ESBVM

The Portuguese National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima came about as a result of thee appearances of an angel to three children (‘the little shepherds’) in 1916, and the appearance on the 13th of each month from May to October 1917 to the same children of a beautiful lady who imparted to them a number of prophecies and asked them to pray the Rosary in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the First World War.

I travelled to Fatima for a week spanning the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima (May 13th) with the Ecumenical Friends of Fatima Association (EFFA), inaugurated and consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima on Tuesday May 15th 2001 by the Rt Rev’d Edwin Barnes, then Bishop of Richborough and first Episcopal President of the Association, in the presence of His Excellency Seraphim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva, then Bishop of Leira-Fatima.

The membership of EFFA is largely Anglican, with a few Catholics, some of them Anglican converts to Catholicism for whom Fatima has been instrumental in their conversion experience. The ecumenical dimension comes not so much from its membership than from the practical and generous relationship that has been developed by Fr Malcolm Gray SSC, priest director of EFFA, and the present and former bishops of Leira-Fatima.

The ecumenical generosity of the welcome EFFA enjoys at Fatima allows the Anglican pilgrims to celebrate a daily Eucharist at altars around the shrine, and the Anglican EFFA clergy to process robed in the procession for the International Mass of the Day, and to be seated behind the principal group of concelebrants on the steps of the Basilica. To be so treated was a moving and significant experience.

Perhaps most moving for me was the candlelit International Mass the night before. To be at Mass with an estimated 500,000 people felt truly to be amidst the body of Christ – while at the same time, as an Anglican, feeling the sadness of not quite being part of it, despite the generosity of the welcome extended to us as a group.

At the time of its creation, EFFA determined that it should not be just one more of the many Marian societies, ecumenical and otherwise, that exist. To this end, Bishop Seraphim was asked in what apostolate EFFA could engage; the result of this is that EFFA makes a corporate financial sacrifice in support of the Vida e Paz community, a drug-rehabilitation community that places Our Lady at the centre of its work and which enjoys a remarkable success rate. Our visit there was impressive and moving.

Pope John Paul II had a very particular relationship with the Shrine at Fatima. The attempt on his life in St Peter’s Square was made on May 13th 1981 – the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. He attributed his recovery in large part to the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima and one year after the assassination attempt, he spent May 12th and 13th at Fatima, making a public act of consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the end of Communism.

It was a remarkable experience both of a principal shrine of Our Lady and an ecumenical welcome that sort not to conceal our separation from the Catholic Church but nevertheless honoured us and our presence in common dedication to Our Lady in her shrine at Fatima.

Fr Giles Pinnock SSC
St Mary-the-Virgin, Kenton

On the 14th Oct 2006 a statue of Our Lady of Europe was enthroned in the Church of Our Lady of Dolours in the care of the Servite Friars in Kensington, London by the Rt.Revd Charles Caruana, Bishop of Gibraltar. This may have come about because of the visits to the church by many Gibraltarians coming to the various major hospitals along the Fulham Road. There is a small prayer shown:-

O God, the bestower of every blessing, you have favoured us with the sacred trust of honouring your beloved Son’s immaculate Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, as Our Lady of Europe. Grant us we pray you, that under her patronage we may arrive safely in our heavenly home. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God n, for ever and ever. Amen

This year is the seventh centenary of Our Lady of Europe, which is venerated in Gibraltar. The devotion of Our Lady in Gibraltar started as soon as the Spaniards captured Gibraltar from the Moors. It results from the Papal letter that King Ferdinand II of Spain started this devotion. At first, Our Lady was venerated in the lighthouse at Europa Point. During the British occupation the shrine of Our Lady suffered a lot. In 1864, the statue of Our Lady appeared again in Gibraltar after it was saved by a Spanish priest. Mgr John Scandello, Vicar General of Gibraltar, brought it back. Our Lady was known by the Gibraltarians as their patroness. Pope John Paul II declared Our Lady of Gibraltar patroness of all Europe and set May 5 as the feast day.

