Monday 16 July 2012

The first Ordinariate for Wales



Father Brian Gill, former Vicar General of the Traditional Anglican Church will be ordained by the Bishop of Menevia, Thomas Burns, on Saturday 21st July in the cluster parish of Presteigne, Rhayader and Knighton.

A small number of community members forming what is believed to be the first Welsh Ordinariate will join with Fr Gill on the day.

Remember Fr Gill and the Welsh Ordinariate in your prayers please, especially on this feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - the following prayer may be said as a novena on behalf of the Ordinariate:

O most beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein that you are my Mother.
O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart, to succour me in this my necessity. There are none that can withstand your power. O show me herein that you are my Mother.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us that have recourse to thee. (3 times)
Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands. (3 times)


Of course, this will be the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham but.......dare I suggest.....

.......that it should really be the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Cardigan as this shrine has equal standing to Walsingham and is, of course, the National Shrine of Wales.......but then, it is a long way from major cities, fast trains and motorways (!) 

The 'forgotten' shrine of Wales, Our Lady
of Cardigan - National Shrine

8 comments:

  1. It will be a wonderful and momentous occasion, but it will not be a 'Welsh Ordinariate'. The Presteigne Group is just one of the many Groups which form the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham which covers the whole areas of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. The Ordinariate of OLW is under the jurisdiction of its Ordinary - The Rt Revd Keith Newton - who, although not a bishop, is a full member of the Bishops' Comference.
    Fr Gill and his group are already members of the Ordinariate - they became so when they were received into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

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  2. Doodler - not an Ordinariate for Wales but an Ordinariate in Wales, the first in Wales.
    As a Welsh Bishop will be officiating it just seemed sensible for it to be the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Cardigan....sensible for Welsh folk or those residing in Wales, anyway. God bless.

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  3. No, no, not an Ordinariate in Wales. Not an Ordinariate for, or of, or anything Wales. Not an ordinariate at all. It would be more (but still not entirely) accurate to say it is the first Ordinariate (of Our Lady of Walsingham) parish in Wales.

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  4. LCG - I am sure you are right (well, almost).

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  5. Sorry to be pedantic but it cannot be a 'parish' since it is not designated as such. It is a Group within the Ordinariate of OLW under the pastoral care of a Pastor and meeting for worship with and within an existing Catholic parish.
    There are three Ordinariates, so far:
    Our Lady of Walsingham (England, Wales, Scotland)
    See Of Peter (USA/Canada)
    Southern Cross (Australia)

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  6. Doodler- the ordination will take place in a "cluster parish" in Wales and performed by a Welsh Bishop. It is the location for the event, not a descriptor of the group.

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  7. You are, of course correct. The ordination will be performed by the Bishop of Minevia at the reqest of the Ordinary of the Ordinariate. (Fr) Gill was incardinated into the Ordinariate at his ordination as a Deacon and will continue to be a priest of that jurisdiction and Pastor of his local Group.
    I'm looking forward to joining in the laying on of hands!

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  8. It makes me chuckle a bit that this problem of vocabulary in Ordinariate circles is a worldwide one! :) I am a member of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter (U.S./Canada), specifically the Greenville, South Carolina expression. We have a hard time explaining to folks what we are and what it means!

    Not trying to be obnoxious but for the sake of clarity for everyone, I'll assume that the same is true for you that is true for us: there are no dioceses or parishes. The ordinariate is LIKE a giant diocese, covering the whole area formed within it. Then the individual communities are just that, "communities," not parishes.

    Congratulations and many blessings to Father Gill and his little congregation! I hope this move has brought you as much joy, peace, and excitement as it has brought my husband and me in our similar adventure!

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