One of the benefits of the Year of Culture is that the various events have been held in a much wider number of venues than is normally the case. I was fortunate this week to be invited to a dinner to mark the opening of a new exhibition in the Lady Lever Gallery in Port Sunlight on Lord Lever who founded the gallery. I have to confess that I had never visited there and couldn’t believe I hadn’t taken the time to visit such a wonderful gem of a building and gallery before. Perhaps we don’t appreciate enough the galleries and museums on our doorstep.
I think that this is also true of our Cathedral and Crypt. Now that the construction work is nearing completion and despite the considerable increase in the number of visitors to the Cathedral from around the world there are still a great many local people who have never been inside the building, even many catholics, and a much greater percentage have never been in any part of the Crypt. One of the considerable challenges we face now is how we make local people more aware of what there is to experience within both buildings to attract them to come inside the Cathedral and Crypt. I suppose this means a whole lot more work to review how we communicate and advertise and the information that is available on the Cathedral. Oh dear, I don’t think I should have raised this issue.
This Sunday afternoon 7 men will be ordained as deacons. Six of them will be permanent deacons serving in various parishes of the Diocese and one is due to be ordained a priest next year. Archbishop Kelly will preside at the Mass of Ordination at 3pm and their parish priests and more importantly many of their brother deacons will be there to welcome the new members. I’m never quite sure which is the more ageing assembly a gathering of the deacons or that of the priests of the Diocese!
There are two events on the Piazza Steps this week. All this week there is a Shakespeare in the City festival around locations in Liverpool. On Monday afternoon from 1 – 1.45pm a group of young people will put on a short performance outside on the Piazza. On Saturday at 2.15pm the Mersey Morris Men will be ‘Morris Dancing’ and just in case you are wondering none of the clergy will be taking part!
Monsignor John Walsh – formerly an assistant priest of the Cathedral and now senior Airforce chaplain – will be celebrating his silver jubilee at the Cathedral on Thursday. Sean Riley - a former server at the Cathedral –will be ordained to the priesthood at St Clare’s, Arundel Avenue, on Friday evening at 5.30pm. Congratulations to them both and assurances of our prayerful support.
Next Sunday there will be an extra Mass at 3pm - the Departure Mass for the Lourdes Pilgrimage. This year is a special jubilee year of the shrine, 150 years, and all are welcome to come to this Mass and share in the events of the jubilee year in the Diocese. Pope Benedict will be visiting the Shrine in September but if you haven’t booked by now you probably won’t stand a chance of getting a place at this late stage.
One of the benefits of the Year of Culture is that the various events have been held in a much wider number of venues than is normally the case. I was fortunate this week to be invited to a dinner to mark the opening of a new exhibition in the Lady Lever Gallery in Port Sunlight on Lord Lever who founded the gallery. I have to confess that I had never visited there and couldn’t believe I hadn’t taken the time to visit such a wonderful gem of a building and gallery before. Perhaps we don’t appreciate enough the galleries and museums on our doorstep.
I think that this is also true of our Cathedral and Crypt. Now that the construction work is nearing completion and despite the considerable increase in the number of visitors to the Cathedral from around the world there are still a great many local people who have never been inside the building, even many catholics, and a much greater percentage have never been in any part of the Crypt. One of the considerable challenges we face now is how we make local people more aware of what there is to experience within both buildings to attract them to come inside the Cathedral and Crypt. I suppose this means a whole lot more work to review how we communicate and advertise and the information that is available on the Cathedral. Oh dear, I don’t think I should have raised this issue. 
There are two events on the Piazza Steps this week. All this week there is a Shakespeare in the City festival around locations in Liverpool. On Monday afternoon from 1 – 1.45pm a group of young people will put on a short performance outside on the Piazza. On Saturday at 2.15pm the Mersey Morris Men will be ‘Morris Dancing’ and just in case you are wondering none of the clergy will be taking part!