Sunday Bulletin 22 October 2023

St Mary’s Shrine Church Bulletin 22 Oct – 5 Nov 2023 (fortnightly)

Smith Street, Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 2NS, England

Served by the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter by appointment from the RC Archdiocese of Liverpool

01925 635664 fssp.org.uk/warrington      facebook.com/fssp.england

Rector: Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP malleray@fssp.org. Assistant (convalescing): Fr Ian Verrier, FSSP. In residence: Fr Alex Stewart, FSSP. Visiting Priest: Fr Andrew Jolly. Seminarian: Mr Peter Uhel, FSSP. Administrator: Mrs Jane Wright: warrington@fssp.org. Secretary: Mrs Kelly Williams: stmaryssecretary@fssp.org.

Fr Rector’s farewell.

On this his “farewell” holy Mass, Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP gives thanks to God for eight years as FSSP Rector at St Mary’s Shrine in Warrington, from 13.XI.2015 to 28.X.2023. He expresses gratitude for their support and kind collaboration to the clergy at St Mary’s, in the Warrington Deanery, and across the Liverpool Archdiocese. Special thanks go to the Archbishop of Liverpool, His Grace Malcolm McMahon OP, who first welcomed the FSSP in the North West and supported its mission in many ways, including through priestly ordinations, confirmations, book imprimaturs, and more. Fr de Malleray also thanks the parishioners, benefactors, the members of the Confraternity of St Peter, and the worldwide LiveMass congregation, for their commitment, generosity and piety over the years.

In 2015, by the grace of God and with the dedication of many, St Mary’s Church started a new chapter in its worship history, rather than being turned into flats as happens to redundant churches all around us. Newcomers may be surprised to hear that when the FSSP took over, there was no traditional Latin Mass at St Mary’s. No one knew or was asking about it. It took a handful of courageous parishioners to try whatever they could to prevent the closure of their beautiful church, requesting the FSSP to offer assistance, even in Latin, rather than having the building turned into a supermarket. Some choose between Tesco and Waitrose. They chose between “Eleison” and “Morrison”. But what of the majority in the pews? Even though St Mary’s talented choir sang mostly in Latin, the Mass was said in English like in all parishes around. No one knew how many parishioners would wish to change their ways and give the Latin Mass a try. Might they not all leave on hearing for the first time “Introibo ad altare Dei”? – and find a home in neighbouring churches? Around 100 parishioners attended Sunday Mass in the autumn of 2015. Happily most remained. And more joined soon after. The average Sunday attendance in 2016 was about 120. In 2017 it reached 148; in 2018: 159; in 2019: 168. The community now numbers a steady 250 souls in the pews every Sunday across three Holy Masses (latest October 2023 Mass count) including families and children, and the same on weekdays.

With about 500 visits per week therefore, St Mary’s proves to be a living and growing community where God is worshipped with reverence and love, where every member of Christ is welcome, as also are converts and anyone seeking the deeper meaning of life. A number of families and individuals have relocated to Warrington or nearby to be close to St Mary’s Shrine. In addition to the congregation visible in the pews, homilies at St Mary’s have been watched well over 100,000 times via our LiveMass channel; just over 40,000 times on our YouTube channel (started two years ago); and another 200,000 times via Sensus Fidelium. Admittedly figures don’t convey the full picture, but it is important for our Mass-goers to realise that the liturgical quality and the doctrinal affirmation which they witness in person at St Mary’s Shrine has also attracted souls online by the hundreds of thousands. Reflecting further on St Mary’s extended congregation, Fr de Malleray requests prayers for former parishioners; for the deceased of St Mary’s; for previous clergy (Fr James Mawdsley, Fr Konrad Loewenstein, Fr Henry Whisenant, now-Fr Roger Gilbride, for Deacon Miklos Homolya, lately Fr Gerard Quirke, and the many seminarians who helped at St Mary’s); and for the dozens of young men who stayed at St Mary’s on weekends of discernment, some of whom are now seminarians with the FSSP, while others are married or in religious life.

