Sacred Heart Morriston at School Road, Morriston, Swansea, West Glamorgan SA6 6HZ UK - NEWS ABOUT MANSEL

NEWS ABOUT MANSEL - Our Seminarian in Rome

8th October 2009

My first days in Rome

The honeymoon is nearly over and soon it will be time to begin studies that, please God will, lead me to ordination.

The induction period here at the Pontifical Beda College in Rome has been fantastic. There are 21 new men starting this year, bringing the total number of students to 45, excluding any external students. Coming from 18 different countries and from 4 continents, there is a very international feel to the college and with a couple of very `colourful` Aussies around, there is never a dull moment.

Various events have being going on since I arrived on Friday Sept 25^th. After unpacking and setting up my room, which overlooks the garden, there was a welcome by the Rector and some of the second year students who came back early to help us settle in. The following day we went across the road for Mass in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. This was a very moving moment, one which will live with me for a very long time. After Mass, Sr. Assumpta gave us a tour of the Basilica and then we headed back to the college for lunch. After lunch we set off for a walking tour of Rome. Obviously we could not cover everything in just one short afternoon, but we did get to the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon and also the Basilica of SS. Cosmas and Damien and the Basilica of St. Maria sopra Minerva where there is the tomb of St. Catherine of Sienna. We finished the tour with a delicious Italian Gelato ice-cream just off the Piazza Navona.

On Monday we had Mass in the Chapel of St Columban, which is in the crypt of St. Peter`s. Arriving in St. Peter`s Square just as the sun was coming up was truly beautiful and then to have Mass so close to the remains of St. Peter was just wonderful.

Two interesting features were pointed out to me inside St. Peter`s: the Papal lift and the Papal toilets!! Guess who was the `guide` who pointed these out to me.

The week continued with sessions with our Pastoral Director, Fr. Dermott McCaul. This proved to be a very interesting 3 days and an excellent opportunity for everyone to get know each other very well. I have now got to know everybody’s names and a good deal of their backgrounds.

On Friday we headed out to Frascati, where the wine comes from. After a short walk around the town we had Mass and then set off for Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the Pope. We were told that he was still in residence but we did not catch sight of him, sadly.

On Saturday morning we went out to the Catacombs of St. Callisto and had Mass there, deep in the catacombs. This was a very moving and intimate moment, one which made me feel very close to the early Christians who were buried there. Although we went to the catacombs by coach we did walk back to the college which took about 45 minutes. Later in the day I went with a couple of others to the Basilica of St. John Lateran which has a spectacular ceiling and a fantastic set of statues of the Twelve Apostles. The baptistery is the site of the first Christian baptisms in Rome and the Lateran Palace is where the Popes lived for 1000 years until they moved to Avignon, and then to the Vatican on their return in 1377.

In the evening, I went with Phil Hall, who was with me in Valladolid last year, to meet up with another Valladolid `Old Boy`, Tom Cunnah, who is now at the Venerable English College, which is also home to Liam Bradley. It was wonderful to see Tom again and we shared a great evening. Unfortunately, after being pointed in the direction of the bus stop to get the bus back to our college, Phil and I managed to turn a 20 minute journey into one that lasted over an hour and a half!! Still, it was a good way to get to know part of our way around Rome and we now have no problem in getting either the Metro, the No. 23 or Nos. 280 and 271 buses which take us in and out of the centre of Rome. Life is full of learning!

We were not too bleary-eyed the following morning to enjoy the Papal Mass at St. Peter`s, marking the opening of the African Synod. It was great to be there but we were seated some way towards the back and our view of His Holiness was very restricted. Still, we were there and enjoyed another wonderful experience. During this week we have had sessions with Tish Nichol who helps us with voice training. She also helped us to prepare a short reflection for the House which included some interesting contributions from our African and Sri Lankan students. Yesterday, Wednesday 7^th Oct, we were very privileged to be at the Papal Audience given in St. Peter`s Square. This time our view of Pope Benedict was excellent and we were thrilled to be mentioned in his welcome to all the assembly. Being so close to His Holiness was a very spiritual moment.

We have a free day today, Thursday, when a few of us plan to head off to the beach and later I hope to meet up with another student from last year. Tomorrow we will go into a period of reflection and this will take us into the start of our lectures which begin on Monday and which I am looking to forward very much.

