THE P RTAL
May 2015
Page 11
Ymweliad â Chaerdydd
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane visit the new
Ordinariate Group in Cardiff
R
egular readers will know that recently we have visited new Ordinariate Groups in
Walsingham and in Chichester. This month we have been to Wales, to visit the Group that meets in the
Metropolitan Cathedral of St David.
Meeting once a month, they use a
lovely chapel in the Cathedral with
an Altar bought by members of
the Cathedral congregation. Upon
arrival, we were shown to our seats,
provided with a mass booklet and
service sheet, together with the CTS
leaflet about the Ordinariate and
some useful prayer cards. A truly
wonderful welcome.
Rodney & Elenor Care.
A truly wonderful welcome
The mass (Ordinariate Use) was holy
and reverend and Fr Bernard Sixtus gave
an excellent Homily. After mass the twenty
people present, of all ages from Primary
School to ancient (!), all wandered over
the hall for some refreshment. This gave us David Holmes
opportunity to speak with some of those
present.
the Bristol group
Rodney and his wife Eleanor Care
introduced themselves. He is a semi-retired
chartered surveyor and she a retired medical
practitioner. Eleanor became a Catholic
back in 1985, lapsed before returning to
the Faith when her husband joined the
Ordinariate. He said, “At the time when the Robin & Jonathan Sixtus
exploratory group in South East Wales got
going we had no priest, so I was received
in the Bristol group with Fr Peter Clarke.
When Fr Bernard Sixtus came along we
found a home here.”
member of the Ordinariate group.
“It is the ‘One, Holy, Catholic, and
Apostolic Church” he said, and
continued, “I am now connected to
the historic Church founded two
thousand years ago. I am now plugged
into the mains. It is good to be in a
group of people who have all made
the same journey.”
Eleanor said her reception into the
Church had been very friendly. They
attend the Cathedral on Sundays when
there is no Ordinariate mass. The Dean
has been very supportive. However, some
Anglicans have asked, “Will you become a
Catholic eventually?” It appears they think
the Ordinariate is only half-way! Their
experience is that in the Cathedral the
Ordinariate is a welcome addition. The
Cares have maintained their relationship
with the Bristol group and visit them
regularly.
a mixed bunch
Not all the members of the Cardiff group
come from the same Anglican Church.
They are a mixed bunch, and not all from
what one might describe as ‘Anglo-Catholic’
backgrounds.
Here in Nonconformist Wales, it seems
that Catholics were either Irish or Italian
immigrants. There is little deep-rooted Welsh
Catholicism, Rodney thought, “Progress will
be slow. Anglo-Catholics in The Church in
Wales just say, ’There will be no women priest
here in our parish’. They do not appreciate
the joy of certainty beyond that.”
Eleanor took up the story, “Before one
is received into the Church, Catholics are
very keen, but afterwards they forget you!
Matthew Evans
You just become one of them. Being in the
Church gives a secure feeling and this is enhanced
by the Ordinariate group. In fact the authority of the thinking and praying
Church gi