PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY
Over 700 Catholics committed to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Traditional Latin Mass) converged on York Minster on Saturday 26 March to attend the first celebration of a Catholic Mass in the Minster since the Reformation. Sung Mass in the ancient Latin Rite, complete with beautiful vestments, ceremonial and incense, was celebrated at the High Altar by Fr Stephen Maughan of the Catholic diocese of Middlesbrough. (The Mass was a Votive Mass of a Holy Woman Martyr Not a Virgin).
Afterwards, the huge congregation processed through the streets of York in public witness of the Catholic Faith to the Shrine of St Margaret Clitherow in York’s historic Shambles before completing a memorable day with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the Catholic Church of the English Martyrs.
The occasion was the Latin Mass Society’s first annual York pilgrimage in honour of St Margaret Clitherow, one of the LMS’s patron saints. The day was organised by Paul Waddington, National Treasurer and local Representative for the LMS who said: “I am overwhelmed by the response of so many hundreds of faithful Catholics. The number of young families with children in buggies was particularly encouraging”.
Permission for the Mass was given by the Dean, the Very Reverend Keith Jones, and Chapter of York Minster; the Dean and the Precentor, Canon Peter Moger, sat in choir during the Mass.
The Latin Mass Society had originally hoped to celebrate the Mass in the nearby Catholic parish Church of St Wilfrid’s, but unfortunately it was not available; however, the parish’s loss was York Minster’s gain.
The massive choir of York Minster was completely packed and over 150 people had to be accommodated in the nave with extra seating brought in. The music was provided by the Rudgate Singers, a local choir who specialise in the Latin Mass and who sang William Byrd’s polyphonic Mass for Five Voices.
Saint Margaret Clitherow, (1556-1586) who lived in York was an ordinary wife and mother who refused to renounce her Catholic faith and who was martyred by being pressed to death in the reign of Elizabeth I. She was executed on Good Friday 1586 and was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Following the Mass, there was a procession from York Minster through the city streets to St Margaret Clitherow’s shrine in the Shambles, and then across Ouse Bridge, the place of her execution. The sight of so many Catholic pilgrims publicly processing and praying the Rosary drew the notice of Saturday afternoon shoppers, and a respectful silence fell as the procession passed.
The procession finished at the Catholic Church of the English Martyrs where a relic of St Margaret Clitherow, on loan for the occasion from York’s Bar Convent, was venerated and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was conferred by Fr Michael Brown, the LMS’s Northern Chaplain.
The occasion was widely covered by TV, radio and local press.
Michael Lord, LMS General Manager, said: “Something special happened in York on Saturday. Hundreds of Catholics gathered in this historic centre of northern Christianity to honour one of England’s bravest women in a quite extraordinary way. Indeed, some people travelled from as far away as London, Oxford and Dublin.
“This Mass in the ancient Roman Rite demonstrates quite clearly the suppressed level of interest in the Latin Mass, particularly amongst the young. I’m afraid many English and Welsh bishops are still very grudging in helping to organise celebrations of the Latin Mass but our huge congregation today shows that hundreds of people want to stand alongside Pope Benedict in his efforts to restore beauty and dignity to Catholic worship and to restore Christianity in its ancient European heartland.
“The LMS is already making plans for an even bigger celebration in honour of St Margaret Clitherow next year”.
The LMS offers its grateful thanks to the Dean and Chapter of York Minster, the Bar Convent, the Church of the English Martyrs and all those volunteer members of the LMS who co-ordinated the day’s events, and without whom such a happy and successful occasion would not have been possible.
Photographs of the pilgrimage can be downloaded here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/latinmasssociety/galleries/72157626246685473/
For further information, please contact John Medlin, Publicist, or Mike Lord, LMS General Manager, on (T) 020 7404 7284; (F) 020 7831 5585; (E mail) info@lms.org.uk
3 comments:
What a wonderful day that must have been! So encouraging.
It would have been marvellous to have been there.
It was good to know so many people attended. One of my friends went up to York by train for the day from Brighton and was very impressed although she now realises that to do it in a day was too much!The only thing that marred the day for her was the return journey with signals failing near York resulting in trains being cancelled! But she managed to miss the riots in central London that evening.
Those who wish to go next year from down here would be well advised to stay the night before returning or even the night before too. There are lots of B and Bs in York - I have been there several times and it is a fascinating city for a few days break and particularly beautiful this time of year with banks of daffodils below the ramparts.
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