I always enjoy Rome in August! It is my lastweek at the College before I hand over theleadership to Monsignor Philip Whitmore -already well known to many of you and towhom I am sure we all wish to offer manycongratulations and the support of our prayersthroughout the Rectorship on which he nowembarks. I find myself full of gratitude for thethirteen years I have had the privilege ofworking here. I had been wondering, for thelast two years or so, when I should pass thebaton on to another. I decided last summer, infact, that this should be my last academic year. It is a privilege to have the building to myselffor this my final week in Rome; to wander thecorridors, remembering, reflecting and, above all, giving thanks.

REMEMBERING & GIVING THANKSWhen I look out from my study window I cansee the beautiful orange tree that greeted mewhen I opened the curtains on my firstmorning as a student in 1981! I rememberlooking out at it then and thinking, “Goodness!Oranges! Oh, Nick, you are a long way fromhome!” It amuses me to find that I am stillhere (just!) thirty-two years later; and so is theorange tree – only now it is three times the sizeit was then! The thrifty Vice-Rector in me ispleased as well that the blue-checked curtainsthat greeted me in my first room are stillhanging there! It is thoughts such as these thatbring a smile to my face several times a day.

Summer 2013

Lady Paola Windsor, the Rector, Jo Barnacle, Mgr Charles Burns and students

CHAIRMAN BARNACLEBut it is people, above all, that I find myselfremembering, of course. I have been thinkingjust how many individuals have been a part ofthese last thirteen years – and without whomwe could never have achieved all that we have. First among these I would wish to pay tributeto the outgoing Chairman of the Friends, MissJo Barnacle.

Jo has been Chairman all the years I haveworked here; and has always been the greatestof supporters! Her annual visit has alwaysbeen a highpoint for staff and students alike. She and the Friends’ Committee have enabledvery considerable funding for both the Collegeand Villa, improving inexorably the quality oflife in both those places. Jo has also been akeen supporter of the many outstanding andhistoric events that we have enjoyed these lastseveral years – the 650th Anniversary of theHospice in 2012, the Church Reopening in2009, to name but two. Her joy and pride inthe place has been infectious; and the debt theCollege owes her for these two decades asChairman is great indeed.

TRUSTEESI have felt enormously supported by the manydistinguished bishops who have sat on theBishops’ Committee for Overseas Seminariessince I first joined the staff in 2000; and beenunfailing in their support and concern for theCollege. The group has been led, successively,by Archbishops Nichols, Roche and Longley;and included Bishops Mullins, Jabalé, Draineyand Campbell.

All these have been ably and generouslyassisted by fellow Trustees Mgr AnthonyWilcox, Terry Forbes, Nicholas Coote, PeterHorgan and Oliver Galea. Few could imaginehow much time these latter have given to theCollege, voluntarily of course, all the yearsthey have been associated with it: it couldcertainly not have functioned without them;and the debt the College owes them isimmeasurable.

Back Row: Fr John Paul Leonard, Emanuela Piacentini, Barbara Donovan, Fr Mark HaroldFront Row: Fr Anthony Milner, Sr Mary Joseph, The Rector, Paola Caiati

STAFF & SEMINARIANSSimilarly important has been the support givenby the Administrative teams - at the College:Joe Coughlan, Barbara Donovan, Paola Caiati,Emanuela Piacentini, Sr Mary Joseph, CarloBenvenuti and Enzo Tagliaferri; and at theVilla, Joyce Hunter, Giuseppe and JuliePiacentini, George Gorecki and MichaelSeverance.

It seems a long time since I arrived as Vice-Rector - to join a Formation Staff led by MgrPat Kilgarriff along with Frs John Rafferty,Martin Stempczyk and Sr Amadeus CJ; then,in due course, Mgri Tony Philpot and PhilCarroll, Frs Andrew Headon, Mark Harold,Bruce Burbidge, Tony Milner, John PaulLeonard and Chris Willis. I have learnt somuch from all these colleagues; and shallalways be indebted to them.

Then there are the seminarians themselves,who have been such an inspiration, offeringthemselves for priesthood in an age when it isso counter-cultural – though I have also cometo realise that it is the very counter-cultural

aspect of this calling that appeals to many, andunderstandably so! Working with so many tohelp them discern their vocation and preparefor ministry I have found to be enormouslyenriching – and deepening of my ownvocation.

