Advent has begun and it is time to wish each of you a very happy Christmas, as we reflect on the past year. We are grateful to God for the celebrations, visitors, guests and generous help he has sent us in 2025: in the garden, with maintenance, driving, cleaning and so much more. We think in particular of the priests who celebrated Mass for us when we were “between chaplains”.
Fr. Ted Wildsmith departed on Easter Wednesday to return to his community in London (Missionaries of Africa), having served us faithfully for three years to the utmost of his strength. He made many friends in the area and will be sorely missed. We wish him well in the next phase of his missionary work.
Fr. Cosmas Onukwugha, a Nigerian priest, who is chaplain to the community of the Marian Missionaries of the Poor at Nympsfield, on the other side of Stroud, celebrated Mass for us on most Sundays over the summer. We are grateful to the community, Fr. Cosmas, and to the members of our Sunday congregation, who drove him to and fro. Fr. Laurence Pelosi from Wales was the first in a series of priests, who came to stay and celebrate the sacraments for us. These included several good friends from our diocese of Clifton, and Fr. Bruce Barnes, who is back at Brownshill providing cover for ten days in December.
We appreciated the variety and generosity of these priests, but it was with great joy that we welcomed Fr. Gerry Magee on 1st September as our new chaplain. Fr. Gerry comes from Galloway Diocese, where he was parish priest in Kilwinning for 22 years. He is settling in well and enhancing our life spiritually and practically - sanding down and varnishing all our garden benches, for instance!
2025 began with Sr. Elizabeth Mary, our Prioress General, at Brownshill. She was on her way to Burkina Faso. Sr. Hilda had the privilege of accompanying her to meet our community and experience Bernardine life in the heat and dust of West Africa. The photographs tell of a beautiful place and a very warm welcome.
It was a troubling time for the community in Burkina Faso, because the M23 rebel group was advancing on the city of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where most of them come from. After intense fighting, the city was occupied, which made it impossible for our sisters in Goma to obtain visas. This meant that the extraordinary General Chapter our Order had planned for summer 2025 had to be cancelled. This General Chapter was to have been an opportunity to meet in-person after the last General Chapter of 2022 had to be conducted on-line. On a more positive note, Sr. Elizabeth Mary was able to visit our sisters in Goma in October, despite the occupation.
We have enjoyed the visits of several sisters from our community in Lancashire, the Monastery of Our Lady of Hyning, and from France. These included Congolese sisters from Hyning in January, Vietnamese sisters from Lille in August, and the French superior of our Vietnamese community (Sr. Christine) in June! Sr. Maria was pleased to make a spring-time retreat at Hyning and Sr. Mary Stella, of Hyning, made her retreat at Brownshill in the summer, while Sr. Mary Philippa joined the community in Lille for the solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, the Order’s patronal feast. The Order is very interconnected!
In January Sr. Mary Helen, prioress at Hyning, stayed at Brownshill for some days before she and Sr. Maria went to Roscrea in Ireland for a course on the spiritual accompaniment of those in initial formation. In May they spent a week in Northern Ireland for the regular meetings of Cistercian Superiors at Portglenone.
In April we had our Regular Visitation. Sr. Elizabeth Mary was accompanied by Sr. Pascha, a Japanese sister, who has been part of our Bernardine community in Lille for decades. Sr. Pascha is a skilled seamstress and she taught Sr. Reina more about how to make our monastic habits. It was not all work though, and to mark big birthdays (one 50 and one 80 in 2024 with Sr. Michelle Marie’s 80th to come in the summer), we had a community day out at Westonbirt National Arboretum. The guide encouraged us to touch things, and to take home as souvenirs anything lying on the ground. Spongy bark, plane trees with buttressed branches, rhododendrons and camelias in bloom were all enjoyed in-situ, while huge pine cones and strips of deep pink bark served as souvenirs. It was warm enough to have our picnics outside, but we were glad to get home for tea before a late Vespers.
Our community retreat was at Hyning this year, given by Abbot Robert Igo of Ampleforth Abbey, who gave very engaging and spiritually refreshing conferences. Sr. Reina stayed on for a week to conduct the regular PAT testing of electrical appliances, while Sr. Marie Cecile, a Congolese Sister, who was a member of the community at Hyning, came to Brownshill for three weeks.
The next significant event was Sr. Michelle Marie’s 80th birthday at the end of June. A friend from her school days, Barbara, was here on the actual birthday. Cousin Nicola and her family came for lunch and cake on the Saturday, and on Sunday nephew Terry, his sister Therèse with her husband Brian and their family all came to celebrate with Sr. Michelle Marie, a gathering of four generations. It was a lovely series of parties, much appreciated by Sr. Michelle Marie and everyone. We were particularly pleased to have Sr. Elizabeth Mary and Sr. Christine to celebrate with us.
