Latest News from the Ordinariate

Ordinary welcomes Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross

Sat, 12 May 2012 00:54:00 GMT

It was announced yesterday that a Personal Ordinariate will be established within the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference on 15 June 2012. This will be the third Personal Ordinariate to be erected by Pope Benedict XVI following the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus.

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross will be under the patronage of St Augustine of Canterbury and will be headed by an Ordinary, who is yet to be named.

Monsignor Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, said, "This is great news for the Church in Australia, and for those from the Anglican tradition who are seeking to fulfil the goal of full visible unity with the Apostolic See, whilst maintaining essential elements of our Anglican tradition".

"A close bond already exists between the Ordinariate here in the UK and our brothers and sisters of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter. It is my hope that similarly strong ties can be established with our Australian counterparts, especially as we look forward to the publication of a common liturgical use".

Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne said, "I hope that those former Anglicans who have made a journey in faith that has led them to the Catholic Church will find a ready welcome".

Personal Ordinariate to be established in Australia on 15 June

Fri, 11 May 2012 03:00:00 GMT

The President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Denis Hart, announced today that Pope Benedict XVI intends to announce the establishment in Australia of a Personal Ordinariate for Former Anglicans to commence on 15th June 2012. This new community will have the status of a diocese and will be known as the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross under the patronage of St Augustine of Canterbury.

Press release

A Day with Newman at Littlemore

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

on Saturday 28th July 2012
Spend a day in Littlemore with Blessed John Henry Newman
Hear about Newman’s time at Littlemore ... Celebrate Mass
Enjoy a good lunch ... Visit The College and the Parish Church

Programme
1030 Mass
(Blessed Dominic Barbari Parish Church, Cowley Road,
Littlemore, OX4 3JX - free and safe off-street parking)
1100 Coffee
1130 Talk “Newman at Littlemore” by a Sister of The Work
1230 Lunch
1345 Guided tours of the College and the C of E Church
1515 Tea and Home

To book your place on this Newman day at Littlemore
send your name and address, together with a cheque for £10 made out to
The Portal to :The Portal, 56 Woodlands Farm Road, Birmingham B24 0PG
If you need more information ring: 0121 373 8348

The Following are Candidates for Ordination to the Priesthood 2012

Mon, 07 May 2012 23:00:00 GMT

AISBITT Osmond John *
ALLDRITT Nicholas Sebastian Fitzansculf *
BENNIE Stanley James Gordon *
BERRY Kenneth Percy John
BOUNDY David *
CANN Christopher James
CORBYN John Robert *
COPUS Brian George *
GIBBONS Paul James
GILL Brian Alvan *
GRIEVES Ian Leslie *
GIFFIN Alan Howard Foster *
GULL William John *
HUNWICKE John William *
MAUNDER John David *
MINCHEW Donald Patrick
NARUSAWA Masaki Alec *
READER-MOORE Anthony *
STAFFORD David George *
WATTS Franklin Charles *
WESTON Ivan John *

* to be ordained on 26th May at Westminster Cathedral.
Documentation for the other candidates has not been completed.
When all the necessary permissions are given
they will be ordained deacon on another occasion.

New CTS leaflet asks 'What is the Ordinariate?'

Tue, 01 May 2012 08:00:00 GMT

The Catholic Truth Society has published a short leaflet explaining the purpose and development of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

The leaflet, to be sold at just 25p, gives a simple explanation of the events leading up to the establishment of the Ordinariate, and also the Ordinariate's structure and day-to-day running.

It is designed for those with little or no knowledge of the Ordinariate project, and is specifically to provide better information about Pope Benedict's generous outreach to Anglicans.

Copies are available to order from the CTS website.

May edition of Portal Magazine

Tue, 01 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

May edition of Portal Magazine now available HERE (pdf)

POPE DONATES $250,000 TO ORDINARIATE

Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Pope Benedict XVI has donated $250,000 to support the work of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. The gift will help establish the Ordinariate as a vibrant part of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

The news from Rome came to Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate, and read “The Holy Father has benevolently permitted a donation of $250,000”.

Responding to the gift, Mgr Newton said, “I am very grateful to the Holy Father for his generosity and support. This gift is a great help and encouragement as we continue to grow and develop our distinctive ecclesial life, whilst seeking to contribute to the wider work of evangelisation in England and Wales”.

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was established in January 2011 to enable Anglicans to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church whilst retaining essential elements of their heritage and tradition. It comprises around 1200 lay faithful and 60 clergy spread across the United Kingdom.

The Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Antonio Mennini, was instrumental in securing the Holy Father’s assistance. On the announcement of the gift the Archbishop said, “The Holy Father’s gift of $250,000 is a clear sign of his personal commitment to the work of Christian Unity and the special place the Ordinariate holds in his heart. I pray for the continuing success and development of the Ordinariate”.

Speaking of the need for further fundraising the Nuncio said, “I urge all those who share our Holy Father’s vision to lend their spiritual and material support to the Ordinariate, especially in these early days”.

Mgr Newton, in response to the remarks of Archbishop Mennini said, “The support and encouragement given to us by the Apostolic Nuncio has been very significant. We were very pleased to welcome him as the Principal Celebrant of our Chrism Mass: a clear sign of our deep desire to remain closely united the Holy Father”.

The Ordinariate welcomed over 250 new members this Easter. Bishop Alan Hopes will ordain deacons for the Ordinariate in Westminster Cathedral on 26 May 2012 at 10.00 a.m., and two men in their twenties were ordained to the Sacred Priesthood in London earlier this month.

Mgr Newton: 'Everything will be alright'

Tue, 01 May 2012 02:00:00 GMT

The Ordinary writes in the May 2012 edition of The Portal:

Having just reached a significant birthday I have learned that I am able to get concessionary rates at the cinema. Sadly, it will not save as much as the free prescriptions I am also now entitled to as I hardly ever go to the cinema. My first visit for many months, a few weeks ago, was to see the British film ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’. I mentioned this in my Easter homily because it has a particularly good line spoken by one of the main characters several times during the film when things had not worked out quite as people hoped: ‘Everything will be all right in the end, so if is not all right then it is not yet the end.’

Anxiety and uncertainty

Over the last year or so there have been times of anxiety and uncertainty for some, but things have usually worked out. Sometimes people expect too much too soon; after all fifteen months is not long in the life of the Catholic Church which people say thinks in terms of centuries. I have told clergy who are contemplating entering the full communion of the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate, not to think that the journey will be easy or necessarily straightforward nor will practical matters always work out in the way one might expect.

40 Ordinariate groups

Nevertheless much has been achieved in the short time since the Ordinariate was erected in January 2011. We now have 60 priests, the most recent being Fr James Bradley and Fr Daniel Lloyd ordained at the end of April and both under 29 years of age. We now have a working Governing Council, which meets every three months to counsel and advise me. Around 200 more people were received into the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate this Easter.

There are more than 40 Ordinariate groups of varying sizes meeting regularly for Mass and other devotions. Two of our priests have begun to study Canon Law by distance learning from Louvain University so that we can eventually have our own Canon Lawyers. Despite having to travel long distances, almost all our clergy were present at our first Chrism Mass at St James’ Spanish Place which was an inspiring and uplifting occasion. Several young men have offered themselves for ordination and will this month attend a selection panel. At the end of the month we hope that around 20 former Anglican clergy will be ordained to the Diaconate in Westminster Cathedral - God willing.

