London’s festive party season got underway on Wednesday night with flowing champagne at the Herald’s annual drinks party at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, hosted by Herald director Sir Rocco Forte and CCLA, Britain’s leading charity investment fund.
The 150 guests included many of those featured on the Herald’s recent Leading UK Catholics of Today special report, as well as the new papal nuncio in London, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, Catholic priests and distinguished figures from the UK’s ecclesiastical, literary, political, arts, charity and business worlds.
Leading UK Catholic philanthropists and Herald patrons also attended the champagne reception in the Clarendon Room of Brown’s, an event that Sir Rocco (the hotel’s owner) said in his speech had expanded from being a small party in his back garden to becoming an annual fixture in London’s Catholic social calendar.
Apart from the nuncio, clergy present included His Grace the Archbishop of Cardiff, Monsignor John Armitage, Herald columnist Fr Robert Verrill OP, Fr Christopher Colven, Fr Gwilym Evans FSSP, Fr Shaun Middleton, Fr Toby Lees OP, Fr Phillip Andrews and Fr Marcus Holden. Other guests included the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, Lady Forte, Lady Antonia Fraser and her son Orlando Fraser KC, chairman of the Charities Commission, the Duchess of Richmond, the Hon Philip Sidney, AN Wilson, John Cornwell, Sir Nicholas and Lady Coleridge, the Hon Joseph and Mrs Shaw, and the Dowager Lady Belhaven & Stenton.
Also among others attending were Sir Bill Cash MP, the Hon James Stourton, the Hon Julia Hamilton, the Revd Jonathan Aitken, Oldie editor Harry Mount and its publisher James Pembroke, Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, Francesca Peacock, Christopher Hope (political editor at GB News), Damien Collins MP, Gavin Ashenden, the Hon Sophia Money Coutts, the Revd Calvin Robinson, Quentin Letts, Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, Lord Deben (a former Herald director) and many more – including Peter Hugh-Smith, CEO of CCLA, his colleague Clare Waring. Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg MP arrived after recording his daily political TV show.
In his speech, editor William Cash welcomed the many Herald contributors present for their efforts, joking that “serving copious amounts of champagne” might go some way to compensate for the Herald’s modest fees. “But the main reason we are here tonight”, he said, “as ever, is to celebrate and defend Catholic values. This is what the Herald has stood for since 1888 and what we continue to do so now, not least in America under our new owners and partners GEM NY, led by chairman Chris Brown.”
“We have chosen to expand operations into America as that is where the spiritual battleground of the Catholic Church now increasingly lies”, he explained, “and why we have also set up the Catholic Herald Institute to become a leading Catholic think tank, along with a UK affiliate arm that will be launching soon.”
“What is clear is that the Herald’s influential voice is now being heard”, he added. “Our defence of the family, our faithfulness to 2000 years of Church teaching and our commitment to freedom of religious expression are now increasingly mainstream positions and we thank God that there is a generation of priests who share that mission.”
A loud cheer went up when Cash announced that the Herald had just published the findings of the largest national survey of Catholic priests conducted in more than 50 years. “It found that priests describing themselves as ‘progressive’ were now ‘almost extinct’ among recent US seminary graduates, with the vast majority describing themselves as conservative and orthodox.”
“Whether this message will be heard in the Vatican remains to be seen but regardless, the Herald will continue to be an independent voice dedicated to being at the forefront of reporting and commenting on what’s really going on in the Church today,” he said
Cash also told guests that veteran Vatican watcher John L. Allen Jr, founder of Crux, along with his wife Elise Ann Allen, had recently joined the Herald team as Special Vatican Correspondents. A murmur of approval greeted the news that for the first time in its 135 year history, the Herald now had a seat on the papal plane, with Elise Allen reporting for Herald from Portugal, Mongolia and shortly from Dubai as well.
Other highlights of the past year included the Herald being shortlisted for two prestigious PPA awards in June, up against such giants as Conde Nast, Hearst and the BBC. “These accolades show how the Herald continues to evolve into a world leading Catholic media brand,” said Cash. Our success is very much a team effort and I’d like to thank all of our brilliant editorial, production and design team for their tireless work.”
Other Herald developments since last year was that under GEM’s management, the Herald now has an office in New York, on West 57th Street, with a view of Central Park, and has taken new digs in London’s South Kensington, just a stone’s throw away from the Brompton Oratory. This came about after placing an ad on social media stating: “135-year-old Catholic Herald magazine seeks new premises in London to do God’s Work.”
Once again, the Herald was delighted to have CCLA sponsor the glitzy event, along with Sir Rocco Forte and Brown’s Hotel. Cash spoke warmly of the strong partnership the Herald maintains with CCLA. Founded in 1958, the CCLA is the UK’s leading charity fund with unmatched experience in providing ethical and responsible investment to charities.
Meanwhile, CEO Peter Hugh Smith drew attention to CCLA’s commitment to stamping out human trafficking and promoting awareness of mental health. He also referred to his recent visit to Rome to attend a conference on ethical investment. We hope to publish more about the conference and CCLA’s role as a global leader in the ethical investment world.
“The CCLA’s Catholic Investment Fund shares our interest in Catholic values,” added Cash. “Since its launch in 2021 it has grown to well over £100m, which says something about the appeal of Catholic ethos and social teaching today. We are delighted to be partnering with CCLA, whose strong Catholic values are much aligned with the Herald’s own spiritual mission.”
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.