A new Archbishiop for Liverpool

We had a good couple of days with our friends at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral for the installation of the new Metropolitan Archbishop John Sherrington. 4 members of the Central Council joined the serving team for the Mass and the Guild was very well represented in the local serving team.

We started the day before with an extensive rehearsal, most priests and deacons of the diocese were expected to be in attendance, as well as all the bishops of England and Wales. Various Civic dignitaries were also expected as were ecumenical guests representing the other faiths active in Merseyside. All of these had to be led in procession in to the Cathedral from the sacristy and other locations around the church, so it was import to get the long procession and the timing right.

After a hasty exit to avoid the crowds attending the Liverpool FC champions parade, we returned early the following day to prepare for the Mass. Gradually the Bishops of England and Wales, Clergy, Choir and other guests started to arrive in the vast Sacristy complex located under the cathedral nave, along with the Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, Cardinal Nichols and the outgoing archbishop, Malcolm McMahon.

Once the long procession of guests and clergy into the Cathedral was completed, the time came for Archbishop-Elect John Sherrington to take procession of the Cathedral and the Archdiocese. The archbishop starts outside the cathedral and knocks on the Cathedral door to be admitted, on entering the cathedral, the Nuncio reads the apostolic letter from the Pope, in this case the late Pope Francis. He is then led to the Cathedra by the Provest of the Chapter of Canons, Rev. Monsignor Anthony O’Brien, and installed, receiving first the Book of the Gospels and finally, in a moving moment, receiving the Crozier from the outgoing Archbishop who, at that moment himself becomes Archbishop Emeritus.

“The late Holy Father, Pope Francis, chose you to be shepherd of the people of the Church of Liverpool. With prayerful confidence and trust I hand you the shepherd's staff, as a sign of the office of shepherd and of your ministry. May the Lord sustain you as you watch over all the flock of this Archdiocese to which the Holy Spirit has assigned you as Archbishop to serve the Church of God.”

All that was left was for the representatives of the various areas of diocesan life, Clergy, Religious, lay people, other faiths and various civic authorities to greet the new archbishop.

The joy of the occasion was tinged with the terrible event in Liverpool city centre the previous evening, a car running over and injuring dozens of people, the new Archbishop reflecting in his homily that the “Shadow of the Cross is never far away”, keeping all those impacted and the emergency services in our prayers, the Metropolitan Cathedral being known locally as the personification of the soul of the city.

Cardinal Nichols, a native of Merseyside, reflected on the loss of his Auxiliary Bishop John Sherrington, from his own Archdiocese of Westminster, and his personal connection to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, that has seen so many great occasions like today, the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress in 2018 and the visit of Pope John-Paul II; and been there in times of crisis such as the previous evening and remembering particularly the time of the ‘Hillsborough Disaster’.

Our thanks to all those involved in this grand occasion especially the MCs and cathedral staff who worked up to this day for several months prior.

You can find our photos from the Mass on our Flickr page, or those of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales, or the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

You can find the Order of Service and the Homily on the Archdiocese website.