St Thérèse: the prayer for the Lancaster visit

93 days ahead of the relics' arrival in Lancaster, today we publish for the first time the prayer which has been written for the Lancaster visit. It is addressed to the Lord rather than to Thérèse herself, but includes an invocation asking for her intercession. Please use the prayer and share it with others in the run-up to the visit. It will also be in frequent use while the relics are with us.

Lord Jesus,
We thank You for Your gift of
Saint Thérèse to our world.
May her courageous confidence
in Your loving providence and
her burning desire to make
You known and loved
be a constant inspiration to us
as we seek to follow in her
“Little Way” of total loving.
Amen.

Saint Thérèse, pray for us

Thérèse draws the crowds

There are still 105 days until the relics of St Thérèse arrive in Lancaster, but already the signs are that there will be a lot of interest in the visit. We are now fairly regularly hearing from people looking to organise group visits, and coaches are now being advertised in many parts of the Diocese and beyond. If you are looking for a coach in your area, the first point of contact is your local parish. However, here are some of the groups we know of so far: in Preston, Fr Chris Loughran is organising a group from St Clare's parish (Tuesday 29th, leaving mid morning; tel: 01772 719604); in Blackpool, Fr Bob Horn is organising coaches on behalf of the whole deanery (see local parishes or call Fr Horn on 01253 391002); in West Cumbria a deanery visit is planned for Tuesday 29th (see local parishes for details); the parish of Our Lady, Star of the Sea in St Annes is organising several coaches (tel. Mgr Turner, 01253 723661); coaches are being arranged from Carlisle and Penrith (details should be appearing in parishes shortly); Saints Mary and Michael, Garstang, are hoping to bring coach(es) for an evening visit to include Compline (Monday 28th/Tuesday 29th - call Fr David Elder on 01995 602164); coaches are also being arranged from the Morecambe parishes (see parish notices or speak to your priest). There are also a number of coach parties planning to make the journey from Scotland, and several schools have already booked for our school visits programme. You can find more about local events and coaches coming from each area on our regularly updated local pages - the links are at the very foot of this page, or click here for a list of areas. Meanwhile, if you are organising a group or know of a coach party which is not listed, please contact us.

Coming soon to a school near you

The centrepiece of a new pack for schools, this CD ROM is being sent out with other resources and information about the visit to every Catholic school in the Lancaster Diocese. Most of the Primary Schools will receive their packs at a meeting on Wednesday; other schools will receive them by post over the coming days. The packs are the work of Cathedral parishioners who work in education, and will hopefully provide a good basis from which to teach about the life and message of St Thérèse. Some of the resources are now available to download, and you can access them in the sidebar to the right in the section entitled 'Resources for Schools'. Also within this section you can find out about the exciting programme being arranged for schools making a visit to the relics on Tuesday 29th September.

Lancaster learns about Thérèse

Last night the people of Lancaster came together for a session called 'Curious about Thérèse?' It's the first of two sessions under this title (the second is next Tuesday and all are welcome) and explored something about Thérèse's influences and motivations, looking at her earthly family and the spiritual family she joined: the Carmelite order. The Lancaster Cathedral Blog carries more pictures and a fuller report: take a look here.

Thérèse events in June

If you're looking to learn a bit more about the life of St Thérèse, a few events taking place this month may be for you. At the Cathedral two talks take place under the title 'Curious about Thérèse?' - these are free of charge and take place in St Walburga's (the Cathedral 'day chapel', access from Balmoral Road) on Tuesday 2nd and Tuesday 9th at 7:30pm. At St Thomas More's, Lancaster, there is a session on the spirituality of St Thérèse taking place on Monday 8th, 7:30-9pm. Again, it's free and all are welcome. Canon Luiz Ruscillo will lead a day on the saint at the Ladyewell Shrine near Preston on Saturday 13th June. There is no charge but participants are asked to book; please call the Education Centre on 01524 841190 to reserve a place. A full list of Thérèse events taking place in and around the Diocese of Lancaster can be found here. If you know of an event that we haven't listed, please contact us.