The number of Catholics drawn to Charismatic Renewal is being
given a huge boost by thousands of migrants. They are now taking their worship into parishes.
Around 3,000 Catholics are meeting every month for catechesis and prayer at a vast Pentecostal convention centre at West Bromwich, near Birmingham.
The gatherings were started by migrants from southern India, and initially the services were in Malayalam, the local language of Kerala. But in the last two months they have been conducted in English, as interest has spread among English-speaking Catholics.
The meetings are a visible sign of how very devout Catholics are bringing new life and energy to parishes in the UK. Many of the newcomers feel a deep sense of calling to help restore the Christian faith in their adopted land.
Until now, their influence has often remained beneath the radar as their activities have been within their own culture and language group, but things are changing as these groups grow in confidence.
Their charism flows directly from the worldwide ecclesial movement known as the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR), which appeared in the Church following Vatican II in the late 1960s.
Statistician David Barrett has estimated that more than 100 million Roman Catholics worldwide had been baptised by the year 2000, and there have been many more since. Like the first disciples at Pentecost, charismatics use biblical charisms – such as tongues, prophecy and healing – as part of their normal Christian life.
In England, the CCR has always been small, but in places like India and Latin America the concept has been accepted and encouraged by the clergy and episcopacy, and so has flourished.
In Kerala, one of the key vehicles of Charismatic Renewal has been the many charismatic retreat centres that have sprung up in the last couple of decades. These are nothing like the gentrified affairs that take place in England, but retreats for the masses with miracles and radical conversions.
At the Divine Retreat Centre at Muringoor, on the banks of the Chalakudy River, people simply show for the week without booking. Beds are in dormitories. On one occasion, 45,000 people arrived and as there were only enough beds for half that number, the visitors arranged a “hot bed” system, with men sleeping during the day and women sleeping at night. There was preaching and meals were served 24 hours a day, so everyone could follow the retreat.
Not surprisingly, after 25 years, this activity has led to a surge in vocations. There are prayer groups in seminaries; and charismatic initiation courses, like the “Life in the Spirit” seminars, are part of the formation programme at such seminaries as St Thomas’ in the Diocese of Palakkad, where the local bishop, Jacob Manathodath, takes his priests on charismatic retreats for spiritual refreshment.
One of the most established and best organised of the Indian charismatic groups now in the UK is Jesus Youth. This is a Catholic youth missionary movement that originated in Kerala 25 years ago, but which has now spread all over the world, mainly through economic migration. Many of those who have come to the UK are well-educated IT specialists and hospital workers who have made their faith a priority in their lives. Their strategy has been to gather existing members of Jesus Youth together, then reach out to Indian Catholics – and on to the second generation born in the UK – before finally approaching the indigenous population.
The group is now at the cusp of this difficult final stage, as it has to deal with not just the Gospel but cultural issues and the secular British mindset. During Easter week, several people from the leadership team and their families attended Celebrate, the Catholic Charismatic family week that takes place in Ilfracombe, Devon, to experience English culture and the late-night fringe in the bar, as well as talks and workshops.
Through perseverance and prayer, Jesus Youth UK is making friends, and last October it was given a disused presbytery in Sheffield by the cathedral dean, Fr Chris Posluszny, to serve as its official HQ. The inner city parish of St Charles Borromeo was at risk of closure because of falling numbers but Jesus Youth has started 24-hour adoration sessions from Friday 9 p.m. to Saturday 9 p.m. supported by members of Jesus Youth from all over the country, who come on a rota basis, often remaining to attend Sunday Mass.
Abhy Thomas, one of the Jesus Youth leaders, whose wife is a parish youth worker in Buckinghamshire, explained: “The parish are loving it. They see so many youngsters here, leading the choir and attending Mass. We have whole families come from Bristol and Brighton, often with three or four children. The parishioners are amazed that people will come and sit for 24 hours’ adoration to pray for them and the area. Everyone has got hope now.”
Another successful venture Jesus Youth has been running in the UK for three years is “Awakening”, a 24/7 time of intercession for 100 days between Ash Wednesday and Pentecost. The venture was originally based in a single parish, but now encompasses 35 parishes, each taking a time slot on a rota system to pray for the movement and revival in the UK generally.
Another group with roots in Kerala is the network associated with the Sehion Retreat Centre at Attappady. This is headed up by Fr Soji Olikkal, a young priest from the Diocese of Palakkad, who was appointed chaplain to the Syro Malabar Catholics in the UK in 2010. For him, coming to England was a major culture shock. As he explained: “I found that the spirit of atheism was very strong in the schools and I was concerned about the effect that this was having on the children of our families, so I prayed to the Lord, saying ‘What is your plan for these children?’”
As a result, Fr Soji began what have become known as the Second Saturday Conventions. These began in his parish, Blessed Robert Grissold in Coventry, with about 60 people and a few children. “We didn’t just babysit the children,” he recalled. “We really preached the Word of God to them in ways that were appropriate to their age, with action songs, skits and memorisation of Bible verses.”
The word got out among the Kerala community and numbers grew so much, with coaches coming from across the country, that they now regularly fill the 3,000 places at the Bethel Convention Centre in West Bromwich. Fr Soji and his team have also run five-day residential evangelisation schools for 10- to 16-year-olds in Warrington, Southampton, Brighton, Bristol and Northampton, each attended by 60 teenagers, all keen to become full-time evangelists.
Fr Soji credits the huge expansion of the ministry to the signs and wonders and healings that happen at the gatherings. “The Lord did some miracles among the children – healing them of things like eczema,” he said. “That’s why the children brought their friends.” Charismatic groups in other parts of Britain have also become involved. Damian Stayne, founder of the Cor et Lumen Christi community, in Chertsey, Surrey, was recently invited to lead a miracle service and will return in June to run his charism school, during which he teaches participants to use the biblical charisms of healing and prophecy.
Among the growing number of those from a non-Indian background attending the Second Saturdays are Deacon David Palmer and his wife June, from the same deanery as Fr Soji. “My wife and I were blown away by what we saw at Second Saturdays,” said Palmer.
“Some of the teenagers’ testimonies about their efforts at evangelising fellow school pupils and the testimonies of healing were amazing. Their exuberance and willingness to evangelise is just what we need in the Church in the UK today.”