Newman and Birmingham and the Pope and everything...

...is all getting very exciting. I'm writing this Blog at Maryvale, where I'm preparing for my exams which start tomorrow.

Yesterday began at 5.30am when I rose early to cycle across the suburbs to meet John Pontifex and Margaret Regan of Aid to the Church in Need to travel to the Birmingham Oratory. ACN holds regular days of talks and information, and this one would be tackling the Middle East, Pakstan, and the work of ACN in Ukraine, among other places. On arrival we busied ourselves getting the hall ready: it promised to be a day of sizzling heat so I enthusiastically seized the ropes to open the sash windows. The first two opened with a swoosh but the third crashed down again with immense force and a great shattering of glass across the floor. Golly. Much sweeping up and apologising and reorganising....however, after this the day went well, and there were some superb talks.

Special guest speaker was Father Khalil Samir, SJ who gave an overview of the position of Christians in the Middle East, and in particular the relationship with Islam. It really was an eye-opener - there were many aspects which I think most of us had never considered before. It is particularly interesting to grasp the idea that most Moslems believe that they already know about Christ and Christianity, because there is material about Christ in the Koran. There is of course also the assumption that the West is Christian and that the current lack of morality and cultural values in the West is proof that Christianity is not the true faith and that Islam is God's real and final message...all this and much more was discussed in some depth and it really was a most illuminating afternoon.

John Pontifex then brought us up to date on the situation among Catholics in Pakistan - where he makes regular trips as a link between the local churches and ACN - and we were also updated on Haiti and on Ukraine...this last was partly because the congregation at the Birmingham Oratory has been generous in raising funds to help build the now thriving new seminary there. Neville Kyrke-Smith, director of ACN, described how just a few years ago he stood on a grassy plain where a cross marked the place where the seminary was to be built, and how on his most recent visit he joined the thronging seminarians in chapel and for meals...he had brought back CDs of their glorious singing, which filled the hall as the day ended...

On to Mass - again some glorious singing - in the Oratory Church, and the good news, formally announced by Father Richard Duffield, of the Holy father's planned visit to Birmingham. Jack Valero was there, and we had a good chat - and it was a special joy also to run into Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe, who was there to take part in a TV programme about John Henry Newman. We had a good chat - our friendship goes back many years and this was the first time we'd had a chance to talk since she gave up her Parliamentary sea at the General Election and retired...although the retirement seems to be busy with books and a regular newspaper column and more...

The announcement about the Holy Father's visit coincided with a letter from Archbishop Bernard Longley, currently en route to Rome to recieve the Pallium. Afterwards, lingering in the sunny courtyard and chatting to Jack Valero about the Papal visit, with people coming and going, I suddenly thought about Newman, and how he had begun it all here, amid so much controversy and difficulty, in the vanished years of the mid-19th century. The newspapers reported about his mysterious building plans, hinting at underground cells and dungeons, and his gentle explanations about the Oratory, and its ordinary rooms and plumbing arrangements, make for amusing reading...there are parallels here perhaps with Pope Benedict and the way in which he is consistently misrepresented and misunderstood in the media...

On to Maryvale, where it was bliss to hear the kind Sister's voice at the entrance, and so see the gates swing wide, and open up the path to the old house, where there was a welcome, and the chance of a shower and glorious rest. This morning, special prayers at Mass for the Papal visit - perhaps Papa B. will drop in here at Maryvale while in Birmingham? - and as I write this, the big shady trees around the lawn invite me to take my books there for final study before tomorrow's exams...

A good crowd...

...for the annual meeting of the Family Education Trust...extra chairs had to be brought it, and there were lots of new, and young, faces. Sir Paul Coleridge, a senior judge in the Family Division of the High Court, spoke superbly and robustly about the crisis in marriage and the family, and called for the formation of some form of Trust which would work unequivocally to support, uphold and defend lifelong male/female marriage...there were lots of creative ideas in his speech and there is work to be done here...and Dr Arik Sigman, author of The Spoilt Generation spoke brilliantly about the importance of authority and its place in the rearing and protection of children. His book is well worth reading.

