Ealing Abbey
Encyclopedia
Ealing Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine
monastic foundation
in West London, England, and part of the English Benedictine Congregation
.
was founded in 1897 from Downside Abbey
, originally as a parish in the Archdiocese of Westminster. It was canonically erected as a dependent priory
in 1916 and raised again to the rank of independent conventual priory in 1947. Finally, in 1955 it was elevated to the status of an Abbey
by Pope Pius XII
.
where both the parish and monastic liturgies
take place. The Abbey is home to the Ealing Abbey Choir of boys' and men's voices, which sings at the Sunday Conventual Mass
and appeared in the BBC
television programme Songs of Praise
in 2005.
and the Liberal Arts, including theology (go to directory of institutions) and both modern and classical languages, of which the Latin summer school has become a regular feature of the annual programme.
The Centre's library contains three main collections for undergraduate liberal studies and graduate study in theology and liturgy. Its current contents are based on a collection assembled in Oxford, London and Rome from 1978 to 1992, subsequently supplemented by purchase and gift, in particular by recent donations from several members of the Alcuin Club
.
The Centre is based at "Overton House", an elegant red-brick, neo-gothic property built by John M. Bartholomew, son of the founder of John Bartholomew and Son
, the map-maker; the name of "J.M. Bartholomew" features in some carved stones in the walls of the garden. The property was purchased by Downside Abbey
in 1930 and sold to Ealing Abbey upon its independence in 1955.
In 2002 the Centre's principal, Dom James Leachman, was appointed professor of Liturgy at the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy
at Sant Anselmo in Rome, from where, as a tenured professor, he still directs its work. The UK arm of the project, Appreciating the Liturgy (based on the encyclical
Ecclesia de Eucharistia
), founded and directed by Dom James Leachman and Dom Daniel McCarthy, a monk of St. Benedict's Abbey
in Atchison, Kansas
, has been housed since 2009 in the former "Scriptorum" at the Centre, originally established by Dom Bernard Orchard OSB in 2003.
The Centre publishes the periodical Benedictine Culture twice each year.
OSB, the biblical scholar, was a distinguished monk of Ealing.
Ealing Abbey has been the home for parts of the careers of various notable monks. Between 1933-1939 Dom David Knowles, the monastic historian and later Regius Professor of Modern History
at the University of Cambridge
resided there and conducted the research for his magnum opus
The Monastic Order in England. Cuthbert Butler
also lived at Ealing following his retirement as Abbot of Downside from 1922 until his death in 1934. Dom John Main
OSB, a proponent of Christian meditation
, whose methods are now fostered by the World Community for Christian Meditation
, was a monk of the Ealing community in the period 1959-1970 and 1974-1977.
In April 2006 civil damages were awarded jointly against Dom David Pearce, a former head of the junior school at St Benedicts, and Ealing Abbey in the High Court
in relation to an alleged assault by Dom Pearce on a pupil while teaching at St Benedict's School in the 1990s, although criminal charges were dropped. He was subsequently charged in November 2008 with 24 counts of indecent assault
, sexual touching and gross indecency with six boys aged under 16. The counts related to incidents before and after 2003, when the law was changed to create an offence of sexual touching.
After admitting his guilt at Isleworth Crown Court to offences going back to 1972 Pearce was jailed for eight years in October 2009. The conduct of the Ealing monastic community, as trustee of the St. Benedict's Trust, was examined by the Charity Commission
, which found that it had failed to take adequate measures to protect beneficiaries of the charity from Dom Pearce.
In March 2011 Dom Laurence Soper, the Abbot during the 1990s, was arrested on child abuse charges relating to the period when he was a teacher at, and the bursar
of, St Benedict's School; it was reported in October 2011 that he had failed to answer bail and was being sought by the police.
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monastic foundation
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in West London, England, and part of the English Benedictine Congregation
English Benedictine Congregation
The English Benedictine Congregation comprises autonomous Roman Catholic Benedictine communities of monks and nuns and is technically the oldest of the 21 congregations that are affiliated in the Benedictine Confederation....
.
History
The monastery at EalingEaling
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
was founded in 1897 from Downside Abbey
Downside Abbey
The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation. One of its main apostolates is a school for children aged nine to eighteen...
, originally as a parish in the Archdiocese of Westminster. It was canonically erected as a dependent priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in 1916 and raised again to the rank of independent conventual priory in 1947. Finally, in 1955 it was elevated to the status of an Abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
.
