The Diocese in Lourdes

For one week each year several hundred people from the Lancaster Diocese travel to Lourdes for the annual Diocesan Pilgrimage. The week includes a full programme: Mass each day, the processions, opportunities for prayer, the anointing of the sick, confession, stations of the cross, the rosary. This year the pilgrimage was led by Bishop Campbell, a frequent visitor to Lourdes.

The weather was glorious for most of the week - perhaps a little too hot at times! Above, a few of the pilgrims are gathering to pray the rosary together on the meadow over the river from the Grotto.

A familiar sight on the pilgrimage is the youth section. Over 100 young people - a diocesan record - travelled this year, easily recognisable in their blue tops. They work throughout the day, helping the sick pilgrims and those who rely on wheelchairs to get around this undulating town. In the evenings they had time for prayer and socialising. Above they are seen beginning the stations of the cross, which is made up of life-size figures.

At the end of the week Bishop Patrick joined the pilgrimage, travelling directly from the World Youth Day in Sydney. Above he is pictured with Fr Phillip Conner, the Director of the Diocesan Youth Service, who has had a busy summer! Fr Phillip also travelled from Sydney to be in Lourdes for the last days of the pilgrimage.

Here the Bishop is seen with two of the diocesan seminarians (trainee priests), Fr Phillip and our own Fr Andrew.

The end-of-pilgrimage party gace the seminarians a chance to show off their skills at entertaining the pilgrims! The pilgrimage gives a great sense of the whole Diocese being represented: bishop(s), priests, deacons, sick pilgrims, the youth, seminarians... it seems that everyone is represented. Lourdes itself gives a great sense of the Church gathered for prayer. Tomorrow's post focuses on one of the most obvious examples of this: the international Mass, which was celebrated by Bishop Campbell.

Lourdes in the Jubilee Year

Today, the first of three posts about the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes. Earlier in the year the Cathedral marked the 150th anniversary of the apparitions with a novena, pilgrimage to Cleator and Mass and Vespers on the feast day. Last weeek Fr Andrew and a number of parishioners joined the Diocesan Pilgrimage and got a first-hand experience of Lourdes in this jubilee year.

There is no doubt that Lourdes is extra-busy this year. Many millions of pilgrims are expected to visit the shrine, and to pray at the Grotto (above) where Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette eighteen times in the period February-July 1858.

In a jubilee year it is common for churches to designate a special entrance or open a different door during the year. Pilgrims visiting a church to mark the jubilee would enter by this 'holy door'. In Lourdes the archways which lead from the Rosary Square to the Grotto have been marked out for this purpose. They are decorted with images and each had an icon at ground level, which pilgrims are asked to venerate.

Even at night time there are large crowds at the Grotto. Many are drawn by the stillness and beauty of this place; its holiness seems even more evident after sunset.

Pilgrims are also encouraged to take part in a 'Jubilee Walk' around the town, visiting many of the sites associated with St Bernadette's life. A plenary indulgence is offered to pilgrims who take part in this walk. Tomorrow's post will focus on our own Diocesan Pilgrimage.

To Lourdes

This morning the first pilgrims on the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes will leave Lancaster by coach. They'll arrive at the shrine tomorrow evening. Most of the pilgrims fly out of Manchester tomorrow. This year the pilgrimage is being led by Bishop Campbell; he will be joined by Bishop O'Donoghue late in the week, when he returns from the World Youth Day in Australia. The departure also means a break in postings, as the blogger is on the pilgrimage! Towards the end of the month we hope to post some pictures of the Diocese in Lourdes, and of the World Youth Day. Call back soon!

Adopt-a-Pipe

Some time ago, when the Organ Restoration Fund was launched, an 'Adopt-a-Pipe' scheme was set up. With work on the organ progressing, and with the financial target almost in sight, it will soon be time to close the appeal. So - in case you've missed out so far - here's a last look at the scheme and how it works.

Anyone wishing to adopt a pipe makes a donation: £25 for a small pipe, £50 for medium, £100 for large and £150 for extra large. They are then assigned a pipe. It is not possible to inscribe the pipes themselves, but all inscriptions will be recorded in a book which will be produced when the appeal closes. Participants also receive a certificate on which their inscription is recorded. The organ has 1886 pipes - so there are plenty left to adopt! Donations can also be 'gift-aided' to increase their value at no cost to the giver.

