OF OUR LADY
Local Catholics were delighted to be invited to St. Paul’s Church to join in a well-attended ecumenical service, during which Father Des was asked to give the homily, in the recent Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. A particular pleasure was the opportunity to join together in the hymns accompanied by the fine organ. Many of us remember the generous hospitality we were shown by being allowed to say Sunday Mass in St. Paul’s before we had our own church.
Recently Father Terry Cantwell, missionary Salvatorian brother of Father Des, who has worked in our sister parish in Tanzania for over 40 years, celebrated the 50th anniversary of his religious profession. To mark this wonderful record we raised enough money to buy a digital camera, a printer and a laminator, which Father Terry can use to record and preserve important events in the life of the parish to which he has dedicated his life.
The 9.00am Mass on the second Sunday in Lent was offered for the repose of the soul of Lord Forte whose obituary had appeared during the previous week.
When the local Catholic community was seeking land on which to build a church, one of the only available plots was on Dunny Lane and owned by Trust House Forte (THF). Everyone reading this will know only too well how rare and expensive land in Chipperfield is and, at that stage, we had virtually no funds. When approached, the THF Estates Department quoted a price well beyond our reach. We asked Cardinal Hume for help and he wrote to Lord Forte asking if the Company would consider negotiating at a lower figure. To our enormous surprise, and almost by return, Lord Forte replied that, in view of the Cardinal’s personal involvement he would give us the land – which he did! This great act of generosity was remembered at Mass. R.I.P.
On 7 July Bishop George Stack will visit Chipperfield to confer the sacrament of Confirmation. Anyone wishing to prepare for Confirmation is invited to seek details from Father Des.