Much to the credit of the Benedictines of Ampleforth Abbey who built and manned St Mary’s, quiet was a striking feature of St Mary’s Shrine even before the FSSP took over. This was immediately perceptible during and after the weekday 12:10pm Mass. On his first visit in July 2015, Fr de Malleray was impressed by the fact that no one chatted inside the church even after the celebrant had left the sanctuary. Perhaps the aspect of St Mary’s life for which the outgoing Rector most gives thanks is the absolute regularity of daily Masses and confessions. Over the past eight years, there simply has not been a single day without Holy Mass and Confessions. Since several Holy Masses per day were often celebrated on feast days, plus every Sunday, it is well over 3,000 Holy Masses that have been offered to God publicly. But what of the Masses offered privately? Considering that there were often four priests at a time living at St Mary’s Presbytery, the staggering number of nearly 10,000 Holy Masses offered over the past eight years in our church would not be far-fetched. We know that no more powerful prayer than Holy Mass is offered to God, as the traditional liturgy eloquently expresses. What a mystical firework of intercession in the person of Christ has dispelled the darkness of sin, then, securing heavenly graces that poured like snowflakes to heal souls! And how many communicants have received at the altar rail not only the graces from God, but the God of graces Himself under the externals of bread? And what joy every June, on Corpus Christi, to follow along the streets of Warrington the Lord carried upon a carpet of flowers, under the canopy, during the traditional procession restored in 2016. O my Lord and my God!

A record of the number of confessions heard at St Mary’s weekly was kept since 2007. About 15 penitents were absolved every week, up to November 2015. In 2016 they were 32. In 2017 and 2018, about 42, reaching 48 in early 2019. With sanitary precautions taken against possible viral contamination, and in a separate building when advisable, absolution was still fruitfully administered in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, about 70 penitents came every week. A peak was reached in 2022 with an estimate of 90 penitents per week. It has subsided a little in 2023. In fact, making holy Mass and confessions available for anyone daily was the main mission offered to the FSSP by Archbishop Patrick Kelly, the then-Archbishop of Liverpool, when discussions about the future of St Mary’s begun. Even though such numbers fall short of the hundreds of confessions heard every week in four confessionals at a time by the Benedictine priests in the busiest years at St Mary’s, that is, between its construction in 1875 and the 1950s, still, this most essential part of the priestly ministry and of the life of a Catholic congregation was fruitfully promoted at St Mary’s Shrine. Deo gratias.

At St Mary’s, two other important liturgies have surrounded Holy Mass and confessions, like a frame of intercessions. What are they? They are Eucharistic adoration and the choral recitation of the Divine Office. Eucharistic adoration took place every Saturday morning for two hours, over the past few years also every Sunday afternoon and every First Friday evening, and even overnight several times a year for pro-life intentions. Placing the monstrance onto the high marble platform proved impractical for want of built-in steps (strangely omitted by the architect Pugin). Last year then, a large throne with canopy was made, all splendidly gilded, and a stunning red backdrop applied. As in many occasions at St Mary’s, generous parishioners offered to cover the cost. Surrounded with flowers and candles, in the smoke of incense, the Eucharistic Lord is worshipped with spectacular beauty and reverence. Furthermore, the best-kept secret of St Mary’s liturgical life is the breviary or Divine Office, prayed in choir by the priests and seminarians daily (outside their day-off). Lauds in the morning, Vespers in the afternoon and Compline in the evening are recited or sung. On weekends and major feasts, laymen young and mature have become involved, learning the liturgical functions and deploying in the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, the sacred choreography of the traditional Roman liturgy. Needless to say, any lay people is welcome to attend, as some have started doing on Sundays, and for Tenebrae during the Paschal Triduum. Thus, praying together the psalms has been an essential part of the life at St Mary’s Church. With two sick priests over the past year it had become less regular, but improvements are expected.

One should add to the liturgical life the many classes of catechism for children, for converts, for marriage preparation, the monthly conferences to young adults of Juventutem, the monthly Men’s Group and Ladies’ Group, the weekly practices of the splendid choir, and the training of altar servers, the visits to the sick or lonely, the clergy functions in the diocese (such as priestly ordinations and synodal meetings), the safeguarding training, the ministry to young people discerning a vocation and, last but not least, the many hours spent in individual spiritual direction given to lay people of various ages and conditions, as well as to clergy. In the background, a constant and time-consuming stream of activity has been the administration of the Shrine buildings, accounts and personnel, including the Priory Campaign and building. A very special expression of gratitude is owed to Shrine Administrator Mrs Jane Wright, whose indefatigable commitment is matched only by her competence and intimate knowledge of the history, activities and trades connected with St Mary’s.

