Farm Street Church is putting on a special evening Mass to celebrate both St Ignatius Day and the 175th anniversary of the church's opening that occurred in 1849 on 31 July.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair, widely known as Farm Street Church, warmly invites people to come to the Solemn Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving in honour of St Ignatius Loyola on Wednesday 31 July at 6 p.m.
Bishop Nicholas Hudson will serve as the principal celebrant. Fr Paul Nicholson SJ will deliver the homily, joined by several Jesuit celebrants. <br><br>The occasion will include an additional reading, a special preface honouring St Ignatius, and a distinctive solemn blessing, “all adding to the significance and reverence of the event”, notes the organisers.
For those who cannot attend in person, the Mass will be live streamed <a href="https://www.farmstreet.org.uk/livestream" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">here</mark></a><strong><a href="https://www.farmstreet.org.uk/livestream" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">.</mark></a></strong>
The celebration will also feature an "uplifting" musical programme with performances by the Farm Street Choir, a trumpeter, and the church's organist.
Key highlights during the special Mass will include the blessing and inaugural use of a new processional cross, the ceremonial lighting of the St Ignatius statue on the left side of the altar, and the grand finale: the <em>Te Deum</em>, a powerful hymn of praise and thanksgiving.
This Solemn Mass is part of Farm Street Church's Jubilee 175 celebrations, which also includes a novena in honour of St Ignatius that began on 22 July and is concluding on 30 July. Those involved have said they extend “a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has joined in this period of prayer and reflection”.<br><br>Other later events planned as part of the celebrations include an ecumenical pilgrimage to Canterbury in the autumn and a Jubilee Ball on 5 October at the Savile Club.
A Solemn Mass celebrated by Cardinal Vincent Nichols on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady will close the Jubilee year.
Farm Street Church first opened its doors on 31 July 1849, the Solemnity of Saint Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It opened its doors "as the Jesuits’ flagship city centre London church", <a href="https://www.farmstreet.org.uk/Our-church"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">notes</mark></a> the church's website.<br><br>Its opening back then represented the accomplishment of a plan "conceived on a bold and imaginative scale" following Catholic emancipation in 1829, when the position of Catholics in England became easier, for a permanent Jesuit church to be established in London.<br><br>"It showed extraordinary vision and courage on the part of the Superior of the English Jesuits, Fr Randal Lythgoe, to have a church built to seat as many as 900 people," notes the church website.
"Throughout our long history we have been well known for different reasons, including as a community welcoming converts to Roman Catholicism, famous writers, and for challenging preaching and beautiful music and art. <br><br>"Over the past 170 years many have regularly travelled some distance to worship in this church and to seek the help and advice of the succeeding generations of priests who have served here."
An anniversary fundraising campaign has been launched to support the church's refurbishment and repairs, charitable work, and the Catholic Listeners project.<br><br><em>Photo: The interior of Farm Street Church; screenshot from <a href="https://www.nikreations.co.uk/indie360/farmstchurch/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">www.nikreations.co.uk/indie360/farmstchurch/</mark></a>.</em>
<strong>For more information about the Jubilee celebrations and the fundraising campaign, please visit <a href="https://www.farmstreet.org.uk/jubilee-175" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Jubilee 175 - Farm Street Church</mark></a></strong>.
