A cassock once worn by Pope St Pius X was donated to Ushaw College (once the seminary in Hexham & Newcastle diocese) by Cardinal Merry del Val. For many years it was a treasured relic of the great anti-Modernist pope & revered by the students for the priesthood. Prior to our recent small exhibition and servers training day in Darlington we approached the Ushaw authorities for permission to display it. It had, unfortunately, been 'lost' and subsequent enquiries elicited the fact that it had probably been unlawfully removed. This information came via a former Ushaw student and the information was passed on to the diocesan authorities. Nothing more was heard until a further telephone call to the college revealed that the cassock had been 're-discovered' and was now in a lengthy process of conservation. We thank the gentleman who passed on the information. No doubt he will reveal his identity through this blog should he wish it to be known.
Splendid news....the relic was always a comfort to me when I was a student there in the 'difficult years' of the early 80s. And what of the rest of the 'disappeared' patrimony?
ReplyDeleteIf you let me know what other items are involved I'll raise the matter with the college authorities
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