Conscious of having benefitted from the efforts of his Benedictine predecessors since 1875 (and diocesan, briefly, per interim), the Rector is confident that his successors will lead St Mary’s community to further growth in number and virtue, by the grace of God. He looks forward to the celebration of the 150th anniversary of St Mary’s Church in 2025 (construction having started in 1875) and, hopefully sooner, to the inauguration of the Priory Court Shrine Hall (scheduled for early 2024). He asks for the prayers of all for the success of his next mission, setting up the first FSSP house in the Northampton Diocese, serving the two communities of Bedford and Chesham Bois (the commuting time amounts to driving from Warrington to Lancaster and back every Sunday). Finally, he prays for the constant protection of the Holy Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, upon all those who did seek, do seek and will seek Her Son Jesus within the hallowed walls of St Mary’s Shrine Church. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee! Our Lady of Warrington, pray for us!

Caption: Arrival in Warrington on Friday 13 November 2015 after unloading the van – taking the picture: Fr Dave Heywood, PP, or then-Seminarian Marcus Williams?

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Watch our daily Mass with homily on www.livemass.net/locations/warrington.html

Daily Holy Mass readings: www.divinumofficium.com/cgi-bin/missa/missa.pl

Vespers: https://www.divinumofficium.com/cgi-bin/horas/officium.pl

OPENING TIMES

Sundays: 8:30am to 7:00pm 

3 Sunday Holy Masses 9:00am, 11:00am & 6:00pm.

Sung Vespers & Benediction 5:00pm; Confessions 8:30am-8:55am, 10:30am-10:55am & 5:30pm-5:55pm

Weekdays: 9:00am-6:20pm (Confessions 11:40am-12:05pm; Holy Mass 12:10pm)

Saturdays: 9:00am-6:20pm (Eucharistic Adoration 10:00am-12noon, with Confessions 10:05am-11:45am; Holy Mass 12:10pm); Sung Vespers 6:00pm

Confessions 30mins before every Mass every day

Holy Rosary Mon-Fri 11:30am; Sat 11am; Sun 4:30pm

Stations of the Cross Mon & Fri, 1:00pm

Mothers’ Prayer Group: Wed 1:00pm

Holy Souls Prayer Group: every Tuesday 1:00pm

Church & Priory Court car parks for Shrine visitors

Bookshop Unit 3 Open Sun 12:25pm-1:00pm.

Daily Holy Mass online with homily: on LiveMass.net > Warrington: Sun 11:00am; Mon-Sat 12:10pm, and the same on demand 24hrs after 3pm upload for weekday Masses, and over 7 days for latest Sunday Mass. Eucharistic Adoration: Sun 5:30pm; Sat 10:00am- 12noon; 1^st Fri 7:40pm-8:40pm

All must dress modestly in church out of reverence for God and of respect for fellow-worshippers. Kindly switch OFF your mobile phone before you enter the church. Thank you in advance.

Safeguarding: If you have concerns about children or vulnerable adults, please contact the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Department: m.robson@rcaol.org.uk or 0151 522 1013, or speak with Kelly Williams, St Mary’s Safeguarding Officer. Thank you for your awareness.

Converts’ Class every Sat, 4:45pm to 5:45pm: for anyone interested in learning about Catholicism. Just turn up.

Pray for 28 Second Year seminarians who received First Tonsure and started wearing the cassock on 21^st October, including our own Benjamin from England: Olivier, Michal, Gilles, Elias, Zeeshan, Jean, Benjamin, Gwennolé, Pierre, Niccoló, Cecil, Gabriel, Paul, Louis, Maurits, Vedran, Stefan, Luke, Binil, Dominic, Kolt, Brian, Stephen, Gabriel, Alexander, Andre, Craig and Andrew.

Change of clergy: As announced from the pulpit on Sunday 1^st October, Fr de Malleray was put in charge of the Bedford and Chesham Bois communities as of Sunday 29^th October. His farewell Mass in Warrington will be on Sunday 22^nd October, 11am. As of 29^th October Fr Matthew Goddard, FSSP will succeed him as Rector at St Mary’s, assisted by Fr Gwilym Evans, FSSP.

