Papal Visit - Hyde Park History
Papal Visit to the UK - Pope Benedict visits the UK September 2010 - Hyde Park, London
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16 Sept 2010 edition of the Papal Visit - Hyde Park
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Pope meets the Archbishop of Canterbury Produced by CathCom &, Premier Christian Radio p3 The big assembly p9 Other events since Pope arrived p3 Westminster Cathedral Poster to Commemorate the day Issue 3 - 18th September 2010
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2 The Papal Visit FOWEY RETREAT www.foweyretreat.co.uk Retreats Catholic Teaching and Holidays in Cornwall Designed and produced by CathCom, L4 Blois Meadow Business Centre, Steeple Bumpstead, Haverhill, Suffolk, CB9 7BN. To advertise call 020 7112 6710 or email: ads@cathcom.org Distribution Manager: Daniel Griffiths Advertising team: Caroline Nielsen &, George Rush The preparations at Westminster Cathedral for the Papal Mass have been going on for months –, and that means not only liturgies and music. Even the venerable building itself has been spruced up, the sacristy has been repainted, and the wall behind the High Altar has been moved back by 18 inches, so that it is possible to celebrate Mass there. 18 inches is, you might say, one small step for a man, but one giant leap for an architect, the sanctuary area is supported by vaulting in the crypt below, so that even a small change in the distribution of weight means very intricate preparations to ensure that there is no structural damage. The most noticeable alteration to the Cathedral is the mosaic of St David, outside the chapel of St Paul. Finally, the Mother Church of England and Wales has a memorial to its Welsh constituency (there was to be a Welsh chapel in the Cathedral, but a Scottish Lord jumped in and offered to pay for the decoration if the chapel were instead dedicated to St Andrew). The stunning depiction of St David, by Ifor Davis, is a meditation on his title of ‘,The Water Man’, –, he shunned alcohol as a witness to temperance and self denial. The Saint is depicted standing on a mound, tradition has it that, when addressing a crowd, the earth below him rose up so that he could speak to the people more easily. A stone from that mound has been included in the mosaic. Moreover, the holy water that the Pope will use to bless the mosaic is drawn from the well at the Shrine of St Non, mother of St David, in Pembrokeshire. The ceremony of blessing will mark the particular Welsh aspect of the Mass at Westminster Cathedral –, since pressure of time means he cannot visit the Principality in person. There will be an address by Bishop Edwin Regan of Wrexham, and the image of Our Lady of the Taper, from Cardigan, will be venerated. This image recalls the medieval shrine of Our Lady which was destroyed at the Reformation, ironically, it is only through the description of the dismantling of the shrine that we know about it: the legend was that the statue of the Virgin and Child was found by a farmer in the river Teifi, the taper in the hand of the Virgin was alight, and burned for nine years without needed renewal. A new shrine was built in Cardigan in 1970, and Pope John Paul blessed a taper in Rome which was placed in the hands of the new image. It has been quite a big year for the Welsh at the Cathedral. Last July there was a large Welsh pilgrimage there to honour the fourth hundredth anniversary of St John Roberts. The Archbishop of Canterbury, himself a Welshman of course, took part, and gave an address in Welsh! Mass at Westminster Cathedral Hyde Park Map A map showing the tube stations and entrances for the Hyde Park event, today at 5.15pm
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3 The Papal Visit Five men have been arrested by anti-terror police investigating a suspected plot to harm the Pope. The men are believed to be of Algerian origin, and possibly working as street cleaners in Westminster. They were held following early morning raids on offices in central London. The Vatican`s released this statement in regards to the arrests. ",We have absolute confidence in the security operation to protect both the Pope and the public. The Pope is enjoying a wonderful visit, warmly welcomed wherever he goes.", Pope Benedict has been informed of the arrests, but is continuing his visit, unaffected. Suspected plot to harm the Pope STOP PRESS …, STOP PRESS …, STOP PRESS Girls from St Catherine`s School, Twickenham (all very thrilled and excited) Conor Diver (left) and his friend. Conor said: ",Its been a really exciting day. I will remember this forever.", The Big Assembly Yesterday morning Pope Benedict was present for the gathering of 3,500 school children and students. It was being billed as ‘,The Big Assembly’,. The theme for the event is “,I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full”, (John 10:10) The whole day was a celebration of Catholic education in the UK and the outstanding work that takes place in Catholic schools, colleges and higher education institutions across the country. ‘,The Big Assembly’, coincided with the start of the academic year and highlight the way in which the Catholic Church works with the State and local communities to provide Catholic education in nearly 3,000 schools across the United Kingdom. Present inside the event was Conor (on the left of the picturebelow ). He said ",Its been a really exciting day. I will remember this forever",. Meanwhile, outside the event 770 girls from St Catherine`s school, Twickenham gathered to line the street to catch a glympse of the Pope. They brought great joy to the day encouraging a fun and enoyable morning.
