Westminster Cathedral Overflows

Rarely these days is Westminster Cathedral packed to overflowing. But that was the case on Saturday 14 June 2008 when Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, at the invitation of the LMS, offered a Pontifical High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at the High Altar. Below is a detailed account of the Cardinal’s visit to London - surely one of the most important events in the life of the Church in England and Wales since Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1982.

On Saturday 14 June, at the invitation of the Latin Mass Society, Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (charged with oversight of the Vatican’s relations with the religious communities and laity committed to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite) and one of Pope Benedict XVI’s closest collaborators, celebrated a Pontifical High Mass at the Throne in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Traditional Latin Rite) in Westminster Cathedral for a congregation of over 1,500 which packed the side aisles and overflowed into the piazza. It was the first time since the liturgical changes of 1969 that a Cardinal had celebrated the Extraordinary Form in Westminster Cathedral. The Mass (of St Basil the Great) was celebrated at the High Altar - the free-standing new rite altar having been removed - and was filmed by the LMS for subsequent transmission on EWTN. It will also be released as a DVD.

The congregation included large numbers of young people and families and Cardinal Castrillón was visibly delighted with his enthusiastic reception. During the Mass, a message of welcome from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, was read out by his representative, Canon Michael Brockie, Provost of the Chapter of Westminster. It read:

“Your Eminence, I am delighted to welcome you and to greet you on your visit to our beautiful Cathedral Church of Westminster.

I greet you as you preside at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. This is an expression of the unity of the Church gathered to worship the Lord and united in the joy of our communion and love for the successor of Peter, Pope Benedict XVI.

Again, as a friend and as a brother in the College of Cardinals, I welcome you. Oremus pro invicem.

+Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor

Archbishop of Westminster

The Cathedral Choir, including the boys and directed by Thomas Wilson, sang Palestrina’s Missa Sacerdos et Pontifex, Elgar’s Ecce Sacerdos Magnus, Paalestrina’s O Doctor Optime and Byrd’s Ave Verum Corpus. The organ recessional was Widor’s Marche Pontificale. The organ was played by Oliver Brett.

During his Homily, Cardinal Castrillón told the congregation: “The Holy See is mindful of your love of the Extraordinary Form... My visit today and my celebration of this Pontifical Mass in the Classical Roman Rite is an indication of my personal support for your worthy aims and of the desire also of the Holy See to identify with them.”

Before Mass began, the Cardinal in Cappa Magna processed along Ambrosden Avenue outside the Cathedral to be received at the West Door. He then processed into the Cathedral to go to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to pray - included in his procession were almost forty priests, Knights of the Orders of St Gregory, the Holy Sepulchre, the Constantinian Order of St George and of Malta, Canon Michael Brockie, Fr Christopher Tuckwell, Administrator of the Cathedral, and Abbots and Priors of various Orders. Mr Julian Chadwick, LMS Chairman, was Gentleman in Waiting. The Cardinal’s Sacred Ministers were Fr Antony Conlon, National Chaplain of the LMS, Fr Andrew Wadsworth, Fr William Hudson ICKSP, Fr Andrew Southwell and Fr Tim Finigan. The MC was Mr Gordon Dimon assisted by Mr Jonathan Hague and Mr Aidan McKeague.

After praying before the Blessed Sacrament, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos processed to the Sanctuary, pausing to bless the many children thrust forward by proud parents. In the Sanctuary the Cardinal then vested at the Throne before commencing Mass.

The huge crowd of faithful gave a wonderful demonstration of ‘active participation’ when they sang the people’s parts with gusto. During his Homily, Cardinal Castrillón also said: “All of us, priests and faithful, are called to unite ourselves and our sufferings to the offering of Christ. This is the most fundamental dimension of ‘active participation’ in the Mass.”

After Mass, Cardinal Castrillón processed back to the Sacristy where he blessed his Sacred Ministers, clergy and servers, unvested and left immediately in his car for Heathrow Airport to catch an early evening flight to Rome where he had commitments the following morning. The Cardinal’s visit had lasted twenty-four hours but made a tremendous impact on the morale of those attached to the Extraordinary Form.

Cardinal Castrillón’s visit began on Friday 13 June when he and his secretary, Mgr Luciano Alimandi, flew into Heathrow Airport at 4.20 pm to be welcomed by Julian Chadwick, LMS Chairman. The Cardinal was conveyed by car to his London hotel where John Medlin, LMS General Manager, was waiting to meet with Mgr Alimandi to discuss the following day’s arrangements. Later, the Cardinal had a private meeting with Archbishop Sainz Muñoz, the Papal Nuncio, before being taken by car to The Travellers Club in St James’s for a private dinner attended by the President, Vice-Presidents, Officers and Committee of the LMS and the Cardinal’s Sacred Ministers for Saturday’s Mass.

After dinner, Julian Chadwick gave a rousing speech in which he noted that the visit of Cardinal Castrillón fulfilled the legitimate aspirations for which the LMS had worked over several decades.

