Issue 80 - The Pilgrim - April 2019 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

Issue 80 April 2019
Why is England
Mary’s dowry?
Pages 6 & 7
How Vatican II
changed the
Mass
Page 9
Why I sing
at funerals
Page 12
A Journey of faith
Over 400 people become Catholics this Easter
Pope’s Lamborghini helps
Middle East Christians
Money raised by a lottery for a
custom-built Lamborghini
presented to the Pope Francis by
the car’s manufacturers in
December is helping suffering
Christians in the Middle East.
The money is part of £1 million
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)
has delivered to Iraq and Syria in
the first two months of this year.
The Sutton-based charity has
provided £750,000 for Syria and
nearly £250,000 for Iraq.
More than £500,000 has
supported projects in Lattakia
Governorate in Syria, including
help for 690 families and repairs
to the Church of St Anthony the
Great in Bakto, which was
damaged during the conflict.
In Aleppo, the charity is
providing more than £85,000 in
emergency help for Christian
families, prioritising the elderly
and the most vulnerable.
The Christian village of Bashiqa,
18 miles from Mosul, which was
badly damaged during occupation
by ISIS, has received £94,000.
Initiatives in the village include
rebuilding St Reginald’s Convent,
which belongs to the Dominican
Sisters of St Catherine of Siena,
and repairing a partially destroyed
Church-run kindergarten.
Neville Kyrke-Smith, ACN
national director, said: “The scale
of the charity’s help reflects the
immense scale of suffering that we
see across the region. As the
apostle St Paul challenges us - we
are called to help everyone in
need, but especially those who are
of the household of faith with us.”
www.acnuk.org
Over 250 catechumens and 160
candidates, plus their
godparents, sponsors and
families, attended the the Rite
on Election and Continuing Call
to Conversion service at St
George’s Cathedral.
They will all be received into
the Catholic Church this Easter.
Catechumens are those
preparing for Baptism, usually
at the Easter Vigil, and who
have started on RCIA (Rite of
Christian Initiation of Adults)
courses in parishes and ethnic
chaplaincies.
Candidates are those who
have been baptised, often in
other Churches, and are
preparing for Confirmation and
First Holy Communion.
Bishop Paul Hendricks,
Bishop Pat Lynch, and
Monsignor Matthew Dickens
presented catechumens and
candidates from across the
diocese to Archbishop Peter.
Archbishop Peter spoke
about always keeping in mind
the two great commandments:
to love God and also your
neighbour. He also asked all
those supporting catechumens
and candidates to continue
praying for them as they
moved towards Easter.

Editorial
The Pilgrim April 2019
Aninspiring
celebration
offaith
Kacper Zdrada, an altar server and
member of the confirmation group at
Sacred Heart parish in Battersea,
reflects on Flame 2019, the Catholic
youth event held last month at the SSE
Arena in Wembley.
Easter points to a different reality
By Bishop Paul Hendricks
RecentlyInoticedthatourBishops’
Conferencewebsitehasaseriesof
podcastsaboutfilmsthatrelatein
differentwaystothemesofLentand
Easter.Thispromptedmetowatch
Fearless,afilmstarringJeffBridgesand
IsabellaRossselliniandonethatIhadn’t
comeacrosswhenitmadeitsdebutin
1993.
It’saboutamancalledMax,who
survivesaplanecrash.Inthemoments
beforeimpact,ashethinks,“I’maboutto
die,”heexperiencesanunearthlycalm
thatcontinuesafterthecrashitselfand
enableshimtorescueseveralother
passengers.
It’shintedthatMaxfeelsthatGodhas
triedunsuccessfullytokillhim,andthat
nowheisinvulnerable.Thisseemstobe
borneoutashewalksacrossadual
carriagewaywithoutgettingrunover.The
changeissymbolisedbyhisnowbeingable
toeatstrawberries,towhichheformerly
hadastrongallergy.
Maxappearstoexperienceasenseof
dislocation,wanderingoffinahiredcar
afterthecrash,ratherthancontactinghis
family.Throughoutthefilmthere’sa
contrastbetweenthesurvivorslikehim,
The Archdiocese of Southwark
ArchbishopPeterSmith
020 7928-2495
archbishop@rcsouthwark.co.uk
www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
Area bishops
TheKentpastoralareaisawaitingthe
appointmentofanewbishop.Inthe
meantime,mattersconcerningitshould
bedirectedtoMonsignorMatthewDickens
atArchbishop’sHouse.020 7928 2495
archbishop@rcaos.org.uk
South-WestLondon
BishopPaulHendricks
whohavefaceddeathandbeenprofoundly
changed,andtheotherssuchashiswife
andson,whoremainimmersedintheir
mundanepreoccupations.
Onesignofthisisthathenowinsistson
tellingthetruthinallcircumstances,
howeverinconvenientorembarrassing.It’s
asthoughfalsehoodisn’tsomuchwrong,
asunworthy.
Hislawyertriestopersuadehimto
exaggerateinhisstatementaboutthe
crash,forthesakeofthewifeofhis
businesspartner,whodidnotsurvive.Her
futuredependsonthevalueofthe
settlementthattheairlinemaymakewith
them.It’swhenheagreestothis
stretchingofthetruth,thathesnapsback
intoordinarylifeandnearlydiesfroman
allergicreactiontoastrawberryhehas
justeaten.
MuchofthefilmcentresaroundMax’s
relationshipwithCarla,ayoungmother
whosebabydiedwhenshewasunableto
holdontohimastheplanecrashed.Sheis
evenmorewithdrawnfromtheworldthan
Max,caughtupinhergriefandguilt.
Rescuingherpsychologically,justashe
rescuedthoseotherpeoplephysicallyfrom
thecrash,becomeshismajor
preoccupation–or,perhaps,even
obsession.Hetakesthistoextremesat
020 8643 8007
bishop.hendricks@gmail.com
South-EastLondon
BishopPatrickLynch
020 8297 6540
bishoplynch7@btinternet.com
The Pilgrim,
Archbishop’sHouse
150StGeorge’sRoad
LondonSE16HX
Editor:Greg Watts
pilgrim@rcaos.org.uk
0208 776 9250
onepoint,whiletheyaresittinginhiscar.
Ashechallengesherfeelingsofguilt,she
becomesmoreconvincedthatGodblames
herforherson’sdeath,leadingtoa
hystericalattackthatMaxcan’tbreakher
outof.
Indesperation,heputshiscar’stoolbox
intoherhandsandtellshertohangonto
it,asthoughitwasherbaby.Hethen
drivesthecaratspeedintoabrickwall,
badlyinjuringthemboth.
Sherealisesthatthere’snowayshe
couldhaveheldontoherbabyinacrash,
anymorethanshecouldholdontothe
box.InthisweseethatMaxisahero,but
hisfearlessnessisalsodangerous.Thisalso
appearedinanearlierscene,whenhis
wifediscoveredhiminahighlyelated
state,dancingontheparapetofa
skyscraper.
Arethere,then,dangerstohavinga
perspectivethatseesbeyondthemundane
preoccupationsofdailylife?Thefilmis
stimulatinginraisingsuchquestionsand
notprovidingneatanswers.
HolyWeekandEasterraiseoureyestoa
worldbeyondtheeveryday.Doesthis
undermineoursenseofreality,asitseems
todoforMax?Itshouldnot,sincethe
worldisalsowaitingtoberaisedupin
Christ.
the
2012Pilgrim
50p
December 2011/ January The newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, covering s
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Flame2019wasanincredibleandthrilling
experience.Itstheme“Significance”toldushow
importantandworthyofattentioniseverysingle
personwhichGodcreatedinHisownimage.
Duringtheeventwehadtheopportunitytobea
partofanamazingstoryofourownimportancein
reallife.Throughmusicians,suchasrapperGuvnaB
andTimHughesandhisband,wecouldfindthetrue
meaninginourlifeintoday’soverwhelmingsocial
mediaworld.
