The Father Ignatius Memorial Trust N E W S L E T T E R No. 44 Spring 2016 Fr Ignatius with his adopted‘Fr Ignatius son ‘Brother preaching David’ (William at a LeycesterWelsh FestivalLyne, né Pritchard), in Newport’: his wife Thomasina and their childrenthe Leycester National William Eisteddfod Dewi (1893-1957) of 1897. andThis Josephine year Mary Abergavenny Thomasina Lucy plays Gwendoline host to (1897-1966). this important annual event (29 July–6 August), This photographand was the taken Trust at Maes-y-ffin will be represented in the summer in of Y 1907. Lle Hanes (the History Tent). 2 The ecumenical Father Ignatius Memorial Trust was established in 1967 to care for the ruins of the Abbey Church at Capel-y-Ffin built by Fr Ignatius OSB (Joseph Leycester Lyne 1837-1908), first restorer of monastic life for men in the Church of England and popular mission preacher, and to keep his memory alive. Fr Ignatius’ body is buried within the church; further information about him can be found on the Trust website: www.fatherignatius.org.uk Charity Commissioners’ Registration No.253225 Trustees Contents Caroline Woollard (Hon Chairman), 1 Cover Photo: Fr Ignatius Hugh Allen, Peter Davies (Hon Secretary) at Newport Eisteddfod, 1897 Revd Canon Philip Wyn Davies SSC, 3 Letter from the Chairman Revd Jeremy Dowding SSC, Caroline Woollard Andrew Downey (Master of Ceremonies) 5 Statue of St Aelred for Caldey Andrew Knill (Hon Treasurer) Philip Chatfield Stanley Knill, Deborah Lyne (Emeritus) Rachael C. Rogers (Curator, 9 New Book Review Martin Williams Abergavenny Museum), Rev Bernard Sixtus, 10 Pilgrimage 2015 Venerable Martin Williams, Report & Photos Revd Richard Williams, 12 Pilgrimage 2017 Michael Woodward (Newsletter Editor) Details of Programme Consultant: Philip Chatfield 12 The Pilgrimage Association Caroline Woollard Update on the Trust & Trustees Welcome to the 2016 Fr Ignatius Memorial Trust Newsletter; we very much hope you will enjoy reading it and learning more about the work of the Trust. The last year has seen changes in the running of the Trust, with a new Chairman and Secretary, and with the retirement of some of the Trustees. Caroline Woollard, our new Chairman (she prefers the term to ‘chairperson’ or even, heaven forbid, ‘chair’), was Secretary of the Trust and the Pilgrimage Association for six years; Dr Peter Davies, having retired as a GP in Abergavenny, now takes on those rôles. Dr Davies is the son of the late Wilfred and Helen Davies—Wilf was one of the original Trustees and the family lived at the Monastery. 3 From the Chairman. We should like to wish her well Feast of The Ascension, 2016 and thank her for all her hard work for the Trust. We are delighted that Dear Friends and Fellow Pilgrims, Deborah has agreed to become an Emeritus Trustee and so will Charity Commissioners’ As mentioned above, this last year continue her long association with Registration No.253225 has seen changes in the running the Trust. I remember the first time of the Trust without, however, Deborah and I spoke about the losing the wealth of experience and pilgrimage and, teasingly, I advised knowledge vital for any charity to her to ‘bring her wellies’. That year, continue effectively. however, the day was fine and the Hugh Allen, our outgoing chair- walking good—my first year, the man, continues to be a Trustee weather was foul and there were and I would like to place on record only three of us battling through our thanks for his hard work and the driving rain (it’s the only time dedication to the cause. His chair- it’s been such bad weather in recent manship of meetings, research times, though). into various aspects of Fr Ignatius’ Some of you will have never life and travels around the country been on the pilgrimage so below on the Trust’s behalf have been is a report on last year’s, which carried out with dedication also explains a little bit about its and good humour. Later in this history. newsletter is a review of Hugh’s This year, on August 20th, the book about the ‘New Llanthony pilgrims will walk the easier route, Abbey’. Copies should be available which is mostly along tracks rather at the National Eisteddfod and at than open hillside, although that our August Pilgrimage, as well as way will obviously still be available through Amazon. for the hardier walkers. We are sorry to report the death Lifts back to Llanthony are organ- on May 6th this year of Fr Roger ised at the end of the afternoon Shambrook, a Trustee of over thirty with those pilgrims who choose years standing. An appreciation will to drive between the two churches. be