700th Anniversary of the Canonisation of St Thomas Cantilupe
Fr Brendan Thomas • April 16, 2020
On 17th April we had been invited to Hereford Cathedral to celebrate a Mass marking the 700th Anniversary of the Canonisation of St Thomas of Hereford, by Pope John XXII. The saint is worth remembering, and his life and Hereford connections are told in the west window of the Abbey Church. Our Archivist, Brenda Warde, tells the story.
This year, 2020, Hereford celebrates the 700th anniversary of the canonisation of perhaps its greatest saint, Thomas Cantilupe, one of the last Englishmen to be canonised before the Reformation. Hereford Cathedral, home to his shrine has held a series of events to mark the anniversary. Sadly, the celebration of Mass by Archbishop George Stack planned for 17th April has had to be cancelled because of the coronavirus.
At Belmont itself the life of Saint Thomas is vividly recorded in the great West Window of the Abbey Church. The window was installed in 1882 to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the death of this great Bishop of Hereford. When the church and attached monastery, dedicated to St Michael & All Angels, were established from 1859 there was much local opposition to a new Catholic foundation. Belmont’s Founder Francis Wegg-Prosser, High Sheriff of the County, was most anxious to emphasize the links between the new church and Hereford city. So the designer of the window sought to create this wonderful illustration of the life of St. Thomas, to emphasise the connection with the cathedral and the ecclesiastical history of the city.
The five main lights of the window (above) all develop the Hereford connection. On the left is depicted the figure of St. Martin de Tours, the patron of the ancient Church of St Martin, originally the only church on the south side of the river, built, it was said, to cater for Blackmarston, this “district of ill-repute”. St. Martin is followed by St. John the Baptist, the patron of the Hereford parish attached to the cathedral. In the centre stands St. Thomas Cantilupe in his role as Bishop of Hereford ( 1275 – 1282). On the right we see St. Ethelbert, patronal saint of the Cathedral, holding a model of the building in his hands. The chronicles tell how Ethelbert, King of East Anglia was due to marry Alfrida, the daughter of King Offa of Mercia. However, the latter opposed the match and had Ethelbert murdered, a step he later regretted. In expiation of his sin he promised to build a church in Hereford and to dedicate it to Ethelbert. Finally, St. Guthlac, patron of a medieval Benedictine Priory in Hereford, holds a model of Belmont Abbey in his hand. He is, of course, commemorated in the name of St. Guthlac Street in the city and the bones of some of the monks from this ancient priory are now buried in the monks’ cemetery at Belmont.
The bottom of the window (shown above) depicts major events from the life of St. Thomas himself. On the left he is shown at his ordination in 1245, then as Chancellor of Oxford University, followed by his attendance at the Second Council of Lyons in 1274. The following year he was consecrated as Bishop of Hereford, but unfortunately, he later fell out with Archbishop Peckham of Canterbury, who excommunicated him. Thomas decided to appeal to the pope and set out for Rome. In the fourth panel he makes his successful appeal to Pope Martin IV in Orvieto in 1282, but shortly afterwards he died while still in Orvieto. The last panel shows the shrine containing his remains being brought into the cathedral in the presence of Edward III. His cause for canonisation was taken up by his successor Bishop Swinfield. The church, however, spent some time examining his cause and the many varied accounts of miracles attributed to him by pilgrims to his shrine before proclaiming him saint in 1320. It was this event that was to be marked by Mass at the Cathedral, at the invitation of the Dean of Hereford, Michael Tavinor.
In the small medallion shaped panel at the top (see the photograph below) Pope Clement V is seen proclaiming the canonisation of Thomas Cantilupe in 1320, less than forty years after his death. Below this panel the rose window depicts some of the miracles recorded as resulting from his intercession. In the centre of the rose Herefordians will recognise the shrine of St. Thomas in its restored glorious colour in the Cathedral. In front of the shrine a woman prays for the cure of her sick child. The small panel above the shrine recalls the restoration to life of a young girl, who had been drowned in the Lugg. To the left is recalled the strange tale of the curing of a woman struck with the frenzy by “measuring”, a practice apparently unique to Hereford. According to the chronicles the victim was measured with a piece of cord which was then laid on the tomb of the saint, thus achieving a cure. Of the two small windows below the rose, the left-hand one notes the cure for “the stone” of Thomas’s friend and successor in the diocese, Bishop Swinfield, after drinking wine in which a relic of Thomas had been dipped. The small right-hand panel warns us to take nothing for granted!
