Pentecost excitement building in Southwark

Pentecost promises to be extra special in the archdiocese of Southwark this year, as their key Jubilee Celebration at Aylesford Priory falls on Saturday 7th June, the vigil of Pentecost. As a result Mark Nash and his team at the Agency of Evangelisation and Catechesis have co-opted help from other diocesan agencies and groups and are planning a huge celebration with everything from traditional Catholic devotions like adoration and the rosary (in several languages) to Bollywood dancing by a youth group from Catholic Kerala and individual musicians performing throughout the day.

This will all culminate in a big open air Mass concelebrated by archbishop John Wilson praying for a Pentecost blessing on all those there and the diocese as a whole. Three thousand pilgrims are expected, and parishes ahead of the game have already booked their coaches, as Aylesford is deep in rural England. Raising a concern that this number might be too many for the site, the Aylesford team laughed. "No problem, we once had 10,000 here!" The organisers hope that day will be an opportunity to experience the richness of the Catholic Church in all its cultural diversity, as at that first Pentecost in Jerusalem all those years ago.

"The plan is for it to be a kind of spiritual Glastonbury," said one of the team. "With something for everyone across the site."

The Southwark Spirituality Commission are even talking about seeing if they can mow one of the lawns to create a labyrinth in the grounds. There is also a pilgrimage of intrepid walkers, planning to get to the day on foot, starting out on the Monday before at St George's cathedral and staying in parish halls along the way..

As well as a children's ministry, (which participants have to pre-book) there are also other activities for any families who might just turn up on the day. The aim is for it to be a day of faith and fun for all the family. Every area of the large grounds at Aylesford will be in use, whether it is for people to have picnics, or in the barn where there will various talks, The rosary walk area will be given over confessions in the open air as well as teams to pray for healing and group rosaries led in different languages, Archbishop John Wilson himself will lead the Romero rosary based on a recent book he has written.

Among the special exhibitions will be a history of the archdiocese with photos sent in by the parishes and the Blessed Carlos Acutis exhibition of Eucharistic miracles. Visitors to Disneyland have the opportunity to meet their heroes from Disney's cartoons, but at this Aylesford day children will have the opportunity to 'meet' famous saints from the past such as St Thomas Becket, and St Augustine of Canterbury and not so well known ones like St Mildred of Thanet.

Under girding all the activities has been a blanket of prayer prayed by a team of 300 intercessors. These are mainly lay people from the parishes in the archdiocese, who have been praying a decade of the rosary every day since 7th October that all the priests and people of the diocese will be blessed this jubilee year! So who knows what other surprises the Holy Spirit may have in store.

Coaches are expected to arrive at 10 am and the day's activities will begin at 10.30 am, culminating with the mass which starts at 3pm -4.30pm.

For further details of this and other jubilee activities in Southwark see: https://aec.rcaos.org.uk/jubilee2025