The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

11/05/2026

"Be Open and Brave!" 🕊️🔥

In his latest reflection for our newsletter, Bishop David Waller looks ahead to the Feast of Pentecost and the "glorious identity" we share as Catholics in the Ordinariate.

He reminds us that our desire for full communion was a work of the Holy Spirit and that we bring a "treasure to be shared" with the wider Church through our distinct patrimony. Whether our communities are large or small, we are called to be vibrant, missionary disciples.

Read the full reflection here on The Spring: https://bit.ly/3Ru2OZx

30/04/2026

Introducing The Spring: Ordinariate Life - a new online home for the stories, voices, and the living witness of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham across the country. Its name is an homage to St John Henry Newman, patron saint of the Ordinariate, and his vision of a “Second Spring”: a season of renewal, hope, and fresh growth in the life of the Church.

The Spring will gather reflections, news, pastoral writing, mission updates, pilgrimages, testimonies, and glimpses of the rich life of our communities. Whether you are a long-standing member, curious about the Ordinariate, or simply looking for encouragement in the faith, we hope The Spring will become a source of inspiration and connection.

Above all, we hope to hear from missions and groups around the country. Please do share your events, stories, initiatives, and signs of hope, so that together we can reflect the vibrant and growing life of the Ordinariate in every region.
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Explore it here: ordinariate.org.uk/the-spring

26/03/2026

Following the recent meeting in Rome, a new document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith affirms the Anglican patrimony as a “precious gift […] and a treasure to be shared.”

Read the full document here:

The following document, prepared by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith after the recent meeting in Rome with the Ordinariate bishops, offers a joyful and confident articulation of the Anglican patrimony as it is lived within the Catholic Church today.

05/03/2026

A joyful and historic moment for the global Ordinariate family. 🇻🇦

This week in Rome, Bishop David Waller joined the bishops of the Personal Ordinariates established by Anglicanorum coetibus for a plenary meeting, including an audience with the Holy Father and discussions at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) .

The Personal Ordinariates were established by Pope Benedict XVI through Anglicanorum coetibus to welcome groups of Anglicans into full communion with the Catholic Church, while preserving elements of their Anglican patrimony. Today there are three around the world:

• The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (England, Scotland and Wales)
• The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter (United States and Canada)
• The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross (Australia and parts of the Asia–Pacific)

During their time in Rome, the bishops shared updates from their Ordinariates and reflected together on the mission of transmitting the faith in today’s world.

Please keep the Bishops and mission of the Ordinariates in your prayers. 🙏

Read the brief article from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith here: https://loom.ly/CuvJfUg

11/02/2026

As we approach the season of "pre-Lent" and Lent itself, Bishop David Waller reflects on joy, repentance, and hope, drawing together Candlemas, the Passion, and the promise of the Resurrection.
This pastoral letter also looks ahead to key moments in our shared life this year.

👉 Read the full letter on the website: https://loom.ly/__aBM7s

23/01/2026

As we continue to keep the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we look back on fifteen years of a journey into full communion - a great grace received, and a responsibility to be lived for the good of the whole Church.

Read the article here: ordinariate.org.uk/news/fifteen-years-on-faith-fidelity-and-communion

15/01/2026

🙏Today we give thanks for a joyful anniversary. On 15 January 2011, the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was formally erected, opening a new chapter in the life of the Catholic Church in England.

On that same day, three former Anglican bishops — John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham, and Keith Newton — were ordained as Catholic priests, and Fr Keith Newton was appointed the first Ordinary of the newly established Ordinariate. It was a moment marked by courage, conscience, and hope: a visible sign that unity is possible, and that the Church is enriched by the gifts she receives.

As we mark this anniversary, we invite you to pray with us for the Ordinariate, for the unity of the Church, and for all those discerning the call to full communion. Check out our website for Bishop David's Pastoral Letter on this special occasion, along with anniversary prayers: ordinariate.org.uk

2nd photo © Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk

14/01/2026

As we mark 15 years of the Ordinariate on 15th January, and enter the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Bishop David reflects on the Ordinariate as realised ecumenism - a prophetic sign of the unity for which Christ prayed.
Read it here: ordinariate.org.uk/news

22/12/2025

Bishop David’s December letter reminds us that Christmas is not a “once upon a time” tale, but God entering real history - our history. As we move through Advent, his reflection invites us to rediscover the wonder of Emmanuel, God with us.
Read the full letter on our website ordinariate.org.uk/news/pastoral-letter-december-2025

Painting: Nativity by Arthur Hughes

18/12/2025

🕯 O Gladsome Light

As Advent continues, the Church keeps watch for the coming of Christ - and in the Ordinariate, that waiting is often accompanied by Evensong.

While some might associate Evensong purely with the Church of England, it resounds within the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate. Evensong is the sung Office of Evening Prayer - a tapestry of psalmody, Scripture, canticles, and traditional Anglican hymnody that has shaped Christian devotion for centuries.

The Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was established in 2011 under Pope Benedict XVI’s Anglicanorum coetibus, allowing those formed by the Anglican tradition to bring their spiritual and liturgical treasures into the heart of the Catholic Church.

So now the cadences and haunting harmonies of Evensong's versicles, responses, psalms, canticles, anthems and hymns rise in Catholic churches. Truly Catholic, truly English, truly beautiful.

These are the opening versicles and responses to Morning and Evening Prayer:

V. ✠ O Lord open thou our lips.
R. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.

V. ✠ O God, make speed to save us.
R. O Lord, make haste to help us.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

V. Praise ye the Lord.
R. The Lord's name be praised.

Find out more about Evensong, or attend one, by finding your local Ordinariate mission - and discover a gift of beauty, Scripture, psalmody, and hymnody offered in full communion with Rome: ordinariate.org.uk/where-we-are