AllofusyoungpeoplewhoattendedtheWembley
ArenacouldfinddifferentwaystofollowGod’s
words,tofollowHispathsandtobesignificantin
thehistoryofourfamilies,schools,workand
neighbourhood.
GuvnaBwithEmmaBorquayetoldusabouttheir
journeyoffaithandhowtheybecamewhattheyare
now.TheirownroadstoGodwerefullof
difficulties,whichtheyhadtodefeat.Butwhen
theyunderstoodGod’splanforthem,theyboth,
throughHisunconditionallove,foundstrengthto
followHim.
TalksbyDavidWells,JeanVanier,FrPaulFarren
andArchbishopEamonMartinalltoldushowmuch
Godtrustsus,howimportantweallaretoHim,and
howweshouldfindourownwaytomakechangesin
ourlivesandthelivesofeveryonearound.
TheyencouragedustoglorifytheLordbyour
livesinawaywhichwecouldhaveanimportant
impactonothers.
ThetalkbyRobertMaduwasaveryfunnyandan
engagingwayabouthowtoproclaimtheGoodNews
oftheGospel.ByremindingusaboutKingDavidand
Saul,heshowedthatweshouldnotcompare
ourselvestooneanother,becauseinGod’seyeswe
areallperfect,equallygoodandsignificant.
TheRISEtheatrecompanyperformedaplay
showinghoweasyinoursocietyitistoforgetabout
JesusandthefactthatHeisconstantlywithusin
ourlives.InourbusydaysJesusneedstobethe
mostimportantpart.
AttheendofFlame,Ihadtheprivilegetobea
partofthealtarserversprocessionwhichled
CardinalVincentNichols,thebishopsandtheyouth
representativestothestage.
Flame2019wasadayfullofspiritualreflection,
inspiration,prayeranditwillhopefullychangeour
livessothatwebecomesignificantmembersofour
communities.
We want your news! Email your stories to
pilgrim@rcaos.org.uk
or telephone 0208 776 9250.
Page 2

The Pilgrim April 2019
Nun who was a top educationalist
The funeral of Sister Dorothy
Bell, who made an outstanding
contribution to Catholic
education, took place in the
chapel of Digby Stuart College
in Roehampton.
Sister Dorothy, a member of
the Society of the Sacred Heart
for 70 years, died on Ash
Wednesday after a short illness,
aged 94.
Born in London, at the age of
17 she accompanied her parents
to India where her barrister
father was to become a judge.
Two years later, she became a
secretary at the British Embassy
in Chongqing in China.
She returned to England in
1945, joining the Society of the
Sacred Heart at the age of 23.
After reading geography at St
Anne’s College, Oxford, she
trained as a teacher.
Following a decade teaching
geography at the Sacred Heart
independent boarding school in
Woldingham, in 1968 she became
principal of Digby Stuart College.
During her 21 years in the post,
she oversaw Digby’s merger with
three other teacher training
colleges to form what is now the
University of Roehampton, and
she welcomed Pope John Paul II
in 1982 (pictured).
Following her retirement
from Digby, she continued to be
involved in education, becoming
a governor of Christ the King
Sixth Form College in Lewisham
and chair of the Sixth Form
College Employers Forum. She
received an OBE for services to
education in 1999.
She was also co-ordinator for
Aids-related matters in the
diocese of Southwark.
Many young Catholics from Southwark diocese
were among the 9,000 who attended the Flame
2019 youth event at the SSE Arena in Wembley.
She said in 2015, on the
anniversary of her 65th year in
religious life: “My mother used
to send me flowers on St
Valentine’s day, the anniversary
of my first vows - the idea that
these came from a jilted lover
spread among the pupils and
persisted! But such was the love
of parents for an only child
called to religious life, they said
‘if it is her vocation, it is ours
too.’ How I long to greet them
in heaven!”
New Syro-Malabar mission
The inauguration of Syro-
Malabar St Padre Pio Mission
has taken place in the
Ditton Community Centre in
Aylesford.
The Syro-Malabar
eparachy has decided to
unite the Mass centres in
Gillingham, Maidstone, and
Southborough. The event
was attended by Bishop Mar
Joseph Srampickal.
In 2016 Pope Francis
established the Syro-Malabar
Eparchy of Great Britain
with its seat at St Alphonsa
Cathedral, formerly the
Church of St Ignatius in
Preston, Lancashire.
The Syro-Malabar Church
is one of 22 eastern rite
Catholic church and is based
in Kerala, India. It traces its
roots back to St Thomas the
Apostle.
There are an estimated
38,000 Syro-Malabar
Catholics in Britain, with
many living in London and
Kent.
Picnic and praise
A year of the Bible
News
Three picnic and praise events for children at
primary school will be taking place across the
diocese this summer.
Organised by Southwark Catholic Youth Service
and the Education Commission, they will be held
on 25th June at St John Bosco College,
Battersea, and Aylesford Priory, and at St
Thomas the Apostle College, Nunhead, on 27th
June.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and
Wales has designated 2020 as a year with a
special focus on the Bible.
This is to mark the 10th anniversary of Verbum
Domini, Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic
exhortation on “The Word of the Lord”, and the
death of the 1,600th anniversary of St Jerome,
who translated the Bible into Latin.
Throughout the year there will be a range of
resources and activities in diocese around the
country.
The initiative, named “The God Who Speaks”,
will be launched on 30th September this year,
the feast day of St Jerome.
Romero shrine blessed
Archbishop Peter has blessed the diocesan shrine
to St Oscar Romero at St George’s Cathedral.
Monsignor Patrick Kilgarriff, former rector of
the English College in Rome, spoke about
Romero’s life and ministry. He made links to
social problems in Britain today, especially
homelessness and refugee issues.
Since 2013 the Archdiocese of Southwark has
celebrated an annual liturgy in commemoration
of St Oscar Romero.
Neuorologist
ordained
in Tooting
A professor of clinical
neuroscience has been
ordained a permanent
deacon by Archbishop
Peter at St Anselm’s
church in Tooting Bec.
Professor Patrick
Pullicino qualified as a
doctor in Malta in
1973 and then
completed further
training in the UK and
USA, where he
became He became
chairman of the
department of
neurology and
neurosciences at the
New Jersey Medical School in 2001.
He is a consultant neurologist and professor of
clinical neurosciences at East Kent Hospitals
University NHS Trust.
RIP
Father Alexander Fraser, Brother Raymund
Hewlett, a Capuchin, and Father Alan Wright
have all died recently. May they rest in peace.
We want your news! Email your stories to
pilgrim@rcaos.org.uk
or telephone 0208 776 9250.
Page 3

News
The Pilgrim April 2019
Broadstairs calling
Five girls at St Joseph’s Primary School in
Broadstairs told an audience at Monkton
Oberservatory how they are planning to
communicate with two female astronauts in the
International Space Station orbiting the Earth.
The pupils are members of the St Joseph’s
girls only science club and are aiming to send
the astronauts a message and picture. They
have only a small thirty second window in which
to do so. Undaunted, the girls have also been
tasked with devising a way to record the
temperature on board the space station.
Singing for Kent teachers
Students from St Anselm’s Catholic School in
Canterbury will be among those performing at
this year’s Kent Teacher of the Year Awards.
They are one of seven Kent schools taking part in
“The Big Sing” project, which brings choirs
together.
After performing at the Kent Teacher of the
Year Award, on 10th May at Ashford International
Hotel, the choir will sing at the Turner
Contemporary in Margate on 28th June.
Holy Father thanks Sheerness school
Pope Francis has thanked St Edward’s
Primary School in Sheerness to thank it for
inviting him to the 150th anniversary of
Catholic education on the Isle of Sheppey.
While planning the celebration, Year 6
pupil Iqra Begum decided to send a letter to
Pupils from the independent
Oakwood School in Purley
learned how many of the
important things in their lives
come to Britain by sea.
John Green, director of
development at Stella Maris,
Apostleship of the Sea (AoS),
visited the school to take part in
its assembly.
