The Genius of Adrian Fortescue, Priest and Scholar

Madeleine Beard

The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described, known simply as 'Fortescue-O'Connell' was first published in 1918. This profoundly important book of reference was written by a priest whose talents encompassed every aspect of Catholic culture. This priest whose greatest contribution lay in promulgating Latin as the official language of the Church in its doctrine and its liturgy, could not only speak but lecture in eleven languages. The author of numerous books, pamphlets and articles, Fr Fortescue was England's most talented calligrapher. A recognised authority on heraldry, he was also an artist who could illustrate his subjects with extraordinary skill.

An intrepid and brave traveller, he engaged in hand to hand struggle with some fanatical Albanian soldiers at Hebron and when attacked by brigands while travelling disguised as an Arab, he shot a man in self defence. Nevertheless he brought back highly accomplished and delicate drawings and watercolours of sites he had visited throughout Europe and other countries.

A proponent of Gregorian chant, he was an organist and composer whose musical notation of his manuscripts alone, illustrate his meticulousness in every aspect of his life and work. This English priest born in 1874 and who died in 1923 was, writes Michael Davies, 'the greatest authority on the liturgy of the Roman Rite the English speaking world has ever known'. This parish priest of St Hugh's in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, instructed his parishioners in religion, liturgy, the lives of the saints and all that concerns the worship of God to a standard unrivalled in Europe.

Fr Adrian Fortescue was a descendant of a family of ancient lineage with estates in Warwickshire. Richard le Fort, having saved the life of William the Conqueror by his 'strong shield' was thereafter known as Fort-Escu. with the moto Forte scutum salus ducum 'A strong shield is the safety of leaders', Fr Adrian Fortescue shall ever be remembered for his masterly exposition of the shield of the Roman Rite today and in penal times, integral to the survival and revival of the One True Faith in this country.

This holy priest was a descendant too of Blessed Adrian Fortescue martyred at the Tower of London in 1539. His father, Edward Fortescue, was an Anglican clergyman who submitted to Rome in 1872 after weighing up the claims of the First Vatican Council. He died five years later. A fine memorial chapel is dedicated to him in the Dominican Priory at Haverstock Hill, North London, near where young Adrian spent his early years.

A vocation beckoned and Adrian Fortescue entered the Scots' college in 1891 and thereafter, the Theological faculty at Innsbruck, he was ordained priest in 1898. He went on to continued his studies gaining a triple doctorate and was awarded a special prize by Emperor Franz Joseph.

On 29th November 1907 Fr Fortescue was appointed missionary rector of Letchworth, where he spent the rest of his short life. He celebrated his first public Mass on the first Sunday of Advent 1907. In this missionary territory he was regarded with great affection by his parishioners. A brilliant Scholar, he found the practicalities of parish administration irksome, yet he was loved and venerated as a true pastor of his flock. He was humorous, diligent, faithful and inspiring. What he could never have imagined, and with what mercy he never witnessed - that First Sunday of Advent 1969, when the Mass and ceremonies he loved and documented so meticulously, should be so cruelly suppressed. What suffering he would have undergone on that fateful day.

But the guiding presence of Fr Adrian Fortescue lives on. For when at the end of November 2001 Michael Davies rose to his feet to speak of the life and work of this remarkable priest, the historic Mass had been celebrated only an hour before. It was on the 29th November, ninety four years to the day since the appointment of Fr Fortescue to the parish where he now lies buried, that the Tridentine Mass for the Vigil of St Andrew was celebrated at the Church of St Ethelreda, Ely Place, London. Moreover the very fact that this historic church is itself in Catholic hands was thanks to a remarkable event of Divine Providence.

In December 1873, Fr William Lockhart, A Rosminian priest whose conversion had influenced John Henry Newman, discovered that St Ethelreda's was about to be sold at auction. Welsh Episcopalians, with the backing of a Welsh steel magnate were keen to undertake its restoration. But at the auction the Welsh made a mistake and thought Fr Lockhart's agent was theirs. Thus Britain's oldest Catholic Church returned to Catholic hands. Restoration of the historic site began in 1874, it was the year in which Adrian Fortescue was born. The genius of Adrian Fortescue lives on in his books; his powerful intercession is guiding souls back to the anchor of the Mass of St Pius V.

Editors note.

The twelfth edition of 'Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described' was revised by the Rev Fr J B O'Connell MA to bring it into full conformity with the new rubrics of the Roman Missal and Breviary issued by the Holy See by the Sacred Congregation of Rites Decree Novum Rubricum of 26th July 1960, and containing the rubrics of the Roman Missal of 1962. This work is an essential reference for all Masters of Ceremonies and others involved with the liturgy and rubrics of the traditional rite of Mass celebrated in our churches today. Please contact the office for details of availability.

[Taken from the Latin Mass Society's May 2002 Newsletter.]