Sunday, 24 April 2016

St George's Day Mass and Chapter Meeting

 Members and friends of the Grand Priory of Great Britain 
gathered in North Yorkshire at St Mary’s Church in Crathorne 
on St George's Day for Mass and the Annual Chapter Meeting.
We celebrated Holy Mass for the feast of St George
- a suitably fitting Christian military saint for Order to invoke 
on the day of its Chapter Meeting.

 The present church dates from 1819, 
so we had to get used to the Box pews that were a feature of English churches in those days 
and still remain at St Mary's.


 We were very fortunate to have members of the choir from the Oratorian administered church in York, 
under the supervision of Mr John Ridgeway-Wood. 
They raised our hearts and minds with Monteverdi's Mass for voices, 
Viadana's Exultate justi and Pitoni's Misericordia Domini.

We gave thanks for the great efforts of members and friends of the Grand Priory, 
which have enabled us to support 
SUROL
over the past year with grants totalling £11,500.
We are looking forward to our Investiture in the summer,
when we will welcome four new members into the order in the presence of the Grand Master.


Thursday, 21 April 2016

Happy Birthday Ma'am


Today is the 90th Birthday of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

O Lord, save Elizabeth our Queen.
 And hear us in the day when we call upon Thee.

We beseech Thee, almighty God, that Thy servant Elizabeth our Queen, 
who has been called by Thy mercy to rule over this kingdom, 
may also receive from Thee an increase of all virtues. 
Fittingly adorned with these, may she be able to shun all evildoing, 
in time of war: to conquer her enemies 
and, finally, being well pleasing before Thee, 
together with her consort and the royal family, 
attain unto Thee who art the Way, the Truth and the Life. 
Through Christ Our Lord.
Amen.


Atavis et Armis!

Monday, 18 April 2016

Annual Chapter Meeting


A reminder that all members are summoned the 
Annual Chapter Meeting

On 23rd April 2016
St Mary’s Church, Yarm Road, Crathorne, North Yorks. TS15 0BB

11am Mass  - Missa Cantata in the Tradirional Form
for the Feast of St George, Protector of England.
The Mass is open for everyone to attend and all are most welcome,
there should be some good music.

11.45 The Chapter Meeting—in the Church
Followed by Luncheon.

The present St Mary’s Church (1819) replaced an adapted cowhouse used for Mass from about 1777. But Mass was celebrated in the area some considerable time before that. The Crathorne family maintained the Catholic faith after the Reformation and Mass was celebrated in the manor house. The present chapel, the work of the ‘resident missioner’, Fr George Corless, using funds donated by Ralph Crathorne in 1742, was completed by 1821.  The present chapel is ‘of outstanding importance on both historic and architectural grounds. The exterior is modest for a Catholic chapel of its time, but the interior is a remarkably complete example of box pews, gallery and rich Gothick decoration of the highest quality.’ 

The church is one of three in the area under the pastoral care of  Fr William Charlton, Chaplain to the Order.


Tuesday, 12 April 2016

"The Virgin Mary in Liturgy, Literature and Life" Conference with Bishop Athanasius Schneider



Chancellor of the Grand Priory of Great Britain, Rev. Fr. Mark Lawler SChLJ MMLJ, is one of the speakers at a conference in France to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the death of St Louis Grignon de Montfort at the Chavagnes Studium, speaking on “G.K. Chesterton on Mary and the Church”.

Summer Conference on

"The Virgin Mary 

in Liturgy, Literature and Life"

from 2nd  -  4th August 2016.

With Bishop Athanasius Schneider

as keynote speaker, on the theme

"The Virgin Mary and the Defence of the Faith"


The programme includes
daily Mass, Vespers and Benediction,
a pilgrimage to St Laurent sur Sèvre
(with the tomb of St Louis de Montfort)
and a meal aboard a former restaurant car of the Orient Express,
plus good Catholic cheer every evening,
and is set to be a great Catholic holiday for intellectual Catholics.

All this in the charming setting of Chavagnes College in the beautiful part of France known as the Vendee, where historically the Faith held out against many onslaughts and is still in strong evidence today, with wayside Calvary shrines evident in every village and town - a testament to the sufferings endured for the Faith.


The Virgin Mary in liturgy, literature and life

2nd, 3rd and 4th August 2016,

Chavagnes International College, Chavagnes en Paillers, France.

A conference on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the death of

St Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort

“When will souls breathe Mary, as much as bodies breathe air?”

(St Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort)

Conference delegates should plan to arrive on 1st August and depart on 5th or 6th. Various types of accommodation are available at reasonable cost.  All meals are provided by our in-house French chef.

For full details, email studium@chavagnes.org

You can find further details at:



The College Chapel