Carmelites elect their new Prior Provincial

The British Province of Carmelites elected Father Wilfrid McGreal as its new Prior Provincial during its Provincial Chapter held at Aylesford Priory from January 28th to 31st 2008. Father Wilfrid is currently Prior and Parish Priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Faversham. He is a former Prior of Aylesford Priory and well known for his books, broadcasting and ecumenical outreach. He is due to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of his religious profession later this year. He will take up office at Easter.

Seminary Dean ordained to the diaconate at Wonersh

Shaju Varkey (left), from Kerala in South India, is a Southwark student for the priesthood at St John's Seminary, Wonersh.

On Monday, 28th January 2008, he was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Declan Lang of Clifton, who also ordained one of his own students, Thomas Dubois. They are pictured here after the ceremony at the Lady Shrine in the ambulacrum at Wonersh.

Deacon Shaju will exercise his ministry as deacon at the seminary where he is also the seminary Dean.

More photos of the Ordination 

On Sunday, 27th January 2008 an Act of Remembrance was held to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. The venue was the Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park on which site is the Imperial War Museum.

The day was the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet soldiers in 1945.

The Service was conducted by Rabbi Alan Greenbat. Among those attending were Simon Hughes MP, Councillor Bob Skelly (Mayor of Southwark), HE Yury Fedotov (the Russian Ambassador) and Canon James Cronin (Cathedral Dean).

Further pictures of the Service

Dedication of the John Fisher School Chapel

Archbishop Kevin dedicated the chapel of the John Fisher School in Purley on Thursday, 24th January 2008, the fiftieth anniversary of its opening.

Before the final blessing of the Dedication Mass, Bishop Howard, a former pupil of the school, blessed a recently restored picture of St John Fisher, which now hangs in the school chapel.

More photos of the occasion

'Question Time' at the Cathedral

On Monday, 21st January 2008, the sixth-formers from St Anselm's School, Canterbury, and St Edmund's School, Dover, visited St George's Cathedral with members of staff.

After a talk by Deacon James Sheahan, the Archbishop joined them and led a question and answer session in the Lady Chapel.

A few more photos of the visit

Archbishop Kevin visits St John's Seminary, Wonersh

Archbishop Kevin visited St John's Seminary, Wonersh on Sunday,
13th January 2008. He  is pictured here with our Southwark seminarians (from left to right): Stephen Whittaker, Jonathon Routh, Gerry Lohan, Ola Craig, Jason Thomas, Philip Smith, Shaju Varkey, Samuel Davey,
Kurt Barragan, Thomas Lynch and Martin Dodwell.

Apart from these eleven students, Southwark also has three students at St Alban's College, Valladolid in Spain preparing to enter the seminary, one former Anglican clergyman training at Wonersh and Deacon Con Boyle in his final year at Wonersh, who is serving in the parish of St Peter's, Woolwich prior to ordination to the priesthood.

Southwark Pilgrims to travel to WYD in Sydney

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Lourdes: 150th anniversary of the apparitions

Please visit our Lourdes section for news about the celebrations taking place during this anniversary year and for details of the Southwark Diocesan Pilgrimage.

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