Contemporary accounts relate that the man had been held in prison and so heavily chained that his arms were broken. He prayed to Thomas for deliverance, promising to make a pilgrimage to his shrine. Duly released and cured he promptly forgot his pledge and, consequently, found himself back in prison in his chains!
Prayer of St Thomas
Hail Thomas, good shepherd,
patron of the flock of Christ
and teacher of the Church:
lend your help to the sick, I beg you,
and confer on devout minds
the light of grace.
Amen
God from God, Light from Light: A Service to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea and the Nicene Creed. Thursday 12th June at 5.30pm at Hereford Cathedral.
Archbishop Mark O'Toole, of Cardiff-Menevia presided at the Requiem Mass for Bishop Mark, while Abbot Brendan conducted his burial. Cardinal Vincent Nichols preached a homily full of warmth and affection for Bishop Mark which is reproduced below.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB RIP Given at his funeral by Dom Alexander Kenyon Baby Jean Pierre (Mark) Jabale was born on October 16th, 1933, in Alexandria, Egypt. As he said, himself, his background could be considered “cosmopolitan”: his father was Lebanese / French and his Mother, British / Greek / French. He also reminded people that he wasn’t Egyptian. Through his mother, Arlette, he was related to St. Jean Vianney, so it was, perhaps, no surprise that he followed in his priestly footsteps. His father, Jean, was MD of Fiat and Simca cars Europe and, maybe surprisingly or not, he did love a car – not, however, Italian cars, but German; he loved his Audis. Perhaps we should begin today by remembering his mother and father, his brothers Christian and Paul and his nieces, here today, Aline and Nathalie and Isabelle and their families – they were so dear to him and he to them and I know they miss him enormously. Young Jean wanted to join the Navy and came to England, to Belmont Abbey school but the Lord had other ideas – he ended up joining the rather land locked monastery, our dear, late Fr. Raymund opining that he wouldn’t last a month. After a rather uninspiring course of priestly studies (his words, not mine) he studied for a Licentiate in French literature in Fribourg, then a Dip Ed at Strawberry Hill and played Rugby there – the Papist Witch Doctor as he was affectionately known. Teaching followed, at Belmont, Housemaster, acting Headmaster, then to Alderwasley, our prep school in Derbyshire as Headmaster, and then back to Belmont soon after as Headmaster. In 1983 he went to Peru to build our first monastery there only to realise there was little money. So, he returned to the UK to put in a stint of fundraising with his usual zeal and determination. With his mission accomplished he was asked by Abbot Alan to return to Belmont as his prior in 1986 – Peru remained close to his heart. In 1993 he was elected Abbot. In his time as Abbot, he had to preside over the closure of the school, necessary but no less painful for him. In 2000 he was appointed coadjutor Bishop of Menevia and succeeded Bishop Mullins in 2001. He retired as Ordinary in 2008 and “retired” to Chipping Norton as parish priest, then Hendon, saying Mass for the nuns and helping with confirmations. After a spell at Archbishop’s House, Westminster, living with his great friend Cardinal Nichols, he came home to Belmont – it was as though he had never been away and he loved being back in the monastery, particularly praying the Office with the community. That’s the list, of sorts, but it doesn’t really say “who” he was. I haven’t mentioned his outstanding contribution to rowing – the 1979 coxless, lightweight four gold medal at the world championships in Bled, which almost didn’t happen as, at the last minute, he was told there was no money to send the crew. He begged, cajoled and got them there – the video footage of the final is compelling. He transformed Henley Royal Regatta, writing a computer programme for the race results – he was well ahead of his time. He coached the Oxford Boat, ran the Heads of the River Schools Regatta, and more. What an achievement from someone who had never sat in a boat but learned on the job, as he said, “from books, mainly”. It was his determination, his commitment, his love of people and his drive to share what he had that is, perhaps, one of the key things to celebrate about him. And it was underpinned by his rock-solid faith – nothing overly pious, nothing showy, but a faith and a love of the Lord built on granite. Even his occasional lack of patience (sorry Mark) extended to that faith; ‘why won’t God call me?”. At the risk of being irreverent my response was always “would you want you?”. But God did want him, and he knew it. God had a purpose for his Apostle during his life and he now rests with Him in eternity. His purpose was, simply, to bring the joy of the Lord into the lives of others, in many and varied ways. A few weeks before Mark died, Pope Francis died. When the late Pope was seriously ill the son of friends of mine who entertained Mark and I to lunch regularly, was distraught at overhearing mum and dad say the Pope may die. He couldn’t stop crying. “But darling”, they said, “you don’t know the Pope, why so very sad?”. “We do know him” came the reply, “it’s Mark”. “No, Mark isn’t the Pope”. “Oh, so when the Pope does die will Mark be Pope then?”. Mark loved that one. When Mark himself did die said son would only be pacified by picking flowers from the garden and bringing them to church for him. He wanted to show how much Mark meant to him and wanted to give a little something back. That is the real biography – a man loved, respected, a man who shared what he had, above all his faith, a man who touched so many lives and made them better.  Rest in peace our dear friend.
