(Last updated on 12 May 2012)
Dear Friends,
Welcome to this week’s Bishop’s Blog which I post for you from Valladolid in Spain!
I’m here along with Bishops Arthur Roche of Leeds and Terry Drainey of Middlesbrough on official Visitation to the English College, Valladolid.
The Royal English College, Valladolid, under the patronage of St Alban, was founded in 1589 during the protestant reformation for the training of Catholic priests for the English and Welsh Mission.
Today, men of varying ages and backgrounds spend a Propadeutic Year in Valladolid, to discern their vocation and begin formation for Catholic priesthood. They are exposed to spiritual and human formation, which roots their faith in Jesus Christ, and prepares them to go on to other seminaries either in the United Kingdom or Ireland - and some to Rome and other places. More on this shortly…….
Back in the Diocese last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the Parish of the Good Shepherd and St Mary, Morecambe. Canon Dunstan Cooper is the Parish Priest there and he, and the parishioners, gave me a very warm and fulsome welcome in both The Good Shepherd, Torrisholme and St Mary’s churches.
I was pleased, too, to be able to confirm 4 young people at the Saturday evening Mass and was touched by how many parishioners felt being present at the Confirmation had encouraged them in their life of faith.
Confirmation is always a powerful moment, but, when celebrated with the parish community at one of their principal weekend Masses, this reality is borne out even more so.
It was good, too, to be able to meet the Confirmati, their families and parishioners afterwards in the hall. Again the warmth of the people - in full churches - was quite wonderful – thank you!
I took the opportunity of the Visitation – at the three Masses - to pay tribute to the work and generosity of the people of the parish – along with their priest – in not only building up their vibrant parish but also in bearing witness to their faith in Christ in so many tangible ways.
Now to a moment of teaching:
The Church - the community of faith is not so different from the individuals who live and love within it. The Church is the bride of Christ — and that love needs to bear fruit. The new life which the Church brings into the world is salvation in Jesus Christ, through preaching and teaching the Gospel, and offering the sacraments.
If a priest does not actively share his love of Jesus Christ with others, then it will diminish in his own heart. Priests who fail to witness that love with purity and integrity, lose it. And no priest can be happy without it. That’s what St. Paul must have meant when he wrote, “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.”
The world needs Jesus Christ as never before. As a Church like in those early years of a new millennium, we find ourselves in the midst of a powerful, cynical, sceptical and sharply divided society – a culture fuelled by both pride and anxiety.
In today’s Britain, we live in mission-territory. This is the new Areopagus. Lancashire and Cumbria are certainly not immune to the challenges to the radical prevailing secularisation of our country. The legacy of Catholic achievement in our Diocese speaks loud and proud but it can easily blind us to the ‘new evangelisation’ that God now calls us to do for ourselves and those we seek to serve.
Each of us would do well to reflect long and hard on the meaning of the “new evangelization.” Those words have weight; they’re not just a slogan or saying. A new missionary spirit needs to be born in each of our hearts, both lay and clergy; and if it is, then God will use it to win the soul of the world around us to Jesus Christ.
In a special way, we focus on forming and supporting our priests as effectively as we can. The Propaedeutic Year in Valladolid is about creating a solid and necessary foundation to this process of formation. The reason for this is simple:
There’s no Gospel witness without the Church; there’s no Church without the Eucharist; and there’s no Eucharist without the priest.
Of course, if it stops there — no matter how many good seminarians we attract — we will fail. Ultimately, while there’s no Church without the Eucharist, and no Eucharist without the priest, it’s also true that there are no priests without families on fire for Jesus Christ. Families who help their sons to hear God’s call; who affirm and support and encourage the priests who already serve them; who live their lives in a way which proves to our priests that their own sacrifices make a difference and are worth – everything!
Please pray that all of this be a reality in our Diocese!
With every good wish and prayer for each one of you,
+Michael G Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster
A kind thanks & acknowledgement to Mr R Dennison for the photos of the Morecambe Visitation.
(Last updated on 5 May 2012)
Dear Friends,
Welcome back to this week’s Bishop’s Blog!
You can see and read here what a busy week it’s been.
After arriving back from the Ordination in Cork on Friday, last Saturday those responsible for safeguarding in our parishes gathered for a day’s reflection (below) on some particular aspect of their work, and the theme on this occasion was that of Domestic Violence.
We had contributions from members of the police who deal with Domestic Abuse as well as from a Head Teacher, and we were alerted to just how widespread this problem was, often unreported, and the consequent impact on children. Those of us present were given much food for thought.
St. Mary’s of Furness Parish, Ulverston, (above) on the Barrow peninsula, was the setting for the Confirmation of twenty-eight young people on Sunday morning. A large congregation joined the parents, grandparents and families present to support and pray for these fine young people.
They had been clearly well taught and prepared for the Sacrament and the atmosphere of joy pervading the Confirmation Mass was thoroughly justified. Seeing these happy newly-Confirmed young people somehow made the world a better place. I pray that with the grace of the Holy Spirit they may prove to be faithful followers of Christ.
A number of the priests joined me for an informal lunch on Monday, and it was good to relax, share a common meal and exchange stories from our various pastoral situations.
