Lettre du supérieur du Royaume-Uni : octobre-novembre 2003
Letter from the District Superior
n this my first letter as the new Superior I would like to begin by thanking Father Emily for his dedication and zeal these past three years and to wish him well in his new appointment at Post Falls, Idaho, USA where be now has the care of some thirteen hundred souls. In my recent visit to Menzingen the Superior General, Bishop Bernard Fellay, commended Father Emily for his different initiatives and undertakings here and recommended highly that they be pursued, not least the "Mater Dei" quarterly magazine. His Lordship also insisted upon the importance of the school, retreats and Catholic formation as being the gauge of the Society's future development in this country. Many of you have already mentioned to me how much you appreciated Father and how much he will be missed. May I therefore take this opportunity of asking your prayers for us both whilst commending our apostolate to Our Lady of Walsingham to whom our country, district and families were consecrated solemnly on August 17th 2002? One eloquent testimony to Father Emily's ministry consists in the growing number of groups and associations which exist in the district and which are listed here for future reference along with the contact persons :
Third Order of Saint Pius X - chaplain, Father McLaughlin
Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - chaplain, Father King
Eucharistic Crusade - chaplain, Father MacPherson
Archconfraternity of Saint Stephen - chaplain, Fatherr Purdy
Union of Catholic Families - chaplain, Father King, president, Dr Jonathon White
League of Christ the King - chaplain, Father King, president, Mr Alun Rowland
Young Roman Catholics - chaplain, Father MacPherson
Catholic Strollers - chaplain, Father Rolph, coordinators, Mr Jeremy Bevan (London), Mr Robin Pannell (Bristol)
Rosary Crusade - chaplain, Father Rolph
Guild of Saint Monica - chaplain, Father King Our prayers and good wishes also accompany Father Adam Portugal in his new assignment to Dublin after having spent two fruitful years at Saint Michael's School and we welcome fellow American Father Steven Webber who will be replacing him. Father Webber incidentally spent his first year of priestly ministry in South Africa. I look forward to visiting the different chapels and Mass-centres in due course and to meeting the faithful. Meanwhile, in an attempt to facilitate contacts with the different venues please note that the telephone numbers of the co-ordinators or contact persons are included on the newsletter address page [or on the page for each of the Mass Centres on the website - Ed]. The work and dedication of these generous souls is much appreciated. Whilst endeavouring to continue the different projects begun or planned by Father Emily some delays are of course inevitable. For instance the "Three Messages" booklet pertaining to Fatima, La Salette and Quito, is presently being edited by the kind offices of Father McPherson's mother and consequently will only be available in a month or so. However I am happy to say that the latest 'Mater Dei' magazine is now available in the form of a special Saint Pius X centenary issue - our appreciation and thanks go to the editorial team and dedicated contributors! When reading this newsletter in the USA it was always poignant to see the growing lists of names of our deceased faithful and to be reminded of them now by their absence. [Lists of Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations and Marriages are to appear henceforth.] As you know the financial generosity of many of these souls enabled the Society in this country to make considerable expansion, particularly during the twenty-two years of Father Black's term as superior when the number of properties increased from two in 1978 to almost twenty by 2000. Please God a corresponding spiritual growth within ourselves may accompany these same developments lest we become complacent in the blessings received and less committed than those who have gone before us. So it is that we have a real obligation to pray for the intentions of our benefactors, both living and dead, professing in our Catholic lives by conduct and example that which we proclaim with our lips! The month of November once again allows us to remember our dead not least by means of the Holy Souls envelopes found in this issue. One such benefactor deserving of special mention is Mr Paul Vigoureux from Surrey who bequeathed a considerable legacy to the Society, the vast majority of which has been assigned to the building project at Saint Michael's school, which is now underway. Providentially this extension work coincides with the centennial year of our heavenly patron Saint Pus X, who proclaimed that to counter the great sin of the twentieth century - the abandoning of God - the principal means of giving God back His reign over souls is to inspire once more in priests the "zeal for the divine honour" particularly by the means of their first task, which is religious education. This project should help resolve the issue of segregation, which is central to a truly Catholic formation. As mentioned previously Saint Michael's school now produces a bi-monthly newsletter, which is available upon request; to date some one hundred families are on the mailing list. With regard to the apostolate in Scandinavia please refer to Father King's newsletter, which has been included in this newsletter for your interest. Worthy of note is a five-day Ignatian retreat preached in Sweden by Father Schmidberger last month. To mark the month of the Holy Rosary which concludes with the Feast of Christ the King I refer you to the extracts from 'The True Devotion to Mary': to Jesus through Mary! With every good wish and blessing,
Father Paul Morgan
Superior
P.S. Until further notice please note that I do not deal with e-mails !
District