‘It is not yet the end’

Yes, much has been achieved but ‘it is not yet the end’ and there is much still to do. We need to put permanent structures in place, set up a Pastoral Council which will include members of our laity, gradually put ourselves on a more stable financial footing, not to mention the most important objective; to be an enthusiastic and effective agent of evangelisation. In addition we do not yet know what effect decisions made in General Synod in July will have on those many Anglicans who have been waiting to see how the Ordinariate develops. This is a long term project and we are just at its beginning.

May is the month of Mary

May is the month of Mary, our patron under her beloved title of Our Lady of Walsingham. She gives us an example par excellence of faith and obedience. Despite not knowing quite what the future would bring, by God’s grace she responded positively to his invitation. The great gift of a mother is to pray for her children so let us ask her to pray for us that our resolve may be strong and our vision undimmed and have faith that God will provide - ‘Everything will be all right in the end, so if is not all right then it is not yet the end.’

Apostolic Nuncio asks Bishops: 'continue to be generous' in support of Ordinariate

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:04:00 GMT

His Excellency, the Apostolic Nuncio made these remarks during this week's meeting of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales in Leeds:

My brother bishops, dear friends in Christ,

for your welcome and for your kind invitation for me to be with you and to address you today. It gives me great pleasure to be here as the Representative of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, and to thank you on his behalf for all that you do. It is a particular pleasure for me to be with you on this, the Solemnity of Saint George, Protector of England and the heavenly patron of this Country. I am also pleased to say once again that I feel that gradually I am coming to know you better and to understand more deeply the challenges and the opportunities which you are facing, both in the public arena and in the life of the Church in Great Britain.

You have many matters to deal with during this meeting. I know that the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham has already been mentioned but, this year, as you probably know, Monsignor Newton kindly invited me to preside at their Chrism Mass, an occasion which I must say that I found moving and prayerful. Do please continue to be generous in your support of their endeavours. In a time of recession and of diminishing resources we are all finding ourselves having to take difficult decisions, and not just financial ones, and I am glad to see that the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and religious life and the National Vocations Framework is under consideration, as indeed is the question of the ‘Life Choices and Aspirations of Teenagers.’ The future lies with the young who are looking to us for example and clear leadership in a complex society.

At our last meeting I think that I shared with you the importance of not losing hope in our dialogue with the secular world around us, trying always to courageously express the teaching of the Church. I think we all know how important this is for the good of the wider society and for the Church and how close this dialogue is to the heart of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.

Addressing some of the Bishops of America during their recent ‘ad limina’ visit on 9th March this year, you will recall that the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, pointed out very clearly: “our concern about threats to freedom of conscience, religion and worship which need to be addressed urgently, so that all men and women of faith, and the institutions they inspire, can act in accordance with their deepest moral convictions.” The Holy Father affirmed that: “particular mention must be made of the powerful political and cultural currents seeking to alter the legal definition of marriage.” In America, but here too, “The Church’s consciencious effort to resist this pressure calls for a reasoned defence of marriage as a natural institution consisting of a specific communion of persons, essentially rooted in the complimentarity of the sexes and oriented to procreation. Sexual differences cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to the definition of marriage. Defending the institution of marriage as a social reality is ultimately a question of justice, since it entails safeguarding the good of the entire human community and the rights of parents and children alike.”

As you well know, the Pastoral Letter on marriage which you issued at the beginning of the Government consultation was a good start in highlighting the importance of marriage and in encouraging our people to reflect on, and express, the view of Christians, Catholic and others, in this regard. However, I think that most of us realise that this is the start of what may well prove to be a lengthy and probably difficult campaign. As I said when we met last November, I also wonder if we shouldn’t ask for and look for more support among other Christian confessions and indeed, persons of other faiths. It seems to me that, concerning the institution of marriage, and indeed the sanctity of human life, we have much in common with the position of the Jewish community, the Chief Rabbi and many of the more significant representatives of Islam.

Within the Catholic community too, there are opportunities which need to be grasped. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI also said to the American Bishops in this regard: “On the practical level, marriage preparation programmes must be carefully reviewed to ensure that there is greater concentration on their catechetical component and their presentation of the social and ecclesial responsibilities entailed by Christian marriage. In this context we cannot overlook the serious pastoral problem presented by the widespread practice of cohabitation, often by couples who seem unaware that it is gravely sinful, not to mention damaging to the stability of society. I encourage your efforts to develop clear pastoral and liturgical norms for the worthy celebration of matrimony which embody an unambiguous witness to the objective demands of Christian morality, while showing sensitivity and concern for young couples.”

We all know how difficult it is to live in an increasingly secularised society but, that is why we need to express the teaching of the Church in a clear and outspoken way. This testimony in public life will affect the future of the young and will, God willing, also touch the hearts of all persons of goodwill who are seeking meaning in their lives and, often without realising it, are in fact, searching for God. In this regard, I cannot fail to express my admiration, as well as my congratulations, to Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II, who has served as Monarch for sixty years and clearly manifests in all that she does, especially her Christmas Messages, the Christian Faith which inspires her.

Dear brothers, I draw your attention to the words of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, at the Chrism Mass this year when he spoke of genuine renewal. He said to his priests and to us too: “Dear Friends, it is clear that configuration to Christ is the precondition and the basis of all renewal. But perhaps at times the figure of Jesus Christ seems too lofty and too great for us to dare to measure ourselves by him. The Lord knows this. So he has provided “translations” on a scale that is more accessible and closer to us. For this same reason, Saint Paul did not hesitate to say to his communities: Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. For his disciples he was a “translation” of Christ’s manner of life that they could see and identify with. Ever since Paul’s time, history has furnished a constant flow of other such “translations” of Jesus’ way into historical figures. We priests can call to mind a great throng of holy priests who have gone before us and shown us the way... The saints show us how renewal works and how we can place ourselves at its service. And they help us realise that God is not concerned so much with great numbers and with outward successes, but achieves his victory under the humble sign of the mustard seed.” (Homily. Chrism Mass. 5 April 2012).

In this regard I hope that you will allow me to remind you of how important it is to continue to grow in an effective and affective communion among yourselves, given the fact that this communion reveals itself as the first way, the first form of Mission. We all know very well that to talk is absolutely indispensable – but just talking is not of itself sufficient... and then we can also reflect on the Lord’s command: “Love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other. This is how all will know you for my disciples: by your love for one another.” (Jn. 13:34-35). I believe that a stronger communion between you, between us, as brother bishops, would have very positive effects on your faithful and particularly upon your priests. One could quote the latin proverb: “exempla trahunt!”

To conclude, we live, of course, in a complex world and are challenged in many ways to continue to be living “translations” of the Gospel, in a successful way, and to carry out faithfully the holy mission entrusted to us by the Holy Father, and so, in this land, historically referred to as ‘The Dowry of Mary’, I also invoke the intercession of Mary, our Blessed Mother, and today particularly, Saint George, on all our endeavours.

Archbishop Antonio Mennini

Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain

Mgr Newton's Ordination Homily

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:34:00 GMT

Mgr Keith Newton preached at the ordination to the Sacred Priesthood of Fr James Bradley and Fr Daniel Lloyd on Saturday 21 April 2012:

As you send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. John 17:19

The popularity of David Attenborough programmes such as Frozen Planet, Life of Mammals, and so on, shows the continuing fascination many people have with the natural world. We inhabit this planet with many other creatures but, in a large measure, its future is in our hands whether we believe in global warming or not. That God is the creator of the world and all that is in it is a basic doctrine of the Faith. It was for this world that our Blessed Lord lived and died, as Saint John reminds us in one of the most well-known verses of the Gospels:

‘God so loved the world that gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’ John 3:16

Did you notice, then, that the word ‘world’ occurred nine times in today’s Gospel reading? In it, Jesus tells his disciples that they do not belong to the world. They are in it but not of it. This is because they have been chosen by Christ, and the world will hate them as it hated him. There are really difficult words, and certainly Jesus did not leave his followers under any illusions about the consequences of following him, and in those early years his followers experienced what it meant to be persecuted.

