The planned Taster Day in Horbury will now be taking place on Zoom rather than in person. It will run from 10.00am to 12noon (the link will be open from 9.45am).  Email nunsandmonks@gmail.com to register.

Fr Aidan CR passed away in peace on Friday 17th September. He was in his 91st year and the 58th year of his profession in the Community.

Bishop Peter Wheatley offers a personal recollection

I know the London Parishes of Holy Trinity, Stroud Green, in which Fr Aidan was baptised and the churches in Colindale and Burnt Oak which nurtured him and his family in the Catholic faith. He was grateful for this early formation, and for his subsequent training before and after ordination. I know little of his title post and training incumbent, except that it must have been good. I also remember his asking me what I had been reading. I replied that I had read the biographies of two Church of England bishops, among the most notable of the last fifty years. ‘Just think,’ he said, ‘how much greater they would have been if they had had a good training incumbent.’  He retained a lively sense of what makes for good parochial ministry and the formation needed in parish priests. As a member of the General Synod and on the national Board of Ministry he was forthright in holding officers and bishops to account. His service of the Church was recognised by the Archbishop of Canterbury awarding him the Cross of St Augustine.

For most of Fr Aidan’s priestly ministry, he has been a member of the Community of the Resurrection. A community of priests is a strong force for exercising priesthood corporately. It is more than the sum of their numbers. The Community at prayer together is in itself a powerful force for bringing people to God and sanctifying them. A community can allow a degree of specialisation if a priest has particular gifts. We give thanks for Father Aidan’s sharing in the life of the Community: preaching, missions, retreat-giving, trustee of the College of the Resurrection, sometime Bursar, spiritual director to a wide range of bishops, priests, laity and fellow religious such as the Sisters of St Margaret and the Sisters at Horbury. In London, he and Sister Mary Teresa SSM were an effective partnership in chaplaincy to university students, as no doubt he had been in South Africa at Stellenbosch. Many of those students have gone on to be leaders of their own church communities.

In 1958, Fr Aidan was ordained to the priesthood in Lichfield Cathedral by Bishop Arthur Stretton Reeve. A few months later, Angelo Roncalli was elected Pope John XXIII and two days later he told his Secretary that he intended to call a Council of the whole Church, with far-reaching consequences. How very different the Church is now to what it was in 1958 and we thank God for Fr Aidan’s faithfulness as a priest and stalwart member of his community through all the changes and challenges of the subsequent 63 years.

A fellow bishop describes him as ‘a great soul, deep yet light of touch, solemn yet such fun’. The Community will write their own insightful and affectionate obituary.  May the memory of Aidan help to inspire others to hear a call to the priestly and religious life.

Fr David Houlding recalls a faithful servant

A tap on the shoulder from behind in the lunch queue; General Synod 1995. There was Fr Aidan who I’d not seen since he was assistant chaplain at Christ the King, Gordon Square, when it was the university chaplaincy and I was but a student. His expertise came to the fore again in 2000 when I asked him to become chaplain to the Catholic Group. He enjoyed it very much, as he did the whole Synod culture. At times he could be a little mischievous and wind people up, but he was extremely conscientious and took his responsibilities seriously. Perhaps that explains why he was always listened to and respected by all constituencies, even if he didn’t have anything in particular to say. It was extraordinary. His friends were across the whole church but he was definitely a catholic and was especially loyal to the Catholic Group.

He collected bishops and was the same with them as he was with anyone he met on the street or in church after a service. He was even known to tell bishops off. Certainly he enjoyed being in parishes, especially on missions. He preached for me several times and once came to All Hallows for Holy Week. After the Good Friday liturgy he went on ahead of me and I got home to find him in the garden opening a bottle of champagne. “It’s all over,” he said with a grin. “The triumph of the Cross!” There was something subversive about him which enjoyed breaking rules. He was partial to a tipple, usually Scotch, and it was said he kept a bottle under his bed at Mirfield.

Aidan lived for many years at the Community house in Covent Garden. It was wonderful having him in London and many clergy made a beeline there for quiet days and spiritual direction. The hospitality was very generous. He had the gift of encouragement and could make you happy even in the deepest doldrums. He had empathy and was non-judgmental. The classic Aidan line on Holy Saturday: “Where is Jesus now? He’s busy looking for his friend Judas!” He was always interested in news, he liked to know what was going on – ‘to inform my prayers’. He was a great supporter of SSC, making a great effort to join its events. He was also one for a big do and never missed the National at Walsingham.

There can be no mistaking he was a serious, committed and loving person, with great loyalty. He kept going until the very end, including his involvement on the Number One Trust. I shall miss his humour, his friendship, and his understanding. A good holy man, fun to be with, and never pious. May he rest in peace.

