II

Chapter Two

THE OPENING OF THE MONASTERY

THERE is NO evidence as to the exact date on which the work

of building the monastery began, but much preparatory

work had to be done by felling the trees on the site, which

was still part of what had been the Royal Forest of the

Haywood, and the quarrying and carting of stone from

Lugwardine. On reaching Belmont the stone was cut and

dressed in sheds that stood on the site of the present lawns.

Plans for the monastery had been prepared by Edward

Pugin in consultation with Provincial Heptonstall and Dom

Anselm Cockshoot during 1855, and these were to supersede

the original plans made by Mr Wegg-Prosser for a large

missionary house on the south-east side of the church, of

which the only trace left is a deep well from which water

was taken during the building of both church and monastery.

Unfortunately the plans and, indeed, nearly all the original

documents concerning the foundation have been lost, but

we have abundant evidence concerning them from the

memories of those who saw them and from the spate of

criticism and correspondence which they aroused.

The lengthy triangular negotiations between Mr Wegg-

Prosser, the bishop, and the Congregational authorities came

to an end at last, and a Hereford builder, Arthur Maggs,

signed the contract for the building of the monastery on

June 15, 1857. The preliminary work seems to have been

under the direction of Mr Gretton, agent for Mr Wegg-

Prosser, who engaged a Mr Pontifex as clerk of the works;

but the Benedictines appointed Fr Anselm Cockshoot to

superintend the building operations on their behalf. He was

a former Prior ofAmpleforth (1838-1846) and had taken a

19

20 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

keen interest in the Belmont project from the outset. He

now, therefore, took up his residence at Clehonger Court,

the home of William Holtom who showed great kindness to

all the Benedictine fathers who were continually coming and

going during those years. From there Fr Cockshoot kept up

a continuous and lively correspondence with the President-

General (Abbot Burchall), and with Dom Ambrose Prest

and other prominent monks, on the progress of the building

and the various problems that arose. To him it fell to smooth

over difficulties, and to keep the peace between the bishop

and Mr Wegg-Prosser (no mean task), and he has been

called 'the Father of Belmont'. It was he also who ensured

that the monastery was built on land given to the Con-

gregation and with the Cathedral entity accommodated,

instead of at Newport on the bishop's land with the noviciate

and house of studies merely accommodated.

A few days after Fr Cockshoot's arrival the conveyance of

seven acres of land was made to the Congregation in the per-

sons of representatives of Downside, Ampleforth and Douai,

and that of the church and cemetery to the trustees appointed

by Bishop Brown. But it is curious to find that as late as

September, 1857, a considerable time after the plans had

been drawn up and approved, a discussion arose, apparently

on the initiative of Fr Prest, as to whether the monastery

should be in the form of a square, two stories high, with an

inner court and a great entrance facing south; or, alterna-

tively, a long building of three stories facing west, and with

wings' north and south. Then, some months after building

had begun, it was discovered that no damp courses had been

laid, so the walls were pulled down, the foundations raised

one'foot six inches, and a slate and cement damp course

laid at a cost of some ^70. The bishop took the opportunity

of urging that the refectory should be doubled in size, and

promised to give an extra thousand pounds if that were

done, and to provide for the education of five boys for the

diocese. In October the builder found that there was good

building stone in the woods a hundred yards west of the

church (in what is now called 'the south of France'), and

also close to the east end of the school-chapel, and he

THE OPENING OF THE MONASTERY 21

proposed to save money by using this supply instead of

bringing stone from the quarries at Lugwardine; but he was

told that 'leave to quarry stone on our side of the school road

was limited, and the trees are most sacredly preserved'.

Eventually it was remembered that the Wye Bridge and

Hereford Cathedral were said to have been built in the first

instance with stone from Haywood Forest, and the quarries

were found at Spring Grove, thus solving the difficulty. It

was three months after this that the bishop's plan to have a

larger refectory was adopted, but there was still the greatest

uncertainty as to where the library, chapter-house, sacristy

and noviciate were to be located. But in spite of all the

differences of opinion the work of building went steadily on

and by October, 1858, the main work seems to have been

finished, and Fr Gockshoot had turned his attention to the

making of lawns and terraces in front of the house. But

another year had to go by before the house was ready for

habitation, and during that time there were misgivings as to

how the present arrangements would fit in with possible future

plans when St Michael's might cease to be a common house

of studies and noviciate, and might become autonomous.

Thus Fr Cockshoot was already asking whether Belmont

was to take novices for itself, as some of the building arrange-

ments depended on the answer to that question. Bishop

Brown urged that it should have its own novices.

And so the year 1859 was reached, the year which was to

see the fruition of all these plannings and negotiations, and a

circular issued at the beginning of this year by the bishop

serves to show clearly his particular view of what were to be

the functions of the new monastery. After appealing for

funds for Belmont, and mentioning the need for a seminary

wherein he could train priests much more cheaply than by

sending them to foreign colleges, the bishop emphasised the

need for a place in which the secular clergy could make their

annual retreat, and whence temporary supplies for the

missions could be obtained. The Benedictines had agreed to

fulfil all these purposes. He then dilated on the advantages

to the monks of having a common noviciate, and concluded

by saying that the cathedral and monastery would have

22 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

been at Newport but for the great expense of building there^

Naturally it was these external aspects of the new monastery's

activities that most appealed to the bishop; but the main

interest of the monks was necessarily different. For them it

was to be primarily a place of training for their young

monks, novices and 'Juniors'. In the earliest days of the plan

there had been a project for reviving the former community

of SS. Adrian and Denis from Lambspring in Germany, and

when this proved impracticable Abbot Molyneux (President-

General, 1850-1854) had had hopes of being able to induce

St Gregory's to establish the Downside noviciate and their

theological students at Belmont. But when it was found that

the monastery would have to be built not by Mr Wegg-

Prosser but by the monks and the bishop, it became clear

that no single house could undertake so formidable a task,

even if they wished to (which none of them did). And so

there came the plan for having a Congregational common

noviciate and house of studies. So negotiations were now

afoot for the gathering together of the young aspirants from

the other three monasteries, and for the providing of a

Superior and a teaching staff for the new house.

It had early been decided that the best man for the

difficult post of Superior of St Michael's was the ruling Prior

of Downside, Dom Norbert Sweeney, even though some of

the monks from the other two houses considered that he was

'too Gregorian' in his outlook, and even though he himself

was not at all eager for the appointment. Indeed on April

26 Bishop Brown wrote:

I am much afraid Sweeney will decline his appointment to

the Priorship ofSt Michael's.2 . . . Sacrifice must be made for a.

new establishment of such great importance by St Gregory s . _ .

and by individuals. Unless there be this disposition, when the

time apparently worked out by God for the sacrifice has corne^

and if His designs be thwarted through human considerations,

He will frequently deprive resisting man of that on which he

founded his opposition; and thus Sweeney may be ordered else-

1 For a fuller statement of his views, see p. 36, infra.

2 The monastery was placed under the protection of St Michael by a Papal

Decree of December 18, 1859.

THE OPENING OF THE MONASTERY 21

where, whereas now he may be retained to the Body.1 You may

want him before long to replace me, and nowhere could he be

better prepared than at the head of St Michael's. It is very

unfortunate that few seem willing to aid it beyond words and

wishes, scarcely anyone by personal sacrifices, except that man

whom God will reward and men should honour, Fr Anselm

Cockshoot, the most single-minded member of the E.B.C.'

