This last quarter we had our annual Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Caversham, in the outskirts of Reading. I should like to thank the Shrine custodian, Mgr Patrick Daly, Fr Seth Phipps FSSP, who stepped in at short notice to celebrate the Mass due to the indisposition of another priest; Adrian Taylor, who travelled all the way from South London to lead the chant Schola; and Alexandra Lloyd, who led the Newman Consort in singing some lovely early polyphony, namely Thomas Crecquillon’s Mass Je prens un gre, and Jacob Obrecht’s motet, Parce Domine. And not to forget Lucy Shaw, who provided pilgrims with an excellent lunch. Over the diocesan boundary I was able to facilitate another of the occasional Masses in English Martyrs, Didcot, on this occasion for St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary; it is good to see numbers at these Masses creeping up. Back in Birmingham Archdiocese, we had the first of what are now quarterly Sung Masses at Holy Trinity, Hethe, with thanks to the Parish Priest, Canon John Batthula, our celebrant, Fr Aldo Tapparo, our cantor, Jeremy White, and our MC, Thomas O’Sullivan. We also marked many feast days and third Sundays with Sung Masses at SS Gregory & Augustine’s in Oxford, thanks t0 the generosity of Fr John Saward. The quarter to come will see a similar pattern. There will be a Mass in Holy Trinity, Hethe, on Whitsun (Pentecost: 9 June), at 12 noon; a Mass in Didcot for the Annunciation (2 July, 7:30pm); and a Sung or High Mass in Holy Rood, Abingdon Road, Oxford, for the Ember Saturday of Pentecost (15 June). Regular Masses for feast days in SS Gregory & Augustine continue, and Low Masses on many of these days and also Sundays in the Oxford Oratory. Particularly worth mention is the High Mass and procession planned for Corpus Christi (20 June) at the Oratory. At the time of writing I have yet to confirm some events, so please consult the local website and look out for local mailings.
Report from the Society of St Tarcisius
Following its re-launch in the New Year, the Society of St Tarcisius has been very active. Part of the re-launch was the delivery of die-cast medals, featuring a design taken from a fine black High Mass set recently purchased by the Latin Mass Society in memory of a deceased benefactor, John Arnell, comprising the monogram IHS within a crown of thorns and quatrefoil. Servers whose level of expertise has been established can now be enrolled into the Society by a priest, with the traditional ceremony used by the Confraternity of St Stephen, substituting the name of St Tarcisius for that of St Stephen, and invested with the medal. The colour of the cord of the medal indicates the level of expertise.
We have now had two training days in St Mary Moorfields in London, with enrolments, and we had another enrolment ceremony at the St Catherine’s Trust Family Retreat. This brings the total number of enrolled members to 28, with members at each of the five ranks. I am myself on the lowest rank, that of Junior Acolyte, which means I can serve Low Mass and be Torchbearer at Sung Masses; to simplify, the next rank up, Senior Acolyte, implies mastery of the role of Thurifer, a ‘Junior MC’ can MC Sung Mass, a ‘Senior MC’ High Mass, and a ‘Grand MC’ Pontifical Masses, Holy Week services, and the other sacraments. The training days have been very successful, with a whole serving team, from St Anne Line, South Woodford, accompanied by Fr Neil Brett, as well as individuals from Oxford, Bristol, and London, wishing to learn various roles. I am particularly grateful to Jonathan Hague, Oliver McCarthy, and Dominic Auty, for their dedication as trainers. The next dates are 11 May (in Our Lady of the Assumption, Warwick Street, and 14 October and 16 November in St Mary Moorfields.
It was very pleasing to see serving teams made up of members of the Society of St Tarcisius, with their medals, at the LMS Pilgrimage to Caversham and at the final Mass of the St Catherine’s Trust Family Retreat. The next step is to have training days outside London: I should like to hear from Local Representatives and priests who would like to arrange these. More information about the Society can be found at www.tarcisius.org; the contact email address is tarcisius@lms.org.uk.
Joseph Shaw, National Coordinator