News

On the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (7th October) in this 450th anniversary year of the institution of that feast, Fr Lawrence Lew OP will celebrate the 6pm Mass in the church.

After Mass, you are warmly invited into the Priory Cloister for a reception and book launch of Fr Lawrence’s first book, ‘Mysteries Made Visible: Praying the Rosary with Sacred Art‘. The book features photographs taken by Fr Lawrence from churches around the world depicting  the 20 Mysteries of the Rosary, and each Mystery is accompanied by a short Scripture quotation and reflection written by Fr Lawrence. The book carries a Foreword from the Master of the Order, and several  endorsements from well-known promoters of the Rosary including Fr Donald Calloway MIC, author of Champions of the Rosary, and Bishop Robert Barron.

Some comments on the book from people who have pre-ordered copies from the Catholic Truth Society:
“I started reading it this afternoon whilst on the train… and was totally captivated so much so that I have read it cover to cover! … I honestly couldn’t put it down! What an amazing, richly informative/catechetical, deeply devotional, theological, scriptural, artistic, and historical masterpiece!! I have no doubt that this will lead those who read and reflect upon it into a much deeper appreciation of the mysteries of the Rosary and devotion to Our Blessed Mother.”

And another wrote from Glasgow: “I have just received (from CTS) a copy of your latest book, Mysteries Made Visible, and am writing to congratulate you on such a beautiful publication. I found that reading it was inspiring and gave me a greater love and appreciation of the Rosary. The artwork is excellent and the accompanying text helps me understand the mysteries better.”

Copies are available from the CTS online (£12.95 usually, or £15% off with this code ‘ROSARY15’ if you purchase before 15 October), or from the Rosary Shrine for £10. Click here to look inside the book.

July 2021 Newsletter: Exciting projects and forthcoming events

 1. May Processions & Events

As Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP observed in the EWTN film about the Rosary Shrine, The Way of Beauty, our church was built for processions.

It is now a feature of the Rosary Shrine’s annual programme that candle-lit Rosary processions are held every Saturday in May and October, at 7pm. Despite the ongoing need for precautions because of Covid, we were able to have our processions this May, the month of Our Lady, praying for an end to the global pandemic.

We welcomed a Polish choir and a Filipino choir who sang motets and hymns in between each decade of the Rosary, and statues of Our Lady of the Rosary from Fatima and from the Philippines were taken in procession by the Dominican friars.Currently, these statues have been placed on a  tea trolley appropriated for use as a wheeled platform (see photo above), but we have plans to improve and renovate this so that it is more fitting and dignified, and properly suited for processions of Our Lady and St Dominic, in the coming months. As ever, your contributions to the Rosary Shrine will help us fund such projects which we undertake for the glory of God.

Flowers of the Fairest

At the end of May, our Luminous Mysteries Rosary Garden took part in the National Garden Scheme’s Open Day and raised money for various charities nominated by the NGS; many volunteers came to help sell tickets, cakes, cups of tea and welcome visitors.

We welcomed over a hundred people to the garden and the church, and the day ended with a Mass celebrated by the Director of Radio Maria England and a Rosary procession in which the Diocese’s Episcopal Vicar for the New Evangelisation took part. Beautiful rays of sunlight flooded the church during the procession, and it seemed as if Our Lady was smiling upon us.

Renewed Apse

We are grateful to all our benefactors who have contributed to the restoration of our apse and High Altar.

A team of dedicated craftsmen have worked for over six months on repairing and restoring the stonework and stained glass in the apse of the church, which is dedicated to the Fifth Glorious Mystery – The Coronation of Our Lady and the Glory of all the Saints.

The High Altar with its beautiful marble, mosaics, alabaster and metalwork has also been completely cleaned and restored.

Thanks to a generous benefaction, the walls of the apse have been completely re-gilded (see adjacent photo for condition prior to restoration).

before…

during…

after!

High Altar Returned to Use

This work was completed shortly after Easter, and from 25 April, Masses at the beautifully cleaned and

gilded High Altar were resumed.

On Sundays both the 12 noon Solemn Mass (Ordinary Form) and the 6pm Dominican Rite Mass (Extraordinary Form) are now celebrated at the High Altar. We hope that this full and inclusive liturgical life, offering all that the Church’s rich Tradition allows, will be of service to the broad range of parishioners, pilgrims, and visitors who come to the Rosary Shrine and worship here.

Apse Windows & Stations of the Cross Restored

Before cleaning….

… and after cleaning!

Thanks to a benefaction from the ‘US Friends of the Rosary Shrine’, we have also completely restored and cleaned the 14 Stations of the Cross in the nave of the church.

These were painted by Nathaniel Westlake in 1887, and their bright colours and expressive faces can now be appreciated and seen more clearly, much to the delight of our parishioners.With your support, we hope to install lights that will subtly highlight these Stations of the Cross, and also bring some light to the aisles of the church which do not currently have any lighting.

