Page 7 - The Portal magazine - March 2025
P. 7

THE P    RTAL                              March 2025                                      Page 7


          As he was coming out of this, a friendship he had    “It was Christmas and we came to the church here in
        struck up with a chap with whom he had been at  Walsingham. I didn’t know what I was doing and stood
        University became important. They had known each  up at the wrong time, sat down at the wrong time. On
        other some time, but when Iwan got to London, it  the way home I had this little voice in my head, for the
        became really important. The friend was a Catholic.  entire journey telling me ‘you must go back to church’.
        They had similar interests. One thing led to another,
        and they ended up spending more time together. Iwan    “I served Mass for over a year before I was received
        stayed with him when he first went to London, and he  into the Church.”
        showed him Catholic churches. Little by little Iwan’s
        interest grew. His friend showed him more churches     He met another priest with his friend and helped
        and that was fine for some four or five years.        with some children’s work. Gradually he learned more
                                                              about the Catholic Faith.
          All the time, Iwan was doing his own searching
        around. He went to Southwark Cathedral thinking it     Back in London he was getting deeper into the Faith
        would be quite like when he was a child, but there was  with the Dominicans. He was their part-time Sacristan.
        something missing. He remembers walking out of the  Eventually he needed a full-time job, so after about a
        Cathedral after being blessed by a female priest.     year had to leave and he got a job at the Royal Free
                                                              Hospital working in the operating theatres.
          “I knew something was missing”, he said. “I knew
        I knew I could not go back there. But I didn’t really   Then he saw the job coming up at Walsingham. He
        know why. I couldn’t put a finger on it. Then my friend  applied for it and was invited to come and volunteer
        said we should go and see the Brompton Oratory. It  for a week as part of the interview process. Then he was
        was gorgeous. We went to other churches, large and  told he had got the job. He has been at Walsingham
        small, grand and modest.  Then the friend invited me  ever since.
        to stay for Christmas with him and his family.”
                                                               He met two visiting Ordinariate priests from
          He had moved out of London to Norfolk. “To cut a  Canada. They celebrated Divine Worship in the Slipper
        long story short, we said the Rosary together. We said  Chapel, and Iwan realised he was eligible to join the
        it again the second night, and the third.  I said ‘that’s  Ordinariate. He has finally come home.
        the most peaceful prayer I’ve ever said’. We said the
        Rosary every night I stayed there.                     It was a pleasure to met Iwan, a fellow in the
                                                              Ordinariate.
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