Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster described the events of yesterday in which the Pope gave addresses in Westminster Hall, Westminster Abbey, and Lambeth Palace as “astonishing.”
It was the first time the Successor of Peter had ever set foot in any of these historic buildings which have been pillars of Church and State in Britain for the past two millennia.
In his first briefing of the visit to journalists today, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the welcome the Pope received at Westminster Hall and Abbey were “extraordinary”. He added that the Pope was “very impressed” by the richness of the Anglican liturgy in Westminster Abbey.
Someone has put up three videos of the early part of the service from Westminster Abbey here, here, and here. Perhaps the remainder including the Pope’s address will turn up some time. It was, remarkable!
Update: The Evening Prayer Service in which the ABC, Dean of Westminster and Bishops of the Church of England welcomed the Pope and their Catholic brethren to Westminster Abbey is now available to watch here. It was the culmination of what I agree with AB Nicholls was an ‘astonishing’ day and which may have done immediately more for Anglican/Catholic relations than 50 years of meetings and two ARCIC engagements. We will have to see.
Do watch it if you get the chance. It is fabulous.
The Order of Service is here
I’ve been thinking about this and the events of Friday. The Pope made the point I think both at Lambeth Palace, and again at Westminster Abbey, that as far as the difficulties that there are in the relationship between the Anglican and RC churches that he had decided to place them in the hands of God for his aid.
Considering what happened on Friday and in particular the Abbey service, I wondered if in fact God had started to answer his prayer through His Holy Spirit in what happened and the joy that radiated from these events.
I suppose we will have to wait and see if indeed this was a movement of the Spirit, but so far it seemed encouraging, which is one of the marks.