New Chapel Lighting

The Rosary Chapels have also long suffered from poor lighting, and the carved stone sculptures of the mysteries of the Rosary were often unnoticed. A new spotlighting system, organised according to the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, was installed in May 2021.

The Rosary sculptures, which are a unique feature of this Rosary Shrine, can now be appreciated and enjoyed as an aid to prayer and greater devotion, and the new lights enhance the overall beauty of the church.

Renewed Shrines for Statues

Finally, the three wooden shrines housing the images of Our Lady of Manaoag, Our Lady of Fatima, and Our Lady of Walsingham, have been completely refurbished, as befits the Queen of Heaven.

We thank the benefactors of these and all our projects. 

3. New Project: The Lost Angels of The Rosary Altar

The Rosary Altar is the main focus of this Rosary Shrine church, and it was beautifully restored in the 1990s. However, that restoration work has yet to be completed.

Historical photos (below) reveal that the altar was surmounted by four angels playing musical instruments, and moreover, two angels hung on either side of the altar carrying two sanctuary lamps that are a sign of our prayers in the presence of Our Lady. Sadly over the course of time, these angels were removed or went missing.

Four years ago we placed two candles in blue glass lamps on the Rosary Altar as the initial step to replacing the missing sanctuary lamps. These two candles burn perpetually before the image of Our Lady of the Rosary for the intentions of the members of the ‘Friends of the Rosary Shrine’, and for all the Benefactors of the Rosary Shrine.

A Birthday Present?

2021 is a significant year of great jubilees:

• 800th anniversary of the death of St Dominic;
• 800th anniversary of the arrival of the Dominican friars in England;
• 450th anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto and the establishment of the feast of the Holy Rosary.

Consequently, we would like to commemorate these historic milestones by replacing the six missing angels and the two sanctuary lamps.

The angels will be hand-carved from oak, and we have found suitable sanctuary lamps to buy from Italy. The total cost of this project will be £25,000 ($35,000 US).

Could you help?

We would like to invite you to make a donation towards this project:

• Perhaps you’d like to donate one angel in memory of a loved one?
  £3,000 each, six available  ($4,200 US)
• Or, as a family, donate a hanging sanctuary lamp to adorn Our Lady’s altar?
  UPDATE: NONE AVAILABLE – BOTH HAVE NOW BEEN SPONSORED.
• Or alternatively, just add your own generous gift of any amount to help us achieve our goal:

Donate Now on the Rosary Shrine website

If you’d like to discuss how you can contribute towards this project, please contact Fr Lawrence Lew OP.

4. BENEFACTORS’ PLAQUES

From the very beginning, our Order and this church has relied on the generous gifts, both large and small, from a range of benefactors from around the world. We continue to seek your help in restoring and renovating Our Lady’s Rosary Shrine and especially her altar.

We are grateful for all the help we have received over the centuries, and the marble plaques in the Lady Chapel are inscribed with the names of benefactors beginning with Baroness Tasker who gave us the land on which our church and priory stands.

Some of the names on those plaques, which had merely been painted on the marble, have now faded. In the coming months, we want to put this right: a stonemason has been engaged to inscribe their names so that they can be specially remembered in our daily prayers at the Rosary Shrine.

As a mark of our gratitude, and only if you allow us, the names of those benefactors who make single gifts of over £3,000 (from January 2021) to the Rosary Shrine’s restoration works will be added to these marble plaques.

• Qualifying Gifts: You can make a gift of £3,000 or more to the ‘missing angels’ project (see above), or to any of the projects to restore and improve our church
• Memorial Giving. You can make ‘in memoriam’ gifts of £3,000 or more in the name of deceased loved ones: either specify the name on the online donation form, send a cheque with an accompanying note, or contact Fr Lawrence by email
• Gift Aid. UK taxpayers can boost the value of their gift by Gift-Aiding their donations, either in the online form when they donate, or by filling in a printed declaration.

5. UPCOMING EVENTS

Novena of Masses in honour of St Dominic:
30 July – 7 August at 6pm (except Sun 1 Aug at 12 noon), with guest Dominican celebrants and preachers, and a daily Rosary procession with the newly-restored statue of St Dominic on the newly-refurbished processional carriage.

Cardinal Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, has kindly agreed to come to the Shrine on Rosary Sunday, 3 October 2021. He will celebrate the 12 noon Solemn Mass, bless and distribute roses as is our Dominican custom, and lead a Rosary procession.

Fr Lawrence Lew OP has prepared a book of Rosary reflections inspired by 20 of his photos of sacred art depicting the mysteries of the Rosary. The book is due to be published by the Catholic Truth Society, and there will be a book launch on 7 October. Details will be sent in a later newsletter.

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Under the current phase of the re-opening of England, and considering the security needs of the church, here are the Opening Hours for the church:

Mon – Fri: 3pm – 7pm (with Adoration at 5pm, Mass at 6pm, and Vespers at 6:45pm)

Saturdays: 5pm – 7pm (unless other advertised events are going on which may allow us to open earlier in the day)

Sundays: 8am – 1:30pm, and 5pm–7:30pm (with Masses at 8:30am, 10am, 12noon, Adoration, Vespers & Benediction at 5pm, and Dominican Rite Sung Mass in Latin at 6pm)

Pope Francis has urged us to pray the Rosary daily during the month of May, which is known as Mary’s month, to ask God to end the pandemic. During the month of May, there will be a Rosary Procession every Saturday at 7pm in our church. This lasts about 30 minutes, and guest choirs will sing at some of them. The procession will not be livestreamed except on 29 May.

Our weekly livestreamed Rosary will continue every Friday at 8pm. Do please join us on youtube.com/c/RosariumOP. This is an online event only.

During the month of May, the Luminous Mysteries Rosary Garden will be open, weather permitting. Please note that if the weather is inclement, the garden will not be opened! Planned opening hours are:

Sunday: 8:30am – 11:45am

Monday: 1 – 2pm

Tuesday: 1 – 2pm

Wednesday: 1 – 2pm

Thursday: 3 – 4pm

Friday: 3 – 4pm

Saturday: 11am – 12pm

We thank our volunteers who enable the Garden to be opened. If you’d like to volunteer to open the garden, please email secretary@haverstockhill.org.uk or contact us on Facebook. Thank you.

On 22nd of May, the Legion of Mary will be making a Pilgrimage to the Rosary Shrine, and all are welcome to join them for prayers, Mass (12 noon), and a talk. The programme of events for that day are here.

On the 29th of May, the Rosary Garden will be open from 1:30pm – 5:30pm as part of the National Garden Scheme, and proceeds from tickets, tea, and cakes will go to charity. In the evening, after the 6pm Vigil Mass, the 7pm Rosary procession will be broadcast live on Radio Maria England, and there will be an opportunity to find out more about Radio Maria.

SUNDAYS: (Vigil Mass on Sat at 6pm); Ordinary Form Masses at 8:30am; 10am (with Baptisms on first Sundays); 12 noon (Ordinary Form, with choir, at the High Altar); and 6pm (Dominican rite Sung Mass at High Altar).

Solemn Vespers & Benediction at 5:30pm.

MONDAY – SATURDAY: Ordinary Form Mass daily at 6pm.

ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT: Daily at 5pm.

CONFESSIONS: Saturday, 5-6pm; Sunday, from 9:45am, and from 11:45am.

Under the current phase of re-opening after Covid, the church will be open from 3–7pm (Mon–Fri); from 4:30–7pm (Sat); and on Sunday from 8am–1:30pm, then from 5–7:30pm.

The Paschal Candle is the large decorated candle that is lit throughout the Easter season, and at every Baptism and every Funeral throughout the year. There are certain elements that must be on every Paschal candle: a cross, the year, and the Alpha and the Omega, a reminder that Christ is the Beginning and the End, and that all time belongs to him, and all our days are ordered by him as we live in his grace, in the light of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

For the last two years, Fr Lawrence Lew, our current parish priest and Prior, has painted the Paschal Candle, and he has incorporated various symbols in the design that he has written about and explained in this blog post, with photos of the candle. Click on this link: Painting the Paschal Candle 2021.

2021 is a significant year for us: we give thanks to God for 800 years since the Dominican friars first arrived in England; 800 years since St Dominic’s death when he promised to pray for us and help us from heaven; and 450 years since the feast of the Holy Rosary was established by Pope St Pius V in 1571. The design on our Paschal Candle incorporates these three events, as detailed here.

Christ is risen, alleluia! The church will be open every day, resuming the schedule of daily Mass (Mon – Sat) at 6pm. Adoration will take place from 5pm on those days.

Sunday Masses, currently will be at 8:30am, 10am, and 12 noon, with music at the 10am and 12 noon Masses, and the participation of lay readers once more on Sundays. Confessions on Sat (5-6pm) and on Sun (from 9:45am and from 11:45am).

Please note that the church will have to be closed at all other times, due to the on-going requirement that a steward is on hand whenever we open, and also due to the need to clean the church after every service. We continue to pray for an end to the pandemic and these necessary restrictions.

This Friday, 1 January 2021, is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. We invite you to come in persona and join us here at Our Lady’s Rosary Shrine for a time of prayer and adoration.

We begin with Solemn Mass in the Ordinary Form at 6pm, with cantor and organ. Mass will be followed at 7pm with a Marian Procession with the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag. The beautiful and unique Dominican Litany of Our Lady will be chanted during this procession, as we entrust ourselves, our families, and all of 2021 to the Blessed Mother.

After the procession, we shall have a period of silent Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and then at 8pm, we shall pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary in the presence of the Eucharist on the Altar. This Rosary will be livestreamed to <youtube.com/c/RosariumOP> as we are joined by viewers from around the world, including the Intercessor Family of the Marian Devotional Movement from North America. The evening will conclude with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

In addition, Confessions will be heard from 7pm onwards.

For those can’t come personally, the whole evening will also be livestreamed on our usual Rosary Shrine YouTube channel <youtube.com/c/RosaryShrineUK>.