The New Liturgical Movement website has a story here about St Philip’s School in London, where Fr Dominic is the chaplain.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As you know, I have just returned from my first Apostolic Journey to the United Kingdom, and I wish to send my affectionate greetings to all those I met and those who contributed to the visit through the media during four days, which have begun a new and important phase in the long-standing relations between the Holy See and Great Britain.

Last Thursday, I was honoured by the warm welcome of Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in Scotland’s historic capital Edinburgh. Later that day, I celebrated Mass in Glasgow in the presence of many bishops, priests, religious and a great concourse of the faithful against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset at Bellahouston Park, within sight of the place where my beloved predecessor celebrated Mass with the Scots twenty-eight years ago.

Upon arriving in London, I met thousands of Catholic students and schoolchildren at a very joyful celebration, reminding all of us of the excellent and essential work being done by Catholic schools and teachers throughout the land. I then had the pleasure of meeting the clerical and lay representatives of different religions and of discussing the search for the sacred common to all men.

Later, I had the honour of calling upon His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury who has come on several occasions to meet me in Rome. Our meeting at Lambeth Palace, in the presence of the Bishops of the Church of the England, was very cordial and fraternal. I then crossed the river to Westminster where I was given the unprecedented opportunity to address both Houses of Parliament gathered in Westminster Hall on the importance of a fruitful dialogue between religion and reason, a theme as relevant in the time of Saint Thomas More as it is in our own day. Finally that day, I had the privilege of kneeling in prayer with the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Tomb of Saint Edward in Westminster Abbey, and of giving thanks to God with the Archbishop, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland and other British Christian leaders, for the many blessings God has bestowed upon our efforts to re-knit the fabric of our Christian fellowship.

The next morning, I had the pleasure of greeting Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Ms Harriet Harman, leader of the Opposition, before celebrating Mass in Westminster Cathedral, with a liturgy evocative of the best of the English musical tradition in the celebration of the Roman rite. That afternoon, I was welcomed very cordially by the Little Sisters of the Poor and the elderly people they look after. There I also had the chance to thank and encourage those charged with the safeguarding of children in Britain. That evening I participated at a beautiful vigil of deep prayerfulness and stillness at Hyde Park with tens of thousands of the faithful.

On Sunday morning, I travelled to Birmingham where I had the joy of celebrating the Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman. Later that day, after a warm and fraternal meeting with all the Bishops of Britain, I was bidden farewell by Prime Minister Cameron during a very cordial speech at Birmingham International Airport on the Government’s wish to build a partnership for development with the Catholic Church and others.

Sunday, then, was a moment of deep personal satisfaction, as the Church celebrated the blessedness of a great Englishman, whose life and writings I have admired for many years and who has come to be appreciated by countless people far beyond the shores of his native land. Blessed John Henry Newman’s clear-minded search to know and express the truth in charity, at whatever cost to his own personal comfort, status and even friendships, is a wonderful testimony of a pure desire to know and love God in the communion of the Church. His is surely an example that can inspire us all.

From the Oxford Mail, by Reg Little:

SEMI-RETIRED carpenter John Leather spoke of his pride at being asked to make a special gift for the Pope for his historic visit to the UK.

Mr Leather, 68, was asked by the Oxford Oratory to make a presentation box to hold a rosary that had once belonged to Oxford’s Cardinal Newman.

It was handed to Pope Benedict XVI in Birmingham on Sunday as the Pontiff beatified the cardinal, who died in 1890.

The gift was to mark Oxford’s links with the great Victorian churchman, beatified in front of 50,000 pilgrims at Cofton Park, Birmingham. The cardinal is now likely to be made a saint.

Mr Leather, of Wyndham Way, in North Oxford, has worshipped and carried out jobs at the Oxford Oratory of St Aloysius Gonzaga in Woodstock Road, Oxford, for 20 years.

Mr Leather, who runs Leather Building Services, said: “I made it from a nice piece of English oak.

“I’m semi-retired now. It was a tremendous honour to be asked to do it. My wife Mary made a green velvet pouch which it was placed in.

