Missa Cantata in the Abbey Church

The Abbey Church at Belmont is currently "in restauro" as they say in Rome. Encased in scaffolding, it is undergoing some major restoration. Therefore most of the Sacred Liturgy is celebrated in a very well appointed temporary chapel in the Monks' Refectory.

Today, however, we were able to celebrate our Missa Cantata in the Abbey Church. Fr Harrison of the Oratory was the celebrant and a schola of three (two monks and Fr Wadsworth) provided the chant for the Mass which echoed through the stone walls of the beautiful Church.


Fr Wadsworth, the chaplain of the Society of St Catherine of Siena, preached today, and Dr Laurence Hemming served the Mass. In the setting of the Abbey Church, there was a sense of what really constitutes the traditional Roman "noble simplicity" without any of the dumbing down that is so often associated with that phrase. We were there to offer adoration to the Father through Christ His Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, in the timeless and unaffected ceremonies and chants of the Roman Liturgy as it has been celebrated for centuries.


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