Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem

I was delighted to read on the website of the New Liturgical Movement for last Monday that my friends the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem have secured themselves a new home. I have copied their statement from the NLM site:

The Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem are deeply grateful to God and Bishop Michael Bransfield of the Diocese of Wheeling/Charleston (West Virginia) for permission granted on Friday, January 28, 2011, to establish ourselves in that diocese for an initial period of two years. We can have no doubt that this permission, the fruit of mature deliberation on the part of Bishop Bransfield and his collaborators over the past two years, has come to us through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the long prayer, fasting, and sacrifices made on our behalf by hundreds of friends and benefactors around the world. The CRNJ publicily expresses a particular gratitude to all who have prayed and worked so diligently for this important development. We wish to assure each of you of our continuing prayers for you in all your needs. May Our Lady of Walsingham continue to guide our humble work, ever using us to draw souls closer to the Heart of Jesus, the beginning and end of our life in religion and priestly service to His Church.

I mert the Canons at two Oxford conferences on the Usus Antiquior at Merton in 2006 and 2007, and have maintained contact with them. They are an impressive group of men, who combine a serious commitment to liturgical excellence with a humane pastoral style that impresses and offers a model for others. I very much hope and pray that with a secure base they can grow as a community and serve the wider Church.