The text of the history section is from the Parish History, written by Des Keohane. The printed version is avaliable from the Church for £3.50, and may be requested by post, at extra cost for postage. Any amendments or additions are welcomed - please send by email to Fr Andrew

There will always be minor variations over the years in the liturgical format in any church. Clerical or lay preferences, fashion, technological developments can all play their part. They have done at St. Gregory’s. But fundamental change in Catholic worship occurs rarely, and only with authority. Twenty five years into the history of our parish such change did occur. On 11th October 1962 Pope John XXIII opened The Second Vatican Council, and it continued in session until 1965. Any one under 50 is unlikely to really appreciate the changes that emanated from it in the late 1960s and in the 1970s. A Parish History is no place to rehearse the theological debates of the Council or the full conclusions that it reached. However, for those who had grown up in the church pre-Vatican 2, the resulting liturgical changes were substantial. Most prominently we might identify the use of English instead of Latin in the Mass, Mass being said by the priest facing the people, lay participation in the responses and in readings and later in giving the sacrament of Holy Communion, relaxation of the rules on fasting before communion. But underlying the “headline” changes there was also a greater feeling of openness issuing from Pope John’s call for “aggiornamento”, by which he meant that the church must be brought up to date, must adapt itself to meet the challenging conditions of modern times. There was a recognition that the laity had an important role in this process.

How did St. Gregory’s meet the changes? As in the Church in general, these changes were to some refreshing and exciting, to others painful and disturbing. Evidence drawn from the memories of older parishioners and from the excellent Parish Magazine published in the 1970s and 1980s confirms this, but clearly the changes caused no deep divisions. Certainly the changes cannot have been easy for the Parish Priest, Father (later Canon) Phillips. He had a great love for the traditional forms of worship of the Catholic Church, which he had joined at the age of 18. His long tenure of office as Parish Priest of St. Gregory’s had been distinguished by the offering of High Mass, Compline, Vespers, Gregorian Chant, Te Deum, Solemn Benediction, Litanies, Processions, 40 Hours Exposition. The late Leo Boullemier, his Master of Ceremonies for thirty years, writing in the Parish magazine about Father Phillips on his retirement in 1977, confirmed that Father had disliked the new liturgy, but above all he was loyal and accepted it. The required changes were promptly implemented. His experience and personality did not really lend themselves to the introduction of some other changes which Vatican 2 was engendering: a readiness to experiment in the hymns that we sang, the musical instruments that were played, the prayer forms that we used, the structuring of youth masses and folk masses.

Here he was immensely helped in the changes by his two curates, the late Father Jim Marks and Father (now Monsignor) Tony McDermott. Father Marks came in 1973 and Father McDermott in 1976 (although previously he had undertaken some of his pre-ordination training in the parish.) The two priests both hailed from Luton and had known each other there, and they now worked closely together—indeed they were sometimes, irreverently but affectionately, dubbed Starsky & Hutch! Father Marks took the gradualist approach and Father Phillips appreciated that. So other changes were gently eased in. Quietly the traditional Westminster Hymnal was replaced by The Celebration Hymnal, opening the door to many new tunes with less formal wording. Occasional Folk Masses were introduced. Of course such change did not suit everybody, and the anecdote is told of how Father Tony took his guitar on to the altar to lead the singing and one conservative parishioner raced to tell Father Phillips: “That young fella is on the altar with his banjo!” Indignation, but thankfully no rancour! The call of Pope John resonated particularly with young parents in the parish. A lay discussion group explored the Council’s debates, and from this came a resolve to seek improved communication within the parish. This found ready support from the clergy and a group of hard-working lay men and women took on the task of preparing and producing a weekly newsletter. A print room was established in the Presbytery attic and the product was available at all Masses.

Subsequently, another dedicated group took the communication theme forward by the production of a Parish Magazine. Again with clergy support, an editorial team produced the magazine three times a year for a period of ten years, providing articles, reports and commentaries, with authorship embracing a wide range of parishioners from the elderly to youngsters at school. Responsible whilst exploratory of issues, it informed, it entertained, it fostered community.

The 1960s and 1970s were a period of evolution not revolution. Vatican 2 was clearly a stimulus, it did “open doors”, but it would be unwise and certainly unfair to attribute all subsequent liturgical development directly to it. Priests and laity have sought, and continue to seek, to make the liturgy more meaningful, more accessible, more inclusive. Thus over the last twenty years we have seen developments such as the lay-led Children’s Liturgy, the Family Mass, the carpeted area for young children, the use of an overhead projector to support the liturgy, a rota of lay readers and eucharistic ministers, the greater role of women in the liturgy, Masses for the Handicapped and for the infirm, the healing ministry and so on. Yet the Parish has never abandoned the traditional mode of worship: Sung Mass is offered every Sunday, and the tradition of a trained choir ably singing the solemn elements of the Mass and the liturgies of Holy Week and other major celebrations has been sustained.