House jobs have been appointed this week and I have been given the job of Deputy Sacristan. This means that I will be keeping a very close eye on Paul Relf when I am home! Don`t worry, Paul, it's me who will be learning from you! I have also been elected as First Year House Representative; you may remember that I was elected Public Man last year in Valladolid which is the equivalent role of House Rep here. Amazing what some people see in me, isn`t it?!

The weather since I arrived has been very warm and sunny but quite humid. The mosquitoes are quite a nuisance because our college is very near the river and there is some stagnant water providing a rich breeding ground for the little so and so`s!!

As always, you are all very much in my thoughts and prayers. Please keep me in yours.

God bless,

Mansel.

Holy Week 2009 - Click on the link to find out what Mansel has been up to!!

8 March 2009

I have been replaced as Public Man; Phil Carroll (Portsmouth) was elected a couple of weeks ago. So far he seems to doing ok and I am enjoying not having to be responsible for all the interchanges between staff and students. My new job is refectorian. John Browne (Menevia) is sacristan and you should have seen his face when he was given the job! He`s not the best at getting up in the morning. However, his partner in the sacristy is Alf, (Salford) who John seems to be very friendly with, so they should have a good time in there.

The heating appears to have been turned off now, along with it the hot water! So some of us had to brave cold showers this morning. I`m wondering if it is El Jefe`s (the boss) way of trying to break the community spirit. The staff are still waiting for the first major bust up and we`ve not even had a minor one yet!

A couple of weeks ago we had 32 priest from Middlesborough diocese here and Bishop Terry Drainey. They were here on a "retreat" and I managed to gatecrash their Holy hour! It was good to have them here and also Frs. Tony Walsh and Alan Hale. The student coffers have filled up nicely now!!

We have a catechetics assignment to hand in by vespers tomorrow. This one is based on morality, ethics, mortal and venial sin and also the Cherishing Life document. Phew!!

We had a 24 hour adoration from Friday evening to Saturday evening which was very spiritual and rewarding. That followed a Stations of the Cross in which each student wrote their own meditation for a particular station. I had the opening prayer. Next Friday we do the same again only we also construct our own station. (not the adoration). This is an idea passed onto us from a previous year.

I have given up on Spanish!!! The class has now been divided into two groups. I am, of course, in the dunces group and there is very little incentive shown by any of us to learn anything. Sadly.

Sr. Amadeus has given us various pieces of work to do including a retelling of a part of St. Mark`s gospel to a group of 16 year olds and a talk on St. Paul`s Letter to the Ephesins given to a group of SVP members.

El Jefe has given us a parable to write and tell at lunch each day. He has gone back to England today for a week.

The reviews of our pastoral placements went very well as did everyone`s one-to-one`s with El Jefe. Talking of pastoral work, I have just come back from serving with Chris, Pablo and Brendan at the Santiago church. Four others are at the Sansalvador church for the 1o`clock Mass. Also, there are some who go to a catechetics class of local Spanish children on Friday afternoons and Ross, (Portsmouth) Dominic (Tuam, Ireland) and myself visit an old peoples home on Wednesday`s. All good fun and very interesting. A bit difficult for me without any Spanish but I`m going to google-translate some questions for this Wednesday`s visit.

We had St. David`s Day on March 2nd, the 1st being a Sunday. It was a great Mass and I managed a reading from Isaiah in Welsh! The kitchen made a lovely "cawl" for lunch. A very good day!

We had four students from Oscott who were here for a week and left on Friday; they were Michael Glover, Craig Szmidt, Craig Davis and Neil Peoples. Also here with them was Fr. Dominic Cosslett.

I believe we have 4 birthdays coming up in the space of a week from the 13th. That`s going to be a lot of cake to get through.Stephen (Liverpool) had his birthday last Wednesday and we were treated to one of his favourite film in the evening: "Kimberly Jim", starring Jim Reeves. Stephen loves the country and western music and Johnny Cash et al. I dread to think what Andrew (Birmingham) is going to suggest on Friday!!

Last Saturday, cousin John was visiting and we had a great day out in Salamanca. A very fine city with many nice churches, a big cathedral and a stunning old Dominican church of St. Stephen. (See photos attached).

Well the time has just gone 1-30 and I reckon that`s time for a quick G&T before lunch. As you can see the pace is very exhausting here. Looking forward to the arrival of Wornesh for Holy Week and all that entails.