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4 The Papal Visit New mosaic completed for Westminster Cathedral A new mosaic of St David, by artist Ifor Davies, has been completed at Westminster Cathedral. The mosaic will be blessed by Pope Benedict XVI when he celebrates Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 18 September 2010. Welsh artist, Ifor Davies said: “,I have been painting all my life and this is one of the most exciting commissions and very close to my heart. I have always been interested in Welsh history and so have done lots of research around St David and the early church in Wales.”, “,To start with I made a drawing, about the same size of as the mosaic on very thick paper and painted the image. Together with Tessa Hunkin from the Mosaic Workshop we traced the original image in order to be able to put it into a mosaic format.”, “,St David is depicted as standing on a mound, the myth states that he was preaching to a crowd and, in order for them to be able to hear him, better the ground rose underneath him. The bit of stone at the bottom of the mosaic is from Llanddewi Brefi, the spot where the miracle is said to have happened. There are also lots of other references to stories associated with St David, the water coming from his cup represents the fact that he drank only water for example.”, The mosaic has been an important part of the Cathedral’,s preparations for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI. Cathedral Administrator, Canon Christopher Tuckwell said: “,I am delighted with the mosaic. When I first saw the drawing I could see that there was something new, fresh and alive about it. We are looking forward to the Holy Father coming here to bless the mosaic. It is a great part of his outreach to the people of Wales.”, Tessa Hunkin from the Mosaic Workshop who put the mosaic together said: “,It has been a great piece to work on, but a bit more difficult than other mosaics because there is so much gold and you have to use a slightly different technique when working with gold to ensure that it shimmers.”, At the end of the Mass on 18 September, the Pope will bless the mosaic with water from St Nonn’,s well in Wales. St Nonn was the mother of St David. He will then address the people of Wales before concluding the Mass in Westminster Cathedral. Pope Benedict XVI meets Manchester City junior soccer players
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5 The Papal Visit Head Office: 212 Eversholt Street, London, NW1 1BD LEVERTON &, SONS Independent Funeral Directors Serving the Catholic Community in London for eight generations As well as funerals and repatriations, we also provide pre-paid funeral plans. Advice without Obligation 020 7387 6075 24hr. response levertons.co.uk Online price list and full details of our services since 1789 Preparation for broadcasting So far as preparations for broadcasting the Mass, viewers may not be aware that there are days –, even weeks –, of planning beforehand. The complicated needs of an outside broadcast unit have to be met within the extremely busy Cathedral timetable. Cables have to be laid, cameras brought in and angles checked, elaborate lighting and microphones installed. An order of service is prepared with timings and notes in exquisite detail, which becomes as it were the ‘,bible’, of the TV unit. A particular problem on this occasion is subtitling, as some of the Mass will be in Latin, the BBC have been searching for a Latin expert who can tell them when to put up on the screen the relevant translations! The commentators themselves are not in the main body of the Cathedral –, their voices would disturb the ceremony –, but in a room nearby. In this case, the Cathedral sewing room! There they follow the Mass on a bank of screens, each showing a different angle or shot, which enables the camera to cut to a relevant action, or to focus on some point of interest. Those faces lustily singing hymns who appear on the screen are never chosen by accident, a camera scours the congregation to look for good shots, and will have found their target well before that shot goes live. Commentators have to know their stuff, facts and figures, participants (it is no use being asked ‘,Who is that person?’, and not knowing!) and, above all, the shape of the service. Often there are only a few moments to make some comment before the celebrant speaks or choir sings, at other times there are unexpected silences or even delays, which need to be filled with commentary. In that respect, it’,s a bit like the cricket commentary on the radio, although perhaps the range of chat may be somewhat more limited in subject! Above all, the commentators must allow the service to speak for itself, less rather than more is the key. Their hope is that the