-But Prior Sweeney did rise to the occasion, and during the

early summer he worked strenuously to make all things

ready for the opening of the new house. Writing to the

bishop, he declared:

... I certainly shall leave no stone unturned to try and have the

Community (of Belmont) assembled during the month of October •

for otherwise I fear such disappointment will ensue as to be the

nearest approach to a cause for despair. I have at Downside

seven very promising novices, most eager for the happy com-

mencement of their Religious Life at St Michael's. . . .Some of

the Juniors have been set apart for the new house, and now to

hear that they cannot enter for some months will astonish and

disappoint all. At Douai it is just the same; and it is only some of

Ampleforth that will begin to congratulate themselves on the

fulfilment of their prophecies that St Michael's will be a failure.'

All this was because there was a rumour that the opening

would have to be considerably delayed. But in actual fact

the new monastery was at last opened on November 21

1859, the anniversary of the Dies Memorabilis of the English

Benedictine Congregation, and chosen for the occasion for

that reason;2 and thus a new monastery, the first for cen-

turies, had been added to the Congregation. It may be

mentioned in passing that the total costs of the buildings,

both church and monastery, appear to have been some

£45,000, of which about £30,000 came from Mr Wegg-

Prosser, £7,000 from the bishop, a similar sum from other

benefactors, and £1,000 from the English Benedictines.

And so, once more, after a lapse of more than three

hundred years, a Cathedral Priory was in existence in

1 ie to the EBC The sentence seems to be a hint   that Prior Sweeney might

be lost to the EBC. by being appointed to a colonial bishopric: always a

sore point with Dr Brown.

2 On November 21, 1556, the monks of Westminster Abbey, who had been

turned out by Henry VIII in 1539, were restored to it by Queen Mary

Tudor. And on November 21, 1607, two young English priests from Italy

were professed by Dom Sigebert Buckley, the last survivor of the old English

Congregation, thus ensuring the continuation of the Congregation.

THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

England, to take up the work of its illustrious predecessors of

ore-Reformation days, the Cathedral Priories of Durham,

Ely Winchester, Peterborough, and many others. Once

again there was in this land a Cathedral (for forty years to

come the only one throughout the English-speaking world)

in which the Canons fulfilled the duty of public recitation of

the Divine Office. It was a notable occasion in the history

of the venerable Congregation. Born out of much tribulation,

created with no little misgiving on the part of many who

witnessed its advent, St Michael's was to breathe a new life

into the Congregation, a new fervour and a new ideal.

One who was present that day, Dom Alphonsus Morrall ol

Downside (the first Novice Master at Belmont), has left an

account of the proceedings, from which a brief extract may

be made:

'Nov 21, 1859. On this anniversary ... the new church of St

Michael' was blessed by Dom Norbert Sweeney, late Prior of

St Gregory's, Downside. As the church had not originally been

designed for a community, and alterations were contemplated

to form the east end into a regular choir, only the nave and tran-

septs were used; the arches of the chancel and of the side chapels

being bricked up. In consequence of workmen being employed

in the church all the afternoon, it could not be blessed before it

had become dark. The Prior with cross-bearer and two acolytes

and t;o Pendants, and accompanied by Mr Wegg-Prosser,'the

Sunder of the church, then proceeded round the church over

the rough ground and heaps of mortar, and blessed it according

to the Roman Ritual. They then went to the chapel-school, and

brought the Blessed Sacrament into the church, when Vespers

were sung, and Benediction given by the Rt Rev. Dr Brown, the

Bishop of the Diocese. .

As workmen would be engaged in the church all night, the

Blessed Sacrament was again removed into the monastery, and

compline, matins, lauds, prime and the htt e hours were recited

in the chapter room. The first Mass was said at 7 o'clock by Dr

Brown, and  was served by Mr Wegg-Prosser At 11o'clock

Pontifical High Mass was sung by Dr Ullathorne Bishop of

Birmingham, and a sermon was preached by Dr Brown On

account of the number of visitors dinner was had in the large

cloister, as the temporary refectory was not large enough. Our

brethren of Downside and the nuns of Stanbrook had kindly sent

several joints for the occasion.'

The altar which had been temporarily set up under the

THE OPENING OF THE MONASTERY 25

tower is the altar of oak and pitch pine now in the sacristy,

with the tabernacle which is now at Alderwasley; and it may

be noted that this arrangement of the altar was so pleasing

that there was a question of whether the permanent altar

should not be there, and stalls for the Community arranged

as a retro-choir. The bishop was in favour of this, but the

Community opposed it. There was present, of course, a very

great concourse of priests, both regular and secular, and the

account given in The Tablet notes that the dignitaries and the

representatives of the old Benedictine Abbeys wore their

insignia concealed—an illustration of the fact that the spirit

of the penal times had not yet entirely passed away. Indeed

it was only within the last few years that even the habit had

been worn regularly within our monasteries, for it is said

that Dom Wilfrid Raynal, the future Cathedral Prior of

Belmont, who was clothed in 1848, was the first monk in

England since the Reformation to retain his habit after the

clothing ceremony.

And so community life at St Michael's began, and it is

worth while recording the names of the original community.

The Prior was, of course, Fr Norbert Sweeney, and he was

assisted by a staff of three priests: Frs Anselm Cockshoot as

Sub-Prior and Procurator, Alphonsus Morrall as Novice

Master, and Lawrence Shepherd as Junior Master. The first

and third of these were from Ampleforth, and the Prior and

Fr Morrall from Downside. There also came three professed

brothers: Isidore Green, Ambrose Pereira, and Augustine

Reeve, and five choir postulants (who all later became very

prominent members of the Congregation): Bernard Murphy,

Vincent Dolman, Gregory Murphy, Francis Moore, and

Jerome Vaughan. All these eight were from Downside. On

arrival they found a few who had come some days earlier:

Anthony Kupper had come on November 14 as a lay-

brother postulant and cook, John Grey and William Fair-

clough, also laybrother postulants; and on the lyth Br

Romuald Turner, a subdeacon from St Edmund's, Douai,

with William Purton and James Windham as choir postu-

lants, also from Douai. Finally, one more laybrother postu-

lant, Robert Bullen. Thus there were nineteen in all.

26 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

As soon as the newcomers had viewed the church it was

evident that the choir accommodation was quite inadequate,

for the building had originally been designed for the use of

missionary priests and so had no choir, and a chancel only

ten feet deep; but when it was decided that monks were to

inhabit Belmont Mr Wegg-Prosser had added ten more feet

to it. But the Prior realised that there was still not space for

any dignified performance of the liturgical offices with the

Community and Canons in attendance, and therefore further

alterations were essential to transform the chancel into a

regular choir. As for the monastery, at the end of 1859 it was

only just habitable and was mostly unfurnished. Outside it

was unfinished, and at the right of the 'Junior's Porch' the

wall may still be seen in a rough condition as the intention

was to have the library wing extending to the west and then

turning south to complete a square cloister in front of the

existing house. The only approach to the church was along

the front of the monastery to the entrance porch which was

then where the Memorial Altar now stands in the south side

of the nave. The front lawns, with their trees, and the south

half of the garden were laid out in the following year, and an

orchard was planted in the acre of ground in front of the

school-house. The north side of the garden, however, was a

waste of stone which had been dumped and cut for the build-

ings, and it so remained until 1868.

Such, then, was the state of the Priory at the opening in

November 1859, and the young community had a vast

amount of work to do to make the place presentable.

