Catholic Roots of the Site of Royal Wedding

Last updated on: April 28, 2011 at 11:34 am by Pia de Solenni

Catholic Roots of the Site of Royal Wedding 2011-04-28T11:34:04-07:00 Pia de Solenni

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of the royal wedding. Maybe it’s simply because I’m not British. I am, however, attracted to it insofar as it’s a spectacle which offers plenty of fodder for commentary. [ e.g, why they’re spending a fortune (roughly just a little more than the average price of three weddings in the US) to turn Westminster Abbey into an indoor forest.]

But there are more interesting topics. Msgr. Campion has a recent article in Our Sunday Visitor discussing the Catholic history of Westminster Abbey, the church where the royal wedding will take place tomorrow.

I had no idea that it was originally a Benedictine Monastery dedicated to St. Peter.

Couple of interesting facts:

– [A]lmost every king or queen of England has been crowned in the church, the last being Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

– Last year, Pope Benedict XVI joined the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury at evensong (Anglican vespers) in Westminster abbey.

While I won’t be staying up late to catch the royal wedding live, I wish them well and certainly do not envy them their public life. (For more on that, Christopher Hitchens’ Slate piece is a must read.)

But I am planning my evening schedule tonight around the newest episodes of “The Office” (Is this Michael’s good-bye?) and “30 Rock.” (Can’t wait to see Condoleezza Rice guest star.) I know, there’s no accounting for taste.

And I’ll be pulling an all-nighter Saturday night to watch JP2’s beatification.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 21, 2011

Holy Thursday, The Drama Of Life, And Unity.

Next Post

April 29, 2011 The Woman Who Gave Directions To Popes

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Articles Thinking Out Loud Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 September 2013 August 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 August 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 July 2007 October 1008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many years from Abraham to Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

2000 years 1000 years 1500 years 2500 years