Our brethren in Peru were delighted with the election of Pope Leo.
Bishop Mark Jabalé OSB Bishop Mark died peacefully on 9th May. Requiem Mass & Burial Thursday 5th June, 12 noon, Belmont Abbey John Peter Jabale was born on 16th October 1933 in Alexandria, Egypt of mainly European heritage. His father was Lebanese/French, and his mother British/Greek/French. He attended the Lycée Français in Alexandria until 1948, when he was sent to England, having expressed a desire to join the Navy. He enrolled at Belmont Abbey School and, upon leaving school, joined the Abbey, taking the religious name Mark. He was ordained to the priesthood on 13 July 1958. He was then sent to the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he obtained a Licentiate in French Literature, writing his thesis on Joseph de Maistre, the French counter-revolutionary. He later completed a Diploma in Education at St Mary’s, Strawberry Hill, where he also played rugby for the University. From 1964, he taught sport and served as a housemaster at the school. In 1969, he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School in Derbyshire, though he held that post for only half a term before being recalled to Belmont to serve as Headmaster there, a role he held—apart from a sabbatical—until 1983. From 1964 he was teaching sport and then was a housemaster in the School. In 1969 he was appointed Headmaster of Alderwasley School, Derbyshire, but filled that post for only half a term. He was called back to Belmont to be Headmaster where he served, apart from a sabbatical, until 1983. Fr Mark was a rowing coach of considerable repute. During his sabbatical in 1979, he assisted Dan Topolski in coaching the Oxford crew for the Boat Race. His greatest coaching triumph came when he led a lightweight coxless four to a gold medal at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Yugoslavia — the only gold medal won by Great Britain that year. The following year, he was invited to coach for the Olympics, but he declined in order to remain committed to Belmont. He was a steward of Henley Royal Regatta and was responsible for setting up and programming its first computerised systems. He was ahead of may in seeing the potential of new technology. In 1983, he was sent to Peru to purchase land and build a new monastery, which included raising funds in the UK. The new monastery was blessed, and the first Mass was celebrated there by the Archbishop of Piura, Oscar Cantuarias Pastor, in June 1986 together with Abbot Jerome, Fr Paul, Fr Luke, Fr David as well as Fr Mark. Dom Mark returned to Belmont as Prior and was elected the 10th Abbot of Belmont in 1993. He later wrote: “My first and most painful task proved to be the overseeing of the closure of the school.” Together with the bursar, John Hubert, he negotiated with the local NHS for the 4 houses to be leased to them. In 2000, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Menevia by Pope John Paul II and was ordained bishop in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Swansea, on 7 December 2000. He succeeded Bishop Daniel Mullins as the 10th Bishop of Menevia on 12 June 2001. During his episcopate, he held several important offices: Chairman of the Department for Christian Life and Worship, Trustee and Visitator of the three foreign seminaries — the Venerable English College (Rome), the Beda College (Rome), and the Royal English College (Valladolid). He was also Bishop-in-Charge of on-going formation for diocesan priests. Upon reaching the age of 75, Bishop Jabale submitted his resignation to the Holy Father on 16 October 2008 and was succeeded by Bishop Tom Burns. He then moved to Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, and was inducted as Parish Priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in March 2009, a post he held until 2014. At the age of 81, he retired to Hendon in London, where he celebrated daily Mass at a local convent, assisted in various parishes, and continued to help with confirmations in the diocese. In October 2019, he moved to Archbishop’s House, Westminster, for nine months. Finally, he returned to Belmont in 2020 as a much-cherished member of the community. He described himself as “very happy.” He remained there until his death in Hereford County Hospital on 9 May 2025, aged 91. He had been a monk of Belmont for 73 years, a priest for 67 years and a bishop for 24 years. Condolences came from Pope Leo XIV:
