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College of Chaplains

Cardinal Vaughan's vision encompassed not only the architecture of Westminster Cathedral, but its spiritual life. "The huge material fabric of Westminster Cathedral was never intended to be a lifeless shell," he declared, "but a body animated by its proper living soul, and pulsating from its heart throughout the entire body of the Church."

The key to this daunting task lay in the hands - and more particularly in the voices - of the Cathedral College of Chaplains. For the living soul of Westminster Cathedral was the Sacred Liturgy, "accurately and fully rendered -as he said- by its Clergy." Cardinal Vaughan had a specific role for his chaplains in mind: "Their chief motivation," he wrote, "should be a desire to serve God as apostles through a life of prayer and of public Liturgy."
Cardinal Vaughan created the College of Chaplains in 1903, entrusting them to the patronage of our Lady, the Queen of Apostles. As the Apostles gathered in prayer around Mary awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit, so the Cardinal envisaged his Chaplains gathered around the Queen of Apostles in the name of the whole diocese.

For one hundred years, the daily celebration of Mass and Office has been at the heart of the liturgical and pastoral work of the chaplains. The first act of the chaplains each morning is to gather in the Cathedral, at our Lady's altar, for prayer. The opening phrase of the Office, Lord, open our lips, commences the daily worship of God in the Cathedral. Over a century, that rhythm of regular prayer has imprinted itself into the very fabric of this building, so that it is almost literally a House of Prayer.

The work of Cathedral Chaplain is as distinctive as Westminster Cathedral is distinctive. The priests and religious who serve here must adapt to the many different roles that the Cathedral serves, sometimes with bewildering rapidity. From school chaplaincy to work with the Passage centre for the homeless, from sacramental preparation to parish visiting, their work sustains the Cathedral both as parish and mother church. The sheer number of visitors, enquirers, means that their work is unending - above all the provision of the sacraments: six Masses and five hours of confessions each weekday are only possible because of the dedicated service of the Chaplains.

Cathedral Chaplains are usually diocesan priests, who serve at the Cathedral for a term, and would then expect to return to parish ministry. They live in a community (almost unique for secular clergy in this country!) in the Clergy House, behind the Cathedral. The College is headed by the Administrator, who runs the Cathedral on behalf of the Cardinal. The Administrator oversees the whole life of the Cathedral, from liturgy to maintenance, from staffing to finances, and must ensure that all aspects of the Cathedral are given their due attention. The sub-Administrator looks to domestic arrangements and the Cathedral rotas, concerning himself with the parish on a day-to-day basis. The Registrar has the duty of recording weddings and baptisms, and maintaining the documentation of the Cathedral. The Prefect of the Sacristy oversees sacristy preparations, and ensures that provision is made for daily Masses and major ceremonies. These, together with the other chaplains, provide a faithful service of word and sacrament, and pastoral care, in the Cathedral. Their lives of prayer, both private and public, have been woven into the fabric of this great church; they have sustained and increased its apostolic spirit, and have made it, in the worlds of Pope John Paul II, a "symbol of energy and faith of the English catholic community."