Young campaigners from various parts of Britain spoke during the morning, some describing local battles over ghastly forms of sex education in primary schools...although we heard some grim things, it was hugely encouraging to discover how people are prepared to fight for what is right, and not to give in to slogans and jargon when crucial issues are at stake...

The meeting had an upbeat and forward-looking feel to it, somehow different in style and mood from some I have attended organised by groups which spend too much time griping. There was a great buzz of talk over lunch, a bookstall crammed with good things, and a sense of people working together to achieve something worthwhile...

Young Catholics...

...are rather enthusiastic about the Holy Father's visit, and today I went to the launch of a new Internet radio station which will start broadcasting on September 14th and run throughout his days here...it was a venture which was planned to start as a Catholic radio station later in the year, but was brought forward when news of the Holy Father's visit was announced. It's the brainchild of the indefatigible Gerry Coates and you can find out more about it here.

The launch was held at the Amigo Hall, next to St George's Cathedral, Southwark. The latter has a fine stained-glass window commemorating John Paul's visit in 1982 when he anointed sick people, who were all brought to the Cathedral in great crowds, a most moving and touching scene...

I also visited the headquarters of the Catholic Truth Society, where they have been working exceptionally hard on projects connected with the Papal visit. All of us in the Association of Catholic Women are particularly grateful to the CTS which has so generously sponsored the Schools RE Project. In a couple of weeks I am off to a school in Lancashire to present some prizes...these have all been given by the CTS and include a cheque for the school, and beautiful books for the children, including the enchanting "Friendship with Jesus" which has the most beautiful pictures of Papa Benedict and the First Communion children of Rome...

The Papal visit...what a mess!!!

Latest story is that the Newman beatification will be at a venue that allows for some 80,000 people. That is insufficient for the people who want to see the Pope. Where can we see him in London? Where can we hear him, and cheer him?

For an analysis of how things are going on the Papal visit, click here...

Mark this date...

...September 14th. Author Brian Gail - I interviewed him recently for the Catholic Herald following the success of his gripping book Fatherless - is the guest speaker for the 2010 Theology of the Body lecture sponsored by the diocese of Westminster. Details on the link given. It will be an evening to remember - click on that link and find out more...

The Martyrs' Walk: a HUGE success!!!...

...a good crowd gathered at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, near the Old Bailey, site of Newgate Prison where so many martyrs were imprisoned in the 16th and 17th centuries...and we walked together along the route to Tyburn. It was a warm sunny Sunday afternoon, but with enough of a light breeze to be cool and pleasant enough for walking.

We started with a short historical talk and then prayers led by Fr Nicoletti, of the Miles Jesu movement, which is organising the Walk and other linked events. We had prayers at the church of Sts Anselm and Cecilia in Holborn,where we were warmly welcomed by Father David Barnes. The sound of a large congregation singing "Ave, ave, ave Maria" was impressive and moving...

At the (Anglican) church of St Giles-in-the-Fields we were again most warmly welcomed and the verger there brought greetings from Mgr Stark of the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom, who brought the Tyburn Walk along this route for so many years...a good ecumenical friendship had evidently developed there, and we are glad and honoured to carry on the tradition.

The route to Tyburn is not that long - about three or four miles - but is complicated because Oxford Street is impassable now on Sundays as all the shops are open and it is jammed with people. We therefore had to detour after St Giles, and make our way via various side streets to a parallel road. The group - which as indicated was large - inevitably broke up into smaller bunches, one of which (led by me!) got muddled after Soho Square...we had gathered there after a detour made necessary by massive roadworks around the back of St Patrick's church, and then took a wrong turning - we were recued by a member of the party who had a map and a good knowledge of London...but even after that some marchers went confidently off in the wrong direction, and I had to stand at a crossroad and bellow out " Tyburn Walkers! ABOUT TURN!", across the noise of the traffic: what a relief when the column heard and obeyed instructions...I was suddenly reminded of the description - recently revived because of the 70th anniversary - of the General at the evactuation of Dunkirk who, as the last boat was leaving, went up and down the beaches with a loud hailer calling out "Is anybody there?" to ensure that every last straggler got home safely...

