Future events at the Shrine of Saint Jude - 2016

We have a number of events coming up at the National Shrine of Saint Jude:

Children's Mass

For the first time, a shared Mass will be celebrated at the National Shrine of Saint Jude in honour of the Infant of Prague and all children.Simply add the name(s) of a child with a message on our donation site.

Those listed can be your child, someone else’s child, or a child who has passed away. You can add a name, here.

Anyone is welcome to attend our Mass, which will be celebrated on 23 September 2016 at 11am.


Feast of Saint Jude

Friday 28 October
12.00 - Saint Jude Mass with the Blessing of Oil and Anointing
16.00 - Saint Jude Mass with the Blessing of Oil and Anointing

Saturday 29 October
12.00 - Saint Jude Mass with the Blessing of Oil and Anointing
14.00 - Saint Jude Mass with the Blessing of Oil and Anointing

Sunday 30 October
12.30 - Saint Jude Mass with the Blessing of Oil and Anointing
14.30 - Saint Jude Mass with the Blessing of Oil and Anointing

All welcome

Christmas Carols at the Shrine
3 December 2016

Christmas Carols at the Shrine. We will be singing all the great carols in the Shrine of Saint Jude. All our visitors will be able to sing with our musicians.

Mince pies, mulled wine, teas and coffees and fruit juice available. A book stall with lots of fiction and non-fiction will be available too. The whole day will be a great Christmas celebration.

All welcome. Carol singing starts at 2.30pm, but there will be plenty of activities before and after.

Novena for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel: 8 - 16 July 2016

The novena from the National Shrine of Saint Jude for Our Lady of Mount Carmel begins today. The novena is for the nine days leading up to the Feast of Our Lady of Carmel, which falls on 16 July. You can pray the novena in private, with your friends or family, or in a group.

Statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, National Shrine of Saint Jude

O God, 

you have given us Mary as our Mother

and, through the Order of Carmel, 

we learn to call her sister.

May we imitate her goodness and faith

and be ever joyful in the wonderful things

you have done for us.

May Mary watch over and protect us

on our pilgrim way to your holy mountain,

Christ the Lord.

We make our prayer through the same Christ, 

Our Lord. Amen.

Make your special request now

Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory be...

Once again, a shared Mass will be celebrated at the National Shrine of Saint Jude in honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and all mothers and grandmothers. Simply add the name(s) of a mother, or grandmother via our special page.

Our Lady of Aberdeen

On Saturday 9^th July, Scotland celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Aberdeen. Not so long ago we had a community in Aberdeen and thus I have a few words about this feast. 

The website “The moving story of the statue of Our Lady of Aberdeen” gives us plenty. It tells us that the story of this small wooden statue is a fascinating tale of survival. It was made from oak in Aberdeen in the early 1500s, was placed in St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen. It was known as Our Lady of Pity. Bishop Gavin Dunbar (Bishop of Aberdeen from 1518 to 1532) wanted a bridge over the river Dee. However, where to put it? He prayed to Our Lady and in a vision was given the exact location. It was completed in 1527 and it is still there. 

During the Reformation the statue was moved from place to place for safekeeping. However, the persecution became more intense and it was decided that the only way to ensure its survival was to send it abroad. Several miracles occurred to get it eventually to Isabella, the Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. She lived in Brussels, where the statue is today under the title of “Notre Dame du Bob Succes” – Isabella having successfully won the battle against the Dutch United Provinces! 

Like Isabella and all the others involved with this statue let us turn in confidence to Our Lady for her powerful intercession for whatever battles we are facing! 

Fr Piet Wijngaard, O.Carm.

Photo(s) of the Month - July 2016

Summer (with rain) has arrived at the Shrine of Saint Jude. Fr Piet and the community have worked wonders. These special photos show some of the beautiful flowers that are growing in our gardens at the moment. We'll add more here next week.

