St Thérèse: the tour is complete

After a month travelling England and Wales, the relics of St Thérèse leave Westminster Cathedral. This was the scene on Thursday afternoon as the tour came to an end.

At the departure Mass was celebrated in the Cathedral. Something close to 100,000 had visited the reliquary in Westminster; among them - according to reports - was former Prime Minister Tony Blair. The tour has been extraordinary, and has united people from all walks of life: politicians and prisoners, the old and young, healthy and sick, people of different faiths.

Among the last to venerate the relics was Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster. Here he is seen with the reliquary just before its departure.

A shower of rose petals fell inside the Cathedral as the relics were carried out. Official figures estimate that 285,000 people had seen the relics around the country.

There were petals outside, too, as the reliquary made its way into the Cathedral Piazza just off Victoria Street. Large screens in the Piazza had been showing live images from inside the Cathedral during the visit - a facility no doubt greatly appreciated by the many who had to queue outside.

Here the Archbishop follows the reliquary outside; Westminster's auxiliary bishops (among them Bishop Bernard Longley, who will soon take over as Archbishop of Birmingham) line the route, with Papal Knights visible on the other side.

With that, the hearse was loaded for one last time as a great crowd in the Piazza looked on. A few weeks ago it would have been hard to predict the extraordinary events of the last month. The many pictures we have seen have told one, very public, story; alongside this there are countless thousands of individual stories which will be being told for many years to come.

Yesterday the relics arrived back in Lisieux; here they are seen in the crypt of the town's Basilica. Adrian Forsey, the funeral director who had overseen their transportation during the UK tour, is seen wearing the red tie.

Finally, in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the side of the Basilica, the relics rest before the altar. Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Keith Barltrop, who had the unenviable task of overseeing the entire visit. His work, and the work of his team, has certainly paid off.

Remembering the visit

The plinth which supports the statue of St Thérèse in the cloister garden is inscribed with the dates of the visit. This lasting memorial is a physical reminder, but the visit will also live on for many years in the memories of those who were able to come.

Many people also left messages in a book at the back of the Cathedral, recording their thoughts and their prayers. The story of the visit continues to unfold even now, as people tell of what happened to them and the lasting effects of this time of grace.

Images of St Thérèse in Lancaster

Today, some snapshots of the visit. Surrounded by candles and decorated with flowers, the reliquary lies before the altar.

Pilgrims reach to touch the reliquary, while others have placed flowers on top.

Bishop Campbell, presiding over what is sure to be one of the most significant events of his episcopate in Lancaster.

Bishop O'Donoghue, who returned to the Diocese for the visit of the relics.

Coaches parked up below the Cathedral on the afternoon of Tuesday 29th September.

School pupils and candles surround a statue of St Thérèse in the baptistery.

St Thérèse in Westminster

Last night the relics of St Thérèse arrived at Westminster Cathedral, their final stop. Crowds gathered inside the Cathedral and outside on the Piazza to watch the arrival.

Bishop John Arnold incensed the relics at the main west doors of the Cathedral; the Cathedral Chapter were also present to receive the relics.

Here the relics are being put into place. Second from the left on this photo is Mark Prickett, a seminarian of the Lancaster Diocese who is studying at Allen Hall in Chelsea. It seems as though the Allen Hall students played a part in procedings here and at Notting Hill Carmel, which the relics had visited earlier in the day.

The Cathedral has been divided into two halves for the visit: one part contains the sanctuary and will be used for all the liturgies; the other contains the reliquary. This allows veneration to continue throughout the time that the relics are present. You can see more pictures of the relics in Westminster at www.catholicrelics.co.uk.

St Thérèse: the departure from Lancaster

As the tour of England and Wales nears its end, we continue our look back at the Lancaster visit with some scenes from the departure of the relics on the morning of Wednesday 30th September. Several ,members of the Cathedral Chapter were present and about 300 people, including many schoolchildren, were present for the final liturgy.

Just before the departure liturgy got underway, funeral director Adrian Forsey is seen here briefing the Cenacolo men who were to carry the relics. Fr Chris Loughran, their chaplain, looks on. Adrian has accompanied the relics around the UK, driving the hearse and overseeing all the movements of the relics.