But how are we to understand this passage? What does it mean for us not to belong to the world, when at so many levels we obviously do belong to the world? We eat and drink and breathe, fall in love and marry, buy and sell houses and take part in politics. Such passages have led some Christians to shun the world and to see Christianity only involved with the things of the Spirit. But other parts of scripture lead us to believe that creation is good and the material world has been sanctified by the incarnation of Jesus, who took flesh for our sake.

In Saint John’s Gospel, the world ‘world’ often seems to suggest not only the created order, but also a human society which has no place for God. Inevitably there is bound to be a clash between those for whom God is the all-embracing and abiding reality for whom the demands of God control the way we live, and those for whom such talk is meaningless or irrelevant. But even within the Christian world there is significant difference between those who believe that God has acted and revealed himself in Jesus and that revelation challenges us about the way we conduct our lives, and those for whom religion seems little more than a way of expressing our deepest human aspirations. Between those who think faith is a gift to be received, however challenging for us, and those who think we should always be acceptable to the world as a way of gaining followers.

It seems to me that Pope Benedict’s teaching often focuses on this; the need to stand up for the values of the Gospel in a secular world. We are, as Catholics, counter-cultural; we will often find ourselves against the world as far as the prevailing culture is concerned - which in the ‘post-Christian world’ does little more than pay lip-service to the Faith. We are beginning to learn this as never before, when a government tells us it values the Christian Faith, and yet is planning to bring forward legislation on marriage which will undermine some of its basic truths.

James and Daniel: it is in this world that you are called to minister and will have to live out your priestly calling. It is an office of great dignity, but of great challenges. Indeed, for the most part, the world does not understand what a Priest is. It will often be an heroic struggle, as there must be an element of sacrifice in your life, where your priestly ministry must be put before your own personal needs. For this you will need to put your life close to Christ. Indeed, in a few moments you will be encouraged to ‘model your lives on the mystery of the Lord’s cross’.

Of course, the words of that opening text apply to all Christian disciples, but they apply in a particular way to those who have been chosen to share in Christ’s Priesthood through ordination.

As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.

Jesus was aware that he had been sent by the Father, and he now send you out with the same mission, to preach the Gospel and administer the sacraments in a secular and sometimes hostile world. In the second volume of his book Jesus of Nazareth, our Holy Father Pope Benedict considers this passage and points out that consecration and mission are intrinsically linked. Sanctity or holiness belongs only to God, so to be consecrated means to be set apart for God, but also for his mission to the world. “Consecration”, he says, “means that God is exercising a total claim over this man, ‘setting him apart’ for himself, yet at the same time sending him out for the nations”. There is your commission.

No doubt you will both be feeling ill-equipped and unworthy of this great calling: and so you should, as none of us can be Priests because of our own goodness or in our own strength. A few years ago my attention was drawn to a poem by George Herbert, a seventeenth century Anglican Divine, which I hope is part of that Anglican Patrimony we bring to the Catholic Church. The poem is called Aaron, and in it he begins by describing the lovely robes of Aaron the priest, and goes on to lament the defects of his own life by comparison, and says ‘poor priest thus am I drest’.

In the following verse he gives the solution. The priest is not a priest in his own right, but acting as a representative of someone else. It is that persons character and goodness he ‘wears’ as if it were a garment. In him, he says, he is ‘well drest’.

Then he reveals that the person is Christ himself who is described in the Epistle to the Hebrews as ‘our great high priest’.

Christ is my only head,

My alone only heart and breast,

My only music, striking me ev’n dead;

That to the old Man I may rest

And be in him new drest.

James and Daniel: I hope you have prepared for this day with awe and trepidation. It is a great calling, but one all priests know they can never live up to - you will live with that knowledge all your life. But you need also to have confidence that, through his grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, you will be set apart to stand in his place as you present his sacrifice in the Mass, and in him you will be ‘well drest’.

Two new priests for the Ordinariate

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Two new Catholic Priests in their twenties have been ordained in London for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

On Saturday Fr Daniel Lloyd (27) and Fr James Bradley (28) were ordained for service in the Ordinariate, which was set up by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 to allow Anglican clergy and faithful to enter the Catholic Church. Both priests were formally Anglican curates, serving around Oxford and Kent.

Fr Lloyd will continue to work with former Anglican bishop, now Monsignor Andrew Burnham, in the Oxford Ordinariate Group, based at Holy Rood, Folly Bridge, in Oxford. Fr Bradley is resident in the parish of the Holy Ghost, Balham, from where he serves the Ordinariate as Communications Officer and continues studies in Canon Law.

Speaking after the ordination Fr Bradley said, “It was a remarkable occasion - personally for both of us, but also as an affirmation of the work and mission of the Ordinariate. This is just the start - we have been ordained to serve God in his Catholic Church, and to do that through the specific mission which the Ordinariate represents”.

The ordination was celebrated with well-over 400 people at the newly-restored St Patrick’s, Soho Square. The Parish Priest, Fr Alexander Sherbrooke, welcomed the Ordinariate as an initiative of Pope Benedict’s vision for Christian Unity.

The Ordinary, Mgr Keith Newton, preached the homily in which he recalled the poem, Aaron, by the seventeenth century Anglican poet and cleric, George Herbert. At the end of the Mass, he highlighted the significance of the event - the first time that the Ordinariate has ordained men who have not served as Anglican priests (both men were Anglican deacons).

After the service a reception was held in the crypt of the church, whilst Fr Bradley and Fr Lloyd gave their first blessings.

On Sunday, both priests celebrated the Mass for the first time, together with family, friends and members of their respective congregations.

This weekend’s ordinations brings the total number of Ordinariate priests to 60.

Darlington Anglicans Enter Ordinariate

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:01:00 GMT

Over 50 people were received into the full communion of the Catholic Church for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, in Darlington last evening.

Led by the Reverend Ian Grieves, the group was received by the Ordinary, Monsignor Keith Newton, at the Catholic Church of Saint Anne, Darlington.

During his homily, Mgr Newton said, “The journey you embarked upon on Ash Wednesday through the days of Lent to your reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church this evening is a model of the whole of your Christian life. It has meant for each of you, in a particular way, leaving behind what has been comfortable and familiar and stepping out in faith, certain in the knowledge that we do so in company of Jesus who prayed the night before he died that his disciples might be one. It is a journey that must be total and complete. But like all journeys in the faith it is one leading to joy and fulfillment”.

Speaking about the importance of Christian unity, and the role of the Ordinariate, Mgr Newton said, “We have prayed and longed for unity but it has been realised in a way we might not have expected. Our prayer has been answered by the Holy Father himself through the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. We have travelled this road to further the unity of Christ’s Church; a unity in faith and communion symbolized by Peter amongst us- the visible reminder of the unity of Christ’s Church, a unity for which he reminded his listeners in Westminster Abbey is a particular responsibility of the Bishop of Rome”.

