ONE of the great eighteenth cent u r y orchestral Masses — Haydn's Heilige Messe—will be sung liturgically at St. Edmund's Catholic Church, Bury St. Edmunds, on Sunday, for the solemnisation of the feast of St. Edmund.
'The Mass actually forms the last event of the borough's "Edmund Year" commemorations. and it will be attended by the Mayor, Mr. Stephen Davies, and members of the town council.
In East Anglia St. Edmund once enjoyed the status equivalent to a patron saint, and some claim that he enjoyed this position nationally before St. George became so popular.
The great abbey which rose round the shrine of St. Edmund at Bury was one of the finest and most important in the land.
SUNG BY BISHOP GRANT Bury Town Council has agreed to explore the possibility of restoring St. Edmund to the position he once held in the region — but Catholics liaAe always held the saint highly.
The fact that Bishop Grant of Northampton has agreed to sing the special Mass speaks for itself. He said last week : "St. Edmund has always been important. especially in Bury St: Edmunds."
The music for the Mass will be performed by a choir and orchestra formed for the occasion by Dr. Alan Rowe, the organist.
Bishop says Mass for prisoners
BISHOP WORLOCK of Portsmouth went to Winchester Prison on Sunday morning and celebrated Mass for the prisoners. He was assisted by Fr. Donal O'Brien, the prison chaplain.