All Saints and All Souls – a unique double

For the first time in nearly half a century, a unique double took place at Christ the King, Bedford, on 1 and 2 November.
We were delighted to welcome Fr Matthew Goddard of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter to celebrate an evening Missa Cantata for All Saints Day. For the first time, we had enlisted the services of Bedford Choral Society, who sang a setting by Adolfo Kaim, a 19th century German composer. The music was beautiful, Fr Goddard looked splendid in his many-coloured chasuble and the team of four servers carried out their duties with dignity and efficiency. The Mass was attended by a congregation of some 70 people, the highest number we have in the 15 months since the Latin Mass started at Bedford.
Fr Goddard, who had travelled from Reading, stayed overnight in the area and was back in church at 10 am the following morning to celebrate a Low Mass for All Souls Day. The black vestments and a catafalque lent the appropriate solemnity to the occasion. The congregation was about 40 this time, not as large as the evening before, but still very respectable for a weekday morning.
We are very grateful both to Fr Goddard and the Bedford Choral Society and look forward to more Masses with both of them in the future.
Barbara

by fsspuk