AN ERA dating back almost 175 years came to an end after the departure of the last Benedictine monks based in Liverpool.A lack of people deciding to follow a vocation in the church is being blamed for the decision not to replace the three Benedictine monks, who are members of a religious order within the Catholic community.
Instead, their church, St Austins in Aigburth Road, is to be taken over by the Archdiocese of Liverpool. From today, one of its own priests, Fr. Andrew Unsworth, will assume responsibility for St Austins, which is being amalgamated with three other churches on Merseyside to create a new parish.
But the future of St Austins remains uncertain following the decision by the Benedictine Order to relinquish control.
After the final Benedictine Mass at the church yesterday, the three monks – the eldest of whom is in his 90s – left their Liverpool base to join their fellow monks at the largest Benedictine community in the country, at Ampleforth Abbey in Yorkshire.
The Merseyside parish is now being re-organised after discussions between the leaders of the Benedictine Order and the Archbishop of Liverpool, the Most Rev Patrick Kelly.
In an address to the congregation of St Austins, Fr Cuthbert Madden, the abbot of Ampleforth Abbey, said: “Both the Archbishop and I are trying to deal with the challenges which are confronting us as a result of the small number of vocations to priesthood and monastic life in recent years. This has been forced upon us by the fact that our community has diminished greatly during the seven years of my abbacy. I have sent out as many monks as I dare from the resident community: now we have no one left to send to any of our parishes. I need hardly say how sad both the community and I are that we have no choice but to leave parishes we have served for generations. The Archdiocese has also experienced the same lack of vocations which means there is now a considerable shortage of priests, especially when this is compared to the number of parish churches. Perhaps the most significant challenge for the future lies in the small size of this church.”
Benedictine monks actually made the first crossing of the Mersey 800 years ago but have been present in the Grassendale area since St Austins was founded in 1838.
Members of the Benedictine Order follow a strict life of prayer and work, beginning at 6am each day, with a period of silence after the final prayers of the day are said.