Installation of Bishop Richard Moth

(for photos of the Installation Ceremony, please refer to Mazur Installation  )

Yesterday Richard Moth was installed as the fifth Bishop of Arundel & Brighton Diocese on the same date as the diocese itself was established, fifty years ago.

The cathedral of Our Lady & St Philip Howard at Arundel was the scene of a spectacular ceremony, with all the pomp, stirring music and solemnity that the occasion merited. There were two Cardinals, two Archbishops, more than 20 Bishops, around 200 priests and deacons, representatives of Pope Francis, the Queen and civic dignitaries, a mace bearer, clergy of other faiths and several hundred guests.

There were also Knights and Dames of several Orders – and two particularly caught my eye; the Knights of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem were dressed in long white wool capes reaching almost to their ankles, embroidered on the shoulder with the red cross of the order, and wearing large, floppy black berets, while their wives, the Dames, were equally majestic in ankle-length black velvet capes and black mantilla lace veils; the Knights of Saint Gregory the Great were dressed in natty green uniforms, beribboned black beaver-felt hats with ostrich feathers, pearl-handled short swords at their sides. (If you’re wondering, I wore a blue hound’s tooth jacket crafted some 20 years ago by Gilberto’s of New York and a silver diamond-patterned tie, St Michael’s brand...no hat.)

The ceremony began just before 3pm with soaring organ music, pieces by Bach, Vaughan Williams and Foster, while the dignitaries processed down the aisle to their seats, followed by a seemingly never-ending procession of clergy; tall and small, skinny and tubby, sprightly and arthritic, hirsute and bald, rigidly focused and gazing around, solemn and jovial.

As they entered we sang a litany of praise to the saints – 124 names in all, read in batches of between five and 13 at a time, interspersed by the sung appeal ‘Saints of God, come to our aid!...’ It seemed interminable and I suspect we were all relived when we could resume our seats.

My seat was on the right side of the nave, facing the altar, which was about fifty feet away, partly obscured by two large pillars. On the wall just above me was a consecration cross, marking the point where the Bishop had anointed the wall with chrism or holy water on its consecration. As is common, there was a candle-holder fixed to the wall in front of the cross. It held a small burning candle and I watched in fascination as the candle burned down completely during the ceremony, hot wax spilling over the edge and narrowly missing the lady in front of me.

‘Please turn to face the west door.’ The command was given and we all stood and faced the main entrance door. The Provost and Chapter of Cannons formally welcomed Bishop Richard Moth, and then the cathedral clergy, led by the Dean Tim Madeley, entered the cathedral and processed the Bishop to the sacristy where he vested for Mass. At this point the organ and massed choir gave tremendous voice to Newman’s popular hymn that begins ‘Praise to the Holiest in the height, and in the depth be praise’.

The Holy Mass then began, presided over initially by Archbishop Peter Smith, Metropolitan of Southwark Diocese, who acted as Apostolic Administrator of the Arundel & Brighton Diocese following the resignation of the previous bishop, Kieran Conry.

‘Have we a mandate from the Holy See?’ queried the Archbishop in a loud stage voice. Well, of course we do, and the Chancellor of the Diocese then read Pope Francis’ mandate – officially called the Bull of Appointment – in the original Latin followed by a translation. The Pope’s Bull officially appoints Bishop Richard to the Diocese and offers warm good wishes and prayers for his success. The document was then displayed to the College of Consultors and to the assembly before it was returned to the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Mennini, who presented it to Bishop Richard who then formally accepted responsibility for Arundel & Brighton Diocese.

At this point, Archbishop Smith led Bishop Richard to the ‘Cathedra,’ the Bishop’s throne chair, pronounced the formal words of installation over him, and presented him with the Crozier, the shepherd’s crook symbolic of his role as shepherd of the faithful in the Diocese.  

Now, fully Bishop of Arundel & Brighton, Bishop Richard Moth stepped down from the altar to greet some of the clergy, representatives of Her Majesty the Queen and civic and religious leaders.

From this point onwards Bishop Richard was the chief Celebrant of the Eucharist, which unfolded in time-hallowed tradition with the Gloria, Collect and Liturgy of the Word, including the homily.

