The Changing Face of the French Clergy

According to the blog Eponymous Flower, 23% of the secular clergy in France who were ordained to the priesthood in 2015 chose to be ordained in the Extraordinary Form.  The actual figures for the past six years are as follows:


YEAR          OF        EF        TOTAL      %EF


2010              96        16             112          16
2011            109        18             127          14
2012              97        20             117          17
2013              92        12             104          12
2014              88        18             106          17
2015              68        20               88          23


TOTAL       550       104            654          16


These figures are for the ordinations to the diocesan priesthood only, and do not include those who have been ordained in the traditional orders such as the FSSP, the ICKSP and the IBP.  Neither do they include the very considerable number of priestly ordinations in the monastic communities that use the older rite, such as Le Barroux, Fontgomoult and Lagrasse.  If these were taken into consideration, the percentage of EF ordinations over the past six years would in the region of 25%.


Although these figures may seem very encouraging for advocates of the usus antiquior, the overall decline in the number of priests in France is pretty spectacular.  In the 1960s, the average number of diocesan priests ordained each year was in the region of 500.

Report on Installation of FSSP in Warrington

On Saturday, I attended the Mass at St Mary's Church in Warrington at which the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter took over responsibility for the church.  The Priory Church of St Mary was formerly owned and staffed by Ampleforth Abbey although the monks withdrew in 2012, since when it has been served by diocesan priests.


In the last few weeks, Ampleforth Abbey has transferred the ownership of the building to the FSSP, and the Archbishop of Liverpool has entrusted the FSSP to serving the Latin Mass communities in and around Warrington.  It really does look as if the Latin Mass will prosper in that part of the world.


Not only is the church, designed by E W Pugin and completed by his half brother Peter Paul Pugin, a very beautiful one; but it has survived relatively unscathed from the process of Post Vatican II reordering.  The one casualty has been the high altar, which has been reduced to little more than a shelf, although the splendid reredos remains..  Reinstatement of the High altar would be relatively simple, but could not be done immediately, due to the process required for changes to Listed Buildings.


The Church of St Mary in Warrington has a strong choral tradition, and the polyphonic choir sang well at the Mass.  The FSSP are very lucky to be taking over a church with a quality choir already in place.  It also seems that the congregation are supportive of the idea of Latin Masses.  I understand that in 2012 when it was announced that the Benedictines would be withdrawing, it was members of the congregation that suggested an FSSP takeover.  It has taken three years for this to happen.


The church will be served by Fr de Malleray FSSP, and for the next few months he will be assisted by Marcus Williams who is a seminarian with the FSSP.

Next Latin Mass in Hull

The next usus antiquior Mass in Hull will be at 6.30pm on Wednesday 2nd December at the Church of St Charles Borromeo in Jarratt St.  It will be a Low Mass celebrated by Fr Peter Mulholland.

News from the Ordinariate

There is a move to set up a new Ordinariate group in Guildford in Surrey.  This is a long way from Yorkshire, but is of interest because it is some time since a new Ordinariate group was set up.  There is to be a Mass in the Ordinariate Use at the Church of St Edward the Confessor, about 3 miles to the northeast of Guildford, at 3pm on Saturday 28th November.  The purpose is to test whether there is interest in setting up an Ordinariate group in the area.  The church is very small and built in a rural location on the estate of Sutton Place, which was formerly owned by the recusant Weston family.  In more recent times, it has been owned by J Paul Getty.


We wish the people of Guildford success in their venture.  Although the counties surrounding Surrey are well supplied with Ordinariate groups, there are none in Surrey itself, and the current proposal may go some way to plugging a gap.  Another gap in the Ordinariate map is Yorkshire.  We have a modest group in Sheffield, which is still struggling to get properly established, but nothing else.  It is a little surprising that in the whole of Yorkshire there is not more activity on the Ordinariate front.

St Mary's Warrington

News has filtered through that Fr de Malleray FSSP and Fr Marcus Williams FSSP are now resident in the presbytery of St Mary's Church in Warrington.  A Missa Cantata was celebrated there last Sunday, which I am told was well attended.  The church, which has been described as one of the finest churches of Edward Welby Pugin, has a strong tradition of good music.


The ministry of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter at St Mary's Church will be officially inaugurated with a Solemn Mass to be held at noon next Saturday 21st November, the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady.  The Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon OP, Archbishop of Liverpool, will preside at the throne, and Rt Reverend Cuthbert Madden OSB, Abbot of Ampleforth will also be present.  St Mary's Church was founded by Ampleforth Abbey, and staffed by monks of Ampleforth until recently.


The church is in Buttermarket Street, a short distance to the East of the town centre, and just outside an inner ring road.  Parking should not be too difficult in the nearby streets, and the church is within walking distance of the railway station.

York Martyrs Pilgrimage

The date has been fixed for the next pilgrimage in honour of St Margaret Clitherow and the Martyrs of York.  It will be on Saturday 30th April 2016, and will start with a Solemn Mass in the Church of St Wilfrid at 1.30pm.  As usual, a procession through the streets of York will follow, and the pilgrimage will end with Benediction back at St Wilfrid's Church.

Have a Look at This

In the right hand sidebar of this blog, there are links to to various other useful blogs.  I would like to encourage all our readers to go to the blog of the LMS in the Diocese of Lancaster.  It reproduces a post by Rt Rev Michael Campbell OSA, Bishop of Lancaster, which he has recently posted on his own blog.

The post is all about the need for vocations in the Diocese of Lancaster.  It is not surprising that Bishop Campbell writes at length about that.  What is very interesting is the way that Bishop Campbell has chosen to illustrate his article.

Go over to the LMS Lancaster site and have a look.

Reminder - Sung Mass in Hull

The next of the regular first Wednesday Masses at the Church of St Charles Borromeo in Hull will be this Wednesday 4th November at 6.30pm.

Since it is the Feast of St Charles, Borromeo, the patronal feast of the church, it will be a Missa Cantata, and will be celebrated by Fr Mark Drew.  Mike Forbester of the Rudgate Singers will be coming to sing the propers, and I understand that Fr Drew has arranged for another priest to assist, so we could do with a good turn out.

Solemn Requiemin in the Presence of Bishop Marcus Stock, Leeds

There will be a Solemn Requiem Mass in Leeds Cathedral at 4pm on Saturday 14th November.  It will be offered for the repose of the soul of Bishop William Wheeler in the presence of Bishop Marcus Stock.

This will be a major landmark in the spread of the usus antiquior since Summorum Pontificum.  It will be the first time that a bishop of the Leeds Diocese will have taken any role in an extraordinary form Mass.  All the indications are that Bishop Stock looks very sympathetically on the usus antiquior, so we can expect further good news in the Leeds Diocese.