On Sunday 25th June, Cardinal Vincent Nichols presented Vincent Keaveny CBE with a papal knighthood of the order of St Gregory the Great during Mass at the Church of the Holy Cross, Parson’s Green.
The Order of St Gregory the Great is one of the five Orders of Knighthood of the Holy See. The honour is bestowed on men and women in recognition of their personal service to the Holy See and to the Catholic Church, through their unusual labours, their support of the Holy See, and their excellent example set forth in their communities and their countries.
During the Mass, Vincent Keaveny, who was Lord Mayor of London from 2021 to 2022, read the first reading which spoke of the prophet Jeremiah, who was being persecuted for proclaiming the message of the Lord.
In his homily, the Cardinal highlighted how, when Jeremiah was in trouble, his response was to commit himself to the Lord. ‘This’, he said, ‘invites us to ask, where do we put our trust?’
‘We put our trust where we’re known and where we’re loved, and that, in the first place, can be here in the presence of the Lord. Here we hear the words of Jesus, do not be afraid … because everything that happens, even the very hairs on our head, happens in the sight of God, and is known and is cherished by the father.’
‘And so, we bring our burdens to him, here, into his presence, into his presence and most importantly, into every celebration of the Mass, where our troubles are taken up into Christ’s offering of himself, and presented to the Father.
‘The Father in response gives us that outpouring of mercy and compassion, which we are then to let flow from us to others.’