VILLEGGIATURANothing symbolises better what we are aboutas a College than the Diaconal Ordination atyear’s end; and it felt the most privileged andappropriate climax to my work here to testifyon 14th July to the worthiness of the six menwho were to be ordained on the last day of theVilleggiatura at Palazzola.

They were Revv. John Carlisle and MarcHomsey of Leeds, Stefan Kaminski ofWestminster, Colin Mason of Clifton, TonyMcGrath of Shrewsbury and John Poland ofLiverpool. It was a joy for us to haveArchbishop Roche, Bishop Emeritus of Leedsand now Secretary of the Congregation forDivine Worship, preside for us.

Pope Francis greets the Rector during the Pilgrimage

of Vocation

The first Sunday of the Villeggiatura sawBishop John Hine institute a great number ofLectors: Adam Dora, Antonio Pineda andBenjamin Woodley of Westminster, Ryan Dayand Richard Marsden of Middlesbrough,Tristan Cranfield of Arundel & Brighton, GaryDench of Brentwood, Daniel Etienne ofLancaster, Richard Howard of Salford andMichael Rakowski of Northampton.

A few days later, Bishop John instituted fourmen as Acolytes: Philip Andrews and Luke dePulford of Southwark; Peter Stoddart ofHexham & Newcastle and Elliott Wright ofLeeds. This latter celebration took placeearlier than usual so as to allow seminarians totake part in the Pilgrimage of Vocation whichclimaxed with Pope Francis’s meeting withseminarians and novices in the Aula Paolo VI.

FAREWELLSThe last week of the Villeggiatura saw us bidfarewell to four very good men: Fr TonyMilner returns to the Diocese of Arundel &Brighton to complete his Doctorate after sixrich years’ ministry as Academic Tutor; FrDennis Cassidy completed a Licence inSpiritual Theology and goes to join the staff ofthe Royal English College in Valladolid;Deacon John Carlisle returns to Leeds Dioceseto enjoy a pastoral Diaconate prior to priestlyordination in December; and Ti Phuoc Tranreturns to his native Sweden to continuepreparation for Diaconal ordination.

NEW MENThe new academic year sees the return of FrBruce Burbidge as Academic Tutor – alongwith eight new students: Fr Andrew Chase ofRockhampton, Australia; Tao Nguyen ofOslo, Norway; Anglican Exchange studentBenjamin Drury of St Stephen’s House,Oxford; and five seminarians for Englishdioceses: Andrew Bowden for Westminster,Michael Vian Clark and Albert Lawes forPlymouth, Haris Roberts for Nottingham andPeter Taylor for Middlesbrough.

This means the year begins with almostexactly the same number of seminarians as ayear ago: 42. This figure breaks down asfollows: one for Antigonish, one for Arundel& Brighton, three for Birmingham, one forBrentwood, one for Clifton, two forCopenhagen, one for Hexham & Newcastle,one for Lancaster, five for Leeds, one forLiverpool, three for Middlesbrough, one forNorthampton, one for Nottingham, one forOslo, two for Plymouth, two for Salford, threefor Shrewsbury, five for Southwark and sevenfor Westminster; i.e. thirty-eight seminariansfor England and Wales, four seminarians fromother countries. In addition, there will be sixstudent-priests – coming from the dioceses ofBirmingham, Shrewsbury, Portsmouth, Leeds,Rockhampton and Westminster. This willamount to a student body of fifty. With a staffof five, this makes for an anticipatedcommunity of some fifty-five residents.

NEW PRIESTSIt was a joy to have some of the new studentspresent at priestly ordinations last month – ofFr Michael Coughlan at Stockport for theDiocese of Shrewsbury; and Fr BenjaminTheobald in Portsmouth Cathedral. 2013 willhave seen the ordination of five men for the priesthood in total – with the ordinations,earlier this year, of Frs David Doran forBirmingham and Liam Bradley for Menevia;and of Deacon John Carlisle for Leeds thisDecember.

This edition of Venerabile View was edited byLouise Sage and produced by Anthony Coles. Main article photographs courtesy of the Rector.