At Tyburn we had Benediction - again a great roar of voices singing, and repeating the Divine Praises with vigour: "Blessed be God. Blessed be his holy name...". We were too many for the chapel and even its gallery and all available standing-space so the sisters opened up the gates and we poured into their own choir-stalls too...later there was a magnificent Tea...the Mother Superior had said "You'll all be hungry. We'll provide a good High Tea, and it certainly was splendidly High, with sandwiches and rolls and cakes and buns and big teapots generously poured and poured again for thirsty walkers.

Huge thanks to Bryan and Jayne Lock, principal organisers of the event, to Brad Poore who came over specially from Rome, to Fr Nicoletti - a splendid New York priest currently working in Ukraine - who after the long walk skipped Tea to hear confessions in the chapel...

And to the wonderful American couple who spontaneously invited the organising team back to their home in Pimlico for what proved to be a wonderful, laughter-filled, relaxation after the long day, filled also with good plans for next year...

A good day. Honour to the Martyrs who went along the route to Tyrburn with such great suffering, and passed on to us the heritage of faith that we hold today, and which, please God, we will never lose...

To Bath...

...to give a talk at Prior Park College, set in one of the most glorious sweeps of landscape in all England. A friendly welcome, pleasant pupils who engaged in the lesson with enthusiasm,a chance to revisit a wonderful city.

David Cameron...

...has been making some very silly remarks. This commentary on the subject is worth reading.

The Oxford Oratory...

...in this celebration year for Cardinal John Henry Newman, is running a whole series of summer events. Americans visiting Britain this summer should note the special "In(ter)dependence week" with a Mass at the Oratory featuring American composers on Sunday July 4th, and all sorts of other events with a USA flavour, including History Tours, a lecture on "An American remembers C.S.Lewis" with Walter Hooper, a gala dinner, and more....info on all of this here. Funds raised go to the Oratory's "reaffirmation and renewal" fund for work on the Oratory church, including a Newman shrine...

The church of Notre Dame de France...

...just off London's Leicester Square, is something of a hidden gem. It has a most beautiful image of Our Lady, as a young bride in white dress and veil, in a springtime garden, in the sanctuary. The church was full on Tuesday evening for the Graduation Mass for the latest batch of students from the St Patrick's School of Evangelisation...the Mass had to be held here because St P's is currently a building-site, undergoing massive renovations beginning with excavations of the crypt and basement area.

It was good to be at the Mass - I was with the students at various points during the year, giving them talks and leading them on history walks around London. Bishop Alan Hopes celebrated Mass, and gave the students their diplomas, and then afterwards there was a buffet and much talk.

When Catholics get together in large numbers, topics that come up: a good deal of strong feeling about the Pope's visit: when and where do we get to see him, cheer him, hear him?; continued - and actually increasing - strong feeling about the abolition of our Holy Days, especially in this season when we've missed Ascension Thursday and Corpus Christi. NOTE TO OUR BISHOPS: WE WANT OUR HOLY DAYS BACK, PLEASE!!!! No one is convinced that there has been any merit in moving the Holy Days to the nearest Sunday: members of new groups such as the charismatic renewal feel especially strongly about this, as part of the whole message opf the New Evangelisation is that BEING A CATHOLIC ISN'T JUST FOR SUNDAYS!

To the West London Synagogue...

...for a memorial service for His Honour Alan King-Hamilton QC, a dear friend who died this year at the grand age of 105. It was a most beautiful service - to hear the prayers sung in Hebrew was wonderful and moving, and we all joined together to say the 23rd Psalm in English "The Lord is my shepherd...." The first Scripture reading was "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God".

