Holy Mass returns to Bayham Abbey ruins
Photos & homily from the Mass in honour of St Norbert
For only the second time since the Reformation, the Holy Mass has been offered within the ruined walls of Bayham Abbey in Kent.
The Mass at the ruins of the Old Abbey, celebrated by Fr Stephen Morrison O.Præm, according to the traditional Roman rite in the Premonstratensian usage, was the culmination of a special day commemorating its original Norbertine heritage.
In his homily, Fr Stephen said:
“I am privileged to offer the Holy Sacrifice again here on this sacred ground, the once rang to the chant of the Divine Office, and no fewer than three daily Masses. We give thanks for that continuity we find in the Church. We give thanks for our faith, the faith of our fathers, and we give thanks that out of the ruins of worldly crises, God continues to plant the seeds of new growth…
“May we treasure the Holy Mass to our dying breath and draw from it the grace to become Saints in the times that it has pleased Almighty God to place us. Holy Father Norbert, pray for us.”
This year is the 900th anniversary of the Papal Bull, Apostolicæ Disciplinæ of Pope Honorius II approving the Order of The Canons Regular of Prémontré.
Prior to the Mass, there was a chant workshop, short historical talks and a family rosary. The day concluded with veneration of the relic of St Nobert. Further details on the day, including the history of the site, are available here.
Bayham Abbey was founded in 1208 by the Premonstratensian Canons, known as the Norbertines after their founder, St Norbert. Bayham Abbey stood as one of around thirty Norbertine houses in England until its dissolution under Cardinal Wolsey, decades before the wider destruction of the monasteries under Henry VIII. The site passed into secular hands during the reign of Elizabeth I.
This special event was organised by wonderful volunteers, including Liz Corcoran, in collaboration with Fr Stephen from the Norbertine Canons, English Heritage, Dr Matthew Ward and the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge, Alan Gardener and the Latin Mass Society, Dr Mary Alexander and Fr Ed Tomlinson.