broadcast will not merely be an interesting and historic spectacle, but will really help the millions of people following in this country and around the world, to participate in this momentous and sacred event. God or Gravity The old chestnut of Science vs Religion A recurring theme for the Pope has been what he sees as aggressive atheistic attacks on religious faith. The most recent much publicised example has been the claim by Professor Stephen Hawking that the universe was created not by God but by Gravity. Very few people would be competent to criticise his analysis of the character of the processes that we refer to as Gravity, but it is perfectly possible to criticise the logic of its inference for the origins of the universe. Such a claim depends upon the view that so-called Laws of Nature are prescriptive, that is, that they cause or constrain the physical world to behave in the way that we observe, rather than being merely descriptive, that is, describing what the characteristics of the physical world happen to be. The so-called Laws of Nature are derived from observations of the characteristics of the physical world and as such, they are totally dependent in form and in detail upon those observed characteristics, if the characteristics were different then the Laws of Nature would have to be different. It is then a circular argument to claim that these characteristics are the consequence of the Laws, when the Laws themselves are a consequence of those characteristics. It is a leap of faith to believe that these Laws of Nature exist outside our minds and govern the physical world, the only thing we can be certain about, is that what they govern is the way that we rationalise the patterns of behaviour of the physical world. If the Laws of Nature are nothing more than a strategy for dealing with the world then they cannot tell us why the world is as it is, or why it exists at all. Professor Hawking himself posed the most significant question asking ‘,What is it that breathes fire into the equations?’, We still await an answer. (see more at www.scienceasmetaphor.com) Courtesy of NASA Fr Mark Langham
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Pope Benedict Papal visit to Britain September 16 th -19 th 2010
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8 The Papal Visit Westminster Cathedral - shop front of Catholic Church Westminster Cathedral is used to being in the spotlight, over the years countless broadcasts have taken place to mark installations, funerals and concerts. Inevitably, any television news story on the Catholic Church concludes with the reporter standing outside the Cathedral –, it is the shop-front of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. But not since 1982 has there been an occasion like this, when the eyes not just of Catholics in our own country, but around the world, will be focussed on the great building when Pope Benedict celebrates Mass. As he enters the Cathedral sanctuary, the Pope will walk across the plaque commemorating the earlier visit of Pope John Paul II. The world has moved on from then, but in many ways the visit of Pope Benedict has the same significance for Catholics as the visit of his predecessor, to encourage and strengthen them to live out their faith, and to issue a rallying call to them to contribute in creating a more just, more fulfilled, and more joyful society. Our hearts will be stirred and our spirits will soar tomorrow morning, but as with every Mass, the Papal Mass is important not only as a historic occasion in itself, but as something of lasting and transforming value. The Pope comes to the Cathedral that symbolises the Catholic presence at the heart of our nation, to affirm us as we strive to place faith at the heart of our nation, and share the joy that faith can bring. The countdown to Our Holy Father’,s visit began earlier this year when we were asked the question “,Would you be open to the idea of the Pope coming to St. Peter’,s?”, Mother Marie Claire, Superior, promptly replied “,We’,d do anything to have the Holy Father here, it’,s the sort of thing you’,d never dream might happen.”, The Residents were as excited as the Sisters and all of them agreed that St. Peter’,s was an ideal venue. From that moment preparations began so that a worthy welcome would be given to Pope Benedict. Most of all we prepared ourselves spiritually for the great grace that will be ours in welcoming the Holy Father to our Home. A refurbishment programme in the Chapel has made a truly prayerful setting for such an occasion. It has been an enriching experience working with the Vatican Authorities, the Bishops’, Conference, the Metropolitan Police and many others who have come forward with offers of help. Sr. Stephen, Provincial Superior, adds