Children can adopt an accesory, such as one of the pistons or keys, at a cost of £2.50. If you'd like to know more, get in touch with us. You could also click here for the adopt-a-pipe page on the Cathedral's website. The appeal is doing well but we need one final push to cross the finish line!

Year 6 in the Capital

On Wednesday this week children from Year 6 - the top year of the Cathedral Primary School - went on a day trip to London. For many it was their first visit to the Capital, and there was a great sense of excitement in the group. The trip was organised as a reward for the children's excellent behaviour throughout the year, particularly on previous days out and residential trips.

The children were accompanied by a number of staff members and Fr Andrew. They travelled by train, leaving Lancaster at 6:30am and arriving at London Euston just before 9:30am. There they were met by a coach which transported them for the rest of the day.

First stop was the Science Museum. At every corner there are interactive displays - the children were certainly not short of something to do!

The Museum is spread over five floors; it could easily have been a day trip in itself. There was time to explore a few sections before heading off to a small Italian restaurant nearby for lunch.

Next stop the Lyceum Theatre, for the afternoon performance of The Lion King. A visual spectacular - and two and a half hours away from the wet streets of London!

After the show the group headed for the London Eye. On a day trip there was little time to see the sights of London close up; here there was a chance to get a glimpse of most of them from a distance.

The Eye takes about half an hour to make a full revolution, giving plenty of time to look down on London's landmarks - especially the Houses of Parliament, a short distance away on the other side of the Thames.

Despite the rain there were some breaks in the cloud allowing some spectacular panoramic views. Year 6 will leave the school in two weeks' time, reading for the next stage of their education. They will no doubt have some very happy memories of these final days.

Ordination DVD: a sequel?

Do you recognise this scene? At the end of a long day, the newly-ordained Bishop Campbell presided over Vespers for the feast of the Annunciation. About 300 people attended, including many who would have liked to have been at the ordination but were unable. DVDs of the ordination itself are selling well; Vespers was also recorded, and we hope to be able to make copies available to those who would like them.

The recording captures some historic moments: here Bishop Campbell enters the Cathedral for the first time as a Bishop...

...preceded by the servers, Cathedral Chapter and Bishop O'Donoghue. These images are taken from the video itself. Images captured from video recordings never look as good as the video or as proper still photos, but at least these snaps give a sense of how the video appears.

Also recorded is Bishop Campbell's first homily as our coadjutor. He spoke about the ordination day and its meaning for the Diocese, linking the day's events with the feast of the Annunciation and the Easter season. It is wonderful to have a record of these first words.

At the end of Vespers the Te Deum was sung and Bishop Campbell walked through the Cathedral, blessing those present. Now we need your help! If we made copies of the DVD widely available, we would probably need to charge something similar to the cost of the ordination DVD (£10). If you would be interested in obtaining a copy (or copies) please let us know. If there is enough interest we will certainly do so, and the Blog will announce details if and when we decide to go ahead. Contact details for the Cathedral can be found here.

Curious about the Eucharist?

As our 'Curious about Scripture?' year draws to a close, we begin to look ahead to the next major programme. It's called 'Curious about the Eucharist', and is intended to be an opportunity for us to deepen our faith in this great sacrament. There will be talks, newsletter input and other events taking place October 2008-June 2009. More details are available on a page of the Cathedral's website - click here.

Seven Years in Lancaster

Seven years ago today Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue, largely unknown in the Diocese, was installed as our fifth Bishop. He came from the Archdiocese of Westminster, where he had served as an auxiliary bishop under Cardinal Hume and later Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor. As it is the last time the anniversary will occur during Bishop Patrick's episcopate here, it seems a good opportunity to post a few pictures of the day.

As you would expect, the Cathedral was packed full; aside from the priests people of the Diocese, there were civic and ecumenical leaders. A fair number of priests also came from Westminster to say farewell to the Bishop and see him installed in his Cathedral.

Sister Zela from St Thomas More's church is pictured at the ambo. The Cardinal stands out in his red choir dress, and there are other bishops just visible on the same row. The eagle-eyed may also spot Fr Michael Docherty, former assistant priest at the Cathedral, to the left of the pillar. At that time he was studying for the priesthood in Rome.

