The Spring

The Jubilee Pilgrimage of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, led by Bishop David Waller, will take place in Rome on 8-10 October 2025. This includes the Feast of our Patron, St John Henry Newman, with Mass celebrated in Newman's own titular Church of San Giorgio in Velabro. Participation in all or any of the pilgrimage ceremonies is free (except for the tour of the catacombs). Pilgrims will organise their own transport to (and around) Rome and arrange their own accommodation.

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PILGRIMAGE SCHEDULE 

WED 8 OCTOBER 

5pm - Welcome of foot pilgrims by Bishop David Waller 

5.30pm - Solemn Evensong, Venerable English College 

THU 9 OCTOBER - FEAST OF ST JOHN HENRY NEWMAN 

Solemn Mass - 10am 

1pm - Church of San Giorgio in Velabro Procession along Via della Conciliazione to St Peter's Basilica, Veneration of relics of St Peter, enter through Holy Door 

FRI 10 OCTOBER

9.40am - Meet at Catacomb of Callistus for 10am tour, concluding with Mass followed by an optional walk to Basilica of St John Lateran

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To register an interest in participating, and to be kept informed of an optional informal dinner, and other arrangements in Rome, please scan the QR code on the attached document or click here.

The Holy See has announced that St John Henry Newman, Patron of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, is to be declared a Doctor of the Church, becoming the 38th person to receive this title and only the second Englishman after St Bede. The formal proclamation will take place later this year.Newman’s life was marked by a deep search for truth. Born in London in 1801, he served as an Anglican priest before entering into full communion with the Catholic Church in 1845. He went on to become a cardinal, a theologian of lasting influence, and a poet. Canonised in 2019, he is known for his writings on the development of doctrine, the primacy of conscience, and the role of education in the life of faith.The title of Doctor of the Church is granted to saints whose teaching is considered of particular importance for the whole Church. Newman’s insights into faith and reason, the call to holiness, and the witness of the laity continue to inspire Christians around the world.

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‍Collect for the Feast of St John Henry Newman
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‍O GOD,
who didst bestow upon thy Priest Saint John Henry Newman,
the grace to follow thy kindly light and find peace in thy Church:
graciously grant that, through his intercession and example,
we may be led out of shadows and images
into the fulness of thy truth;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The Ordinariate was honoured to take part in the WeBelieve Festival, an extraordinary celebration of Catholic life that gathered together every strand of our rich and diverse Church. Held at St Mary’s College, Oscott - where St John Henry Newman preached his famous Second Spring sermon - the festival was a deeply symbolic setting for this moment of unity and renewal.

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At the heart of the weekend was the celebration of three monumental milestones: the Jubilee of Hope, the 175th anniversary of the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales, and the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed. These themes resonated powerfully during the Ordinariate’s Evensong in the Oscott chapel, where the ancient liturgy found its voice again in a spirit of hope, joy, and shared faith.

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The presence of the Ordinariate among such a wide array of Catholic expressions testified to the Church’s harmony in diversity-an embodied “second spring” moment for our times. As Bishop David Waller described, it was “exhausting, but in the most wonderful sense,” as there hadn’t been “a spare moment,” but everywhere you looked was “Catholics from so many different places, groups, and contexts… all together.” Despite their differences, he noted, “you realise that even though we do things differently or have different charisms, these are our brothers and sisters, fellow evangelists.”

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The festival was also a significant return to Oscott for the Ordinariate. “It was here that Cardinal Newman gave his great sermon on the Second Spring,” Bishop David reflected. “Many years later, I believe we - the Ordinariate - are in some sense fruit of that moment.” He also recalled the historic visit of Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, who concluded his apostolic journey at Oscott with a personal plea to the bishops of England and Wales to support what was then only a vision. “His final words really were to commend the not-yet-established Ordinariate to the bishops and ask them to be generous. So to be here, where that was said, is very special.”

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Monsignor Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, now a member of the Ordinariate and Prelate to the Holy See, brought deep insight to several of the weekend’s key discussions. Formerly the 106th Anglican Bishop of Rochester and previously Bishop of Raiwind in Pakistan, he served in the House of Lords from 1999, engaging actively in national and international affairs. He is now President of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue (OXTRAD). At the festival, he spoke on the panel Peace on Earth: Bearing Witness Amid Persecution with Bishop Habila Daboh (Zaria) and Dr Caroline Hull (ACN), delivered a talk titled From where have we come and where are we headed?, and offered reflections in What we believe and why: The Nicene Creed – past and present.

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Bishop David also reflected movingly on the nature and beauty of the Ordinariate itself. He described it as “a testimony to the generosity of the Catholic Church”-a structure born not of compromise, but of conviction. For many former Anglicans, he said, “unity wasn’t just a nice idea… it was essential. Communion with the See of Peter was essential to living the Christian life.”

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He recalled the moment when Rome responded with what he called “overwhelming generosity.” What emerged was not a tentative or temporary bridge, but something whole and enduring: “What Rome offered looks very much like the end goal of Christian unity… It’s very small, and it’s pathetically small on one level, but it’s whole. It’s complete.”

