Archdiocese Pilgrimage
to Lourdes 2015
On Friday 21st August Bishop
Paul led the Southwark diocesan pilgrimage
to Lourdes.
They travelled with The Catholic Association who has organised
pilgrimages to Lourdes for over a hundred years. While preserving the
diocesan identity, they will be part of a larger group and have the
opportunity to meet people from other dioceses, schools, and
organisations throughout the country
They go to Lourdes in response to an invitation of Our Blessed
Lady to go there in Procession, to give praise to God Our Father, to
meet him in the Eucharist, to make known his Kingdom here on earth.
Mary invites us to go to Lourdes to pray, to contemplate the mysteries
of the Rosary, the Rosary which Pope Paul VI called 'a synthesis of the
whole Gospel'
The Pilgrims remember the whole diocese in their prayers and worship
and ask the whole diocese of pray for them in return
On Saturday 22nd
Canon Ed Perera, the Diocesan Director, and Bishop
Paul host a meeting for Southwark Pilgrims. They were joined by
Monsignor Bill Saunders who is Director of the whole Pilgrimage
On Sunday 23rd
the Pilgrimage joins over seven thousand others for the
Sunday International Mass, held in the Underground Pius X Basilica
The Catholic Association
lead the Sunday night Marian Torchlight
procession
On Monday 24th the prilgims
processed to the Grotto
Mass at the Grotto
Penitential Service at St Pius X Basilica Monday afternoon

There are two particular groups:
The Glanfield Group, who bring children whose lives are made
complicated by certain medical conditions to Lourdes.
The HCP - Helpers Children's Programme - who assist parents on the
Pilgrimage who wish to help in Lourdes by taking care and engaging with
their children while they work
The Mass organised by the children: this year a mime was carried out
while the Gospel was read; the children read the bidding prayers, and
some of the young adults sung the Psalm and sung a reflection piece
after Communion.
Bishop Paul Hendricks presided and preached at the Mass, and Southwark
provided the reader for the First Reading.
After a busy day of prayers at the Baths, Stations of the Cross, Mass
organised by the Children, the Southwark Pilgrims gathered for some
time together
On Thursday 27th
the pilgrims joined the Anointing of the Sick in St
Pius X Basilican
†
Please pray for the repose of the soul of
Reverend
Deacon Philip Gummett
who died on 15th August 2015
His body will be received into St Peter's Catholic Church
Bargoed CF81 8RJ
on Tuesday 25th at 18:00 followed by Mass
His Funeral Mass will be held at
St Peter's
Catholic Church, Bargoed, CF81 8RJ
at 11:30 on Wednesday 26th August 2015
followed by burial in Gwaelod yr Brithdir Cemetery, NP24 6JY
All are welcome
In lieu of flowers - donations to
The Alzheimer's Society or The Rocky Appeal (QA Hospital, Portsmouth)
c/o D J Thomas & Son, Bargoed, CF81 8NW
May
he rest in peace
Blessed Oscar Romero Thanksgiving Mass
On Saturday 15th August 2015, the 98th anniversary of Blessed Oscar
Romero's birth hundreds of people from across the UK gathered for the
National Mass of Thanksgiving in Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St
George to celebrate the life, martyrdom and
beatification of the Archbishop of Oscar Romero.
Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, patron of the
Archbishop Romero Trust, joined by fourteen other priests, including
three other bishops. The Cardinal wore the chasuble brought back from
the Beatification in San Salvador, which has been gifted to the
Cathedral.
At the end of Mass, a candle made for the occasion was lit by the
Romero Cross designed by Fernando Llort and which contains relics of
Blessed Romero.
After Mass, the congregation gathered in Amigo Hall to hear from Bishop
John, Clare
Dixon and Julian Filochowski of the Romero Trust who were all
privileged to attend the beatification, before a toast to Romero and
Cardinal Cormac cut a birthday cake for Archbishop Romero's birthday.
Images from the event can be found on the
Romero
Trust's Facebook page and
some images taken by Carols Reyes Manzo are on the
Romero
Trust's Flickr
account
A round up of events around the world for Romero's birthday can be
found on the
Super
Martyrio blog
Apostleship of the Sea

Following
on from the recent blessing of the new Seafarers Centre Sheerness in
May this year and Sea Sunday (second Sunday of July), the diocese is
delighted to once again support the Apostleship of Sea by hosting the
“Stella Maris Mass for Seafarers” in the Cathedral at 12.30pm on
Thursday 24th September.
All are invited to this Mass, which
will be celebrated by Bishop Tom Burns SM, to pray for seafarers and
the work of the Apostleship of the Sea who continue to support
seafarers’ faith and welfare needs.
Visit their website for more information on the work of the
AoS:
www.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk