Enthusiastic young sisters...

...talking and laughing, clad in simple grey habits, ropes knotted around their waists. We were in the glorious surroundings of St Mary's College, Oscott, where last year the Holy Father was pictured with the great crowd of young men from across England who are training for the Catholic priesthood.

The grounds are glorious, but the weather was distinctly cold and bleak - more like November than June, and the crowds of young people who were camping there for the Invocation weekend certainly appreciated the hot food served in the big tepees set up alongside the marquee where talks and workshops were held.

There were lots of young sisters there,but the ones I've specifically mentioned above were from the small community of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, based in the diocese of Leeds. I hadn't known that there was a such a community in England, although like other Londoners I've known about the Brothers, working in the East End...it was a delight to meet the sisters, and to catch their infectious joy and enthusiasm. They are doing a lot of good work and, incidentally, they could do with some funds to help with their work for the poor. Contact their website and do what you can.

I loved InVocation. There were inspirational talks,and a beautiful Holy Hour in the magnificent Oscott Chapel,with opportunities for confession. It was moving to see a long queue of people forming for confession, and people quietly going to the priests who placed themselves around the marquee as the Penitential Service in the chapel concluded. Then - perhaps the best bit of the whole weekend - we gathered with glowing candles and a great procession was formed, taking the Blessed Sacrament out under the night sky, round a long route through the grounds as we sang and prayed. Unforgettable and beautiful, and it culminated in Benediction in front of the College - exactly the place, as it happens, where the H. Father gathered with those seminarians last year...

More info on the events at Invocation from that link given above, and I'm also planning a report for my EWTN blog in due course...