The Pastor of the Darlington Ordinariate Group, Ian Grieves, hopes to be ordained for service in the Personal Ordinariate in the coming months. After that the group will begin to worship together, bringing together elements of Anglican tradition and liturgy with the Catholic faith.

Maidstone Anglicans join Ordinariate

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

On Tuesday evening, a group of Anglicans from Maidstone were received into the full communion of the Catholic Church by Fr Edward Tomlinson of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

The group, which includes the former Vicar of St Michael & All Angels, Maidstone, the Revd Paul Gibbons, were received at St Anselm’s, Pembury, which is run by two priests of the Personal Ordinariate.

The Mass was celebrated by Fr Tomlinson, with intercessions led by Paul Gibbons. After Mass, members of the Tunbridge Wells Ordinariate Group and the new Maidstone Ordinariate Group enjoyed a celebratory drink. It is anticipated that both groups will continue to maintain a very close and mutually beneficial relationship long into the future.

Speaking after the Mass, Fr Tomlinson said “It was a great privilege to receive the Maidstone Ordinariate Group into full communion with the Catholic Church. This is another wonderful step in the life of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady Walsingham and each member is an inspiration to us all by their fidelity to God's call and their willingness to sacrifice much in pursuit of truth and unity”.

The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells groups will worship together over the Sacred Triduum, celebrating Easter together as Catholics gathered before the same altar.

Anglicans come home in Croydon

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:55:00 GMT

Sixty five former members of St Michael & All Angels' (Church of England) Croydon, have been received into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

Former Anglican bishop, Monsignor John Broadhurst, received and confirmed the group who will now form the Croydon Ordinariate Group.

The former Vicar, the Revd Donald Minchew, together with the majority of the congregation have left behind the beautiful church of St Michael & All Angels, in order to answer Pope Benedict's call to Christian Unity.

In his homily, Mgr Broadhurst recalled the many struggles of Anglo-Catholics, reassuring the new Catholics that they have reached 'the Promised Land' after the exodus through the desert.

The group was warmly welcomed by the parish clergy and faithful of Our Lady of Reparation, Croydon, with many members of the congregation acting as sponsors for the new Ordinariate members.

After the Mass a reception was held in the parish centre.

Photos available from here.

“WE’VE DONE IT!” Lancashire Anglicans join Ordinariate

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

A group of Anglicans from Lancashire have been received into the full communion of the Catholic Church through the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Joined by members of the local parish, including Paul Maynard MP - a Catholic and local Member of Parliament, the small group included the Revd Masaki Narusawa, who hopes to be ordained to the Catholic priesthood for the Ordinariate.

Mr Narusawa said, “We have been much blessed in our Christian journey since our baptism and today is the culminating of our spiritual search that has taken us finally to the Catholic Church”.

The Parish Priest of St Bernadette’s, Bispham in Blackpool, Fr Stephen Pearson, welcomed the group warmly - both as new Catholics and as members of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Speaking after the Mass, Mr Narusawa said “We shook hands and said ‘We’ve done it!’ Today will be etched in our minds as long as we live”.

Show your support...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:00:00 GMT

You can now show your support for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham by wearing one of two attractive new badges.

The first, (top) shows an image of Our Lady of Walsingham, has been designed to support the payment of clergy stipends. The badges are available from:

   John Worley
   48 Lawn Lane,
   Hemel Hempstead
   HP3 9HL

price £4
each please include a stamped, addressed envelope and
make cheques payable to: John Worley.

The second (below) is the coat of arms of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and is available from:

   Ordinariate Lapel Badge,
   274 Imperial Court,
   Kennington Lane,
   London,
   SE11 5QN.

£5 (in P&P)
Cheques should be made payable to 'Ordinariate OLW'.

Please remember to include the name and address of the purchaser.

Ordinariate Celebrates First Chrism Mass

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:00:00 GMT

On Monday the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham celebrated its’ first Chrism Mass at the beautiful London church of St James, Spanish Place (by kind permission of the Rector).

The Mass was celebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio to the United Kingdom, His Excellency the Most Reverend Antonio Mennini, at the request of the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate, Monsignor Keith Newton.

Mgr Newton, who received the Renewal of Priestly Promises and preached at the Mass, said “The jurisdiction given to me, unlike that of Catholic diocesan bishops, is vicarious on behalf of the Roman Pontiff. It is therefore particularly appropriate that our Chrism Mass should be celebrated by the Holy Father’s representative to Great Britain particularly as at this time we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of full diplomatic relations between the British Government and the Holy See”.

Around sixty clergy, including five former Anglican bishops, concelebrated the Eucharistic Celebration, with hundreds of laity from groups across the United Kingdom.

Speaking of the Priesthood - which is one of the central themes of the Chrism Mass - Mgr Newton said, “No man possesses the priesthood just as no one possesses baptism or marriage. They are something shared. You cannot be married on your own and you cannot live the baptised life apart from other Christians. No, the priesthood possess us. It is a life. It is a particular way of living the Christian life. But it is not for ourselves but for Christ and his holy people. It is a life of sacrifice. Although much is written about priesthood, it is far too complex to be reduced to simple statements which we can easily understand because it is nothing less than a particular sharing in the eternal priesthood of Christ. That sharing is expressed visibly today as we gather round the altar to celebrate this Mass”.

This week sees the continuing growth of Pope Benedict’s offer to Anglicans, with over two hundred members of the Church of England and the Traditional Anglican Communion being received into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

Photo are available here.

Former Anglican bishop now Catholic priest

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:22:00 GMT

A sixth Anglican bishop has been ordained as a Catholic priest at a ceremony in Portsmouth today.

Fr Robert Mercer, who served as the Anglican bishop of Matabeleland and as a bishop within the Traditional Anglican Communion, was ordained to the Priesthood by the Right Reverend Alan Hopes in St John’s Cathedral in Portsmouth.

Fr Mercer will serve in the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, in England and Wales. This is the first structure, set up in 2011, following the provision of Pope Benedict XVI to allow Anglicans, including members of the Church of England and the Traditional Anglican Communion, to become Catholics whilst retaining much of their own tradition and heritage.

Serving within the Isle of Wight & Portsmouth Ordinariate Group, Fr Mercer will minister especially to those worshipping at the historic Portsmouth church of St Agatha’s, Landport, who hope to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church this Easter.

Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary (leader) of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, commented on Fr Mercer’s ordination, saying, “Fr Robert’s witness to the truth of the Catholic faith, and his commitment to the unity of all Christians, has led to this very happy day when we can welcome him as a brother Priest in the Catholic Church. His ministry in Africa, in Canada and here in Portsmouth, has been exemplary, and we look forward to his renewed ministry now - bringing many rich gifts from the Anglican tradition into the Catholic Church”.

Fr Jonathan Redvers Harris, who bears overall responsibility for the Isle of Wight & Portsmouth Ordinariate Group, said “As the Ordinariate continues to grow in Portsmouth, it will be good to have Fr Robert’s expertise and great wealth of experience. I welcome him warmly as a colleague and a friend”.

Photographs available here.

Former Anglican Rector joins Ordinariate in Scotland

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:23:00 GMT

Sunday 18 March marked an important event in the life of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in Scotland, when the Reverend Stanley Bennie was received into the full communion of the Catholic Church. He had served as Rector of St Peter’s Episcopal Church in Stornoway for 30 years until his retirement in 2010.

Having attended the Catholic Church of Our Holy Redeemer in Stornoway for over a year, Mr Bennie was received by the Parish Priest, Fr Roddy Johnston, whilst Fr Len Black, the Ordinariate priest in Scotland, gave the homily also acted as sponsor.

