Photos of York Pilgrimage 2014: Mass

The York Pilgrimage last Saturday was a great success. I'll post photos of the procession in a second post; these photos are of the High Mass we had.



Since last year the Oratorians have taken over the parish of St Wilfrid's, where the Mass has taken place for the last few years. The Pilgrimage is now a joint event between the Latin Mass Society and the parish. The new Parish Priest, Fr Richard Duffield, preached and led the procession. His fellow Oratorian, Fr Nicholas Edmonds-Smith, who is with him in the parish, was in choir, with a number of other clergy. Fr Michael Brown later celebrated Benediction for the pilgrims.



The celebrant was Fr Michael Brown, the LMS Chaplain for the North of England. The deacon was Fr John Cahill, the LMS Chaplain for the Midlands; the subdeacon was Fr Stephen Brown.



Fr Richard preached very movingly on the martydom of St Margaret Clitherow, in whose honour we have this pilgrimage each year, drawing out an interesting parallel with St Maria Goretti. Both were motivated in important part by the desire to shield others from sin: St Maria, to prevent her attacker raping her, St Margaret, to shield members of her family, neighbours, and secret Catholics who might be brought onto the jury, from the terrible dilemmas and pressures which would follow their involvement in a full trial. That was why refused to plead, and suffered the death penalty for this.



The church was getting on for full; I counted about 160 people, but I may have missed some.



As I have noted on previous years, it is a fine church. I am delighted that the Oratorians are now there. Fr Richard was in fact baptised in the church, and his family is among those memorialised on a plaque because of his father's contribution to the stations of the cross.