I am delighted to report that Sunday Masses at Bedford now attract around 100 people each week. The first Sunday in the month is usually a Sung Mass with the Schola, which is small in number but determined! Rehearsals are held at Christ the King on the Saturday before the First Sunday at 11.30 am and new singers would be most welcome. Our Director of Music, Matthew Schellhorn, plays and sings on two other Sundays each month. Another Sung Mass in the Northampton diocese takes place at Chesham Bois, normally on the first Sunday, at 8 am, and there is a Low Mass there at the same time on the other Sundays.
Fr Matthew Goddard, FSSP, one of the priests based at Reading who says the Mass at Bedford, celebrated the 10th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on 30 May. We at Christ the King sent him a greetings card, designed and stitched by one of our members, on the actual day, and when he next visited Bedford to say Mass at Bedford on 9 June, we surprised him with a cake in the hall afterwards. We are very grateful to the FSSP for providing celebrants from Reading each Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation since October 2017. Our series of First Sunday Family Catechism Days at Bedford finished on 2 June, but we are hoping that there will be more in future. Meanwhile, a new group, the Patricians, started on 15 June under the auspices of our active Legion of Mary group; the topic was ‘The Role of Men and Women in Catholic Marriage’. The Patricians met again on 13 July and discussed the topic ‘Are All Religions Equal?’ We will be continuing with other such ‘hot topics’ in the coming months. We had the joy of four of the children in the Bedford congregation, Anna, Clara, Gabriel and Matthias, making their First Holy Communion on Sunday, 23 June, which was celebrated as a Sung Mass for Corpus Christi. One of the mothers had made a beautiful celebration cake.
On 29 June we launched the “Friends of the FSSP Bedford”, which will bring together and promote our various activities and enable members of our congregation to play a more active role through prayer, involvement with events and financial support. Regina Caeli, the new Bedfordshire-based homeschooling academy, will open its doors on 16 September. Full details can be found at www.rcahybrid.org.uk. Looking further ahead, the Latin Mass Society will, for the second time, visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Church of the Holy Child and St Joseph, Bedford; on Saturday, 23 November at 12 noon, there will be a Solemn High Mass of Reparation for Abortion. One of the priests of the FSSP will be the celebrant and Fr Gabriel Diaz, well known for his previous Masses at Bedford in the past, will be returning to the town as Deacon. Br Albert Robertson OP completes the trio of Sacred Ministers as Sub-Deacon. We are a vibrant and growing community; our Facebook page I www.facebook.com/bedfordlatinmass and perhaps you will feel inspired to visit us in person one day. We promise a warm welcome.
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