Evelyn Lucy Hubbard was born in Deal, Kent on 14th June 1930, and was the youngest of three sisters. She grew up in the village of Offwell in Devon, was educated in the local primary school, then at Ottery St Mary and on to Kings College, University of London where she began studies in History. Visits to St Saviour’s Priory, Haggerston with college friends gave her a shock as she received a clear call to enter Religious Life. Paddy, as she was known, did not complete her degree and was received as a Postulant of the Society of St Margaret at St Saviour’s Priory early in 1951 at the age of 20, and clothed as Novice Mary Teresa on 7th August that year, making her Profession in Life Vows on 6th August 1953. Over the years she was sent to assist in various parishes including St Anne’s Hoxton, St Chad‘s Haggerston, Holy Cross Cromer Street and the now redundant St Augustine’s, Haggerston. She was busy in the Priory too with St Michael’s Guild for girls and young women, the Scripture School and Associates. During the early/mid 1970s she was part of the University of London’s Chaplaincy Team based at Christ the King, Gordon Square and was very popular with the students, keeping in touch with many. The St Michael’s Guild continued to meet at intervals and one Sister vividly remembers being asked when a Novice to prepare refreshments for the Girls. She duly did so and wheeled in the trolley at the appropriate time, to be confronted by a group of grey-haired ladies for whom she had made large jugs of orange squash! Laughter was never far away when Teresa was entertaining, and it was not unusual for some funny event to be recounted on the many occasions that she talked to a parish group.

My first meeting with this attractive, friendly Sister was on Kings Cross Station in early Lent 1975 when she had already been Novice Guardian for nearly four years. I was a Postulant from our Aberdeen Convent and had been sent for a month or so to experience life in a larger Community where there was a greater age range. Teresa was immediately a friend and remained so for the rest of her life – my parents regarding her as ‘daughter number 2’ who helped them accept the strange step their own daughter had taken! Whoever she was with had the unspoken sense of being a most important person to Teresa and therefore greatly loved. She really exemplified John Mason Neale’s admonition to his Sisters to ‘Love first, Love midst, Love last’. It was no great surprise to hear that she was elected Mother in March 1978 and was in office until Candlemass 1992. The General Synod vote to allow women to be ordained priest on November 11th that year changed life considerably. Teresa became a staunch member of Forward in Faith and, with Fr. Gregory CSWG, founded ‘Traditional Religious’ to support those Religious who felt isolated in their Community due to their outlook; some time later the name was changed to ‘RooT’ (Religious of orthodox Tradition) and any Religious is welcome to attend meetings as part of our mutual flourishing. Walsingham had been a semi-autonomous dependency of Haggerston for about eight years and Sisters were sent up for two-year terms to help out – the change-over was due so Teresa and two others were moved to Walsingham in March 1993. Tentative enquiries had been made before their departure/arrival and new vocations were soon tested in both SSM Houses. With Teresa at the helm and elected Mother, Walsingham was soon able to return to being an autonomous House.

From the 70s onwards, Teresa had several spells in hospital, but never complained. She suffered from extensive osteoporosis and an associated bone condition so that she was bent almost double, and resulted in her needing spinal surgery in the early years of the decade, followed by lengthy convalescence. I’ve known her only with a very straight back! Her knees became more stiff and painful and bilateral replacements were done and replaced after a further decade. Teresa had been riding a bicycle around Haggerston but that was more problematic now, and a generous benefactor gave her a Honda 90cc that she quickly learned to ride in the early 80s, even travelling all the way to Devon for her holiday! In typical fashion she joined the ‘59 Club’ for Bikers that met in St Augustine’s hall and soon had a whole new circle of friends, most of whom had never before had any contact with a Sister. By the 90s the Haggerston Priory had a car so Teresa learnt to drive – sitting in the passenger seat when she was practising between lessons was a little challenging and sometimes hair-raising, but she passed her test at the first attempt and had the freedom of the roads.

Her ministry to pilgrims, parish groups from elsewhere and parishes in the Walsingham Benefice was greatly loved and valued but that all changed abruptly at the end of January 2016 when she fell and fractured her right humerus. It never healed and her bones were too fragile for pin and plate. She was transferred to St Mary’s Convent and Nursing Home at Chiswick where she received wonderful full nursing care for the remainder of her life. The Chapel is part of the whole complex and she was wheeled there for Mass most days, and also for Divine Office with our Sisters when possible.

May she rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen.

Sister Mary Teresa SSM (Evelyn Lucy Hubbard) – 14th June 1930-12th January 2021

Professed 6th August 1953

This article was first published in the Church Times on 29 January 2021. To subscribe, please call 01603 785911 or email subs@churchtimes.co.uk