take place in Merton College Chapel.

"We are pleased to report that the CIEL 2006 colloquium held in Oxford this past September 13th-16th, 2006, was a great success in all regards, with more than 160 delegates in attendance (excluding those who solely attended the liturgies), a significant number of clergy and religious, and a wide representation of nations present.

The various liturgies and papers presented at the colloquium present a manifest and evident excellence in the celebration and study of the Roman liturgical tradition."

Pontifical High Mass was celebrated by Bishop David McGough, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Fr Anton Guziel was Assistant Priest.

See the CIEL website.

See report and pictures from the 'Cornell Society' blog.

Here's a long report from the New Liturgical Movement blog (with lots more pictures): Part 1 and Part 2.

Left: Dr. Laurence Hemming delivering his Paper in the Sheldonian Theatre

Here's a short video from Fr Tim Finigan.



Saturday, August 12, 2006

Status of the Traditional Mass

In response to continuing confusion over whether the Traditional Mass should be allowed only as an exception, in special circumstances, I have put together some quotations on the subject from authoritative sources.


Ecclesia Dei Adflicta, John Paul II, 1988:

To all those Catholic faithful who feel attached to some previous liturgical and disciplinary forms of the Latin tradition, I wish to manifest my will to facilitate their ecclesial communion by means of the necessary measures to guarantee respect for their rightful aspirations. In this matter I ask for the support of the bishops and of all those engaged in the pastoral ministry in the church.
...
Moreover, respect must everywhere by shown for the feelings of all those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition by a wide and generous application of the directives already issued some time ago by the Apostolic See for the use of the Roman Missal according to the typical edition of 1962.

---------------

Letter from Cardinal Mayer to the Bishops of the US: (1990)


Consequently, Your Excellency, we wish to encourage you to facilitate the proper and reverent celebration of the liturgical rites according to the Roman Missal of 1962 wherever there is a genuine desire for this on the part of the priests and faithful. This should not be construed as a promotion of that Missal in prejudice to the one promulgated eight years later, but simply a pastoral provision to meet the "rightful aspirations" of those who wish to worship according to the Latin liturgical tradition as celebrated for centuries.


--------------------------

Cardinal Stikler, commenting on the report made by the 1986 commission of cardinals to John Paul II on the legal status of the Traditional Mass, (May 20, 1995 at the Christi Fidelis conference in Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA):

"I can answer because I was one of the Cardinals."

He continued, "the answers given by the nine Cardinals in 1986 was 'No, the Mass of Saint Pius V has never been suppressed'."

"the nine Cardinals unanimously agreed that no bishop may forbid a Catholic priest from saying the Tridentine Mass."


---------------------------

Cardinal Ratzinger, A lecture given at the Ergife Palace Hotel, Rome on Saturday 24th October 1998.

It is good to recall here what Cardinal Newman observed, that the Church, throughout her history, has never abolished nor forbidden orthodox liturgical forms, which would be quite alien to the Spirit of the Church. ... The authority of the Church has the power to define and limit the use of such rites in different historical situations, but she never just purely and simply forbids them! Thus the Council ordered a reform of the liturgical books, but it did not prohibit the former books.
...

We must now examine the other argument, which claims that the existence of the two rites can damage unity. Here a distinction must be made between the theological aspect and the practical aspect of the question. As regards what is theoretical and basic, it must be stated that several forms of the Latin rite have always existed, and were only slowly withdrawn, as a result of the coming together of the different parts of Europe. Before the Council there existed side by side with the Roman rite, the Ambrosian rite, the Mozarabic rite of Toledo, the rite of Braga, the Carthusian rite, the Carmelite rite, and best known of all, the Dominican rite, and perhaps still other rites of which I am not aware. No one was ever scandalized that the Dominicans, often present in our parishes, did not celebrate like diocesan priests but had their own rite. We did not have any doubt that their rite was as Catholic as the Roman rite, and we were proud of the richness inherent in these various traditions. Moreover, one must say this: that the freedom which the new order of Mass gives to creativity is often taken to excessive lengths. The difference between the liturgy according to the new books, how it is actually practiced and celebrated in different places, is often greater than the difference between an old Mass and a new Mass, when both these are celebrated according to the prescribed liturgical books.