Meanwhile, although Dom Norbert Sweeney had been

chosen as Prior, he was not at once installed, for it was

expected that the Holy See would issue a formal approval

of the nomination. But after a delay of a few weeks a letter

was received from Cardinal Barnabo, the Cardinal Secretary

of State, to the effect that a Rescript or Brief was not needed,

and that none would be sent; so thereupon President

Burchall issued a Letter of Installation dated December 18,

by virtue of which Prior Sweeney assumed office. But in fact

Bishop Brown had for some time been uneasy concerning the

method followed in the appointment of the Prior, and on

THE OPENING OF THE MONASTERY 27

December 8 he wrote to Abbot Burchall that he doubted the

wisdom of the procedure. He said that Prior Sweeney should

have gone to Rome, and that, while the Statutes provided

for the election of the Prior by the Chapter (of the Diocese),

this supposes the Chapter to have been formed and to exis..

A Rescript was needed declaring that the Prior was to be

appointed and, if this were to be done by the Chapter, the

Rescript must state how the Chapter was to be constituted.

He asked the President to study the First Synod of West-

minster in order to find out whether he (the Bishop) might

appoint the first Chapter. Eventually a Rescript, dated

December 18, was obtained from Rome nominating Fr

Sweeney to be the first Prior, and in June 1861 a sanatio was

procured regularising the appointment of the Chapter which

had meanwhile been made by Bishop Brown1

On January 19, 1860, two months after the opening ot

the monastery, the choir postulants already mentioned were

! clothed as novices for their respective houses, and with them

was also clothed Br Anthony Kupper as a laybrother. The

other laybrother postulants did not receive the habit, tor

they left, apparently against their own will, since the reasons

given for their departure were the somewhat strange ones

that there was not sufficient work for four laybrothers fear

of breakdown in health, and the scanty resources of the

monastery. But Belmont did at least have one laybrother

from the beginning, and has had successors to him almost

I continuously since.

I A few days after the above clothing a consultation took

I place between President-General Burchall, Dom Dunstan

Scott Mr Wegg-Prosser and Pugin the architect concerning

! the lengthening of the choir sufficiently to include a chancel.

: The decision was that since so much had to be done to the

monastery, both inside and out, the superiors could not

assume any more responsibility and anxiety. But Prior

Sweeney had collected about £750 from friends for the

i purpose, and it was agreed that he should hand this over to

' MrWeeg-Prosser who was willing to assume all responsibility

for the whole cost and the work. Thus by the end of Sep-

1 See Appendices III and VI, pp. 36, and 46, infra.

28 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

tember 1860 the present choir and the side-chapels of Our

Lady and St Joseph were built at a cost of ^700, and the

east window set further back for the third time. At the same

time Mr Wegg-Prosser added the gift of the High Altar at

a cost of ^200.

From the start it was intended that St Michael s should

maintain a stricter observance than that followed by the

other houses of the Congregation at that time, and thus

gradually raise the tone of the whole Congregation as the

Belmont-trained young monks returned to their own

monasteries; and this, in point of fact, came about. But in

any case the dire poverty of the new house necessitated the

leading of an exceptionally hard life. Fr Alphonsus Morrall

recorded that

'At first there were many inconveniences, such as having sheets

for tablecloths, bricks for fenders, salt in soap dishes, cider in a

water-can, and for some days two common spoons for stirring

tea- but superiors had been careful to provide everything

necessary. Several of our Brethren were exceedingly generous in

contributing from their savings on the mission both towards the

building and furnishing of the house. As one example, Dom

Dunstan Scott of Little Malvern gave £120 for blankets, tables,

chests of drawers, washing stands, etc., for the cells, hoping

that we would sometimes think of him during the cold winter

nights".'

There was of course no garden yet in which to grow vege-

tables, and the accounts given at the Golden Jubilee of the

foundation (1909) by those who still survived told how hard

was the life and how scanty the food. Abbot Cummins

(Cathedral Prior ofBelmont from 1901 to 1905), who was at

St Michael's as a young monk in the i86o's, has written thus

of those days:

A high ideal was aimed at ... lodging was simple, though,

being modern, it was better than that in the older houses, fare

was frugal, silence was maintained till after the midday meal,

there were no games or sports of any kind, and of course no

smoking. There was moderate but sufficient recreation, and

walking was the main exercise, together with daily manual

labour. "Long sleeps" were quite unknown, even in the case of

those who were very young. . .

Choral office was maintained at a high level, with strict Plain

'Chant after the fashion of Mechlin; but every monk was allowed

THE OPENING OF THE MONASTERY 2Q

and expected to join in without fear of putting out a Schola

Cantorum. Each day Vespers were sung, but not Mass; frequent

Pontifical functions were carried out admirably; and the Liturgy

and the choir duties came first everywhere. ... The life was hard

and strenuous, too much so for some, and there were complaints

of men's health breaking under the strain, but it was genuine

Benedictine observance and work, and I could accept the witness

of an experienced Abbot, not of our Congregation,1 that Belmont

was the most observant monastery in the Benedictine world.

That the food, both as regards quality and quantity, was

austere, is shown by many reminiscences that have come

down to us, and Bishop Austin O'Neill, who came to Belmont

as a young postulant one year after the opening of the house,

and who rose to be President-General, confirms this in a

letter written forty years later to Prior Cummins, who at

that time was just beginning to collect novices for St

Michael's itself. Dated August 29, 1902, it runs thus:

'My visit to Belmont has revived many recollections. It has

always been a problem, or rather a group of problems, on which

in former years I spent a good deal of thought, and I cannot but

be interested in the experiment which you are now making.

I cannot express any opinion about the horanum. There are

some changes which I think are improvements, but there are so

many unknown, or at least obscure elements, that a priori

arguments are scarcely to be trusted. Experience alone can show

whether you have solved the problem of securing for your young

men the "mens sana in corpore sano".

My socius and V.G., Fr Bilsborrow,3 has told me more than

once that he frequently suffered the pangs of hunger at Belmont.

I hope you will look to the question of quantity of suitable food. In

my time, we had to go from dinner-time to breakfast next morn-

ing a period of seventeen or eighteen hours, with no break but tea

and bread and butter at 7 p.m. For growing youths it was not

enough. At breakfast they were very hungry, and made what was

undoubtedly the most copious meal of the day. Dinner was spoiled

for those far down the tables, by the system of carving. Ihe

youngest (and hungriest) had to wait ten minutes or more,

especially when there were strangers. But you have seen all that

yourself. I most heartily wish you success in your efforts to make

better arrangements. ...

Ever fraternally yours,

^P. A. O'Neill, O.S.B.'

1 Abbot Bergh ofRamsgate, speaking in 1902.

' That of starting a community belonging to Belmont itselt.

3 Later the first Archbishop of Cardiff.

10 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

Those were in fact days of great fervour and enthusiasm, and

the fact that Belmont was largely unaffected by the traditions

and customs of the older houses meant that it was to a great

extent unhampered by the remnants of the penal days which

still so greatly affected thought and conduct among the

older men. Thus it came about that St Michael's came to

stand for a more thorough-going 'monasticism', a feeling

which showed itself even in externals. For instance, the habit

was worn there much more generally than elsewhere,1 and

the monks spoke of 'cloisters' instead of 'passages' as in the

other monasteries, and of 'monastery' in place of 'college'.

