Care home in Great Barton and St Benedict’s School in Bury St Edmunds celebrate mass for St Benedict
The founder of western monasticism, St Benedict, was celebrated with masses by two organisations who identify closely with the fifth century monastic scholar.
At St Benedict’s School, in Bury St Edmunds, named after the Benedictine order which ran the town’s Abbey, the school staged its annual mass in his honour.
A short distance away in Great Barton care home, Montana, the feast of St Benedict was celebrated and received a welcome vsit from St Edmundsbury Mayor Julia Wakelam.
The school mass was held outdoors and attended by 550 students from Years 7 to 12. It was the 33rd mass for retiring headteacher Hugh O’Neill.
The Bishop of East Anglia, the Right Rev Alan Stephen Hope celebrated the mass assisted by Fr Alvan from Nigeria who is chaplain at the school.
At Montana, the highly rated care home run by Benedictine sisters, Cllr Wakelam gave a reading during the mass and afterwards received a bouquet from care home manager and Sister Superior Thaya Moses.
She then visited and spoke to each of the home’s 16 residents before joining staff and visitors for a meal.
Montana which has cared for the elderly since 1969 received a good Care Quality Commission rating with outstanding care.It was also named among the top 20 regional care homes in a recent report.
St Benedict was born in Umbria in 480 AD and was made Patron Saint of Europe in 1964. Son to a Roman noble family he died in 547 AD at Monte Cassino in Italy.