Oblate Pilgrimage to Ripon Cathedral On the eve of the Feast of St Benedict and at the height of the heatwave, a party of Stanbrook oblates set out for the cool interior of Ripon Cathedral. The main focus of our pilgrimage was to visit the crypt built by St Wilfrid (634-710) and dedicated in 672, […]
We are grateful to Adrienne Frazer who has sent in the following list of books: in her own words, ‘an eclectic selection that I love, the majority of which I’ve read many times’. Great Novels A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute Two adventures in one book with such positive main characters and romantic too. Milkman […]
On Saturday 13 June the Stanbrook community, oblates and friends met for the annual Study Day. The theme was chosen to mark the tenth anniversary of the Dedication of the Abbey Church on 6 September 2025. In the morning Dom Edmund Wales OSB, monk of Ampleforth Abbey, gave a richly illustrated talk on Roman Basilicas […]
Year of the Book We are delighted to have received several responses to our appeal for Year of the Book entries: a book which has changed your life; maybe your first book or one that you return to often. We shall be sharing these in the coming months on the website and in Stanbrook Benedictines. […]
GOLDEN JUBILEE OF DAME BENEDICTA WHITE Saturday 16 May 2026 A glorious May morning dawned, in contradiction to the grey skies predicted by the weather forecast. There was also, at last, some warmth in the sun to cheer the fifty or so who gathered at Stanbrook to celebrate Dame Benedicta White’s fifty years in the […]
As well as being the Lunar Year of the Horse, this is also the Year of the Book, or, more accurately, ‘The National Year of Reading’, an initiative by the National Literacy Trust to celebrate and encourage reading. Studies show the urgency of such an initiative: a YouGov poll in March 2026 showed that 40% […]
House Chronicle for HOLY WEEK and EASTER 2026 Our oblate, Canon Christopher Jackson, arrived the Saturday before Palm Sunday (28 March). The lodges, which were already filling up, looked splendid, as if floating on a sea of daffodils and primroses. There was a good crowd for the Palm Sunday procession. Fr Chris preached on Jesus’ […]
The poem below, written by Theodulf of Orleans, was translated by Helen Waddell and included in More Latin Lyrics from Virgil to Milton edited with an introduction by Dame Felicitas Corrigan which was published by Victor Gollancz Ltd in 1976. THEODULF OF ORLEANS (750 – 821) Wherefore the scars of Christ‘s passion remained in the […]
TIMES OF OFFICE & MASS HOLY WEEK & THE PASCHAL TRIDUUM 29 March – 11 April 2026 HOLY WEEK & EASTER TIMETABLE 2026 MAUNDY THURSDAY (2 APRIL) 6.45am VIGILS 8.30am LAUDS 12.30pm MIDDAY OFFICE 6.00pm MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER 8.15pm READING & COMPLINE GOOD FRIDAY (3 APRIL) 6.45am VIGILS 8.30am […]
He comes, the shepherd who will lay down his life for his sheep, the king who will proclaim peace, the Bridegroom for his wedding. He will drink the cup, give himself entirely, strip off his robe of equality with God, wash the feet of his bride, clothe her in his own royal dignity, feed and […]
One can’t get much more ‘laid low’ than a pile of dry bones scattered about in the desert. Yet, this unpromising state of affairs is just what the divine Physician needs to work with in order to restore a situation of hopelessness to one of resurrection. In the first Mass reading of Sunday V […]
O God, through your Word you marvellously reconcile the human race to yourself; grant that all Christian people may prepare for the coming solemnities with zeal and lively faith. (Collect Sunday IV Lent) So, we have now reached the fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday. A moment to reflect on our Lenten journey thus far. […]