To celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, patron of the diocese, 300 children from schools in the Diocesan Schools’ Singing Programme came together to sing Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral.
Bishop Terry was the principal celebrant and all but one school involved attended, with children and staff coming from across Middlesbrough, Marske-by-the-Sea and York.
Priests from many of the parishes represented by the schools joined Bishop Terry on the altar.
The children sang four traditional hymns, the Lourdes Mass setting and all joined to sing Simon Lindley’s Ave Maria in Latin.
Children from schools who sing with one of the cathedral’s choirs robed and sat together, performing some sections by themselves, with one Year 4 chorister singing a brief solo.
All the music was prepared in whole-class singing sessions led by either choral director Andrea Maxson or diocesan director of music Steven Maxson as part of a structured curriculum delivered all year round.
We were blessed with fine weather between the rehearsal on the day and the Mass and the children enjoyed their lunch break outside, with the Google Street View car coming to take photographs and ensure that the event lives on!
In his homily, Bishop Terry said the children filled the cathedral with “a wall of sound” as he left the sacristy. He remarked how their singing ranged from music written this year to traditional plainsong written many centuries ago, with singing in English, Greek and Latin.
The first lesson and the bidding prayers were beautifully read by children from attending schools, and the altar servers were also drawn from several schools.
The Diocesan Schools’ Singing Programme is part of the National Schools’ Singing Programme.