Parish
One of the main apostolates of the Abbey is running a major parish in Ealing centred on the Abbey Church of Saint BenedictBenedict of Nursia
Saint Benedict of Nursia is a Christian saint, honored by the Roman Catholic Church as the patron saint of Europe and students.Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, about to the east of Rome, before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. There is no...
where both the parish and monastic liturgies
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
take place. The Abbey is home to the Ealing Abbey Choir of boys' and men's voices, which sings at the Sunday Conventual Mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
and appeared in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television programme Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional Christian hymns. It is a widely watched and long-running religious television programme, one of the few peak-time free-to-air religious programmes in Europe Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional...
in 2005.
School
A major work of the Abbey is running St Benedict's School, founded as Ealing Priory School in 1902 by Dom Sebastian Cave. This is an independent day school for boys and, since 2007, girls at both the junior and senior levels. There is also a small co-educational nursery. Since 1987 the Abbey has engaged a lay headmaster for the Senior school having previously provided the headmaster from foundation.Benedictine Study and Arts Centre
The monks of Ealing also run the Benedictine Study and Arts Centre, which was originally suggested in 1986 by Abbot Francis Rossiter and opened in 1992 by Abbot Laurence Soper. The present Abbot, Martin Shipperlee, has continued his support since his election in 2000. The Centre, which is endorsed and supported by the Archdiocese of Westminster, has developed and provides a Liberal Arts programme of adult education and a programme of Sacred Liturgy, with some officially validated courses. The studies pursued now focus upon Sacred LiturgyCatholic liturgy
The Catholic Church is fundamentally liturgical and sacramental in its public life of worship.-Liturgical principles:As explained in greater detail in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its shorter Compendium, the liturgy is something that "the whole Christ", Head and Body, celebrates —...
and the Liberal Arts, including theology (go to directory of institutions) and both modern and classical languages, of which the Latin summer school has become a regular feature of the annual programme.
The Centre's library contains three main collections for undergraduate liberal studies and graduate study in theology and liturgy. Its current contents are based on a collection assembled in Oxford, London and Rome from 1978 to 1992, subsequently supplemented by purchase and gift, in particular by recent donations from several members of the Alcuin Club
Alcuin Club
The Alcuin Club is an Anglican organization devoted to preserving or restoring church ceremony, arrangement, ornament and practice in an orthodox manner. It was founded in 1897, with its first publication, English Altars by W. H. St. John Hope, appearing in 1899. The Club is dedicated to the Book...
.
The Centre is based at "Overton House", an elegant red-brick, neo-gothic property built by John M. Bartholomew, son of the founder of John Bartholomew and Son
John Bartholomew and Son
Collins Bartholomew, formerly John Bartholomew and Son, is a long-established map publishing company originally based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is currently a subsidiary of HarperCollins.-History:...
, the map-maker; the name of "J.M. Bartholomew" features in some carved stones in the walls of the garden. The property was purchased by Downside Abbey
Downside Abbey
The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation. One of its main apostolates is a school for children aged nine to eighteen...
in 1930 and sold to Ealing Abbey upon its independence in 1955.
In 2002 the Centre's principal, Dom James Leachman, was appointed professor of Liturgy at the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy
Pontifical Liturgical Institute
The Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome, located at Sant'Anselmo on the Aventine Hill, promotes the study of the Sacred Liturgy. It is entrusted to the Benedictine Confederation, and has the role of training professors of liturgy and liturgical experts to advance the study and teaching of the...
at Sant Anselmo in Rome, from where, as a tenured professor, he still directs its work. The UK arm of the project, Appreciating the Liturgy (based on the encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
Ecclesia de Eucharistia
Ecclesia de Eucharistia
Ecclesia de Eucharistia is a Papal encyclical by Pope John Paul II published on April 17, 2003, the purpose of which is "to rekindle this Eucharistic 'amazement' […], in continuity with the Jubilee heritage which [he has] left to the Church in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte and its...
), founded and directed by Dom James Leachman and Dom Daniel McCarthy, a monk of St. Benedict's Abbey
Benedictine College
Benedictine College is a co-educational university in Atchison, Kansas, founded in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College for men and Mount St. Scholastica College for women. It is a Roman Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts, and residential college located on bluffs overlooking the...
in Atchison, Kansas
Atchison, Kansas
Atchison is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Atchison County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,021. It is the county seat and most populous city of Atchison County...
, has been housed since 2009 in the former "Scriptorum" at the Centre, originally established by Dom Bernard Orchard OSB in 2003.
The Centre publishes the periodical Benedictine Culture twice each year.
Monks of Ealing
Dom Bernard OrchardBernard Orchard
Dom Bernard Orchard OSB MA was an English Roman Catholic Benedictine monk, headmaster and biblical scholar.-Early life and education:John Archibald Henslowe Orchard, the son of a farmer, was born in Bromley, Kent...
OSB, the biblical scholar, was a distinguished monk of Ealing.