that the Holy Father’,s visit to St. Peter’,s, which is also the Provincial Residence, is an occasion of grace and rejoicing for the Little Sisters and Residents of the ten Homes in the English Province, and for the entire Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Our Mother General, Sisters and Residents around the world will be tuned in with great emotion and will be part of this occasion with gratitude in their hearts. We are now at the threshold of this wonderful event - 18th September when Pope Benedict XV1 will walk through our doors and bring such joy and happiness to us all. We are grateful to our Holy Father, for including this visit to the Elderly in his agenda. By doing so, he underlines the importance of caring for the older members of our society Visit to LSP –, Sr Mary Chantal
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9 The Papal Visit Edinburgh rejoices at St Ninians Parade On Thursday Pope Benedict`s first public event was the St Ninian`s Day Parade marked the historic occasion of Pope Benedict XVI’,s state visit to Scotland and celebrates the Grst man to be named a Saint in Scotland, nearly 1600 years ago. The parade started at 11.00am led by Anthea Bundy, a 15 year old Highland Dancer, and boxing champion Ricky Burns. Both were wearing the blue and green Papal tartan that was created especially for the Pope`s visit, and Anthea carried the Papal Rag at the front of the parade. She said ",It is a real privilege. My family are very proud and my friends are envious",. Following the pairwere pipers and drummers from Scotland and further afield guiding the parade from Regent Road and along Princes Street. An estimated 125,000 people attended the parade both to celebrate the St Ninian`s day and to see the PontiP. Pipe Bands played `Highland Cathedral` as he traveled past in his Popemobile. The VIP’,s were 1000 school pupils from St Ninian School’,s around Scotland who helped turn Princes Street into a sea of blue. To add to the colour, thousands of Rags that were given out to spectators along the route. Over the last 1,600 years Scotland has had a remarkable history and Thursday`s St Ninian’,s Parade was a fantastic opportunity for spectators and the media to meet and greet important characters from Scotlands past, including William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots, John Knox and Robert Burns and of course St Ninian himself. To this day Ninian is a saint held in common by all Scottish Christians and, indeed, by all Scots. Earlier this year the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith Patrick O`Brien, sparked the idea for the parade by asking the question - ",Why don`t we resurrect the great festivities that used to surround St Ninian`s Day in this country? A grand Scottish spectacle to welcome Benedict XVI.", The event, described as joyous, charitable and inclusive, has been reported by the council to have been watched by up to a billion people around the world. The cost of the parade is likely to be £,400,000, however the capital is set to benefit financially as it is likely to raise as much as £,4m in tourism. 70,000 people attend Mass at Bellahouston Park After the St Ninian`s parade, The Papal Mass took place in Glasgow yesterday at 5.15pm and was attended by 70,000 people from all over Scotland and the Northern Dioceses of England. The Pope was received by overwhelming enthusiasm from the pilgrims attending the Mass. The two hour Mass involved musicians from all over Scotland led by five conductors and two organists. The events at Bellahouston Parkwere the culmination of the Pope`s day in Scotland which combined two large public events and various state and pastoral visits. Other events since Pope Benedict arrived
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Pilgrims flock to the web to show their support of the Papal Visit by Kevin Bennett 10 The Papal Visit There may well have been over 70,000 people in attendance at Bellahouston park on Thursday and many more on the streets of London on yesterday and today, but thousands more have been taking part in the Papal Visit via cyberspace. This is not only the first Papal visit to the UK of the 21st Century, it is also the first visit of the Digital Age. Today in 2010 we find ourselves in the midst of a Papal Visit that is making full use of all that `new media` has to offer. Via the thepapalvisit.org.uk website those who are unable to make it to the events are able to watch them streamed lived over the internet. On the internet-based short message service Twitter, thousands of people have been `tweeting` updates on how they enjoyed the Glasgow &, London events. There is also huge activity on the Papal Visit Facebook page where people are commenting, uploading photos and showing