Fine tributes were paid to Alan, who was not only a distinguished judge and a brilliant public speaker but a man who lived by the highest standards, a patriot who truly loved his country, and one who always worked for the common good. There were some delightful memories from members of his family, and fine stories of his life on the Bench.

The synagogue is an impressive building with a great atmosphere of prayer. We went out to "Nimrod" and I have kept the Order of Service with its prayers: "Master of mercy, cover him in the shelter of Your wings forever, and bind his soul into the gathering of life. It is the Lord who is his heritage. May he be at peace in his place of rest."

A glorious Mass and procession...

...at Westminster Cathedral and around the nearby streets, with a vast crowd following the Blessed Sacrament as it was carried under a canopy by the Archbishop...all bathed in the evening sunlight and resounding to splendid singing ...it was extraordinary, moving, and memorable. As we rounded into the piazza to return via the great doors of the Cathedral it was a truly magnificent sight, and it did feel as though there had been a great blessing on all of London...

This was all the mark the close of the Year for Priests, and in his sermon Archbishop Vincent Nichols spoke of the Pope who had just completed a similar Mass in Rome, and quoted him at some length, noting the solemn and important things he had said...

And today...

...with a team of loyal and v. hard-working volunteers, I spent the day at the CTS packing and mailing out the certificates and Catechism prizes won by children at Catholic schools across Britain in the big Pope Benedict's Visit project run by the Association of Catholic Women. The children have written some wonderful - and some unintentionally very funny - prayers and essays about the Holy Father, and St Peter, and the significance of the whole visit. Later this month I and other members of the CTS/ACW team will be visiting schools to distribute the major prizes. A booklet of some of the prayers and essays is also planned...

The CTS office is busy but has a wonderful friendly atmosphere. At 12 noon we all gathered for the Angelus.

Among the prizes - a most beautiful new book featuring the Holy Father teaching First Communion children. It is enchantingly illustrated, a lovely book to use, and one to treasure. I do wish we had had this sort of thing years ago when I was a First Communicant...

Conversations...

...this week have tended to concentrate on the Papal Visit and its problems. It's all so heartbreaking - it could so easily be a huge success, given some courage, faith, and good organisational skills. Papa B. will do his part admirably - all that is required is an opportunituy for him to do it. The prayers of all readers of this blog are invited, urgently, for this...

At the weekend I had the huge delight of taking two Dominican Sisters from Nashville, Tennessee, on a short history walk around Chelsea. It was pure joy - lively conversation, good historical knowledge (Dominicans, v. brainy),much laughter, many useful things discussed. Chelsea Old Church was open and two kind ladies there were welcoming visitors - they were v. well-informed about the history, showed us some work by Holbein which I hadn't known was there, explained how the church had been rebuilt following the Blitz etc. We prayed in the More chapel, and left with grateful hearts.

We had a long agreeable talkative Tea, and then I 'phoned J. and found him to be just a short distance away - at the Oratory where he'd just been taking part in a Corpus Christi procession! An agreeable evening followed. and finally J. drove the Sisters to the Franciscans in Clapham where they were staying. They have invited me to drop in to see them in Tennessee. ("Its really no distance from Alabama, so next time you're at EWTN...")

For weeks...

...we have been praying (and worrying) about the Pope's visit to Britain. Bad signs when the committe in charge of things at the episcopal level seemed to be telling us to stay at home and watch it on our computers.

Worse news when rumors began to spread about the possible downscaling of the Mass and beatification of John Henry Newman. Today's Daily Telegraph now reports the apparent lack of any great event in London - it seems that Hyde Park has not been booked for a young people's prayer vigil after all...