“There are some 100,000
ships at sea crewed by more
than 1.5 million seafarers – men
and women who work at sea,
away from their homes and
families for months at a time,”
Page 4
Pope Francis to ask if he wanted to attend.
Headteacher Sara Wakefield said: “We sent
the letter off to Rome, just before the October
half-term, not thinking anymore about it.
“The next thing, an embossed envelope
turned up from Vatican City. Inside was a
he told the pupils.
“We rely on them to bring us
so many essential things - from
food and clothes to fuel - yet
little is known about their
lives.”
The pupils also learnt how
AoS, through its network of port
chaplains and ship visitors
worldwide, supports seafarers,
providing them friendship and
pastoral care as well as
practical things like WiFi
connection and telephone cards
so they can contact their
families back home.
letter, together with a photograph of Pope
Francis and a blessed crucifix.
“I couldn’t believe it. We just assumed it
was a nice sentiment to invite him to our
party, we didn’t actually think we would get
a personal response, which is so nice.”
Turin shroud mystery explored
Students from Christ the King Sixth Form
College in Lewisham learned about the
Shroud of Turin from film maker David
Rolfe.
His 1978 documentary about the Shroud,
The Silent Witness, won him a BAFTA. He
has since produced for the BBC Shroud of
Turin Material Evidence.
The origin of the Shroud is one of the
world’s great mysteries. Some think it is the
burial cloth of Jesus, while others believe it
is a medieval fake, painting, or some kind
of photographic image.
David Rolfe said the students were
fascinated by his presentation. “You know
when an audience is with you and when
they’re not.
“At least 80 per cent of the 200 kept eye
contact with me for the duration of the
talk. What impressed them was the final
image - the negative image. And using
modern software, you can see that the
image is also encoded with 3D information
so the body ‘leaps out at viewers in three
dimensions.’
Science teacher Charlie Pickerel said:
“Students were left with really interesting
questions about how the image was
created, natural or man-made, we still
don’t how it happened.”
Christ the King Collegiate Principal Rob
McAuliffe said: “Mr Rolfe’s talk was
absolutely fascinating – a tale of immense
spiritual significance but also a detective
story about following the evidence. The
students were thrilled to be able to see a
replica of the shroud, and the enhanced 3D
image produced with modern software was
stunning.’
Pupils learn about seafarers
New university
chaplaincy website
The South London Universities Catholic
Chaplaincy has launched a new web site.
It provides news and information for students
and staff at Kent at Canterbury, Kingston,
London South Bank, Greenwich, and Roehampton
universities, and Goldsmiths College, and Kings
College campus at Guy’s Hospital.
The Catholic chaplaincy house is in New Cross,
and is available for the chaplains, staff, and
students of universities based in the area.
www.slucatholicchaplaicy.org.uk
Gap year opportunity
Southwark Catholic Youth Service is offering
anyone between 18 – 25 the opportunity to
spend a year as part of its gap year team in
Whitstable.
The role, which begins in September, involves
working with young people who visit St Vincent’s
Centre and Aylesford Priory through group work,
prayer, art, drama, games and music.
For more detail email: scys@rcaos.org.uk
Josephine speaks out
A student from Notre Dame RC
Secondary Girls’ School at the
Elephant and Castle has won
the Southwark regional final of
Jack Petchey’s “Speak Out”
challenge.
Josephine Ayodele beat 700
other competitors in the event
at Harris Academy in Peckham
with an impassioned speech
calling for more freedom in the classroom.
Second place went to Eden Ehioghae, a
student at Sacred Heart Catholic School in
Camberwell with a talk entitled: “It’s not where
you go, it’s how you get there.”
Greenwich choir
The chamber choir of St Ursula’s School in
Greenwich performed at the launch event for
the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s agreed
syllabus for RE. Mike Cullinane, chair of the
Standing Advisory Council for Religious
Education, praised the girls for their passion and
passion and high standard of music.

The Pilgrim April 2019
Feature
There is a time
for everything
By Mark Nash
The days are starting to lengthen,
the clocks have changed, and signs
of spring have budded forth across
the country. As many a homily on
Ash Wednesday would have
mentioned, the word Lent comes
from an old English word meaning
‘lengthen’. It is, in all kinds of
ways, a period where darkness
yields to light and we move from
the cold to warmth as we
anticipate summer.
The wisdom of the writer of
Ecclesiastes (3:1-8) is apparent as
we view the changing seasons:
there a time to plant, and a time
to pluck up that which is planted; a
time to break down, and a time to
build up; a time to weep, and a
time to laugh.
In a very real way, our journey of
faith can be seen to mirror this
pattern; there are times of plenty
and privation; times of joy and
times of frustration, pain and
suffering.
We hope and we pray that, with
each Easter that passes, our joy in
our celebration of Jesus’ sacrificial
self-offering and defeat of death at
Easter is more deeply and keenly
felt. When we renew our baptismal
promises at the Easter Vigil, we
must seek to profess the faith in
fullness and with renewed
conviction, confidence and hope.
“It is important to retrace the
history of our faith, marked as it is
by the interweaving of holiness and
sin,” remarked Pope Benedict XVI,
back in 2011. “Holiness highlights
the great contribution that men
and women have made to the
growth and development of the
community through the witness of
their lives. Sin must provoke in
each person a sincere and
Our lives are marked by holiness
and sin, says Pope Benedict XVI.
continuing work of conversion in
order to experience the mercy of
the Father which is held out to
everyone.”
This continuing work of
conversion, where darkness yields
to light, and spiritual coldness
moves to the warmth of charity,
requires us to recall the
commitments made at baptism,
which permeate every aspect of
the maturing Christian’s life. What
we profess we are called to live in
credibility and constancy.
The Church’s catechetical
mission, of which the Centre for
Catholic Formation (CCF) forms a
part, aims to help the faithful of all
ages to “grow in both human and
Christian maturity, enriching the
whole of life with the leaven of the
Gospel.” While there are many
strands to Christian formation, we
can essentially see three, distinct
though interconnected aims:
The Conversion of Life
It is by way of response to God’s
grace and call to holiness that life
as adult disciples must be grounded
in a personal relationship with
Jesus, “the Holy One of God” (John
6:69, Mark 1:24). Here, we
recognise and repent of sin in our
hearts and lives, seek
reconciliation through the
sacraments, and embrace the
invitation and challenge of faith in
Jesus.
It means putting on the mind of
Christ, trusting in the Father’s love,
obeying His will, seeking holiness of
life, and growing in love for others.
Deepening personal prayer is a
significant means toward growth in
holiness in daily life.
Living our faith as active
members of the Church
God does not make men and
women holy and save them merely
as individuals, without bond or link
between one another. Rather has it
pleased Him to bring men and
women together as one people, a
people which acknowledges Him in
truth and serves Him in holiness, as
Lumen Gentium says.
People find this community of
faith in the parish and diocese, as
well as in their families and in the
communion of saints of all times
and places. When we come
together for faith formation in the
parish or at places such as the CCF
in Tooting Bec, we make a
conscious decision to go beyond
ourselves and contribute our gifts
and intellect to the Church’s wider
mission.
Disciples in mission to the world
The lay faithful have a duty,
supported in prayer and
strengthened by the sacraments to
transform the social and temporal
order. We are asked to play our
very own part in proclaiming the
Good News and in striving for
justice.
The CCF is developing fresh
courses in faith formation (for new
Catholics and cradle Catholics
alike) and in evangelisation as we
support parishes and our sister
agencies to help the adult believer
– whether catechist, teacher or
neither of these – to become “more
willing and able to be a Christian
disciple in the world.”
Whatever the time of year,
whether it is the time for sowing or
reaping, as days draw in or
lengthen, there are opportunities
for growth in faith.
Mark Nash is the director
of the Centre for Catholic
Formation at Tooting Bec.
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Page 5

Feature
The Pilgrim April 2019
Why pilgrims head to Walsingham
Derek Williams explains why England is known as the dowry of Mary and
why the Norfolk village of Walsingham draws so many Catholics each year.