PREPARING TO WELCOME ...As I write, I can hear work going on to preparethe house for the next academic year. Throughthe generosity of the Old Romans, theMonserrà corridor is being completelyrefurbished and rendered en-suite. Throughthe generosity of the Schwarzenbachs, a liftand emergency staircase are being installed forour tenants. And, through the Friends’unstinting generosity, the students are toreceive a new car - a Ford Fiesta, no less! MayI say thank you once again to the Friends, onbehalf of all the students and staff, for makingthe impossible possible once again – throughyour continued and extraordinarily generousgiving which now amounts to well over aquarter of a million pounds since the Friendswas launched!

... AND PREPARING TO RETURNI look forward now to attending Friends’meetings again as one who has “returned to theMission”! It has been an extraordinaryprivilege to have had a second chance to livethis Roman life. I feel rather reassured toknow that Romans themselves say, “per Romanon basta una vita!” - “even a lifetime isn’tlong enough for Rome!” But I know I shallsavour for the rest of my days the years I wasgiven to live here. One of the Friends oncesaid to me, “The Venerabile is my wife’sfavourite institution!” I told him I heartilyconcurred! And I know there are many, manyFriends who would say the same – be it aboutthe College or Palazzola or both. It has alwaysbeen a great support to have the enthusiasm ofso many of you in the background – and, mostimportantly, your prayers for us.

Blessed John Paul II said, “seminary is theplace where we await the gift of the Spirit formission.” The College is nothing if not aboutMission. And, although I shall miss Rome, Iam happy now to return to the Mission myself;and try, in my own inadequate way, to do mypart to support the great Mission for whichgenerations of brave young men have preparedat the Venerabile and for which the Forty-Fourwere happy even to lay down their lives. Thatthey might pray for us; and that we might prayfor each other!Mgr Nicholas HudsonRector

VENERABILE

SILVER

In association with the Friends of the Venerabile,we offer you the opportunity to purchase sterlingsilver hall-marked jewellery relief engravedbearing the details of the shield of the Venerabile.

Cheques (payable to Rev Thomas Wood) withorder to Fr Thomas Wood, LACE, CroxtethDrive, Sefton Park, Liverpool, L17 1AA. Pricesinclude UK P&P. Profits to the Friends.

Cuff links - £55

Ornate lapel badge £30 Pendant with Collegecrest £40.

22" silver chain £22

Ornate Pendant withCollege shield £35

22" Silver chain £22

Plain lapel badge £25

AN ORDINATION

Liam Bradley, a former Venerabile Seminarian, wasordained to the Priesthood on 6th April at SwanseaCathedral by Bishop Tom Burns SM BA BD of Menevia.

Here his mother gives us an insight into Liam’s journeyto the Priesthood from her perspective.

I think Liam’s First Holy Communion was asignificant starting point of his contribution tothe church and following that Sacrament hejoined with some of his other school friends toassist the priest at Sunday Mass. This weeklyritual was one he obviously enjoyed andcontinued to enjoy for many years to come.

When Liam was very small, he loved all thingsrelated to fire! When visiting his grandparents’home, he rose early in the morning to watch thewhole process of making and lighting the fire,putting on the firelighters, and best of all,striking the matches. Some years later, as analtar server this interest would be directed intolighting candles, for whenever the altar wasbeing prepared for Mass, there was everypossibility to seize the opportunity to ‘play withfire’ so to speak.

In due time he carried the cross in procession, agreat occasion of pride for us and a wonderfulsight to see. I was thankful for all those yearsof service and even more thankful too that hisgrandparents did much to ‘enkindle the flame’.

Of course, all this ended when Liam went toUniversity and I believe he was in his final yearwhen he really moved seriously towardsthinking about the priesthood. He came homeone holiday, when I was in the kitchen makinga cup of tea, and he announced that oncompletion of university, he was going tobecome a priest!!!! I was very surprised. Ireally believed he was moving towards a careerin chemical engineering, but that was not to be.There were many questions and even moreprayers. I had to redirect my thoughts which Idid not find so easy at first, but as time went by,I found myself accepting his choice. Hisvocation to become a priest has proved to be avery enriching experience for us all and forwhich I will be ever truly grateful.

