On the second day of Lent, priests and people from across the Diocese came together at St Charles Borromeo, Hull, to celebrate the ‘Year of St Paul’ in music, song, word and prayer. The Liturgy was graced by the Presidency of Bishop Terence Drainey, the beautiful music of Fr Stephen Maughan and the Diocesan Choir, and the wisdom and knowledge of our preacher, Fr Jim O’Brien.

We were also graced by the wonderful contribution of young people and children from many parishes and schools. West Hull Parishes’ Youth Group enlightened us by introducing St Paul through the words and experiences of the people who knew him best – including Saints Stephen, Barnabas, Timothy, Lydia and Priscilla, and the Roman Centurion Julius. Fr O’Brien’s homily expanded on this theme of bringing St Paul to life for us, with profound insights into his background, mission, theology and understanding of Christ.

Members of the Youth Group at Our Lady and St Peter Chanel led the Opening Procession, carrying coloured lights to signify Paul’s conviction that ‘you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord’ and his exhortation to ‘put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light’.

Primary pupils from across the Southern Vicariate had produced hand-made prayer-cards, bearing the logo of the ‘Year of St Paul’, together with the sublime words that St Paul wrote to the Church in Colossians 3:12-17. These were distributed as everyone came forward to light a candle to celebrate the life, and ask for the intercession, of St Paul – mindful of his words to ‘live as children of the light’.

Special thanks must go to Canon Michael Loughlin and parishioners at St Charles for their kind hospitality. Also to Yvonne Garside who created the most beautiful visual display which intertwined the themes of light, Scripture, mission, journeying, suffering, imprisonment, and the centrality of the Cross of Christ – all so very significant in the life of St Paul.

Bishop Terence will lead the Diocese in a further Liturgy of the Word to mark the end of the ‘Year of St Paul’ at the Cathedral on 28th June at 7pm. The well-respected author and Scripture scholar, Fr Denis McBride CSsR, will be our preacher. We pray that it too will be a fitting celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the great, incomparable ‘Apostle to the Gentiles’.