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The Rosary Crusade

THE BLESSED VIRGIN HAS quite the legion of followers at her beck and call, and a good many battalions (perhaps even a regiment?) turned up on October 14 for the annual Rosary Crusade for the reparation of sins. The event began with a procession from Westminster Cathedral near Victoria Station, through the streets of London, to Brompton Oratory in Kensington. A statue of Our Lady was borne aloft by members of the Catholic Police Guild the whole way to the Oratory, where Benediction was held. We bring you these photos, taken by, amongst others, Matt Doyle, and Ken Simpson, all of which we found via ‘Joee Blogs‘, a Catholic medical student in London.

Heading down Victoria Street.

A few knights and one dame of the Order of Malta, preceded by the banner of the Sovereign Order.

Good old Jamie Bogle smiles for the camera.

Joee Bloggs provides us with a video of the Rosary Crusade at this point in the procession. Gives you a good sense for quite how many people were involved.

Between the German and Spanish embassies.

Jamie Bogle, smiling again.

Passing by Harrod’s.

Arriving at the Oratory.

The statue of Our Lady is processed down the nave of the Oratory.

Another look from Jamie, this time more of a stern glance.

The church was full of the faithful.

Banners which had been carried in the procession.

Fr. Tim Finigan, who writes the blog The Hermeneutic of Continuity, gave a sermon on Our Lady.

Preaching in the Oratory is a daunting experience at the best of times. The preacher is escorted by the MC about a third of the way down the lengthy nave and then has to climb a steep set of stairs to look over the congregation.

Yesterday, several things combined to make the experience even more nerve-wracking. The first was that the Church was so full. That is not so bad in itself but being six feet off the ground does rather bring it home. Then the stand for the preacher’s notes was a little too high for my five-feet-six frame. I did have a quick go at adjusting it but when it didn’t move easily, I thought I had better leave it. There is also the adjustment that needs to be made for amplification in such a large space – you have to speak more slowly and pause more if it is not to become garbled (at least I think so!).

The most difficult thing, though was that this was one of those times when God says “Right, Finigan, let’s bring you down to size a bit and make you depend on me a bit more!” I can normally read 12-point type OK without my reading glasses, although I rely on them more and more nowadays for reading books. Yesterday, for some reason, perhaps the bright sun followed by the relatively dark interior of the Church, perhaps fatigue, I just could not read the text clearly. I knew the sermon well enough to continue but was rather struggling at various points.

Fr. Finigan’s sermon was on ‘The Triumph of Mary Immaculate’ and the text can be found here.

Benediction followed.

Prayer for England

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother look down in mercy upon England, thy dowry, and upon us who greatly hope and trust in thee.

By thee it was that Jesus, our Saviour and our hope was given unto the world; and He has given thee to us that we might hope still more.

Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the cross, O Sorrowful Mother, Intercede for our separated brethren, that with us in the one true fold, they may be united to the Chief Shepherd, the Vicar of thy Son.

Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith, fruitful in good works we may all deserve to see and praise God, together with thee in our heavenly home.

Published at 11:02 am on Monday 23 October 2006. Categories: Church Great Britain Order of Malta Tags: .
Comments

– amen! Thanks for this, Andrew. Wonderful pictures, and so good to know this kind of thing still goes on. Look at all the happy people! Of course, I also love the fact that they’re processing about with my flag :)

— Sofie von Hauch 23 Oct 2006 3:19 pm

She comes to our home every year to bless it. Last year someone dropped out and she stayed for two weeks. They bring her at night wrapped in a blanket and she leaves at night wrapped in a blanket. She sits on the mantelpiece and we do a nightly family rosary. It’s really quite lovely. Though people who happen to stop by when she’s visiting think we’re touched. Not the good kind of touched.

— Mrs. Peperium 24 Oct 2006 4:02 pm

Nice to see some of my photos there! It was a fantastic day and graces were flowing. Well done in ordering the pictures together Andrew!

— Matt Doyle 2 Nov 2006 12:07 pm

This is wonderful to see. The last time I was in London, I attended Sunday services at Westminster Cathedral. I also visited the Brompton Oratory for prayer. Isn’t it funny seeing a procession from Cardinal Manning’s great Byzantine cathedral to Cardinal Newman’s magnificent Baroque oratory. Both so different and both so interesting. They say a lot about the men behind them and the nature of Catholicism’s development in nineteenth century England.

While I love both of these places, I usually attend Mass and go to confession at the Farm Street Church of the Immaculate Conception (aka: the church of the Jesuits) where so many prominent converts have taken instruction (even fictional ones, like Rex Mottram in “Brideshead Revisited”). I’ve always loved the Farm Street church. And the wonderful Connaught is right behind it. It’s beautiful walking in the early morning or at dusk from the hotel to the church through the back garden.

— Card 2 Nov 2006 12:14 pm

Any news for the October 2021 procession of our Lady?

— Melvin E. de Guzman 27 Aug 2021 6:08 pm
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