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Bishop David explained that the Ordinariate is “very much like a diocese,” made up of those who “bring certain traditions - certain treasures, as Pope Benedict called them - but we leave the heresies behind.” In return, they receive “full communion, sacramental validity, the riches of the Church.” Reflecting on the deeper meaning of the journey, he added: “It’s taken us years to really look back and recognise the things that, even while separated, nurtured us in the Catholic faith. Those things… are treasures to share.”

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When asked to describe the We Believe Festival in just three words, Bishop David answered without hesitation: “Full of hope.”

You can watch a summary of the Festival here.

In all things, Ronald pointed others to Jesus Christ. He was at his heart an evangelist, an evangelist first of all in the Church Army, and then in holy orders in the Church of England, in parishes in Bicester, Washwood Heath, and Wild Green; and then most recently in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

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Back in 1992, we were desolate, a group of people looking for support, leadership, direction and so on. And Ronald was one of those who jumped in, who became, as it were, a giant in the land. He gave himself tirelessly to his parishes, to his work in the See of Ebbsfleet, in particular at those lay conferences and so on. Also working tirelessly in the production of those children's liturgy sheets, creating a way of making sure that our young children were invested in, that there was a way of
delivering a sound catechesis to them, even as we struggled in our journey ahead.

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Ronald was always at Forward in Faith events, as a dean, and also at National Assemblies, always stirring us up with the good news of Jesus Christ. Ronald also was one of those pioneers, those of us who came in that first wave, into the Ordinariate and here, too, Ronald gave himself tirelessly for the gospel. He was committed to developing communication and this bore fruit in The Portal magazine, - those visits to the groups, so important, particularly in those early days, - ensuring that we had a common identity; we weren't just individuals and isolated communities, but had so much to bind us together.

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Ronald instigated the podcast, so that people could participate in the Ordinariate - not just those who were In Church on Sunday mornings, but the isolated, the housebound, the sick, and so on.

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We owe Ronald a great deal, as we reflect on his legacy - a legacy which is very beautiful, but slightly strange in concept to the secular world. Ronald's enduring legacy will not be the things per se that I've just outlined, (important and essential though they are) and in our generation they have meant so much. But the legacy is the lives Ronald touched. The legacy is the number of people who in some way through him, not necessarily only through him, but through his ministry, his ordained ministry, his ministry in the Ordinariate, those who have been directed, pointed by Ronald to Jesus Christ. People who have seen through Ronald’s love, his care, a pointer to Jesus Christ. In planning his funeral, Ronald said very pointedly, “you know, there will be a short eulogy, but apart from that, make everything point to Jesus Christ, everything point to our salvation, everything point to the gospel.”

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As we entrust Ronald to God, let us give thanks for our own encounters with him. Let us pray from the depths of our hearts for Jenny and the family. But let us rejoice in all those souls who in very different ways have drawn closer to Jesus Christ through the witness of that evangelist Ronald Crane.

Dear Friends,
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I have just returned from Birmingham, having had the joy and privilege of participating in the We Believe festival at Oscott. You will find more news about the festival elsewhere in this newsletter but I want to share here some personal reflections.

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The 2000+ people attending the festival came from every part of the country and included newborn babies, the elderly, and all ages in between. Some camped, others stayed in near-by hotels. All those giving input throughout the weekend were committed to doctrinal orthodoxy and the new evangelisation; their immediate interests ranged from the Traditional Mass to Charismatic Renewal, From Academic Theology to a Sociological Understanding of contemporary religious trends. Many of these groups or individuals had never gathered together before and they found in each a joy and excitement in being Catholics at this moment in history.

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The Ordinariate was present because it belonged: there was no sense that we were a side-show but an integral but distinct part of the wider picture. It was good to see Ordinariate members present through other groups with which they are associated and it was excellent that a number of conference speakers were Ordinariate members whose personal expertise is recognised way beyond our own structures.

I enjoyed being part of a small panel reflecting on the mission of the Church at the present time and also giving a live interview, which was simultaneously broadcast on Radio Maria. It was particularly moving to sing Evensong in the College Chapel, beneath the pulpit from which Newman had delivered his famous sermon on the 2nd Spring. It was wonderful to welcome others to this service and for them to experience worship in the Anglican Patrimony and realise that such worship is now fully part of the life of the Catholic Church. Some clergy and religious were delighted to discover that, having joined us for Evensong, they had fulfilled their canonical obligation to pray the Office!

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As a Bishop, it was good to simply “be there”; to meet some of the camping families, to join the children at their singing workshop, to catch up with people I have got to know this past year, to hear confessions, bless rosaries etc. But most of all it was good to witness that the Lord is at work; that people, especially the young, are coming to faith; that there are countless Catholics ready to engage in a 3rd Spring. The Ordinariate is an integral part of this – we have, in a sense, come of age!

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Yours in Christ
+ David

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