Advertisement New WaysNew Ways Would you like to advertise on ICN? Click to learn more.

London: Relics of St Margaret Mary and St Claude La Colombière SJ arriving


To conclude the Year of Mercy, the relics of St Margaret Mary Alacoque and St Claude La Colombière SJ will visit England next week, for a Sacred Heart of Mercy Mission around central London. These two saints are most associated with the devotion to the Sacred Heart. They will be in London from November 9 -13.

The visit is the initiative of the Emmanuel Community - an international Catholic community founded at Paray-le-Monial in France in 1972, by Pierre Goursat (1914-1991) and Martine Laffitte and recognized by the Holy See as a 'Public Association of the Faithful'. Today, the community has more than 10,000 members in 59 countries, including 250 priests and four bishops. Their London chapter, based at Our Lady of Victories Kensington is collaborating with the Jesuits at Farm Street Church, St Patrick's Soho and the Sisters of Tyburn Convent to organise this special five day event.

The service to welcome the relics will include Mass celebrated by Bishop John Wilson at Farm Street Church at 5.15pm on Wednesday 9th November. This will be followed by a talk from Jan Graffius, Curator of Collections at Stonyhurst College, on the historical context of St Claude's mission to London.

Mass and night vigils will take place on 10th, 11th and 12th November at Our Lady of Victories Kensington and St Patricks Soho, which already holds a holy relic of St Claude. There will be visits of the relics to Wormwood Scrubs Prison, to Tyburn Convent, to the hospice of St John and St Elizabeth and to the London Oratory School in Fulham. The public programme will include opportunities for witness and street evangelisation in central London before the relics depart for France on Sunday 13th November.

Fr Alexander Sherbrooke, parish priest of St Patrick's Soho, commented: "St Patrick's is delighted to be collaborating with the Emmanuel Community and colleagues in Westminster to deliver an inspiring event to conclude this Jubilee Year of Mercy."

Superior of the Jesuit community, Fr Dominic Robinson SJ said: "We are delighted to be part of this exciting event to honour St Claude and St Margaret Mary and the devotion to the Sacred Heart, with which the Jesuits have had such a long historic association. The Jesuits of Farm Street have a particular
connection to St Claude whose ministry in England was partly based in this parish."

Anne-Sophie de Narp of the Emmanuel Community said: "The Sacred Heart of Mercy mission will combine these sacred relics with an international team of missionaries to witness to the Catholic faith and renew the Catholic community in London."

Born in 1647, St Marguerite-Marie Alacoque was a French nun and mystic, who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form. She was initially rebuffed by her mother superior and was unable to convince theologians of the validity of her visions. A noted exception was Saint Claude de la Colombière, a Jesuit priest who supported her. The devotion to the Sacred Heart was officially recognized 75 years after Alacoque's death. in 1690. In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor, Pope Pius XI stated that Jesus Christ had "manifested Himself" to Saint Margaret and referred to the conversation between Jesus and Saint Margaret several times.

St Claude La Colombière was born in 1641 in southern France, and entered the Society of Jesus in 1659. He was appointed Superior of the Jesuit community in the village of Paray-le-Monial in 1675 where he was spiritual director to the local Visitation Convent and so met St Margaret Mary. St Claude offered her guidance as to the meaning of her spiritual visions of the Sacred Heart of Christ, and he became a zealous apostle of the devotion.

St Claude was missioned in 1676 to the ambassadorial post of chaplain to the Duke and Duchess of York at St James' Palace. Although separated from St Margaret Mary at this time, he continued to guide her through correspondence. He found his work in England difficult not least because of the religious politics of the royal household where Catholics were held in deep suspicion. During the so-called 'popish plot' of 1678 (in which Catholics were falsely accused of attempting to assassinate King Charles II), St Claude was accused of conspiracy and thrown into prison. He was exiled back to France. However, his health had rapidly deteriorated during his incarceration and he died in Paray-le-Monial in February 1682 aged only 41. Claude was beatified in 1929 and canonized in 1992.

Adverts

Your Catholic Legacy

We offer publicity space for Catholic groups/organisations. See our advertising page if you would like more information.

We Need Your Support

ICN aims to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community. As our audience increases - so do our costs. We need your help to continue this work.

You can support our journalism by advertising with us or donating to ICN.

Mobile Menu Toggle Icon