St. Mary's dates from 1158. If it was built to hold the statue then Our Lady of Cardigan is indeed ancient. It resembles an earlier shrine in the city of Arras, which was then in Flanders. Did Flemish merchants, who settled in Cardigan and traded in Welsh wool out of the port, bring the statue back with them?
Outside town, on the old pilgrim track, lie the ruins of a building by a stream. It is called Capel Bach (Little Chapel), and may have been an oratory where travellers prayed before walking the last mile to the shrine. It is the same distance from St. Mary's as Walsingham Slipper Chapel is from the shrine there.
The windows shown at the top of the page are from Our Lady of
the Taper. They depict, in stained glass, Welsh flowers associated
with the name of Mary (Mair)
Some Pictures of Life at the National
Shrine
St David’s Day Pilgrimage 2010
Father Jason Jones gave a homily on the
Cure of Ars and his close relationship with
St,. Philomena and Pauline Jaricot. He
concluded by encouraging the congregation
to seek the intercessory prayers of Sister
Philomena and to join the Living Rosary
Association.
A short tea break allowed time for pilgrims
to select Living Rosary Association
Literature and to sign up for their Decade.
Holy Hour and Benediction followed and the
Five Glorious Mysteries of the Most Holy
Rosary were said. The Litany of St
Philomena was sung, and then a blessing
given with the oil of St Philomena. The
concluding act of devotion was a blessing
with a first class relic.
We look forward to welcoming the
Association in 2010!
Pilgrimage On St David’s Day, a group from Our Lady of the Taper in Cardigan set off on our annual pilgrimage to St Non’s and St David’s.
Our bus took us to St Non’s first, where Fr. Jason celebrated Holy Mass in the tranquil simplicity of St Non’s Chapel. We were blessed by a glorious day. The view from the Chapel and Retreat Centre are breathtaking in any weather but that day we saw the panorama of sky and sea at its very best.
The Sisters of Mercy who look after the Retreat Centre next to the Chapel, provided us with a delicious and generous lunch.
Afterwards, there was time to wander down to visit St Non’s Well and the ruins of the older chapel or simply to sit on a bench outside the Centre in the warmth of the early spring sun and be with the sisters who took time from their busy schedule to come and chat.
Then, after affectionate farewells with Sisters Alma, Joanna and Nora, our coach whisked us into St David’s. We had the whole afternoon there, which gave everyone a chance to explore the St David’s Day market, the town, the Cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace.
This still left time to enjoy a cup of tea and relax, before rejoining the bus and singing our way home to Cardigan.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our driver who gave us such a smooth journey – no easy feat in the narrow lane leading down to the Chapel! And, of course, our thanks go again to the dear Sisters for their kindness and hospitality.
The Chapel of St Non
Feast of the Assumption
Latin Mass Society Pilgrimage
Latin Mass in Henllan Chapel: Feast of the Holy Cross
September 14th
Latin Mass on the Feast of the Holy Cross celebrated in ex Italian PoW Chapel
Mass in the Extraordinary Form was celebrated, on the Feast of The Holy Cross, in a Nissan hut in Henllan, West Wales. The hut is the framework to a small Chapel created lovingly by Italian prisoners of war in the final years of World War II. The original Nissan hut is part of a PoW camp where both German and Italian servicemen were held.
Mass in the Extraordinary Form was celebrated, on the Feast of The Holy Cross, in a Nissan hut in Henllan, West Wales. The hut is the framework to a small Chapel created lovingly by Italian prisoners of war in the final years of World War II. The original Nissan hut is part of a PoW camp where both German and Italian servicemen were held.
One of the main artists responsible for creating images of St Joseph, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Papal Flag, Mario Ferito, died only this year. He and his fellow servicemen made pigments from vegetable juices and painted the aisle arches in a fresco style and the sanctuary area and pillars (made of corrugated cardboard) with a faux marble effect.
Tin, from corned (bully) beef tins was used to make candle sticks which look uncannily three dimensional despite being totally flat.
All artwork in the Chapel leads the eye to the primitive painting of The Last Supper in the apse, a lasting testament to the devotion of men held prisoner many miles from their families and loved ones.
The Missa Cantata, in thanksgiving for the second anniversary of the Motu Proprio was celebrated by Father Jason Jones, Rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady in Wales at nearby Cardigan and whose parish embraces Henllan.
What a perfectly beautiful and fitting way to celebrate this
feast day and this anniversary–and to honour men who made
something good in a bad situation!
feast day and this anniversary–and to honour men who made
something good in a bad situation!
Blessing with the oil of St.Philomena
