Monday 28 September 2009

The Little Flower in Lancaster

The relics of St Thérèse have already been visited by over 1500 people since they arrived at 4pm; the Cathedral was full for the arrival and full to overflowing for the evening Mass. Around 300 people were at Vespers and 150 or so at Compline. It has already been an extraordinary time. Lots of people have left flowers at the reliquary.

An icon of St Thérèse which has been travelling with the relics has been placed in the Cathedral. Just in front of the icon is a box for petitions; it has been well used.

A couple of images of the evening Mass are shown here. About 20 priests concelebrated at the Mass, with around 700 attending.

Bishop Campbell was the celebrant, and Bishop O'Donoghue - who is making his first visit to Lancaster since his retirement - was with him. It's now 10.35pm and the church is very quiet; about 30 or 40 people are praying quietly before the relics. It will no doubt be a peaceful, and no doubt wonderful, night. If you'd like to see some more pictures of the visit to Lancaster, you can see them on the Church's Flickr site, here.