York to get Oratory

It has been announced in this week's Catholic Herald that an Oratorian Priest, Fr Richard Duffield will be taking charge of the Church of St Wilfrid in York in October of this year.  This development is not unexpected as rumours have been circulating for some time.

Fr Duffield, who is a native of York, is currently at the Oxford Oratory and was for a short period the provost of the Birmingham Oratory. It is expected that he will bring one or two priests with him to enable the erection of an Oratorian commonity based at St Wilfrid's.  This is a process that is likely to take several months, or possibly years.

The Oratorians, founded by St Philip Neri, favour large city centre churches.  In this respect, the church of St Wilfrid, which is almost opposite the west door of York Minster suits them very well.  Another reason for choosing this church might be the very large presbytery that goes with it.  This will allow a sizable community to develop in York.

Brompton Oratory in London's west end was founded in the middle of the 19th century by Fr Frederick Faber, who is best known for writing many hymns, including Faith of Our Fathers.  At a similar time an even more famous priest, Fr (later Cardinal and now blessed) John Henry Newman, founded the Birmingham Oratory.  The Oxford Oratory was later formed as a daughter house of the Birmingham Oratory and is now independent.

Much more recently, a group of priests has started the process of setting up an Oratory in Manchester, based at the church of St Chad.  This church was briefly used by the Premonstretensians.  The addition of York means that there will eventually be five Oratories in England.

The pleasing thing for the Latin Mass Society is that the Oratorians  have a reputation for quality liturgy, including the use of Latin in both the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Mass.

Sunday 21st July

There will be Low Mass followed by Benediction  at the Church of the English Martyrs in York on Sunday 21st July starting at 4pm.  The celebrant will be Fr David Smith

There will also be a Low Mass at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Redcar at 6pm.  The celebrant will be Mgr John Heslin.

Formal Liturgy more Attractive to Men

The blog of Fr Ed Tomlinson, the Ordinariate priest who is in charge of the quasi parish of Pembury in Kent, is always worth reading.  In his latest post he reports that five adults are to be confirmed next Sunday and that four teenagers will be confirmed later in the year.

This church used by this quasi parish is little more than a scout hut.  It was built as a church hall in the 1960s with the intention of building the real church alongside.  This never happened.  Until the Ordinariate came into being, it was part of the parish of Paddock Wood with a single Sunday Mass.  During the week the building was used for other purposes. 

The Tonbridge Wells Ordinariate group  is one of the largest in the country with two priests and seventy odd lay people converting in 2011.  Others have joined since.  Finding accommodation for this group was difficult because the existing Catholic Church in Tunbridge Wells already had four Sunday Masses, with no space for an additional Ordinariate one.  The solution adopted was to hand over to the Ordinariate the Mass centre in Pembury, which is several miles away.

This is now shared between the diocesan congregation, formerly part of Paddock Wood parish, and the Ordinariate group, with Fr Tomlinson and his assistant being responsible for both.  On Sundays, the 9.15am Mass is designed to serve the Ordinariate group and the 11am Mass the diocesan congregation, although I believe that there is some mixing of the two.

Having a resident priest has allowed weekday Masses and other devotions.  It has also led to many more activities such as garden parties and a holiday camp for the younger people.  Furthermore, the building is to be extended so that the main part can serve as a church full time.

Although the two communities seem to get on in harmony, the arrival of Fr Tomlinson did produce some changes that were not to the liking of everyone in the former congregation.  For example, cassocks and cottas were reintroduced for the servers and they were expected to wear black shoes rather than trainers.  A choir has been established and some of the folk music was dropped in favour of plainchant.  Some of those who disliked the changes have migrated elsewhere, whereas others have been attracted.

Now that these changes have had time to settle, Fr  Tomlinson has commented on the changes in the congregation, and I think that he is referring to the diocesan part.  Firstly, he says that the average age is generally younger, with many more families attending the Masses.

Secondly, the congregation is more devotional.  I presume that this means that they are more likely to pray, and less likely to talk amongst themselves.

I find the third comment particularly interesting.  Apparently there are many more men, and they are now in the majority.  Infact, I understand that two of the adult confirmands are men who were baptised as Catholics and are now returning to the Church after many years of absence.

Advanced Notice

Due to the absence of Mgr Heslin, who will be enjoying life on a cruise ship, there will be no Latin Masses at the Sacred Heart Church in Redcar on the following dates:

Sun 4th August and Sun 11th Aug.

Mgr Heslin also tells me that he will be away for sometime in September.  The affected dates will be published when they are known.

Please note that the lead times for publishing information in the Middlesbrough Catholic Voice are such that it is difficult to ensure that information is accurate..  At pesent, we have a standing instruction for them to include notice of the two weekly Masses.  When either of them is cancelled, or the time changed, we will endeavour to give notice on this blog.

Latin Mass Times in the Diocese of Middlesbrough

Maybe it is time to remind readers of the regular times of forma extraordinaria Masses in the diocese.  We are fortunate in the Diocese of Middlesbrough to have a regular weekly timetable with Masses occuring at the same time each week at our two venues.  The details are:

          Church of the English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace, York.  YO24 4DA    4pm every Sunday

          Church of the Sacred Heart, Lobster Road, Redcar. TS10 1SH           6pm every Sunday

All are Low Masses.  The Masses at York are said according to a rota by Frs Stephen Maughan, James Callaghan OSB and David Smith. The Mass at Redcar is said by Mgr John Heslin.