Family Retreat 2018: photographs

The St Catherine's Trust annual Family Retreat took place last weekend, led by two priests of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, Canon Amaury Montjeand and Canon Scott Tanner. They were joined on Saturday by Br Albert Robertson who was subdeacon at High Mass.



As always it was attended by many children - more than ever, in fact. The retreat is structured to make it possible for families to attend to attend together.

ICKSP: good news from England

Mass at St Walburge's, Preston

The Institute of Christ the King have made a succession of very exciting announcements about their apstolate in the north west of England, historically the most Catholic part of the country.

In addition to the landmark church, the 'Dome of Home', the Church of SS Peter & Paul and St Philomena, in the Wirral, in the Diocese of Shrewsbury, which they have run since 2012 thanks to Bishop Mark Davis, they were given the magnificent Church of St Walburge's, Preston, in the Diocese of Lancaster, which boasts the tallest spire of any parish church in England, in 2014, by Bishop Michael Campbell.

In July, Bishop Campbell gave them another historic church, close to St Walburge's: the Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs.

Institute of Christ the King given another church in Preston, England

Here is the press release.
-------------------------------------------

The historic and landmark (Grade II Listed) Catholic Church of St Thomas of Canterbury & the
English Martyrs on Garstang Road, Preston (known simply as English Martyrs) has been given a
promise of a sustainable future following an announcement made today by the Bishop of
Lancaster, the Rt Rev Michael G Campbell OSA.

Bishop Michael Campbell and Monsignor Gilles Wach, Prior General of the Institute of Christ the
King Sovereign Priest, together with Rector, Canon Adrian Towers, have agreed that, as from the
autumn, the Institute will assume the administration of the church.

This move will enable the church to be open each day to become a vibrant shrine of devotion to
and promotion of the English Martyrs under the care of the Institute who already have the
administration of St Walburge’s Shrine Church, Weston Street, Preston. The new shrine will
specifically provide for the celebration of Holy Mass and the other Sacraments in the extraordinary
form of the Roman Rite.

Institute of Christ the King to open a school in Preston, England

This was noted in their newsletter of last weekend. It seems they have a building for the school, which is often a big obstacle to opening a school.

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest has a very successful, highly professional, bi-lingual school in Belgium, the Brussels International Catholic School, with the energetic English priest of the Institute, Canon William Hudson as headmaster.  It is wonderful news that the Institute is starting something in England; I wish them luck.




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Masses in Limerick: Letter in The Tablet

Not available in Limerick?

Update: I'm told (by someone on Facebook) that there were in fact a few OF Masses celebrated in the diocese, by religious (as opposed to secular, diocesan) priests. Also, that the lay-led liturgies were not Eucharistic, just 'liturgies of the word'.

This makes the falsity of the report by the diocesan 'manager' more egregious, and the deprivation of the Faithful of the Sacrements more clear-cut.

Original post below.

Last weekend The Tablet reported on the alleged fact that the previous Tuesday had not seen any public celebrations of Mass in the Diocese of Limerick. The headline connected this with a shortage of priests, but the text of the story took a quite different line, pointing out that the diocese has no fewer than 108 priests. Surely one or two could have said a public Mass? The reason they didn't is that they were all involved in a training day. So there were lay-led eucharistic liturgies instead.

According to Catherine Kelly, general manager of Limerick Diocese, the liturgies are one of the many initiatives from last year’s synod. The diocese is offering people opportunities to have “greater involvement in the Church, greater leadership [and] greater ownership”, she said.

“The Church we all grew up with could be viewed as a train,” said Bishop Leahy, “a locomotive pulling many carriages behind it. That is not fit for purpose today. We all need to be engines of the Church, out there, working for others, doing good work”.

An interesting attitude. What the Protestants couldn't do, the liberals have done. Anyway, this weekend The Tablet have published a letter of mine:

Your report on the Mass-less Tuesday in the Diocese of Limerick gives the impression that it was not just an unfortunate coincidence, but a deliberate stunt to promote lay-led Eucharistic liturgies. Let us hope that the bishop of Limerick does not see his role as depriving his people of the sacraments, instead of feeding his flock, which would indeed be strange if true.

In any case, the report was false. The church of the Sacred Heart in Limerick, sold to developers by the Jesuits in 2006 and re-opened for worship by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in 2012, had Mass at 8am and at 7pm, and also times for Adoration and Confession. No doubt it didn't appear on the radar of the diocesan employee quoted in the story because, although the Institute works in the diocese with the permission of the bishop, they celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

Yours sincerely,

Joseph Shaw
Chairman, The Latin Mass Society

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A third priest for the Institute in New Brighton

From Canon Amaurty Montjean of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, Rector of the Shrine of SS Peter & Paul and St Philomena in New Brighton, the Wirral, the 'Dome of Home':

Dear friends of the Dome of Home,

After our return from the General Chapter of the Institute, we were given permission by Rt Rev. Mark Davies, our Bishop, to welcome Canon Cyprien Parant as a third resident priest in New Brighton: we are very grateful to His Lordship and Mgr Wach.