God bless,

Mansel.

Four Weeks in Blackheath (click on link to find out what Mansel has being doing!)

Hola!! Como estas? Soy muy bien. ( Hello. How are you? I am very well).

I hope everyone enjoyed the pilgrimage and you all arrived back safely. I am looking forwar to hearing all about it when I am home at Christmas.

Things are continuing to progress very well here in Valladolid. The Rector, Mgr. Michael Kujacz, finally arrived three weeks ago but is now back in England for more health checks. He is due to be back with us again tomorrow so we are all praying that he will be well enough to travel. He arrived in time for Martyrs` Week (20th -26th Oct). This is a celebration of the College Martyrs` who studied here from 1589 and went back to England to face their death. Six have been canonised, 16 are beatified and one is venerable. The week consisted of a normal timetable during the week with public lectures in the chapel in the evenings. A portrait of the Rector was unveiled on the Thursday evening during a champagne reception in which a new volume of the history of the College was launched. The celebrations climaxed on the Saturday with a procession of the Martyrs` relics from the oratory to the chapel and then we had solemn Mass in their honour. This was followed by a very grand dinner attended by a large number of guest including some Old Boys of the College. In my capacity as Public Man I was asked by the Rector to deliver a speech, which I am pleased to say, went down very well. So much so, the he asked me for a copy for the College archives.

I have had my first interview with Fr. Michael (the Rector, not yours truly) had it went very well (I think). When he read my personal details he discovered that I had played the violin in school, which is over 30 years ago! I was quite surprised when he jumped out of his chair and went to the cupboard and brought out a violin which he gave to me to take away and practise.

We have also had our first round of student homilies. Again, everything seemed to go ok. It is difficult to say how well it went because we have had no feedback yet from any of the staff. We were each given the readings of a particular Sunday of Year A to preach on and I was given Corpus Christi. I hope I managed to pick up a few tips from listening to our Fr. Michael over the last few years!

This week our timetable is suspended again, apart from catechetics, to allow Fr. John Farrell O.P. (head of the Dominicans) to come in talk to us about Scripture. It has been a very intense week, as you can imagine, but hugely enjoyable and enlightening. We have covered St. Mark`s gospel so far, and now we are into the writings of St. Paul.

Next week we have a few free days (Puente). We will finish after 12-30 Mass on Wednesday and return to the timetable on Sunday morning. Some of the students are driving to Fatima and staying a couple of nights there. I and one or two others will be making a day trip to Avilla. We made a College pilgrimage there last Thursday and I was very impressed by it. We had Mass in the Chapel of the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation where St Theresa lived for 27 years. Then we were taken around the museum; a very great privilege to see items that belonged to St Theresa including the little statue of Jesus being scourged at the pillar and also the little sketch of the crucified Christ, drawn by St. John of the Cross. The Rector made sure we did not go hungry and took us all to a nice restaurant and we then made our way to the Church of St. Joseph, where St. Theresa established her reform of the Carmelites in1562. I feel it is somewhere I would like to go back and see more of, and while it is still fresh in my mind and not too far away I`ll go back there next Thursday. It can be very cold there in winter (some hills in the distance had snow on them already), and yet there is still NO heating in the convent and there are no plans to install it either! There are about 23 sisters at the convent. There is also a Carmalite convent here in Valladolid which we will visit after the Puente.

Please remember Paul Underwood in your prayers. Paul has left the College and is now back at home in Neath. It was a great pity to lose Paul but this year is all about testing one`s vocation and Paul was very generous in coming here to discern what God was calling him to do. We are all praying for him and wish well in the future. John Browne, our other Menevia student, is doing very well. He`s very settled and enjoying his time here.

Paul Spaine, from Dublin, has a room next to mine and has just started to practise his tin whistle!! He`s a great lad and a lot of fun. Maybe when I start to get to grips with the violin we can go into town and earn a few euros at the Plaza Major. I don`t think we will be ready for taking part in the liturgy before the end of the year but, who knows!!

Time to go now,

Buenes noches,

Mansel.

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Sacred Heart Morriston at School Road, Morriston, Swansea, West Glamorgan SA6 6HZ UK - NEWS ABOUT MANSEL - Our Seminarian in Rome

8th October 2009