THE
P RTAL
May 2018
Page 7
The Shrine of
Blessed Dominic Barberi
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane visit the Shrine of this Saint who
is close to the heart of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
A
lthough Blessed Dominic Barberi died in Reading, he is buried in the Sutton district of St
Helen’s in Lancashire. He is close to the heart of all in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham for
welcoming Blessed John Henry Newman into full communion with the Catholic Church. As we were in the
area, we thought a visit to his burial place would not be amiss. How right we were!
It is a fabulous place. A modern church, octagonal allowed the parish to re-build the present delightful
in shape with the Sanctuary taking up one segment, church, centre and shrine.
it is beautiful. To make matters even better, it has a
spacious car park.
The Shrine is in a separate building attached to the
church. It is stunningly beautiful. The Passionists had
We were met by The Revd Deacon John Mcloughlin a monastery here, but when numbers dwindled, it was
and Sister Eileen of the Sisters of the Cross and the sold to a developer who built the present Church, the
Passion. That Dominic chose to be buried in St Helen’s Church Centre, and a number of houses. The site is
seemed strange to us. It seems he had visited St Helen’s tastefully done and a credit to the area. The Church
before the church was built and chose the site for the shares a priest with the neighbouring Parish now.
Victorian Church, but died before it was consecrated.
He had instructed that he be buried in it, and he was.
Blessed Dominic Barberi was buried in the old
It seems he knew Ignatius Spencer who hailed from church of St Anne. But when the new church was built,
Althorp. He was an Anglican involved with the Oxford his remains were transferred to the new building. The
Movement who was also received into the Catholic big day of the year here is 26 th August, the feast of
Church. It was he who founded the Society of St Blessed Dominic Barberi, now usually transferred to
Vincent de Paul, so valuable to the Catholic Church in August Bank Holiday.
England today.
Here we have yet another site well worthy of a visit,
This part of the world must have been a hotbed should you be in the area. Indeed you may also arrange
of Catholicism during the Victorian Era, because a Pilgrimage to this wonderful place. It is, as they say in
Elizabeth Prout is also associated with the church. East Anglia, a “thin” place. The space between heaven
She was foundress of the Sisters of the Cross and the and earth is thin here. Maybe T he P ortal will organise
an Ordinariate Pilgrimage here one Saturday. What do
Passion.
you think, dear readers?
St Helen’s was a mining area, and the old church
Discover more about the Shrine of Blessed Dominic
began to subside because of the mining work below.
The National Coal Board paid compensation that on the website www.skycentral.co.uk/saintannes