The young monks used to look with amazement on the

attire of aged Capitular or Mission Fathers who would

appear in the monastery with a scapular thrown over their

ordinary clothes, and wearing a top hat, and so forth.

Describing these early days, Abbot Cummins once wrote:

'. . . The House stood in the middle of a wood, there was no

school to occupy the energies, no village to distract the attention

of its inmates who could devote their days and labours exclusively

to monastic observance, the Divine Office and their sacred

studies. . . . The four years' stay could not be curtailed by a

single day. Few exemptions were allowed on any pretext. The

present writer, though under 16 at the time, never had one single

morning's "sleep" during the whole of his noviciate . . . Pro-

fessional studies, one year's Philosophy, and two of Dogmatic

Theology filled up the day. If the professors were not university

graduates they were able to teach more than the students could

learn, and generally to inspire a taste for serious study; and the

formal classes or lectures, held partly in Latin, were willingly

supplemented by much private reading and serious discussions.

. . . The number (of monks) was large. They came from all three

houses, (and) the clash of temperaments, traditions and previous

training helped to maintain interest and emulation, to rub off

corners, to widen outlook, to bring the separate communities into

closer relations, and so to promote unity in the long divided

Congregation.'

A document drawn up at Douai (France) in September

1862 by the President-General gives a list of points, some for

all the monasteries, but most of them for St Michael's, which

* It is of interest to note that only a short time before this, on January 3, 1850,

the Downside Community had petitioned to be allowed to wear the cowl,

having only recently been permitted to wear the habit at all.

THE OPENING OF THE MONASTERY 31

he had settled and approved. It will be of interest to quote

them here:

1 The President to decide who are to go to St Michael s as

' professors. All the priors agree to this, but Ampleforth make

one exception (Fr Hedley). . .

2 Hair to be worn short. Dress to be ecclesiastical. Gaps to be

' done away with. Scapulars not to have buttons in front.

q Cells to be (sparsely?) ornamented, and as prescribed by the

Constitutions, and books in cells only such as are necessary

-C 11

A. Chapters of faults to be held for all at St Michaels.

r The old ceremonial to be observed in all the monasteries.

6. No reading allowed at St Michael's during recreation, onJull

study days. , . , „ ,

7 At St Michael's silence to be always observed in the refectory

even on Prior's Feast and Feast of Holy Innocents;

8 Seculars not to be admitted into St Michael s without per-

' mission of the Superior. Humiliations to be performed even

though strangers are present.

It may, indeed, be said that Belmont. by its training of

the young men of the Congregation, breathed a new spirit

into the other monasteries: a spirit not by any means always

welcomed by some of the older generation; but that was

inevitable, for each succeeding age has its own methods and

outlook, and after all it was very largely for this purpose

that St Michael's had been founded.1 And in fact the

training there received was to a great extent responsible for

the birth of that reforming zeal, identified chiefly with St

Gregory's twenty years later, which, under the guidance

and encouragement of the Holy See, brought about that

constitutional reform known as the Abbatial System under

which the Congregation has lived since 1900.

The year 1860 saw the consecration of the church and the

solemn official opening of the monastery; but before those

events could take place the Diocesan Cathedral Chapter had

to be set up, and there was considerable discussion as to

how this was to be done, and as to the number of Canons

resident and non-resident. At first, it seems, it was proposed

that there should be five resident and five non-resident

Canons, and to this the Bishop rather reluctantly agreed,

1 The need for such an example was stressed by Bishop Brown: see his letter,

p. 36, infra.

32 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

for he declared that he did not remember having previously

assented to having five resident Canons; but in April of this

year Rome agreed to a temporary arrangement by which

the resident Canons were to be five instead of six, and the

non-resident Canons were to be four. These, in addition to

the Prior, were: Resident: Frs Anselm Cockshoot, Benedict

Blount, Lawrence Shepherd, Alphonsus Morrall, and

Benedict Scarisbrick; Non-Resident: Frs Augustine Rolling,

Peter Wilson, and Vincent Spears, the fourth canonry being

left vacant. These Canons were chosen not, as is usual, by

the bishop of the diocese, but (at his request) by the President

and Regimen of the Congregation. They were not appointed

for life, but for a limited period, and were bound to resign

their canonries at the demand of the General Chapter, and

also 'before the assembling of Chapter at the instance and

by the command of the Very Reverend President, unless the

Bishop object'.1 Those that were non-resident were bound to

serve the missions of the diocese, and all ceased to be Canons

if they went to reside outside the diocese.

All was now practically ready for the ceremonies of con-

secration, for although the church had been damaged by a

great storm in February, this had not for long held up the

work. On that occasion the force of the gale had partially

stripped the roof off the church, and on the previous night

lesser damage had been done, and Fr Cockshoot recorded

that 'the noise and destruction which raged here from seven

o'clock on Thursday night would be a fine theme for a

poem'. But at last all was ready, and the great day of the

consecration of the church arrived. The whole Community

observed the vigil (September 3) as a fast day, and watched

all night before the relics of SS. Peter, Paul, Clement, and

five other martyrs, which were to be inserted into the

'sepulchre' of the altar next day. And next morning,

September 4, the church was duly consecrated by Bishop

Brown, after which the Mass of Dedication was sung pontifi-

cally by Abbot Gueranger of Solesmes, who was greatly

interested in the revival of the monastic life in England, and

whose famous book U Annie Liturgique was then being trans-

1 Decree from Rome, February 20, 1856.

THE OPENING OF THE MONASTERY 33

lated into English by Dom Lawrence Shepherd. It is said

that as he knew that travelling in the Benedictine habit

would not be tolerated in England, he dressed in what he

conceived would be suitable clerical garb, and on arriving at

Gloucester station on the evening of September 3 he missed

the conveyance that had been sent for him, and looked such

a strange figure in baggy breeches, tight coat, and beaver

hat, and unable to speak English, that he was narrowly and

suspiciously questioned by the police before being sent on to

Hereford. But he arrived in time and was fully alert, for he

at once asked what offices were to be sung, and being told

that the First Vespers of the Dedication would be sung at

once, he remarked that that was impossible as the church

was not yet dedicated. In consequence the liturgy had to be

changed to the office of the day, that of St Stephen of

Hungary.

Two months earlier the Prior had reported to Bishop

Brown:

'.. . I hope we may safely fix our opening for the 2 and of August.

I cannot expect an earlier day as the granite from Aberdeen has

not yet come. I will give the preachers the earliest notice possible;

but as it is now pretty certain that the Cardinal (i.e. Wiseman)

cannot come, I am sure I am only doing what would meet with

universal approval, in begging that your Lordship will preach in

the morning yourself.

Mr Wegg-Prosser has just been down, and he still hopes that

Faber may be asked for the afternoon. It will only be a compli-

ment to ask him, as I am sure there is not much chance of his

coming, as his health is so very uncertain. My own inclination is

very much in favour ofDr Newman. . . .'

Cardinal Wiseman had originally accepted an invitation to

sing the Mass, but he was unable to keep his engagement.

