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Feast day celebrations at National Shrine of St Jude


Pilgrims being anointed

Pilgrims being anointed

The apostle and martyr Saint Jude has devotees around the world who celebrate his feast day on 28 October. The National Shrine of St Jude in Faversham, Kent, served by the Carmelite friars, is a little microcosm of the wider world, with pilgrims from many different nationalities and cultures coming to ask the intercession of Christ's kinsman.

Over a thousand pilgrims came to the Shrine on the feast itself and the following two days. Pilgrims came predominantly from London and the southeast of England, but also from as far afield as Cornwall, the Midlands, Yorkshire and France.

As well as praying in the Shrine area itself, pilgrims took part in the celebration of Eucharist in the adjoining parish church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and in the St Jude Welcome Centre.

Fr Wilfrid preached about the legacy of the Apostles, and the recent meeting in Assisi of the Pope and other religious leaders, which he described as a sign of hope in the modern world.

During the celebration of Mass, oil was blessed with a relic of St Jude. Pilgrims had the opportunity to be anointed with the oil, whilst a prayer of blessing for each pilgrim was said.

The three friars who are currently resident at the Whitefriars community in Faversham offered warm hospitality to the many pilgrims who came to the Shrine over the course of the weekend. They were supported by a number of visiting Carmelites, friars and tertiaries, as well as local parishioners, Shrine staff and volunteers. Fr Richard Copsey came down from East Finchley to celebrate the Sacraments, and the anointing of pilgrims was carried out by the four novice brothers who recently begun their introduction to Carmelite life at nearby Aylesford Priory.

Pilgrims often like to take away souvenirs of their visit to Faversham, and gifts for family and friends. Stalls offering pious gifts and Carmelite books were available in the Newsletter Office.

The number of pilgrims coming to the Masses over the weekend were so considerable that the parish Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was not large enough to hold all of them; fortunately the St Jude Welcome Centre, opened in recent years, made it possible to hold liturgies in two locations at once.

In the St Jude Centre Fr Richard spoke with pilgrims who keep in touch with the Shrine throughout the year thanks to the Newsletter which reaches nearly 20,000 friends.

The strong turn-out at Faversham in honour of St Jude shows that devotion to 'The Patron Saint of Difficult Cases' is as strong as ever.

Video footage from the feast day celebrations will be posted on the Carmelite website www.carmelite.org in the coming days.

Source: Carmelites

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