Hundreds of Catholic faithful and friends from Gibraltar and neighbouring Spanish location La Linea expressed their devotion to Our Lady of Europe on Monday 27th April 2009 in a first time ever cross-border procession,

A replica statue of Our Lady of Europe was presented to the people of La Linea as part of the 700th anniversary of the devotion to Our Lady of Europe and the culmination of the Jubilee year on Tuesday.29th April. It was an historic and moving moment as the Bishops of Gibraltar and from the Spanish city of Cadiz embraced at the frontier in the no mans land area as the statue was taken in procession across the frontier stopping all traffic for some 20 minutes.

The waiting 500-strong crowd on the Spanish side moved into the area, as the Gibraltarian faithful (some 200) cleared Spanish Customs, causing great commotion amidst much excitement. “Bienvenida a La Linea,” cried others in a spirit of welcome.

Special ceremonies were held on May 5, feast of Our Lady of Europe headed by the Cardinal Josè Saraiva Martins, Special Papal Envoy for the occasion.

The Bishop of Cadiz Don Antonio Ceballos Atienza, said “this is a singular moment which will have repercussions in the whole of Europe.”

Seventy-five people from many faith traditions, eastern and western, gathered in Walsingham for a four-day pilgrimage beginning on Tuesday, 17 March. This biennial meeting, organized by the Ecumenical Marian Pilgrimage Trust, has the support of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius, the Catholic League and the Pontifical Society of St John Chrysostom. Accommodation was at the Anglican Shrine, which has had some significant new developments in the past year in particular the Milner Wing where those fortunate enough to have an en-suite room found it very agreeable. The architecture of the new buildings harmonizes well with the older structures.

There was a full programme of liturgical services, scriptural meditations and formal talks. After the welcome by the newly appointed Administrator of the Anglican Shrine, Bishop Lindsay Urwin (previously Bishop of Horsham), the proceedings opened with a Liturgy of Reconciliation in the Shrine Church. This was followed by a Holy Communion Service in the United Reformed tradition conducted by the Revd Dr Colin Thompson, Fellow of St Catherine’s College, Oxford, and held in the Methodist Church. Prebendary Norman Wallwork in his sermon compared the thanksgiving and praise in Mary’s Magnificat with that of the Eucharist. After supper, the Choir of Norwich Cathedral sang Choral Evensong in the Anglican Parish Church. The Rt Revd Dr Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester preached on the theme of ‘God’s choice’.

Wednesday began with a Scripture Meditation on the Marriage Feast at Cana by Dr Thompson followed by a talk from Metropolitan Kallistos who, reflecting on the Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God, considered her vocation and our own vocation. At noon, Bishop George Stack, Auxiliary in Westminster was Principal Celebrant at the Roman Catholic Mass in the Reconciliation Chapel. After lunch Fr. Mark Woodruff spoke on Arca Foederis: the Mother of God, Lambert Beauduin and the Church’s Prayer for Unity. This was followed by the Ecumenical Office. Returning to Walsingham and to the new Church of the Annunciation there was Benediction and a reflection on John 19:25-27, Mary at the foot of the Cross, by Fr Philip Swingler. After supper Jon Cannon gave an illustrated presentation on English medieval Lady Chapels.

During Thursday morning Bishop Lindsay Urwin was officially Licensed as Administrator of the Anglican Shrine by the Bishop of Norwich in the Shrine Church. So our pilgrims moved to the Anglican Church of St Mary for a reflection on Mary at Pentecost, and her relationship with the Holy Spirit, by Metropolitan Kallistos. Dr Athanasius McVay, a church historian and priest of the Ukranian Greek Catholic Basilian Order spoke on the Pre-Ecumenical Uniates and the Ecumenical Eastern Catholic Byzantine (Greek) Catholics yesterday and today. After which the Anglican Eucharist was celebrated by the Revd John Hunwicke, Priest-in-charge of St Thomas’, and Senior Research Fellow, Pusey House, Oxford. In the afternoon the Revd Sandy Williams – Senior Tutor at Wesley College, Bristol – spoke on Rescue, release and Redemption: Mary and the Exodus Traditions in the Gospel of Matthew and their relevance today. Fr Shnork Baghdassarian (Armenian Orthodox) followed with a talk on St Mary in the Armenian Church: doctrinal position, rituals, feasts, customs and tradition. In the evening we shared in the Akathist Hymn and later in the Panel Discussion.

