One of my favourite articles in this issue, with its Irish cover, is Stephen de la Bédoyère’s elegiac account of growing up when his father, Michael, was editor of the Catholic Herald. Michael stepped down in 1962, having succeeded Irish newspaper entrepreneur Charles Diamond – who founded the Herald in 1888 and edited the weekly paper (as it was then) until his death in 1934. So from 1888 to 1962, the Herald only had two editors, both with Irish roots. Michael’s father was an Irish-French nobleman and his previous job had been as deputy editor of the Dublin Review.
What a different world the Catholic newspaper and magazine world was back in the post-war era. Stephen writes about visiting the old inky Herald offices on the corner of Whitefriars Street and Fleet Street – a large Dickensian building with a roof terrace that Stephen used to enjoy playing on. The building, perilously close to some famous hack watering holes, stood close to its main weekly newspaper rival, the Universe, at 21 Fleet Street.
Our cover story on the Irish vocations crisis is written by Father Michael Collins. Fr Michael is from Glenageary in south Dublin and read Greek and Roman Civilisation, History and Philosophy at University College, Dublin. He is also an author and acts as a chaplain and tour guide for Ponti cal Institute art tours of London and Rome. He trained for the priesthood at Holy Cross College and was ordained in 1985, so is well qualified to write the article which paints a fairly depressing picture of the ongoing secularisation of Ireland.
Back in April, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Grand National as a guest of Randox, who, under the leadership of founder Dr Peter Fitzgerald CBE, have sponsored the world’s greatest steeplechase since 2017. Peter is a genius whose vision has built Randox into a world leading preventative healthcare and diagnostics company from humble beginnings. In 1982, Peter was working in the biochemical research department of Queen’s University in Belfast when he noticed the brain drain of young scientists from Northern Ireland to mainland UK or overseas.
This acted as a spur for his pioneering success in preventative diagnostic health care. He rolled out his walk-in shop franchise message of lowering the risk of disease (80 per cent of which are deemed preventative) and saving the NHS billions through diagnostic care that detects illness early. Prayer is always useful as a form of cure, of course, but genuine preventative care combined with prayer is an even better idea. As I picked up the official race programme, I read a fascinating profile of Irish racehorse owner JP McManus, who was educated at the Christian Brothers School in Limerick. Since 1997, the top eight students in a given year at this leading Catholic school receive a scholarship from the McManus family to the value of €27,000. The ethos of the school is to create “a visibly Christian environment where pupils and staff can achieve their full potential … in a spiritual fashion in the tradition of Blessed Edmund Rice”.
McManus is a good example of how lay leaders, especially among the Catholic business community, have now stepped in to lead by example, particularly in Catholic education. This is what has happened across America, as we reported in our inaugural US Catholic Leaders survey last year; our 2023 survey will appear in November. Over 200 pupils have received JP McManus scholarships to date. In our US Catholic Colleges guide, to be published in October, we will give details of the many scholarships available in Catholic universities across America, mostly donated by Catholic philanthropists.
I am writing this from the Herald’s new premises on Cromwell Place in London. We are a short walk from the Brompton Oratory and are looking forward to taking up the Provost’s kind offer of visiting us to bless our offices. This may be wise considering that next door has a blue plaque commemorating the residence of the notoriously dissolute Irish-born Crucifixion- theme artist Francis Bacon. Then again, the same plaque also lists John Everett Millais, who famously painted John Henry Newman – the founder of the Oratory in England.
of lowering the risk of disease (80 per cent of which are deemed preventative) and saving the NHS billions through diagnostic care that detects illness early. Prayer is always useful as a form of cure, of course, but genuine preventative care combined with prayer is an even better idea. As I picked up the official race programme, I read a fascinating pro le of Irish racehorse owner JP McManus, who was educated at the Christian Brothers School in Limerick. Since 1997, the top eight students in a given year at this leading Catholic school receive a scholarship from the McManus family to the value of €27,000. The ethos of the school is to create “a visibly Christian environment where pupils and staff can achieve their full potential … in a spiritual fashion in the tradition of Blessed Edmund Rice”.
McManus is a good example of how lay lead- ers, especially among the Catholic business com- munity, have now stepped in to lead by example, particularly in Catholic education. This is what has happened across America, as we reported in our inaugural US Catholic Leaders survey last year; our 2023 survey will appear in November. Over 200 pupils have received JP McManus scholarships to date. In our US Catholic Colleges guide, to be published in October, we will give details of the many scholarships available in Catholic universities across America, mostly donated by Catholic philanthropists.
I am writing this from the Herald’s new premises on Cromwell Place in London. We are a short walk from the Brompton Oratory and are looking forward to taking up the Provost’s kind offer of visiting us to bless our offices. This may be wise considering that next door has a blue plaque commemorating the residence of the notoriously dissolute Irish-born Crucifixion- theme artist Francis Bacon. Then again, the same plaque also lists John Everett Millais, who famously painted John Henry Newman – the founder of the Oratory in England.
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