Goodbye and Welcome - Chaplain

After two years as our Chaplain, Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm will be leaving for pastures new to assist in Aylesford Priory (our sister shrine). We are very pleased to welcome Fr Brendan Grady, O.Carm as his successor. Thank you Fr Michael for all your work with the National Shrine of Saint Jude, and welcome to Fr Brendan who we are looking forward to working with.

Later this month, we will introduce Fr Brendan on our blog, but first, Fr Michael wanted to say some final words:

"Well, the Summer Celebration is over for another year and this year I was not a part of it; except through prayer. I hope that everyone had a good Summer Celebration with Fr. Damian.

As is usual with religious orders I was asked if I would take up another appointment and I agreed to this and left Faversham on the 16th May.  I shall miss the Shrine of Saint Jude, the pilgrims and visitors, and the gardens.  But I will also miss the team of which I was a part: Matt, Rachael and Kevin.  I think we gelled as a team and got on well as friends; something you cannot always guarantee.  

My new appointment is at The Friars, Aylesford.  Not far away; only 35 minutes down the M2 so once I have settled in I hope to come down and visit now and again.

One of the things I did especially enjoy was the writing of letters to all the people who had asked for advice or wanted a little support with a difficult situation.  I hope that those who received letters from me found them to be helpful and a comfort in times of pain.  Here in Aylesford we also have a Blog called A Prayer in Stone and I will be taking up the writing of entries for that again, now that I am in Aylesford.  The photo below is the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption, the patron of the Carmelite Province which graces the shrine at Aylesford.

Thank you for all your support and prayers.  God Bless you and I’ll keep the Shrine and the Guild of Saint Jude in my prayers."

Thank you, Fr Michael. Saint Jude, pray for us.

Photo of the Month - June 2016

The National Shrine of Saint Jude repository has started to receive a bit of freshening up. Last week, we replaced the old boards with new display boards on the Repository wall. Each display board is full of information on the Shrine, our three societies, the Guild of Saint Jude, and much more. 

This is only phase one of the changes in the Repository, please watch this space for more...

If you would to donate towards our work at the Shrine, please visit our on-line donation site. Thank you.

Appeal from the Catholic Association Pilgrimage to Lourdes

Appeal from the Catholic Association Pilgrimage to Lourdes

The Catholic Association (CA) Pilgrimage to Lourdes has over a hundred years’ experience of bringing pilgrims to the shrine each August. At the heart of the CA are the volunteer helpers (medical and non-medical) making sure that the assisted pilgrims (sick and disabled) have the best possible week in Lourdes. The volunteer helpers and the assisted pilgrims are at the forefront of the CA’s mission in Lourdes, making sure everyone has a good and holy week.

This month, the CA has initiated a campaign to seek potential volunteer-helpers (non-medical and medical), and assisted pilgrims (the sick and disabled) who may be interested in coming on Pilgrimage to the shrine. Our Pilgrimage takes place on 19 – 26 August 2016. Possible funding is available to new volunteer helpers and assisted pilgrims. Our volunteer helpers do not have to be medically trained – the CA needs lots of non-medical volunteers to help too.

Bishop Paul Hendricks, Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark and chairman of the Catholic Association, stated "..each year, it is important to provide as many opportunities for new volunteers and new assisted pilgrims to come on our pilgrimage to Lourdes, and we welcome anyone interested in joining us on pilgrimage to the beautiful shrine of Our Lady.”

All volunteers are invited to a preparation day before the pilgrimage to prepare each of them for the work in August. There are also many working opportunities available as a volunteer helper: working in the mixed teams; working in the dining room; or on ceremonies; and so much more.

If you would like to come on pilgrimage with the Catholic Association in August, please note that the deadline for sending in your application form has been extended to 15 June. Please visit our website www.catholicassociation.co.uk, or visit http://tinyurl.com/CAPilgrimage2016 to download forms, or alternatively please contact Tangney Tours on 01732 886666 for more information.