Another breathtaking quarter in the Birmingham area – I write this having returned from witnessing Pontifical High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory, presided over by Archbishop Bernard Longley as part of his visitation to the parish. This was the second Pontifical High Mass at the Oratory this quarter, with Bishop Robert Byrne celebrating Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. A daily EF Mass was said as part of a novena in advance of this Feast and there has been a daily low Mass at 5.45pm on weekdays since, with confessions available, as part of the Year of Mercy.
Our regular Mass centres at the Oratory, St Augustine’s in Solihull and the Maryvale chapel have all been designated places of pilgrimage or Jubilee churches for the Year of Mercy – a good excuse to attend one of the EF Masses available there. Details are available in the Mass Listings.
Around forty people attended the first High Mass at St Augustine’s since 1939 (when Archbishop Williams celebrated Mass for the hundredth anniversary of the church) and a couple more are planned for 2016, the first of which is in February. The regular Mass has moved from the last Friday of the month to the first Friday to accommodate this.
There were also more ‘routine’ well-attended High Masses at the Oratory for Christmas, the Octave of Christmas and the Epiphany.
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| Pontifical High Mass at the Oratory with Archbishop Longley |