-----------

Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, interview with the Latin Mass Magazine: (May 2004)

...this celebration [at Mary Major] has reassured many of the faithful that the venerable Rite of St Pius V, which in enjoys in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church a "right of citizenship", as I said in my homily. There can be no doubt about the fact that this Rite has not been extinguished. The event at St Mary Major has, in itself, assisted in clarifying this issue, where any doubt might have previously existed because of certain misinformation.

...it is my impression that those who are attached to the old Rite are involved in expressing a legitimate religious, liturgical and spiritual sentiment that is particularly rooted in the ancient Tradition and therefore, when this is lived in full communion with the Church, represents something that is truly an enrichment.
I don't like, indeed, those views that would like to reduce the traditionalist 'phenomenon' to only the celebration of the ancient rite, as if it were a stubborn and nostalgic attachment to the past. ... In reality, what we fequently find is a Christian view of the life of faith and of devotion - shared by so many Catholic families that frequently are enriched by many children - that has special characteristics, and we can mention as examples: a strong sense of belonging to the Mystical Body of Christ, a desire to maintain strong links with the past - that wishes to be seen, not in contrast with the present, but in a line of continuity with the Church - to present the principal teachings of the Faith, a profound desire for spirituality and the sacred etc..

-------------------

LMS Press release, referring to two interviews given by Card. Hoyos: (2004)

1. In an interview with The Latin Mass [May 04], the main traditionalist magazine in the USA, and published in the current issue, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos confirms that the traditional rite of Mass has not been abrogated and points to his own celebration of that rite in St Mary Major, Rome in May 2003 as proof. He goes on to confirm that the traditional rite is now celebrated again in St Peter’s on the instructions of John Paul II.
...

2. In an interview with the Italian newspaper, Il Giornale, published 31 May, Cardinal Hoyos confirms that traditionalists are not to be seen as ‘second class’ citizens in the Church.

--------------

Cardinal Mayer, May 2004 (Letter to Mr Dante Pastorelli, re Una Voce newsletter)
(Reprinted in Mass of Ages Nov 2005)

I reaffirm my personal opinion that the abrogation of the Missal of Pius V is not proven and I can add that the decree that I signed promulgating the third typical edition of the Roman Missal does not contain any clause that abrogates the ancient form of the Roman Rite. ... And I can also add that the absence of any abrogation clause whatsoever did not happen by chance, nor was it caused by inadvertence, but was intentional.

---------------------------

In a July 13th interview with I Media news agency in Rome, Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, the newly appointed Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship:

If the Church fails to curb liturgical abuses, "people will attend the Tridentine Mass, and our churches will be empty."


Thursday, July 06, 2006

Penny Renold's Funeral

Penelope Renold's Requiem and Burial took place, in the Traditional Rite, on Tuesday 4th July, starting at 12 noon. Fr Andrew Southwell celebrated the Missa Cantata at the Church of SS Gregory & Augustine, assisted by Gordon Dimon as MC. Fr John Saward, Priest in Charge of SS Gregory & Augustine, and Fr Richard Duffield, Parish Priest of St Aloysius (the Oxford Oratory), were in choir. Fr Southwell preached a moving eulogy to the large congregation, recounting Miss Renold's remarkable and long life, intimately involved as it was with the struggle to preserve the Traditional Catholic liturgy.

Fr Southwell then conducted the Burial Service in Wolvercote Cemetery. This was followed by a reception and lunch at which three friends and relations spoke about different aspects of Penny's life.

