Westminster Cathedral celebration for Campion House

More than 150 priests from as far away as Australia and Norway gathered in Westminster Cathedral today, to celebrate the work and mission of Campion House College, Osterley, and to mark its closure. They were led by the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, alongside bishops and archbishops from throughout England and Wales, members of religious congregations, and lay people numbering several hundred. The homily was preached by a former student of Osterley, now the Bishop of Lancaster, the Rt Rev Patrick O'Donoghue, who spoke of the special work of the priest and paid tribute to the staff of the college who had enabled 'late vocations' to study for the priesthood. Around 1,500 men trained at Osterley have gone on to become priests since the Jesuits acquired the property in 1912. In addition to being a seminary, Campion House College - named after the martyr St Edmund Campion - has been a retreat house and has provided premises for the Jesuit Refugee Service. These works will continue elsewhere. Source: Jesuit Communications Office