From 11 to 13 February, Fr Paul Fletcher SJ led a retreat to Canterbury which was organised by the Caritas Deaf Service and was attended by 10 members of the Deaf community. The theme of the retreat was ‘Preparing for Lent with St Augustine of Canterbury’ and included talks on St Augustine of Canterbury and St Thomas à Becketand their significance to Christianity as well as visits to Canterbury Cathedral and St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Church.
The retreat opened with a guided tour of Canterbury Cathedral and the group were given a special welcome at Evensong which Shell and Sarah, the Caritas Deaf Service team, interpreted. Fr Paul celebrated Mass for the group in the Jesus Chapel in the Cathedral crypt.
On Friday morning the group visited St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Church where they also had a talk on Archbishop Oscar Romero. The Martyrs’ Chapel in St Thomas Church contains a reliquary of the Mass vestments which belonged to Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was murdered whilst celebrating Mass in 1980. The vestments were given to the church in 1997 in appreciation of the gift of a relic of St Thomas of Canterbury presented to San Salvador Cathedral. Following this, the group was welcomed by the Parish Priest, Fr Anthony, who invited Fr Paul to celebrate midday Mass for the Deaf community and parishioners.
The group stayed in Canterbury Lodge next to the Cathedral and were warmly welcomed there. One of the members of staff learnt to sign the difference between scrambled, fried and poached eggs so she could take breakfast orders in the morning!
Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the retreat and learnt a great deal from their trip. It was a wonderful opportunity to prepare for Lent together and to visit such a beautiful and interesting city.