This is also a grace to add a second Mass at 12noon from Tuesday to Friday included ! No doubt this is an extra source of graces for our family of the Dome.

See their website here.

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Video on SS Peter & Paul in the Wirral

A fascinating video on 'Dome of Home', including memories of its earliest years from local parishioners, thanks to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.


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Special Mass at St Walburge's, Preston, Sunday 27th Sept

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High Mass in St Walburge's Preston with Bishop Campbell

Another newly ordained priest of the Institutute of Christ the King, Fr Guillaume Fenoll, will be celebrating a High Mass in St Walburge's at 10:30am this Sunday in the presentce of Bishop Campbell of Lancaster.

Fr Scott Tanner's First High Mass in Dorchester

Fr Scott Tanner, a native of Reading, has been ordained to the priesthood for the Institute of Christ the King. He said a 'first Mass' in St Birinus, Dorchester on Thames.

I was unable to attend as it clashed with the LMS AGM, but here are some photos.

First Mass in New Brighton under the ICKSP!

News from the Latin Mass Society:

We extend a warm welcome to Canon Olivier Meney, ICKSP, who took up residence at SS Peter and Paul's Church, Atherton Street, New Brighton, Wirral CH45 9LT, at the weekend. Canon Meney celebrated his first public Mass in the church this morning, Monday, 31 October. (New Brighton is part of the Liverpool conurbation and is on the Liverpool underground system.)

As you will no doubt already know, the Bishop of Shrewsbury, Rt Rev Mark Davies, recently invited the Institute of Christ the King to re-open SS Peter and Paul's as England's first Traditional Parish, an arrangement mandated by the Holy Father's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. Bishop Davies has also asked the Institute to run the parish as the diocese's permanent centre of Eucharistic devotion.

Renovation on the church and presbytery, which were closed in 2008, has been proceeding for several months now, but the main structural work is almost complete. There is still work to be done to get the church into a suitable condition for parish use, but Masses can now be said at a side altar.

More Masses for this week announced
Canon Meney has announced that there will be Masses at SS Peter and Paul on All Souls' Day (Wednesday, 2 November) at 8.00am and 8.30am, and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week (3-5 November) all at 9.00am. Further Masses have yet to be announced.

On All Saints's day, Canon Meney will celebrate Mass at the nearby Sacred Heart Church at Moreton at 11am.

We congratulate Bishop Davies on his far-sighted, pastoral decision to re-open the church at New Brighton and to make it available to the Institute of Christ the King. Canon Meney's arrival at New Brighton coincided providentially with his order's patronal feast day of Christ the King (Sunday, 30 October). We ask you to keep Bishop Davies and Canon Meney in your prayers.

Ordinations for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

From Rorate Caeli:

Ordinations for the Institute of Christ the King

Perepiscopus notes that for this year, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest will have four new priests (three Frenchmen and one Italian), who will be ordained by H.E. Raymond Cardinal Burke, who is singularly close to the Institute. (In comparison, the ICRSS had three new priests in 2010 and five in 2009.)

This is wonderful news for these young men, for the Institute, and for the whole Church.

There are English men also at the Institute's seminary, which is growing quickly, and the Institute is soon to take possession of the Church of SS Peter & Paul, New Brighton, in the Wirral. Please say a prayer for the ordinands, the seminarians and this new English apostolate.

Institute of Christ the King and SS Peter & Paul, New Brighton

This is a tremendously exciting develpment: the (new) Bishop of Shrewsbury, Bishop Mark Davies, is in talks with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest with a view to the Institute taking over the Church of SS Peter & Paul, New Brighton, in the Wirral. This is a famous church which has been closed since 2008, and needs a good deal of tender loving care to flourish again. It sounds as though the Institute could solve a problem for the diocese in preserving its architectural heritage, at the same time as bringing a really exciting new apostolate to the Catholics of the region.

You can see the BBC report here; on examination everything in that report comes from the diocese's press release, so you might as well get the information directly from its source. Here it is.

Press Release from the Diocese of Shrewsbury

13th March 2011

For immediate release:

Order Considers Taking Over Landmark Wirral Church

The Rt. Rev Mark Davies, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury , has entered into exploratory negotiations with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest about the possibility of the religious order establishing a community of priests at the Church of Ss Peter and Paul, New Brighton .

The intention is to reopen the main body of the church, which was closed for worship in August 2008, by conferring on the Institute the specific mission of fostering Eucharistic adoration. It is hoped that the Institute will work with local Catholics for the restoration and reopening of the building.