Fr Black said, “The welcome we have received from the Catholic community in Stornoway equalled the warmth with which the Ordinariate has been welcomed in Scotland.”

Fr Johnston, Parish Priest of Our Holy Redeemer, said “It was a very joyful occasion in which someone who had worshipped with us for so long became one with us at the table of the Lord”.

Stanley Bennie now hopes to serve as a Catholic Priest in the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in Scotland.

Welcome to Diane and David Rogers!

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:22:00 GMT

Fr David Mawson has received Mr & Mrs David Rogers into the full communion of the Catholic Church for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Fr Mawson, who assists at Shrewsbury Cathedral, received the couple into the Church on Wednesday 21 March. Coming from Llanarmon, Wales, Diane and David are - we pray - some of the first members of the Ordinariate from the Principality.

Robert Mercer ordained for Ordinariate

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:47:00 GMT

Former Anglican bishop, Robert Mercer, has been ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Alan Hopes, Auxiliary of Westminster, for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, at Allen Hall seminary in London.

Mercer, who was received into the full communion of the Catholic Church on 7 January 2012, was the fourth Bishop of Matabeleland in the Province of Central Africa, before serving as a bishop of the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada - part of the Traditional Anglican Communion.

Monsignor Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, presented Robert Mercer for ordination, whilst other members of the Ordinariate, together with staff and seminarians from Allen Hall, were present for the celebration.

During his homily, Bishop Hopes said, “Robert, your life has been one of profound commitment and witness. Your formation and ministry within the Anglican tradition have provided you with a solid spiritual bedrock on which your life has been built. [...] You have been a bold witness to Christ and to the truths of Catholic Christianity - often at great cost to yourself".

"Coming into communion with the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate, you bring with you some of the spiritual riches that are to be found in the Anglican church. You take on a new mission in your ministry of bridge building – that of building bridges between the Catholic Church and the ecclesial communities of the Anglican tradition".

Mgr Newton, speaking after the ordination, said, "It is a great joy to be here today to celebrate Robert's ordination. We hope and pray that it will be an encouragement to members of the Traditional Anglican Communion - an assurance of the respect and warmth of welcome, which the Ordinariate offers to them and to all Anglicans who are faithful to the vision of Christian Unity".

The Reverend Robert Mercer will be ordained to the Sacred Priesthood on 26 March in Portsmouth Cathedral.

Oxford: Vigil of Readings & Music for Passiontide

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 07:30:00 GMT

A Vigil of Readings & Music for Passiontide will be celebrated by the Oxford Ordinariate Group at the start of Holy Week this year.

On Saturday 3 March at 6pm, the Ordinariate Group in the university city will host the Newman Consort - a group of young musicians from in and around the University of Oxford and the local area - who will lead the service, which mirrors the traditional celebration of Nine Lessons & Carols in the days before Christmas.

All are invited.

A poster with further details is available here.

Explanatory Note on the Liturgical Calendar

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:56:00 GMT

Mgr Andrew Burnham writes about the new Liturgical Calendar of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham:

The Proper Liturgical Calendar of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (the Ordinariate Calendar) was approved and confirmed by the Congregation of Divine Worship on 15 February 2012.

The Ordinariate Calendar is a very slight modification of the Roman Calendar, in that certain Sunday titles, which have been a traditional part of Anglican patrimony, are retained. Thus, the Sundays per annum are called ‘after Epiphany’ and ‘after Trinity’ and the ancient description of the Sundays before Lent as Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima are also retained. There is an allusion to the old Pentecost Octave and how the themes of Pentecost may be sustained in the days between Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. Nevertheless, the shape of the General Roman Calendar, its logic and, indeed, the readings appointed for use during the year, are all preserved.

Every Particular Church – usually a diocese – has its own Calendar, and it is here that the Ordinariate Calendar is most distinctive. There are very few modifications to the General Roman Calendar or to the National Calendars of England and Wales. The one modification to the General Roman Calendar is that St Bonaventure, an obligatory memorial in the Roman Calendar, becomes an optional memorial, permitting the celebration of St Swithun’s Day (15 July), where this is desirable. In the Ordinariate Calendar, two observances, which are in the National Calendar of England, are enhanced. Thus Our Lady of Walsingham becomes a titular solemnity and Blessed John Henry Newman, Patron of the Ordinariate, becomes a feast. As in various diocesan Calendars, the Ordinariate Calendar has a number of distinct observances. It is likely that all of these find a place in the appropriate diocese but, since the Ordinariate covers England and Wales, with two groups also in Scotland, the meaning of ‘particular’ and ‘local’ change. There is a reminder here, perhaps, that some dioceses in the world are as large, geographically, as the whole of the United Kingdom.

It should be stressed that the Ordinariate Calendar is subject to exactly the same canons, conventions, and regulations as the other Calendars of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church.

Mgr Andrew Burnham

5^th March 2012

Holy See approves first liturgical resources for Ordinariate

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:42:00 GMT

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has published a Decree permitting the use of the Revised Standard Version (Second Catholic Edition) for liturgical use in the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

This edition of the Holy Bible allows those Catholics originally from the Anglican tradition, to worship using a version of scripture which is familiar to them. It also promotes the English Bible tradition and recent efforts to renew Catholic liturgy with more accurate translations.

Alongside this, the Congregation has also approved and confirmed the Proper Liturgical Calendar of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, which retains certain celebrations in the Church year that are significant to those from the Anglican tradition. The Calendar reflects very closely the General Roman Calendar used across the Catholic Church in England & Wales, but also makes use of some older titles, such as 'Sundays after Trinity'.

These developments represent the first of the liturgical resources to be approved by the Holy See for former Anglicans who have entered the full communion of the Catholic Church.

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI published the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus,, which allows 'groups of Anglicans' to come into communion with the Holy See, whilst retaining important aspects of their tradition and heritage.

Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, commented on the news:

"This is very welcome. For the Ordinariate to make a distinctive contribution to Catholic life and witness in England & Wales, these liturgical resources are essential. They show - as Pope Benedict has recently said - how traditions (small 't') can thrive within the wider Tradition (capital 'T') of the Catholic Church".

Mgr Andrew Burnham: "We are doing very well"

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:28:00 GMT

Monsignor Andrew Burnham, Assistant to the Ordinary, writes in the latest edition of The Portal:

The Ordinariate is sometimes attacked for being rather small, and therefore fairly insignificant in the ecclesiastical landscape. We are sometimes laughed at. We sometimes make others angry or bitter. Given that Anglicans are famous for being attached to particular churches, and part of particular communities, it sometimes amazes me that anyone at all joined the Ordinariate. Yet 1,000 people did so, barely twelve months ago, and others are presently undertaking the Lenten journey, with their eye on being received and chrismated this Easter. Meanwhile, we have 60 clergy, and there are some more on the way.

For fun, I thought I would have a look on the internet and see what a small church in this country should look like. Slightly larger than the Ordinariate – with 120 clergy, some sixty centres, and a considerable band of faithful – is the archdiocese (as we would call it) of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Russian Orthodox are in two groups. The diocese of Sourozh, linked with the Moscow Patriarchate, has a couple of dozen active clergy, serving the liturgy in a couple of dozen centres, and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in this country is about half that size. So the Russian jurisdictions, combined, are smaller than the Ordinariate, though they have some property and a good number of lay people. I looked then at a Catholic diocese, and I looked at the one associated with our patron, Our Lady of Walsingham. In the diocese of East Anglia, there seem to be some 90 clergy and just over 100 places of worship: in terms of priests and centres, a bit bigger than the Ordinariate. In terms of laity, no doubt much bigger – but much more long-established.