The Slipper Chapel
The word “dowry” (from the Latin
dos, meaning “donation”) is
sometimes understood as the
donation accompanying a bride. In
medieval English law, however, the
meaning is reversed — a husband
would set apart a portion of his
estate designated for the
maintenance of his wife, should she
become a widow.
The historical understanding of
England as “Mary’s Dowry” is
understood in this sense—that,
England has been “set apart” for
Mary.
The title is believed to originate
in the time of St Edward the
Confessor (1042 - 1066) in whose
reign the holy house was built.
Although its precise origin is
unknown, artistic evidence for the
title is found in a manuscript in the
British Museum written during the
reign of James I.
It describes a painting which once
hung in the English Hospice of St
Thomas in Rome, now the Venerable
English College, which showed St
Edmund, Martyr (869) kneeling
before Our Lady and offering
England to her. He holds a
parchment with a Latin inscription:
Dos tua Virgo pia Haec est quare
rege, Maria, which means This is
your dowry, O pious Virgin.
If we were to treat this
manuscript as any sort of evidence,
then the first dedication of a
kingdom as the Dowry of Mary
appears to go back to the time of St
Edmund who was king of East
Anglia. This is the kingdom,
eventually swallowed up into
England, where Our Lady asked for
the holy house to be built. The holy
house was built at Walsingham in
Norfolk in the former kingdom of St
Edmund just short of two centuries
after his martyrdom.
The title had become widespread
by the middle of the 14th century,
and around the year 1350, a
mendicant preacher stated in a
sermon that “it is commonly said
that the land of England is the
Virgin’s dowry”, reflecting the origin
of the title, in the deep devotion of
the English people to the Mother of
God that existed in medieval
England.
King Richard II, in 1381, dedicated
England to Mary in a ceremony at
Westminster Abbey, on the feast of
Corpus Christi in thanksgiving for his
kingdom being saved at the time of
the Peasants Revolt. He made a
pilgrimage to Walsingham two years
later.
This dedication is recorded in the
Wilton Diptych, which is in the
National Gallery. It was completed
around 1395 and depicts Richard II
kneeling before the Virgin and
Child. The painting portrays the acts
of devotions of the king as he
presented England to Our Lady as
her Dowry in Westminster Abbey on
the feast of Corpus Christi in 1381.
Carried by a nearby angel is the
Cross of St George, the staff of
which is surmounted by an orb
featuring a minuscule map of
England. Also in the diptych can be
seen St Edmund, King of East Anglia
on the far left, St Edward the
Confessor, and St John the Baptist.
In 1399, Thomas Arundel,
Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote to
his suffragan bishops: “The
contemplation of the great mystery
of the Incarnation has drawn all
Christian nations to venerate her,
from whom came the first
beginnings of our redemption. But
we English, being the servants of
her special inheritance and her own
dowry, as we are commonly called,
ought to surpass others in the
fervour of our praises and
devotions.”
So, the title of England as “The
Dowry of Mary” was in common use
by the end of the 14nth century.
The title denotes that England
belongs in some special way to Mary
who is the country’s “protectress”,
defender or guardian, by her
prayers of intercession. It is a title
of England, established by an act of
the King, and proclaimed by
Archbishop Arundel, which has never
been rescinded by Monarch or
Parliament.
In the reign of Henry V, (1386 -
1422) the title was being applied to
England in various Latin texts.
According to the monastic
chronicler Thomas Elmham, English
priests sought the intercession of
“the Virgin, protectress of her
dower” on the eve of the Battle of
Although the Slipper Chapel became the Catholic National Shrine
in 1934, it was not always so. The original Shrine of Our Lady of
Walsingham was a holy house built in what is known as the priory
grounds, which can be found in Little Walsingham.
Our Lady asked Richeldis, the lady of the manor way back in
1061, to build a house to her honour, the house of the
incarnation. This is recalled in the Pynson Ballad, written some
centuries later:
“In you is built new Nazareth,
A house to the honour of the Queen of Heaven
And her most glorious Salutation
When Gabriel said at Old Nazareth,
Ave, this same joy shall here be daily and for ever
remembered.”
For many centuries this humble, wooden house became a
centre of pilgrimage not just in England, but for Europe as well.
Pilgrimage to the Holy Land became difficult because of the
crusades, so Our Lady graced us with a house in Catholic England,
in a land dedicated as her dowry.
In 1340 the Slipper Chapel was built. It was where many
pilgrims would remove their footwear and walk barefoot the final
mile (and a bit) to the Shrine of Our Lady. Thus, completing their
pilgrimage with a final penance.
In conversations with local historians it appears that the word
“slipper” comes from an old English word slype which means “inbetween.”
The chapel is in between East Barsham Manor, the
country manor of Henry VIII, and the holy house.
When the holy house was destroyed in 1538 together with
many monasteries, convents, and churches, throughout England
by Henry VIII, the Slipper Chapel also fell into disrepair. However,
the Slipper Chapel was not destroyed because Henry VIII did not
consider it important enough!
In the 19th Century an Anglican lady called Charlotte Boyd
became Catholic. She owned a house which was next to the
Slipper Chapel and offered the chapel to the Catholic Church.
The chapel was renovated and eventually became the National
Shrine where the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham is housed.
However, one should always remember that the original shrine
which Our Lady asked to be built was not a chapel, nor a statue,
but a holy house to remember Our Lady’s joy at the incarnation.
Page 6

The Pilgrim April 2019
Feature
The statue of Our Lady of
Walsingham visiting St
George’s Cathedral in
February as part of the Dowry
of Mary tour around England.
Agincourt in 1415.
St Gregory’s Seminary in Seville,
had a painting of Our Lady with
arms outstretched over the heads of
English seminarians with the
inscription, Anglia Dos Maria
England is the Dowry of Mary. At the
base of the picture there is a
further Latin inscription that reads:
“Britain, once converted, was the
first one to give the sceptre to Our
Lady’s Son, and from then on
England has been known as the
Dowry of Mary. Thus, we give back
the gift, Holy Mother, and pray you
to defend, mercifully and with
justice all those who are trying to
recover it.”
This confirms our previous
speculation regarding St Edmund.
Britain, or the kingdoms that
eventually made up Britain, were
converted shortly after St Augustine
arrived in the sixth century. The
various kingdoms of Britain became
Catholic and according to the
statement above this is when it
became known as the Dowry of Mary.
Indeed, from that era we have a
multitude of saints whom we named
towns and cities after, all the way
from Cornwall to the far north. This
truly was a holy isle, known back
then as the Isle of Saints.
Why is it the Dowry of Mary and
not that of Our Lady? A read of
Church documents from that time,
especially English documents,
reveals that the title of Our Lady
was not used. She was addressed as
St Mary, and Church’s were
dedicated in that name.
Also, St Peter was also regularly
invoked, and whereby that may look
like a digression, when the Bishops
of England visited Pope Leo XIII in
the 19th century he wrote a letter
inviting them to consecrate the
nation to Our Lady and St Peter!
Walsingham today
In the last hundred years,
Walsingham has become more and
more of a national centre of
pilgrimage. Indeed, just a few
years ago the Catholic Bishops’ of
England and Wales designated it as
a centre for the new
evangelisation.
Since then a great deal of work
has been taking place to update
the infrastructure so that we can
manage the ever-increasing
numbers of pilgrims that visit the
shrine. Many come here on day
pilgrimages, and our largest day
event is the 20,000 Tamil pilgrims
that come in June.
I invite the reader who has
visited Walsingham to ponder
20,000 pilgrims trying to squeeze
through the Slipper Chapel and
trying to fit into the rather small
grounds of the National Shrine. It
is an interesting day!
Walsingham has also become the
centre for a number of
conferences. New Dawn
Walsingham has had its annual
charismatic conference at the
shrine for over 30 years since it
was founded by the late Myles
Dempsey. It remains the largest
Catholic Charismatic conference in
England and Wales.
Just a few short weeks after
New Dawn finishes, Youth 2000 is
set up in the same field and it is
the largest youth event that we
host. As a result of the many
people camping in the fields
around the shrine it does become
quite an experience.
