Adoremus at St Mary’s Oscott 2024

The Allen Hall community embarked on a journey to the National Eucharistic Congress hosted by St Mary’s Oscott on the 15th of September 2024. Day two of a weekend full of reflections, workshops, and liturgy centered around the sacramental reality of Christ in the Eucharist, saw the gathering of yet more dioceses throughout England and Wales. The Holy sacrifice of the Mass, Eucharistic procession, and various testimonies of the Catholic faithful witnessed to the unity of the many gathered under One Lord.

The day began with a prayer and reflection focusing on the encounter between Jesus and the centurion who begs the Lord to heal his servant (Mt 8:5-13). Following this was an address from Bishop Philip Moger who spoke about the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Catholic faith and attested to the supernatural aid that God continues to provide as he calls us to him. Archbishop Bernard Longley then offered the sacrifice of the Mass as the many vocations came together into the true presence of the Eucharist. Post Mass saw workshops surrounding different themes related to the Eucharist including ‘a vocation to the priesthood’ led by seminarians from Allen Hall, Oscott, the VEC, and deacon Stephen. At the end of the day, the faithful gathered in the marquee for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament before the Eucharistic procession around the seminary grounds. The Allen Hall community had to make a quick exit with some witnesses reporting that they had never expected to see a group of alb-ed servers running with such haste in their lifetimes!

The priests, deacons, seminarians, and laity gathered around the Blessed Sacrament, testified to the love of Christ the High Priest. We continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood in England, Wales, & the world. Meanwhile, the London bound seminary’s induction week came to an end as seminarians began the new academic term on Monday.