Liam’s years of study at the Venerable EnglishCollege brought us to Rome on numerous visits.

We have been lucky to be acquainted with thecollege staff and all the seminarians. Evenmeeting up with parents of other students hasenkindled new friendships and sharedexperiences. There has been a real sense ofwelcome on every occasion we have visitedthe College.

We really enjoyed the Ordination Service - themany months of preparation sparked off a fewanxieties to say the least. Unlike his diaconalordination which was very much a familyevent, one had to be ever mindful that thepriestly ordination would be a diocesan event.It was a beautiful enriching ceremony led byBishop Tom Burns whose encouraging words*were an inspiration to all present.

Thank you Fr Liam for all the joy you havegiven us, for bringing together so many friendsand family from far and wide on the 6th April.This was a wonderful occasion which we wereable to share with everyone attending.

Fr Liam Bradley with Bishop Tom Burns and hisparents Hugh & Louise

Our prayers go out to all those preparing forthe Priesthood, that the Lord will make themgood shepherds in His Church, and give themlove and joy in following Him.

Louise BradleyCommittee Member

WEBSITE ADDRESS

The Friends of the Venerabile websiteaddress is:

www.friendsofenglishcollegerome.org.uk

An image from the Convent Tyburn website -www.tyburnconvent.org.uk

The plaque commemorating the Tyburn site on thetraffic island at the junction of Edgware Road andMarble Arch

Another image from the Convent Tyburn website -www.tyburnconvent.org.uk

FRIENDS SPRING OUTING 2013

On April 27th fourteen Friends visited TyburnConvent and the Shrine of the English andWelsh Martyrs in the busy Bayswater Road,London. The Convent was destroyed by aflying bomb in 1944, fortunately, with no lossof life. The houses on each side of the Conventwere reduced to rubble and the Convent wasable to buy these sites and expand.

The Benedictine Adorers of the Sacred Heart ofJesus was founded by a French woman –Mother Marie de Saint Pierre from Montmartrein 1903. They pray night and day before theexposed Blessed Sacrament and maintain theMartyrs’ Shrine in the Chapel Crypt inrecognition of the men and women who gavetheir lives for the faith – both Protestant andCatholic. Here are preserved relics of some ofthe martyrs, and a replica of the three corneredgallows, the Tyburn Tree, forms part of thealtar.

On arrival we were given a warm welcome,coffee and biscuits before being taken down tothe Chapel by Australian Nun, Mother Liobawho gave us an enthusiastic and animated talkon the Convent and the Martyrs.

She told us that Tyburn had been a site forexecuting people from 1196 up to 1783 withgory descriptions of how the Martyrs werehanged, drawn and quartered. It is the site formany Catholic Martyrs, including Saint RalphSherwin and Saint. Edmund Campion; SaintOliver Plunkett being the last Catholic to bemartyred on this site in July 1681.

We also heard about the Carthusian Monks ofCharterhouse who were martyred by Henry VIIIbecause they would not acknowledge thesupremacy of the King over the Church inEngland.

The Tyburn gallows stood roughly at thejunction of what is now Oxford Street andPark Lane but which originally were calledTyburn Road and Tyburn Lane. The bodieswere buried nearby and there are still manyremains in the area. Executions continued tooccur until 1783 when London expanded toinclude the area and the new residents werenot keen to have this site on their doorstep. Allfelons were executed there not only Martyrsand executions drew huge crowds of onlookers We heard many more interesting facts aboutobtaining relics and what happened to thebodies May I encourage you to visit too.

Following Mother Liobas’ talk, Fr James Nealcelebrated a Votive Mass of Saint RalphSherwin and Companions and reminded us inhis Homily that people are still being martyredaround the world for their beliefs today. AfterMass we met together for our lunches, to chatand to revisit the Shrine.