Normally the shrine will close
early in the evening after the day
pilgrims have left. However, with
the camping conferences there is a
constant flow of pilgrims. Youth
2000 has 24/7 Adoration, so there
is a constant element to it.
In 2017 Pope Francis moved the
responsibility for Catholic shrines
to be under the Congregation for
the Promotion of the New
Evangelisation, stating that
shrines, as sacred places, are
especially suitable to conversion
and the strengthening of faith.
This is very important for us as a
shrine as it means that people
coming to visit Our Lady should
have a person encounter with
Christ, who is at the heart of all
evangelisation. The Church exists
to evangelise, and Shrines are
established by God for the purpose
of evangelisation.
It should be remembered that
when the Walsingham shrine was
established by Our Lady, England
was Catholic. Now we are in
virtually the opposite scenario
whereby Catholics are a minority
religion and paganism has swept
not just across England, but across
Europe.
Our Lady’s shrine and message
are more vital than ever before.
Hence the Dowry Tour of Our Lady
of Walsingham whereby Our Lady
is not waiting for her lost children
to visit her, but like her Son, the
Good Shepherd, she is going out
and about seeking the lost sheep.
Page 7

Parishes/family
The Pilgrim April 2019
By Father Michael Lovell
The area? Surbiton is located within the
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
and is eleven miles from Charing Cross, a
mere twenty minutes away by fast train
to Waterloo.
We are between the two shopping
centres of Kingston and Surbiton. An
impressive variety of shops are
available, including the bigger chains
and the big four banks. As well as a
theatre and cinema there are a variety
of restaurants. Those beside the river
offer a special atmosphere and
ambience. As you cross the road from
the church door, there is the River
Thames. At the moment the trees have
Spring buds and swans glide gracefully
near the walkway. Not far from us is
Kingston University. The parish has
always provided its Catholic chaplains.
Catholic population? The last published
Mass attendance figure for the parish
was 552.
Local Catholic schools? Our parish
primary school is St Joseph’s by the
Fairfield, a fifteen-minute walk from the
church. Originally the Tiffin Boys’
School, it was purchased for the parish
by Dr Herbert Calnan, the first diocesan
parish priest. The building provides a
fine space for the children.
Parish groups? The parish community
supports the church in every way. We
have a fine choir and organist to support
our Sunday liturgy. Catechists are in
place for sacramental instruction. A
husband and wife lead the RCIA
programme which gives it a nice
balance.
The hall is full of life after Sunday
Masses, with freshly prepared cake and
lively chat. There is a small men’s group,
about half a dozen in number who meet
regularly for prayer, discussion and
refreshments.
Our monthly “Theology on Tap” talks
look into our faith with a range of
speakers carefully chosen, allowing time
for questions. In Lent there is always a
project to help needy causes and a
number of activities in the parish to add
to funds. I am RC Chaplain to the
University of Kingston and Catholic
faith advisor which links the parish with
our Catholic students and university
events.
History of the church? Our parish
church is beautiful. It was designed by
the architect Charles Parker and built in
1846 by Alexander Raphael, an Armenian
Catholic. Called St Raphael’s after the
archangel, the building was completed
in 1848.
A Grade II* Listed building, it is the
finest example of Victorian Italianate
architecture in England.
An extensive restoration project was
completed in 2012 when Fr Vincent
Flynn was parish priest. The Bath stone
of the exterior was cleaned and the
landmark cross at the top of the bell
tower was gilded in gold. The eye is
drawn to the tower and the cross from
either side of the river. The clock, which
chimes the hour, was made in 1770.
Inside the church, the repainted
original decorations delight the eye.
People kneel for Holy Communion at the
cast iron altar rail, also gilded and with
a firm mahogany arm rest.
The stained glass windows, of
Armenian design, have also been
restored. The Stations of the Cross were
painted in 2011 and now have modern
lighting which is subtle and atmospheric.
A new parish centre was constructed
along with accommodation in the
grounds of the church.
Unusual facts? Alexander Raphael made
a promise to Our Lady that if he
recovered from a serious illness, he
would build a church in the grounds of
his home. He did so, but died shortly
after its completion in 1850. He is buried
in the vault beneath the High Altar with
other members of his family, and Canon
Bernard Grady of our diocese, who died
in 1992.
A local joke has it that if you stand
long enough in St Raphael’s, you’ll turn
to gold!
Background of parish clergy? I was
ordained by St John Paul II and have
been parish priest in three other
parishes before Surbiton. I spent a few
years working closely with the late
Bishop Charles Henderson in the
diocesan Christian Unity Commission.
Our deacon Peter Sebastian has been
involved in St Raphael’s for over thirty
years. He is now at Wonersh on a twoyear
course of studies for priesthood. Fr
Julian Shurgold is also resident and
supplies for us as well as lecturing in
Church history at Wonersh.
My parish:
St Raphael,
Surbiton
Faith isn’t always easy
By Lucy Russell
God has a plan. And, as Mother
Teresa said, He will only task you
with what he knows you can cope
with. Those are words that are
easily written, read and said. It
isn’t always as easy to believe them
in our hearts.
Someone I know whose faith was
strong has stopped coming to Mass.
She has lost her mum and her sister
to cancer in the past ten years and
had treatment for cancer herself
last year. It’s not that she has
stopped believing in God, more
that she finds herself questioning
his plan.
I understand that completely.
Going back to teaching in
September was an opportunity and
a privilege which I am very grateful
for. But juggling family life and the
fatigue that comes with my MS,
with three days teaching a week
(plus time planning and marking) is
leaving me frankly exhausted.
I am struggling and although
teaching food technology is
wonderful, it wasn’t an ambition
and I’m not sure quite how I ended
up here, or whether it is really part
of God’s plan at all.
On that basis, just before
Christmas I applied for an advisory
job which was part time. Perhaps, I
thought, this was an opportunity
where my skills and talents could
be better used and it wouldn’t cost
me so much physically.
It takes courage to put your head
over the parapet, and even more to
pop it down again and carry on.
Back in school, the day after my
interview, one of the teaching
assistants said to me: “I’m sorry
that you don’t like God’s plan for
you, but I’m glad you’re here. The
students need you.”
What could I say to that? I have a
wonderful friend who emailed me
after I had let her know the results
of my interview, “I love God, but he
can be a real pain,” she said.
“Sometimes I’d love to know what
he has in store so that we could
discuss the matter. Unfortunately,
some of his ideas are also his bestkept
secrets!”
Faith is a relationship, and as in
all relationships, trust is essential.
But that is also something easier
said than achieved. This was a
conversation I shared when I had a
chance meeting with the husband
of the lady who isn’t coming to
Mass at the moment. He doesn’t
believe in God at all.
“She’s finally come around to my
way of thinking,” he said. “She
says, ‘I’m a good person, why has
this happened to me? How can this
be part of God’s plan, to make me
suffer?’”
It’s such a hard question. It’s one
that God’s own son asked him.
Jesus wasn’t just a good person, he
was a great teacher and is God
himself. How could it be part of a
divine plan that He should be
tortured and crucified?
The Gospel of St Matthew tells us
that Jesus was overcome with
sadness and in great distress in the
Garden of Gethsemane (how do I
dare to complain about my
fatigue?). “My Father,’ he said ‘if it
is possible, let this cup pass me by.
Nevertheless, let it be as you, not
I, would have it.’”
Our trust in God is reciprocated.
“I know God will not give me
anything I can’t handle. I just wish
he didn’t trust me so much,” said
Mother Teresa.
As we move towards Easter, I’ll
pray for my friend missing from
Mass. Easter shows us that it isn’t
easy. It also promises us that we’re
not on our own on the paths that
we are walking, and that in the end
it won’t just work out, it will be
wonderful.
Page 8

The Pilgrim April 2019
How Vatican II changed worship
By Father Ashley Beck
This series of articles is looking at
some of the most important
achievements of the Second Vatican
Council which took place between
1962 and 1965; in the first two
pieces we considered the place of
ecumenical councils in the life of
the Church and the historical
context for Vatican II.
