Seminarian Philip Thornley (Leeds) admitted as Candidate for Holy Orders

Beda students receive academic awards

Festive moment marks Beda Anniversary celebration

Visit part of induction programme for new students

We have seven new fulltime seminarians joining us this September. In addition, we have an Anglican ordinand with us for two months, and a new external Rosminian student who will be studying with us throughout the academic programme. A visit to St Peter’s for Mass is one of the earliest gatherings that we organize. We were in the Polish Chapel with a replica of the icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa.

On the afternoon of Saturday (23 September 2023) the new members of the College accompanied some of the older ones on a walk led by St Patricia. We started at the Colosseum and made our way down the Foro Imperiale to view the forum from the Capitoline Hill; thence to the Jewish quarter, Tiber Island, and Trastevere. The Janiculum followed and we made our way down to Lungotevere, past the Bambino Jesu Hospital, and relative ease of a bus journey home.

The last day of the Beda College year is marked by the Ordination to the Diaconate. This year seven of our members were ordained by Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh, with two of the ordinands promising obedience directly to the Archbishop. The ordinands were: David Chung – Diocese of Port Louis (Mauritius), Paul Henderson and Peter Shankland - Archdiocese of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, Thomas Hiney - Diocese of Portsmouth, Simon Marley - Diocese of Lancaster, Brian McNally - Archdiocese of Armagh, Eamon Salmon - Diocese of Ferns The splendid liturgy under the guidance of the College MCs and Music Master was enhanced by the singing of the Schola Cantorum of St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, Edinburgh, under the direction of Mr. Michael Ferguson. The festive lunch at the College managed to outflank the constant threat of rain by hosting different groups of guests indoors allowing everyone the opportunity to venture in and out as they pleased. The celebrations went on untill late in the afternoon.

The College celebrated its Patronal Feast in an intimate and outgoing way. We gathered for Morning Prayer at 09.30 followed by a joyful celebration of the Eucharist at 11.30. The many College guests were invited for a splendid buffet dinner in the evening, beginning at 19.00: our fine garden is perfect for this. The small selection of pictures below will give a flavour of how the day unfolded. Happily, the threated rain did not materialize. Four members of the Ordination Year of 2013 were able to join us as part of the celebration of their tenth anniversary. We shared a ubique sense of closeness to Beda members around the world, living and dead; and, in particular, with the Beda Association.

Today the College celebrates our Patron, the Northumbrian Monk Bede, who died in the year 735 and is widely recognised as not only a great historian but also a great learned figure of Anglo-Saxon England. His scholarship covered a huge range of subjects, including commentaries on the bible, observations of nature, music and poetry. The Opening Prayer at Today’s Mass speaks of a marriage in the learned Monk of the gifts of wisdom and merit ( virtue ) and in our own lives as disciples of Christ Jesus we ask for his intercession and inspiration that we may emulate our Patron ! Here in Rome tomorrow we keep the Feast of Saint Philip Neri, known as ‘ il santo sorridente’ , the smiling Saint. In the work of evangelization let us call on both of these saintly figures so that WISDOM, VIRTUE and A SMILE will be our gifts to others today ! Saint Bede, pray for us !

12-14 May 2023 This was the last occasion when Year 4 would meet for a reflective ‘weedend away’. It focused on the whole formation/seminary experience and the prospect of crossing the threshold of leaving the College. There were lots of happy, poignant and courageous moments: memories, reminiscences and anticipations. The Divine Word retreat centre at Nemi had lots of memories too. Despite the drizzly weather, on Saturday afternoon a few responded to the urge to walk round the lake.

All of Year 1 received the Ministry of Reader at this joyful Wednesday evening Mass. They were joined by their guests and enjoyed a shared supper together afterwards. Each of the new Readers received a copy of The New Oxford Annotated Bible.