In short, as a brand new particular Church, we are doing very well indeed. We are part of the universal communion tracing its history back to Caesarea Philippi, when Christ called Peter the rock and said, ‘on this rock I will build my Church’, (Mt 16:18). And we are learning what it feels like to be a Catholic. I now fully understand and increasingly share the feeling that mediæval churches and cathedrals are really ‘ours’, stolen by Tudor apostasy. I cannot see why their ownership and use, if it cannot be restored, cannot at least be shared. This is a view I have held since, as a cathedral chorister, I watched, fascinated, as a modern Catholic Church was built in Southwell. ‘Why duplicate?’, I thought.

The General Synod has made it entirely plain that, whatever space is given to Anglo-catholics, the historic justification for being an Anglo-catholic – bringing the whole Church of England to understand and embrace an inherent Catholic Faith and Order – has now gone for ever. Meanwhile we long for our Anglican brothers and sisters to come and join us in the full communion of the Catholic Church, not because of this or that issue, but because Rome is home. RITA – Rome Is The Answer – as people used to laugh at me for saying. And perhaps still do.

March 2012 edition of The Portal

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:26:00 GMT

The March 2012 edition of The Portal magazine is now available to read online here.

Ordinariate celebrates a week to remember

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:48:00 GMT

Around one hundred members of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham spent last week on a pilgrimage of thanksgiving to Rome.

Led by the Ordinary, Monsignor Keith Newton, the pilgrims made their way to the Eternal City to give thanks for the establishment of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and for all the many blessings they have received.

On Monday, His Eminence Cardinal Bernard Law celebrated and preached for the group at Santa Maria Maggiore. During his homily the Cardinal recalled the devotion of Anglo-Catholics to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and how this reminds all Christians of the true nature of God and of humanity.

In the evening, the group celebrated the traditional Anglican service of Evensong in Santa Maria in Trastevere, singing words from the Book of Common Prayer.

Tuesday saw the Ordinary preside at the Eucharist in San Giorgio in Velabro, the titular church of the Ordinariate's patron and nineteenth century Anglican convert, Blessed John Henry Newman.

During the Mass a former Anglican clergyman and his wife received the Sacrament of Confirmation and hymns by Cardinal Newman were sung. The Ordinary, preaching at the Mass, recalled Newman’s famous biglietto speech which was delivered when he was made a Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII.

After the Mass, pilgrims visited the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls, where they were greeted by Abbot Edmund Power OSB.

The group was joined for supper by Monsignor Mark Langham from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who spoke warmly and enthusiastically about the contribution of Personal Ordinariates to the life of the Catholic Church.

The group was joined on Ash Wednesday by His Eminence Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as Monsignor Steven Lopes and Monsignor Patrick Burke, and Father Uwe Michael Lang from the Congregation for Divine Worship.

The Cardinal celebrated Mass with the priests, deacons and lay faithful of the Ordinariate before the group went to the General Audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

During the audience the Holy Father spoke about the conversion of all people during the season of Lent, and also welcomed especially the clergy and lay faithful of the Ordinariate. At the close of the ceremony, Mgr Newton was presented to the Holy Father alongside other visiting dignitaries.

In the afternoon, members of the group were present at the Papal Mass for Ash Wednesday in Santa Sabina.

On Thursday, members of the group visited the monasteries of Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica in Subiaco.

At Saint Peter's on Friday, the group celebrated Mass with traditional Anglican hymns. After Mass the Ordinary led the General Thanksgiving, originally from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, at the tomb of the Apostle, St Peter.

The final day was marked by the celebration of Holy Mass in Santa Maria del Popolo before the pilgrims set off for the UK.

Pilgrims were drawn from around thirty groups of former Anglicans who are now members of the Catholic Church across the UK. They were received into the full communion of the Catholic Church in 2011 as a result of Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus.

Pastoral Letter to those preparing for reception into the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:00:00 GMT

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We begin today the great season of Lent in which the Church is, each year, called to penance and conversion in a mystical journey that take her through the passion and death of the Lord, to the Promised Land of the resurrection.

Ash Wednesday also marks the formal start of a journey for those of you who seek to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church through the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Your pilgrimage through the desert of Lent will, this year, be especially poignant.

In the First Reading at Mass today we hear this sentiment rehearsed once more: “Come back to me with all your heart [...] turn to the Lord your God again, for he is all tenderness and compassion”.

That call to continuing conversion - the recognition of our sin and a true spirit of contrition and repentance - is a universal call to sanctity which, in a special way, you bravely take up this Lent.

Take courage that the reward of faithful commitment to Christ is a deepening of our personal relationship with him, in and through his Catholic Church.

As you study the faith and prepare spiritually for your reception during Holy Week, allow your heart to be fully converted toward Christ, and fully open to him, so that his love and his grace finds there fertile ground to take root, and to flourish. Only then can we completely allow his heart to speak to our hearts, and know truly the depth of his love.

May God bless you as you set out on this journey, and may Our Lady, Star of the Sea, be your guide to the safe harbour which awaits you.

The Right Reverend Monsignor Keith Newton
Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
©KeithNewton2012

Ordinariate Ordo - Lent to Trinity Sunday

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:00:00 GMT

The second part of the Ordinariate Ordo, covering Lent to Trinity Sunday, has now been published and is available to download here.

Coverage of the Ordinariate Pilgrimage to Rome

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:00:00 GMT

One hundred clergy and lay people of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham are currently accompanying Monsignor Keith Newton on a Pilgrimage of Thanksgiving to Rome. Daily coverage of the events and activities is available on Twitter and Facebook.

Archbishop of Southwark attends Ordinariate Mass

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:05:00 GMT

The Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Reverend Peter Smith, assisted in choir at an Ordinariate Mass on a recent visit to St John the Baptist, Mongeham.

Fr Christopher Lindlar, a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, celebrated the Mass having welcomed the Archbishop to preside at the Parish Mass (Diocesan) in the morning. St John the Baptist, Mongeham, is a parish of the Archdiocese of Southwark, and Fr Lindlar has been appointed as the Parochial Administrator of the parish.

US Ordinary Installed

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter under the patronage of Our Lady of Walsingham Homily of the Ordinary at the Solemn Mass of Installation Sunday 12 February 2012 Co-‐Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Houston “Behold how good and joyful a thing it is, for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps. 133:1). With all our hearts, let us thank Pope Benedict XVI for this beautiful gift, the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, and let us pray that it may further the goal of Catholic unity. When Cardinal Wuerl told me that the Holy Father would establish the Ordinariate under this name, I truly rejoiced, for it goes to the heart of what our mission should be. And it helps us to understand why our Lord entrusted His Church to Saint Peter in the first place...

More....

A London Based Ordinariate Lent Course

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:00 GMT

A London Based Ordinariate Lent Course for those new to the Catholic Church. Mondays of Lent at St George's Cathedral. Mass 6pm; Course 7pm. A series of topics and speakers talking about all those things you never liked to ask about.

