From the Church of Our Lady of Victories, Kensington
Order of Service:
Scripture Reading: Gospel of the 5th Sunday after Easter (John xvi, 23-30)
Hymn, Soul of my Saviour (Westminster Hymnal, No. 74)
Address by the Rev. John P. ABENDZEN, D.D., D.Ph., M.A.
(For 8.45-10-30 Programmes see opposite page)
Our Lady of Victories, Kensington, from which a Service will be relayed by London and other stations tonight at 8.0.
STANDING back from the roar and torrent of the great west way, within a few minutes of the fashionable West End stores, and getting, now and then, some of the spring scents of Kensington Gardens, stands Our Lady of Victories, one of those well-known Catholic churches which draw crowded congregations to the Sunday midday Mass, and all through the week provides a quiet spot for silent worship. Inside the comparatively modern building-for it was only opened in 1869-even the casual passer-by, looking in for a moment out of curiosity, is moved to reverence, and pauses at the back of the dim, restful, and peace-giving place. The church is dedicated to 'Our Lady, Help of Christians,' a name which Dr. Owen quietly declares to mean exactly the same as Our Lady of Victories. Besides being known throughout Catholic London as a church where one can hear preachers of noted eloquence, it is known amongst those who worship there as a church which helps quiet devotion and private meditation. Although so recent in its history, it has crowded into its sixty years of service great and wonderful events. For a time it served as the Pro-Cathedral for the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. Here Cardinal Manning preached his wonderful sermons to West End London on Sundays, and from here he went on Mondays to fight the dockers' battles in the East End, during the stirring days when John Burns and his friends struggled for the dockers' historic ' tanner.' There are still those who remember Cardinal Manning preaching in the remarkably large pulpit of Our Lady of Victories. He was not one of those who confine themselves to a fifteen minutes' sermon, and always, when he preached, two acolytes stood in the pulpit with him, one on each side, holding . candles. For these the sympathy of the younger members of the congregation, unable to appreciate the eloquence of the Cardinal-Archbishop, was intense. The service to be broadcast from Our Lady of Victories on this Sunday evening will be of a musical character. The Rev. John P. Arendzen, the preacher, is one of the most eloquent of Catholic leaders today. The choir, though not a large company, has always had a reputation for its beautiful singing. The organist, Mr. Joseph Weardale, Mus.Bac., F.R.C.O., L.T.C.L., is one of the coming musicians of London's churches, and it is due to his untiring efforts that the choir has arrived at its present success. Though the church is generally considered as belonging to the fashionable area of London, it serves a very large population. Amongst those who frequently preach there is Father-Martindale, well known to B.B C. listeners. The church, though opened in 1869, was not consecrated until 1901. 'How could it be?' said Dr. Owen. 'There was a debt upon the building, and we cannot consecrate that which does not entirely belong to the Church.' The diamond jubilee of the church will be celebrated on May 24 of this year, when there will be real thanksgiving for all that has been accomplished during the past sixty years. MAURICE WHITLOW.
