THE
P RTAL
November 2015
Page 21
School Mass
Fr Nichols Leviseur invited Ronald Crane to accompany him
to Ashdown House Preparatory School
A
shdown House is a
co-educational Preparatory
School in East Sussex. So what, you
ask? Well Fr Ed’s Assistant priest,
Fr Nicholas Leviseur, telephoned
to ask if The Portal would care to
accompany him to the school that
evening. It seems he celebrates
mass there most Sunday evenings
for the Catholic students. Never
ones to turn down invitations, The
Portal of course, went with him.
Ashdown House is a beautiful
building in green and gently rolling
countryside. It was a private house
originally, built in 1795 by Benjamin
Latrobe before he emigrated to America and built the
Well: we arrived at school shortly before the 1830
White House in Washington DC.
mass that Sunday evening. The tiny chapel is lovely
and well appointed. The Head Master, Hayden Moore,
Today the school is run by the Cot Hill Trust. It is was most welcoming, as were the other members of
in the village where Fr Nicholas served his title as staff present. The level of devotion was – the first word
an Anglican priest. The school has always had close that came to mind was ‘high’ – but ‘deep’ would be a
links with both the CofE and the Catholic Church. better word.
When the local Catholic Church closed, the Catholic
children were taken to other local churches including
As the twenty five or so children filed into the chapel
East Grinstead and Worth. This was not satisfactory, they all said, “Good evening”, or “Hallo”. There was an
so Fr Nicholas was asked to go and celebrate mass for air of relaxed confidence about them.
them at the school. He had done this four or five times,
always with the Head Master (a Catholic) present.
Whilst Fr Nicholas prepared the altar and servers, we
Then one Sunday Fr Nicholas was introduced as rehearsed the singing of the responsorial psalm with
“School Chaplain”! He has fulfilled that role ever since. the other students. During mass they were perfectly
behaved. They shared the readings, serving – even the
Students, parents, former students and parents incense.
attend the weekly mass now, as well as the Catholics
among the present students. Parents and former
This was no “cut down” mass. It was the full works:
parents clubbed together to purchase sacred vessels three readings (full version not the shortened one);
and various other items necessary for the mass.
a homily tackling the themes of the readings and the
start of the Synod on the Family in Rome. We were
Fr Ni cholas told us, “They displayed wonderful exhorted to pray for the Synod fathers and their
generosity. The chapel at school was so tiny that an deliberations.
extension has had to be built. At present there are one
hundred and thirty students of whom twenty or thirty
All in all, it was a wonderful experience to be with
are Catholics. Most students are boarders. The staff is these students, boys and girls aged eight to thirteen
mainly Christian and the Head Master is a theologian, and some of their teachers. Fr Nicholas has a real and
so I have to watch myself when preaching!
valuable ministry at Ashdown House School.
“I receive no payment whatever from the school. It is
Do pray for him, for the school and its students, staff,
a real ministry to the upper middle classes.”
and the Cot Hill Trust and Governors.
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