Guests were invited for a lovely afternoon tea in the garden in celebration of the Coronation of their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla

Seminarians of the Beda College participate in the Easter Sunday Mass with the Holy Father

It was a joy to celebrate Holy Week together without any Covid restrictions. You will find below a miscellany of photos covering Palm Sunday and the Easter Triduum. We were happy to have some guests staying with us as well. The Palm Sunday procession, the Washing of the Feet on Holy Thursday, the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday and the New Fire and Blessing of the Paschal Candle on Holy Saturday night all make for utterly captivating liturgy. Careful preparations and rehearsals made the celebrations easy, fluent and prayerful.

On Sunday 26 March the community of the Venerable English College came to the Beda for Mass and lunch. For twenty years the Beda – in alternate years during Lent - has hosted either the Scots/Irish Colleges or the VEC. We have called it the Oasis Sunday and it usually falls on mid-Lent Sunday. It is a warm and friendly occasion; celebrating Mass together, followed by lunch. It is quite remarkable how much better we know each other afterwards. This year Fr Stephen Wang (VEC Rector) preached at Mass and received a small gift from the Beda community to mark his twenty fifth anniversary of ordination.

Each year the College welcomes the representatives from the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales who have responsibility for the overseas seminaries. We were very happy to host Archbishop Mark O’Toole (Cardiff and Menevia), Archbishop John Wilson (Southwark) and Bishop John Sherrington (Westminster) for two days. It is a formal visitation, meeting with Personale, Students and Staff; checking out new developments and refurbishments in the House, and joining in the process of visioning for the future. It is fully immersive - a sort of experiential quarantore. In more relaxed mode – see photographs - it is sometimes referred to it as our annual MOT!

This was a happy day for three of our students as they were called to the Ministry of Acolyte. The Rector presided and encouraged the candidates to work for the ‘good of the Church’. Louis Osei osb, Cassian Shayo osb and Philip Thornley (Leeds) were supported by their guests and the whole College community. It was a joy to have so many Benedictines present for this joyous occasion.

3-5 March 2023 Nemi. This weekend on Human Development, with a focus on Sexuality, took place at the SVD Retreat House in Nemi from Friday 3 to Sunday 5 March 2023. It happens every other year, with Safeguarding being the theme for the alternate year. Fr Brendan has led sessions, very successfully, for us before. It was nicely paced with care being taken to ensure all the participants were not overwhelmed or uncomfortable. In fact, it was a ‘lift’ for everyone to be able to reflect on sexuality in a positive and joyful way. The large group numbered sixteen in total, and three smaller discussion groups worked in easy accord. It was an excellent combination of ‘input’ and ‘group reflection’.

The theme for Christian Unity Week this year is DO GOOD; SEEK JUSTICE (Isaiah 1:12-18). At the Beda we highlighted the theme linked to Day 8 of the ecumenical prayer cycle ‘The Justice that restores Communion’, using Ephesians 2:13-22 and Luke 18:1-8 as the other inspirational passages from Scripture. Our celebration took place on the evening of the Saturday in the Unity Octave. We were joined by many guests and members from other Christian communities in Rome. Fr Martin Brown osb, an official at the Dicastery for Christian Unity (Holy See) preached the homily. He has studied in Durham where he found a great affinity for St Bede. As a shared Symbolic Action we crafted sprigs of olive branch into a mesh-woven cross. The olive tree takes more than twenty years to produce fruit - indeed the one in the Beda orchard has only fruited in the last couple of years - and its branches betoken a climate of friendship in which that growth can happen. After the Service in church we joined our guests for a delightful Buffet Supper in the student common room.

The College brought the first term to an end on Friday 16 December at 18.15 by celebrating an Advent Service with the theme of Via Lucis. This enabled us to process between the three main gathering spaces in the College. We started in the Common Room with the Psalms of evening prayer, Readings and Advent songs. From there we processed into the corridor and from there to the Chapel. During exposition we heard five single voices singing carols in different languages, sang the Magnificat and received the blessing. Finally, we processed to the Dining Room where we shared intercessions, blessed food for a festive supper, and sang the Alma. Several guests attended.