Summer School 2013: overview

I have finally uploaded all my Summer School photos - it finished on Sunday 28th July. Here are some below, you can see the full set here.


As always it was huge fun, with games, activities, a play, a quiz at the end of the week, lovely liturgy and lots of inspiring teaching from our volunteer staff. There isn't anything anything remotely like the St Catherine's Trust Summer School in the British Isles: any traditional Catholic families who aren't making use of it year by year are missing out. Nor do you have to be a hard-core traddy to benefit, we always have children who go habitually to the Ordinary Form. It is a very open, friendly and welcoming community.


We were delighted to have two FSSP seminarians with us this year - Seth Phipps (below) and Thomas O'Sullivan (above), both at Our Lady of Guadaloupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska.



We were also visited by Canon Amaury Montjean of the Institute of Christ the King, whose church of SS Peter and Paul and Philomena is just across the English border.



Our other evening speaker was Fr Julian Booth, a priest of Birmingham Diocese who has been given the task of promoting the cause of canonisation of Blessed Dominic Barberi, the great Italian Passionist priest who received Bl J.H. Newman into the Church. He spoke about Bl Dominic, and we all had the chance to venerate a relic of him.


We had an outing by coach to see St Asaph's Cathedral, which is very close to the school's venue, Pantasaph, whose name of course also refers to this saint and bishop. From St Asaph's we went to Denbigh and climbed up to the castle, which is very impressive.


As well as football there was a very enthusiastic group doing sewing in the afternoons.


With the help of priests taking the Latin Course, we were able to have Solemn Mass most days.
Our venue, the Capuchin Fransiscan Friary at Pantasaph, is home to the National Shrine of Padre Pio; hey have an impressive Calvary with the Stations of the Cross, and a Rosary Walk, both of which we used.