News

Rossini Stabat Mater concert celebrating 200 years of Holy Cross

Fr Matthew Jarvis
  • Please note there will be a PRE-CONCERT TALK by Professor Patrick Boylan at 7.00pm in the church. Professor Boylan will reveal some of the unique historical connections between Holy Cross Church and the Rossini ‘Stabat Mater’.

To celebrate 200 years of Holy Cross, we are delighted to announce a grand performance of the Rossini ‘Stabat Mater’ on Saturday 12th October, 7.30pm in the Holy Cross Church, LE1 6HW. The Knighton Chamber Orchestra and Coro Nostro Chamber Choir will be joined by soloists Michelle Carlin (soprano), Alice Chambers (mezzo soprano), Richard Roddis (tenor) and Robert Clarke (bass), under the direction of Paul Jenkins and Lydia Hind.

The first half will present choral works by Monteverdi, Mozart, Bruckner and others, followed in the second half (after interval refreshments) by Rossini’s sublime setting of the poignant Stabat Mater sequence. The words of the Stabat Mater draw the listener into the sorrow of Mary the Mother of Christ, standing at the foot of his Cross, a sorrow that emerges hopeful and triumphant through the promise of the resurrection and eternal life.

Holy Cross Church has a unique relationship with Rossini’s ‘Stabat Mater’. Holy Cross was the probable venue for its UK premiere and went on to host annual performances every Good Friday for many decades.

Don’t miss this historic opportunity to hear this impressive work once again in the beautiful setting of Holy Cross Church!

Tickets are available from Eventbrite (click here) and on the door: £12, £10 concessions, £3 students/under 16s.

To view or download the concert poster, click here.

www.holycrossleicester.org

www.knightonchamberorchestra.co.uk

www.coronostro.org.uk

benediction

40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration, 21-25 August 2019

Gail Neill

We will hold 40 hours of Eucharistic Adoration beginning with the evening Mass at on Wednesday 21 August and ending on Sunday 25 August. The object of this will be to pray for a renewal in our discipleship and ask the Lord’s blessing on our way forward.
The timings are as follows:
Wednesday 22: Mass of Exposition 6:10pm. Adoration until 10pm
Thursday 23, Friday 24: Adoration between 8am and 6pm (Masses as usual)
Saturday 25: Adoration between 10am and 6pm (Masses as usual)
Sunday 26: Adoration between 8am and 7pm (Masses as usual)

Please join us for this time of continuous prayer. There will be various opportunities to contribute to the success of this sacred time of preparation.

Icon of St. Dominic

Solemnity of St. Dominic – Thursday 8th August 2019

Gail Neill

We invite you to join us for the celebrations of the Solemnity of St Dominic, as we ask the intercession of Our Holy Father in the 200th Year of our mission and our time of renewal. The principal event is the Solemn Mass at 12:30pm. In accordance with tradition, a Franciscan Friar will be the preacher, this year Father Martin Mikuskiewicz OFM Cap. This will be followed by a buffet celebration. There will be Solemn Vespers and Benediction at 6pm.
All welcome!

holy orders

Ordination of Luke Doherty OP, 7th September 2019

Gail Neill

Brother Luke will be ordained to the Priesthood in St Dominic’s London by Archbishop Malcolm on Saturday 7 September 2019, together with Brother Toby Lees. A coach will depart from Holy Cross at 8:30am on the day. Please put your name down to attend, as we require a healthy number of people to show their support. Fr Luke will celebrate his First Mass on Monday 9 September at 6:00pm at Holy Cross.

Please note: An early notice gave the time of Fr Luke’s First Mass as 12.30pm but the correct time is 6.00pm on Monday 9 September.

young, adult

Frassati Young Adults – upcoming dates

Gail Neill

The Frassati Young Adults group (for those aged 18-35) will meet on the following dates:

Saturday 25 January (Feast of the Conversion of St Paul)
10.30 Adoration
11.00 Refreshments then Video
12.15 Benediction, then Mass
13.00 Lunch – Italian theme

Shrove Tuesday (25 February), 7.15pm: Pancake Party!
Details to follow.

Wednesday 4 March, 7.15pm: Christians in the Holy Land (public talk)
With Professor Robin Graham-Brown KC*HS. Details to follow.

Another cinema outing is being planned to see A Hidden Life, about the Catholic martyr Franz Jägerstätter.

 

To find out more or to be added to our mailing list, please email Fr Matthew (matthew.jarvis@english.op.org) or Katherine (katherinevankroonenburg@gmail.com).

The Frassati Centre for Preaching and Evangelisation

Gail Neill

Over the last few months, we have indicated the plans we are developing for a new pastoral centre here at Holy Cross – The Frassati Centre for Preaching and Evangelisation. This would seek to breathe new life into the original church buildings that we knew as the ‘Holy Cross Centre’. We’ve assembled £180k so far to develop these buildings, and we are seeking to embark on a major fundraising project as we look towards our bicentenary. There’ll be lots to talk about in the weeks ahead. Please come along to the events next weekend, 2nd March.

WHO IS BLESSED PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI? He’s the inspiration for our new initiative with developing our buildings and our apostolate, but who is he? He’s a lay Dominican, whose life was marked by living the Dominican Charism in his everyday life. He was deeply devoted to prayer and study, and he inspired great fellowship with his contemporaries, and devoted himself to the service of others, especially the most vulnerable members of the community. We look forward to getting to know him more closely as we develop our apostolate.

IMAGE OF BLESSED PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI We want to foster devotion to this Dominican Beatus. At 10:30am Mass next Sunday, 3rd March 2019, Fr Robert Gay, prior of our community in Oxford, will bless an image, as we prepare to enshrine Blessed Frassati in our church.  Please do come along.

holy cross school reception play area

Holy Cross Catholic Primary School

Gail Neill

Holy Cross Catholic Primary School was founded by the Dominican Order here in Leicester in 1817.  From 1824, it operated from the Old School House on Wellington Street; it is now situated on Stonesby Avenue in the Saffron Lane area of Leicester.  If you would like a place for your child at this wonderful school, please contact the school office, tel: 0116 2833 135.  Visitors are welcome; come and have a look around.  Currently there are a few places left in the Nursery, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3.

Head Teacher: Gail Neill

Chair of Governors: Fr. David Rocks O.P.

Please keep our school community in your prayers.

benediction

Holy Hour

Gail Neill

Join us for a Holy Hour with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Dominican Rite Compline, and Benediction every Sunday evening (6pm-7pm), and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament every Saturday morning following the 10am Mass until Benediction just before the 12.30pm Mass.