In a historic moment for the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom, on Monday, 7 July, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated at Canterbury Cathedral by the Papal Nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía.
The Mass marked the Feast of the Translation of St Thomas Becket, which commemorates the ceremonial transfer of Becket’s remains in 1220 from his original tomb in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral to a grand shrine behind the high altar. This event occurred fifty years after his martyrdom and was attended by the teenage King Henry III, a host of European church leaders, and thousands of pilgrims.
