On Saturday the 28th of February all four members of the Bearn chaplaincy family were delighted to host Afternoon English Tea for seven members of the Order of Preachers (or Dominicans as they are more popularly known) from St Charles Catholic Church in Monaco. It was an equal delight to have in our company a bevy of some of the younger adults from St Paul’s as well.
Mrs Bearn laid on an amazing array of cakes and traditional English sandwiches and biscuits, along with a variety of teas served from the family Mad Hatter’s Tea Pot. Special mention must be made of the “Santiago cake,” including the motif of St James, baked that very day by Harry Bearn. There was much laughter, fun, serious conversation and, one hopes, the embryonic forging of new friendships. We were especially blessed to have the Dominican Archbishop, His Excellency Jean-Louis Bruguès, former archivist and Librarian at the Vatican with us as well. Details about his life of service in the Catholic Church can be found on the web. It was a wonderful opportunity for a two way exchange between the Friars and our younger people in whose company they moved freely and confidently with conversations that could be heard in Italian, Spanish, French and English.
To begin proceedings the Archbishop offered prayerful thanks for the food that had been prepared. The chaplain then commented that the bonds of Christian fraternal kindness and hospitality always compensate for any evident language barriers. The Domicans are renowned for their particular charism in conveying the Faith by serious study and intellectual rigour that is underpinned by their life of communal prayer and solemn life vows. The chaplain, Fr Hugh, would be delighted to hear from anyone who would like to learn more about the monastic life in both the Anglican and Catholic tradition.
Photo Credit: ARBEE PHOTOGRAPHER
