Cathedral Mass in English!

I went to this Mass on Easter Monday, before attending the pilgrim Mass that day. While I can generally follow the service when it is in Spanish, it was a blessing to hear it in English in the cathedral.

Rebekah Scott said:

A new and excellent offering at the Cathedral of St. James -- daily Mass in English!
10:30 a.m. through October at the chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows, next door to the beloved little Corticela corner chapel, staffed by volunteer priests from all over the world.
They will also hear confessions in English. Those with prayer intentions can write them down and leave them there to be prayed-for throughout the season.

No botifumeiro offerings so far, but time will tell...

Click to expand...

This is a fine, fine thing. I hope it gets some publicity along the trail.

That's awesome! One of my great regrets was not being able to find an English speaking priest to hear my confession in Santiago. I followed the Mass readings using iBreviary, but it was really nice to hear it in English once I was back home.

I was in SdC for some weeks during May/June and attended this Mass on most days. Although I am a protestant by tradition, I found the Mass, shared as it was with fellow peregrinos, to be a great comfort. While I was there, it began each morning with the priest asking the attendees to say in turn what their first name was, what country they came from, and where they had begun their walk. All were made equally welcome, even those who had started out from the Parador, and it was grand each day to hear the vast range of countries that the pilgrims come from [especially Ireland!].

One tradition that has grown with the Mass is the written prayers that the congregation can write out and place in a glass bowl at the foot of the altar. These will be kept until the English language Mass goes into recess at the end of October, when they will all be prayed over before being burnt. The priest also asks for any spoken prayers that people might want to offer during the service, and these can be very moving.

Pilgrims will go to this Mass for many reasons, whether it be closure/peace/forgiveness/intercessions/gratitude/put in your own feeling. It is a fine thing to have this Mass available, and I feel that it has, and will, provide some of the most defining and longest lasting memories of many caminos, as it did with mine.

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

PS With all due respect to Rebekah, it would need a very small Botafumeiro to fit in the chapel, and I am not sure that Johnnie Walker would be available to pull the rope when needed.

Mass is also said in English on Sundays, at 11:00 am. The location is in the somewhat larger chapel (I forget the name) but as you look at the main altar, it is the first chapel to the right. It is located almost directly across from the entrance to the stairs to the statue of St. James, where arriving pilgrims customarily do the "Embracero."

I hope this helps someone.