Newman to be canonised next Sunday

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Pope Francis will canonise Blessed John Henry Newman in St Peter’s Square next Sunday 13 October. This will make Newman the first English person who has lived after the 17th century to be officially recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church.

John Henry Newman (1801 – 1890) was ordained as a Church of England priest and soon became the leader of the Oxford Movement, but converted to Catholicism in 1845. He founded the Oratory in England and was later made a cardinal. He is widely considered to be one of the most significant figures of the 19th century. When he died at the age of 89, more than 15,000 people lined the streets of Birmingham for his funeral.

The cause for his sainthood was opened in 1958. Pope Benedict XVI declared him Blessed in Birmingham in 2010 on his visit to Britain. The canonisation was made possible by a second miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed John Henry Newman, consisting in the medically inexplicable healing of a pregnant Chicago woman with life-threatening complications due to her pregnancy.

During the beatification ceremony in 2010, Pope Benedict said that Newman tells us that “our divine Master has assigned a specific task to each one of us, a ‘definite service’, committed uniquely to every single person. The definite service to which Blessed John Henry was called involved applying his keen intellect and his prolific pen to many of the most pressing subjects of the day. His insights into the relationship between faith and reason, into the vital place of revealed religion in civilised society, and into the need for a broadly-based and wide-ranging approach to education were not only of profound importance for Victorian England, but continue today to inspire and enlighten many all over the world.” Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, said John Henry Newman is known “for many great qualities, but we remember him particularly for the kindness and compassion of his ministry to the people of Birmingham. At his death they turned out in their thousands to salute a much loved priest on his funeral procession through the streets of Birmingham.”

Edited from www.newmancanonisation.com – a comprehensive website

St Vincent – A hard act to follow

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Friday was the feast day of St Vincent de Paul, whose name lives on in many of our Parishes through the work of the St Vincent De Paul Society (SVP). He did not actually found the organization which bears his name, but a brief look at his life and work should explain why the Society formed in 1833 by Frederic Ozanam is named after this Apostle of Charity.  

Vincent was born in south-west France in 1581, experiencing poverty from an early age. He was ordained to the priesthood at the age of 20, and in 1607 (following 3 years of slavery in North Africa) he moved to Paris and was appointed Chaplain to the house of Gondi – a family of wealthy Florentine merchants. Whilevisiting the hospitals of the poor in Paris, Vincent realised his true vocation lay in the service of the suffering and needy rather than in the courts of the wealthy. He was to spend the rest of his life in answer to that calling, with encouragement and financial support from the Gondi family and others of ‘high rank’ who responded to his appeals for assistance.

In the course of his work, Vincent established several organisations, all in existence today, devoted to the material and spiritual needs of the poor, including: 

The Confraternity of Charity formed in 1617 – an organisation of women who worked together in organising regular visits to the sick and needy, feeding and nursing them in their own homes.

Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) founded in 1625 – a society of apostolic life (religious order) for men formed for the spiritual education and needs of the ordinary people, and for training young men for the Priesthood. Its work now includes the provision of chaplaincies to hospitals, prisons, and the armed forces.

Daughters of Charity, a society of apostolic life for women established by Vincent and St Louise de Marillac in 1633. The Daughters, many of whom were country girls, were trained in the spiritual life, the care of the sick and education of the poor. Hospitals and soup kitchen were set up, as well as schools and homes for orphaned children. At the time of St Louise’s death in 1660 there were more than forty houses of the Daughters of Charity, and the sick poor were cared for in their own dwellings in twenty-six parishes in Paris. They have a house in Grand Avenue, Ely.  

Louise was canonised in 1934 and pronounced patron saint of social workers in 1960. Vincent also died in 1660 but had already been canonised in 1737. He is the patron of all works of charity

Hard acts to follow indeed!

Peter Morris, President 3 Churches SVP.

Pilgrims one and all

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Our group of September Pilgrims arrived back safely in St Brigid’s car park in the dark at about 12.45am early on Tuesday morning. We were all tired after a long journey from Chartres (where we celebrated Mass at 9.00am) via the Caen-Portsmouth ferry. Once again, it was a wonderful pilgrimage/hopliday, this time visiting various shrines and interesting places in central France, such as Chartres Cathedral, Taize, shrines of St Bernadette at Nevers and the Cure at Ars. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the pilgrimage aspect was made even more real for me personally with my new affliction of arthritis.

Each year I emphasise that the external pilgrimage from place to place is a pointer to our internal pilgrimage. This is our journey through life in the light of our faith, often called our “faith journey”. But of course you don’t have to travel to holy places to be aware of that faith journey, because we all make that journey, no matter who we are. And furthermore, the Church is all about making that journey together, pilgrims through life.

This coming Saturday we celebrate a Mass with the Sick at Christ the King at 11.00am. We invite to this Eucharistic Celebration all fellow travellers on the pilgrimage of faith to join us, especially those whose journey is made that bit more difficult by sickness in mind, body or spirit.  We should make every effort to enable those who cannot normally come to our churches to do so on this occasion. Eucharistic Ministers – please let those you visit know. Drivers – offer a lift to those who need it (contact details inside). The Sacrament if the Sick will be celebrated within the Mass, and prayers will be offered for the sick, including a chance to mention those you want prayed for!

We are all pilgrims together in a Pilgrrim Church. Let us all be alongside one another and especially those who most need our support. Saturday 28th September 11am at Christ the King, followed by light refreshments.

Fr Matthew

X ray vision

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I don’t know about you, but I love people-watching. On holiday in York a few weeks ago I was one of thousands visiting that beautiful city. Fascinating to watch how our different cultures affect our behavior, wonderful young mums or dads trying to handle their offspring, and so on.

On Wednesday I spent a while at Radiology in the Heath. It seems I’ve developed osteoarthritis in the hip, and the GP wanted it checked out. A hospital, especially a big one like the Heath, is a whole city to itself. As you make that long trek from the UHW concourse to wherever you are going in this huge complex, all life treks with you – or towards you. And all, of course, have that special hospital look on their face, either because they are a patient or are visiting a patient. It’s a look which speaks of knowing that someone is suffering – themselves or someone else – while also speaking of our human determination to keep going, to persevere, to care, to love. Some are silent, some lost in thought, some in tears. Some are in wheelchairs, some on stretchers. All are in need, because all are human, visitor and patient alike.

There are many, many ways to be broken. Wounds are of many kinds, most of them, perhaps, not visible to the eye. Imagine if we could x-ray one another’s inner feelings! None of us is immune to the brokenness or wounds of life. So let’s all undertake to be a little more caring for one another. And appreciative of those who care for us, whether it’s their job or not.

One of Pope Francis most famous sayings was this one:
“I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds. … And you have to start from the ground up.”