The previous evening, the body had been solemnly received into the Church by Fr Saward. The Miserere and other psalms were chanted as the coffin was carried in procession into the church, placed between six unbleached candles, and covered with a black pall.

All the liturgy and singing was done to the highest and most correct standards. Thanks are particularly due to Fr John Saward, who has successfully re-equipped his church with the necessary vestments, candles and so on, and the kindness of Gordon Dimon, the Latin Mass Society MC, and Dr John Tennant, the singer, in coming from London to assist us.

For Penny Renold's obituary, see here.

Friday, June 30, 2006

Corpus Christi Procession 2006

Oxford Deanery Corpus Christi Procession 2006

This regular event attracted 300 participants this year. The Blessed Sacrament, under a canopy and proceded by a thurifer, was carried in procession from the Oxford Oratory, via Blackfriars, to the Catholic Chaplaincy. The faithful sang hymns accompanied by a brass band. There was a sermon at Blackfriars and Benediction at the Chaplaincy.

Oxford Pilgrimage 2006

On Saturday 3rd June, the second Latin Mass Society Pilgrimage to Oxford took place, in honour of the Catholic Martyrs who were executed in the city. In 2005 we processed to the place where the four martyrs of 1589 were hanged, drawn and quartered; in 2006 we processed to the site of the Castle gallows, outside Nuffield College, where Blessed George Napper (or Napier), was similarly hanged, drawn and quartered in 1610.

Napper was born in Holywell Manor in 1550, and educated in Corpus Christi College, before being ejected (in 1565) for recusancy. He later spent nine years in prison in London for the same reason (until 1589), before joining the seminary at Douai, being ordained (1596), and coming on the English mission (1603), to bring the Mass and other sacraments to the Catholics of his home county. He was arrested near the village of Kirtlington in July 1610, imprisoned in Oxford Castle, and executed on 19th November 1610. He was beatified in 1929.

The Pilgrimage began with Solemn High Mass in the Church of St Aloysius, the Oxford Oratory, at 11.15. The celebrant was Fr Dominic Jacob of the Oratory, assisted by his confreres Fr Jerome Bertram (deacon) and Br Anton Webb (subdeacon). Mr Gordon Dimon was MC, and led a team of seven servers. This seems to have been the first Traditional Solemn High Mass in Oratory since 1970, and was a truly magnificent occasion, attended by more than 80 people.

The music was provided by the Oratory Choirmaster, Mr Edward de Rivera, and members of the Oratory Choir. The Ordinary of the Mass was the Mass for Five Voices by the great William Byrd, whose music brought so much comfort to Catholics in the period of the Elizabethan persecution. He was born in Lincoln in 1543? and died at Stondon Massey, Essex on 4 July 1623. His output of Latin works: Motets, Gradualia etc was considerable to say nothing of his secular songs and madrigals and English settings for the Reformed Church. Despite his steadfast devotion to his Catholic Faith, he was a great favourite of Queen Elizabeth.

At 2pm, after a break for lunch, Br Anton Webb, assisted by Gordon
Dimon and three acolytes with processional cross, silk banner, and megaphone, led a procession from the top of New Road, past the Castle, to the site of Bl George Napper’s execution, approximately where the Memorial Gate of Nuffield College now stands. Forty people came on the procession, which was an impressive witness to the Faith. At Nuffield a large gallows, with a single noose hanging from it, marked the procession’s goal, where we completed chanting the Litany of the Saints. We paused there while a contemporary account of Napper’s execution was read out, and then processed back to the Oratory, singing the Te Deum, the Canticle of the Three Young Men, and vernacular hymns (including Faith of Our Fathers), and reciting five decades of the Rosary.

At 4pm Fr Dominic Jacob celebrated Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Oratory, bringing the pilgrimage to a close. Thanks are due to all those who came to honour our glorious predecessor in the Faith, and particularly to the Fathers of Oxford Oratory, who gave so much of their time as well as their church for this occasion.

