The Papal Master of Ceremonies, Mgr Guido Marini and two officials from his Vatican office visited Cofton Park, on Thursday 8 July during a Liturgical Planning Visit to Birmingham, London and Glasgow.
Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass and Beatify Cardinal Newman at Cofton Park on Sunday 19 September – the culmination of his historic four-day State Visit.
Cofton Park is situated near the Oratory Retreat, Rednal, where Cardinal Newman was buried following his death in his room at the Oratory House in Edgbaston on Monday, 11 August 1890.
Mgr Marini was accompanied by Mgr Andrew Summersgill, the Papal Visit Co-ordinator, Mgr Philip Moger from the Diocese of Leeds, Organiser of Liturgy, and Fr Paul Conroy from Scotland.
The Vatican party was welcomed to Cofton Park by Canon Patrick Browne, Local Organiser for the the Papal Visit to the Archdiocese of Birmingham. He was accompanied by Fr Jan Nowotnik, Parish Priest of Our Lady and St Brigit, Northfield, who is the Deputy Local Liturgy Organiser, and Mr Peter Jennings, Press Secretary to Archbishop Bernard Longley.
The Vatican party also met and discussed the arrangements of the Papal Mass with representatives of events management company WRG and Pamela Hossick, the BBC Producer/Director of the ‘live’ broadcast of the Papal Mass and Cardinal Newman Beatification, scheduled to be shown on BBC2.
After the visit to Cofton Park the Vatican party were driven the nine miles to Cathedral House, situated next to the Metropolitan Cathedral and Basilica of St Chad, in central Birmingham. In the Chapter Room Mgr Marini discussed detailed arrangements about the Liturgy and Music for the Papal Mass with Fr Timothy Menezes, Parish Priest of St Thomas More, Coventry, Local Organiser for Liturgy, and Fr Peter Jones, Local Organiser for Music.
At the end of the meeting the Vatican party left for a visit to Glasgow.
Papal Mc, Mgr Guido Marini and members of the Vatican Party pictured at Cofton Park, Birmingham, with Mgr Andrew Summersgill, Canon Patrick Browne, and representatives of WRG on 7 July.
© Peter Jennings
