Our Grand Master's Christmas Message & a Happy Feast of St Lazarus to all

A Blessed Feast Day to all our Brothers and Sisters.

Don't forget, you can support the work of our Grand Priory by watching our 

Virtual Carol Concert and donating.

Just click on the link below.

Crowdfunding to raise Christmas funds jointly for St Catherine's Hospice and also to provide fresh drinking water to a Leprosy Colony in Sri Lanka (SUROL). on JustGiving

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE GRAND MASTER

This Christmas may be like no other we have experienced. We come to the end of a year when so many have endured so much suffering in so many ways brought on by the Covid 19 pandemic. Let us pray for all those who have died. Let us stand with those who have been bereaved. Let us recall that we have all suffered emotional and mental distress through fear and through being kept apart from our loved ones and friends. Let us stand together with those who have found their incomes disappear or their businesses struggle. 

Perhaps what we will remember most is the necessity of being apart. Not least, that for the most part we have not been able to gather together in the Order, either nationally or internationally. 

Our Order is called after St Lazarus and it's founding charism that of caring for those suffering from leprosy. We know from the Scriptures and we know it remains true today, that those suffering from it are often excluded from society. The warmth of the embrace of family and friends, one of the most basic of human needs, denied to them. This year, we have all shared in that feeling. But our Order began precisely to combat that; to find ways to give them that comfort of care. So likewise, we must do so today with courage and dignity in the face of that which afflicts us. 

The precautions we live under are a sacrifice for the greater good, so that more of us may live to see another day. Let us be inspired to find new ways to reach out and care for one another. When we cannot hold hands we can still hold one another in prayer as we gather in spirit with the Holy Family this Christmas. 

The new life we celebrate each Christmas is the renewal of that which God has given each of us - His life that courses through our world, which re-invigorates our faith. The many tragedies of Covid 19 have also been the cause of so many acts of kindness and generosity that give us hope. 

I pray that this Christmas will bring each of us new hope as we look to the future year with the strength of God's grace within us. 

S.E. Count Dobrzensky z Dobrzenicz 

50th Grand Master

Christmas Christmas Carol Concert 2020

This week would have been our much loved Carol Concert held at St Catherine's Church but sadly, with Covid 19 restrictions, it has not been possible to go ahead with it this year. However, the Octavius Choir have put together an online performance, which you can watch and also donate: 

What we raise is being divided between:

1. St Catherine’s Hospice in Leyland and to SUROL - those suffering from leprosy in Sri Lanka. This year aimed particularly at providing fresh water there.

We don’t expect that it will enable us to support them in the usual way this Christmas but please do have a look online and share it as widely as you can, so that we can send SUROL in Sri Lanka and St Catherine's Hospice something this Christmas. 

Thank you!

To find it the 30 minute online concert on Youtube and donate as well, please go to 

 Octavius Christmas Celebration 2020 - YouTube (outlook.com)

The JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/oslj-christmas-2020

AND this is the link for scanning from a phone: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/oslj-christmas-2020/qrcode 

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo and Patron of SUROL wrote to us: 

“My sincere thanks to all those who continue to support SUROL, especially the Order of St Lazarus in Great Britain, enabling SUROL to bring a ray of happiness to these people, who sometimes feel estranged from society.”

An Invitation to Christmas Mass from H.R.H. Prince Charles-Philippe d’Orléans, duc d’Anjou

I hope you, your families and loved ones are well, all in good health despite the global health situation we are going through.

This Sunday, December 13^th, to celebrate Saint Lazarus together, we invite you to follow Mass from the Abbey of Maredsous, in Belgium, which will be broadcast at 5 p.m. (Belgian time, UTC + 1) on the internet.

The Holy Mass will be held in French and English. Father Abbot of Maredsous will also deliver a closing word in Dutch and Italian. The organist and the choir of the Grand Priory of Belgium will also participate to this mass. Finally, at the end of the Mass, you will be able to follow the Christmas messages of the Grand Master and the heads of Jurisdiction.

You can follow the mass by clicking on the following link (it will be active and unblocked on Sunday just before the broadcast): https://vimeo.com/488873489

This initiative was launched and organized by the Grand Priory of Belgium, we thank them wholeheartedly.

I wish you all a wonderful Saint Lazarus day, in union of prayer and in the peace of Christ,

H.R.H. Prince Charles-Philippe d’Orléans, duc d’Anjou
President of the Governing Council, Grand Prior of France

The Abbey of Maredsous