But at the solemn opening on the day following the Dedica-

tion the whole of the English hierarchy, except the Cardinal

and Bishop Grant of Southwark who was ill, was present in

the church. There were also present a great many of the

clergy and laity from all over England, and Bishop Brown

officiated in the absence of the Cardinal. He was assisted by

the members of his newly-formed Chapter, with the Hon.

and Rev. Fr Stonor as Master of Ceremonies, and Mr John

Q4. THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

Lambert at the small organ which stood in the still unfinished

south transept. In point of fact it must have been a highly

impressive scene (as indeed The Tablet declared). First came

a ceremonial procession of a hundred monks followed by

secular priests, dignitaries and the bishops, preceding Bishop

Brown, whose train was carried by the five-year-old son of

the founder. A large multitude of the laity followed, and,

preceded by processional cross and acolytes, the procession

first went round the monastery grounds. The observers, and

especially the non-Catholics, as usual on such occasions,

did not fail to be impressed by the thurifers and what

the reporters called 'clouds of billowing incense'; and

it was also realised that Abbot Gueranger was the first

mitred ruling Abbot to set foot in England since the Reforma-

tion. The Pontifical Mass followed, at which the sermon was

preached by Bishop Ullathorne at the altar rails, as there

was as yet no pulpit. Afterwards two hundred guests were

entertained to lunch in the cloister, while the ladies were

entertained in the guest-rooms. In the evening Bishop Brown

again sang Pontifical Vespers, and the sermon was preached

by Mgr Manning on the history of the Benedictine Order in

England and the prospects of the 'Second Spring'. It may

well be imagined what excitement was caused locally by all

these proceedings, and indeed interest was excited all over

the country. The growth of Catholicism definitely had news

value at that time, and was much in the minds of many

non-Catholics. And now there was in the West Country a

new and active centre for the spread of the Old Religion.

APPENDIX I

THE DECREE OF THE S. CONGREGATION OF PROPA-

GANDA CONCERNING THE CHAPTER OF NEWPORT

AND MENEVIA

Seeing that the singular merit of the Monastic Order of St

Benedict in reference to the extension of the Christian religion

throughout England is manifest, and to such an extent that this

Institute has deserved to be enriched with special privileges tor

DECREE ON THE CHAPTER OF NEWPORT AND MENEVIA 35

the good of that Church; and that now also the English Bene-

dictine Congregation is willing to devote itself with the greatest

eamestness to the good of the church of Newport and Menevia;

the Most Eminent and Right Reverend Nicholas Wiseman,

Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Archbishop of West-

minster, and their Right Reverend Lordships, the Bishops of

England, have made known their desire to the Sacred Congrega-

tion that the Cathedral Chapter, which according to the Apostolic

Letter of November 19, 1850, should be only one for the above-

mentioned church, should be drawn from the Chapter of the

Anglo-Benedictine Congregation to be established at Newport,

the faculty being added of electing less than ten should that

number, which was named in the Apostolic Letter, not be

obtainable at once.

When the matter had been placed before the Sacred Con-

gregation at a general meeting of April 5, 1852, the Most Eminent

Fathers having given due consideration to all points connected

therewith concluded that consent should be given, but with the

the understanding that the Holy Apostolic See's right to select

the Bishop even from amongst those who were not monks, so

often as necessity or utility should demand it, should remain

intact; and that the Archbishops and Bishops should take care,

after learning the opinions of the Superiors of the aforesaid

Congregation, to draw up an instruction to be submitted to the

examination of the Sacred Congregation, in order that whatever

arrangements were made generally for the government of the

churches of England, might be adapted to the church of Newport

and Menevia subject to the terms of this indult.

This decision of the Sacred Congregation was laid before our

Most Holy Lord, Pope Pius IX, by me the undersigned secretary

at an audience on the sixth day of the same month and year, and

His Holiness approved of it in every way, and ratified it according

to the terms above described, all things whatsoever to the con-

trary notwithstanding, etc.

Given, etc.

AL. BARNABO, Seer.

April 22, 1852.

APPENDIX II

THE CHURCH IS PROVISIONALLY TO BE THE

CATHEDRAL

Most Holy Father,

Since Mr Francis Wegg-Prosser has offered to the Anglo-

Benedictine Congregation a new church of sufficient size, which

36 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

is being built at his expense in the county of Hereford, and which

he has arranged to endow with an annual income, and also offers

five acres of land for a monastery there, Thomas Joseph Brown,

Bishop of Newport and Menevia, and Paulinus Heptonstall, in

the name of the Anglo-Benedictine Congregation, humbly beg

that, as long as a Cathedral Church with its monastery cannot be

erected in the city of Newport itself, the aforesaid church at

Belmont may be provisionally regarded as the Cathedral of the

Diocese of Newport.

At an audience of His Holiness, granted May 13, 1855, our

Most Holy Lord by divine Providence Pope Pius IX, at the

instance of me the undersigned secretary of the Sacred Con-

gregation of Propaganda, by desire of the same Sacred Con-

gregation, graciously consented to what was asked for; with the

understanding, however, that care should be taken to erect a

Cathedral and capitular Monastery as soon as possible in the city

of Newport itself; whatsoever things, etc.

Given, etc.

AL. BARNABO, Seer.

Li. o.

APPENDIX III

DOM NORBERT SWEENEY IS NAMED FIRST PRIOR

Most Holy Father,

Thomas Brown, Bishop of Newport, humbly begs Your

Holiness to name the Reverend Father Norbert Sweeney Prior

of the Monastery ofSt Michael, the same, who has already been

proposed by the President and Chapter of the Anglo-Benedictine

Congregation; but inasmuch as the Prior is the first Dignitary

of the Regular Chapter of St Michael, it is deemed necessary

that Your Holiness should nominate and confirm him.

At an audience of His holiness granted December 18, 1859

Pope Pius IX ... graciously yielded the favour as asked.

Given, etc.

CAJETAN, Archbp of Thebes.

APPENDIX IV

A LETTER FROM BISHOP BROWN TO THE GENERAL

CHAPTER OF JULY, 1858

Chepstow,

July 3, 1858.

To the Very Rev. Father President, the Very Rev. and Rev.

Fathers of the English Benedictine Congregation in Chapter

Assembled.

LETTER FROM BISHOP BROWN TO GENERAL CHAPTER 37

Very Rev. Fr President, V. Rev. Fathers, and Fathers,

Accept the congratulations of one who belongs to you by

Profession and Devotion, on this occasion of your reassembling

at General Chapter, on the increased numbers of Brethren com-

posing the Congregation which you represent, on the satisfactory

condition of your several Monasteries, on the good reputation

enjoyed by your Colleges, and on the bright prospect which

appears before you. May the Wisdom of the Divine Spirit preside

over your Elections and Deliberations, animating and directing

them, through the Intercession of the Mother of God, of our

glorious Patriarch, and of the Host of Benedictine Saints, to the

Divine Honour, the fulfilment of the great ends of our vocation,

and the welfare of the Church.

It would afford me sincere gratification to present my respects

to you in person, and I believed that I had arranged to do so,

under the persuasion that this General Chapter would be held,

as had been appointed, at St Edmund's. Combined with the

purpose of waiting upon you there, were other arrangements

directed to the interests of the E.B.C., and these I could not

renounce, when you resolved to depart from the determination

announced at the Chapter preceding.

From amongst the general objects of my congratulations, I

cannot hesitate to single out the success hitherto attendant upon

your endeavours to realise the resolution of your last General

Chapter for recalling into existence, and disinterring as it were

from the ruins of ages, a Cathedral Chapter and Priory, the

representative of those illustrious English Cathedrals, identified

in our history with the brightest period of the E.B. Congregation.

The Very Rev. Fr President will set before those who have

not seen them, the Statutes by which the Holy See wills the

Cathedral Chapter to be erected, maintained and governed.

