1520
Group: On the morning of Thursday 17 November, at the invitation
of the directors of the Museum of Welsh Life, Dr. Sally Harper, of the
University of Wales, Bangor came to St. Fagans to lecture. Her subject
– “Medieval Church Music in Wales”-was particularly
aimed at interest in St. Teilo’s Church, which is being restored
as a Catholic church dating around the year 1520. Of the limit of
forty people present, twelve came from our group. |
 |
| Dr.
Sally Harper |
Mr.
Gerallt Nash |
Dr. Harper’s scholarly lecture, with a power-point presentation,
gave a fascinating account of church music five hundred years ago.
Many early manuscripts and illuminated missals did not survive the troubled
16th and 17th centuries. Nevertheless, a great deal of research and a
most useful summary of her talk, together with a very valuable bibliography,
will be of great help in our study of the liturgy and music of that time.
|
Members, who could not attend the lecture, joined the afternoon group
for a conducted tour of the church of Llandeilo, Tal-y-bont . This
was led by Gerallt Nash, the Curator of Buildings at the Museum.
He was associated with the project from its inception and gave an informative
introduction in the new education centre and answered multifarious questions
while the tour took place. Those of us who had seen the restoration at
an early stage, were amazed at the completed exterior and the interior
work which was now being undertaken with the prospect of colourful decoration
being added in the months ahead. We hope to visit regularly over
the coming years.
Our
grateful thanks to Mr. Gerallt Nash and Dr. Sally Harper for a most interesting
day. |
| |
| |
| ANNUAL
DINNER 30 SEPTEMBER 2005 |
To
enjoy a drink, a chat and renew acquaintances, over 30 members of the
Society in the company of his Grace, Archbishop Peter Smith, some members
of the clergy, Mr. Jonathan Evans, MEP, and Cllr. Mr. Stephen Brookes,
K.S.S., J.P., gathered at the 3rd annual dinner of the Society in St.
Peter's Hall, Cardiff on Friday evening, 30 September. |
 |
Dan
Chidgey, Jonathan Evans MEP, Archbishop Peter Smith, Stephen Brookes,
Bill Morris |
|
Bill
Morris, chairman, introduced our 2 speakers, Mr. Evans and Mr. Brookes
and in anticipation of the evening ahead he promised the assembled group
that "it would be a truly Catholic event - there would be a raffle."
The raffle was necessary to raise funds for the Society's involvement
in the restoration of St. Teilo's Church which was being re-assembled
at The Welsh Folk Museum, St. Fagans - a project that is due for completion
in 2007. |
Our
founder and erstwhile chairman, Mr. Dan Chidgey, spoke about the re-assembly
of St. Teilo's Church's that had been moved, stone by stone, from Llandeilo
Tal-y-bont. The Society is in regular contact with the project leaders
at St. Fagans and they are happy to supply progress reports and are most
receptive to suggestions that we put forward. It is intended to restore
the Church as it would have appeared in 1520: A group, aptly called "The
1520 Group", has been formed within the Society to research and advise.
This is proving to be a very exciting project and one that our Society
is following with great interest. |
Our
after dinner speakers, Mr. Evans and Mr. Brookes spoke about their political
reminiscences in a lively and humorous tone. Mr. Evans, in particular,
was concerned about the ethical issues of the day and felt there was insufficient
debate on such matters and that "leeway must be given to parliamentarians
to deal with ethical issues." He himself was opposed to euthanasia
and stem cell research. |
|
He
was the first Catholic, since the Reformation, to serve in the Lord Chancellor's
office during Margaret Thatcher's leadership. It was at this time that
the law forbidding Catholicsto be appointed to the office of Lord Chancellor
was abolished! There were plans to appoint a Catholic to this post but,
unfortunately, he contracted a fatal illness so a true Catholic successor
to St. Thomas More is still awaited. In his closing remarks he mentioned
that in 1820 there were 3 Catholics only in Cardiff and with so many of
us now "things have to be looking up".In outlining his career
as a councillor, Mr. Brookes responded to some of Mr. Evans humorous remarks
and at the same time paid tribute to his abilities and work as an MEP
and thanked him for attending the evening's event
|
St.
Thomas More |
|
A
happy band of guests mingled to round off the successful dinner conscious
of the hard work and dedication of the organisers in arranging the event. |
R.Griffin
Oct. 2005 |
WALES
& THE MARCHES CATHOLIC HISTORY SOCIETY
HISTORY DAY - 18 JUNE 2005 |
 |
| The Benedictines
in Wales and England |
| |
In
detail, in depth and certainly in sympathy, the assembled members "visited"
the lives of many noteworthy Benedictines of the English Congregations
at the History Day in St. David's College, Cardiff. But not before Fr.
