Parish visitation

Fr Stewart Keeley, Bishop Michael Campbell and
Canon Stephen Shield Cathedral Dean

Last weekend Bishop Michael Campbell visited the Cathedral and went to celebrate Mass at St Thomas More's.  As Canon Stephen explained in this week's Curious about the Council of Trent talk - the visitation of a Bishop to parish churches was re-introduced to help the Bishop to fulfil his duty of making sure the people are taught what the Church believes and have the opportunity to receive the sacraments. For those who missed the Curious talk and want to know more about the canonical visits click here. 

Preaching at the 9.15 Mass at St Thomas More

A quick dash back to the Cathedral to talk to parishioners after 10.30 Mass

Bishop Michael Campbell on visitation
to his Cathedral and Parish

Although the Bishop is officially the parish priest of the Cathedral and has the Canon as Dean to help him in the life of the Cathedral parish, he used his visit to come to speak at the end of each Mass.  He gave thanks to Canon Stephen and Fr Stewart for all their hard work, and thanked all parishioners who give witness to their faith by coming to Mass and living out their Baptismal promises in their daily lives.  
He explained how his role as Bishop meant he was a link with the Universal Church and the first apostles.  

Bishop Michael Campbell
sitting in current Cathedra

He talked about his chair - the Cathedra - which only he as Bishop of the Diocese sits in and is a sign of authority. Above you can see the old Cathedra in the background, and right there is an image of the Bishop from another visit sitting in the current Cathedra.   

To learn more about the Bishop's visits to other parishes and find out what the Bishop does each week see his weekly blog.