Sr. Catherine celebrated her diamond jubilee of profession in September and October with family and friends. Fr. Garry Brassington, who knows the family well, celebrated the first jubilee Mass with the community and Sr. Catherine’s extended family. The cousins made the most of the weekend to catch up on family news.
Ten days later Fr. Kevin McGinnell celebrated another joyful jubilee Mass, and we were joined by faithful friends from Sr. Catherine’s time in Slough: former class-mates, colleagues and pupils. They too did not seem to want to go home at the end of the day!
Our oblates gathered for the third jubilee celebration in October, with Mass celebrated by our very own Fr. Gerry. On the same day Alvaro Giraldo-Gomez made his first promise as an oblate. He has been visiting for many years for “Ora et Labora”, and we were blessed to witness his joy at making this commitment. In January the Reverend Mike Print, an Anglican priest, made his first promise, accompanied by his wife and daughter. The oblate group is growing.
We are happy to maintain links with our former schools, notably as prayer partners for St. Bernard’s Preparatory School in Slough. On 10th February Sr. Maria and Sr. Catherine joined students and staff at St. Bernard’s Grammar School in Slough for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Chapel. Sr. Maria led the staff in prayer to begin the day, and Sr. Catherine met and spoke with current students before a Mass of thanksgiving, celebrated by Bishop David Oakley, Bishop of Northampton.
Back at the monastery, also in February, the main boiler that supplies heat and hot water to community areas, including the chapel, had to be replaced. We moved into the conference room for Mass and the Divine Office, as we had done in 2016 when the chapel was renovated. In October we moved to the conference room again for five days while the chapel was re-decorated. Nine years of soot had taken its toll on the walls and lower ceilings, but now it is bright and beautiful again.
The chapel, celebrations of Mass and the Divine Office, and our peaceful surroundings are appreciated by many people of all denominations and none. In addition to our regular Lent and Advent retreats, we offered a “Prayer Live-In”, and two “Seeking God” weekends led by the Sisters. There were themed retreats, thanks to Fr. Martin McLaughlin, who spoke about “The Beautiful Mother of God” in February; Sarah Lobo, who led a Laudato Si-inspired “Living Simply” weekend in Lent; and Amina Wright, whose pre-Advent “Prepare the Way of the Lord” retreat explored art works associated with the season. We ran two Family Days at the request of local Catholic parents, and gave input to various parish groups. We were happy to welcome those in formation for the permanent diaconate in our Diocese of Clifton and the new seminarians from St. Mary’s College, Oscott, as well as a large confirmation group, the Teams of Our Lady, and students from Prior Park School. It was also a joy to receive guests from the Anglican Diocese of Gloucester, including the curates for their annual Spirituality Day, readers for a day retreat, individual clergy for Quiet Days, and parish groups. We are always happy to welcome a group of Buddhists for their retreat in the summer and this year they returned in November for a long weekend.
Among our ecumenical activities was an invitation to speak at Evensong at Wadham College in Oxford, which Sr. Hilda did on the first Sunday of Lent. Wadham’s Chaplain, Reverend Jane Baun, has been making mini-retreats at Brownshill for several years now.
The annual Day for the Religious of Clifton Diocese on 14th October was led by Fr. Nick Crowe O.P., who arrived a day early and shared news and views with the community over supper. The assembled religious were delighted that Bishop Bosco joined us, and we made the most of the chance for discussion and fellowship. We offer our thanks to Fr. Nick, Fr. Thomas Kulandaisamy, Vicar for Religious, and Sr. Maria, who is his assistant. Already on 2nd February four of us had met with other religious and Bishop Bosco at the convent of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spirit in Bristol, to celebrate the Jubilee Year. In August Sr. Mary Philippa attended a stimulating Diocesan Day for the Jubilee Year at Downside College.
On the jubilee theme, Sr. Reina’s parents introduced us to Luce and his friends, the mascot of the Church’s Jubilee Year, when they sent us gifts all the way from Jakarta. Thank you very much! We are always pleased to have news of our families and friends, and to welcome those who are able to visit. Sadly, Sr. Michelle Marie’s cousin Rachael died at the beginning of February after a long illness. Her widower, Richard, came to visit Sr. Michelle Marie in April, which was a consolation to them both. Sr. Maria’s sister, Elizabeth and brother-in-law, Thomas, with two of their sons spent several happy days at Brownshill in May. Sr. Maria was able to go to visit her parents and we were blessed by visits from her father and brother. Sr. Hilda was able to visit her father, and he was at Brownshill at the time of the 80th birthday celebrations. Her brother and nieces made day visits to collect ‘Grandpa’ from Brownshill for a holiday with them.
Summer holidays are a distant memory in these dark, wintry days, but the Light is coming. Among our Advent retreatants were many new faces, and the combination of new and old is apt for this time of year, the utter newness of our God, born a baby in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. May the hopeful expectation of Advent lead us to welcome Christ at Christmas, singing with the angels “Gloria in Excelsis Deo”!
With our prayers and good wishes for you all!