leuan Jones opened the event with prayers, which included the recently
deceased members. Bishop Mullins, President of the Society, introduced
our speakers, Dom Daniel Rees, O.S.B. and Dom Aidan Bellenger, O.S.B.,
from the Benedictine Abbey at Downside. Dom Daniel, who hails from South
Wales, cheerfully renewed acquaintances from his home town, recalling
memories of many decades long past.. |
 |
| Dom Daniel
Rees (right) pictured with Bishop Mullins, our President and Chairman, Bill
Morris. |
As a fount of knowledge on the Benedictines, especially some from Wales,
the individual origins and the way that led to their becoming monks, he
has at his disposal a vast and enviable library at the Abbey. He 'reigns'
over a collection of books that span many centuries and incorporate some
hefty tomes. His dedication to historical detail concerning the monks
was delivered in a facile, fluent manner. He painted a broad picture of
the lives of Leander (John) Jones and Augustine Baker, both of whom came
from Wales. They were men of learning and scholarship with a deep spirituality
and both were alumni of Oxford colleges.
|
Augustine Baker experienced a Pauline conversion. From a man of no religion,
he was faced with an insurmountable dilemma and declared "if there
is a God, I will serve him in his service". The resulting resolution
of his dilemma changed his life - he became a Catholic and then a Benedictine
monk. There is a strong connection to this day with the Baker family name
in Abergavenny, the town of Augustine's birth, where his father was a
bailiff and warden; there are still parts of the town reflecting the family
name.
|
Leander Jones was regarded as a man of great ability and he too became
a Benedictine monk after converting to Catholicism. When the English monks
were no longer welcome in England they set up a new abbey at Douai in
France and Leander Jones was the first rector. He was "universally
applauded for his peacefulness and scholarship", a man of achievements
whose opinions were sought by the authorities when reduction of the Oath
of Allegiance was being discussed.
|
| Dom Daniel's wealth
of information is contained in part in a book he has written and which is
now on sale to the public. |
| |
 |
| Dom Aidan
Bellenger being introduced by Bishop Daniel Mullins |
| |
Dom
Aidan Bellenger, Prior at Downside Abbey, as our next speaker, revealed
more of the Benedictine 'tapestry', dealing in particular with the martyr
monks over 3 centuries and the Benedictine mission. The bathos of the
polemical trials and accusations are unabated when faced with "material
provided by trials and scaffold speeches." Such records survive from
the Jesuits as well as the Benedictines, but, unfortunately, the latter
records are mostly devoid of illustrations. Such pictorial representations
are an important reminder that martyrdom was highly regarded as part of
missionary life. The process of Beatification of the English martyrs began
in the 17th century, but without much progress for nearly 200 years.
Of the several Benedictine martyrs, 3 were among the 40 English and Welsh
martyrs canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970. Dom Aidan regaled us with the
serious, the joyous and also the sense of humour on the part of some of
the monks at the time of execution |
The mission of the English Benedictines continued and was evident throughout
England and Wales - in the Missions and as chaplains to the recusant squires,
serving alongside the secular priests and the Jesuits: The Benedictines
were reckoned to be "more structured than the seculars, less rigid
than the Jesuits". In detail, mention was made of many of the prominent
monks who took part in missionary work, particularly in the 19 century
and their taking over the role played by the Jesuits in Wales
|
These
two lectures were fitting and glorious accounts of the Benedictine martyrs
and missions which left no doubt about their influence in reviving and
maintaining Catholicism during many years of suppression and oppression |
| |
Concluding
the day's events, our chairman. Bill Morris, thanked Dom Daniel and Dom
Aidan for their interesting and informative talks. He then recapped on
the year's events and thanked the Society's members whose work enabled
such an interesting programme. Bill also paid tribute to the generosity
and accommodation afforded the Society at St. David's College for this
event each year for the past 4 years. |
Our erstwhile chairman, Dan Chidgey, brought us up-to-date on the progress
of St. Teilo's Church, which is being re-assembled at St. Fagan's Museum,
Cardiff. He is looking forward to its completion 2 years from now. Members
were requested to register their interest in and contribute appropriate
information for the celebration of the first Mass that would reflect such
a ceremony before the Reformation, i.e. 1520. A small group will be formed
to discuss with Mr. Gerallt Nash, curator of buildings at St. Fagans is
heading the project: He is closely in touch with the Society and is anxious
to receive our views and discuss possible plans
|
Members dispersed into the warm sunshine of a June day, fortified by an
ample lunch, washed down with fruit of the vine and an awareness of the
vital role played by the Benedictines - ad gloriam Dei.
|
| |
Rita
Griffin
June 2005 |
On
Sunday 23rd January 2005, the large meeting room at St.Mary’s
Newport was crowded for a most interesting talk by Mrs. Margaret Kelly
on “The Cwm” (on the site of which she now lives) and the
Catholic history of the surrounding area in penal times. Of it a Catholic
historian wrote, |
“ Just across the River Monnow on the border of Monmouthshire
there was a college of Jesuits at a place known as ‘The Cwm’.
The Bishop of Hereford made a search of this area and reported thast
he found two houses which appear to have been well furnished with secret
passages. In addition, in a secret hiding place was found “a store
of divinity books…several horse loads” some of which are
still preserved in Hereford Cathedral library. There were also discovered
bottles of oil, a box of Mass wafers, a little Sanctus bell. This college
was dedicated to St. Francis Xavier and was founded in the reign of
Charles l."
|
For many years it was the centre of the missionary work of St. David Lewis
who was hanged, drawn and quartered in Usk in 1679 at the time of the Titus
Oates’ Plot for nothing more than being a Catholic Priest.
|
| The talk was well
received and greatly appreciated. |
