Page 3 - The Portal magazine - February 2025

THE P RTAL February 2025 Page 3

An Ordinariate banner

A talk given by Anthony Delarue on the occasion of the blessing
of the banner by Bishop David Waller at Mass on 12 January 2025

ANNERS FORM an ancient part of our Christian heritage and indeed were inherited from much
Bearlier traditions. The Romans used them in various forms and cloth hangings were known in the Jewish
temple. They take various shapes in different places; the present form of church banner is correctly described
as a gonfannon, or gonfalon, like the name of the tune, “Gonfalon Royal” for the Easter hymn “The royal
banners forward go”. (Which is J M Neale’s translation of the hymn “Vexilla regis prodeunt”, from which
Latin word we also have the word vexillology - the study of flags.) There are many wonderful examples of
banners of all periods surviving all over Europe.

In the 19th century the decoration of an altar, or
they were revived by the vestments. This banner was
Tractarians for use in the very much the conception
Anglican church, and became of its donor, who wished to
indeed one of the principal highlight the long history of
ornaments of many English this place, one of the most
churches, decorative but not significant Catholic churches
too Catholic looking (which in London, and one with,
was actually quite untrue!) God willing, a very lively
so they are very much part future in the hands of the
of the tradition here in the Ordinariate.
Ordinariate’s “pro-cathedral”.
So in the centre we see Our
Sadly, banners fell Lady of Walsingham, titular
victim to the modernising of the Personal Ordinariate,
secular iconoclasm which in a traditional interpretation
accompanied the Second and alluding to the decoration
Vatican Council, along with of the Slipper Chapel statue,
other such things as oriental rather than the one in the
carpets and hanging lamps, “other place”.
none of which are mentioned
for abolition anywhere in the This is good, as she is not
Council’s documents. Indeed yet represented elsewhere
if the Council did make reference to them, it is to the here in Warwick Street! To her right we have Saint
need to preserve and maintain historical artifacts of John Henry Newman, patron of the Ordinariate, who
beauty and craftsmanship. knew this chapel as a child, and who said his first
Mass here, and he is holding a model of this church, to
So it is good indeed that here at Warwick Street, demonstrate his ghostly protection of us all.
thanks to the enlightened initiative of a generous
benefactor, Peter Sefton-Williams, we should be On the other side is St Gregory, a patron of the parish
restoring that which was once lost. It is very much since the 19th century adoption of it by the Vicars
what Pope Benedict was thinking about when he Apostolic, whose altar we see in the aisle, and of the
spoke of Anglican patrimony. The embroidery was pontifical order bearing his name to which the donor
carried out by wireembroiderers in Pakistan, on a belongs. The church possesses a fine set of vestments
silk cloth-of-gold from Watts and Co. The back of the with the badge of the Order of St Gregory.
banner is subdued, with a plain cross, following the
pious mediaeval practice of turning them round in Pope Gregory is a very appropriate accidental patron
Passiontide. for the Ordinariate, as its mission in England is to heal
what Gregory had begun in sending St Augustine to
Banners are a good place to tell several historical these shores and which Henry VIII destroyed.
stories at once. They admit of more detail than, say,
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... continued at the foot of page 5