Bishop Campbell, who had presided over many of the major liturgies, is seen here giving a final blessing before the relics depart.

Then, 43 hours after their arrival and having been seen by 6500 visitors, the relics were carried out of the Cathedral's west doors.

At 11:10am the reliquary was placed in the hearse ready for the journey to Newcastle. Fr Stewart Keeley, the diocesan Master of Ceremonies, is seen to the left, with two of the Cathedral's altar servers.

As the relics were driven out of the gates, people applauded in gratitude for a wonderful couple of days. Sometime after this picture was taken a rose was thrown onto the car, and the relics were driven away with this single flower remaining on the roof of the hearse. We still have some wonderful images to share, and these will be posted over these next few days, along with ongoing coverage of the relics' visit to Westminster Cathedral.

St Thérèse visit: the all-night youth vigil

The Cathedral did not close at all while the relics were with us, and a large number of young people from around the Diocese took part in the all-night vigil for youth on the night of Tuesday 29th September. Much of the time was spent in the Cathedral, with workshops and talks taking place throughout the night in the Diocesan Education Centre (pictured above).

Prayer was at the heart of the vigil, the programme for which was organised by the Diocesan Youth Service. Here some of the young people are preparing to pray the Rosary.

Sessions during the night were led by a variety of groups, including members of a party from Cardinal Allen High School in Fleetwood, CAFOD and the Cenacolo Community. The decision to hold most of the sessions in other spaces meant that the Cathedral was kept free for prayer throughout the night. At midnight there was a service of reconciliation, during which up to six priests were available for confession. They were kept busy for two hours!

The vigil ended with Mass at 6am. Around 40 young people had stayed all night, and many more were present for part of the vigil. Over 100 people were at the Mass.

Some who had been on the vigil did the readings; young people also served at the Mass.

No doubt all of the people who were present will remember the vigil for different reasons; for most, however, one thing will remain: the silent draw of the relics, a shrine to St Thérèse and a place of prayer which had drawn so many young people together in the first place. Tomorrow our coverage of the visit to Lancaster continues, and we will also post some pictures of the relics in Westminster Cathedral, their final stop. Many thanks to Tomas Walsh, administrator of the parish blog at St Wulstan's and St Edmund's, Fleetwood (find the blog here), for sending us these pictures of the youth vigil.

St Thérèse visit: the major liturgies

As the relics of St Thérèse approach the end of their tour of England and Wales, the Cathedral blog returns to their visit to Lancaster at the end of last month. Since the visit many people have been in touch to say how much the event meant to them, and it is clear that a great number of pilgrims and visitors were (often unexpectedly) moved by the occasion. Today we take a look back at the major liturgies which took place during the visit.

Bishop Campbell received the relics on Monday and presided over Wednesday's departure liturgy. He also celebrated the two evening Masses and the final Mass on Wednesday morning.

The Bishop also preached at the three Masses he celebrated, speaking about the life of St Thérèse and the lessons she can teach us. At the final Mass he said, "May the Lord be praised and blessed for his goodness to us here in Lancaster! The very large number of pilgrims who have come to Lancaster and Preston to venerate and reverence the Little Flower’s relics speaks eloquently of the abiding appeal of the saint of Lisieux. In her own words, she is indeed spending her heaven doing good on earth. We have been witnesses to the truth of that in this Cathedral." You can read the Bishop's three homilies on the diocesan website: Monday evening here, Tuesday evening here and Wednesday morning here.

Music was, of course, an important part of all the liturgies. The ladies' choir sang at the Monday evening Mass, the young choristers at the Tuesday lunchtime and Wednesday morning Masses, and a new group, the Germani Singers, at the Tuesday evening Mass. The quality of the music at all these Masses added a great deal to the dignity of the celebration.

Our servers, too, had a busy few days, assisting at the Masses and the Liturgy of the Hours. It was a rare opportunity for the entire Liturgy of the Hours to be sung publicly, and all of the offices were well attended. It seemed particularly fitting that this should be done during the visit, as Thérèse would have sung all these offices (and more) during her life in Carmel.