I'm delighted to say that this important local event was covered by the Catholic Herald, and even got a mention in the Oxford Times.

LIFE Walk 2006

The annual 'Walk for Life', organised by the Oxford branch of LIFE, took place in the streets of Oxford on Saturday 13th May, in support of the rights of the unborn. It started at the West end of Broad Street, and ended at the Catholic Chaplaincy, where a hot lunch was laid on.




Gregorian Chant Training Day, 2006

Oxford’s ‘Gregorian Chant Training Day’, with Dr Mary Berry CBE

On Saturday 11th March, the renowned Gregorian Chant expert Dr Mary Berry prepared a group of more than twenty singers, including the incipient traditional scholas of both Oxford and Reading, to sing at Benediction and Mass, in the church of SS Gregory & Augustine, Oxford. Dr Berry gave a fascinating introduction to the history of the Chant and its notation, and proceeded to explain the principles of interpretation of early manuscripts, and the symbols used in the Liber Usualis. I am sure we all learnt a great many things we never knew we didn’t know, as well as being given very practical help and coaching in singing the chosen pieces. After a hearty hot lunch provided by Lucy Shaw at the Presbytery, we prepared the very beautiful Mass IV, and the propers for the Mass of St Gregory the Great, who, not content with converting the English, gave his name to the Chant and, with St Augustine of Canterbury, is the patron of the church. Mass was expertly MCed by David Forster, and the schola, conducted by Dr Berry, was a credit to the efforts of the singers, who had come from as far away as Powys to attend. Dr Berry’s energy is an example to us all, and we are tremendously grateful for her generosity with her time and expertise. Thanks are also due to Dr John Caldwell, the organist, and above all to Fr John Saward, who not only lent his charming church and Presbytery to us but celebrated the Benediction and Mass we sang at. The day was sponsored by the Latin Mass Society, and was a great boost to the cause of Gregorian Chant in Oxford and far beyond it.

Society of St Catherine of Siena, Conference 2005

Society of St Catherine of Siena, Liturgical Conference in Oxford

28-29th October 2005

Ever Directed toward the Lord. . .

The Love of God in the Liturgy of the Eucharist past, present, and hoped for

The Society of St Catherine of Siena held a Colloquium (Friday 28th October), followed by a one-day Conference (Saturday 29th October), in Oxford in 2005. The Colloquium began with a splendid Traditional Solemn High Mass celebrated in Blackfriars, Oxford, and concluded with Choral Evensong in Merton College Chapel, at which Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Birmingham, preached. The Conference began with Mass celebrated by Archbishop Nichols (Novus Ordo).

The colloquium and conference were attended by many distinguished invited speakers, including Eamon Duffy, Jonathan Robinson, Lauren Pristas, Laurence Hemming, Paul Bradshaw, and Susan Parsons.

Oxford Pilgrimage 2005

On Saturday 25th June we had the first ever Latin Mass Society Pilgrimage to Oxford, to honour the four beati martyred in Oxford in 1589: the priests George Nichols and Richard Yaxley, and two laymen who had been protecting them in Oxford, Thomas Belson and Humphry Pritchard. A splendid Sung Mass in the Oratory was attended by more than forty people, at which the Oratory Choir sang a Mass setting by John Sheppard, the choir-master of Magdalen College under Queen Mary Tudor. The celebrant, Fr Andrew Southwell, then led a procession along the route taken by the martyrs, from prison to exec

ution, singing the Litany of the Saints. At the site itself we had a large gallows, with four nooses hanging from the cross-bar. With Fr Southwell and acolytes in cassocks and cottas, a processional cross and a silk banner, the procession of twenty five people was an impressive public witness to the Faith. The pilgrimage ended with Benediction in the Oratory, with prayers for the conversion of England. Thanks are due to the celebrant, to the Fathers of the Oratory, and to the Oratory Choir, for making this day a success; I hope that this will now become an annual event.