If you were to ask the average
Catholic what he or she thought was
the most important thing that the
council did, that person would
almost certainly reply that it
changed the Mass.
That Mass is largely celebrated
now in English or other local
languages, and that the priest is
usually facing the people and
doesn’t have his back to them, is
certainly the most visible change we
can perceive as a result of the
council. And as it happens worship
and liturgy was one of the first
things the bishops at the council
considered.
This month and next month we
will look at the document which
resulted from this, appearing in
December 1963, reflecting the first
session of the council (the council
didn’t meet continuously but in a
series of sessions; there was a delay
caused by the death of St John XXIII
in June 1963).
It made sense for the Church’s
liturgy and worship to be the first
subject of the council’s
deliberations. The Church exists
primarily to adore and give glory to
God – hence the most important
thing any church or parish does is to
engage in this act.
Pope Emeritus Benedict, who was
a young theological adviser to one
of the German bishops, as pointed
out that the council’s most
important teaching is to see “the
Paschal Mystery as the centre of
what it is to be Christian and
therefore of the Christian life, the
Christian year, the Christian
seasons.” So what we celebrate at
Easter later this month is not only
central to worship but to the whole
of our lives.
Before we look at the document
itself we need to bear two things in
mind. First, when the bishops met
for the first time in October 1962
one of the first things they did was
to discard the documents which has
been prepared for them by the
Curia - the Vatican “civil service” -
and set up commissions of
themselves to draft new documents.
Secondly, as I wrote last month,
there was a widespread feeling in
the Church that the liturgy, the
forms of service for the Church’s
public worship, needed to be
further reformed. I write “further”
because in the 1950s and early
1960s significant changes had been
made to the Mass.
Some of these resulted partly
from the permission given from the
time of the Second World War for
Mass to be celebrated in the evening
(itself a major change in Catholic
life). From 1950 the rites for Holy
Week were extensively changed – so
that, for example, the Mass on
Maundy Thursday and the Easter
Vigil on Holy Saturday were to be
celebrated in the evening on not the
morning.
They were simplified and
shortened, and much of the
symbolism clarified, so that more
ordinary Catholics would be enabled
to come to the acts of worship and
appreciate better what they were
doing.
In addition, in the Missal changes
were made to the liturgical calendar
and the different ranks and types of
feast days in the calendar. These
were significant changes which
reflected Pope Pius XII’s interest in
liturgy and the influence of a
theological movement in the Church
known as the “liturgical
movement.”
The purpose of this, roughly since
the 1830s, had been to help
laypeople understand more deeply
what happens at Mass and to enable
the ways in which the Mass was
celebrated to be improved, giving
more attention, for example, to
music, church architecture and the
production of texts so that people
could follow the Latin in a parallel
translation in their own language.
Alongside this pastoral set of
priorities was extensive historical
study of the early Church, to try and
Fr Ashley Beck is assistant priest of St Edmund’s,
Beckenham, and teaches at St Mary’s University,
Twickenham. If you are interested in the new MA
degree in Catholic Social Teaching please email him
on ashley.beck@stmarys.ac.uk
recover an awareness of how the
earliest Christians celebrated the
Mass. This meant that theologians in
this tradition hoped that by
simplifying and clarifying the Mass
we could both deepen people’s
spirituality and recapture the feel of
early Christian worship.
The council document on the
liturgy is known by its first two
words in the Latin original,
Sacrosanctum Concilium. In English
the opening words are “The sacred
council has set out to impart an
ever-increasing vigour to the
Christian lives of the faithful.”
Compared to other documents it is
not very long, and I would urge you
to download it from www.vatican.va
and read it yourselves.
As I reflected above, the emphasis
it places on Easter is its most
important insight. Another striking
approach is its insistence that we
encounter the presence of Christ in
Viewpoint
the Mass in four distinct ways.
Up till then, most Catholics if
asked would have said that we
simply do this because the bread
and wine on the altar are
transformed into his Body and
Blood. Sacrosanctum Concilium
affirms this, of course, but also
teaches that we meet him in three
other ways
First, Christ is present in the Mass
in the person of the priest, by virtue
of his ordination. Secondly we meet
Christ in the reading of the Word of
God, the scriptures; and finally
Christ is present in the whole
assembly gathered for Mass as the
Church, as his Body on earth.
Next month we will think through
what this means. In the meantime,
we will celebrate Easter later this
month – what the Church calls the
“paschal mystery” is the centre of
all the ways in which we worship
God.
Easter is perfect joy
By Sister Janet Fearns
“At the personal invitation of Pope
Francis I went to the Santa Marta
House that had been used for the
cardinals present at the Conclave
at 5.30pm. He was at the entrance
and received me with the usual
Jesuit embrace. We had a few
pictures taken, at his request, and
at my apologies for not keeping
protocol, he insisted that I treat
him like any other Jesuit at the
“Tu” level, so I did not have to
worry about addressing him as
‘Your Holiness,’ or ‘Holy Father’ ...
There was calm, humour and
mutual understanding about past,
present and future... At the end he
helped me with my coat and
accompanied me to the door... A
Jesuit embrace, once again, as the
natural way to greet and send off a
friend.”
Thus spoke Fr Adolfo Nicolás SJ,
when, as, the Jesuit Father
General he met the then newlyelected
Pope Francis. Now, six
years into his pontificate, Francis’
spontaneous warmth has continued
to touch people’s hearts.
At his election in 2013, media
across the world suddenly found
that when they needed
photographs of Cardinal Bergoglio,
their collection inevitably included
pictures of him washing the feet of
drug addicts, slum dwellers and
women (see picture).
He seemed to have been in the
midst of the slums almost as
frequently as those who live there
and whose photographs were
arranged on his office desk.
Equally, few cardinals have found
themselves wearing a Jewish
skullcap in the local synagogue on
the feast of Hanukkah, helping the
rabbi and his assistant to light the
seven candles on the branched
candlestick known as the menorah.
Somehow Cardinal Bergoglio
even managed to be found on
public transport, minus a pectoral
cross and dressed in ordinary
clerical black in spite of his status
as a cardinal.
Then, on the very day of the
inauguration of his papacy, there
was that beautiful moment as the
popemobile moved towards the
steps of St Peter’s and the altar
where the papacy of Pope Francis
would officially begin. He would
offer Mass before hundreds of
thousands of people in and around
St Peter’s Square and before radio,
television and internet audiences
of tens of millions. It was his day.
It did not matter whether a vast
crowd which included world
leaders and representatives of
many religious traditions were kept
waiting for a few moments.
Noticing a severely disabled man in
the crowd, the Pope told the driver
to stop the vehicle whilst he
climbed down and blessed him.
It was one more moment when
he could help to spread a little life,
compassion and joy. How often,
during the past six years, have we
witnessed other moments of iconic
compassion as he has moved
through vast throngs of excited
people?
Yet, if you take time to watch the
DVD Pope Francis: A Man of His
Word, you will also see the moment
when, completely unannounced, he
arrived at a gypsy settlement to
greet people who are so often
marginalised by the rest of society.
On Easter Sunday morning, the
steps of St Peter’s are covered with
flowers, the magnificent annual
gift of the people of the
Netherlands in memory of the visit
of Pope John Paul II in May 1985. To
be present in St Peter’s Square on
Easter Sunday morning is
unforgettable. The joy is tangible.
A massive crowd composed “of
every tribe and tongue and people
and nation” gathers to pray
together and to remember the first
Easter, when Jesus broke out of the
tomb to the new life of the
Resurrection.
It does not matter if the next
person speaks the same language
or not because everybody
understands everybody else: it is
the language of joy, which does not
necessarily need words.
Although a Jesuit, the pope took
St Francis of Assisi as his special
patron and model. The “little poor
man of Assisi” had a unique insight
into the meaning of joy. For sure,
there was the time when he
wandered through the Umbrian
forests using two sticks as a violin
and bow, singing God’s praises in
French, the language of the
troubadours. That was one joyfilled
occasion. But there was also
the moment of “perfect joy”,
which any Franciscan will describe
in uplifted words but with a sinking
feeling in the heart when
personally faced with its prospect.
