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| A portrait of Fr. Elias Lynch, O.Carm. |
The development of Faversham into a centre of devotion to St. Jude arose out of the work of the Carmelite Press.
The Press (which today has been superseded by Saint Albert's Press) was founded in 1938 to support the work of the Carmelite friars, then only recently re-established in England after a gap of four hundred years. The Press printed a newsletter, Carmelite News, which kept supporters of the friars in touch with their developments at Faversham and across the country. Carmelite News is still sent out to Saint Jude supporters today.
In the early 1950s Fr. Elias received an increasing number of requests from readers of Carmelite News for prayer cards of St. Jude. Having distributed such a card, donations to "The Shrine of St. Jude" and requests for prayers started flooding in. Such a shrine did not exist, but perceiving the need Fr. Elias quickly developed a place of prayer and devotion to the Apostle Jude alongside the parish church in Faversham.
On 28th October 1955, the Bishop of Southwark Cyril Cowderoy, assisted by the Prior General of the Carmelite Order, the Prior of Aylesford, and many other priests and religious, dedicated the Shrine of St Jude. Bishop Cyril described the shrine as "a jewel for the diocese".
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