THE
P RTAL
July 2016
Page 7
The Year Of Mercy
Ordinariate Pilgrimages
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane join the third Ordinariate Year
of Mercy Pilgrimage to St Boniface, Crediton, Devon
I
t was the weekend of the Queen’s ninetieth Official Birthday, the early games in the Euro Football finals
in France, many other sporting fixtures, and the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham’s Pilgrimage
to the Shrine of St Boniface in Crediton, Devon. Humid, rather warm and pouring rain accompanied our
journey to the West Country.
With about fifty people present, we all assembled at
the statue of St Boniface in the town park. Opening
prayers were followed by time for confessions, before
we processed through the town to the Catholic Parish
Church and the National Shrine of St Boniface. There
was rain in the air, and a few umbrellas were required,
but we arrived at the Church reasonably dry.
Sung Mass was beautifully celebrated, with Mgr Keith
Newton as Principal Celebrant and nine other priests
concelebrating. Lizzy Lashbrook not only played the
organ but sang the Propers. It was all beautiful. After
mass, we enjoyed our packed lunches. This gave us
the opportunity to interview Dom Boniface Hill OSB,
who was to speak to us about the saint.
We asked Dom Boniface if his name was a clue to his
origins. “I was born outside Exeter,” he said. “I chose
the name Boniface as my name in religion. Although
born in Devon, I moved to Salisbury when eleven
years of age, before returning to Exeter for a year when
I worked in a Public Library, which was an interesting
experience. I attended Seminary in Switzerland, where
the language was French, then spent a year and a half his tomb. There was an exhibition of four or five books
in Italy, where French was also the language. It was in that were his own; one of them contained his own
annotations.” Dom Boniface spoke to us about his
May 1982 that I went to Downside.
name-sake. You may listen to this talk on The Portal
“Boniface is almost unknown in his own land. He web site www.portalmag.co.uk.
spent half his life in what is now Germany and is
Earlier, at mass, Mgr Keith Newton had spoken
Patron of the Diocese of Plymouth. I first knew about
Boniface in 1980 prior to joining the monastery; it was of St Boniface’s passion for evangelism especially in
Northern Europe. He commended the Anglo-Saxon
the anniversary of his birth, or thereabouts.
saints to us. Actually, with a slip of the tongue he
“There is very little in English about him, but lots in said, “Anglo-Catholic”! This produced much mirth.
German. There is an essay printed in Exeter, and two The Ordinary told us that St Boniface returned to the
interesting books (Under the Shadow of Death and A mission field at the age of eighty! He was martyred at
Study of the Monastery at Fulda). Both are in English. Fulda on 5th June AD 754. We were given his motto,
Nevertheless, he is still little known in England and “Keep your trust in Him, and He will set you free.” Mgr
sadly so in the lands he evangelised. I was fortunate Newton said, “These saints were saints because they
to visit Fulda in 2004, the 1,250th anniversary of his trusted in Him. Despite their own unworthiness, God
martyrdom. One was able to say mass every day on was merciful. Every Christian is destined to be a saint.”