In his homily Bishop Richard paid warm tribute to his predecessors in the chair, and reminded us that there is only one subject of the Church’s focus, the person of Jesus Christ. Calling for a renewal of the Church’s mission so that all may ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good’ Bishop Richard asked for a commitment to ever-deeper prayer and the growth of our understanding of the gift of faith. Like Jeremiah, we may not feel up to the task but our role is to leave the sheepfold to share our joy with others so that they also may see that the Lord is good.

Bishop Richard then presided over the Liturgy of the Eucharist, surrounded by 200 priests and deacons of the Diocese, with assorted bishops, archbishops and cardinals.

It is appropriate to give special mention to the MC and cantor, Catherine Christmas, the Diocese’s Specialist Adviser on Liturgy and Music, who was outstanding in her role of providing announcements to facilitate the proceedings in a seamless way while demonstrating to the assembly how to sing the music.

At the conclusion of the Mass, Archbishop Mennini, the Apostolic Nuncio, rose to convey to  Bishop Richard the thanks and prayers of the Holy Father. The Archbishop was born in Rome and has a pronounced accent that, in conjunction with a temperamental sound system, made parts of his speech inaudible from where I was sitting. At one stage I guessed (and hope) that he made a joke as the first few rows of people burst into laughter.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, 82 years old, a large avuncular man, himself a former Bishop of the Diocese and much-loved locally, rose to add his congratulations. Again, I could hardly hear his words but at one point he referred to a memorable cricket match between the Bishop’s Eleven and the Duke of Norfolk’s Eleven, which the clergy won. He ended by assuring us that the Diocese was ‘in good hands.’  

Then, two hours after we first entered the cathedral, we poured out into the late afternoon sunshine, discussing the experience. General agreement was that it was a spectacular event, uplifting, richly spiritual and hugely impressive. There was general agreement that the new bishop had presided with an appropriate authority, dignity and warmth that bode well for the diocese and we concluded that we were indeed ‘in good hands.’

By kind invitation of the Duke of Norfolk, the assembly then made its way to Arundel Castle, just a few hundred yards from the Cathedral, for a reception.

The earliest parts of the castle date from 1067 but the reception was held in the magnificent Baron’s Hall, a late Victorian replacement on the site of the original medieval hall. With its high ceilings, minstrels’ galleries at each end, paintings and ornate fireplaces, the hall is a very suitable location to retain the magnificence of the recently concluded ceremony of Installation. Now, it was filled with several hundred guests, black-suited clerics mingling with religious, uniformed and be-medalled armed forces chaplains holding forth to each other, nuns picking at the platters of nibbles, waiters circulating with trays of drinks around the occasional bobbing biretta, black or reddish-rose.

Glass in hand, I was circulating when my eye was caught by a glass display case against one wall. Among the various items was a 19th century gilt French reliquary - containing a relic of Saint Vincent de Paul...

as a member of the SVP, this was a perfect end to the day so I made my way out, under the portcullis and to where my car was parked.

........................................................................................................................................

Already, inevitably, the analysis of the Installation has begun. What signs and portents are there of this new bishop, particularly, is he a liberal or a conservative? Priest-blogger Fr Ray Blake (  http://marymagdalen.blogspot.co.uk/ ), under the heading ‘Impressive’ has listed some of the signs he considers favourable; the Propers sung in Latin, use of a dalmatic vestment, wearing a choir cassock for the Mass and habito piano (whatever that is!) for the Reception, singing most of his parts for the Mass...

Regardless of the new bishop’s motivation and preferences, I suspect the overwhelming priority and concern for the next few years will be the very practical one of replacing ageing clergy and religious, consolidating parishes and co-opting lay support. The good news is that average Mass attendance in A&B Diocese has remained just over 40,000 for the last ten years and the number of permanent deacons has more than doubled to 40. I am certain that Bishop Richard will bring strong leadership and focus to these issues, uniting the Diocese in faith and mission on 5^th July at the Amex Stadium – while also giving us notice to leave the sheepfold!