{"id":12602,"date":"2026-10-07T09:38:57","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T07:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/2026\/10\/07\/in-london-feast-of-st-therese-couderc\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T11:06:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T09:06:20","slug":"in-london-feast-of-st-therese-couderc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/2026\/10\/07\/in-london-feast-of-st-therese-couderc\/","title":{"rendered":"In London, Feast of St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Couderc"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Our community in Brixton had a wonderful celebration on Saturday, 26th September, for the Feast of Mother Th\u00e9r\u00e8se and to mark the Bicentenary year. It was truly a beautiful celebration of joy and gratitude for the gift of the Cenacle charism and mission. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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We had the great privilege of having Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark, to celebrate the Mass, welcoming us \u201cto a festival of gratitude\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Around 150 people gathered in our local parish Church, Corpus Christi, for this special occasion, people from many different backgrounds, cultures and with connections to the Sisters over the years. Among those who joined us were Abbot Hugh Allan, Norbertine Fathers, and the Vicar for Religious in the Archdiocese, with Sr Shelia Moloney, DMJ (Daughters of Mary and Joseph) and Sr Patricia Heller, SSA (Sisters of St. Ann) who work with him; Canon Philip Andrews, Private Secretary to Archbishop John, Fr Matthew O Gorman PP of Corpus Christi and Fr Godfrey, assistant priest, as well as a number of other priest friends who concelebrated with Archbishop John. <\/p>

It was a real joy to have that Sr Kate with us for this occasion, as well as our Sisters from Montmartre, Versailles and Dublin, together with our Cenacle Companions and dear friends of the Cenacle. A number of sisters from different religious congregations were also present, as well and many members of our parish community and our families. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The celebration began with a warm welcome from Sr Patricia<\/strong>, who set the scene recalling the origins of the Congregation, and introducing the Bicentenary theme \u201cof clay and gold\u201d. She inviting the people <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u201cto recognise and celebrate that we are all both clay and gold: Clay, holding a treasure: Christ. \u2026 and that today, like Mother Th\u00e9r\u00e8se and Father Terme, \u201cMay we give our own Yes to God\u2014confident that the Holy Spirit will take all that is ordinary, fragile and seemingly insignificant in our lives and make something beautiful for the life of the world, for our community, and for one another\u2026..something we may never see, but that will give Glory to God today, and for generations to come.\u201d<\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Archbishop John gave a very inspiring homily<\/strong> (watch here<\/a>), reflecting his understanding and the gift of our charism and mission for the Church today. He picked up the theme of clay and gold beautifully. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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At the Offertory procession, Sr Marion presented our \u2018Kintsugi vase\u2019<\/strong>, a representation of all Cenacle Sisters and Cenacle family members, and the many lives and relationships woven into our Cenacle story.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Members of the local parish participated generously and enthusiastically in the celebration. Some helped us to welcome the people, while the choirs added to the joy and prayerfulness of the celebration through their music and song. The readers truly proclaimed the Word with clarity and conviction, and the altar servers carried out their ministry with such grace and reverence. All of this contributed so beautifully to the prayerful and joyful spirit of the celebration. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Just before the final blessing, Sr Kate offered a very moving word of gratitude<\/strong> to all:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u2026 We give thanks for Father Stephen Terme and Saint Therese Couderc, the founders of the Cenacle and for their audacious faith and generous self-giving. We give thanks for generations of Cenacle Sisters who have followed the call of God to them with fidelity and a sense of service<\/strong>. We give thanks for all those who have carried the Cenacle spirit into different cultures, countries, communities across the world and particularly to this country. <\/h5>
We are grateful for all those people who have visited and stayed in our houses<\/strong> in England and Ireland, who have met our sisters in diverse pastoral settings, who have worked alongside us and inspired us by their own commitment and engagement in the life of the church and our society.<\/h5>
And it\u2019s not just about what happened in the past! I want to thank you for being here with us today, Cenacle Sisters, brother priests, parishioners, friends, family members, collaborators in our mission \u2013 all of you who walk alongside us<\/strong>. Thank you for your encouragement, your support, your challenge and your witness which help us to be faithful to the mission confided to us. <\/h5>
As we celebrate 200 years, we do not simply look backward with gratitude. We also look forward with hope<\/strong>. \u2026.<\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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One of the most moving moments came when Sr Kate invited all the Cenacle Sisters to stand and, together with the choir, sing our chant, Nostra Domine de Cenacolo<\/em>. It was a deeply powerful moment for us, and many people spoke afterwards of how profoundly moved they had been by hearing us sing. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Sisters and Companions of the Cenacle<\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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After the final blessing and the photographs, celebrations continued in the school hall. Once again, we felt the support of the parish community, a retired professional baker made two wonderful cakes for the occasion! <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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We could not have celebrated this special occasion without the generous help and support of Fr Matthew, our parish community, and, in a particular way, the FMM Sisters. Their friendship, encouragement, and steadfast support are a true blessing to our community. <\/p>

Although we were tired after such a full and joyful weekend, we were, and are filled with a deep sense of consolation, gratitude, and joy.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Sr Patricia Byrne<\/h6>

<\/p>

Links : <\/strong><\/p>

Archdiocesan Website<\/a><\/p>

Photos Archdiocesean website<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Brixton (London), the community celebrated the feast of St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Couderc and the bicentennial of the Congregation on September 26 at the local parish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bicentenary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12602"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12611,"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12602\/revisions\/12611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cenacle-gen.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}