THE
P RTAL
May 2019
The Kerala Indians living in this part of Lancashire
come each month for mass in their own vernacular. They
have a great devotion to Our Lady and never a day goes
by without members of this Catholic Indian community
visiting. They pray often for the blessing of children
and come back to give thanks, usually on the way home
from the maternity ward. Travelling families also visit
Ladyewell, as its proximity to the motorway enables
them to call frequently en route often from Ireland. Their
names and faces are very familiar at the shrine.
Pilgrims come daily summer and winter whatever
the weather. Even when the house is closed, they come
and intercede at the shrine, which is always open. The
spot is remote, surrounded by field and woodland. It
is a beautiful location, and so close to the centre of
Preston.
Page 19
in 1794 by the Reverend Anthony Lund who was the
missioner at Ladye Well.
He had been at the shrine since 1773 and realised
that the small chapel at the shrine was not large enough
to accommodate the many pilgrims who were coming
to pray at the shrine. He resolved to build and endow
a larger church. The nearest land he could purchase
was a quarter of a mile along the lane. Fr Lund actively
helped to build the church, the presbytery and the
Hermitage house adjacent to the church.
The church is lavishly decorated with stained glass
windows installed about 1823-1863. The Quarant’ore
(Forty Hours) devotion of was introduced to Preston
at St Mary’s during this period. Many people came out
to the church in carriages to see the beautiful image of
Our Blessed Lady above the altar and to participate in
We must confess to getting lost. There are two Post the candle lit devotions in a church full of flowers.
Codes as Fernyhalgh Lane is divided in two. If you visit,
Today the church still plays its part in the many
use the Post Code PR2 5RR. Along Fernyhalgh Lane
you will pass the Nursery School, then the Church. pilgrimages that visit Ladyewell. Pilgrims then walk
The Shrine is about a quarter of a mile further along along the Lane praying the Rosary, and so reach the
the lane. There is limited parking at the Shrine, but Shrine. Despite the lack of a village the church has an
some two hundred yards away there is ample parking. active congregation who care for it. It is well worth a visit.
Should you find yourself in Lancashire, do be sure to
We rang the bell and waited. We were met by the
Secretary at Ladyewell. Over a cup of tea, she told us visit the lovely place. ladyewellshrine.co.uk
that the Burgess Altar looks like an ordinary sideboard
because it originated in penal times. In times of danger
it could just be shut up. “The Shrine has been here,
The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
even through the Reformation period. The locals hung
washing on the clothes line in a particular way to
signal the presence of the Persuivants.”
THE ORDER OF MASS
Inside the House is a lovely chapel where Fr Mario
Benedict celebrated mass at Noon on the day we
visited. There were about twenty folk present, despite
it being a Friday. Also inside the house is an interesting
museum containing relics of many English Saints. It is
here that the Burgess Altar may be found, along with
artefacts and documents from across the centuries.
The site contains the well and its image of the
Virgin, but there are also indoor Stations of the Cross,
and a Martyrs Chapel with the names of the English
Martyrs on display. The Shrine boasts a Divine Mercy
Statue. The gardens are beautiful and undulate with
the countryside. There are some pleasant walks and
secretive places for private devotion. One feature
worth seeing are the Rosary Plaques from Portugal.
They are beautiful.
Our visit over, we called in at the Parish Church on
our way. It is stunning beautiful. A Grade two listed
building, the church of St Mary’s, Fernyhalgh was built
D ivine W orship : T he M issal
in accordance with the R oman R ite
Ordinariate Mass cards
with the Order of Mass
from
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