VIGIL MASS FOR THE CORONATION OF THE KING AND QUEEN

Cathedrals throughout the country celebrated Vigil Masses to mark the occassion of the Coronation of Their Majesties The King and Queen which took place on Saturday 6 May 2023.

One such Vigil Mass was at The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ The King, Liverpool with the Chief Celebrant being Bishop Thomas Neylon.

The Guild was honoured to have one of our Merseyside Police members in attendance to represent in particular the Guild, alongside the Deputy Chief Constable who was representing the Force.

Along with members of the military he was also asked to assist in the offetory procession.

The day after the Coronation, H.E Cardinal Vincent Nichols spoke in his homily at Westminster Cathedral of his sense of honour and pride at being present and involved in the ceremony itself. The Cardinal finished his homily by saying :

"The Coronation has been spoken of as a day of destiny for The King. It is true, from birth he was destined for this moment. The Coronation is the start, an ongoing part of the Kings destiny.

Yet, at work here is a larger sense of destiny. Faith is a clear statement, a shining truth, that our destiny is a place in our Father’s House. That is our destiny. Jesus says there is a place for each of us in that house. He assures us that our fulfilment is there, and that our lives, in his hands, will find that full and final destiny. Our lives, the life of the whole world, are being drawn in an upward movement to fulfilment, fulfilment in our Father’s House.

Also in this Gospel passage, in a slightly mysterious way, we learn that that destiny starts now, here. Because, as Jesus says, ‘to see me is to already see the Father’. To share life with Jesus is already to have begun eternal life. There is a unity between the Father and the Son, and in him we are offered our way, our truth and our life.

It is with this sense of destiny that we strive to overcome our daily difficulties and to grow in trust in the pathway of faith, in our beloved Saviour: a pathway of being close to Christ, of knowing our destiny and of being of service to all. This is so important, it is our trust and joy, for King and for commoner exactly alike."