His Hermeneuticalness has posted the following good news.
Fr Andrew Wadsworth has been appointed by the Holy See as General Secretary of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy and Executive Director of the ICEL Secretariat in Washington DC, to take up post from September 2009. This is very good news. Fr Wadsworth has taken a leading role in England in promoting the worthy celebration of the liturgy in both the usus recentior and the usus antiquior. With regard to the latter, he played a leading role in the two highly successful training conferences for clergy at Merton College, Oxford.
Fr Wadsworth (47) is a priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster, ordained in 1990. He has Masters degrees in Italian and Theology, and is an accomplished musician. He has taught Latin, Greek and Italian as well as fulfilling various pastoral responsibilities, including parish work and hospital chaplaincy. He has most recently been Catholic Chaplain at Harrow School as well as teaching Italian there. As well has having good Latin and Greek, Fr Wadsworth speaks Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and some German.
Now that the new translation of the Missale Romanum is almost complete, ICEL will be moving on to new translation projects (for example, the texts for the other sacraments) and will continue to work in accord with Liturgiam Authenticam. It is good to know that Fr Wadsworth will be involved with this work.
Very fine news, indeed!
Congratulations, Fr. Wadsworth! I can think of nobody better for this job.
Truly an ineffable apppointment.
Agreed, this is good for ICEL, but pity poor Harrow deprived of this excellent priest.
Awesome! Now if only we could have Liturgy without simony– er.. “royalties” for reprinting.
I think it will be difficult for liturgical “progressives” to argue with this linguist! Ineffable indeed! Tom
Isn’t that a picture of Bruce Willis in a cassock?
Excellent news!
“Now that the new translation of the Missale Romanum is almost complete”
Translation: It may be ready within the next 3 – 5 years
Ahah! so the real agenda is finally revealed. So now we all know.
He speaks seven languages! Here I thought I was doing something being able to speak two. English and Texan!!
God bless all our learned priests!
Is this also April Fools?
Hope not.
Wonderful news indeed! Irecently attended a talk by Fr Wadsworth on a Lenten journey to Holy Week. If his beautiful way with words there finds its way into the translation of the Sacred Liturgy, we will experience a profusion of riches!
Deo gratias.
No Dr Basto! This is for real. I heard it from him personally before this inauspicious date came around!
Merry feast, of All Fools and of Bl Nuno Alvarez!
This is good news, however could this appointment be a sign that the leadership of ICEL is going to change? Maybe because a certain Bishop of Leeds is going to be moving to Westminster?
I think I’ll stick with Latin.