From the Office for Ethnic Chaplaincies and Eastern Catholic Churches

On Saturday 21 February a wonderful Intercultural Mass took place in the Immaculate Conception Church, Bicester, Oxfordshire.

Bishop Richard Walker presided at the Mass marking the Feast of the Chair of St Peter, which traditionally highlights the role of Peter as the rock on which Our Lord built his Church.

The Pope as the successor of Peter is the point of unity of Catholics from all nations. At the Mass in the Immaculate Conception different parts of the Mass were sung and read by representatives of some of the Ethnic Chaplaincies and Eastern Catholic Churches in the Archdiocese.

On this occasion:

• The Kyrie was sung by the Polish Community in Polish
• The Gloria was sung by the Hong Kong Community in Cantonese
• First reading for the Liturgy of the Word was read by a member of the Swahili speaking Community
• The Responsorial Psalm was sung by the Timorese Community
• The Gospel Acclamation was sung in Portuguese by the Brazilian and Portuguese Chaplaincy
• The Intercessions were read, in English, by Parish Deacon Michael Panejko, and the Hail Mary was chanted in Syrian Western Aramaic by Sub-Deacon Dr Faris Victor Elia
• The Offertory Gifts were brought to the altar by the Vietnamese Chaplaincy
• The Offertory Hymn was sung by the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Malayalam.
• The Sanctus was sung in French by the Francophone Chaplaincy.
• The Acclamation after the Consecration was sung in the Punjabi Language by the Punjabi Chaplaincy.
• The Our Father was sung in Aramaic (the language of Our Lord) by Deacon Subhi Zora of the Chaldean Catholic Church
• The Agnus Dei was sung by the Syro-Malabar Eparchy in Malayalam
• The first of the Communion Hymns was sung by the Tamil Chaplaincy in Tamil
• The second by the Filipino Chaplaincy in Tagalog
• And the Recessional Hymn was again sung in Portuguese by the Brazilian and Portuguese Chaplaincy

What a great celebration it was for the Feast of the Chair of St Peter! As well as hearing about the meaning of the Feast by Bishop Richard, we had a warm welcome from Parish Priest Father Craig Davies, his pastoral team and the Ursuline sisters.

To bring the celebration to a close, food typical of the different nations was shared in the wonderful St John Paul II Parish Centre.

The Celebration of a Diocesan Intercultural Mass began in the 1970s in St Catherine’s, Bristol Street, Birmingham: nowadays it is often organised in different parishes of the Diocese too as to draw attention to the riches of the people and cultures we now have in the Archdiocese.

This time, at our Diocesan celebration, we all prayed for Priestly Vocations, especially from our Ethnic Communities. Already, the host Catholic community has been enriched by many Priests coming from abroad to serve our diverse peoples.

We are conscious that Priestly Vocations from among them is a priority for the future, a special Priestly Vocations Day is being arranged under the title of Young Discerners by the Vocations Office on Saturday 9 May at Oscott College for Years 9-13 (more details Deacon Owen Gresty: 0121 3215 135).

Photos were taken at the Intercultural Mass by a Parishioner at the Immaculate Conception: Reji Joseph. Cover photo by Sub Deacon Faris.

What a wonderful day we had to mark the Feast of the Chair of St Peter: it was filled with life and hope.

Mgr Daniel McHugh

Co-ordinator of Ethnic Chapliancies and Eastern Catholic Churches

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