“Father Jerome Bertram at the Oratory is quite artistic, so he was able to give me some drawings and exact measurements to work from. Sadly I was away on Sunday, so I was not able to see the presentation to the Pope.”

The rosary was presented to the Pope by Father Richard Duffield, a priest at the Oxford Oratory who was seconded to the Birmingham Oratory to help with the papal visit.

Mr Leather’s presentation carries a bronze plaque with an inscription saying the rosary had belonged to Newman and had been presented to the Pope.

But the man who engraved it, Adrian Shepherd, said he had no idea who his work was for because the inscription was in Latin – and only found out its recipient from the Oxford Mail.

He said: “That’s fantastic. I was asked to engrave something in Latin, which I don’t read very well. I had no idea that it was for the Pope.

“I have engraved things that have been presented to some very famous people, such as Nelson Mandela and Mikhail Gorbachev, but never for a Pope.”

There are plans to build a chapel dedicated to Cardinal Newman at the Oxford Oratory, forming the centrepiece of a £5m development with a new library and cloistered courtyard.

We give thanks to God for the grace-filled visit of the Holy Father to Great Britain, and especially for the Beatification of our Cardinal, John Henry Newman.

Seven coaches left very early in the morning from the Oratory to go to Cofton Park for the Papal Mass.

Despite rain in the early morning, the sun came out as soon as the Holy Father arrived. Newman may the first beatus whose banner was unfurled electronically. The picture is that by Ouless, which hangs in the Birmingham Oratory, and a copy of which has been used for our own shrine in Oxford.

Here, Father Gregory Winterton greets Pope Benedict. Fr Gregory was Provost of the Birmingham Oratory at the time of the foundation of the Oxford House.

The Holy Father paid a private visit to the Birmingham Oratory. He was the first pilgrim to pray at the shrine of Blessed John Henry and went to the Cardinal’s room. Pope Benedict was also delighted to meet Pushkin the cat, to whom he spoke in “cattish German”! Afterwards he greeted the large crowds who had collected on the Hagley Road. The splendid white and gold Papal hangings on the front of the house were lent by the Naples Oratory.

Here, Pope Benedict emerges from the Oratory House, accompanied by Father Richard:

Over eighty Oratorians were present for the Beatification. Here we see some of them at the Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving the next day. Photograph by James Bradley.

Our own Mass of Thanksgiving was held in Oxford on Tuesday 21st. Many friends and distinguished guests were present. (Photographs by Rosie Caldecott)

The Archbishop explained that the chalice used for the Mass was that given to the Archdiocese by Pope Benedict on Sunday.

After Mass, His Grace blessed the shrine of Blessed John Henry. Eventually, we hope to build a chapel specially dedicated to our Cardinal, but the present small altar serves to focus devotion for the time being.

It has been wonderful to receive many pilgrims to our church over the past few days; from the United States, Poland, Austria, France, Italy, Germany, Belarus, Canada, Japan, South Africa, Ireland, Spain, Argentina and many other places.

In 1875, Charles Henry Poole obtained a locket of John Henry Newman’s hair – from the barber! – and later presented it to Trinity College, in whose archive it has resided ever since. The College has graciously allowed this relic to live on permanent loan at the Oxford Oratory and a reliquary has been acquired for this purpose.

Here Father Dominic carefully places the hair into its capsule:

It is then sealed, to guarantee its authenticity:

The relic will be exposed at the Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving on Tuesday (21st September) at 6pm, when the Archbishop will also bless the new shrine to the newly-beatified John Henry Newman.

Fr Daniel and six companions walked from Leon to Santiago (340 km) in nine days.

The paths were well marked with yellow arrows, shells and signs:

Alternatively we could simply follow our shadows:

We walked along a variety of paths:

Most of the churches provide good spots for storks’ nests:

And inside, we were able to celebrate Mass. Spain has the privilege of using blue vestments at Masses in honour of Our Lady. Here at Santa Caterina de Somoza:

On the whole the locals were friendly:

Mass at the tomb of the Apostle St James, where we remembered the intentions of all our sponsors, of the Oratory and of the Oratory parish:

We were able to see the famous bottafumeiro twice in Santiago Cathedral. It is the largest thurible in the world, and swings dramatically along the transepts. When Catherine of Aragon witnessed this in 1499, the bottafumeiro came loose and flew out through the window. No such worrying portents occurred during our visit.