You will observe that the discipline of the E.B.C. for the election

of a Prior, and the dependence of the Canons forming the

Chapter upon the President, has been fully preserved in its

substance, with the least possible interposition of the Bishop.

The Very Rev. Fr Provincial of Canterbury will also explain

that the alterations he was compelled to make in the original pro-

posals which he took to Rome, and the concessions he was obliged

to make to forms, perhaps to prejudices, were in number and

nature far less than were to have been apprehended.

In the origin and progress of the restoration of a Cathedral

Chapter and Priory, the superintendence of a loving and en-

couraging Providence appears to me in many ways strikingly

manifest. You will remember that, at the preceding General

Chapter, I set before you the proposal in its naked difficulty,

inviting you to decide upon its acceptance or rejection by its

38 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

importance solely to the interests of the E.B.C.; and by a con-

siderable majority you determined to devote yourselves to its

accomplishment; knowing there were other religious bodies,

with smaller means than those at your command, who from a

conviction of the great advantages that would ensue to them,

were willing, nay desirous, to take up what you might decline.

Your first difficulty, one almost insurmountable to human fore-

sight, was the cost of erection. Notwithstanding, casting your

solicitude upon God, you resolved to throw yourselves into an

undertaking to which He seemed to call you by the remarkable

coincidence of the proposal, unanimously agreed to by the new

Hierarchy, with a sort of inspiration felt at that same time by

some of your Superiors, and the flattering commendation of the

project by the Holy See. When I witnessed this, I then held out a

tolerable certainty of being able to procure towards the outlay

/,3,ooo or possibly beyond that sum; and Providence upon whom

you and I relied has enabled me to contribute ^6,000 and

upwards; so that the cost of sufficient building for a Cathedral

Monastery, to accommodate the Canons, is far more than pro-

vided; and with but small aid from your own resources the

largest monastery belonging to the Congregation,1 offering

incalculable advantages in many ways, will soon be so far com-

pleted as to be fit to receive a large Community. Could I have

promised you this at the last Chapter, probably there would

have been but one voice of approval and acceptance.

Then, we may well be encouraged to confidence in the

intervention of Divine Providence when we note the fitness of

the time when the proposal of a Cathedral Priory was set before

you, combining a common house of Novitiate for the whole

Congregation, and of Theological Studies. It was offered to your

acceptance just when it was most needful; and if refused the offer

could never be renewed. Some may have thought that the

houses would be in a better condition to co-operate some ten

years hence. This is very uncertain: but that choice was not

given. Had you decided against the project, never could the

E.B.C. become the head of one, hereafter of two of our Dioceses:

never could it have recovered the rights and privileges of its

former Cathedral Priories: never could it look forward to the

immense advantages which, in my persuasion, will result from

the training of all the Novices and Juniors under one common

Discipline, in one common course of higher studies, under the

1 It is often not realised nowadays that in those days the church and the

monastery at Belmont were both much larger and more impressive than the

buildings at any of the other houses, and this, combined with the stateliness

and decorum of the choral ceremonies here, greatly impressed the juniors

and novices who came from the other monasteries.

LETTER FROM BISHOP BROWN TO GENERAL CHAPTER 39

best superintendence which the whole Congregation can afford.

Let us look at these considerations a little more in detail.

1. All the regular Orders in England whose Superiors

assisted at our first Provincial Synod, became convinced of the

great importance to Regulars, that there should be at least one

Chapter of Regulars, and one Bishop representing them. The

motives which compelled to this conclusion have been before

you, and need not be repeated. Were all the Dioceses under the

control of the Secular Clergy, the rights of Regulars might be

questioned, might be denied; the essential conditions of Superior

and Subject subverted: and opposition thereto could scarcely be

made with effect. But against such results there is a resisting

power which cannot be silenced, when a Bishop is entitled to be

heard before any Statute may be enacted, who knows all that is

proposed, who can ensure attention to his protest in the name of

all Regulars before the Holy See: and in whose Diocese a

standing protest before all England will be always maintained.

This is secured by a Benedictine Cathedral Chapter.

2. So important appeared this to the other Regular Superiors

that had the English Benedictines declined the distinction set

before them, others were, I have reason to think, desirous of

enjoying its dependent advantages. Unquestionably Abbot

Gasaretto1 would then, or now, be quite ready to constitute and

maintain the Cathedral Chapter of this Diocese, backed by the

hearty concurrence of all the Monte Cassino Congregation,

which was flattered by the privilege reflected upon them from

the position offered to their English Brethren. For this I appeal

to the knowledge of the Provincial of Canterbury. But were any

other Order or Congregation substituted as a Cathedral Chapter

for the E.B.G. how deeply would the latter be degraded.

3. It is at this moment when the interests of the E.B.C. call

loudly for such support as the Cathedral Monastery alone, with

its Common Novitiate and House of Theological Studies, can

afford (that the offer is made). Let us not, like the foolish ostrich,

conceal our heads, so as not to see the approaching danger, and

thereupon think ourselves safe. There is no use in ignoring the

fact; it is very advantageous to know it, however disagreeable;

that the E.B.C. is extremely low in estimation in England, and

in Rome: in Rome, because in England, the former receiving its

impressions from the latter. Proofs have been seen by several of

the Fathers. So far back as when I was in Rome in iSag2 strong

prejudices existed against us. Whatever causes then operated

have not since been deprived, by any countering evidence, of

their pernicious efficacy; and, by a natural consequence, they

have acquired an increase of influence. The Very Rev. Fr

1 Of the Subiaco Congregation.

' Conducting the fight against Bishop Baines.

4.0 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

President and others have seen letters from a friendly party in

Rome, testifying that one Prelate in close attendance upon His

Holiness, and capable of inculcating upon the latter his own

sentiments, speaks freely against the E.B.G., represents it as

beyond hope of reform, as an effete body, as a Congregation for

which only one chance remains, viz. to be incorporated with the

Subiaco Province under Abbot Gasaretto; and to compel it to

this it has been sought to deprive it of its most valuable members,

under a pretext of bestowing dignities in the Colonies.1

Now it is logical to apprehend that, when one hears such

language, by accident, from one distinguished official, it must be

widely spread, and its truth credited widely; and I have reason

to confirm such conclusions. It could only have come from

England; and, accordingly, I have had frequently to endure the

mortification of hearing insinuations, nay positive censures from

Laity, most depreciating of the E.B.C.

A result and a proof is the encouragement given to the estab-

lishment of a new Congregation of Benedictines in England

who come as rivals if not as reformers. Abbot Casaretto has been

readily promised thousands, by English charity and zeal, towards

the Abbey announced to be soon begun at Ramsgate; and the

Monte Cassino Congregation have welcomed his assurance that,

before the lapse of four years, he will have erected in England a

second Abbey. Yet, when I apply for aid towards the Cathedral

Monastery of this Diocese, it seems as if hardly any deem the

E.B.C. deserving of support, and even my personal friends who

have been munificent to myself, decline co-operating in what

they appear to consider a useless outlay.

4. A further answer here suggests itself to those who would,

if possible, defer the contemplated results, to ten years hence,

when existing houses may be better manned, and subjects as well

as pecuniary resources be more abundant. So far as my know-

ledge goes, I doubt whether the houses were ever better manned,

whether any probable increase of means would enable the houses

to support larger communities, and whether larger communities

would benefit the discipline of their monasteries, so long as

these should be exposed to the distractions and relaxations

intimately connected with a numerous lay-school of gentlemen's

sons. But certainly, in ten years hence, if nothing should be

done for its preservation beyond the old routine, the reputation

of the E.B.C. would be lost beyond hope of recovery. All the

religious Orders in England do actually rank above us, in

* He resented all his life the appointment of English monks to bishoprics

abroad. In the thirty years preceding this letter the E.B.C. had thus lost

Bishops Bede Slater, Placid Morris, Bede Folding, Bernard Collier, and

Charles Davis, and was soon similarly to lose the services of Bishops Adrian

Hankinson, Benedict Scarisbrick, and Bede Vaughan.

