Four London parishes in the Diocese of Westminster, Farm Street, Maiden Lane, Spanish Place and Warwick Street, have come together, with the Ukrainian Cathedral and the Order of Malta, to host nine days of celebrations centred around the Blessed Sacrament. The London Eucharistic Octave will take place from 11th to 19th September. The event is an opportunity for Catholics to support the International Eucharistic Congress taking place in Budapest, Hungary, this September.
The octave will begin with a Pontifical Votive Mass of the Blessed Sacrament celebrated by Cardinal Vincent at noon on Saturday 11th September at Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane, Covent Garden. The celebrations will culminate in a procession of the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of central London on Sunday 19th September, starting at 3.30pm.
Each evening during this week of prayer and adoration, Holy Mass in a different form will be celebrated at 6.30pm at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane.
On Sunday 19th September, a procession through Soho, Mayfair and Marylebone will commence at 3.30pm starting at Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory, Warwick Street, and ending with Pontifical Benediction at the church of St James’s, Spanish Place. There will be Stations at the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, and at the Ukrainian Cathedral of the Holy Family, Duke Street. The procession will be led jointly by the Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, Eparch of the Ukrainian Eparchy of the Holy Family and by Monsignor Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Fr Alan Robinson, Rector of Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane, said:
‘Many of us were looking forward to going to Budapest this September, for the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress; an event transferred from last September due to the COVID situation. Large numbers travelling from England to Hungary hasn’t really proved possible at the present time, and so we thought we could do something here in London. We wish to add our support to the Congress in Budapest, and to give witness to our love for the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
‘It’s a great opportunity for us all to experience different expressions of Catholic liturgy here in this land. With the liturgies and the procession of the Most Blessed Sacrament, there is a wonderful opportunity for us to take part in Eucharistic evangelisation with those we encounter. There are many Catholics who have not yet returned to the Church since lockdown; during this Octave we pray especially for them. And we help Our Blessed Lord to reach out to them, and to all those who do not yet know Him. Please pray for the strengthening of the Eucharistic Heart of the Church in this land and in our own hearts too.’
Fr Christopher Colven, Rector of St James’s Church, Spanish Place, said:
‘Living in central London, one grows used to demonstrators taking over the streets and disrupting the traffic. On this occasion, it will be good to see Catholics doing just those things in honour of Jesus Christ the King and centre of all hearts, as in his Eucharistic Presence he moves among those he has redeemed.’
Further details of the programme can be found here.
A PDF poster for the ‘Eucharistic Octave’ can be found here.
For further information please contact Peter Sefton-Williams at: peter@seftonwilliams.com
Image: Mazur/CBCEW.org.uk
