The statue of St Joseph commissioned for the occasion
On the Feast of St Joseph, 15 March 2008, the Mill Hill Community at Maidenhead gathered at their local parish church, St Joseph's to celebrate the feast of the patron of the parish as well as of the Mill Hill Missionaries. This was the culmination of the novena to St Joseph which was held every evening at the parish church for nine consecutive evenings. During the celebration of the Eucharist, the newly commissioned statue of St Joseph was to be blessed and placed in its permanent home in one of the alcoves of the church.
Fr Tony giving his homily from the pulprit
Fr Tony Chantry, the General Superior of the Mill Hill Missionaries was invited to be the Presider of the Eucharist that day by Msg Tom McGrath, the parish priest. The celebration began at 10 am. During the homily, Fr Tony spoke of St Joseph as a 'forgotten' celebrity and drew out his virtues which are exemplary and appropriate in this modern age and time.
Praying the Eucharistic Prayer
During Communion
Towards the end of the Mass, Msg Tom called upon the sculptor to come forward to talk about his work on the statue of St Joseph. This statue had been commissioned quite a while back and the sculptor, Collin, had an opportunity to explain why it had taken so long for the statue of St Joseph to arrive in the parish and the process involved in its creation. Of interest is the saw in Joseph's hand. It is a modern saw and Collin explained its significance. Then Msg Tom invited Fr Tony to proceed to the blessing of the statue which had been placed in front of the main altar.
Fr Tony sprinkling holy water during the blessing
Fr Tony incensing the statue making sure the statue is truly blessed
The celebrants gathered for a group photo with the sculptor
The sculptor, Collin with his masterpiece after moving it to its permanent home
St Joseph finally at home in his place in the church
After Mass, the Mill Hill Community was invited to lunch with Msg Tom and some of his Church Committee members
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