their support. Some of the best comments have been summarised opposite. But what does all of this mean for us? The reality is that communication has changed dramatically in the 28 years since the previous Pope`s visit, and the Church has a duty to be `Salt and Light` in this new media landscape. This year on the 44th World Communications Day Pope Benedict gave the following message ", God’,s loving care for all people in Christ must be expressed in the digital world not simply as an artefact from the past, or a learned theory, but as something concrete, present and engaging. Our pastoral presence in that world must thus serve to show our contemporaries, especially the many people in our day who experience uncertainty and confusion, that God is near, that in Christ we all belong to one another.", For those who aren`t already `Tweeting`, `Digging` and `Poking` their way around the internet stepping out into this digital world can feel very daunting. However all of us can start to make our first tentative steps. Perhaps you could include a Bible verse in the `signature` of your email? Maybe you could share a spiritual video on Facebook? You could even start a blog, a type of on-line diary, where you can share thoughts on your spiritual journey for others to be edified by. We have a duty as fol lowers of Jesus to make his Word known in the digital environment. If we are absent from the marketplace of ideas there are many competing voices who will gladly lead others into error and hopelessness. Gladly many Catholics have made their voice heard in these recent days, and may that number continue to increase and proclaim the hope we have and the Lord we serve. For Christians of all levels of experience Premier Christian Media are hosting the first `Christian New Media Conference: Reaching out in a digital age` on 16th October 2010 in London. Tickets are £,25, more information available at www.christiannewmedia.com.
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11 The Papal Visit Donate online: www.smiletrain.org.uk OR call: 0870 127 6269 I want to give a child a second chance at life. Mr/Mrs/Ms Address Postcode Email Telephone Charge my gift to my: Visa Master Card Maestro Card No. Valid From Exp. Date Issue No. Signature My cheque is enclosed, made payable to The Smile Train UK Use Gift Aid to increase your donation by 25% YES, I would like Smile Train to claim Gift Aid on any donations that I have made within the last 4 years and all donations I make in the future until further notice. I confirm that I pay sufficient UK income/capital gains tax to cover any tax that Smile Train will reclaim from any donations that I make. N10091U402FIY1L These details, including your email address/teleph one number, may be used to keep you informed about our future developments. If you do not want to receive such information please tick this box £,150 towards surgery for one child £,75 could cover half the cost of one surgery £,30 towards medications for one surgery £, We’,ll gratefully accept any amount Registered Charity No. 1114748 ©, 2010 The Smile Train. Send this coupon with your donation to: The Smile Train UK, PO Box 909, Northampton NN3 0BF A healthy diet during pregnancy can help prevent birth defects and clefts. Eat a healthy diet that contains lots of fruits and vegetables and foods fortified with folic acid. The U.K. Government recommends women should take sufficient levels of folic aci d (400 micrograms/day) during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy to help prevent neural tube defects and reduce the risk for cleft lip and palate. Wh en folic acid is taken one month before conception and throughout the first trimester, it has been proven to reduce the risk fo r neural tube defects by 50 to 70 per cent. Be sure to receive proper prenatal care, quit smoking and drinking alcohol and follow your health care pr ovider’,s guidelines for foods to avoid during pregnancy. Foods to avoid may include raw or undercooked seafood, beef, pork, pou ltry, delicatessen meats, fish that contain high levels of mercury, smoked seafo od, fish exposed to industrial pollutants, raw shellfish, eggs, so ft cheeses, unpasteurised milk, pâ,té,, caffeine and unwashed vegetables. For more information, visit www.smiletrain.org.uk The Smile Train provides life changing free cleft surgery for children in developing countries which takes as little as 45 minutes and costs as little as £,150. It gives desperate children not just a new smile –, but a new life. Pick one. Just one. Save their life for £,150. You’,ll end up smiling too. Anu, 2 years, India Eduardo, 6 months, Peru Nisa, 4 years, Indonesia Kabir, 7 months, Nigeria Guo Sen, 6 months, China On Sokhorn, 13 months, Cambodia
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