Britain: Catholic Church talks about first ever worldwide Eucharistic Adoration

(Vatican Radio) In the first event of its kind in the Church’s history, Pope Francis led a worldwide simultaneous hour of Eucharistic Adoration in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday that began at 5pm Rome time. Cathedrals across the world and millions of Catholics took up the Pope’s invitation to take part in this historic event held on Corpus Christi Sunday and synchronized their Eucharistic Adorations to match the time in Rome. The global event was part of celebrations marking the Year of Faith and had the theme: One Lord, One Faith. In Britain, one of the many Catholic cathedrals that held an hour of Eucharistic Adoration was Southwark in London which is headed by Archbishop Peter Smith who spoke to Susy Hodges in the run-up to the event.

Listen to the extended interviews with Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark and with Father Peter Wilson, senior chaplain for the universities in London:

Asked for his feelings about this event and its significance, Archbishop Smith says he believes it will be “a wonderful opportunity for the world, apart from the Church, to know that Catholics do pray, especially for those in need and the two themes for the adoration are, first of all, for the Church and its mission of mercy and compassion and then secondly, specifically for the needs of those who suffer.”

The archbishop says the suffering people include: “those who are killed in wars, the sick, the unemployed, the prisoners and I hope too, there will be quite a lot of prayers going up for the victims of child sexual abuse in the Church.”

But it’s not just cathedrals who have responded to Pope Francis’ invitation to take part in the worldwide hour of Eucharistic adoration but also bishops’ conferences, parishes, lay associations, religious congregations and chaplains. Father Peter Wilson is the senior chaplain for the universities in London and in an interview with Susy Hodges described his own feelings about this global initiative.

This worldwide Eucharistic Adoration is “absolutely superb” says Father Wilson as “it emphasizes the Body of Christ both in the Sacrament and as a community of people.” He says the thought of being “all united in prayer at the same time is quite a phenomenal and spine-tingling spiritual experience.”

When it comes to Eucharistic Adoration, Father Wilson says that as a chaplain ministering to university students in London “the enthusiasm is certainly there” because Adoration has in his view “rather chimed in with the spiritual sensibilities of young people” and this Sunday’s event has “given it an added dimension.”