Friday, May 27, 2011

Institute Agrees to Take Over Landmark Wirral Church

Well done Bishop Davies!
press release

The Rt Rev. Mark Davies, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury and Monsignor Gilles Wach, General Prior of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, have agreed to work towards establishing a foundation of the Institute at the Church of Ss Peter and Paul in New Brighton, Wirral, during the course of this year. The principal aim of the new foundation will be to provide a centre in the Diocese of Shrewsbury for the celebration of Holy Mass and the other Sacraments in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The presence of the Institute – a society of Apostolic life of Pontifical right – will also enable the church to become a centre for Eucharistic devotion and adoration, allowing the faithful to come to pray for an increase in faith and love for the Most Holy Eucharist.

A spokesman for the diocese said: “The members of the Institute will work in close collaboration with Father Philip Moor, the parish priest of the Parish of the Holy Apostles and Martyrs, since it is the wish of Bishop Davies that this shrine church will express the harmony between the two usages of the one Roman Rite.
“As the Holy Father, Pope Benedict, reminded us in his 2007 Moto Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, ‘there is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal’, it is the sincere hope of the bishop that this establishment will foster reconciliation at the heart of the Church: one of the express aims of the 2007 papal document.
“Finally, the foundation will ensure that the patrimony of the church building so dear to Catholics and other members of the local community is secured and continues to bear witness to the faith and mission of the Church.”

Since Bishop Davies was first approached by the Institute last year, he has been consulting with the Holy See, his brother northern Catholic bishops, the Patrimony Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, and English Heritage about the future of the Church of Ss Peter and Paul.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hooooray!

Et Expecto said...

This is great news. It is also very good that the press release spells out the stance taken out by Bishop Davise very clearly. In him we have a very fine bishop.

santoeusebio said...

Brilliant!

Nicolas Bellord

Richard Collins said...

Excellent news! Thank God for a Bishop with vision.

Dorothy B said...

Wonderful news! One of the many good things about this is that the church is close to a Merseyrail station. This system covers a large area, from as far North as Southport, through Liverpool and, in the other direction, Chester. Its fame as a landmark, both from land and sea, could be harnessed to make it a centre for pilgrimage. Wouldn't that be splendid!

Dilly said...

It is sorely needed in the Wirral - as the Oblates have had to retreat from Rock Ferry, and the priest shortage is acute. Having a young dynamic order moving into the area has to be a blessing, and it looks as if Bishop Davies is aiming to foster a mutual enrichment between them and the diocesan priests. I can only pray that it is successful, and a model for other areas to follow.

Joe said...

Thank God for Bishop Davis, his vision and his fidelity to the magisterium of the Church.

The Bones said...

That is wonderful news.

Fr Francis Wadsworth said...

Indeed Bishop Davies is a blessing for the Diocese of Shrewsbury. I for one was sad to see him leave our diocese of Salford.

Jacobi said...

This is good news. We are slowly getting back on track.

The solution will lie ultimately in the Tradition Latin Mass being re-introduced into parish life when the number of parishes has shrunk to match the number of Catholics - and priests looking after one parish only.

Then the sung Traditional Latin Mass will be the main Sunday Mass.

Let There be Light in the Darkness said...

Last year I wrote to my bishop and suggested that he invite a priest from one of the traditional priestly societies into his diocese. His response was extremely dismissive. In his reply he said: "since the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, Catholics are no longer prepared to be treated as children - ruled by bishops and talked down to by priests. I cannot imagine many of our people taking kindly to priests formed in the traditional seminaries to which you refer."

I think I can say with confidence that he has never met, or spoken to, a priest or seminarian from any of the traditional priestly societies. This is the kind of blind and dismissive attitude that is all too common in this country and nothing will improve until some of our bishops undergo a Damascene conversion.

Richard Reeves said...

I am not entirely comfortable with this set up. There is something odd about the founder of the ICK. Fr Giles Wach is not a monsignor but uses the title and dress of one. Why would a priest indulge such vanity?

Canon Hudson said...

I don't normally (have time) to post comments on blogs. Nevertheless the post from Mr Reeves requires a response. The Institute is a Society of Apostolic Life which for over 15 years was of diocesan right coming under the oversight of the Archdiocese of Florence where our seminary and General house are situated. Since 2007 we have beeen of Pontifical right, which means that our constitutions were approved in a definitive manner by the Holy see, and that our Superior General has the status of Ordinary, with the equivalent powers of juristiction over incardinated members ( priests and deacons- over 60 in number) of a bishop. We are present in over 65 dioceses around the world. To my mind that should settle any doubts. It is rather sad that on the announcement of the opening of an important foundation in England- the first indeed to be set up as a personal parish with the exra-ordinary form- these personal attacks are hauled out. Our Superior General according to the (approved) constitutions of our order has the title of Monsignor- and dresses according to those constitutions as well. You may not like it, but those are the facts.

berenike said...

Richard - they do make me think of fields of tents :D "Here comes everyone" means everyone, though. I'm sure both the Institute and the parish will benefit from the joint project.

Josephus Muris Saliensis said...

Get a life, Mr Reeves. Is that all you know about the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest? An institute highly favoured by the Holy See for its apostolic zeal.

The example they set in all their missions, from Africa to America, is an inspiration. Everywhere Catholics are motivated to renew their Faith and to serve the church. Vocations abound, and help build up the Church of tomorrow.

Monsignor Wach is a charming and unassuming man, with a most ungallican self-deprecating sense of humour.

Have an opinion, by all means, but a few intelligent facts are really a necessary prerequisite.

Conchúr said...

Msr. Wach is what in the old days would have been called a 'black' monsignor. He is entitled to use the title monsignor by virtue of his office as Prior General of the ICKSP.

Fr Ray Blake said...

RR
I think that has been dealt with elsewhere, I can't see why it needs raking up again here, especially as any ambiguity has now been regularised.

Thank you, Canon Hudson, I welcome the Institutes coming to England, and pray it will prosper here.

Gigi said...

Lovely news: the Bishop's stated aim "that this establishment will foster reconciliation at the heart of the Church" is surely the best of intentions.

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