Outside the newly-installed Bishop of Lancaster posed with the Cardinal and Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool. By the look of it, they all enjoyed the day! There are surprisingly few photographs of the day in our archive. If anyone has photographs of the installation or knows where we might find some, please contact us.

Celebrating the feast

At Mass this morning there was a great celebration for the feast of our patron, St Peter, and his fellow apostle, St Paul. Sadly there are no pictures of the Mass, but we do have a couple of images of the parish barbeque that followed. The weather wasn't ideal, but the flames stayed lit and a hundred or so people were fed.

St Peter, pray for us

Throughout the world the Church celebrates today the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Peter was the first man chosen by Christ to lead the Church, and Paul was its greatest preacher. The Cathedral is dedicated to St Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and so today is our patronal feast. Since it falls on a Sunday this year there is a chance to mark the feast with extra solemnity. The main celebration is at 10:30am Mass this morning, at which both the adult choir and the junior choristers will be singing. After Mass there will be a parish barbeque. This afternoon we will pray the 'Way of St Peter' devotion, based on the Cathedral's windows, at 4pm; solemn sung Vespers follows at 4:40pm.

The Cathedral's statue of St Peter is modelled on the one in the Vatican. Many people touch the foot of the statue as they enter or leave the Cathedral. As they do so they say a short prayer, usually invoking the help of our patron. Prayers will be said at the statue later today, especially for Pope Benedict, Peter's successor, chosen by God to lead the Church in our own time.

15 Years a Bishop

It is fifteen years to the day since Bishop Patrick was ordained to the episcopate by Cardinal Basil Hume. He served for eight years as an auxiliary bishop in Westminster before being installed as fifth Bishop of Lancaster on 4th July 2001. This coming Friday is the anniversary of that installation. Our best wishes and prayers go to the Bishop on this day.

Bishop's Book Launch

Today Bishop Campbell is in London, where he will launch his new book at St Paul's Bookshop next to Westminster Cathedral. Pope Benedict has asked us to celebrate a year of St Paul, marking 2000 years since the saint's birth, from today until 29th June 2009. Bishop Campbell's book - his first since being ordained bishop - is called 'The Greatest of these is Love', and features meditations on St Paul's writings. The book has been written to mark the year of St Paul and is published, appropriately enough, by St Paul's Books, whose website can be found here.

Fit for a Bishop

This is St Mary's church in Barrow-in-Furness, which for a while is playing host to Bishop Michael Campbell. It has usually been the case that when two bishops are resident in the Diocese one has lived in Lancaster and one somewhere in Cumbria; Bishop Campbell moved in here in Holy Week, a few days prior to his ordination. He lives in the Presbytery with the parish priest, Fr John Watson.

The church is extremely beautiful and has been wonderfully restored in recent years. Much of the stencilling around the apse had been covered over in the 1970s but a few years ago it was returned to its original majesty.

A group from Bishop Campbell's former parish in Hammersmith are coming up to the north west in the autumn, and hopefully will visit St Mary's then. They can be sure that their former parish priest is resident in a place fit for a bishop!

Up in the Organ Loft

Up in the organ loft this afternoon there was a fair amount of activity, as the first of the organ's restored soundboards were returned to their rightful place.

Many of the restored parts could be seen close up - to untrained eyes a fairly baffling array of items!

This is part of the mechanism for which allows the organ stops to work, thus creating the wide variety of sounds that the organ is famous for.

Even to untrained eyes, however, it is obvious that a great deal of precision and time goes into this delicate work. It is wonderful to see how new-looking the parts are - a far cry from the dust-covered and worn-out mechanism they are replacing.

Leaning on the wall just beneath the Te Deum window, the organ pipes will stand on these boards when they are back in place.

A number of men came up from the Henry Willis and Sons workshop in Liverpool, where the work is being carried out, to put the parts back in place. The soundboards are quite substantial, and inside the organ casing is not the easiest or most spacious working environment!

Work continues on the restoration, and it will be some time yet before the organ is fully back in action. All the signs are that it will be well worth the wait.

Sacred music in context

Today there was a rare treat at the monthly Tridentine Mass: Il Suono, the a cappella group who sang a concert in the Cathedral last night, also sang at today's Mass. They sang the Mass of Pange Lingua by Josquin Desprez (1450-1521) and motets by Byrd. It is wonderful to hear this sacred music being performed in the context for which it was written.