The Friday programme began with a Passion Meditation. Helen Brock together with Paul Paniccia and John Hanks read a Syriac Dialogue Poem: The Cherub and the Thief. The main Eucharistic service of the day was the Orthodox Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified in the Orthodox Church of St Seraphim celebrated by Metropolitan Kallistos. The Pilgrimage ended after lunch with ecumenical prayers in the Anglican Shrine Church.

Fr Peter Marr who organized the pilgrimage is to be congratulated and thanked for the success of this truly great pilgrimage/conference. All went very smoothly and the contribution of all the speakers was outstanding. The weather was kind and one met many friends from previous conferences and pilgrimages. It was a very blessed event.

Desmond Miller

In August, we continued a very busy programme with what has become for us, an Annual ‘Assumption’ Pilgrimage to the Anglican parish Church and Shrine of Our Lady, at Egmanton in North Notts.

A group of 20 members participated in the day of worship starting with The Angelus, and followed by Solemn Mass. The Chief Celebrant and Preacher was Fr Alan Townsend from Birmingham, who is well known to Society members. After a delectable lunch provided by the ladies of the village, our small group returned to the parish church to recite the Rosary and prayers. In the afternoon we joined the procession into the village with the Statue of Our Lady, returning to the church for Benediction, and a delicious afternoon tea before leaving for home. To complete our spiritual programme, we said evening prayers, on the return journey, sang hymns and received a final blessing from Fr Brian Coleman, the Vicar of St Oswald’s church in Sheffield, who had accompanied us for the day.

In September we returned to the beautiful village of Lastingham in North Yorks, for an ecumenical pilgrimage to St Mary’s Anglican Church. (founded by St Chad, as a Celtic Monastery in AD 654). The Orthodox Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Fr George, parish priest of St Columba and St Kentigern church in Edlington, Doncaster, assisted by our Chairman, Fr Dennis. After this, we listened to a `talk by the Rev. Peter Howard, a retired Methodist Minister from York, entitled ‘How Blessed is Our Lady.’ We had met Peter and his wife Kathleen earlier in the year at Mount Grace Priory, an encounter which led to his accepting our invitation to speak. Both have been members of the Society since its earliest days, and we much enjoyed their company. We also welcomed a Society member, Luisa Duffy from Robin Hood’s Bay. Luisa is a member of the Melkite Rite, and she was joined by two colleagues whom we met and chatted with later on, at the local hostelry. Thanks are due to Fr Alastaire Ferguson, the Vicar of St Mary’s for his invitation to visit, and for his most kind welcome.

Our Steering Committee met also in September to review branch policy and activities, with particular attention to Membership which is fairly dormant, and to events for 2009. It was agreed to seek new members as a particular priority, and to cancel some of our more distant activities, attendances at which had suffered due to increased travel costs. It was agreed to continue sending our Branch Newsletter to interested members in Greater Yorkshire in light of the valuable contacts we have already made there.

By the time this report is published, we will have attended the Advent ecumenical Service at St Oswald’s Church in Sheffield, and our AGM on the 10th December held at the Orthodox Church in Edlington, Doncaster.

Future events include a visit to Dunscroft St Edwin’s Anglican Church near Hatfield in Doncaster on Monday 26th January at 7.30pm. to celebrate the ‘Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity’. We have an invitation from The Vicar, Fr Alan Watson and our members at the Parish Church, to join them for Mass at 7.30pm. There will be hospitality afterwards and the opportunity to meet members and fellow Christians. We are pleased to welcome Fr. Alan back to full health once more after a long illness, coupled with our thanks to him for his continued support for the Society.

In March, we will join with the Mothers at St Oswald’s Anglican Church In Sheffield, in their ‘Lenten Meditation’. The service will conclude with a Eucharistic Celebration. We continue to enjoy the company and hospitality always offered at this event and invite all our members and friends to join us for this introduction to ‘Holy Week’.

In May we are planning a Day Retreat at Mirfield in West Yorks, details later.

On Saturday, 13th June we have an opportunity for all our Yorkshire members to meet up. The Rev. Guy Jamieson, Vicar of St Anne in the Grove, Anglican Church at Southoram near Halifax, has invited us to visit for an ecumenical Pilgrimage in honour of Our Lady. We are looking forward together with Father to a day in which we will enjoy a Eucharist, Rosary, Benediction, Hymns and Prayers. Food will be on offer together with some lovely Yorkshire (West Riding) hospitality.