Cardinal Castrillón replied in a heartfelt address in which he expressed the hope that Saturday’s Mass would be a sign to the world of the personal desire of the Holy Father that the richness of the Traditional liturgy would benefit all. He was glad that the Mass was to be televised by EWTN so that it would be seen around the globe. He said that we should not refer to ‘the Old Mass’ since we go up to the altar of “God who gives joy to my youth.” In fact, he referred to the Extraordinary Form as the ‘Gregorian Mass’ in order to emphasis its enduring youthfulness. This was a term he was to use often during his visit. He also revealed that he would shortly write to all the major Roman basilicas to ask them to offer weekly Sunday Masses.

After his reply the Cardinal was toasted with the “Ad multos annos”.

On Saturday morning (14 June), Cardinal Castrillón gave a press conference for journalists representing The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Reuters, The Catholic Herald and The Tablet. The conference was moderated by John Medlin, LMS General Manager. During the conference, the Cardinal stated that all parishes should offer the Extraordinary Form, preferably on a weekly Sunday basis, and that the Ecclesia Dei Commission proposed to write to all seminaries asking them to provide training in the theology, rubrics and Latin of the Extraordinary Form. He also confirmed that a ‘stable group’ could consist of as little as three to four persons gathered from across parish boundaries.

After the press conference the Cardinal was driven to Westminster Cathedral Hall where the LMS Annual General Meeting was already in progress to clear the business section before the Cardinal arrived. He was received with a lengthy standing ovation. He then addressed the LMS AGM. Some highlights from his address were:

“Pope Benedict XVI knows and deeply appreciates the importance of the ancient liturgical rites for the Church... That is why he issued a juridical document - a Motu Proprio - which establishes legal freedom for the older rites throughout the Church. It is important to understand that Summorum Pontificum establishes a new juridical reality in the Church.”

“...superiors... must recognise that these rights are now firmly established in the law of the Church by the Vicar of Christ himself... This means that parish priests and bishops must accept the petitions and the requests of the faithful who ask for it [the Extraordinary Form] and that priests and bishops must do all that they can to provide this great liturgical treasure of the Church’s tradition for the faithful.”

“...two factors are necessary. 1. It is first of all important to find a centrally located church, convenient to the greatest number of the faithful who have requested this Mass... 2. It is crucial that there be priests willing to celebrate according to the 1962 Roman Missal and thus to provide this important pastoral service on a weekly Sunday basis... Bishops need to be sensitive to such pastoral provisions and to facilitate them. This is a fundamental intention of Summorum Pontificum.”

“Let me say this plainly: the Holy Father wants the ancient use of the Mass to become a normal occurence in the liturgical life of the Church so that all Christ’s faithful - young and old - can become familiar with the older rites and draw from their tangible beauty and transcendence.”

The Cardinal’s address was received with sustained applause. He was then presented with an antique silver Pyx by Julian Chadwick as a token of the LMS’s gratitude and the AGM concluded with the heartfelt singing of the Credo.

After the AGM the Cardinal had a private meeting with Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, and then attended an LMS lunch given in his honour in the Cathedral Clergy Library. Those at the lunch included Officers, Committee members and Diocesan Representatives of the LMS together with many clergy. During the lunch Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos was delighted to be presented with a specially made card and posy by three youngsters - Isabella (8), Olivia (10) and Alexandra (12) - representing the many children and young families attached to the Extraordinary Form. The message in the card read: “For Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos - Thank you for all you are doing to support the children and young people who worship in the Extraordinary Form. Please pass on our thanks to Pope Benedict! On behalf of the children of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales.” The card was decorated with a hand-drawn picture of a large Ciborium and the Cardinal commented that he thought it was most excellently done.

Finally, the highlight of Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos’ visit approached as he was escorted to the Sacristy of Westminster Cathedral to prepare for Pontifical Mass.

After the Mass, formal goodbyes were said at the Cardinal’s car outside the Cathedral Clergy House. The Cardinal was wished, “Bon voyage” by Julian Chadwick, John Medlin and Fr Christopher Tuckwell.

Later, in a press statement, Julian Chadwick on behalf of the LMS said: “Second only to Pope Benedict’s Motu Proprio, this Pontifical Mass has been the high point of the LMS’s forty-three year struggle to preserve and re-introduce the Traditional Latin Rite. Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos has spoken very plainly during his visit, stressing the rights of the faithful and the duties of priests and bishops as established in the Holy Father’s Motu Proprio. These new rights and duties are still sinking in but they are beginning to be better understood and they will result in a widespread re-introduction of the Extraordinary Form in the life of the Church in England and Wales over the next few years. The LMS will work tirelessly to accomplish the clear wish of Pope Benedict.”

It remains only to record the LMS’s grateful thanks to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Fr Christopher Tuckwell, Westminster Cathedral Administrator, for their kind permissions and help. In fact the entire Cathedral staff deserve our thanks but especially Thomas Wilson, Acting Assistant Master of Music, and Simon Lloyd, Acting Precentor, for their tireless work in the busy weeks of preparation for the Mass.

Purchase details of the DVD recording of the Cardinal’s Westminster Cathedral Mass will be announced on the LMS website as soon the DVD is ready.

NOTE: a full photographic record of Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos's visit and Westminster Cathedral Mass can be seen at: www.traditionalcatholic.org.uk