LETTER FROM BISHOP BROWN TO GENERAL CHAPTER 41

general estimation, because they have a prestige of fervour,

of discipline, of reformation; and a new Congregation of

Benedictines is about to be established in England, which

boasts of reviving the spirit of St Benedict, whereby it would

most probably attract to itself all who, in these remarkable

times, admire and wish to see renewed amongst us the

Benedictine Institute.

But the restoration of a Benedictine Cathedral Priory by the

ancient English Benedictine Congregation, before the alleged

new reform is in operation, will alone be likely to win the

attention of zealous earnest men. Such a work must, therefore,

be undertaken now or never; and this is a singular mark of God's

favour that now an opportunity is pressed upon us, which for

centuries past could not have been looked for, and which if not

now seized can never return. Five thousand pounds which I have

been enabled to apply to the erection of the Cathedral Monastery

would have wholly passed into other hands, had last Chapter

delayed to accede to my proposal.

5. But is the mere fact of the E.B.C. having charge of a

Cathedral Chapter and Priory enough to restore to it public

esteem, (and) the now forfeited good opinion of England and

Rome? Not alone, certainly. A Cathedral Chapter and Priory,

as an end, and not (as) a means of something far more important

than that which has hitherto failed to sustain the English

Benedictine reputation, would sink it more rapidly and effec-

tively. What, however, you have undertaken, under an inspira-

tion as I love to believe of that protecting Providence which has

so wonderfully preserved our Congregation, is precisely that

which is most calculated to revive the Congregation before God

and man: and now is the time for success or never. Be not ashamed

or afraid to avow it, that the solid, profound learning, which used

to be identified with the Benedictine name, and the Spirit of our

Holy Founder, are no longer recognised in us; that, in turn,

there is a deficiency of both. What is the cause ? The wisdom and

experience of past times, and of other existing Orders which

realise the virtues of their State, will at once tell you that there is

one thing to which they attached and do attach the highest

importance for securing those blessings: a common House of

Novitiate, and of Higher Studies. Why so? First, because good

training of Novices, also distinguished progress in the Sacred

Sciences, depend very greatly upon the skill and ability of those

who conduct them. Now, men possessing the requisite qualifica-

tions are not to be met with any where or every where; nor can

the E.B.C. calculate upon having always at command, in its

not very numerous society, a Novice Master and Professors of

Theology at each of its Monasteries, such as are equal to their

D

A2 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

very important duties. But the consequence of failure herein must

act most injuriously upon the whole Congregation. If fit able men,

able to fulfil those high requirements, can be found for a single

Monastery, it is quite as much as can be expected; and it will

be wise that all the other Monasteries should be enabled and

required to avail themselves of these rare advantages. And, at

what Monastery ought they to be congregated, other than that

in which all have an equal interest, as all will contribute to form

the Cathedral Chapter; and against which no possible prejudice

could have had time to be formed.

Secondly, can anyone doubt that a great obstacle to regular

discipline, and the acquisition of deep learning, must exist where

visitors are continually mixing with the Community; where

young men, fresh from the world on their return from each

annual vacation, bring with them more or less of its spirit to

tempt their former companions and friends, whom they have

incessant opportunities of meeting; where the spirit of ardent

application must be thus continually interrupted; and where

Superiors and subjects are required to divide their attention

with other than Monastic Studies and Duties.

Thirdly, the existing Colleges may suffer somewhat hereby;

but it will be for a time only; and in the choice of evils, this

surely is beyond all comparison the less. I admit that they may

suffer, although I am not convinced that this must result, and

this inconvenience will cease after one course of higher studies

shall have gone through. At Stonyhurst a very large school is

carried on by a limited number of teachers, without interrupting

the Studies of those who are engaged in Theology: and a

Committee might be advantageously appointed by your General

Chapter to ascertain how other Religious Orders provide for a

secular College, so as to enable Novices and Theological Students

to escape interruption. I may add that a strong feeling has been

entertained by thinking men, that unless a Secular School were

needed as a means of support, or as an offering to the utilitarian

notions of the age, it would, upon the whole, be of great advan-

tage for religious interests to renounce it.

Fourthly, all other religious Orders insist upon one Common

Noviciate and house of higher studies. His Holiness spoke to me

strongly on enforcing this for the E.B.C.

6. The evils of the system so long in use, that of each

Monastery conducting its own Novitiate and Theological

Studies amidst the distractions and occupations of a lay-school,

are not likely to become so manifest in the Monastery, as after-

wards upon the Mission, where exists comparative freedom from

inspection and correction. There will be likely to make way, easy

and lax opinions, love of indulgence and secular amusements,

I LETTER FROM BISHOP BROWN TO GENERAL CHAPTER 43

false notions of obligations, expecially that of holy poverty; and,

chiefly, because this has been the case, the reputation of the

E.B.C. is what I lament to know it to be. Mostly, the discipline

in the Monasteries is good; but this is not seen by externs.

Laxity on the Missions, however, can hardly escape general

observation, and instead of being condemned in the individuals,

it is charged upon their Order. Allow me to adduce one example.

There is no charge against the E.B.C. so general, and so injurious

to them, in which their opponents triumph, and from which their

. friends shrink, as their alleged neglect of their vow of poverty,

represented as its grievous violation. Now, in the Monasteries it

is most edifyingly observed, although even there attempts at

relaxation of a very dangerous kind have sometimes been made.

On the Missions, however, the English Benedictines are commonly

said to have laid aside the observance of Poverty, as enjoined by

their vow and the Laws of the Church; and a most mortifying

contrast in this particular is made between them and every other

religious Order in England. What foundation there may be for

such odious censure it is not for me to say: but, if true, its origin

will most probably be found in the defective training of Novices

and Juniors, owing to the Monasteries having each their own

Novitiate, amidst the distractions spoken of above, and under a

Master who cannot be expected to be made to hand, in each

Monastery, for properly carrying out the difficult and delicate

functions of the most important Office in a Religious Institute.

Consequently, sound principles of Theology may not be duly

inculcated; the admirable spirit and law of our Constitutions

may be too lightly passed over; dangerous examples may not be

earnestly cautioned against; and hence, the narrow confines of

'usus' and 'dominium' may, when opportunity of employing

money arrives, be overstepped without a scruple, nay with

mockery of those who hold the only correct religious views

thereon. It is not with us a question of common life, and its contrary:

it is of something far more serious. Those who do not practice

common life are scarcely tempted to exercise dominium, and

violate Poverty in essential matters: but this is a temptation ever

before those who amass money and claim as to its mode of

I application, the exercise o' their own discretion.

I On the other hand, if habits of solid piety, religious discipline,

I and profound study be formed under the guidance of the very

I best masters who can be culled from the whole Congregation; if

I they be confirmed in the retirement of the cloister during several

I years, and be not interfered with by unfavourable influences

1 from without, which may be much more easily excluded from a

I pure Monastery than from one connected with a numerous lay

I school, we may confidently expect that the spirit of the Missioner

44 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

will but develop the spirit of the Conventual, so that principles

held by the latter, as essential to the observance of the vow of

Poverty, will manifest their legitimate results in the edifying

conduct of the former.