This year is a Holy Year in Santiago. We queued in the rain for an hour and a half to go through the Holy Door, before hugging the statue of St James just as the Archbishop was celebrating Mass and had reached the consecration.

The Women’s Oratory has done a fantastic job in raising sponsorship for the walk, in aid of the Oratory Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign. It is not too late to sponsor us retrospectively. Simply go to our JustGiving page. Thank you!

The Holy Child Sisters on Rose Hill recently entertained the over-60s Wednesday Morning Group to coffee, cakes and scones at their convent.

From Independent Catholic News

By Amanda C Dickie

The Oxford Oratory recently organised a week of fund raising events with an American theme, culminating in a dinner on Friday at Harris Manchester College,Oxford,which is twinned with Harvard University and the Catholic Boston College. £10,000 was the week’s target towards the building fund, for a chapel dedicated to Cardinal Newman and a library to exhibit his work.

The week began with a Cajun band, L’Angelus, from New Orleans, making their first visit to England, and included special guided tours by historian John Whitehead on Newman’s Oxford and a talk on CS Lewis by Walter Hooper, his last secretary.

Cecilia De Maria, 2008 BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist played the harp at a champagne reception prior to the college dinner. Fr Richard Duffield, Provost of Birmingham and postulator for Newman’s beatification and making final plans to welcome the Pope in September, returned to Oxford to give the after dinner speech saying that from his recent visits to America he realised that Newman was loved even more there.

“This love goes back to Newman’s own time, expressed in the most practical terms by offers of financial help,” he said.

Fr Duffield, who flew to America on Sunday, to raise further funds, quoted from Newman’s letter to the Archbishop of New York, in 1854, “Fundraising is a rather thankless task. I have found it is in some ways easier in America where there is a culture of unembarrassed generosity”.

He added that it was New York Catholics who paid for Newman’s’ burial place.

Fr Duffield then displayed an amazing ring sent by Californian Catholics to Newman in 1854 to help him cover costs from a libel trial. It was a gold nugget from the Californian gold rush, weighing over 17 ounces.

Concluding with an auction led by parishioner Michael Welch, from the BBC Antiques Roadshow and Bonhams’ auctioneers, the evening raised £3,767.

Campaign director Fr Jerome Bertram said that a temporary altar and shrine for Cardinal Newman was being constructed and would be ready by September to be placed in the Oxford Oratory church, and finalised plans for the new building and Newman chapel would be unveiled at a press conference on 22 July.

As part of the “In(ter)dependence Week” we were able to welcome Fr Joel Warden of the Brooklyn Oratory to celebrate and preach at the High Mass on the Fourth of July.

Fr Joel is an old friend of our community, having lived here for three years while studying for the priesthood.

Fr Simon Bishop, SJ, Chaplain to the University, came to preach at the Solemn Mass for St Aloysius’ Day. He spoke about Aloysius’ motto: “Ad majorem natus sum” – “I was born for greater things”. This was the response Aloysius made to his father when shown the crown and wealth of the Gonzagas.

When we see those in need – the sick, the homeless or distressed, they too say to us “We were born for greater things”. The remarkable purity of St Aloysius also teaches us the need to live courageous lives of purity in the face of an over-sexualized culture, for the people of our own time were also “born for greater things.”

We had a very welcome surprise visit from Bishop Peter Elliot of Melbourne, who sang the Mass of St Aloysius.

Bishop Elliot is the delegate of the Australian bishops for the implementation of the Ordinariate for former Anglicans within the Catholic Church. At Mass on the feast of SS John Fisher & Thomas More, he spoke of the need to pray for this project, which will be the last ever possiblity of any kind of corporate reunion. Just as Thomas More and John Fisher stood for conscience, so many are called to do today in seeking union with the successor of St Peter.