Here is an impressionistic little essay by an OR contributor:
Awaiting Benedict XVI:
Where the heart of England lies
by Ferdinando Cancelli
Translated from the 8/28/10 issue of
At 4 p.m. on a summer afternoon, London seems like a busy anthill of tourists, a babble of languages in which English itself is rarely heard.
A more attentive look would show that the crowds, almost as though they were following invisible arteries, are frequenting the same places attracted by the easy attractions of ostentatious good living and the mandatory tourist sights that no guide would fail to show off.
The Church in Old Chelsea is not one of them. Virtually reflected on the Thames River by which it is located, in a neighborhood not served by regular public transport, it is so off the beaten path that even the cabdriver asks us to look carefully at the city map to make sure we are going in the right direction.
And yet it is in the heart of an old and elegant quarter in central London, in the shade of the same plane trees which discreetly screen from view the illuminated windows of a place where in the past, personages like Oscar Wilde, Howard Carter, John Singer Sargent and Agatha Christie dined.
Getting off here, one notes a statue which looks silently on the river, and one is overcome by emotion which becomes a quickened heartbeat when one realises that it is Zt. Thomas More, like a living and reassuring presence.
Here is one place where one can understand fully the motto chosen for the Holy Father's coming visit to the United Kingdom - which was Cardinal Newman's on his cardinal's coat of arms: "Heart speaks to heart".
The heart of the Church in England
[and Wales and Scotland!] speaks to the heart of the faithful even - and especially - through her saints, and she does so in a voice that can usually be heard most clearly in places that are often forgotten.
From left, the More statue outside Old Chelsea Church; a modern icon of More; a medieval illustration of Becket's assassination; and the altar in Canterbury cathedrla that commemorates that killing.
By his own explicit desire, the remains of St. Thomas More lie somewhere in the Old Chelsea neighborhood. Within the church itself, one can still admire a lengthy inscription that escaped destruction from the German bombings of the Second World War, in which More himself, in 1532, in remembrance of his first wife, expressed the desire to be buried in the same place.
We do not know for sure if his daughter Margaret carried out what her father wished, but the inscription is enough to break through the patina of time and the superficiality of voracious tourism which makes churches like these into pale and faded museums almost devoid of the life that continues to animate tragic episodes of the past.
Like that which happened about 50 kilometers east of London, almost by the North Sea. On December 29, 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket was confronted and killed by four men in the north transept of the Cathedral of Canterbury.
That place, where today there is a modest altar of bare stone surmounted by a modern Crucifix of two stylized crossed swords, is among the places recommended during a visit to the cathedral, but is probably one of the church's least 'spectacular' features compared to the brilliant medieval stained glass windows or the tombs of English kings and queens.
In order to feel the heartbeat of St. Thomas Becket who followed the Lord in his martyrdom, one must pause, observe silence and allow oneself to be permeated by the human dimension of the drama that played out in that obscure transept nine centuries ago.
'Heart speaks to heart'. There are places like this to which one must return to synchronize one's own heart with that of the Church, to learn and truly heed the words which, from the heart, Benedict XVI will address to the faithful in his trip not three weeks from today.
3,000 gypsies coming
to Birmingham
for the Pope's visit
by Edward Chadwick
August 28, 2010
COUNCIL chiefs say they expect 3,000 gypsies to come to Birmingham during the next few weeks for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit.
They are frantically drawing up plans for huge temporary camps to house gypsy pilgrims’ caravans on disused industrial land where they can erect toilet and water facilities.
And they say they have selected a number of potential sites for the travellers to use for free for up to four weeks. They said the aim was to keep the gypsies off playing fields and parkland.
But they admitted it would be the taxpayer who would pick up the bill to fund the works.
City parks chief Coun Martin Mullaney said: “If we charge them. unfortunately they will be back on the parks, which is something we want to avoid.
“I have met with the travellers and they say they will do their best to keep land tidy but because of the weather they cause damage to the land.
“It makes sense to give them somewhere to stay because we don’t want the bureaucracy of moving them away each time they move.
“I have been told that there could be up to 3,000 travellers and we have to make sure we are ready for that.
“There are no tickets left for Cofton Park but the people I have spoken to say that they will be happy just to hear the Pope’s voice. There will be a lot of economic benefits for the city of the Papal visit and also some costs, including this one.”
The travellers sparked anger among locals living near Sarehole Mill in Hall Green – said to be the inspiration behind for JRR Tolkien’s
Lord of The Rings saga – when they forced their way on to the historic site earlier this week.
After being served with an eviction notice, they moved to nearby playing fields off Cole Bank Road on Thursday and were yesterday given seven days to leave.
Just four caravans were on the sites yesterday morning but they were joined by another eight families who said they had been kicked off land in Shirley.
One woman from Leeds said: “If we can stay on here for a few weeks in peace and quiet it would be lovely.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. If I could just hear the Pope’s voice, I would feel blessed.”
Coun Mullaney said that the temporary travellers’ sites would be set up in the next week, but refused to speculate where they might be.
He said he was asking the Irish press to circulate the message that all tickets for the Mass and beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman at Cofton Park on Sunday September 19 have been allocated.
PROTECT THE POPE
comments on the above report:
Irish travellers’ enthusiasm
for the Holy Father’s visit
an example to us all
This is welcome news after the past couple of weeks of reports that have focused on indifference or reluctance to attend papal events. The marginal and those held to be of no account will always confound the strong and wise.
Another happy story for a change. I hope there are more of these local stories about people's participation in the visit...
Schoolkids plan trip to see Pope
by Susan Lochrie
August 28, 2010
HUNDREDS of school children from Inverclyde will get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Pope when he comes to Scotland next month.
Coach-loads of kids from the three Catholic secondary schools are off to Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on Friday 16 September to join thousands of worshippers for a public Mass led by Pope Benedict XVI, pictured.
Second-year pupils from Notre Dame have been invited to take part in a special parade in Edinburgh to welcome him to Scotland.
Since his visit was announced, Catholic pupils in Inverclyde have been working on projects to mark the big event.
Notre Dame’s principal religious education teacher John Paul McGovern said: “There is a real buzz about the school.
“The very next day after it was announced I had pupils at my door asking what we would be doing to celebrate. We are all really excited about the event.”
A party of around 120 senior pupils from the Greenock school will head to Bellahouston while the second-year pupils are heading to Edinburgh.
Around 200 pupils in total from St Columba’s High, Gourock, and St Stephen’s, Port Glasgow, are going to Bellahouston Park for the public mass.
On the day, they will be treated to special performances as part of the build-up from international superstar Susan Boyle, who was made famous on Britain’s Got Talent, as well as Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus.
It is expected many more people from Inverclyde will be heading to Bellahouston Park.
Pope Benedict XVI is coming to Scotland in his first visit to the UK at the invitation of the Queen.
The last papal visit to Scotland was made by Pope John Paul II in 1982.
Next month, Pope Benedict XVI will meet the Queen at Holyrood Palace in the capital before heading out in the Popemobile for a St Ninian’s Day Parade.
On the big day, pupils in Inverclyde have permission to be absent from school if they are going to Bellahouston with their families.
I saw this notice on the official visit site two weeks ago, when the special issue officially came out but I did not get around to looking up the Isle of Man site for better visuals till now:
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 29/08/2010 02:59]