20 Years Ago
July 15,1949.
THE Jerusalem Cross, which left London yesterday, was greeted and venerated by thousands of Catholics during its threeday visit to the capital, and seen with interest and sympathy by hundreds of thousands more.
On Sunday, over 8,000 people from London's south-east parishes flocked to Tower Hill, the place of execution of many martyrs, for an open-air service there.
Tower Hill has never been anything like this before, said a non-Catholic bystander to me. And later in Prescott Street, where an altar had been erected outside English Martyrs' Church, there were more devout crowds and sympathetic onlookers as Benediction was given.
Westminster Cathedral was crowded on Monday evening when the Cross was received by Mgr. Craven, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster. The Bishop blessed it before it was taken from its stand and carried to the steps of the Sanctuary on the shoulders of Mgr. Canon CoUingwood, the Administrator.