Dear Bishops: we know you were effectively jumped into this by the previous Prime Minister, who thought a Papal visit would enhance his own prestige and/or electoral chances. But that's history.Stop panicking, and rise to the moment! This is your opportunity to be part of something large and great for the whole community. Give us a chance to be with our Pope, and cheer him to the echo, and be at Mass with him, and pray and sing with him, and you will find that you can draw great good out of what has begun so poorly...stop messing about, stop trying to do the impossible and run a Papal visit on half-measures. Organise a great - I mean great - event and encourage people to turn up in huge numbers. Tell us where we can see the Holy Father when he is in London. Get Hyde Park (or, better, a rather larger venue) organised for a young people's gathering, and urge the young to come, bring candles, a bit of food to share, suitable clothes, and their friends.

I remember that there were those who, before and even during World Youth Day in Sydney, were wishing the event ill:"World Youth Day Lives up to its sordid reputation" ran one nasty such attempt...there are those who hate joy and optimism in the Church, who don't want to echo John Paul's call that we be not afraid, who don't want the world to see that, as Papa Benedict has said "The Church is alive, and the Church is young!"

There is much goodwill, courage and faith in the Church in Britain. This can be mobilised to make this Papal visit work. BUt we need energy and commitment from our Bishops, and we need it now...

The Guildhall...

...in London looked magnificent in brilliant sunshine, and lots of people in Royal Navy,Amy and RAF uniforms, plus more in civilian dress, were teeming about - we were all there for a reception attended by the Duke of Edinburgh to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Cadet movement. Jamie currently commands a Cadet unit so we had duly been invited...I wore my Best Little Black Dress (bought some ten years ago, in the USA, when doing some work at EWTN, has a neat little pink jacket, and is the best investment I've ever made).

It was all rather nice ...delicious food, aldermen and City councillors in robes, chaps with medals...and then the National Anthem and everyone suddenly still, and speeches, and HRH working the room.

I met Clive Dytor, headmaster of The Oratory School and a family friend, and we had a good talk. The Cadets are a big part of Oratory school life.

There was some splendid marching and music, "The British Grenadiers" etc. Later, as we all dispersed, J. and I walked along towards St Paul's Cathedral - his brother works just near there so we phoned him up and all had coffee together.

This was one of those days which bring a sudden reminder of one's identity. London, and the Guildhall...we have a dear niece at the City of London School, and I take History Walks around the City, and the Catholic Writers' Guild meets at St Mary Moorfield and formerly at St Etheldreda's in Ely Place...and then the Army, and friends, and talks of the Yeomanry and regimental news...

The news...

...that Fr Jerzy Popieluszko is to be beatified this week is very good news indeed.

When he died, nearly three decades ago, he was a hero and a symbol for young Poland. In those days, the only way to get books, newsletters, information that was critical of Communism,plus printing equipment etc, into the country for Solidarity,into Poland was to smuggle it in from the West, packed in ordinary luggage. It was safest to keep the addresses to which such material was delivered a bit secret, so these were written on a small bit of paper and wrapped in some plastic and hidden well within one's clothes. The suitcases were rather heavy to carry nonchalantly through Warsaw airport but it was well worth it, and the people we met in Solidarity were wonderful and fun and we had an unforgettable time.

One of the most important places to go was the church where Fr Jerzy had preached, and already it was a shrine to him. And not a tacky shrine - there was some really fine artwork, carvings, paintings, and so on there, all safeguarded because the place really was virtually untouchable by the authorites. "Here it is free Poland" said our young guide enthusiastically. One day, we all promised each other, all of Poland will be free. And now it is.

Mother Riccarda Hambrough...

...was in my thoughts as I hurried back from a busy morning in London to tackle some work at home. M. Riccarda is the WWII heroine who helped to hide Jewish families in the St Birgitta Convent in Rome, risking her life to do so. My book on her is humming alone nicely (text to be w. publishers in Sept), but I needed a few more leads, and was pondering this a bit gloomily as I trudged along, as piecing the story together has proved something of a project in detective work...and then I got in, there was a message on the answering-machine, a chap from the Independent, who was writing a feature about M. Riccarda, and had been given my name as a contact! We had a good talk, and he was also able to give me a couple of possible leads, which I am, now following up. I regard all this as absolutely providential...