This perfect joy is found in doing
what is right even if the difficulties
and the hardship seem
insurmountable, perhaps even
unbearable. The pain, the struggle
and the hurt are real, but so is the
peace of knowing that we have
tried our hardest to listen to what
God is asking of us. In that peace,
there is joy. That was St Francis’
understanding of perfect joy.
Perfect joy is not easy. It is
tempting to look for the soft
option. Nobody in their right senses
wants a tough life even in the
service of good. Yet that very
determination to do what is right in
spite of adversity is what led Jesus
to Calvary.
Had Jesus not been so convinced
of his mission to tell the world of
the Father’s love, he could easily
have avoided the cross and settled
for a comfortable existence as a
village carpenter – but he would
not have found peace. He would
not have found Easter. It was
through Calvary that he came to
perfect joy; the joy that is Easter;
the joy that is the resurrection.
Pope Francis knows that as he
proclaims the Easter message to
the world, the resurrection is the
hard-won reality, the perfect joy
achieved because of Calvary.
During the past six years, he has
supported countless individuals on
their personal Way of the Cross. We
have just come through Lent and
Holy Week.
For all of us, Calvary is a daily
reality. We need the joy of Easter.
That is perfect joy.
Page 9

Feature
The Pilgrim April 2019
Why I love singing at funerals
By Jay Britton
I was singing at a family funeral in
Bermondsey at the age of 18 when
the late and much loved Barry Albin-
Dyer approached me to say how
much he had enjoyed my singing
and asked me if I would consider
singing for funerals at his company
F. A. Albin and Sons.
At the time, I had just started
training at the Royal Academy of
Music in London and the prospect of
earning some money to help me
through my studies was really
appealing.
As the years went by, my
reputation grew within the
community and my interest in the
funeral industry really started to
drive me on. It has been 15 years
since I first performed at a funeral
and my interest has developed into
a passion.
Singing for funerals is unlike
singing for any other event. It is a
privilege to be entrusted with
something as emotive as the music
for a person’s final send off. Music is
deeply personal and very important
to people.
I am often asked to sing a song
that was a favourite of the
deceased. I feel proud that in the
funeral service, I can deliver a oneoff
live performance of that song
that unites everyone listening and
sharing that experience. In the
words of Barry's son, Simon, it can
“make a difference and provides
wonderful memories of a sad
occasion that can last a lifetime”.
But there’s more to singing at
funerals than the final performance
during the service. My job often
involves speaking directly with
bereaved families at what can be
the most difficult time of their
lives.
Sometimes they know exactly
what they would like me to sing and
explain to me that Ave Maria was
the song at their mother’s wedding,
or their dad always used to sing a
particular hymn because it
reminded him of the rugby.
These phone calls and meetings
Page 10
really help the family feel more
connected to me, and me with
them. Sometimes however, families
have no idea what they would like
or only a particular style in mind.
I enjoy helping these families by
suggesting songs for them to listen
to and emailing them lists of songs
that they might appreciate. I’ve
even been known to sing over the
phone when requested!
Over the years, I’ve found that
families appreciate a smile and kind
words of reassurance from someone
who is used to being at and talking
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about funerals.
Most of us will be fortunate
enough to never have to plan many
funerals. When a death occurs,
families are thrust into organising a
funeral and all of the paperwork,
logistics and finer details at an
extremely distressing time.
The funeral firms that I work
alongside do a superb job of guiding
families gently through this, and I
like to be able to add to this with
my expertise in music when it is
needed.
Singing at a funeral deserves a
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certain amount of sensitivity to
people’s feelings. There is a fine
balance. I’m not on a big stage with
lights blinding me and an audience
several meters away. I am often
standing only a few feet from the
chief mourners when I am singing
the music that is so personal to
them.
Sometimes they are smiling and
sometimes they are crying.
Sometimes they give me a little nod
hello and sometimes they barely
look up. It is a unique and very
privileged position for me and no
two funerals are the same, so I’ve
had to learn to sense the feel of a
family and adapt my delivery of the
songs accordingly.
I see their smiles and tears as the
story of their loved one’s lives are
retold. The highlight of my job is
that I hear such fascinating,
emotional and sometimes brilliantly
funny stories. And it is not lost on
me that I am a part of an intensely
intimate moment for any family.
The funeral industry is evolving.
Whilst traditional funerals are still
hugely popular, there is an interest
now towards eco funerals and DIY
funerals and this opens up an
opportunity for an even more
diverse choice in music.
Some religious buildings have
restrictions on non religious music
being performed, but with the
appropriate permission, I can sing
any song in any style. On occasions
where certain music is not allowed
inside the church, I have performed
the songs at the graveside, or
outside the family home.
I have loved singing for as long as
I can remember. From singing in the
car with my mum and siblings to
singing in my primary school
nativity, music has always been an
important part of my life.
I was brought up Catholic and my
husband and I attend church with
our children. Religious music evokes
many happy memories for me, and I
believe this is the same for many
other people too, and this brings
them comfort.
Sometimes I am only requested at
a funeral to lead the hymns so that
more people are encouraged to
raise up their voices in the songs of
praise, and that’s fine.
I tell the families that I sing for
that I’m theirs for the service and I
will sing as little or as much as they
wish me too.
Of course, I have my own personal
favourite songs. I adore singing
Handel and Mozart. But I pride
myself on working with families to
tailor their music choices so that
the end result is something that is
right for them.
In this process, I’m occasionally
asked to sing something I’ve never
heard of and that I end up
completely falling in love with.
There’s a beautiful song called The
Old Man by John McDermott is a
great example of this. In this way,
I’m constantly learning from the
families I work with and adding to
the selection of songs that I can
offer to people.
Music has been used by people for
thousands of years to celebrate and
mark significant occasions.
Whenever we want to improve
anything (a party, TV shows, a Mass,
a children’s game) we add music to
it.
Funerals are no different. Music
can transcend ages, backgrounds
and beliefs and unite people in a
shared experience. This is so very
important at a funeral and it is my
passion to bring this to people.
www.jaybrittonfuneralsinger.com

The Pilgrim April 2019
Feature/Diary
Diary - April
More young choristers needed
By Jonathan Schranz
I succeeded Norman Harper as
director of music at St George’s
Cathedral in January. I grew up in
Devon playing the trumpet in my
local parish music group and later
singing professionally with the choir
of Buckfast Abbey.
I went on to study music at
Churchill College, Cambridge, and
then as a postgraduate choral
conductor at the Royal Academy of
Music. My master’s thesis explored
the impact of running a Catholic
church choir within the prison
chaplaincy at HMP Thameside, a
category B prison in Thamesmead.
St George's Cathedral has a wellestablished
musical tradition, with a
diversity of styles represented at
the different Masses, ranging from
congregational hymns and Mass
settings at the 10.00am family Mass,
through plainsong and polyphony at
the 11.30am Solemn Mass.
The cathedral choirs are made up
of a boys’ choir, girls’ choir and nine
professional singers known as lay
clerks. Boys between the ages of
seven and 13 and girls between the
ages of seven and 18 sing in the
cathedral choir each week,
alternating between the 10am
family service and the 11.30am
Solemn Mass.
Older boys whose voices have
changed may be invited to sing with
the lay clerks as tenor or bass choral
scholars.
The mental and physical
wellbeing benefits of group singing
have been well-documented, and it
is saddening to know that music
education is increasingly the first
subject to be cut when school
budgets are tight.
As such, the cathedral prides
itself in offering a free musical
education to children regardless of
social background. Through singing
in the choir, these young singers
develop skills in teamwork,
listening, self-expression and
professionalism as well as making
friends, growing in confidence and
developing in their formation in the
Catholic faith.
Choristers receive individual
singing lessons as well as coaching in
musicianship and, for some, the
opportunity to conduct the choir
during a service.
