Issue 75 - The Pilgrim - September 2018 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

News
Students learn
about diplomacy
Students at Christ the King
College in Lewisham heard
about what it’s like to be a
diplomat from Dame Nicola
Brewer (pictured).
Dame Brewer explained to
students how she came to be
British High Commissioner to
South Africa, Lesotho and
Swaziland from 2009 to 2013.
She visited the college to
launch the annual external
speaker programme. She also
spoke about her role as viceprovost
(international) at
University College, London, and
her work on women’s rights and
gender equality.
Simon Spearman, principal of
Christ the King: Emmanuel,
said: “Dame Nicola Brewer has
got our External Speaker
Programme off to a brilliant
start. She is one of many highprofile
visitors from the worlds
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of academia, politics, and
industry who will be coming into
our colleges over the next few
months.
“Our students gain a great
deal from hearing these
inspirational, high-achieving
individuals speak about their
own education and career
paths.”
Film recalls Pope John Paul
II’s 1979 visit to Ireland
A documentary film about St
Pope John Paul II’s visit to
Ireland in 1979 has been
released.
A Plea For Peace, directed by
David Naglieri and narrated by
The Passion Of The Christ star
Jim Caviezel, features
interviews with Seamus Mallon,
Martin Mansergh, Rev Harold
Good, Lord David Alton and
former IRA bomber Shane Paul
O’Doherty.
History was made in
September 1979, when St John
Paul II became the first pope to
Pilgrims heading to Faversham
Hundreds of pilgrims are
expected to descend on
Faversham at the end of the
month to celebrate the feast
day of St Jude.
The national shrine of St Jude
at the church Our Lady of Mount
Carmel, which is run by the
Carmelites, will be hosting
celebrations on Saturday 27th
and Sunday 28th October. These
will include Mass, the blessing
of oil, and anointing.
visit Ireland.
The film focuses on the pope’s
famous appeal in Drogheda: “On
my knees I beg you to turn away
from the paths of violence and
return to the ways of peace,” in
front of a quarter a million
people, and argues this sowed
the earliest seeds of peace.
Mr Naglieri said the filmmakers
discovered handwritten
letters from Father Alec Reid to
John Hume, which directly
quoted the papal message.
“Through researching, at first
we found a lot of cynicism –
St Jude, one of the twelve
apostles, is the patron saint of
hopeless cases.
The shrine, which is beneath
the church, was built in 1955.
Many pilgrims light a candle or
leave petitions in a box in front
of the fifteenth century wooden
statue of St Jude. His
international appeal can be
seen from the notes and photos
pinned to a notice board.
www.shrineofstjude.org
New Catholic
degrees
St Mary’s University in
Twickenham is launching a new
MA degree in Catholic social
teaching, which will be the first
of its kind in the UK.
Topics covered will include
the basic principles and history
of the tradition, the various
ways in which social teaching
has been applied to specific
situations. Issues explored will
include the theologies of
liberation, the role of Catholic
charities, and market and
business ethics.
The first year’s two modules
will be taught in central London
on Tuesday evenings and an
inspiring list of lecturers have
been engaged to deliver this
programme.
Also a BA course in new
evangelisation is available at
The School of the Annunciation
in Buckfast Abbey, validated by
St Mary’s University.
people said the violence
continued for two decades after
the visit, and superficially it
didn’t have much effect – but
for us it was a lot of peeling the
onion,” he said.
The course will cover a
variety of modules such as
reflective practice, technology,
relationship of media and life
issues. Its focus will be look at a
variety of matters that the
Church is currently facing and
on preparing people to engage
with the new evangelisation.
For further information, visit
www.stmarys.ac.uk or
www.sota-edu.com
“The thesis is not that the
Good Friday Agreement
wouldn’t have happened if he
didn’t come, but we’re tracing
the ripple effects of the pope’s
visit.”
From Spain to Tonbridge
Corpus Christi church in
Tonbridge have a brand-new
reredos thanks to a company in
Spain.
Archbishop Peter Smith
blessed the new altar piece
during a Mass.
Parish priest Fr Peter Murphy
hired Granda Liturgical Arts in
Madrid to transform the main
wall.
It created a large frame which
envelops the new scene of
Calvary complete with statues
of Our Lady and St John at the
foot of the wooden Crucifix
already in place. Above it a
figure of the Holy Spirit on
golden rays.
Granda Liturgical Arts has its
own workshops and
manufactures everything from
tabernacles and candlesticks to
statues and vestments.
The Pilgrim October 2018
Academic Mass
Archbishop Peter celebrated the annual Mass at
St George’s Cathedral to mark the beginning of
the academic year.
The congregation was made up of students,
teachers, chaplains, governors, and others
involved in education in the diocese.
Archbishop Peter spoke about the importance
of Catholic education that provided the
opportunity of developing the whole person.
School promotes walking
St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Greenwich
has been approved by Transport for London’s
STARS scheme.
The scheme aims to reduce traffic congestion,
improve road safety and health and wellbeing.
Last year, St Mary’s participated in Walk on
Wednesdays, which encouraged all children to
travel to school sustainably, actively,
responsibly, and safely by championing walking,
scooting and cycling.
The theme for this year is the seasons and pupils
have the opportunity to collect 11 badges. Every
week, class teachers will log how the children
came to school and at the end of each month,
the badges will be distributed to those who have
walked or actively travelled in that given month.
Learning about coding
Year 7 students at Ursuline High School in
Wimbledon learned all about coding from the
experts.
Coders from Wandsworth City Learning Centre
and technology professionals from Goldman
Sachs worked with students to create a digital
media campaign called earthquake rescue.
Students had to create an autonomous robot
that could search though damaged buildings
looking for victims of earthquakes.
Working as coders, app designers,
photographers and film makers to develop a
product, they presented back to each other at
the end of the day.
They also created a website using Google sites
that included videos and photos of the
production process, interviews with the scientists
creating the prototype, and explanations and
images of why the robot is needed.
Dusk walk
Depaul UK is inviting parishioners to sign up for
its “Dusk Walk”, which aims to raise money to
support its work with homeless young people.
The walk takes place on 12th October,
beginning in Bermondsey, stopping at St William
of York Church in Forest Hill, and finishing at St
Paul’s Church, Beckenham.
For further details, contact email:
marie-claire.acton@depaulcharity.org.uk, or
phone 020 7939-1279.
Cafod volunteers needed
Cafod is seeking volunteers to talk to young
people about how they live their faith in action.
Cafod education volunteers go into schools to
talk about Cafod’s work in reaching to those
most in need because of poverty, famine or war.
They talk about how our faith supports such
work. They work closely with teachers, priests
and catechists.
For more information, phone 020 8466-9901,
or email southwark@cafod.org.uk
Young artist
Edelle Gill, a pupil at St Gregory’s Catholic
School in Tunbridge Wells will have one of her
drawings included in the Society of Graphic and
Fine Art Draw 18 exhibition at the Menier Gallery
near London Bridge. She will be the youngest
exhibitor.