Latin Masses for Ash Wednesday

Traditional Latin Masses on Ash Wednesday (1st March 2017) in the Diocese of Clifton are as follows:

• Our Lady of Lourdes, Weston-Super-Mare - Low Mass, 11:00am

• Our Lady & St Kenelm, Stow-on-the-Wold - Low Mass, 10:00am

Final Mass at Holy Cross

As previously announced, the Parish Church of Holy Cross, Bedminster, Bristol, is to close this Sunday, 26th February 2017. The final Mass in the church will be the regular 12:30pm Traditional Latin Low Mass. All are welcome to attend.

It is fitting that the very first, and very last, Masses to be offered in this beautiful church will have been in the timeless Traditional Form of the Roman Rite. A strong regular congregation has built up at this Mass in recent years, and we would like to thank Fr Andrew Goodman for his service, and also the parishioners for making us welcome in their parish.

By the grace of God, the Traditional Mass at Holy Cross has led one congregant, Seth Phipps, to discern his vocation to the Sacred Priesthood. Seth has now been in formation at the Seminary of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Denton, Nebraska, since 2011, and was recently ordained to the subdiaconate. God willing, he will be ordained to the Priesthood next year.

At the parish meeting on Thursday 9th February, Bishop Declan Lang confirmed that he is carrying out negotiations with a view to continuing provision of the Traditional Mass at another church in the city. We hope to have more news on this soon.

In the meantime, Fr Alexander Redman, parish priest at Our Lady of Lourdes, Weston-Super-Mare, has announced that he is to begin offering the Latin Mass at 12 noon every Sunday, at his parish church (28 Baytree Road, Weston-Super-Mare, Bristol BS22 8HQ). We are grateful to Fr Redman for offering this opportunity, and hope that many of you will be able to attend.

Update on Latin Masses in Clifton Diocese

Given the situation at Holy Cross Church in Bristol there have been some discussions about the future of the Extraordinary Form Mass in Bristol and the nearby area among the Diocese, priests and also the faithful who attend these Masses.

We are very encouraged that the Diocese and our Bishop are keen to ensure that Extraordinary Form Masses in Bristol will be continued on Sundays, and also agreeing to more permanent Masses in the area. Here is the update so far. Please also be patient whilst these discussions and review are being carried out. Visit this website for updates. 

Bristol 
The last Latin Mass at Holy Cross Church will be on Sunday 26th February. At the parish  meeting at Holy Cross on 9th February 2017, Bishop Declan informed us that he is carrying out negotiations regarding the continuation of Traditional Masses in Bristol. An announcement is expected shortly.

Weston-super-Mare – Weekly Sunday Mass is now confirmed.
Following consultation with the Bishop, we are pleased to announce that from the beginning of March the Latin Mass will be offered every Sunday at 12 noon, at Our Lady of Lourdes, 28 Baytree Road, Weston-super-Mare BS22 8HQ. 
We expect these Masses to continue even after the Bristol Mass is confirmed. We are grateful to Bishop Declan and to Fr Redman for this new arrangement  for Masses in Weston-super-Mare.



Communications          
If you would like to receive a notification every time there is a new post on this blog regarding the development of Masses in the Bristol area, please email us at lmsclifton@gmail.com.

Interview on Radio Bristol

LMS local rep. James Belt was interviewed on Sunday morning, 12th February, on BBC Radio Bristol on the situation at Holy Cross, Bedminster.

You can listen to the interview at the link below (time: 2:10:40).

Update on Masses in Weston-super-Mare

Traditional Latin Mass times at Our Lady of Lourdes, Weston-super-Mare are now as follows:

First, second and third Sundays:	7:00am
Fourth and fifth Sundays:	11:30am
First Thursdays	9:30am

Our Lady of Lourdes
28 Baytree Road
Weston-super-Mare
BS22 8HQ

Update on Holy Cross, Bedminster

Many of you will by now have heard the sad news of the forthcoming closure of Holy Cross, Bedminster, Bristol, which was announced on Sunday. Holy Cross is currently the only Diocesan church in Bristol where the Traditional Mass is celebrated every Sunday, so the announcement has come as a shock to those who attend this Mass.

To discuss options for continuing the Latin Mass in Bristol, a meeting is to be held this coming Sunday, 12th February, after the 12:30pm Mass. 

Please come and show your support if you can.

Sad news from Bedminster

It was announced today that Holy Cross Church in Bedminster, Bristol, is to close at the end of this month. Essential repairs and upgrades to the fabric of the church and presbytery have been estimated at a cost of £500,000, and the Diocesan authorities have decided that this is not viable for the parish or the Diocese. A parish meeting with Bishop Declan Lang will be held at Holy Cross at 7pm on Thursday evening, 9th February.

Letter from Bishop Lang (click to enlarge)

Holy Cross is the only Diocesan church in Bristol where the Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated every Sunday. We are grateful to the parish priest, Father Andrew Goodman, for his hard work in providing for the "legitimate aspirations"^[1] of those faithful who value the timeless beauty and spiritual depth of the ancient Roman Rite, and we will be examining ways of continuing provision within the Diocese.

The last Latin Mass at Holy Cross will be celebrated on Sunday, 26th February 2017, at 12:30pm. If you would like to be kept informed of developments concerning the Traditional Mass in Bristol, please email us with your contact details at lmsclifton@gmail.com.

    1. Pope St John Paul II, Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei, 2nd July 1988

New Monthly Newsletter

February sees the first edition of our new monthly newsletter, giving news and information about the Traditional Latin Mass in Clifton Diocese.

Please click here to download the newsletter (PDF format).

Plymouth Diocese

Congratulations to the Diocese of Plymouth on establishing a centre for the Traditional Latin Mass!

Bishop establishes centre for the traditional Latin Mass in Devon – CatholicHerald.co.uk

VERONICA SPENDER, RIP

Of your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul of Veronica Spender. Veronica and her late husband, Lt Cdr John Spender, were two of the founding members of the Latin Mass Society, he having served as the first Hon. Treasurer.

A Funeral Requiem will be celebrated in Holy Ghost Church, Yeovil on Wednesday 8th February at 11.30am.