As well as singing at the regular
Sunday Masses, the choir sings for all
major feasts throughout the year
including Christmas, Holy Week and
Easter. CD Recording opportunities
as well as joint singing and social
events with other church choirs
occur regularly and the choir has
been broadcast to the wider public
on BBC Radio and TV in recent years.
A chorister education is one of
the greatest gifts a young musician
can receive. Do you know a young
person with a passion for singing?
The cathedral choirs are hosting a
recruitment day on Saturday 4th
May from 10.00am - 4.00pm in the
cathedral song room.
There will be warm-ups and
singing games, individual auditions,
group rehearsals, social activities
and a final performance in the
cathedral for friends and family.
If you have an event,
please e-mail
details to us at
pilgrim@rcaos.org.uk
6: Receptive ecumenism,
organised by the Christian Unity
Commission and led by Bishop
Paul Hendricks, 11am – 3pm,
Crossway Christian Centre, 18
Hampton Street, SE1. For more
information, email
gwen@chiosso.com.
9: Lent talk on the Passion by
Pierpaolo Finaldi of the Centre
for Catholic Formation, 7.30pm,
the Church of the Holy Ghost,
Balham, 27 Nightingale Square
SW12.
9: “The power and potential of
Catholic education,” a talk by Dr
Simon Hughes, director of the
Education Commission, 10.30am –
3.30pm, Amigo Hall, next to St
George’s Cathedral. To book, visit
www.ogfsouthwark.org.uk.
14: A come and see weekend for
young women interested in the
contemplative life with the
Benedictine sisters at Minster
Abbey, near Ramsgate. For more
information, visit
www.minsterabbeynuns.org or
email: sraelrederwin@gmail.com
17: Chrism Mass at St George’s
Cathedral, 11.30am.
19: The Passion of Jesus, an
enactment of Christ’s Passion in
the open air, Trafalgar Square, 12
noon and 3.15pm, produced by
Wintershall.
For more information please visit the cathedral
website stgeorgescathedral.org.uk/music or
contact me on jonathans@stgeorges.org.uk
THE SOUTHWARK
SEMINARY FUND
48 Dale Road, Purley, CR8 2EF
Tel: (020) 8660 3815
Please help train our future priests by
contributing to the cost of educating
our students at St John’s Seminary
Wonersh. The Diocese have 21
students in training at a cost of
£20,000 per student each year.
The Southwark Seminary Fund
augments the annual Ecclesiastical Education Collection.
Please send your donation/legacy either through your parish
priest or directly to Rev Father Christopher Keen at Purley.
Page 11

The Pilgrim April 2019
Focus on faith
Manuela’s rosary mission
She has a masters degree in finance and has worked for an oil company,
but what drives Manuela Lue is promoting the rosary in the
former British colony of Belize in Central America.
In 2002, while praying one evening at
the Church of the Immaculate
Conception in Columbus, Ohio,
Manuela Lue felt a call to start a
rosary mission in her homeland of
Belize.
Surrounded by Mexico, Guatemala,
and the Caribbean Sea, the tiny
country of Belize was under British
rule from the late 18th century until
1981. It has a population of just
370,000 people, around 40 per cent
Catholic.
“The first bunch of rosaries that I
sent to Belize I had seen at the back
of the chapel. I asked the priest if I
could take them for Belize and he
said yes. So I posted them to my
aunt, Thomasita,” said Manuela.
“I then contacted rosary makers
across the USA and also in Columbus,
where I lived at the time, and they
donated rosaries to me, which I then
sent to Belize.”
The following year, at the closing
of the Mass for the year of the rosary
in a church in Orange Walk Town in
the north of Belize, her aunt
distributed a couple of thousand
rosaries and rosary leaflets to the
members of the congregation.
Manuela returned to Belize in
2005, having gained a degree in
finance and economics at John Carrol
University in Ohio and an MBA in
international banking and finance
here in Britain at the University of
Birmingham.
When she and her aunt visited the
local bishop to discuss the call they
both felt they had received, he asked
them to design a rosary leaflet and
poster for all Catholic school children
and to go into the schools nationwide
to teach the children about the
history and meaning of it and how to
use rosary beads.
Manuela was delighted with the
bishop’s response, but, at the same
time, slightly daunted. There are
over 42,000 pupils in the 130 Catholic
public schools in Belize. Some are in
coastal towns or in the city, while
others are in the inner recesses of
the rain forest.
In 2008, a few weeks before
Manuela was to take the rosary
mission into the first school on their
list, she was in a car accident and
almost died. Undeterred, she
persevered in planning a mission trip
with students from the Franciscan
University of Steubenville in Ohio.
When she returned to Ohio for
physiotherapy, her therapist said she
was looking for a hobby to pursue.
Manuela introduced her to the rosary
and before long she had converted
one of the rooms in her house into a
rosary-making room for the mission in
Belize.
During the school visits, Manuela
and her team makes the sessions
lively by relating the mysteries of the
rosary to real life experiences.
“Teachers and principals say that
the rosary visits provide a fresh
perspective to the students about the
rosary,” she said. “The lessons
reinforce what is being taught in
religion classes in some of the schools
and clarify what the students know
about the rosary and the Blessed
Mother’s role in our lives as an
intercessor.
“The sessions also provide renewed
energy to the teachers in their quest
to impart the faith to the students.
After rosary sessions in the schools,
students take the time to pray the
rosary, internalize the message, and
surrender themselves in prayer to
God.
At each school, the rosary team
gives all teachers and principals
packs containing items such as rosary
making activity cards for arts and
crafts, prayer cards, holy water
bottles, and holy medals.
All of these items are donated by
sponsors overseas. Each principal also
receives a large rosary made by
Thomasita and each student receives
a Divine Mercy Poster to take home.
“All the rosaries we give out in the
schools, homes, prisons and hospitals
in Belize are free. We don't charge
people for them. We also make a lot
of mission rosaries around our
kitchen table in Belize with the help
of both school children, who get
credit for community service, and
adults.”
During school visits the rosary team
also takes the opportunity to learn
about the needs of the schools and
its students. Networks are formed to
provide scholarships to needy high
school students with high academic
potential. Donors from overseas help
by donating to the scholarship
programme.
Manuela was born in Glasgow to an
Irish mother and Belizean father.
They were unmarried and her mother
didn’t feel ready to bring up a child.
So Manuela was taken by her father
to Belize, where she was brought up
by her grandparents and then, after
they died, by Thomasina.
“I got to meet my biological
mother in person when I was in my
twenties, and I go visit her frequently
in Ireland and we have a great
friendship now,” said Manuela.
She combined her rosary mission
while working for ten years as a
financial analyst at Belize Natural
Energy Ltd, which she left in 2017. A
winner of the Commonwealth Youth
Worker Award for the Americas and
Caribbean Regions, she is now
studying youth ministry and school
chaplaincy on a distance learning
course with the Maryvale Institute in
Birmingham.
She has ambitious plans to build a
“rosary centre for education and
empowerment” in Belize, and
already has the land. The centre will
not only promote the rosary, it will
also run classes in literacy, Spanish,
public speaking, and
entrepreneurship.
Additionally, Manuela plans to
launch a mentoring scheme for
underprivileged young people. A
teenager she has mentored is Elsia
Pop, who received the International
Diana Award in 2017 from Prince
William and Prince Harry at St James’
Palace for her work in preserving
Mayan culture through story telling
and handicrafts.
Last November, Manuela spoke at
the Catholic Student Network
Conference in London, where a
number of students expressed an
interest in learning how to make
rosaries to send to Belize.
She is looking for for volunteers
who can come to Belize to teach
catechesis, art, maths, literacy,
media production and
entrepreneurial skills, or help with
fundraising.
“I want to share the peace and joy
that praying the rosary brings,” said
Manuela. “I see the rosary as a chain
linking people to each other. It is
especially useful for children in
poorer countries who often become
distracted and pre-occupied with
their poverty. The rosary is meant to
draw people out of themselves.”
www.rosariesandmorebz.org
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