Priests of the Institute of Christ the King celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (sometimes known as the Tridentine rite, the Traditional Latin Mass or Old Latin Mass) according to the liturgical books promulgated in 1962 by Blessed Pope John XXIII. Bishop Davies will also be considering pastoral provision for the ordinary form of the Mass in English.

After Easter, Monsignor Gilles Wach, the French founder and superior general of the Institute, will visit the church for the first time and will hold direct talks with the bishop. If negotiations are fruitful Ss Peter and Paul will be the first Catholic church in Britain to be run by the Institute.

Since Bishop Davies was first approached by the Institute last year, he has been consulting with the Holy See, his brother northern Catholic bishops, the Patrimony Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales , and English Heritage about the future of the Church of Ss Peter and Paul.

Bishop Davies said: “I welcome the interest shown by the Institute of Christ the King in establishing a new foundation in the Diocese and working for the restoration of the Church of Ss Peter and Paul, New Brighton . I look forward to exploring the practicalities of such a foundation providing Mass for the faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form and the possibility of the church becoming a centre for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in which all can share. ”

Canon William Hudson, a spokesman for the Institute of Christ the King, said: “We are in the process of discussing this with Bishop Davies. It is a very serious proposition and while there are a number of issues that need to be addressed - notably financial - we are sure that the faithful will be just as generous as when the church was built. Our order has considerable experience in re-opening churches in very similar circumstances to Ss Peter and Paul. I am confident that with the guidance of the bishop, a solution can be found to the benefit of the Catholic community at large.”

For further information:

Please contact Simon Caldwell, communications officer for the Diocese of Shrewsbury, on 07708 119554 or at gabrielnews@btinternet.com.

Photos of Bishop Davies are available at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/catholicism/sets/72157623368061861/

Please credit Mazur/www.catholicchurch.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

The Rt Rev. Mark Davies was installed as Bishop of Shrewsbury on 1^st October 2010 after he was ordained coadjutor bishop of the diocese on 22^nd February that year by his predecessor, the Rt Rev. Brian Noble, the Bishop Emeritus of Shrewsbury .

The Diocese of Shrewsbury covers the parts of Merseyside south of the River Mersey, the southern parts of Greater Manchester, parts of Derbyshire, almost all of the county of Cheshire and all of Shropshire .

The Church of Ss Peter and Paul is a cruciform church with a green dome, built in the Renaissance-style and opened for use in 1935. It towers above New Brighton and the Bay of Liverpool on a sandstone outcrop and can be viewed from as far away as Llandudno in North Wales . It is a Grade II listed building. The church was closed in August 2008 amid rising repair and maintenance costs. After consultations with local Catholics, Bishop Davies announced its partial reopening for a weekly weekday Mass in the Day Chapel from 4th March 2011. The main body of the church cannot be reopened for public use without significant investment and expenditure on repairs.

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right, with a strong emphasis on missionary work, mainly through running parishes and schools. It was founded by Monsignor Wach and Father Phillipe Mora in Gabon , Africa, in 1990 and has its headquarters in Florence , Italy . The order has about 70 priests working in 12 countries and is training about 80 more, including two English seminarians, at its seminary in Florence . In 2004 a community of sisters was founded to aid the priests in their mission. The order draws its spirituality from the inspiration of St Benedict, St Francis de Sales and St Thomas Aquinas. It has a track record of restoring churches, recently reopening two in the United States and one in Belgium .

The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, or the Traditional Latin Mass, was first codified at the Council of Trent under Pope St Pius V in the 1560s and was last modified by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962. It is celebrated in Latin with the priest leading the faithful in facing east. Its use was suppressed during the liturgical reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s in favour of the new rite, or Ordinary Form, of the Mass in the vernacular with the priest facing the congregation. Then in 2007 Pope Benedict XVI released Summorum Pontificum, a document issued “on his own initiative”, permitting the rite to be used wherever a “stable group” requests it. In Shrewsbury diocese Mass in the Extraordinary Form is celebrated each week in Sacred Heart Church , Moreton, on the Wirral, by a visiting priest from the Institute of Christ the King.

ENDS

Visit of Mgr Wach to the LMS Office

Mgr Gilles Wach, the founder and Superior General of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, visited the new offices of the Latin Mass Society on Tuesday. He is in the middle of the group with the distinctive blue piping on his cassock.

The Institute is one of the 'Traditional Priestly Orders', that is an order whose priests are ordained in and say the EF Mass. Fr William Hudson (standing next to Mgr Wach) serves the traditional faithful in the North West of England as well as being headmaster of a school run by the Institute in Brussells. Founded in 1990, the Institute is growing quickly and is involved in an astonishing number of apostolates, notably in the USA and Canada, France, Germany, and Africa.

With our General Manager, John Medlin, and a number of LMS people we had lunch with the charming and cultivated Mgr Wach, who was visiting England for a week.