Domenico Barberi was born near Viterbo in Italy on 22 June 1792. Having entered the Passionist Order in Italy, he had a great desire to minister in England and to assist the spread of the Faith and, having spent some time establishing a Passionist Mission in Belgium, his desire was fulfilled when in 1842 he was instrumental in establishing a Passionist Mission at Aston Hall in Staffordshire.

Dominic is perhaps best known as the one to whom John Henry Newman made his Confession and was then received into the Roman Catholic Church at Littlemore just outside Oxford, on 9 October 1845.

Why the history lesson? Because we are privileged in the Diocese to have the burial place of Blessed Dominic Barberi in the Passionist Shrine attached to the Church of Saint Anne and Blessed Dominic at Sutton, St Helens.

A couple of years ago, at a Birmingham Diocesan pilgrimage to Sutton, Archbishop Bernard Longley said: ‘The example of Blessed Dominic encourages us in our own Christian vocation; we need to extend ourselves beyond what is familiar and comfortable, and be prepared to reach out into unfamiliar territory.

‘With Blessed Dominic we can be confident that we will not do so alone. The pattern of ministry that we see in his life shows us that our Lord will always be at our side to guide and strengthen us – and that he will inevitably send us companions to share the work he has entrusted to us.’

On the Feast of the Epiphany a proclamation was made in the Liturgy which helps us understand why we keep Saints' days through the year. It said: ‘The pilgrim Church proclaims the passover of Christ in the feasts of the holy Mother of God, in the feasts of the Apostles and Saints, and in the commemoration of the faithful departed.’

The Saints are never recalled simply as a matter of keeping the historical memory alive. Above all, they issue to us an invitation and an encouragement so that you and I can live out our Baptismal Consecration today, in the place where we find ourselves and in the circumstances which present themselves. This, for us, is our way of proclaiming that the passover of Christ (that is, His Passion, Death and Resurrection) is the true model and inspiration for our living.

Blessed Dominic Barberi and Saint John Henry Newman - pray for us.

 

The Annual Pilgrimage in honour of Blessed Dominic Barberi will be held at Saint Anne & Blessed Dominic Church in Sutton, St Helens on Monday 29th August 2022 with Mass at 12.00 noon. The chief celebrant will be Fr Jim Sweeney CP.