Over half of the people who came to the Cathedral during the relics' visit attended one or more of the liturgical celebrations. On two occasions the Cathedral was so full for Mass that some people had to stand outside. There was a sense of the whole Diocese being united in prayer: the Bishop with the clergy, religious and all the people of the local Church.

The Cathedral is no stranger to papal knights, and they were represented at all the Masses. Above we see a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, and below some Knights of St Gregory. Tomorrow's post looks at the all-night Youth Vigil which took place during the visit.

The Reverend Nolan Lowry

On Thursday Nolan Lowry, the Texan seminarian who has spent some time here at the Cathedral over the last few years, was ordained deacon at St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Nolan (on the right! - seen here with Lancaster priest Fr Peter Groody) came to the Cathedral on placement in the summer of 2007 and has visited a couple of times since. He is now close to completing his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Posing for celebratory photos with family and friends, Nolan is seen here vested as a deacon. He was one of a group of thirty who were ordained at the Altar of the Chair in St Peter's Basilica. The group were ordained by Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson, Archbishop of St Louis.

Here Nolan is seen after assisting at Mass for the first time. The Mass took place in the church of San Carlo. Those travelling to Rome on our parish pilgrimage later this month (full coverage on the blog) will no doubt catch up with Nolan during the trip. Thanks to our man in Rome for sending in these pictures.

150th Anniversary Lunch

Each year after the Mass of the Dedication feast there is a parish lunch. Usually it's in the Cathedral Social Centre and is prepared by parishioners. This year it was decided to give our dedicated catering team some well-earned time off (especially after the first half of the week, when they had been tirelessly feeding St Thérèse pilgrims!), so lunch took place in the White Cross pub over the road. The staff there put on a hearty buffet, and the extra space allowed for more people to be present. For a couple of hours we completely took over the place!

Here's a sight that the White Cross regulars don't see every day - a Bishop in full purple! Bishop Campbell, Bishop O'Donoghue and Bishop McMahon all came over for the lunch, which seemed to be a great success. Thanks to Andy and everyone at the White Cross. The afternoon tea after Vespers was arranged through parishioners, and we would like to thank Harriet for her hard work to produce such a wonderful spread, as well as the young parishioners who helped her to serve the food. With this the blog's coverage of the 150th anniversary day draws to a close, but there will be more on the exhibtion (at Lancaster City Museum) soon, along with coverage of our night at the Grand Theatre (Sunday 18th, 8pm; all welcome - tickets just £5). More details in due course. Soon we will return to the St Thérèse visit, to share some more photographs of her relics in Lancaster, as the national tour enters its final weekend. PS - if it's your birthday today, happy birthday!

150th Anniversary Vespers

On Sunday afternoon, after the Rosary, Bishop Campbell led the celebration of Vespers. Here he is seen with his two assisting deacons: Rev. John Moriarty (left) and Rev. Chris Barwise (right).

Along with the visiting Bishops, a number of priests sat in choir. Among them were members of the Cathedral Chapter and some honorary canons, all seen here wearing their mozzette. Nearest to the camera is Canon Tom Dakin, who also appears on some of the photographs taken at the Cathedral's centenary in 1959. Canon Dakin and his brother, Fr Gerard Dakin, both grew up in the Cathedral parish. Billington's Blog carries some centenary photos on a post here; both the Dakins appear on the middle image. Can you spot them? Of course, many of the parishioners involved in last Sunday's celebrations were also present at the 1959 events.

Bishop McMahon gave a sermon during Vespers. He spoke about what it means to be "firmly founded on rock", and told of a cathedral he had visited which had been destroyed in a hurricane; a new cathedral is now being built on the site.

At the end of Vespers there was Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by the singing of the Te Deum in thanksgiving for the 150 years gone by. During the Te Deum the Bishop incensed all of the consecrated altars in the side chapels of the Cathedral. It was encouraging to see many people travel from outside the parish to be at Vespers on the anniversary day. Don't forget that Vespers is sung in the Cathedral every Sunday at 4:40pm, and everyone - no matter where they live - is most welcome.

After Vespers the Bishop had the chance to greet some of the people present, and afternoon tea was then provided in the Cathedral Social Centre. Tomorrow we take a look back at the social side of last Sunday's celebrations.