See poster

40 Hours Eucharistic Adoration

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:00:00 GMT

40 Hours Eucharistic Adoration in Newman’s chapel at Littlemore from Friday, 17th February to Sunday, 19th February 2012

Evensong will be sung every Sunday during Lent

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:46:00 GMT

Evensong will be sung every Sunday during Lent at the church of the Holy Ghost, Balham. Although a parish of the Archdiocese of Southwark, Deacon James Bradley from the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham is resident in the parish: "Fr Stephen Langridge, the Parish Priest, encouraged me to think about celebrating Evensong in Lent as a way of deepening our engagement with this holy season. As we pray and meditate on the psalms, using the beautiful language and music of the Anglican tradition, I hope that Catholics and Anglicans from the area will gather at the foot of the cross, and there find the source of the unity for which we all long - Christ himself".

Evensong will be sung at 5pm, followed by Mass at 6pm. For more information, please contact the Reverend James Bradley

Find Us: Holy Ghost, Nightingale Square, London SW12 8QN (nearest tube: Balham and mainline from Victoria). More details on the parish website

Full Communion for Anglican priest of 48 years

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Former Anglican clergyman of 48 years, the Reverend Paul Miller, and his wife Hilary, were received into the full communion of the Catholic Church on the feast of the conversion of St Paul.

Vicar of Woburn until his retirement, Paul Miller was Episcopal Vicar of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet for the Diocese of Hereford.

The date of the reception was a triple celebration because Paul was received on his name day, and Hilary on her birthday.

Fr David Mawson received Paul and Hilary for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham at St Milburga, Church Stretton, in Shropshire. They are now members of the Shropshire Ordinariate Group. They were joined by other clergy and faithful from the Ordinariate and the Parish Priest of St Milburga, Fr Ambrose Nicholson.

Photograph L to R: Fr John Pitchford; Fr Ambrose Nicholson; Fr Richard Smith; Fr David Mawson; Hilary Miller & Paul Miller (seated).

Bishop Peter Elliott's report on the Ordinariate in England

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT

THE ORDINARIATE - ALIVE AND GROWING IN ENGLAND
A Report from London
Most Rev Peter J. Elliott

The first birthday of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was celebrated fittingly on Sunday January 15th 2012 at St James, Spanish Place, with Solemn Evensong, Sermon, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Te Deum and Benediction. Together with other clergy, I assisted in choir at this act of thanksgiving on the last night of a fascinating two week visit to London.

The Ordinary, Mgr Keith Newton presided and preached. What I found most encouraging was not only his “upbeat” message, full of his own warmth and pastoral confidence, but the sense of achievement and joy among the large congregation who had gathered for the celebration.

The choir of St James brought forth the best of the Anglican Patrimony, wedded to the English Catholic heritage, We entered to Parry “I was glad when they said unto me” (vivid memories of the coronation in 1953). Stanford provided the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!” accompanied the Eucharistic procession, while the canopy over the Sacrament was borne by four robed Knights of Malta. Stanford again gave us his Te Deum, while Elgar provided a limpid O Salutaris, not forgetting the traditional translation of Benediction used across three centuries by the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament.

What I discerned in London is an Ordinariate that is growing steadily, facing challenges, especially church sharing, yet moving ahead. Nevertheless, some Catholic journalists have claimed that undue control is being exercised over the Ordinariate by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales. Frankly I do not share that concern.

The Bishops I talked to want the Ordinariate to flourish and are not overprotective. But, to be realistic, at this stage the Ordinariate is very young, a “nursling in arms”. It needs much support, care and encouragement as it gradually finds its place in the wider Church. It will not be absorbed and it will not be turned into an ecclesiastical nature reserve. Nor should we heed mischievous rumors that some people are reverting to Anglicanism out of disappointment. Long ago, that tale was spread about Blessed John Henry Newman himself. It is a standard fantasy, the gossip of those who feel insecure about other people’s choices. In fact, new groups are forming and emerging and individuals are quietly making their choice for unity.

What I came to understand better in England is what a “group”, “coetus”, means, and why our Holy Father Pope Benedict wisely focused on “groups” in Anglicanorm Coetibus. The little communities that make up the growing Ordinariate are mutual support groups, the gathering of Christians, men and women tied together not by being “disaffected” or battle weary. but by common worship, by friendships, by the service of others and an appreciation of Catholicism in terms of the concrete reality of the Church and her mission. This “coming together” of groups seeking unity is the final act and fulfillment of the Oxford Movement.

In that perspective, I was most impressed by the South London group. They worship in the modest but noble church of St Wilfred, Kennington Park, which they share with a small Catholic parish. The Mass I celebrated for them on the eve of Epiphany Sunday was the postconciliar rite, the new translation (which is much welcomed), with Anglican hymns and good ceremonial. Parishioners were happy to be part of the liturgy.

Afterwards we gathered at the pub, as you do after church in England. Here I met people who are so happy to be in full communion with the Catholic Church. They are happy be free, to have put behind them all the hurtful “issues”, to be able to walk into Westminster Cathedral and say “I belong here”. But they are also happy to be able to maintain those human and cultural bonds that can flourish in distinctive communities which maintain the Anglican Patrimony.

I then dined in an elegant Indian restaurant with a key group of clergy and laity who have been involved in Forward in Faith. Geoffrey Kirk was as irrepressible as ever. His last message in New Directions is tough reading, realistic and challenging.

At Kennington I learnt that a new group is emerging in South London, based at Croydon. This pattern of new groups is being replicated in other parts of England. Some call it a “second wave”. I would rather see it is the normal growth of the Ordinariate in the English situation. The future growth of the Ordinariate in Australia may turn out to be different, more a pattern of core groups drawing people to them,

There are other significant differences between the situation in England and Australia. Women bishops are already a reality in Australia. When they appear in England, as is inevitable, the impact of the reality of a novel polity will have its effects. That might be the real “second wave”.

In Australia the early years of the Ordinariate will require care and encouragement, as in England, with much mentoring and support on the part of Catholics. However, I would speculate that the Australian Ordinariate will be different in ways that ought to hasten its autonomy and make it less dependent.

Firstly it is not being drawn from one source, as in England. Rather it already draws on two sources, some members of the official Anglican Church together with Anglicans of the “continuum”, represented by the Traditional Anglican Communion. The former groups are used to struggle and the disappointment of the marginalized. The latter groups are used to making sacrifices and working in isolation, derided and without much support. The challenge to the Catholic community and its pastors will be to support, honor and appreciate these people who come with their own gifts, talents and hopes.

Secondly the geography of our vast continent means that the groups will be evenly distributed across most States. Each group will have to work out its relationship with the local diocese. Already there are good signs of cooperation and a welcoming spirit as we await the official timeline for the Ordinariate in Australia.

However, my main reason for enduring two weeks in a London winter, was a meeting of the Interdicasterial Commission, “Anglicanae Traditiones”, convened by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for Divine Worship to work out an Anglican Use liturgy for the Ordinariates. Meeting at the Brompton Oratory, where I stayed for the second week of my visit, the commission has worked well and what it finally produces ought to contribute much to the identity and spirituality of the Ordinariates.

At this time we are all called to pray for the new Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter in the United States of America. Announced on January 1st 2012, the Ordinariate will be launched with a Solemn Mass of Institution and the Installation of Rev. Jeffery N. Steenson as first Ordinary on Sunday February 12th. The Mass will be celebrated in the new Co-cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Houston Texas, hosted by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington and Delegate for the Ordinariate, and Cardinal Daniel Di Nardo, Archbishop of Houston. Australians will be able to see something of what is in store for them when the Personal Ordinariate for former Anglicans is established in our great Southern Land.

