Liverpool: Mass of Thanksgiving for Archbishop Kelly's Silver Jubilee

The Most Reverend Patrick Kelly, Archbishop of Liverpool, will celebrate the Silver Jubilee of his ordination as a Bishop with a Mass of Thanksgiving at 5.30 pm today in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool. It will be exactly twenty-five years since the Archbishop was ordained as Bishop of Salford by Bishop Thomas Holland in St John's Cathedral, Salford. On 21 May 1996 it was announced that he was to become Archbishop of Liverpool and he was installed in the Metropolitan Cathedral on 3 July that year.

The Lord Lieutenant of Liverpool, Dame Lorna Muirhead, will read the First Reading at the Mass (Jeremiah 20:10-13) and the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Steve Rotheram, will lead the Prayer of the Faithful. The Gospel (John 10:31-42) will be read by Deacon Dominic Curran who is to be ordained to the priesthood later this year. Among those present will be members of the Archbishop's family who will take up the gifts at the Offertory Procession, and priests and people from Liverpool and from his former Diocese of Salford. The Archbishop's 'home' Diocese of Lancaster will be represented, as will be St Mary's College, Oscott, Birmingham, where he served as a lecturer and Rector with those studying for the priesthood.

The Choir of the Metropolitan Cathedral will be taking part in the music of the Mass under their Director, Timothy Noon. The music will include Gregorian Chant and a Mass setting by Louis Vierne. The motets 'The Spirit of the Lord' and 'Ave Verum' by Edward Elgar will be sung. The hymns include: 'Praise to the holiest in the height', 'Ride on, ride on in majesty', 'O taste and see', 'Pange lingua gloriosi', 'O praise ye the Lord', and 'Hail Redeemer, King Divine' a hymn written specially for the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Among the Bishops attending the Mass will be:

His Excellency Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor Archbishop of Westminster
The Most Reverend Mario Conti Archbishop of Glasgow
His Excellency Archbishop Paul Gallagher Apostolic Nuncio to Guatemala
The Right Reverend Terence Brain Bishop of Salford
The Right Reverend Michael Campbell Coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster
The Right Reverend Terence Drainey Bishop of Middlesbrough
The Right Reverend Michael Evans Bishop of East Anglia
The Right Reverend Anthony Farquhar Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor
The Right Reverend Ambrose Griffiths Bishop Emeritus of Hexham and Newcastle
The Right Reverend John Hine Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark
The Right Reverend Crispian Hollis Bishop of Portsmouth
The Right Reverend Declan Lang Bishop of Clifton
The Right Reverend Bernard Longley Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster
The Right Reverend Malcolm McMahon Bishop of Nottingham
The Right Reverend Thomas McMahon Bishop of Brentwood
The Right Reverend Vincent Malone Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool
The Right Reverend John Rawsthorne Bishop of Hallam
The Right Reverend Edwin Regan Bishop of Wrexham
The Right Reverend Arthur Roche Bishop of Leeds
The Right Reverend William Walsh Bishop of Killaloe
The Right Reverend Thomas Williams Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool

Church Leaders from other denominations include:

The Right Reverend David Jennings Bishop of Warrington
The Right Reverend Nicholas Reade Bishop of Blackburn
Reverend James A Booth Chairman of Liverpool Methodist District
Major Marion Drew Salvation Army
Reverend Howard Sharp Moderator of the URC Mersey Synod
Reverend Ian Smith Ecumenical Development Officer

Source: Archdiocese of Liverpool