Our Diocesan Education Service gathered Catholic Headteachers of the Diocese near Lancaster on Tuesday to continue and take forward the dialogue initiated by my Pastoral Letter for New Year’s Day on the Year of Faith and the New Evangelisation, and the role our schools can play on the transmission of the faith to the new generation.
The task of transmitting our Catholic heritage is a challenging one in the 21st century, but the goodwill among the teachers augurs well for our school diocesan response to Pope Benedict’s call to the universal Church for a special Year of Faith.
It was very positive to be able to reflect upon these important questions together as we begin to plan together for the future. My own address at the Conference can be found here.
Later in the day I travelled to Preston and met with our Safeguarding Commission which plays a quiet but very essential role in the life of the Diocese. Their work is greatly appreciated.
A busy day concluded with the monthly meeting of the Diocesan Trustees (photos above and below). Our trustees deal with a range of practical matters concerning the day-to-day life of our diocese and parishes, especial questions dealing with property and finance.
They give their skills and time freely and generously and we all continue to be indebted to them.
One of the heroes of the Titanic disaster, the centenary of which we have just marked, was a Catholic priest, Fr. Thomas Byles. This apparently ordinary priest, rather than leave those in distress on board the sinking liner, chose to stay with them and give them the comforts of his priestly ministry in their final minutes.
As a young man Fr. Byles spent some of his teenage years as a student in Rossall School, a public school, near Fleetwood, founded for the children of clergymen in 1844.
Thomas Byles (photo below) became a Catholic and was ordained priest in 1902. He was on his way to New York to officiate at the wedding of his brother but obviously never made it, and he died along with countless others.
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A plaque in the narthex of the college chapel now commemorates this brave and heroic priest and past pupil of Rossall. After a moving service in the striking collegiate chapel, with the same hymns as were sung on the stricken Titanic, I had the honour of unveiling the plaque to Fr. Byles. The text of my address can be found here and the prayers I used here.
Rossall School is justifiably proud of Thomas Byles and the diocese of Lancaster shares in that pride, given that he lived for some years in what is now the Diocese of Lancaster. You might like to listen here to a Radio Wave Interview I gave at Rossall School - here.
Mgr, Keith Newton, whose official title is Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, came to our Diocese on Thursday and addressed some of the priests on the origins and history of the Ordinariate.
This is a personal initiative of Pope Benedict himself in response to the request of many Anglicans, both here in England and in other English speaking countries, to join the Catholic Church while retaining what is described as their “Anglican patrimony”.
Our own clergy found Mgr. Newton’s address informative and illuminating as well as a challenge to us all to broaden our vision of the universal Church.
My day concluded with a ‘look in’ to a meeting of our young people who will be going to Lourdes on the Diocesan Pilgrimage, and then to the cathedral to spend a few minutes with a group of about twenty candidates to be Confirmed in a few weeks, and who were given an instructive and useful tour of the mother church of the Diocese.
Quite a week!! - Until next time – God bless you all,
+Michael G Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster
(Last updated on 28 April 2012)
Dear Friends,
Welcome back to the Bishop’s Blog this Eastertide.
This week on Saturday it was a pleasure to celebrate the Annual Altar Server’s Mass in our Cathedral Church of St Peter, Lancaster.
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My Secretary Fr Billing is also the Diocesan Chaplain to Altar Servers and gave the homily at the Mass. (The Homily is available here)
Over ninety servers from across the Diocese were able to join us for what is now a regular part of our annual calendar in the life of the Diocese.
The Mass gives me an opportunity as bishop to thank God for this wonderful ministry of so many boys and girls, women and men who serve at the altar, in our schools and parishes.
Afterwards I was pleased to join servers, parents and families in the Cathedral Social Centre for light refreshments and time for a ‘catch up.’
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On Monday I travelled to Leeds to attend a Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales plenary meeting at Hinsley Hall, Leeds.
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This meeting (one of two in the year) gives the Bishops of England and Wales the opportunity to pray, share and reflect together on common goals and strategies as we engage in our common task of leadership in our respective diocese. News of the meeting can be found here
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On Wednesday evening, I travelled to Cork, Ireland to be with the Augustinian community there, for the close of their annual devotions to the Mother of Good Counsel.
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I was especially privileged to be invited to ordain a new Augustinian priest Fr Colm O’Mahony. (My homily is here) An online archive video of the Ordination - 26 April - is available here.
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Fr Colm (pictured above) is the first priestly ordination for the Irish provenance of Augustine in the last 18 years so it was a particular joy for me, the Austin Friars and the 2,000 strong congregation at St Augustine’s, Washington Street, Cork to witness and be part of such a wonderful celebration.
The people's applause that went up for Fr Colm immediately after the Rite of Ordination was spontaneous, from the heart and prolonged; a gesture of support for Fr Colm but also for the gift of Priesthood itself at this difficult time in the life of the Church in Ireland.
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Hopefully we will have more photos of the Ordination for next week.
Until next week – take good care.
With every blessing ,
+Michael G Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster
A kind thanks & acknowledgement to Mr R Dennison for the photos of the Altar Servers' Mass
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