LONDON SHRINE OF SAINT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN
As previously reported, the evening of the Order's Advent Recollection saw the blessing of the new Shrine of Saint John Henry Newman at the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint Gregory, Warwick Street, seat of the Ordinariate, which lives under the patronage of our new Saint.
The shrine is a bust reliquary, sculpted by our confrère Dr Neil Weir. It is located at the side of the Lady Chapel, with its important statue of the Rue de Bac Immaculate Conception, erected in the 1870s, and heavily indulgenced by Pio Nono in 1877. It is very fitting that this new shrine, the first newly-crafted post-canonisation shrine in London, should be sited in this historic church, because it was here, at the high altar, that Saint John Henry celebrated his First Mass on these shores upon the day of his return from Rome as a Catholic priest in 1847. He had a great love of this place, and indeed wrote of it – "Were St Athanasius or St Ambrose in London now they would go to worship, not at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, but to Warwick Street."
A brief description of the sculpture and its genesis is given below.
The blessing was performed by The Right Reverend Monsignor Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, who has followed in Newman's footsteps, and is himself a fruit of the Saints intercession. Following the blessing, Mgr Newton gave Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, in the presence of former Grand Prior Fra' Ian Scott, and Monsignor John Armitage, Chaplain of the Grand Priory, who had preached the meditation, see HERE.
RELIQUARY BUST OF SAINT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN
Saint John Henry Newman (1801 -1890) is the Patron of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. The Rt Rev Mgr Keith Newton desired an image of Cardinal Newman in the Ordinariate’s Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Gregory, Warwick Street. Mindful of his two sculptures of Dom Gervase, a monk of Douai Abbey, it was suggested that the sculptor Neil Weir might be asked to produce a small maquette of Cardinal Newman. This was made in terra-cotta and was loaned to Monsignor Newton.
With the news of the impending canonisation of Cardinal Newman on the 13thOctober, Neil Weir offered to create a devotional image befitting Newman’s new status of elevation to the altars rather than merely a portrait bust of an historical figure. The saints are intercessors and role models; without denying Newman’s firm and often difficult character in life, the image conveys great kindness and patience. Here is a holy man to whom people will entrust their intercessions, a man who reflects the Love of Christ which has invaded his soul. Neil Weir has chosen an ambiguous age (Newman was 79 years old when created a cardinal and lived for a further 10 years) to emphasise the eternal dimension while still showing him as a cardinal – his primary attribute in the Universal Church. In terms of style of execution, the contemporary approach emphasises that Newman is a saint for our time, while also rooting the image in the long and noble tradition of English sculpture.
The finished work was cast in bronze resin for reasons of weight and cost. The design of the base of the bust allows the insertion of a reliquary, a locket of the Cardinal’s hair. A marble corbel for the bust has been designed to accord with the other fittings of the church.
Donation: Richard Grey Esq. made a very generous donation towards the overall costs in memory of his parents Sir Paul and (Agnes) Lady Grey.
About the sculptor: Neil Weir’s professional life as an otorhinolaryngologist has given him the opportunity to observe the head and neck in great detail. When he first started sculpture classes under the tuition of Michael Marriot FRBS, in the mid-1970s, he found that his understanding of anatomy helped him in modelling the head and neck. He continued his tuition with the late Trevor Collis, who taught him mould making and casting, the late Sheila Mitchell FRBS who was a valuable mentor and more recently with Mark Swan FRBS who has brought him up to date with modern mould making and casting methods. Neil Weir has been working to commission for many years and his works are to be seen on permanent exhibition at the Royal Society of Medicine and in private collections in the UK, USA and Denmark. He has twice held the office of president of the Medical Art Society and has been a recipient of the Baron ver Heyden de Lancey three-dimensional prize. He has also exhibited with the Society of Portrait Sculptors, by invitation from the London School of Economics at a show entitled ‘Private painters in public life’ and at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Saint John Henry, pray for us.