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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>.

UPDATE (19 Dec): London enter ‘Tier 4’ from 20 Dec. but the PM states that “communal worship” will still be lawful, so we will continue with our planned schedule below.

Below is the schedule for the coming weeks, beginning with the Simbang Gabi Novena of Masses (16-24 Dec), the schedule for Christmas, and a Mass followed by Marian Procession, Adoration, and Rosary on New Year’s Day.

Printed copies will be available from the friars or stewards at the back of the church.

On 15th October, the feast of St Teresa of Ávila, Cardinal Nichols ratified the appointment of Fr Lawrence Lew OP, Prior of St Dominic’s as the new Parish Priest of our parish of Our Lady of the Rosary and St Dominic’s, Haverstock Hill. Currently, the responsibilities of the Rector of the Rosary Shrine will also be undertaken by the Parish Priest.

Please pray for Fr Lawrence Lew in his service and ministry as Prior, Parish Priest, and Rector here at St Dominic’s – the Rosary Shrine. Fr Lawrence arrived in St Dominic’s in June 2017, having just gained his License in Sacred Theology from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington DC. Prior to that (from the time of his priestly ordination in 2011) he had been Assistant Chaplain at Edinburgh University, working alongside Fr Dermot Morrin OP, who has also served as Prior and Parish Priest of St Dominic’s. Fr Lawrence currently also serves as the Dominican Order’s Promoter General for the Holy Rosary; as Spiritual Director for the Westminster Curia of the Legion of Mary; and he is Editor of the English Dominican Province’s magazine, The Dominicans. 

The words of St Teresa’s ‘Bookmark’ seems a fitting reflection and prayer for Fr Lawrence as he takes on these new pastoral roles at St Dominic’s, and also for us all at this time when so many are anxious about the coronavirus and our current socio-economic and political situation:

Let nothing disturb you,

nothing frighten you,

All things are passing.

God never changes.

Patience obtains all things.

Whoever has God lacks nothing.

God is enough.

Amen. May Our Lady, Queen of the Holy Rosary pray for us!