O Felix Kinkora - Deo Gratias!



Iconographer and artist Wojciech Strahl with his latest creation

On one of the buttresses of the north wall of St. Patrick's Catholic Church at Kinkora in the Diocese of London is a plaque remembering a recent benefactor, the late Joseph Murray with the title "O Felix Kinkora." Some dear souls of this bucolic place keep asking, "Who's Felix?"

As the story goes, there was a financial crisis brewing due to the niggardly practice of the locals (I'm sure Vox Pobuli Kinkora will now accuse me of calling them racist). The pastor, Father Paul Nicholson, invoked unceasing prayers of intercession to the Blessed Pope, Pius XII for a significant sum to pay off the debt of the parish from before his arrival made necessary by engineering restoration due to the church being built on a swamp. The holy Pope did not fail and the debt was paid, the plaque is a tribute to that happy benefactor, may he rest in the peace of Christ for his love and generosity and his legacy. Over the entrance to the church from the sacristy on the south side is a medallion of the famous image of Blessed Pius XII in thanksgiving for prayers answered.

Four years ago, this parish became a new home for the traditional Latin liturgy made free by our beloved Benedict XVI. From three people at that first Mass, the community has grown and shown its stability and its promise. Some Sundays there are eight young men and boys serving at the Altar of God!

Next Sunday, June 16 will be Father Nicholson's last Sunday at Kinkora and its sister parish, St. Vincent de Paul in Mitchell. The Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite begins at 12:00 Noon. After Mass, this Icon, a gift from another benefactor, will be blest as it takes up its new home with the new Latin Mass Community for London. The work has begun, we leave Kinkora not with a heavy heart but with a mission to proclaim the Lord and the beauty of the Latin Church's venerable Rite in the City. Father Nicholson begins his new ministry as a preacher for the New Evangelistation inside and out of the Diocese of London. May the Lord be with him always. May our Blessed Mother keep him always under her mantle. May St. Michael the Archangel guard him always.

In July and August, Mass will be in the chapel at John Paul II Catholic Secondary School in London. In September, it will move to its new permanent home at Regina Mundi College, originally built as a minor seminary. The Missa Cantata will be at 2:00 P.M. and will be celebrated on a rotation by six diocesan priests from the Diocese of London under the encouragement and support of Bishop Ronald Fabbro, CSB.

On a personal note, I have been so greatly blest and privileged by God to work with this priest and the good people of  Kinkora and Perth East and its regions for the last two and a one-half years. In that time, I've seen the numbers triple in attendees at the Mass, on some Sundays there were eight altar boys and the collections nearly exceeded that of the rest of the parish. To sing this Holy Mass as intended is a joy. To sing it in a church as beautiful as St. Patrick's Kinkora is something I could never have anticipated. I will make the journey to London. As Father said on Sunday, "this is no time for sentimentality, we have a mission to the City."

When I first began my work at Kinkora, I did not think of something else-- that one of the last acts of Father Nicholson and indeed my own in this beautiful church would be a wedding, my own! On Saturday, Father Nicholson assisted by a Deacon and Subdeacon will preside at the Solemn Nuptials between Miss Frankie and the Vox. It will be a glorious affair "Te Deum" for his blessings and all praise and honour is to Him and His Mother.

This beautiful Gothic edifice will ring with St. Anthony's Chorale from a theme of Haydn's by Brahms, Veni Creator Spiritus, the Byrd Mass for Five Voices, Ave Maria by Robert Parsons, Byrd's Ave Verum Corpus, Salve Regina and a very special Ave Maria at the presentation to Our Lady by the late Rt. Rev. John Edward Ronan, founder of Toronto's St. Michael's Choir School.

Please consider making the trip to Kinkora this Sunday for the Holy Mass, (of course, the wedding Mass itself is open to anyone as well) the blessing of the new Icon of St. Michael the Archangel and the singing of the Te Deum to give thanks to God for Benedict XVI and Summorum Pontificum, the pastoral care provided by Bishop Ronald Fabbro and in particular for the spiritual work of Father Paul Nicholson over the last six years and the munificence of Joe Murray; both of whose legacy will live on in Kinkora for generations to come.

God bless you all.