Jo BarnacleChair&Sarah GoughCommittee Member

TOWARDS ADVENT 2013Annual Festival of Catholic Culture

Saturday 23rd NovemberWestminster Cathedral Hall

10.00 am – 4.00 pm

Opening Ceremony at 10.30 am withArchbishop Vincent Nichols

Displays by Catholic groups, organisations and charities

Refreshments available all dayPlay corner for children

Books, DVDs, CDs and cards on sale

ENTRY FREE

1.00 pm Edmund Adamus, Department ofPastoral Affairs Westminster Diocese on

Opportunities and Challenges for CatholicFamilies

3.00 pm Sister Hyacinthe Defos,Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph, on

The New Evangelisation: a task entrusted toeach one of us.

Tickets for talks £2 from the Welcome Desk

As in the previous two years the Friends of theVenerabile will be taking a stand at the Festival

If you are in the area on that day, do pleasecall in and meet us

We would be delighted to see you

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

NEW MEMBERSI extend a warm welcome to the following newFriends:

2012Mrs A Abbott (Croydon), S Baker (Jersey), Mr & MrsC Bierne (Jersey), Mr & Mrs Bradley (Co Galway), Dr& Mrs C Bulley (Bristol), Mr D Capps (Jersey), Mrs MCaro (London), Mr & Mrs P Carroll (Manchester), BChapman (Ossett), Mr E Clement (Kettering), Mr & MrsM Cranfield (West Sussex), Mr C Cuss (London), MrDowns (Saltburn by Sea), Mrs M Hannon (Surrey), MrN Hinde (Felstead), Mr G W Humphries (Cheadle), MrI Johnson (Loughton), Mrs L Johnston (Fenham), MrsE Joyce (Overstone), KSC Council 216 (Jersey), Miss KLavelle (Scarborough) Mr D McGrath, (Cheshire), Mr& Mrs C Patey (Ashby de la Zouche), Dr & Mrs R TRakowski (Slough), Mr & Mrs P Roddy (Whitby), MrsF Rosen (London), Mrs M T Russell (Co Kerry), Mr CSavage (Kings Lynn), Miss T Savereux (Ilford), Mrs HSheldrake (Jersey), Dr B Smith (Bristol), Mr & Mrs PSyvret (Jersey), S Syvret (Jersey), Mr D Troy MBE(Jersey), Mr & Mrs P Walsh (Waitara, Australia), Mr MZanganeh (Tehran, Iran)

January to July 2013Miss E Bradley (Magherafelt), Professor N Doe(Cardiff), Mr J Griffin (Llantwit Major), Professor MHill QC (London), Mr & Mrs G Howard (Rochdale),Canon G Hetherington (Guernsey), Mr I McIntyre,(Oban), Mr J McLoone (Galway City), Mr T Mack(Coventry), Mr B J Ord (Middlesborough), Mr MPoulter MBE (Stafford), Miss V Riding (London), RevJ K Robinson (Knutsford), Mr & Mrs M J Robinson(Dartmouth). Mr & Mrs M J Rycroft (Hove), Mrs JWood (Eastbourne).

EMAIL ADDRESSESDo we have YOUR latest e-mail address? Onceagain we appeal to all those who have not yet sentus their e-mail address to do so as soon as possiblein order to save the organisation time and moneyposting letters/holiday details etc. With thanks toall who have responded to the previous appeal. Please could we ask you to send your e-mailaddress to Mike Lang malang@ntlworld.com andto Jim Holroyd at JHGlenewes@aol.com.

AGM - SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2013I look forward to seeing many of you at our AGMthis year at St Mary Moorfields, 4-5 Eldon Street,City of London, EC2M 7LS (nearest tube:Liverpool Street or Moorgate) courtesy of CanonPeter Newby. Please let Jim Holroyd, 11 FairfaxRoad, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 4DR(JHGlenewes@aol.com) know if you are able toattend. The cost for the day including lunch is £20.

Jo BarnacleChair

PALAZZOLA OFFERSwww.palazzola.it

06 to 18 OctoberTake at least 3 nights between these dates and pay just €50standard and €65 en-suite per night full-board. Take 5 nightsand get your 5th night at €30/€50.

20 December to 13 JanuaryAdvent, Christmas and New Year. Various packages - seewebsite or contact Anthony Coles at arctc@btinternet.com or020 7431 3414 or at 18 Maresfield Gardens, London NW3 5SX.

Friends of the VenerabileMembership Secretary

22 Kingsley AvenueRoyal Wootton Bassett

Wiltshire SN4 8LF