Wednesday, July 06, 2016

Travel Log - Day 3


Sacra Liturgia UK 2016 began today! I registered in the morning, but the first session was Solemn Vespers of St. Anthony Maria Zaccaria from the 1961 Breviary at the London (aka Bromptom) Oratory. The Celebrant was Most Reverend Dominique Rey, the Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon. The music was provided by the Oratory Choir. The music was a beautiful mix of Gregorian chant and polyphony, with the congregation singing on some of the chant. Photography is not allowed in the building, so here are a couple of internet photos.




Then we had the official convening of the Conference, with all the introductions, etc., leading up to the opening presentation by His Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Within his talk he called for a study of the "Reform or the Reform", that virtually no Catholic has really seen, 50 years later, the correct implementation of Vatican II. He also called for priests and bishops to "return to the Lord" by changing their orientation at Mass to the liturgical east - with, of course, sufficient catechization beforehand - this coming Advent Season. You can follow the proceedings on the Conference's FaceBook page.

Then we heard the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School, directed by Charles Cole, across the street at Holy Trinity, Prince Consort Road.




Finally, I had dinner with a long-time friend, Mary Jane Ballou and her sister (also attending the Conference, as last year as well) at a nice Italian restaurant with a strolling tenor.


A nice day, and I'm ready for another.

1 comment:

Richard Grimmett said...

The Oratory - this is where my brother married in 1974 (Golly that is a long time ago!). Bruce Kent (a Monsignor at the time) took the service.