St Margaret Clitherow Pilgrimage in York

Following the tremendous success of the first LMS pilgrimage in honour of St Margaret Clitherow to York in 2011 a further pilgrimage is to be held on March 24th 2012. Last year's event took place in York Minster but this year the Solemn High Mass will be celebrated in St Wilfred's Church, just opposite the West Door of the Minster, in the presence of Bishop Drainey of the Diocese of Middlesbrough. The Mass will begin at 1.30pm.

The celebrant will be Fr Michael Brown, the Northern Chaplain of the LMS, and Mass will be immediately followed by a procession through York to English Martyrs Church where a relic of St Margaret will be venerated. The route of the pilgrimage will, as in 2011, process through The Shambles - where St Margaret lived - and past the place of her martyrdom - she was pressed to death.

We are encouraging as many as possible to be in York on March 24th for both the Mass and the procession of witness. The 2011 event was covered both locally and nationally by the media and was instrumental in introducing many new adherents to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Sense of beauty in the liturgy 'Umbilically Connected to Music', composer tells meeting of choir Directors

James MacMillan ,the Catholic composer, and Fr Guy Nicholls, founder of the Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in Birmingham, addressed a meeting of around fifty choir directors and Chant experts at the second biennial meeting of the Gregorian Chant Network at the London Oratory on 18th February, sponsored financially by the Latin Mass Society.

The Network, which was founded two years ago by the Latin Mass Society, Una Voce Scotland, the Association for Latin Liturgy, the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge and dozens of Chant scholas across England and Wales, aims to promote greater knowledge of, and expertise in, the Church's most ancient musical form with the aim of fostering its wider use in the Catholic liturgy.

Dr MacMillan was the principal speaker and addressed the meeting about the role of music in the Church's cultural patrimony. He recalled that, as a young boy, he had attended what is now called the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and noticed that, 'the sense of beauty, the sense of sacred awe, was umbilically connected to the music,' He observed that beauty as a concept had largely been lost from contemporary Church music. Indeed it had been accompanied by the abandonment of any objective notion of beauty at all. This fitted in with the widespread liturgical trend, namely celebrations of Mass that have become self-preoccupied and centred on the notion of self-expression; a liturgy that too often focuses on community rather that the divine. In Dr MacMillan's experience, the singing of Gregorian Chant had helped priests and their congregations to recover their focus on what was important in the Mass - that sense of beauty and the sacred.

Fr Guy Nicholls of the Birmingham Oratory, gave the meeting a brief but fascinating update on the progress achieved at the Newman Institute of Music, which was established in the wake of the Holy Father's visit to Britain, and which was dedicated to meeting the musical needs of both clergy and laity.

The meeting was chaired by Dr Joseph Shaw, Chairman of the LMS, who reported the activities of the GCN over the past two years and looked forward to further success in the months to come.

The very successful gathering concluded with Vespers in the Little Oratory, led by Fr Andrew Southwell, the LMS National Chaplain.

LMS announces 6 new patrons

The LMS has announced the establishment of 6 patrons, including well-known figures from the worlds of music, journalism, politics and the law.

This marks a major advance for the LMS and for the cause of the Traditional Latin Mass in England and Wales which are both attracting the support of mainstream figures within the Church.

The new patrons include Dr James MacMillan CBE, who composed the setting for the Beatification Mass of John Henry Newman and is well known for his tireless campaigning for excellence in Church music. Charles Moore, a convert to Catholicism, is a former editor of the Daily Telegraph and a prominent national journalist and political commentator. Prince Rupert Lowenstein is a former President and long time supporter of the Latin Mass Society. Lord (Brian) Gill is the second most senior judge in Scotland and was recently honoured with a papal knighthood. He has supported the Traditional Latin Mass for many years. Colin Mawby is another composer who is highly respected in Catholic music circles. He was Director of Music at Westminster Cathedral under Cardinal Heenan and more recently has been very supportive of the LMS's attempts to nurture a wider knowledge of Gregorian Chant. Sir Adrian Fitzgerald is President of the Irish Association of the Knights of Malta, a former mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and was previously a Chairman of Governors of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School.

Announcing the establishment of the LMS's new patrons, Chairman Dr Joseph Shaw said: "I am delighted they have agreed to be patrons. This is a real indication of the Society's standing in the Catholic community and the Church. Since 'Summorum Pontificum', our support of the Traditional Latin Mass is no longer considered an eccentricity, to be tolerated at best, but an important apostolate for the good of the whole Church and recognised as such by the Holy Father."

Bishop Seamus Cunningham at St Joseph's, Gateshead

This weekend was the Episcopal Visitation of St Joseph's parish together with the satellite church of St Wilfrid. Bishop Cunningham celebrated Mass at St Wilfrid's on Saturday & spent Sunday at St Joseph's. He celebrated & preached at both the 8.30am & 10.30am OF Masses before joining us for the EF 12noon Mass. This being the 3rd Sunday of the month we celebrated a Missa Cantata with Fr Adrian Dixon the parish priest who celebrates our EF Mass every Sunday.

The bishop sat in choir & was accorded the required rubrics throughout Mass. He also preached a most excellent sermon on prayer & silence coupled with our need to evangelise. He met with the congregation as they left the church after Mass & gave his blessing to the servers following Mass.

We were delighted that Bishop Seamus was able to share in our celebration of Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

BBC4 programme on Pugin from St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne

Last November BBC4 decided to record a programme on the architect Pugin. As he designed St Mary's Cathedral in Newcastle it was decided that this would be a good venue.

In view of the fact that the cathedral was designed for the Usus Antiquior the cathedral dean, Fr Peter Leighton, asked Fr Michael Brown if it were possible to re-enact a part of a Solemn High Mass (the Offertory). A team of servers plus the Schola Sancti Baedae took part with Fr Brown as celebrant, Fr David Phillips as deacon and Fr Jim Angus as sub-deacon.

The programme is to be televised on BBC4 on Thursday 19th January 2012. Watch out for details of time in your TV guide.

Update Mass details for Hexham & Newcastle

St Mary's Barnard Castle

2nd February 2012 (Feast of the Purification) Low Mass 7.30pm
22nd February 2012 (Ash Wednesday) Low Mass 7.30pm
26th March 2012 (Annunciation) Low Mass at 7.30pm

These are in addition to usual Masses

SS Joseph, Patrick & Cuthbert

There will be NO MASSES on 19th & 26th January 2012.
2nd February 2012 (Purification) Mass at 11.45am instead of 12 noon
9th February 2012 Mass reverts back to 12 noon
There will be NO MASSES on 16th & 23rd February 2012 nor on 2nd & 9th March 2012
Masses will revert to normal from 15th March 2012 at 12 noon.

Information on Masses at St Mary's, Forest Hall & Sacred Heart & English Martyrs, Thornley will be published as soon as possible

Epiphany

Masses were held at Coxhoe (Missa Cantata), Barnard Castle (Low Mass) & Forest Hall (Low Mass) to celebrate the feast.

Thank to to our clergy, singers & servers for making them possible.