Mass for Epiphany

The feast of Epiphany takes place tomorrow. This an obligatory day in the calendar.

Holy Mass will be celebrated at 10am. Happy feast day in advance!

 

Our restoration journey … so far

Guilded by Providence and with the generous support of our benefactors, supporters and aided by your prayers, we are very thankful as we continue to make steady progress towards restoration.

Please do take a look at our Restoration page here to see the progress made so far with the restoration of the Shrine Church of Ss Peter & Paul and St Philomena.

A Pastoral Letter on Public Worship and Public Responsibility

My dear brothers and sisters,

As I write, a third National Lockdown has begun with many restrictions reducing our daily lives to “essentials.” The Government now recognises public worship as one of those essentials. Not a few may ask why churches remain open when other activities are prohibited; and some will question why worship remains the only legally permitted public gathering. Yet, we know that worship is not only a fundamental freedom: it is our primary human vocation. In short, worship is what we were made for! [1] The Catholic faith teaches that this worship is supremely offered in the Sacrifice of the Mass in which God is glorified and humanity sanctified. [2]

It is your witness to this truth, which I have no doubt, has enabled public worship to be recognised as essential to society during this renewed lockdown. It is almost certainly the care with which all safety measures have been implemented in parishes which has now allowed the celebration of Mass and the Sacraments to continue. I wish, once again, to record my thanks to the clergy, the teams of parish volunteers and every member of the faithful who have together implemented and followed these safety requirements.

In all of this, we recognise the seriousness of our responsibility to help ensure the continuance of public worship and the safety of all. I ask you at the beginning of this New Year and a renewed state of lockdown, not to assume we have yet returned to “normal life” in our parishes; nor to give way to any sense of complacency, especially whilst a new variant of the virus is spreading rapidly. The continuance of public worship into Lent and Easter will, in large measure, depend on our vigilance and all our efforts to follow the measures which have already made our churches among the safest places in society.

In my letter to you in March of last year, I wrote of how these safety requirements can be lived in a spirit of charity. We continue to see how these demands call us to a refinement of charity. Requirements as strange – yet now so familiar – as social distancing, hand sanitising in church and wearing face coverings can serve as expressions of our love for our Lord and our love for the Mass, which continues to be publicly celebrated because of the careful fulfilment of such duties. If we ever feel fatigued in carrying out these requirements, let us renew them with love. At the end of the Christmas celebration, let us also do so with our gaze fixed on the Holy Eucharist, where the same Lord Jesus is now truly present whom wise men once fell down and worshipped; and whom Saint John the Baptist declared himself to be unfit even to kneel at His feet.[3].

As I picture you gathered in all the churches of the Diocese, may Saint Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a support and guide in time of trouble [4] – accompany us through these troubled times in fulfilling the greatness of our call to worship and our responsibility both to each other and to the whole of society.

Entrusting each of you to Saint Joseph’s prayers,

+ Mark, Bishop of Shrewsbury

  1. Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 2096
  2. Second Vatican Council Sacrosanctum Concilium n. 7
  3. Cf. Mt. 2: 11, Mk. 1: 8 & Decree on the Most Holy Eucharist, Council of Trent Session 13
  4. Cf. Patris Corde 8th December 2020

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

This is the patronal feast of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and a Plenary Indulgence available under usual conditions
(Confession, Communion & prayer for the intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff).

At the Shrine, this special feast day will be celebrated thus:

5.15pm: Second Vespers of the feast
followed by Benediction and renewal of the Consecration of the ICKSP to the Immaculate Conception

6.30pm: Sung Mass & Compline

November list

In November, we remember and pray for our departed loved ones. If you wish to have your deceased family members remembered at daily Mass for the month of November, please include their details below.

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Christmas Cards

Wish a Happy Christmas and Blessed New Year to your family and friends.

Use the form below to order your selection of our Christmas Cards, specially designed for you this year. All benefits towards the Shrine.

Please click on the card you would like to choose, and specify how many cards you would like to order in the field below.

Proposed offering: £1 each card.
Free postage.

To send your donation:
– by bank transfer, using the following bank details:
Sort Code: 40-45-14
Acc number: 01805061
For the credit of ICKSP / SSPPP
– by Cash / Cheque (made payable to ICKSP / SSPPP), when collecting them at the Shrine (during private prayer opening times, 5-7 pm)

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General Chapter and Midweek Masses

Please pray for the 2020 Annual Chapter of the Canons of the ICKSP.

This will occur from Monday 24th August until Friday 28th August. Pray especially for the Canons, who, due to the currentcircumstances, won’t be able to attend this important event of the Institute’s life.

As a result of the Chapter, there are no Masses at the Shrine during this coming week.

Masses and Offices temporary schedule

From Sunday 5th July 2020, due to the building works for the restoration of the Dome and the Sanctuary, we have to temporarily amend our schedule. To see our usual schedule please click here.

Sundays

8.30am: Low Mass
9.30: Confessions
10.30am: Low Mass
5.30pm: Vespers, Rosary & Benediction 
7pm: Compline 

Mondays – Fridays

5.30pm: Adoration (Confessions during)
6.30pm: Low Mass
7.15pm: Compline

Saturdays

8.30am: Adoration
9.30: Rosary &/or Confessions
10am: Low Mass & devotions to St Philomena
5.30pm: Vespers

Church reopening – Volunteers

Dear friends of the Shrine,

Our church is due to reopen for private prayer on Monday the 15th June from 1pm-3pm daily. We are looking forward to opening our doors to visitors once again, but we need enough volunteers to help on a rota basis.

Volunteer stewards are required to welcome visitors and to ensure that they comply with diocesan social distancing and safety guidelines.

All stewards need to be under seventy years of age and free from any health issues that could compromise their personal safety.
Stewards will need to wear disposable face masks and gloves whilst on duty in church, these will be provided.

They will need to ensure that all visitors use hand sanitiser on entry and exit from the church.
No more than ten visitors are allowed to be in church at a time. The maximum length of time for a visit is fifteen minutes. Visitors must adhere to the two metre social distancing guideline during their visit.
Toilet and hand washing facilities will be available for stewards. If you feel able to volunteer and can spare an hour to two every week please get in touch and let us know the time/ day that is most convenient for you to enable us to add you to our Volunteer Rota.

Thank you for your support, it is very much appreciated.

If you wish to sign up, please contact Joyce:
 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

 May God bless you all, your Canons are praying for you, 
 
Your Canons of the ‘Dome of Home’