We are holding an open meeting on Sunday 30 June in Hollerich to discuss the recent news that we are to move on from the church and seek new premises, in co-operation with the archdiocese. The meeting will be at 10am, to make it easier for both those attending the 9am & 11am Masses to attend (in addition, there is the celebration for P. Rall after the 11.15 Mass at St Alphonse, and some of our community will be attending that).

If you cannot be present at the meeting, but would still like your voice to be heard, you can email a question or opinion, and if it is not otherwise raised, it will be then introduced.

Our Mass of Thanksgiving is on the following Sunday, 7 July, at 11am. There will be a 9am Mass also.

Best wishes,

Fr Ed

Dear all,
On 7 July we will be celebrating together our last regular Mass in Hollerich. To many, this announcement will come as a bolt from the blue; some may have read the signs. On Thursday 13 June, P. Erny Gillen, the Vicaire Général, had a meeting with the Fabrique d’Église of Hollerich. This was prompted, at least in part, by our concerns about the structural integrity of the church building; in part also to see how we might work together in the future. The conclusion of the meeting was that the committee feel that both our interests are best served if we find another home; I am sure there is wisdom in this.

This presents us with a once-in-a-generation opportunity:  to work with the archdiocese in finding ourselves a new church, more suitable to our needs, where we can begin afresh. Both the Archbishop and the Vicaire Général believe this to be the best course of action for us, and I agree with them, and our Parish Council are of the same mind.

The archdiocese have indicated that they will help us find us a new, suitable venue, hopefully by Autumn 2013. At this early stage, they have several churches in mind, and we will remain in close dialogue with them as to our future. We are looking at the date of 7 July to celebrate together our final regular Mass in Hollerich, at our usual time of 11am. This Mass will be a Mass of thanksgiving.

When we leave Hollerich, several things suggest themselves:

• The Parish Council are agreed that we will have an open meeting, where any parishioner can come along, learn what’s going on and have a voice. The date for this meeting will be announced shortly.
• Obviously we will leave with sadness, but with great spirit of gratitude for our years in the church.
• We will move our Masses to St Alphonse until our new home, wherever it might be, is available (our Mass at St Alphonse would be at 11:15).
• The Parish Council will be working to define our priorites for the new building: size of church, location, parking, rooms available, disposition of the Fabrique d’Eglise, etc. to assist the archdiocese in identifying possible locations, and to clarify our own thinking on the matter; no church will be perfect, but we need to be able to ascertain which would be the best compromise

I will continue to work with the Parish Council on these issues, and we will keep you up-to-date with developments;  We would be grateful for your comments and suggestions. In the meantime, please keep our parish in your prayers, asking the Lord that we will find the best possible location for our vibrant and growing community.

With warmest best wishes,

Fr Ed, with the Parish Council

Next Sunday, 16 June, our parish will be celebrating its annual Outdoor Mass and picnic on the grounds of our Archbishop’s residence (3, Marie-Thérèse, Luxembourg City) at 11:15 a.m.  Each person/couple or family attending is asked to bring a salad, a main dish or a dessert (to serve six) to share with others.  Plates, cutlery and drinks will be provided.  Please contact Cheryl Kouba if you would like to take-part. There will be an additional Mass at Hollerich at 9am the same day.

We were privileged and happy on 26 May to welcome the archbishop amongst us for the celebration of Confirmation. We had scarcely time to recover our energies when the Mass for First Holy Communion was upon us on June 9 — but (as with Confirmations) the organisation was superb. So many good things were able to come together, because of prior planning, generosity with time, hard work and a genuine spirit of co-operation. The whole celebration was a genuine spiritual event, important for all the children themselves, and important for us as a community.

We gather for Eucharist (=thanksgiving). Not only do we give thanks to God, but also to the following, all of whom played a significant role on Sunday:

Marthese Lufi, for catechesis
Sonya Heffernan
Clara Martini
Dan Brennan (Dan, hope you see this from the US!)Michele Janrozik

To Helen and the music group (give me names, Helen, I’ll add them!)

To Clare, playing the organ

Sabrina Deisges and Clara Martini for arranging the flowers

Giovanni Martini and Max de Simone for the Mass booklets

Frances Ann Camilleri for the Communion candles

Anne Ryan for the First Holy Communion certificates

To Emma McNaughton and Siobhan Moran for arranging the cake and refreshments after Mass, and Annette and her ‘dream team’ for serving

Eva, Lea and Julia, the tidy-up team

Manuel Manrique, whose photographs we await eagerly.

And last, but certainly not least, to Robert and Michele for coordinating the whole celebration and doing so much behind-the-scenes work.

If your name should have been mentioned above, pardon my omission, and let me know!

Fr Ed

Music and the Liturgy

We are blessed in several ways regarding music in the liturgy in our parish:
A long history of music in the liturgy, with willing volunteers involved in this vital ministry
Many people of talent and enthusiasm, able to play instruments, sing, animate… and sing along
We have a lively community, willing to join in and participate fully each weekend at Mass
We have people from different cultures, from whom we can learn to our mutual benefit.
Our recent Confirmation Mass demonstrated that we have up-and-coming talent in our young adults, something which can greatly enrich our celebrations, and something we will be happy to encourage.

After speaking with several people involved in music in our parish, I propose that we talk some more, together, in a meeting open to all, especially to those involved (past and present) and those who would like to be involved in our music.

The initial meeting will be on Monday 24 June at 19:00, 34 rue des Capucins, for all who are interested in music in the liturgy in our parish. I propose that this meeting will be for all of us to share our ideas about how best we proceed regarding a number of issues:

• Choosing hymns/chants/Mass settings for each Sunday
• Designating particular Sundays (ie. once a month) as Masses with a focus on children
• Looking at what musical talent/willingness we have, and how best to employ it
• How we, as the English-speaking Catholic community are responsive to the different nationalities represented amongst us, in terms of music
• What planning/provision we can make for occasional events (Messe Intercommunautaire, Oktave, etc)
• The relationship of our music to our celebration of the liturgy in general

I intend to circulate a draft including ideas/suggestions in advance of the meeting, so we have a basic orientation beforehand. I welcome response to these before, during and after the meeting! I will post an update on this website with draft ideas, and I look forward to responses. Fr Ed