Abbot of Lagrasse leads Procession of 2,000 Catholic Faithful Through Central London

Abbot of Lagrasse leads Procession of 2,000 Catholic Faithful Through Central London

The Abbot of Lagrasse, the Rt Revd Emmanuel-Marie de St Jean, visited London during the weekend of 10th/11th October 2009 to mark the foundation of the Friends of the Canonical Abbey of Lagrasse. During his visit, the Abbot, accompanied by the Sub-prior of the Abbey of Lagrasse, Père Augustin-Marie de la Trinité CRMD, led a procession of 2,000 Catholic faithful through the streets of central London on Saturday 10th October 2009. This procession takes place annually under the title “Rosary Crusade of Reparation”.

As usual the procession – which included members of the Catholic Police Guild carrying an image of Our Lady of Fatima and an escort provided by the Knights of Malta – began at Westminster Cathedral and ended at the Church of the London Oratory, where the Abbot gave Pontifical Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament wearing a mitre made for the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman.

The Abbot commented: “It was a wonderful experience for me to see the deep devotion to Our Lady which is shown by Catholics in London. I was honoured to lead the Procession which serves as a great witness to our faith.”

The Abbot also offered Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite at both Westminster Cathedral and the London Oratory, and had a private audience of His Grace the Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols.

Mr John Eidinow, Chairman of the Friends of the Canonical Abbey of Lagrasse, said: “We are very grateful to all those, especially the Fathers of the London Oratory and the Committee of the Rosary Crusade, who have helped to make the Abbot’s visit such a success. The Friends of the Canonical Abbey of Lagrasse has been founded to support the work of the Canons Regular of the Mother of God especially, at the present time, in rebuilding and restoring the gothic Abbey Church and the dilapidated conventual buildings which they have occupied since 2004. For the 34 members of this young and vigorous community, who have the exclusive use of the older form of the Roman rite, there is much work to do!”