I am pleased to report that there have been no changes to the weekly Sunday 11.30am Latin Mass at St Edward the Confessor in Peverell, Plymouth, where Fr Tony Pillari still has full pastoral care of the congregation. This latter was shown recently when the congregation was treated to another Baptism, this time the daughter of the MC, Matthew Villa Real and his wife Theresa. Baby Mary-Grace Margaret takes her rightful place in a largely young congregation where the children almost outnumber the adults. Mr Andrew Proctor, who provides the music every Sunday, is still looking for more choir members, so if any reader is able to offer some help it would be much appreciated - just have a word with Andrew either before or after Holy Mass, or contact me for more details Our monthly Sunday afternoon Traditional Rite Mass at Blessed Sacrament, Heavitree, Exeter, continued as usual with Mgr Adrian Toffolo, along with Fr Peter Coxe taking turns to celebrate. Unfortunately, we lose Mgr Toffolo due to his impending retirement, and as such he celebrated his last Latin Mass for us on the Third Sunday of June - we heartily thank the Monsignor and wish him well for the future. It has been noticed that there are many new faces among the congregation, and that, overall, numbers are increasing at this venue, including students of the university. Due to increased interest in the Old Latin Rite among the latter, Fr Michael Wheaton, the Roman Catholic chaplain, celebrates the usus antiquior for them during term time. For more details on this, prospective students may contact Fr Michael via email on the following: m.t.wheaton@exeter.ac.uk.
At St Cyprian’s, Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh, I am pleased to report that Fr Guy de Gaynesford still manages to celebrate a Missa Cantata for us in the afternoon of the fourth Sunday of every month. We were pleased to have Dr Andrew Beards in the choir, along with Timothy Tindal-Robertson and Michael Crawford, with Dr Andrew’s son, Jerome, serving on the sanctuary while at home from university during the summer break. Although we had to cancel Mass at this venue during May, things are back to normal for the rest of the year. During the Summer months tea is available after Mass in the Orangery, where visitors can meet and greet some of the regulars. We had our last Latin Mass at Buckfast Abbey during March with Fr Guy de Gaynesford as celebrant, and since then I have been contacted by people from around the country wanting to know if there is a chance that this can be resumed in order that they may plan a visit to coincide with a Latin Mass. As disappointing as this is, I can now confirm that this particular facility is no longer open to us, but we thank the Benedictine Community of Buckfast for helping us in the past. I might just add that as the pastoral need in the diocese for the usus antiquior is growing, I am still looking for more venues to help alleviate this, and I hope to have more good news on this in the near future.
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