The Grand Priory of Great Britain held its annual Chapter Meeting at St Teresa's Church in Charlbury this weekend, hosted by Chaplain to the Order and parish priest, Fr Aldo Tapparo. This is the "annual general meeting" of the Priory (to put it in secular terms) when the Council reports to members the state of the Order and decisions are made for the coming year. We were very pleased to hear that the the Grand Master, HE Jan Count Dobrzenský z Dobrzenicz, will be joining us for our Investiture later this year, when he will receive several new postulants into our ranks.
It was also wonderful to learn that, through the auspices of SUROL, we have so far given £56,000 to those affected by leprosy in Sri Lanka. Indeed, young parishioners from Fr Tapparo's parish have recently been in Sri Lanka where they handed over a cheque for £200 that they had raised.
To add to that good news, we adopted three new charities here in Great Britain:
- Assisting those on pilgrimage to Lourdes through the Royal Navy Catholic Chaplaincy.
- The St Thomas More Legal Centre - assisting Christians with legal advice and support.
- BLESMA - the Limbless Veterans Association - in particular, the Elizabeth Frankland More Home in Blackpool.
Heythrop Park
The Grand Prior hosted a splendid dinner for members and friends the evening before the Chapter meeting in the very pleasant setting of Heythrop Park. Originally built for the First Duke of Shrewsbury, it was a Jesuit Training College from 1922 - 1999 but is now an hotel with some very fine rooms. We dined by candlelight in the Churchill room - the former library.
