Fr. Michael McAndrew and Cardinal John Henry Newman.
Posted on 07/21/2010 10:45:20 AM PDT by NYer
.- A priest in England’s Catholic Diocese of Clifton says the upcoming papal visit has caused “great excitement” among those in the diocese, especially as more than 4,000 of its people will be able to see and hear Pope Benedict XVI. He also noted a “growing awareness” about how unique the beatification of Cardinal Newman will be.
Fr. Michael McAndrew, papal visit coordinator for the diocese, described the growing enthusiasm in an interview published on the website of the papal visit and summarized in a press release from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW).
Fr. McAndrew said that one third of the Diocese of Clifton’s priests have said they would like to be considered to concelebrate at John Henry Cardinal Newman’s Beatification Mass. Thirty-five pilgrim leaders have volunteered to lead each pilgrim group, which the priest called “a really positive response.”
The Pope will not visit the west coast diocese, but it has been allocated 2,300 pilgrim passes for the Sept. 18 prayer vigil at Hyde Park in London and another 1,700 pilgrim passes for the Beatification Mass at Cofton Park in Birmingham on Sept. 19.
The priest said the vigil promises to be “a moment of profound Christian witness.” It will begin with a procession of 3,000 people, led by the young. Participants will carry banners through central London to offer “a visible witness of the Catholic communities in our country.”
The Holy Father will preach and pray at the vigil in the early evening.
“Pope Benedict has a great gift for breaking open the Word of God and teaching the Gospel in a very simple and profound way. That's something people are looking forward to very much,” Fr. McAndrew noted.
He also described a “growing awareness” that Cardinal Newman’s beatification is “a unique event.”
“It's the first beatification that's ever happened in England,” Fr. McAndrew explained. “It's also the case that Pope Benedict doesn't usually preside at beatifications - but he's making an exception for us.”
According to the priest, he made the exception “because of his great, personal love and interest in John Henry Newman and also his appreciation of his writings and the huge influence that this great Englishman has had on the whole worldwide Church.”
“I think what is really capturing the imagination is that the Pope comes among us as a pilgrim. We are invited to take part in this event in the same spirit - we travel as pilgrims,” he continued, calling this a reminder that Catholics’ “journey of faith” is “lived in the communion of the Church.”
In Fr. McAndrew’s view, the Mass of Beatification will remind Catholics of two things: its celebration by the Pope will remind them of his leadership of the Catholic Church, and that the Church is not only earthly but stretches “into eternal life, into Heaven.”
“Pope Benedict is not coming to the Diocese of Clifton but it seems to me Clifton will go to see him and hear him and we are preparing very enthusiastically to welcome Pope Benedict to our land,” he concluded.
The website for the papal visit to the U.K. is http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk
Looking forward to this event.
NYER you not kidding I reading UK Telgraph over the weekend great excitment remind me when then Pope John Paul 2 visit SO CAL back in late 1980s
Pope Benedict XVI will visit England and Scotland on a four-day Papal visit from 16-19 September 2010.
In addition to the detailed event information below, there will be opportunities to see the Holy Father in Edinburgh and London travelling the streets in the Popemobile. The finalised routes will be released in due course.
When Pope Benedict arrives in the UK, he will visit Scotland where he will be received by Her Majesty The Queen, members of the Royal Family and people representing British society in the Palace of Holyrood House in Edinburgh.
Having met the Queen, the Pope will travel to Glasgow where he will celebrate an open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in the evening and then he will fly from Glasgow to London. The Holy Father will then be based in London for the remainder of the visit.
On the second day of the visit, Pope Benedict is going to St Mary's University College, Twickenham, where there will be three aspects to his visit. The first is that he begins the day praying with representatives of religious congregations - particularly those who have a charism for education and a history of education.
He will then go and meet 3,000 young people - schoolchildren, students - to celebrate Catholic education. From there he will then meet with religious leaders and people of religious faith in the Waldegrave Drawing Room. He will discuss with them religion and belief in our society.
Later in the day, the Pope is scheduled to meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace in the presence of the Anglican diocesan bishops and the Catholic diocesan bishops of England and Wales.
He has then been invited, as part of the State visit, to address British society. Representatives of British society will be invited to Westminster Hall to hear the Pope's address.
He will finish off the day with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Christian leaders at Westminster Abbey to celebrate Evening Prayer. The Holy Father will also pray at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior and also at the Shrine of St Edward the Confessor.
On the third day of the visit, Pope Benedict will celebrate Mass in Westminster Cathedral where he will also, from there, greet the people of Wales.
Later in the day he will visit a home for older people, giving the Pope an opportunity to go to those who cannot meet with him, and then be present at an open air Vigil of prayer in London's Hyde Park.
The final day of the visit is focused very much on the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, and the Pope will celebrate that beatification in Cofton Park in Birmingham - adjacent, fittingly, to Rednal where Cardinal Newman was buried and the place where Newman and his community came for rest and recreation in the Lickey Hills.
Pope Benedict will conclude the day by meeting with the bishops of England, Scotland and Wales in Oscott College before returning to Rome from Birmingham Airport.
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