Finally: what ten or fifteen years hence would be the condition

of the E.B.G. with the strong feelings so common against it, the

rivalry of Abbot Casaretto's Abbeys, so calculated to cast it into

deeper shade, and the new scheme of the Procurator at Rome of

the Subiaco Province being actually the only recognised Pro-

curator of the E.B.G.: what it might then be, unsupported by a

Cathedral Chapter and Priory, is, to my apprehension, too

evident. Supposing, against my conviction, that it might then be

able better than now to undertake what it has actually charged

itself with, yet reasoning in such a sense is a mere speculation,

because the opportunity of doing, what may have to be done for

the support of the Congregation, would be lost for ever.

To so many other tokens of favouring Providence at this

period may be added, that never in England since the Reforma-

tion was the E.B.G. so capable as it now is to charge itself with

the work to which it is called. What a gladdening contrast do I

witness, between the union which now binds together all its

members by the sweet ties of religious attachment, and so many

other periods to which my long connexion with the Congregation

enables me to look back, and especially to that conflict wherein,

as subsequent experience has confirmed, its existence was

trembling in the almost evenly balanced scale, at the Chapter

held where you are now assembled in 1836. Scarcely

does one remain besides myself, whose intimate acquaintance

with the proceedings of that perilous time gives him authority

to recommend confidence in God, as the ruler and protector of

the English children of St Benedict. The Monasteries, too, are

now better able than in former times to contribute towards a

great work which is the common property of all. It is not,

however, a very heavy demand that need be made upon them;

but little, compared to its cost, for the material building, and a

moderate allowance only from each for its own subjects. If there

be some difficulties to be overcome, which timidity may exag-

gerate into insurmountable obstacles, they will add one more

evidence to the many proofs which have gone before, of the

singular protection extended by the Almighty, at the intercession

of our saintly Fathers, to the E.B. Congregation.

Several matters of detail will have to be decided upon by you,

unless you may, more wisely perhaps, depute to Committees to

inquire, arrange, and under the superintendence of the Very

Rev. Fr President and Regimen to determine, in your name, and

with your authority. One of these must be: Shall the Cathedral

LETTER FROM BISHOP BROWN TO GENERAL CHAPTER 45

Monastery be itself a perfect house; that is, entitled to receive

Novices and profess them for its own subjects? I see not how you

will venture to decide in the negative; for otherwise, how would

you dispose of Postulants, Lay or Clerical, who should be

attracted by the Sanctity, Discipline, and Learning likely to

flourish in it? How could you dispose of them amongst the other

Monasteries, without creating jealousy and discord ?

Other matters of Discipline, extremely important, will have to

be entertained by this Chapter, in order to reduce the anomalies

of Religious Brethren living singly at Missions, to carry out the

conclusions of former Chapters with regard to Mission-Pnones,

etc etc. Upon these it might appear intrusive, on my part to

offer any suggestions. Therefore Very Rev. Fr President, Very

Reverend and Reverend Fathers, thanking you for the attention

which I anticipate you will have given, to this unbosoming ot my

affections and interests, and concluding as I began by earnestly

imploring upon your deliberations the light and guidance ot the

Divine Spirit, I beg to subscribe myself,

Your ever devoted Brother in J.C.

>{<T. J. BROWN.

APPENDIX V

THE DECREE ESTABLISHING THE COMMON

NOVICIATE

Cum R P D Burchall Generalis Praeses Congregationis Anglo-

Benedictinae de consensu R.P.D. Thomae Brown Episcopi

Neoportensis ac Meneviensis S. Consilio de Propaganda tide

exponi fecerit ad uniformitatem atque ordinem disciplmae ac

studiorum inter monachos suae Socletatis appnme conducere, ut

unicum omnibus commune Tyrocinium habeatur cumque

propterea a S. Sede enixe petierit ut in Cathedrali Monasteno

S Michaelis in Dioecesi Neoportensi exclusivum totius Gon-

gregationis Anglo-Benedictinae Tyrocinium constituatur; Ssmus.

DN Pius IX in audientia diei 20 Maii 1860, referente R.P.D.

Caietano Bedini Archiepo. Thebarum, atque dicti S. Gonsilii a

Secretis votis R.P.D. Praesidis Generalis bemgne annuit,

mssitque ut m Monasterio Cathedrali S. Michaelis petitym

exclusive statuatur, ac praesens ea de re Decretum expedin

"'Dat'u^' Romae de Aedibus dictae S. Congregationis de

Propaganda Fide die 20 Maii 1860.

" " AL. C. BARNABO, Praef.

CAJET. ARCHIEP. THEBAR., a Seer.

46

THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

APPENDIX VI

THE SANATIO FOR THE FORMING OF THE FIRST

CHAPTER

Most Holy Father,

Mgr Thomas Joseph Brown, Bishop of Newport and St David s,1

in the District of Wales in England, in his letter of November

16, last year, 1860, wrote as follows:

'If Propaganda had the intention of giving instructions

relative to the formation of our first Chapter differing from those

concerning Secular Chapters, it would certainly have taken care

to send them to us. I have not, however, received any.

The Prior was proposed to the Holy See by the President and

Regimen, and thereupon elected. Our special Statutes lay down

the forms to be used in the election of Canons Theologians and

Penitentiary, when such canonries are vacant (Chap. VI, 29),

and for filling vacancies in the Chapter (Chap. VII, 47), but

they do not give any special instructions for the formation of the

first Chapter. Perhaps there was no intention of giving any

instructions. But the words of the Rescript which made me fearful

of taking a false step from the beginning, and hence of com-

promising the validity of all the future acts of the Chapter, were

the following:

"At an audience of His Holiness, March 13, 1855, Our Most

Holy Lord Pius, at the instance of me the undersigned, Secretary

of the Sacred Congregation, graciously yielded to the petition, in

such wise that the election of the Monastic Canons should be

always conducted in the special manner laid down in the instruc-

tion to be issued by the Sacred Congregation, all things to the

contrary notwithstanding."

Not having any instructions for the formation of the first

Chapter, we believed ourselves able to proceed as in the case of

Secular Chapters, which were first set up by the Bishop alone in

accordance with the Brief of November 19, 1850, page 125 of our

General Statutes.

Nevertheless, in order to insure as perfectly as possible the

validity of the first Chapter, I engaged the President and Regimen

of the Anglo-Benedictine Congregation (in case there were any

instructions similar to those issued for filling vacancies) to elect

Scrutators and to propose to me by secret votes those whom they

might deem fit to become members of the first Chapter. But there

was no Mass of the Holy Ghost, because on that morning I had

to consecrate the church, nor was the oath of secrecy taken.

1 An unusual form of the diocesan title occasionally seen in documents of that

time. But 'the District of Wales in England' is even more unorthodox!

THE SANATIO FOR FORMING THE FIRST CHAPTER 47

Accordingly, the first formation of the Chapter was exclusively

•v hands. I nominated the several members of it availing

"3 however, of the individuals elected by the President and

SShnenTIn all this there has been any notable defect, I beg

"Tan^dSncr ^FSSoly Father by divine Providence

Po^e Pius IX . graciously granted the Sanatorium in so far

as it is necessary. ^ BARNABO, Prefect.

June 6, 1861.