Former Anglican Vicar received at Spanish Place

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:00:00 GMT

The Reverend Scott Anderson, formerly Vicar of St Andrew’s, Willesden Green, and St Mary the Virgin, Lewisham, has been received into the full communion of the Catholic Church at St James', Spanish Place for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. He was joined by friends and colleagues, including Fr David Irwin (Westminster), his predecessor at Willesden Green, Fr Chris Marshall (Ordinariate), a former colleague at Kelham Theological College, and fellow curates from Sheffield who acted as his sponsors. Also present was the Rector of Spanish Place and long-time friend, Fr Christopher Colven, who received him as they gathered to celebrate the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas). Scott now joins the London (South) Ordinariate Group.

Message for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2012

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

On the night that our Lord was betrayed, in the upper room, he prayed that his followers should all be one (cf. John 17:21). That all Christians are not united is a source of great scandal - because it limits and distorts the work of evangelisation, to which all Christ's faithful are called.

In the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we have the opportunity to rekindle our desire for the full, visible unity of all Christians, and to assess once more the importance of Christ's call - that all may be one.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2012

Anniversary Sermon in Newman's Pulpit

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

A former Anglican priest and member of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham gave the Latin Sermon at the University of Oxford this weekend. John Hunwicke, who is well known for his erudite writing on liturgy and Classics, gave the sermon -- not a sermon in the usual ecclesiastical sense -- in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin on Sunday 15 January, the first anniversary of the establishment of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, with the permission and blessing of the Ordinary. Whilst still an Anglican, Blessed John Henry Newman (who is the patron of the Ordinariate) was the Vicar of St Mary's and it was from the same pulpit that he preached and John Keble gave his Assize Sermon, that the Latin Sermon is given. John Hunwicke joins other Catholics, including Professor Richard Parish, in giving the Latin Sermon.

John Hunwick's Sermon (40Kb)

Hundreds gather to celebrate Ordinariate

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

On Sunday, by kind permission of Fr Christopher Colven, the Marylebone Ordinariate Group organised Solemn Evensong, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction at St James, Spanish Place, to celebrate the first anniversary of the erection of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. The Ordinary presided and preached at the celebration at which around 500 people were present.

Around 500 people, from London and further afield, gathered to celebrate the first anniversary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham on Sunday.

St James, Spanish Place, was the venue for Solemn Evensong, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction, presided over by Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate.

The service - a celebration of the traditional Anglican Evening Prayer - brought together Anglicans and Catholics in thanksgiving for the generous response of Pope Benedict XVI, to repeated and insistent calls for a way forward in the ecumenical endeavours of the past fifty years.

Music from the Anglican choral tradition, including pieces by Stanford and Parry,accompanied hymns such as Blessed John Henry Newman's Praise to the holiest in the height.

During his sermon, Mgr Newton said, "This evening we have much to be joyful and thankful for. For the gifts and spiritual riches of Anglicanism which nurtured our faith; for the warmth of welcome and support we have received from so many Catholics; for the vision, love and faith of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict".

Quoting the beautiful General Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer, Mgr Newton continued "But [...] 'above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace and for the hope of glory'".

Afterwards, at a reception, Mgr Newton thanked the Rector for his hospitality and the organisations and faithful who had supported the Ordinariate in this first year, both spiritually and financially.

Also present were Bishop Peter Elliott, Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne and Episcopal Delegate for the establishment of Personal Ordinariate in Australia, Mgr John Armitage of the Diocese of Brentwood, and many others who wished to join the Ordinariate in celebrating the first of many years.

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham is a jurisdiction of the Catholic Church established by Pope Benedict XVI in January 2011, to allow Anglicans to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church, whilst retaining many elements of their tradition and heritage.

Images on Flickr

Mgr Newton's Sermon (40Kb)

Bishop Alan Hopes letter to the Ordinariate (9Kb)

The Portal Magazine

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

The Portal Magazine has become the official magazine of the Ordinariate of Our La

dy of Walsingham. Monsignor Keith Newton today announced that the Portal Magazine is, in future, to be an official publication of the

Ordinariate. The announcement was made at a gathering of Ordinariate Clergy in London following a party which was organised to mark the first anniversary of the first edition. Sunday 15^th January will mark the first anniversary of the foundation of the Ordinariate.

For the past 12 months, the Portal has been an independent monthly magazine reporting on the progress of the formation of the Ordinariate with a particular focus on telling the stories of individuals who have responded to the call of Unity by joining the Ordinariate. Regular contributors have included the Catholic journalist Joanna Bogle, famous for her writing, blogging and broadcasting on EWTN; and Fr Peter Geldard who produces a witty and insightful Fr Peter's Page each month.

The Editorial team, under the leadership of Ronald Crane and Jackie Ottaway, have produced an accessible and entertaining account of the development of the Ordinariate in the UK. Ronald Crane commented "I am delighted that we can be of service to the Ordinariate, and thank all those who have contributed and the various groups who have been so hospitable as Jackie and I have reported on the Groups' progress. I am grateful too to those who have contributed financially to the setting up of the Portal over the past year".

The Portal Website

Portal Magazine (1.4Mb)

Another Anglican bishop answers Pope Benedict's call to unity

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Former Anglican monk and bishop, Robert Mercer, has been received into the full communion of the Catholic Church by Monsignor Keith Newton through the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

On Saturday 7 January, Mgr Newton celebrated Mass according to the Book of Divine Worship at the historic church of St Agatha’s, Portsmouth, by kind permission of the Reverend John Maunder, who cares for the Traditional Anglican Communion faithful in that area.

Mgr Newton said, 'It is a great privilege to receive Robert into the fullness of Catholic life. He is a man of unimpeachable moral stature who, through his ministry in Africa and with the Community of the Resurrection, brings many valuable treasures of Anglican life into the Catholic Church'.

Robert Mercer was born in Zimbabwe and has been a member of the Community of the Resurrection, Mirfield, for 49 years. From 1977-89 he was the Anglican bishop of Matabeleland and from 1989-2005 he served as a bishop of the Traditional Anglican Catholic Church of Canada. He retired in 2005 and became the Episcopal Visitor to the Traditional Anglican Communion in the UK.

Six former Anglican bishops have now been reconciled to the Holy See through the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

First year of Ordinariate Feature in Catholic Herald

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

It hardly seems a year ago that a packed Westminster Cathedral witnessed the moving ordination of three former Anglican bishops and the first moments of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham ...

....read more

Ordinary welcomes appointment of US counterpart

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Monsignor Keith Newton has enthusiastically welcomed the appointment of the Reverend Dr Jeffrey Steenson as the first Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of The Chair of St Peter, erected today in the United States.

On hearing the news of the appointment by Pope Benedict XVI, Mgr Newton said, 'Fr Steenson is a warm and compassionate priest with a wealth of experience, and I am delighted by his appointment'.

The appointment of Fr Steenson marks the official establishment of the second Personal Ordinariate for those from the Anglican tradition who wish to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church, whilst retaining those elements of Anglican liturgical and spiritual patrimony consonant with Catholic faith and practice. Dr Steenson formerly served as a bishop of the Episcopal Church before being received into the Catholic Church, and ordained under the Pastoral Provision.

Speaking of the erection of the US Ordinariate, Mgr Newton said, 'The Holy Father's vision for the visible reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See continues apace. As we enter in 2012, we pray that many more will take up Christ's call - ut unum sint - and fulfil the prayer of generations for an Anglicanism united but not absorbed'

Ordinary welcomes appointment of US counterpart (23KB)

US Ordinariate website