Ealing Abbey has been the home for parts of the careers of various notable monks. Between 1933-1939 Dom David Knowles, the monastic historian and later Regius Professor of Modern History
Regius Professor of Modern History (Cambridge)
Regius Professor of Modern History is one of the senior professorships in history at Cambridge University. It was founded in 1724 by George I. The appointment is by Royal Warrant on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of the day...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
resided there and conducted the research for his magnum opus
Masterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....
The Monastic Order in England. Cuthbert Butler
Cuthbert Butler
Edward Cuthbert Butler was an English Benedictine historian, and Abbot of Downside Abbey. He is known for his history of Vatican I, and his writing on mysticism.-Works:* The Lausiac History of Palladius...
also lived at Ealing following his retirement as Abbot of Downside from 1922 until his death in 1934. Dom John Main
John Main
John Main OSB was a Roman Catholic Benedictine monk and priest who presented a way of Christian meditation which utilized a prayer-phrase or mantra. In 1975 Main began Christian meditation groups which met at Ealing Abbey, his monastery in West London, England and, later, in Montreal, Canada...
OSB, a proponent of Christian meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
, whose methods are now fostered by the World Community for Christian Meditation
World Community for Christian Meditation
The World Community for Christian Meditation was founded in 1991 to foster the teachings of Benedictine monk and priest, Fr. John Main, O.S.B. Fr. Main taught a way of Christian meditation which he based on parallels he saw between the spiritual practice taught by Desert Father John Cassian and...
, was a monk of the Ealing community in the period 1959-1970 and 1974-1977.
In April 2006 civil damages were awarded jointly against Dom David Pearce, a former head of the junior school at St Benedicts, and Ealing Abbey in the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in relation to an alleged assault by Dom Pearce on a pupil while teaching at St Benedict's School in the 1990s, although criminal charges were dropped. He was subsequently charged in November 2008 with 24 counts of indecent assault
Indecent assault
Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in many jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime.Indecent assault was an offence in England and Wales under sections 14 and 15 the Sexual Offences Act 1956...
, sexual touching and gross indecency with six boys aged under 16. The counts related to incidents before and after 2003, when the law was changed to create an offence of sexual touching.
After admitting his guilt at Isleworth Crown Court to offences going back to 1972 Pearce was jailed for eight years in October 2009. The conduct of the Ealing monastic community, as trustee of the St. Benedict's Trust, was examined by the Charity Commission
Charity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
, which found that it had failed to take adequate measures to protect beneficiaries of the charity from Dom Pearce.
In March 2011 Dom Laurence Soper, the Abbot during the 1990s, was arrested on child abuse charges relating to the period when he was a teacher at, and the bursar
Bursar
A bursar is a senior professional financial administrator in a school or university.Billing of student tuition accounts are the responsibility of the Office of the Bursar. This involves sending bills and making payment plans with the ultimate goal of getting the student accounts paid off...
of, St Benedict's School; it was reported in October 2011 that he had failed to answer bail and was being sought by the police.
Priors and Abbots
The following monks have served as Prior and, since elevation to the status of Abbey on 26 May 1955, Abbot:| Tenure | Office | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 to 1925 | Prior | Dom Wulstan Pearson | Consecrated as the first Bishop of Lancaster Bishop of Lancaster The Bishop of Lancaster is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster in the Province of Liverpool, England.The diocese covers an area of and consists of the County of Cumbria together with the Hundreds of Lonsdale, Amounderness and Fylde in the north west of Lancashire... , 25 February 1925 |
| 1925 to 1935 | Prior | Dom Benedict Kuypers | |
| 1935 to 1938 | Prior | Dom Edward Green | Headmaster of Ealing Priory School 1917-1919 |
| 1938 | Prior | Dom Mark Pontifex | |
| 1938 to 1945 | Prior | Dom Stanislaus Chatterton | |
| 1945 to 1946 | Prior | Dom Ambrose Agius | Member of Ealing Community at independence from Downside, December 1947 |
| 1946 to 1955 | Prior | Dom Charles Pontifex | Member of Ealing Community at independence from Downside, December 1947; appointed as the first Abbot |
| 1955 to 1956 | Abbot | Dom Charles Pontifex | Resigned following a car crash; died 1976 |
| 1956 to 1967 | Abbot | Dom Rupert Hall | Headmaster of Ealing Priory School 1939-1945; member of Ealing Community at independence from Downside, December 1947; died 1974 |
| 1967 to 1991 | Abbot | Dom Francis Rossiter | |
| 1991 to 2000 | Abbot | Dom Laurence Soper | Arrested in 2011 on child abuse charges |
| 2000 to present | Abbot | Dom Martin Shipperlee |
