Summorum Pontificum at 12

Yesterday marked the twelfth anniversary of the promulgation of Summorum Pontificum. Yes it`s still here and not tampered with. Occasionally ignored or resisted (cf the recent business with the Knights of Malta) but continuing to bear fruit. This weekend brought two events that would have been unimaginable not too long ago.

At Portsmouth cathedral, bishop Egan ordained four priests in his cathedral for the Family of Mary Immaculate and St Francis using the extraordinary form Pontifical. These piests belnog to the diocesan group of Franciscans at Gosport and celebrate both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Mass.

Meanwhile in Nottingham dioceses Fr Liam Carpenter was ordained. He celebrated his first Mass in the extraordinary form at the Dominican church of the Holy Cross in Leicester.

Well, the Latin Mass Society say it was in the Extraordinary Form although the lack of altar cards and presence of concelebrants is confusing. Nonetheless ad multos annos to all these new priests!

No ordinations to the priesthood in Hexham and Newcastle this year but now we have a bishop who is known to celebrate the Extraordinary Form we hope that great things lie ahead and that the EF Mass in the diocese will go from being `tolerated` (as was the case before) to embraced and celebrated as a normal part of Catholic life.

UPDATE 19.07.19 Having spoken to a priest who was present Fr Carpenter`s First Mass was in fact in the ordinary form.

Altar Servers, Apostles and Evangelists

In the wake of a new volunteer for the serving team it does strike me as odd that our servers have apostles` names. We`ve had two James, coming up to our third Andrew, a Matthew, a Thomas, a Philip, a Paolo and a John. (Well actually a Jack but he tells me for the purposes of this it can be John). Will we get a Nathaniel or a Jude I wonder? Peters are thin on the ground these days but we do have one leading catechesis in the parish.