included in the next Newsletter. We are lucky to have two local Deborah Lyne, daughter of Douglas priests for our preachers this Lyne who was a former archivist year. At the midday Mass, the of the Trust and a relative of Fr Revd Canon Mark Soady, Vicar of Ignatius (whose family name was Abergavenny, will address us. The Lyne) has now retired as a Trustee. parish church of Abergavenny 4 ...the Chairman continues is dedicated to St Mary and, in traditional Anglican Evensong and particular, her Assumption, and we will explore the possibility of was founded nearly 1,000 years one based on Eastern Orthodox ago as a Benedictine Priory, from liturgy for 2017, as a number of Le Mans. our pilgrims are from that Church. Two years ago, the Priory founded At the end of that service, we the Holywell Community of young process to the Monastery, past the people who live in the spirit of the wayside Calvary to the Statue of Rule of Benedict, working for the Our Lady and the Abbey Church. church and for the community. At In previous years, we have been our afternoon service, the preacher able to finish the day inside the will be the Revd Julian Gray, Vicar ruins of the Abbey Church but, of Llantilio Pertholey since October unfortunately, the building is not 2014. safe so this year we will not be able He is shortly to take over responsi- to do so. The procession will end bility for the Llanfihangel group of just short of the gate to the ruins, parishes, which include Cwmyoy although it will still be possible to (with its crooked tower) and St see Fr Ignatius’ grave from there. David’s, Llanthony. I very much hope to see you at the At our last meeting, the Trustees pilgrimage on August 20th. decided the afternoon ecumenical Best wishes service will take the form of a Caroline Woollard 5 Statue of St Aelred for Caldey Centenary gift from the Benedictines of Pluscarden and Prinknash to mark the 1913 Conversion hile working on the stone Wcarvings for the squint arch- es at Pluscarden Abbey in 2013, which was part of the centenary commemorating the conversion of the Caldey Anglican Benedictines to Rome in 1913, I was approached by the Oblate Master Fr Martin Birrell OSB with a proposition. Would I be able to create something for the Benedictines of Pluscarden and Prinknash Abbeys to give to the Cistercians of Caldey Abbey to mark this significant milestone landmark in Philip Chatfield, Sculptor their story? After some discussion in the cloister at Pluscarden after was basically a generic saint-like Mass, Fr Martin and I thought that figure but he would be holding an a carved stone statue of St Aelred open book in his left arm and his would be an acceptable offering right hand be raised in benediction. to Caldey. Abbot Aelred Carlyle I would carve this in stone from the OSB was the central figure in the Forest of Dean. Behind the head 1913 Caldey Conversions, and of Aelred would be a saintly halo. Aelred of Rievaulx the saint from The stone figure would stand over whom Benjamin Fearnley Carlyle a metre in height, a heavy block of took his monastic name. St Aelred stone even at that size. of course wrote several books on The initial idea of Fr Martin was spirituality, principal among them that funds for the making of this being Speculum Caritatis (‘The Mirror gift would be drawn from dona- of Charity’), written at the request tions raised among the Benedictine of Bernard of Clairvaux. Oblates themselves but this was soon I then developed the idea into a overruled as the project was to be working sketch and presented this funded half from Pluscarden and to Fr Martin for discussion among half from Prinknash, a gift directly his brethren. The figure of St Aelred from the brethren. It wasn’t long 6 before Br Michael de Klerk, the would mean longer stays there than Cellarer at Pluscarden, gave me one might have time for, and the the green light to proceed. Clearly logistics were not working out. all had been agreed between the Abbot Francis replied that he two Abbeys and I was then able to would be very happy for me to place an order with the quarry in spend some time working at the Forest of Dean. This is the same Prinknash. The Guest Brother soon quarry I have used for years and arranged for my lodging in a cell has provided me with good qual- in the Guest wing, and in the late ity carving stone for the statue of summer I set off in the laden Land the Blessed Virgin Mary at St Mary Rover for Prinknash. and St Florent at Monmouth, and Once there I had to sort out a place for Our Lady of Tintern at Tintern to work the stone, and a suitable Abb ey.