Fr de Malleray’s leaving Party – After the 11am Mass on 22/10/23 at Priory Court. We are sorry to see Fr de Malleray leave St Mary’s after 8 years. We would like to give him a good send off. Could everyone please help to make this a memorable occasion for him. By bringing along food platters savoury or sweet. Maybe a bottle of Prosecco. On the Sunday.

Kindly Contact Audrey Jones 07809 502705 or Joanne king 07743 483466 Thank you all in advance for your help.

Dowry Mag Autumn issue now online: https://fssp.org.uk/dowry-autumn-no59-now-online/

PRIORY COURT WORK RESUMES THIS WEEK!

We are pleased to announce that work on Priory court is due to restart next week. The final stages of the build involve installation of all mechanical and electrical services and the final fit making the hall ready for use. The work is expected to take 3 months which will take us into the new year. The M&E work is to be undertaken by Genus FM Ltd working with our main contractor SWPM Ltd. We hope this will be a fruitful partnership as Genus know our site and community well. We will need to continue our fundraising efforts but hope this will become easier  once we have full use of the facility, and your prayers and patience will be rewarded. Thank you!

Now 935 subscribers to St Mary’s YouTube channel: Main homilies are uploaded regularly: youtube.com/@stmaryswarringtonyoutubech6943.

Reminder on All Saints: “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass.” (cf Catholic Code of Canon Law, 1247). A grave cause is needed to excuse from the obligation. In case of doubt, consult your priest in advance. Missing Holy Mass on those days without a grave cause is a mortal sin.

On All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2^nd ) a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor Souls in Purgatory, is granted to those who visit a Catholic church and there recite one Our Father and one Creed.                 

On all the days from November 1^st through November 8^th inclusive, a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor Souls in Purgatory, is granted to those who visit a cemetery and pray even if only mentally for the departed. There must be one visit for each day one seeks to gain the indulgence; one visit will not apply for several days. Any public cemetery with Christian tombs will do. The nearest one is 5 minutes walk from St Mary’s: St Elphin’s, Church Street, WA1 2TL. 

Conditions for both indulgences:

1. Only one plenary indulgence can be granted per day.

2. It is necessary to be in the state of grace, at least by completion of the work.

3. Freedom from attachment to sin, even venial sin, is necessary; otherwise the indulgence is only partial. (By this is meant attachment to a particular sin, not sin in general.)

4. Holy Communion must be received each time the indulgence is sought.

5. Prayers must be recited for the traditional intentions of the Holy Father on each day the indulgence is sought. No particular prayers are prescribed. One Our Father and one Hail Mary suffice, or other suitable prayers.

6. One must be absolved in confession the fortnight before or following.

Thank you for helping us through the Offertory collection and standing orders. Should any parishioner be in serious financial difficulty, let them contact the Shrine clergy confidentially.

Support St Mary’s Shrine: send your donation via our Donate page: https://fssp.co.uk/donate/. Ask us

for a Gift Aid form to increase your donation by 25% at no extra cost to you. Gift Aid envelopes can be obtained from our Secretariat. Standing orders are easier and quicker for us  to process than cash: Lloyds Bank; Sort Code: 30-80-27; Account number: 30993368. Account name: FSSP Warrington

The Good Counsel Ball is back, in Kensington, London Saturday 18 Nov, 6pm. Don’t miss it! Great Company, great food and a great live band. Tickets are £125 and you can host a table of 10 friends if you want to. Don’t know anyone who is coming? Don’t worry, it’s a friendly event and we can find you a welcoming spot at St Raphael’s table. For enquiries call Clare on 07795205117. To book tickets email GCNBall@gmail.com

Mass intentions had accumulated last year but we have now managed to offer nearly all of them. Feel welcome to give intentions anew, using the little brown envelopes printed to that effect and dropping them in the collection basket or through the metal slot on the Front Door of the Presbytery. The average stipend in £10.00.

Book directly with Stonyhurst for Fr de Malleray’s weekend retreat on 24-26 Nov 2023:

Pray for: Alan Walker, Dominic Jones, Paul Cavanaugh, Michael Ibbotson, Catherine Sibert; Terry Drury, Michelle Brazier-Huelsman, James H., Bill Conder, Greta Doyle, Dorothea Wallace, M. Hawley; Theresa Reynard. RIP: Julie Hoolie; Francis Billington; Rita Hall; Hilda Creagan, Ana Mary Rozo, Ann Evans, Michael Whelan; John Marechal.

by Fr AM