Dear Members
Over the last few years of busy City of London activity, I have come firmly to believe it is almost impossible to attend a gathering in the City, whether a lunch, service, reception, dinner or visit of some sort, without learning something new. As Chairman of the Society of St Augustine of Canterbury over the past year, I now find that the same can be said of our events.
At our Autumn Reception in November 2024, we heard from our President, the Duke of Norfolk, on his role as Earl Marshal and the extraordinary responsibilities of the holder of that office. The Duke told us about the planning for HM Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, which started almost the moment she acceded to the throne in 1952 and was reviewed and modified continuously over the years that followed. We heard too about His Grace’s role in the Coronation of HM The King. The Duke’s talk deepened the respect and admiration we all share for those who make these moments in our national story happen so well, balancing pomp and circumstance with intimacy and emotion.
In May we had the privilege of listening to His Eminence Cardinal Nichols at our Annual General Meeting. Cardinal Vincent had returned only a few days previously from the conclave in Vatican City at which Pope Leo XIV was elected. Without breaching the secrecy of the conclave, he gave us a vivid sense of the event, so very different to the depiction of a conclave in the recent film of that name!
Our Summer Outing on 25 June took us to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Duke Street, W1, where we were welcomed by Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski and Fr. Andrii Malysh. Bishop Kenneth gave us a tour of the Cathedral and explained a little of the Greek Catholic Divine Liturgy that then followed, a special first for many of us present. We enjoyed a hearty Ukrainian lunch after the service and learned more about Bishop Kenneth’s work with the Ukrainian community across Great Britain. I congratulated him on behalf of the Society on his award of an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours.
At our AGM in May the Society presented Cardinal Vincent with a donation of £40,000 towards the cost of several important projects in Archbishop’s House. We did not this year make a donation from the Centenary Appeal funds towards environmental enhancements in the House. Our Honorary Chaplain and Ecclesiastical Adviser, Fr Peter Harris, and I continue to discuss future projects that would be funded from the Centenary Appeal with the Diocesan architectural team.
To maintain – or, I hope, increase – this level of support for Archbishop’s House depends on the generosity of our members and their efforts to recruit new members from among friends and family. We need your continuing support as members to ensure that Archbishop’s House can operate as a home and office for the Archbishop of Westminster and as a sign of the presence of the Catholic Church at the centre of national life. Please consider making a donation to the Society or introducing a potential member at our next event.
Our next gathering will be the Autumn Reception on 28 October, when our speaker will be Councillor Robert Rigby KSG, Lord Mayor of Westminster 2024/25. I am sure we will again learn much from Robert about his experiences in a hugely successful year in office.
Finally, I was delighted to announce at our Autumn Reception last November that my predecessor, Mary Goodwin DCSG DGCHS, had been appointed as a Vice President of the Society. Many congratulations to Mary and our thanks for all she has done for the Society.
Vincent Keaveny
Chairman of Council
September 2025
The Society of St Augustine of Canterbury 