On Thursday March 4th 2010 our new Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, spent the day, with Bishop William Kenney, in Oxfordshire. He visited several parishes and met Deans, Priests and Deacons. His day was centred upon the Parish of Blessed Dominic Barberi, Littlemore Oxford. where Cardinal Newman was received into the Catholic Church and later lived.
Cardinal Newman had been an Anglican priest at Trinity College Oxford and vicar of St Mary's church in the High. He was held in high esteem by the Anglican church as priest, preacher, philosopher, "High" churchman and as a writer of prayers and hymns.
Newman walked up to Littlemore where Father (now Blessed) Dominic Barberi gave him instruction and later received him into the Catholic church. Pope Benedict XVI, it is anticipated, will Beatify Cardinal Newman during his visit to the UK in September 2010.
The archepiscopal visit ended witth a concelebrated Mass with Archbishop Bernard Longley as celebrant, assisted by Bishop Kenney, & clergy and acolytes from the episcopal households and the Deaneries.
After Mass the congregation gathered in the Parish Hall adjacent to greet, over tea and biscuits Archbishop Longley and Bishop Kenney.
Photographs taken at that event will be added to this site tomorrow (Friday March 5th in the late afternoon).
Your webmaster recalls the wooden hut style church/hall on the site where he danced on Saturday evenings at the beginning of the 1960s. Dancing ceased just before midnight when the screens were drawn back to convert the hall into a church.
CB - 4-3-2010 amended CB - 5-3-2010
After the Mass in the church of Blessed Dominic Barberi, Littlemore, Oxford. the congregation joined the clergy in the parish room for tea and biscuits. This picture shows Len Macken as he greets our new Archbishop Bernard Longley. Nearby is a parishioner Andrej with one of his younger children.
This picture shows Fr John Osman together with Maureen and her aunt Theresa.
This picture shows a parishioner from Littlemore parish Andrej a Slovenian with his wife and eight children and Archbishop Bernard Longley.
Finally, a splendidly informal picture of the auxiliary bishop for the Oxford area, Bishop William Kenney.
